Volume 5 Chapter 112
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Volume 5 Chapter 112: Strange and Dangerous, a Life-and-Death Battle (Part 1)
Sensing the ominous energy coming from the hidden cave, Xu Qingfan hesitated for a moment but still guided Little Black to explore.
The cave was narrow, and after the transformation, Little Black had grown in size. Although it was known for its speed, it could only use its abilities to a limited extent in the cave. So, under Xu Qingfan’s command, Little Black flew cautiously, the blood-red light in the cave dimming, turning black. Its wings moved silently, without a breeze.
In this way, they ventured deep into the cave for dozens of feet, but remained completely silent.
The cave was very deep, making it impossible to guess where it led. Little Black flew quietly for a full quarter of an hour, and the cave remained as deep as at the start.
Judging by the time and speed of Little Black’s flight in the cave, it should have long left the eerie blood valley. It was now underground, far outside the valley, but because of the many twists and turns in the cave, Xu Qingfan couldn’t even tell which direction they were going.
Finally, after about another quarter of an hour, the scene in front of Little Black finally opened up.
It turned out that deep in the cave was a very large underground hall, about ten acres in size, and as high as several dozens of feet, just like the valley, with strange blood-red stones all around.
But what surprised Xu Qingfan was something else.
While he was surprised, in truth, during his exploration, Xu Qingfan had already vaguely anticipated this kind of scene. You could say he predicted part of it.
In the vast underground hall, in the corners, sat three to four hundred cultivators. About one-tenth of these cultivators had a powerful presence, having already reached the Condensed Core Stage. These cultivators were all dressed in rags, their bodies and faces extremely dirty, hair disheveled, and although their eyes were mostly closed, there was still a faint blood-red glow about them. The expressions on their faces varied from peaceful and calm to crazy and fierce.
These cultivators were the "Beast Madness cultivators" that had been wreaking havoc across the entire Shenzhou Continent during this time.
What amazed Xu Qingfan was that the "Beast Madness cultivators," whom he thought had only lost their reason to kill, were actually practicing!
He had guessed that the "Beast Madness cultivators" might gather deep in the cave, but he never expected they would be gathering to practice!
Since the "Beast Madness cultivators" appeared in the cultivation world, cultivators had only thought of using all their strength to quickly rid the world of them, never considering studying the characteristics of the "Beast Madness cultivators," much less realizing that they could still cultivate after losing their reason.
Or perhaps, before the "Beast Madness cultivators" lost their reason, their daily practice had already become deeply rooted in their souls, turning into a natural habit, which they still maintained even after losing their minds.
After a brief moment of surprise, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but smile wryly.
What was once a simple matter had become incredibly troublesome.
Just then, when Little Black entered the cave, he was finally noticed by several powerful "Beast Madness cultivators" with sharp senses. Through Little Black’s eyes, Xu Qingfan saw that deep in the cave, the strongest of these cultivators suddenly trembled, then opened their eyes wide, looking towards Little Black. A red light shot from their eyes, filled with terrifying madness and intent to kill.
Xu Qingfan was startled and quickly ordered Little Black to return the way they came before the Beast Madness cultivators could act.
On the way back, Xu Qingfan could clearly hear through Little Black’s ears the deafening roars echoing from the cave, as if the Beast Madness cultivators were extremely angry about Little Black’s sudden appearance.
But what puzzled Xu Qingfan was that, despite their constant roaring, the Beast Madness cultivators allowed Little Black to leave without any intention of chasing.
While he breathed a sigh of relief, Xu Qingfan also knew that things had become three times more complicated.
These Beast Madness cultivators did not leave the cave at all.
"What will those guys do?"
On the other side, "Ri" watched as Little Black quickly flew out of the cave, heading towards the place where Xu Qingfan and the others were waiting, showing no intention of stopping, only softly murmuring to himself with a smile.
Next to him, Feng Qingtian remained as silent as ever. But in his heart, he shared the same thoughts as "Ri’s" whispers.
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"Venerable Diyang, did you find anything?"
Watching Little Black return from the valley, landing again on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, while Xu Qingfan slowly opened his eyes, Master Bo Guangyan asked.
A faint bitter smile appeared on Xu Qingfan’s lips as he slowly looked around at the dozens of people nearby, only to find their eyes full of expectation, which made Xu Qingfan’s bitter smile even stronger.
However, this slight bitter smile quickly vanished from Xu Qingfan’s lips, and a moment later, he returned to his previous calm and emotionless expression.
"Everyone, things have become troublesome."
Upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, the expectation in everyone’s eyes quickly faded, and they focused their gaze more intently on Xu Qingfan.
"What do you mean?" Jin Qinghan asked.
"The ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ are still in this valley, but they are deep inside a cave in the valley. The cave is very deep. If we simply pour ‘Mourning Powder’ into the valley, it won’t affect them at all before the ‘Mourning Powder’ disappears."
Xu Qingfan explained slowly.
Hearing Xu Qingfan say this, Master Bo Guangyan frowned, but after a moment said, "This makes things a bit more complicated, but it’s not a bad thing. We just need to find a way to pour the ‘Mourning Powder’ into that cave and then block the entrance to the cave, which is easier than blocking the whole valley as we planned."
Xu Qingfan shook his head. He had thought of this before and quietly explained, "That cave is very deep, about two miles long, and there are many turns inside. If we pour the ‘Mourning Powder’ into the cave, it may not reach the place where the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ gather deep inside."
After a pause, Xu Qingfan continued, "More importantly, since those ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ are hiding deep inside the cave, Little Black cannot investigate further. So, I’m not even sure if the cave has another exit. Even more important, if the cave has another exit, our original plan could not work, because the ‘Beast Madness cultivators,’ driven mad by the ‘Mourning Powder,’ might escape through that exit and continue to harm others."
When everyone heard Xu Qingfan’s words, they fell silent. Initially, they thought this mission would be easy, but now it seemed, as Xu Qingfan said, "Things are complicated."
Complicated means a battle is likely to happen, and a battle means someone might lose their life. The seven or eight troublemakers in Xu Qingfan’s team started to show uneasy expressions.
"Or, we could lure all the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ out and then seal both the cave and the valley…"
Li Yuhan said thoughtfully, "This plan is very dangerous. First, we need to send people deep into the cave where many Beast Madness cultivators are gathered. There could be unexpected events. Second, after the Beast Madness cultivators come from the cave into the valley, we will need to seal the cave, and then seal the valley. There are too many uncertainties in between."
However, this is still the best plan we have so far.
But Xu Qingfan shook his head still.
"Just now, when Little Black went deep into the cave to scout, even though many Beast Madness cultivators spotted him, and those cultivators were very crazed, they did not pursue him."
With Xu Qingfan’s words, the atmosphere in the room completely grew cold.
"May I ask, Venerable Diyang, how many Beast Madness cultivators are there in that cave? And among the Beast Madness cultivators, how many have reached the Condensed Core Stage?"
After putting aside all hopes, Master Bo Guangyan finally asked the most critical question.
"About four hundred, with around one-tenth having reached the Condensed Core Stage."
Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, the tense expressions of the crowd finally relaxed, especially those seven or eight bold cultivators, who looked at Xu Qingfan with a hint of mockery and sarcasm.
The two groups that came this time had a total of sixty people, all at the Condensed Core Stage or higher. According to Xu Qingfan, there were less than forty among the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ who reached the Condensed Core Stage, and the rest, below Condensed Core Stage, could be ignored, as sending just three or four of our own cultivators would easily handle them.
Based on their strength, the two small teams had the absolute upper hand, and it seemed they were sure to win. Xu Qingfan’s earlier serious words, "This is a problem," were clearly an overreaction.
In the face of everyone’s ease, Xu Qingfan was destined to play the role of a cold water splasher this time.
Though he didn’t want to…
"From a strength perspective, it is true that we have the upper hand, but the cave where the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ are located is deep and covers an area of about ten acres, rising up many dozens of feet. If we were to face off against those ‘Beast Madness cultivators,’ with over a hundred Core Formation cultivators battling, this seemingly large cave would not allow us to make full use of our numbers."
After pausing, Xu Qingfan’s tone turned colder as he continued, "More importantly, if we fight inside the cave and cause a collapse, while the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ may die, we would also meet our end."
Upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, the smiles that had just appeared on everyone’s faces instantly froze.
It’s as if all the difficult problems in the world were like this; the final answer to a problem, after much discussion, was never the best solution but rather the one that everyone hoped for.
Although what everyone hoped for often diverged greatly from what was truly right.
In Xu Qingfan’s opinion, the best solution to this problem was to send one person deep into the cave, not to attack the "Beast Madness cultivator," but to collapse the cave itself, sacrificing one life to save all the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ lives.
However, doing this would mean sacrificing an unlucky person to be buried with the "Beast Madness cultivator" in the mountain, and even though it was a time of great disaster, Xu Qingfan did not see anyone in the two teams willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
Neither did Xu Qingfan.
So, he didn’t mention this idea at all.
Moreover, generally speaking, the person who suggests this method is also the one most likely to become the unlucky sacrifice.
This method wasn’t something only Xu Qingfan could think of, but like Xu Qingfan, everyone who thought of it chose not to say anything.
The final decision from everyone was to enter the valley together, to see if they could lure the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ out of the cave, and then follow Li Yuhan’s earlier suggestion.
Although Xu Qingfan had previously said that for some reason, those ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ never left the depths of the cave, when there were no other options, people would still try to take a risk.
Even though compared to Xu Qingfan’s method, this approach would likely cost far more cultivators their lives if it succeeded, everyone agreed to it.
Many things seem strange, but for those involved, they feel completely normal. The reasons that seem normal are often even stranger.
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"Just as I thought, a whole group of people came in. There were clearly better and more effective ways, yet they chose not to use them." Looking at the two small teams flying into the valley, "Ri" said with a hint of a mocking smile, "Is it because people do not want to let one person sacrifice alone? Or do they not want to become that one person who sacrifices alone?"
"The first is what they say, the second is what they really think in their hearts."
Like "Ri," Feng Qingtian quietly watched the people from the Righteous Alliance fly one by one into the valley. After hearing "Ri’s" thoughts, he unexpectedly responded.
Just as "Little Black" entered the valley, "Ri" and Feng Qingtian stood outside the cave, quietly watching the actions of the two small teams from the Righteous Alliance, but, like "Little Black," the people from the Righteous Alliance did not see these two figures at all.
The situation became more and more strange.
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Once Xu Qingfan flew into the valley, he felt the barely noticeable sinister energy become more and more obvious.
After a slight hesitation, Xu Qingfan called the people from Jiuhua to his side and quietly reminded them, "You must be very careful."
The Jiuhua group all nodded in agreement, but they did not realize that Xu Qingfan was not warning them about the "Beast Madness cultivators."
Xu Qingfan saw that the Jiuhua group did not understand his meaning at all, so he shook his head slightly and said, "Do not just pay attention to the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’; hidden enemies are even more frightening."
"Martial Uncle Xu, what have you discovered?" Li Yuhan asked, puzzled, as he sensed that Xu Qingfan was implying something else.
Xu Qingfan shook his head gently and slowly said, "I hope it is just my imagination, but it seems that an old friend is nearby."
While speaking, Xu Qingfan may not have even realized that, despite his cautious hesitation, there was a flicker of unspoken hope in his eyes.
However, when the others asked Xu Qingfan who this old friend was, he fell silent.
Sensing that Feng Qingtian was nearby, Xu Qingfan was unsure and felt that mentioning it would disturb everyone’s morale. More importantly, this mission was mainly against the "Beast Madness cultivators." If he said Feng Qingtian’s name, though the others might not understand, Xu Qingfan knew that Jin Qinghan would definitely go crazy all over the valley.
In this situation, it was enough to give a few hints to keep everyone alert.
"Venerable Diyang, it is time for us to act."
Not far away, Master Bo Guangyan called out to Xu Qingfan.
Xu Qingfan nodded slightly and, along with Jin Qinghan, walked toward the hidden cave.
The plan they had discussed was to have Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, Master Bo Guangyan, and another high-level monk from the "Mercy Cloud Temple" enter the cave to draw out the Beast Madness cultivator, while the others prepared to seal the barrier, set up ambushes, and provide support.
As Xu Qingfan and the other three entered the deep cave, the others showed relaxed expressions, as waiting outside was much safer and easier than the task of Xu Qingfan and the others.
The troublemakers in Xu Qingfan’s team chuckled quietly.
But both the crowd and Xu Qingfan and Bo Guangyan overlooked two points.
First, they had no idea how many Beast Madness cultivators were in the valley; three to four hundred was just what Xu Qingfan had seen.
Second, with four hundred Beast Madness cultivators—of which fewer than forty had reached the Condensed Core Stage—their strength was not enough to wipe out a small team of the Righteous Alliance.
Just as Xu Qingfan and the other three entered the deep cave, no one in the valley noticed that the bloody soil under their feet began to shift slowly.
Suddenly, a dirty, blood-stained hand shot up from the ground and grabbed a mischievous member of Xu Qingfan’s team who was joking with others.
Amid the cold glances of "Ri" and Feng Qingtian by the cave, a scream suddenly broke the silence.
As more hands and "Beast Madness cultivators" emerged from beneath the earth, the shouts and screams of the cultivators in the valley grew louder and more horrifying.
Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan and the others who entered the cave were completely unaware of all this.
