Chapter 105: Can You Not Lean So Close?

“You were pulling me, I didn’t have time…”

She had thought she would be well-protected by the man, but she hadn’t expected to end up completely drenched.

Lu Jin didn’t notice her muttering. He looked at the water of the underground river rushing into the depths and asked, “Are you sure the treasure is down there?”

He extended his spiritual force to investigate. The space below was very cramped, and he didn’t sense the presence of any treasure.

“I’m sure!”

Yan Mo was full of confidence. “My map isn’t some ordinary map; commoners could never get their hands on it! Senior Brother Lu, let’s go. This time, I’ll lead the way!”

After Yan Mo finished speaking, she grabbed Lu Jin and leaped into the turbulent current once again.

The flow was extremely rapid, even dropping straight down in some places as it led into the depths of the earth.

Being dragged along like this, Lu Jin didn’t even have time to manifest his protective barrier before he was soaked to the bone.

Amidst the wildly rushing water, he silently gnashed his teeth.

This Shimei is definitely doing this on purpose to get back at me!

They were both completely wet. But before he could finish his internal complaints, the rapidly descending water swept them into an increasingly narrow crevice.

The water could pass through, but a human body could not.

Even with Yan Mo’s petite and exquisite figure, getting through was difficult. What was worse, as the two of them fell together, they ended up wedged tightly against each other!

For a moment, they were pressed face-to-face. Completely drenched and stuck between two massive boulders, they could neither go up nor down. Beside them, the water roared, but the storm inside their hearts was even louder.

“Senior Brother Lu, can you… can you not lean so close…”

In the dim space, Yan Mo’s face turned red all the way to the tips of her ears.

“Fine…”

Lu Jin was also helpless. He reached out to push himself away, but his hand pressed against the… softness of Yan Mo’s chest. Yan Mo couldn’t help but let out a sharp scream, and Lu Jin retracted his hand as if he had been electrocuted.

“Senior Brother Lu Jin!”

Yan Mo was both anxious and ashamed. She struggled for a moment, but it only made them press closer together, leaving absolutely no gap between them.

“What kind of broken place is this! This cursed terrain!”

Yan Mo couldn’t take it anymore. Her embarrassment made her squeal and shout, her delicate body trembling slightly as she flailed her arms.

“Stop struggling, the more you struggle, the tighter it gets!” Lu Jin said helplessly, feeling their bodies tightly entwined.

“Ying ying ying…”

Yan Mo was almost on the verge of crying from panic, making frantic little sounds.

“Don’t panic, calm your emotions first, I’ll think of a way.”

Lu Jin took a deep breath, but that very breath made them press even tighter.

“What way could you possibly have!”

Yan Mo didn’t even dare to look at him. This position was far too embarrassing; she wished she could crawl into a hole in the ground.

Buzz!

Lu Jin didn’t say anything more. The dragon patterns within his body surged out, slowly crawling onto Yan Mo’s body.

Using his protective defense to shatter the surrounding stone walls was naturally an easy task.

Boom!

In the next second, a roar echoed. Spiritual Energy erupted from Lu Jin’s palm, instantly blasting the surrounding stone walls apart. Their bodies immediately began to fall.

However, the distance to the bottom wasn’t great. They tumbled to the ground together. Lu Jin twisted his body mid-air, pulling her into his arms and using his own back as a cushion.

Yan Mo slammed into him firmly, and her mouth couldn’t help but press hard against his.

In that instant, the surrounding roar seemed to stop. There was only the thumping of their hearts, striking like chaotic bolts of thunder.

“Senior Brother Lu, are you alright?” Yan Mo asked with a red face, her voice full of concern.

“I’m fine, get up.”

Lu Jin’s gaze was fixed upward. Appearing in his line of sight was a shimmering veil of colorful light. Within that light was an object that looked like an ancient bronze vessel.

“Is that the treasure you’re looking for?” Lu Jin asked.

Hearing this, Yan Mo turned her head. “Yes!”

“Heavens, we finally found it!”

Yan Mo became excited, for a moment even forgetting to scout the surroundings.

“Don’t get so excited, observe first.”

Lu Jin scrambled up from the ground and clamped his hand over Yan Mo’s mouth.

“Mmph…”

Yan Mo wanted to speak, but no sound could come out.

Right at that moment, a swarm of dark shadows flew out from the colorful light. Like a colony of bats, the sound of their wings vibrating echoed throughout the entire space.

The space here was vast, and that bronze vessel was positioned right in the center, actually floating in mid-air!

“Don’t make a sound,” Lu Jin whispered, falling silent immediately after.

Once only the roar of the water remained, the swarm of bats actually vanished. They disappeared into thin air within that light as if they had never existed.

“This is an array illusion!” Yan Mo suddenly said. However, she failed to control her volume, and the bats appeared once more. She quickly covered her own mouth.

“The material of that bronze cauldron is quite good. It can be devoured to replenish some energy for the Heaven Burial Coffin.”

Just then, Empress Qinglian’s voice rang out, sounding ethereal and unreal.

Hmm? That works too? Lu Jin wondered.

Empress Qinglian replied, “The Heaven Burial Coffin also needs energy, otherwise you won’t be able to open the next sub-space.”

Lu Jin frowned again but immediately nodded.

Fine!

He looked at the floating bronze cauldron again, then turned to see Yan Mo’s look of pleasant surprise.

He couldn’t just devour it directly. This girl had invited him here to find treasure; he couldn’t do something so heartless.

“I finally found this treasure. It’s said there are many good things inside this bronze cauldron. Senior Brother Lu, I’ll go bring it down!”

As Yan Mo spoke, she leaped toward the bronze cauldron.

The moment she flew out, the shadows of the giant bats appeared again, whistling toward her!

A surge of killing intent instantly filled the entire space!

“Watch out!”

Before Lu Jin’s words could even land, Yan Mo was sent flying backward, repelled by the power of the array.

Before she could stabilize herself, those bats continued their attack, their fanged maws opening wide as if they intended to swallow her whole!

“Begone!”

Lu Jin’s eyes darkened. A blast of Spiritual Energy shot out instantly. The giant bats exploded, but this only caused an even greater disturbance!

Clang! Clang!

The sound of heavy chains echoed. As the space vibrated, nine chains suddenly appeared around the bronze cauldron!

The chains were massive and heavy, with one end connected to the cauldron and the other buried deep within the surrounding stone walls.

“It’s a perfectly good bronze cauldron. Why is it locked up?” Yan Mo frowned, a feather fan flying from her hand to block the assault of the bat swarm.

“There’s something inside. The aura is very powerful. I’m afraid our cultivation levels won’t be enough to suppress it,” Lu Jin suddenly said.

Hearing this, Yan Mo smiled instead.

“Senior Brother Lu Jin, to tell you the truth, there is a demonic creature sealed within this bronze cauldron. Its combat strength is roughly at the 2nd Transformation of the Purple Mansion Realm!”

Yan Mo spoke suddenly, causing Lu Jin to frown. “You knew all along?”

Yan Mo waved her hands repeatedly. “No, I didn’t know. I mean, I only just found out… a few days ago…”

Lu Jin knit his brows and said nothing.

However, he could still handle a combat strength of the 2nd Transformation Purple Mansion Realm.

It was just that this girl, Yan Mo, was truly bold. After only seeing a fraction of his methods, she dared to bring him here. Her adventurous spirit was no small thing.

Seeing that Lu Jin didn’t speak, Yan Mo immediately leaned in. “Senior Brother Lu Jin, you can deal with it, right? You definitely can!”

***

Footnotes:

TN1: Ying ying ying (嘤嘤嘤): A common internet slang/onomatopoeia in Chinese representing a cute or feigned whimpering/crying sound.

TN2: 2nd Transformation (二变): Refers to the specific sub-stages within the Purple Mansion Realm.