Douluo: Martial Soul White Tiger, I am the White Emperor of Heaven

Zhang Wan bit her lip and didn't say anything more.

"Alright, let's rest for ten minutes and then continue on our way." Qian Renxue put away the map, sat down on a rock, closed her eyes, and began to regulate her breathing.

Su Chen walked to Chen Hao's side and said in a low voice, "Stay close to me then and don't overexert yourself. Although your solar will is the nemesis of those void forces, you have only just awakened and your soul power is limited, so you can't use it for a long time."

"I know," Chen Hao nodded. "I won't act impulsively this time."

"That would be best." Su Chen patted his shoulder, then walked to Lin Xue's side. "Lin Xue, your mission is very important. After entering the base, you need to use your martial spirit to sense the surrounding aura and help us avoid the patrolling guards. If you detect anyone approaching, give them a warning in advance."

"Understood." Lin Xue's answer was concise, but her eyes were serious.

"Li Yang, you have the strongest defense, so you'll be responsible for protecting Zhang Wan. She needs time to set up the sealing formation, and we can't let anyone disturb her."

"Leave it to me." Li Yang grinned and patted his muscular chest.

"Zhang Wan, is your magic array ready?"

Zhang Wan took out a palm-sized jade plate from her bosom, which was covered with densely packed runes: "Ready. This is a self-destruct array. Once it is installed in the core of the base and activated, it will generate a violent energy explosion that will destroy the entire second basement level. But it will take ten minutes to set up and activate. During these ten minutes, I cannot be disturbed in any way."

"Ten minutes." Su Chen nodded. "We'll try to get you those ten minutes."

The ten-minute break passed quickly, and the six-person team set off again. This time, they quickened their pace because the road ahead was becoming increasingly difficult. The dense forest made visibility very poor, and the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground was soft and slippery, making it easy to slip and fall if one was not careful.

After entering the outer edge of the forest, they began to encounter spirit beasts. However, these were all low-level spirit beasts with a lifespan of ten or a hundred years. Sensing the pressure of the Title Douluo, they scattered and fled, not daring to approach.

The next day, they entered the central part of the forest, where the level of the spirit beasts had significantly increased, and thousand-year-old spirit beasts began to appear. A thousand-year-old wind wolf, oblivious to its fate, charged forward and was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture by Qian Renxue with a casual wave of her hand, without even having time to let out a scream.

"Hurry up, the smell of blood will attract more soul beasts," Qian Renxue said.

The group quickened their pace, traversing the dense forest. The deeper they went, the taller the trees became, blocking out the sun and filling the air with a musty smell of decay.

By evening of the second day, they had finally reached the location marked on the map. It was a small valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides and open on one side, with a stream flowing through it and forming a waterfall more than ten meters high at the end. Below the waterfall was a clear pool, with a few fallen leaves floating on the surface, looking peaceful and serene.

“The base entrance is right behind the waterfall.” Qian Renxue pointed to the waterfall with her chin. “We can’t approach it rashly right now. Let’s observe the surrounding situation first.”

Su Chen sent Lin Xue to scout. Lin Xue activated her soul power, her figure gradually becoming transparent, and finally disappearing completely into the air. Her Shadow Cat Martial Soul allowed her to blend into her environment, making it difficult even for a Title Douluo to detect her presence.

About twenty minutes later, Lin Xue reappeared before everyone, her face somewhat pale: "I went around to the back of the waterfall and saw that there is indeed a cave entrance, with signs of human intervention. There are two guards at the entrance, both at the Soul Saint level. But..."

"But what?" "But there's another person above the waterfall. That person is sitting on a rock at the top of the waterfall, not moving at all. I almost didn't notice him. His aura is very strong. I didn't dare to get too close, but I felt... he was at least at the Title Douluo level."

Qian Renxue narrowed her eyes: "It seems the intelligence was wrong. There aren't just three Title Douluos guarding the entrance, but four. There's an extra person guarding above the entrance, probably specifically to guard against a surprise attack from above the waterfall."

"Then what should we do?" Li Yang asked.

"Proceed as planned," Qian Renxue said. "I will take care of the four Title Douluos. You will take advantage of the chaos to sneak underground. However, the time must be shortened. I can only hold them off for a maximum of ten minutes. After ten minutes, regardless of whether you have completed your mission, you must evacuate."

"Ten minutes." Su Chen took a deep breath. "That's enough."

As darkness fell, the light in the valley grew even dimmer. Qian Renxue chose to launch a surprise attack at nightfall, as the cover of darkness would be advantageous to them.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the ridgeline, Qian Renxue moved. Her figure transformed into a streak of white light, shooting straight above the waterfall. Almost simultaneously, four powerful surges of soul energy erupted from different directions, the violent collisions echoing through the valley, causing leaves to rustle and fall.

"Now!" Su Chen shouted, leading Chen Hao, Lin Xue, Li Yang, and Zhang Wan towards the waterfall.

The waterfall's current was rapid, and the water stung and burned against their skin, but the five gritted their teeth and pressed on. Sure enough, they found a half-person-high cave entrance behind the waterfall. The two Soul Saint guards at the cave entrance were already intimidated by Qian Renxue's aura and were looking in terror at the battlefield above the waterfall, completely unaware that someone had infiltrated below.

Five people filed into the cave entrance, which led to a man-made passageway. The walls were inlaid with luminous crystals that illuminated the path ahead. The passageway sloped downwards, and after walking about fifty meters, an iron gate appeared ahead.

"Lin Xue," Su Chen said.

Lin Xue immediately understood. She leaned close to the iron gate, listened intently for a while, and then gently touched the crack in the door to sense the airflow behind it: "There is a corridor behind the door. There is no one there, but there is a fluctuation of soul power at the end of the corridor. It should be a patrolling guard."

"Wait for them to get there," Su Chen said.

The five people pressed themselves against the wall, holding their breath. After about two minutes, Lin Xue nodded: "It's over, let's go."

They pushed open the iron gate and entered the corridor. The corridor was long, with enclosed stone chambers on both sides. The doors of the chambers were made of thick iron plates, with large bolts welded on them. Su Chen peeked through the cracks in the doors a few times. There were people in each stone chamber, or rather, people who had lived there in the past.

The bodies of those people had been altered beyond recognition. Some had grown extra arms, some had huge lumps of flesh on their backs, and some had skin that had turned into a translucent gelatinous substance, through which black liquid could be seen flowing. They huddled in the corner of the stone chamber, their eyes vacant, motionless like broken rag dolls.

Zhang Wan's hands were trembling. She covered her mouth, forcing herself not to make a sound. Li Yang's face was also very pale. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Let's go." Su Chen's voice was soft, but firm. "We can't save them. At least not now." (End of Chapter)