Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 43 The Pit Digged by Predecessors

Chapter 43 The Pit Digged by Predecessors
Yes, when the thick fog suddenly turned on its lights—

Lin Xiufeng and Zhao Youyue all felt the Heavenly Martial Power within their bodies continuously flowing outwards.

No matter how they try to manipulate it with their minds, they cannot stop it.

That irresistible force of attraction was clearly generated by the dense fog.

Liu Qingqing asked in a panic:
"What do we do, Commander? What do we do, Deputy Commander? What do we do, Ma Jin!"

Lin Xiufeng pointed in the direction from which the crown was speaking and said:
"Which way to go!"

The group followed, but the Heavenly Martial Power within their bodies continued to drain away.

The figures encountered in the thick fog, their panicked faces, were illuminated by the colorful fog, displaying a myriad of hues.

People in the misty forest mountains were running around in a panic, with countless people instinctively heading back to the entrance they had come from.

The crowded and chaotic crowd jostled, bumped, and even trampled each other.

Panic and cries filled the air and spread.

Lin Xiufeng and his group continued northward.

After descending the hillside, the number of people I encountered decreased, and those I did meet were all heading in roughly the same direction.

"You want to run to the edge?"

Zhao Youyue reasonably deduced that this was the fastest way to escape the Wulin Mountain range.

"It would be best to keep up with the Crown. I don't believe that guy who says he doesn't know anything; those people who came last year who also say they don't know anything are also suspicious!"

Lin Xiufeng noticed that as he ran in this direction, the rate at which his Heavenly Martial Power was being lost was gradually slowing down.

Suddenly, people fighting appeared in the thick fog ahead.

A group of people surrounded the lone traveler, shouting:

"Kill him quickly! Every day's worth of strength he provides is precious!"

Clearly, he didn't have much Heavenly Martial Power left in his body, so in order to prolong his time in the thick fog, he had no choice but to attack people.

Lin Xiufeng and his group bypassed this group and continued north.

After running for a while, he saw someone ahead, so he followed behind without rushing to overtake them.

Ren Xing urged anxiously:
"Why are you suddenly running so slowly?"

Lin Xiufeng didn't answer and continued running after the people in front of him.

A few moments later, the person running ahead suddenly sank down!
Lin Xiufeng quickly stopped.

Immediately afterwards, we heard screams of terror from the person in front, as well as from the left and right sides in front!
Lin Xiufeng proceeded cautiously, and suddenly the bamboo forest in the thick fog came to an abrupt end.

Behind that was a steep cliff edge.

Zhao Youyue followed and looked down, saying with lingering fear:
"so close……"

Yeah, that was close.

But it wasn't because of luck.

Lin Xiufeng didn't know how far the edge was, so he followed the people in front of him and avoided disaster.

However, this place continues to lose Heavenly Martial Power.

"What do we do now? We have nowhere to run!"

Liu Qingqing was very anxious. A quarter of the Heavenly Martial Power in her body had been lost in such a short time, which was one-twentieth of the total amount!
"Calm down, the rate of loss is much slower now than before."

Fang Yuan had been keeping an eye on it.

"I'll try going down the cliff!"

As soon as Ren Xing finished speaking, he drew his sword and cut off a bamboo stalk. He grabbed one end and had Fang Yuan grab the other, and they walked down the cliff face.

Ma Jin and Liu Qingqing spontaneously stepped forward to help pull him back.

A moment later, Ren Xing was heard shouting:

"It seems a bit weak. There's a place to stand. I'll go down and take another look."

Without waiting for a reply, she released her grip on the bamboo.

In the short time that followed, Zhao Youyue had already taken out the rope and thrown it down.

"Watch out for the rope."

"I saw it!" Ren Xing replied.

A moment later, the rope tightened, and Ren Xing was pulled up.

"There's room down there; it's safe to hide inside!"

Everyone was overjoyed.

Zhao Youyue took out a combination of tools, made several ground spikes, wrapped rope around them, and drove them into the ground.

The rope end was still close to the ground, wrapped around and tied to the roots of three bamboo stalks for safety.

Lin Xiufeng pressed his hand to his pocket, sensing that the small light bead inside was pointing west. He had originally wanted to catch up with the crown, but now he had changed his mind. In the short time that followed, he heard the screams of more than a dozen people who had fallen off cliffs.

Not far from them, in the mist, there were sounds of fighting. Judging from the conversation, it was a case of many attacking few, all in an effort to quickly replenish their Heavenly Martial Power, lest they be drained dry by the thick fog.

Ren Xingxian went downstairs.

Fang Yuan said, "The regimental commander and deputy regimental commander should go down first; you're both tall."

"I'm not fat! I'm last!"

Zhao Youyue was determined to cover the rear, since there was no reason for the commander and deputy commander to both hide for safety first.

Lin Xiufeng didn't waste any time and pulled himself down with the rope.

The cliffs are truly steep; one section is as if cut by a knife.

But after descending a bit, you can see a protruding foothold.

Lin Xiufeng guessed that Ren Xing had just jumped there.

After descending another section, Ren Xing was heard shouting:
"Jump down quickly!"

Lin Xiufeng looked down and saw Ren Xing waving at him from a protruding rock.

That place looked very small; it would be difficult for just two or three people to stand there.

Lin Xiufeng pulled the rope down a little further before he saw a hole inside!
Lin Xiufeng loosened his grip on the rope and jumped onto the protruding rock outside the cave entrance.

"You smashed it?"

"No." Ren Xing replied without turning his head, continuing to provide support at the cave entrance.

Lin Xiufeng looked around the cave and estimated that it could accommodate about twenty or thirty people.

The cave doesn't seem to be naturally formed, because it's inside a huge rock.

Lin Xiufeng observed the cracks on the stone, thought for a moment, and then punched it.

Rocks flew everywhere, and a fist-sized hole appeared in the rock wall.

"What are you doing?"

The entire Youlin Feiyue group descended down the rope.

Zhao Youyue was the last to come down and saw Lin Xiufeng punching the stone wall.

Lin Xiufeng examined the cave and speculated:
"This place is very likely man-made."

"Man-made? You mean..." Zhao Youyue understood and continued:
"Did the people in the Misty Forest Mountains last year use this method to avoid the dense fog and absorb Heavenly Martial Power?"

"Yes. Hopefully, this group didn't come this year. Otherwise, they might not be friendly."

Lin Xiufeng guessed that Wang Guan was probably hiding in a place like this as well.

But why did everyone who came last year unanimously keep quiet and not reveal anything?
Unless, of course, concealing the truth would bring them significant benefits.

If it were simply about causing misfortune to others, it's impossible for someone not to say anything at all!

There must be good people among them!
Ren Xing stood at the cave entrance and said dismissively:

"Kick them down one by one! What's there to be afraid of? Even if the rope is gone, it's okay, you can get back up after nine jumps."

Zhao Youyue felt ashamed; when it came to decisiveness in taking ruthless measures, Ren Xing was truly in a class of his own.

But she soon realized that she had drawn the conclusion too early.

Fang Yuan suggested, "Tell the first person who comes down that we're only accepting three, and he'll decide who the other two are. The rest can be tricked into coming down and then kicked off. If anyone who falls off the cliff screams, we'll kick them out."

"Fang Yuan, you..."

Lin Xiufeng looked at him, paused, and then continued:

"...If you have many good ideas, then you'll generate even more good ideas!"

"I'm worried that people will misunderstand me, so I don't dare to say more."

Fang Yuan seems to care quite a bit about what the team thinks.

Zhao Youyue admitted that she did indeed have opinions about Fang Yuan.

"Being cruel to the enemy is being kind to your own people! What's wrong with that?"

Lin Xiufeng gave a positive and affirmative response.

Encouraged, Fang Yuan immediately said:

"Since the commander says so, I will speak my mind from now on."

Ma Jin and Liu Qingqing subconsciously moved further away from Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan, who was originally known for being quiet, honest, and reliable, suddenly became ruthless, heartless, and scheming.