amaotonovel Chapter 20 Danger Surrounded
Chapter 20 Danger Surrounded
"We were stunned by the power of the magic weapon," Li Yan said, her voice tinged with lingering fear. "Luckily, we were far enough away, otherwise..."
A chill ran through me as I recalled the devastating power we had witnessed earlier. Li Yan and I had gone to great lengths to find the magical artifact; were we going to fail at this point?
I struggled to my feet and looked around, only to find that we were no longer in the stone chamber. It seemed to be a valley, surrounded by towering peaks shrouded in mist, obscuring their features.
"Where is this?" A sense of unease rose in my heart. An eerie atmosphere permeated the valley, sending chills down my spine.
“I don’t know either,” Li Yan said, her brow furrowed. “It seems we were teleported to another place.”
"Teleportation?" I was startled. Could it be that magical artifact that brought us here?
I suppressed my discomfort and carefully observed my surroundings, hoping to find some clues. However, apart from swirling mist and bare rocks, there was nothing there. Occasionally, strange bird calls came from the depths of the fog, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
"What do we do now?" Li Yan's voice trembled slightly; clearly, she also felt uneasy.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. At this point, panicking wouldn't help. I gripped my sword tightly and said in a low voice, "Let's figure out how to get out of here first."
We cautiously made our way deeper into the valley. The thick fog seemed alive, swirling and rolling around us, obscuring our vision. Every step felt incredibly difficult, as if something was watching us from the shadows, sending chills down my spine.
"rustle……"
A faint sound came from ahead. I immediately stopped and signaled Li Yan to stay alert. We held our breath and listened carefully. The sound was getting closer and closer, like the sound of some kind of creature crawling.
"careful!"
I grabbed Li Yan and pulled her behind me, simultaneously drawing my longsword and warily watching the direction from which the sound came. From the thick fog, a huge black shadow slowly emerged—a gigantic spider covered in black hair, its eight eyes gleaming with an eerie green light.
Before I could react, the spider suddenly opened its gaping maw and lunged at me. I quickly swung my sword to defend myself, and with a clang, the spider's claws were blocked by my sword.
Before I could even catch my breath, Li Yan suddenly screamed behind me. I turned around and saw a pack of giant gray wolves that had appeared behind us at some point, staring at us menacingly.
"Looks like we're surrounded." I gave a bitter smile, but a fighting spirit ignited within me. Since there's no way out, let's fight to the death!
I brandished my longsword, forcing the giant spider back, then pulled Li Yan along, back to back, warily watching the enemies around us.
"These creatures seem to be afraid of something..." Li Yan suddenly whispered, her eyes fixed on the giant wolves. "Look at their reaction..."
I followed her gaze and saw that although the giant wolves were fierce, they did not attack immediately. Instead, they paced around anxiously, as if they were wary of something.
At that moment, I felt the ground tremble slightly, and an even more powerful aura emanated from the depths of the valley…
My expression changed, and I whispered to Li Yan, "Something's wrong, we..." Before I could finish my sentence, a deafening roar was heard, and the ground trembled violently, as if some enormous creature was approaching.
The giant wolves, which had been eyeing the area menacingly, were terrified by the roar and fled in all directions with their tails between their legs, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. Even the giant spider seemed to sense something terrifying; its eight eyes filled with fear as it retreated in panic.
"Let's go!" I made a quick decision, grabbed Li Yan, and ran towards the other side of the valley.
We ran as fast as we could, but the powerful aura behind us was like a shadow, as if an invisible behemoth was approaching, and the sense of oppression grew stronger and stronger.
"No, we'll be caught up if this continues!" Li Yan said breathlessly, her face pale.
I looked around and spotted a dense grove of trees not far away, where I could perhaps hide for a while. With that thought, I grabbed Li Yan and plunged into the woods.
The woods were dimly lit, with vines intertwined, and we struggled through them. The oppressive feeling behind us lessened slightly, but the unsettling atmosphere still lingered.
"Roar!"
A roar came from behind us, followed by a huge fireball that roared overhead, blasting the trees in front of us into pieces.
"It's Black Wind!" Li Yan exclaimed, her voice filled with fear.
My heart sank. It seemed Black Wind had also tracked us into the valley. He could actually control these terrifying creatures; it looked like we were in real trouble this time.
Without thinking twice, I grabbed Li Yan and ran forward as fast as I could, dodging the ferocious beasts controlled by the black wind and the attacks that came from time to time.
"Xiao Yao, we can't keep running away! Continuing like this will only waste our energy!" Li Yan said, panting heavily. "We have to find a way to get rid of him!"
I know this principle all too well, but Black Wind's strength is unfathomable, and we are no match for him at all.
Just as I was racking my brains for a solution, Li Yan suddenly exclaimed, "Look, what's that?!"
I followed her gaze and saw an ancient stone temple ahead, half-hidden in the dense forest, appearing mysterious and solemn. At the entrance of the stone temple, there was a barrier emitting a faint light, seemingly some kind of powerful barrier.
"Perhaps, we can go there and take a look!" A glimmer of hope flashed in my eyes, and I pulled Li Yan along as we ran towards the stone hall.
Black Wind seemed to have discovered our intentions as well, and it controlled more ferocious beasts to attack us, trying to prevent us from getting close to the stone palace.
We fought and retreated, relying on our tacit cooperation and agile movements to turn danger into safety time and time again.
Finally, we arrived at the entrance to the stone palace. The barrier in front of us emitted a soft light, keeping the black wind and those ferocious beasts out.
"We're safe..." Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of joy on her face.
However, I didn't relax at all; my intuition told me that things weren't that simple. I cautiously looked around, sensing that something was amiss.
Suddenly, I felt a powerful force emanating from the depths of the stone hall. That force was ancient and mysterious, as if it came from the primordial era, making my heart tremble.
I suddenly looked up into the depths of the stone hall, and a voice rang in my ears: "Welcome to the Trial Grounds..."
The voice was ethereal and distant, seemingly from ancient times, echoing in the empty stone hall, carrying an inexplicable pressure. My heart skipped a beat. Could there be some secret hidden within this stone hall?
Li Yan also heard the voice. Her expression turned serious as she asked in a low voice, "Xiao Yao, what... what's going on with that voice?"
I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know either. Then, the voice sounded again: "To receive my inheritance, you must pass my test..."
Inheritance? Trial? A thought struck me. Could it be that this stone hall hides some powerful inheritance? And to obtain it, one must pass a trial?
"The test is simple: defeat my guardians, and you will receive my inheritance," the voice continued.
As soon as the words were spoken, a blinding light suddenly shone from the depths of the stone hall, and a gigantic figure slowly emerged from the light. It was a giant made of rock and vines, standing three zhang tall, wielding a thick tree trunk, and exuding a powerful aura.
"Is this the Guardian?" I was startled. The Guardian's strength was probably no less than that of Black Wind.
"Roar!" The guardian roared, brandishing the tree trunk in its hand, and charged towards us.
"Watch out!" I pulled Li Yan aside and dodged the guardian's attack.
"What should we do?" Li Yan asked, her voice tinged with panic.
While dodging the guardian's attacks, I observed my surroundings, trying to find a way to break free. Suddenly, I realized that although the guardian's attacks were powerful, its movements were somewhat slow, and it seemed to be confined to the area of the stone hall, unable to move even a step further.
Could it be...? A thought suddenly occurred to me, and a bold idea arose spontaneously.
"Li Yan, let's lure the guardian into the valley!" I shouted to Li Yan.
Li Yan was taken aback at first, but then she understood what I meant. She nodded and said, "Okay, I'll distract it, and you find a chance to lure it away!"
After saying that, Li Yan brandished her longsword and charged at the guardian.
I took the opportunity to circle around behind the guardian, looking for an opening. The guardian was preoccupied with Li Yan and didn't notice my intentions. I took a deep breath, gathered all my spiritual power, and struck the stone wall behind the guardian with my palm.
"Boom!"
With a loud crash, a crack appeared in the stone wall, and rubble tumbled down, dust billowing everywhere. The guardian, startled by this sudden turn of events, turned around and roared at me.
I was overjoyed; the plan had succeeded! I immediately turned and ran towards the valley. As expected, the guardian was enraged and took long strides, chasing after me.
As I ran, I used the valley's terrain to my advantage, setting traps to hinder the guardians' pursuit. Li Yan followed closely behind, coordinating with my actions to attack the guardians.
And so, we fought and retreated, finally luring the Guardian into the trap we had set.
"Now's the time, do it!" I shouted to Li Yan.
We launched our attack simultaneously, unleashing all the attacks we had prepared beforehand.
"boom!"
With a loud bang, the trap was triggered, and countless rocks and vines poured down from both sides of the valley, engulfing the guardian.
The guardian let out a roar of resentment, but it was quickly buried by falling rocks and vines, and never made a sound again.
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Li Yan, only to find that her face was somewhat pale and there was still a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Are you hurt?" I rushed forward, helped Li Yan up, and asked with concern.
Li Yan shook her head and said, "I'm fine, it's just..."
Before she could finish speaking, a powerful aura suddenly emanated from the depths of the valley, and a chilling voice echoed through it: "You think you can defeat me like this? How naive!"
Black Wind… My heart skipped a beat, and I abruptly turned my head to look in the direction from which the sound came. I saw Black Wind's figure slowly emerge from the darkness, a ferocious smile on his face, and a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes…
Black Wind appeared like a ghost, his cold gaze sweeping over Li Yan and me, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his lips. "You think you can get rid of me like this? Wishful thinking!"
I gripped my sword tightly, watching him warily. Li Yan, also enduring her injuries, stood beside me. "Black Wind, you've committed countless evil deeds; you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!"
"Retribution? Hahaha!" Black Wind laughed arrogantly. "You two greenhorn brats? Today I'll show you what true power is!"
With that, he quickly formed hand seals, and a powerful pressure instantly enveloped the entire valley. I felt my breath catch in my throat, as if a mountain was pressing down on my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.
"Watch out!" Li Yan exclaimed, pulling me back.
Black Wind sneered, and with a flash, he transformed into a black shadow and attacked us. His speed was astonishing; I could barely see his movements and could only dodge on instinct.
Black Wind's attack missed its mark, crashing heavily against the mountainside behind us, sending rocks flying and dust billowing everywhere. I was startled; Black Wind's cultivation was unfathomable, and we were no match for him!
"What should we do? If this continues, he will kill us!" Li Yan's voice was filled with fear.
I gritted my teeth. The only way now was to use the terrain to my advantage, stall for time, and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Thinking of this, I immediately said to Li Yan, "Let's split up and lure him into the trap!"
Li Yan nodded without hesitation and turned to run in another direction.
When Black Wind saw us split up, a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes. He snorted coldly and chased after Li Yan.
Seeing this, I breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly led the black wind towards the trap deep in the valley, following the route I had planned.
Black Wind was indeed fooled. He was blinded by rage and didn't notice the change in his footing. He plunged headlong into the trap we had carefully set.
"Now!" I shouted, activating the trap's mechanism.
Instantly, countless rocks, logs, and arrows rained down from all directions, engulfing the black wind.
"Ah!" Black Wind let out a miserable cry, clearly having been severely injured by our trap.
I was overjoyed; it seemed our plan had succeeded!
However, my joy didn't last long, and soon I realized something was wrong.
The falling rocks, rolling logs, and sharp arrows all turned to dust the moment they touched Black Wind's body, posing no threat to him whatsoever!
"This...how is this possible?" I stared at the scene before me in disbelief, my heart filled with shock and fear.
Black Wind pushed aside the rubble in front of him and slowly walked out of the trap. He was completely unharmed, and even his clothes were not torn in the slightest!
"You think you can hurt me with such petty tricks?" Black Wind looked at me coldly, his eyes filled with disdain and mockery. "You're really overestimating yourself!"
My heart sank; I knew today was likely my doom. Just then, Li Yan suddenly appeared beside me. She pointed to a cave entrance deep in the valley and said urgently, "Xiao Yao, quick, let's go that way!"
I looked in the direction Li Yan was pointing and found that the hole was very well hidden; it would be difficult to spot without careful observation.
"Want to leave? Not so easy!" Black Wind flashed and blocked our way.
"Get out of my way!" Li Yan shouted angrily, swinging her sword to attack Hei Feng.
Hei Feng neither dodged nor avoided, letting Li Yan's attacks land on him without suffering any harm.
"Overestimating yourself!" Black Wind sneered and sent Li Yan flying with a backhand palm strike.
"Li Yan!" I exclaimed and rushed over to help Li Yan up.
Li Yan's face was pale, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, clearly indicating that she had suffered a serious injury.
"Go quickly... don't worry about me..." Li Yan said weakly.
I gritted my teeth, knowing that now was not the time to hesitate. I picked up Li Yan, turned around, and ran towards the cave entrance.
"Trying to leave? Dream on!" Black Wind caught up again.
Just as the black wind was about to catch up with us, suddenly, a powerful force surged out from the depths of the cave, forming an invisible barrier that kept the black wind out.
The black wind crashed into the barrier, letting out a muffled groan, and staggered back several steps.
"What is this thing?" Black Wind looked at the barrier in front of him in surprise, his eyes filled with apprehension.
A thought struck me: Could this be the exit Li Yan was talking about?
I carried Li Yan and ran quickly to the cave entrance. I reached out and touched the barrier, but a powerful force instantly bounced me back.
"What a powerful seal!" I was shocked. The power of this seal far exceeded my imagination. With my current strength, I simply couldn't break through it!
"Damn it!" Black Wind roared repeatedly from outside, but he couldn't break through the barrier.
I turned to look at Li Yan. Her face was as pale as paper, and her breath was weak. She was clearly on her last legs.
"Li Yan, how are you?" I asked anxiously.
"I...I'm fine..." Li Yan shook her head weakly, "Please...please think of something..."
I gritted my teeth, looked around, and found that apart from this seal, there was nothing else here.