Nine Nether Cave (4)

Time seemed to stand still inside the cave. The strong winds made progress slow, but Yue Qianchou knew several days had passed. He'd gone back three times to replenish his Azure Fire element just to advance through this passage. The constant pounding of wind blades against his shield had taken its toll on his hands, forcing him to return to Utopia several times to rest. Several times, seeing no end in sight, he considered giving up, but his inherently stubborn nature compelled him to grit his teeth and persevere. Perhaps this counts as "not giving up until the very end"?

Reaching this point is already a miracle. Even a fully prepared expert at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage Transcending realm wouldn't have made it this far. As Nascent Soul Realm, he should be proud. Of course, this is mainly thanks to Qing Huo and his special ability to leave and rest midway. Anyone else, once inside, would either have to go all the way or turn back; there's no chance to leave and rest halfway. If entering the Nine Nether Cave were a competition, Yue Qianchou would be the one cheating.

A main passage suddenly appeared on both sides with four small holes diagonally opposite the way it came. The eerie wind was blowing out rapidly from those eight holes, or rather, eight eyeholes of wind.

The wind was so strong that it was not only impossible to move forward, but there was also a slight tendency to blow them backward. Yue Qianchou was somewhat amused and frustrated, feeling that he really had no ability to get through these eight eye of the wind. However, it would be a pity to give up now. With the strong wind at a ninety-degree angle to the ground, Yue Qianchou used his Nether Iron Shield to peer through the holes in the shield.

Two small holes lined the sides of the main passage, from which the black Sha Qi drifted in. The eight eye-shaped gusts of wind, working in a haphazard way, somehow managed to condense the black energy into wind blades that were being blown out – a truly deadly sight. It was impossible to penetrate the eight eye-shaped gusts; going into them was tantamount to suicide. However, it was worth considering checking out the other end of the main passage.

But to get to the main passage, we have to walk between two rows of eyelashes. Judging by how fiercely the winds are swirling in those eyelashes, it looks dangerous; someone walking in the middle might get torn to pieces. And the distance from one side to the other is probably over a hundred meters! Oh dear! What should we do?!

Yue Qianchou, stubbornly holding his ground with his shield, suddenly had a flash of inspiration when his gaze fell on the ground. He thought to himself, "Since this path is impassable, why don't I dig a tunnel and crawl through?" Hmm, not bad, it seems the only option is the clumsy method.

To dig a tunnel beneath an entire block of Nether Iron—such a crazy idea could only come up with by someone with his capabilities. Just imagine, even getting a small piece of Nether Iron is difficult; who would even consider digging a tunnel, especially one that's at least a hundred meters long?

Holding up his shield, dozens of Azure Fire flying sword surged from his body, converging together and spinning as they dug into the ground. The fragments of Nether Iron they unearthed were immediately blown away by the yin wind. In no time, the Azure Fire flying sword had burrowed into the ground. Yue Qianchou moved with difficulty, the azure fire on his body surging wildly, and he "whooshed" into the ground, his shield trailing behind him in case of any unforeseen events.

Once inside the cave, he discovered that the opening was too small, only one meter square. It was cramped even for a person to squat down. So, a hundred Azure Fire flying sword were unleashed at once, and soon an opening one meter wide and two meters high was created, finally allowing him to stand up comfortably.

Piles of broken Nether Iron lay scattered in the tunnel. Yue Qianchou's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed the Azure Fire flying sword digging the hole, picking them up and tossing them directly into Utopia. After walking about ten meters, sensing that the Wind Blade couldn't possibly burrow any further underground, he put away the Nether Iron shield on his back. He then pulled out a large handful of Fluorescent Stones, ran to a spot near the tunnel entrance, and placed one every meter in a straight line—naturally, for positioning, in case he dug in the wrong direction and accidentally dug into the eye of the storm.

After traveling several dozen meters, Yue Qianchou withdrew the azure flames from his body, as the Sha Qi and yin winds couldn't penetrate this area. He turned around and arrogantly raised his middle finger at the cave entrance behind him, disdainfully saying, "You dark, murky wind blades, I despise you!" He glanced at the fluorescent stones on the ground, confirming they were still in a straight line, before confidently releasing his Divine Sense to follow the Azure Fire flying sword digging the tunnel, quickly sweeping the Nether Iron into Utopia. The tunnel was eerie, with only the hundred flying swords gleaming with an eerie azure light.

"Don't ask me where I come from, my hometown is far away, why do I wander..." Yue Qianchou sang a little song with his hands behind his back, but when he discovered that there were two hundred fluorescent stones, he stopped singing his nonsense.

The distance between each sword is about one meter, meaning that now that there are two hundred meters, they should have passed through the eight eye of the storm. Yue Qianchou's expression turned serious. He took out the Nether Iron Shield again, and his body was once again covered in azure flames. He controlled the hundred flying swords to begin digging diagonally upwards.

Sure enough, as soon as the cave entrance appeared, a large amount of thick, fog-like black energy surged in. It hissed and crackled whenever it touched the Azure Fire flying sword, and the same happened when it touched the Azure Flame on Yue Qianchou's body. Yue Qianchou, having already gone this far, decided to use the flying sword to dig a wide exit. He then summoned the flying sword to protect him and carefully walked out.

Sure enough, we had passed through the eye of the storm for more than fifty meters. It was very quiet ahead, with only the constant whistling of the eye of the storm behind us.

Goodness! I don't know how far I've gone, or if there are any dangerous things ahead. Yue Qianchou walked forward with some trepidation. Strangely, apart from the dense black energy that was everywhere, there seemed to be nothing else here, not even a trace of the previous yin wind. It was just that the green fire was being consumed, so it seemed that there wouldn't be much danger.

Protected by his azure flames, he didn't react much, unaware that such dense black energy would be a fatal blow to others. Even with high cultivation, enduring the long distance's exhaustion to get here was already remarkable; encountering such dense black energy on top of that was extremely dangerous.

Yue Qianchou gradually quickened his pace. After walking about a thousand meters, he suddenly had a strange, inexplicable feeling; he felt a chill in the air. Logically, being enveloped by the Azure Flame, he shouldn't be cold.

He thought about it for a moment, figuring it was just psychological, and didn't think much of it, continuing on his way. But the further he went, the colder he felt, until finally he was shivering in the cold fire, his teeth chattering. Only then did he realize something was wrong.

Could it be that we're almost at the end of the Nine Nether Cave? Otherwise, how could it be so eerie? Perseverance is victory! Yue Qianchou's azure flames surged, hoping to dispel the cold, but he felt the chill emanating from his very bones, and the azure flames were of no use.

The further he walked, the colder it got, and he felt as if his body was about to freeze—a chill that penetrated to the very soul. This feeling was as if he could smell the breath of death, quite unsettling. Yue Qianchou immediately stopped, somewhat afraid to go any further.

Suddenly, a faint, fiery red light flickered ahead, making it seem like the end was near. But the feeling was terrifying. Yue Qianchou, but finally gritted his teeth. He couldn't give up now after all the hard work. His legs trembled as he continued forward.

The further you go, the thinner the black aura becomes. It gradually stops spreading throughout the passage and instead gathers at the top of the passage. The dark, flowing clouds drift into the passage behind, presumably drawn in by the airflow generated by the eye of the storm.

A red light filled his vision, but Yue Qianchou felt his sight and consciousness growing increasingly blurred. He vaguely sensed the end approaching and instinctively stopped, repeatedly telling himself, "I can't stay here any longer, or my life will be in danger. Go back to Utopia, go back..."

His mind kept calling out, but his consciousness was scattered, and his Divine Sense couldn't lock onto Utopia to return. His body felt increasingly cold, almost stiff and immobile; the blue flames surrounding him were gradually withering, and the situation was extremely precarious...

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