A Youth With Astonishing Bones

At this moment, Zhou Qing's entire body was trembling violently, his face flushed crimson, and the veins on his neck bulged hideously.

Hearing the rapid rustling sounds closing in behind him, he roared inwardly, then mustered all his strength and leaped, finally clearing the last Gravity Zone.

Instantly, his whole body felt light, and he collapsed limply onto the ground.

But he couldn't afford to rest; scrambling and crawling, he ducked behind a nearby pillar. No sooner had he slipped in than the Wandering Souls howled back through the passage.

Only after they had completely vanished did Zhou Qing let out a long breath and force a bitter, relieved smile.

"As expected, a man's potential really is forced out under pressure. Such a long stretch, and I made it through in so little time!"

No sooner had he spoken than countless Wandering Souls shrieked and surged out again, their numbers even greater than before.

Zhou Qing's scalp went numb at the sight.

"Could it be that the Grand Elders sent someone to rescue me?" Zhou Qing's eyes lit up.

After recovering a bit of strength, he looked at the eerily silent passage ahead and immediately began searching around.

"This place is still too dangerous. I can't just sit and wait for death. I need to find that key quickly. Once the gravity is lifted, the Grand Elders can enter, and then I'll truly be safe!"

Having made up his mind, Zhou Qing started tiptoeing around, careful not to make a sound. If there happened to be a Golden Core Realm Wandering Soul here, he'd be done for.

But after a full circuit, he found nothing.

"That's strange. Didn't the Grand Elder say the key was at the edge of the Gravity Zone?"

Zhou Qing was puzzled. After another search, he couldn't help cursing under his breath, then turned his gaze deeper in.

"Zhou Qing, Zhou Qing, you're too naive. These Old Women said the Gravity Zone was safe, and look how that turned out—chasing me like a dog. Can their words be trusted?"

He stared into the depths, hesitating. The Grand Elder had specifically warned him not to venture deep or cause trouble, only to activate the key and wait for them.

After a brief deliberation, Zhou Qing made a decision: "I think I need to take their words in reverse. If they say there isn't, there is. If they say don't go in, that means go in."

Having settled that, he took a Moonlight Pearl from his Storage Bag and began moving forward.

But just a few steps in, he seemed to notice something and quickened his pace.

On the wall to one side, there was actually a half-meter-wide Robber Hole, with a large pile of Blue Bricks scattered on the ground.

Zhou Qing found it hard to believe, because the Blue Bricks forming this wall weren't ordinary—they were made of a special Cold Jade, interlinked with each other and imbued with a mysterious formation.

Even the Grand Elders couldn't get in; they had to send disciples to open the door from inside.

Yet now, someone had silently broken through it.

As the Moonlight Pearl illuminated the area, he saw two smug words carved beside the hole: "That's it?"

"That's it?" Zhou Qing muttered, as if seeing the culprit's cocky expression, and felt a surge of indignation.

The most secretive Grotto-Heaven of the Taiqing Sect, defied by some petty scoundrel!

If the Grand Elders and Sect Leader saw this, wouldn't they be furious?

Zhou Qing stuck his head into the hole; it was pitch black inside, leading who knows where.

He didn't dare use it to escape, since even the Grand Elders hadn't revealed the route to this Grotto-Heaven.

As he got up and continued forward, he soon spotted the millstone-like object.

His face lit up with joy, and he rushed over.

"Was this dumped here by someone?"

Zhou Qing didn't rush to turn it; instead, he looked around. Deep scratch marks on the ground suggested it had been dragged here.

"Could it be that thief?" He glanced back at the large hole in the stone wall and murmured to himself.

Still, now that he'd found the key, he'd better let the Grand Elders in quickly. If any more danger came, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

The surroundings were dead silent, thick with Ghost Qi, and even the air carried a musty stench.

He jumped onto the millstone, channeled his spiritual energy, and prepared to turn it counterclockwise.

But suddenly, a cold wind blasted from the deeper tunnel, making Zhou Qing shiver.

The next moment, his entire body was yanked away by an irresistible force.

In a daze, the scenery around him blurred past at breakneck speed. He had no idea how deep he'd been dragged, his head spinning.

Until he abruptly stopped and collapsed to the ground, retching.

Once he felt a bit better, he immediately stood up, on full alert, and scanned his surroundings.

When he saw what lay before him, his face turned deathly pale.

In front of him was a red river stretching to who knows where. Eerily, countless black crows floated on its surface.

They exuded a cold, rotting stench, sending chills down his spine.

On the far bank stood a massive ancient tree, so enormous it seemed to hold up the sky and earth, yet now it appeared withered and decayed.

Its branches, like black iron pillars, twisted and coiled, covered in cracks worn by time.

Even more bizarrely, at the unreachable crown of the tree, over a dozen thick iron chains gleamed with a cold, eerie light, coiling like giant pythons around a pulsating Black Heart.

Every beat of that heart emitted a dull, eerie sound that made Zhou Qing feel as if the blood in his entire body was about to freeze.

Not only that, beneath the Giant Tree, six Coffins were silently arranged, radiating a powerful and mysterious pressure, like slumbering peerless experts that made one dare not look directly at them.

Red River, Dead Crow, Giant Tree, heart, Coffins...

That pressure spread outward like surging tides, crushing Zhou Qing until he could barely breathe, nearly on the verge of fainting.

Where is this place?

How could such terrifying beings exist within the Grotto-Heaven of the Taiqing Sect?

Was this the reason the Grand Elder forbade them from going deeper?

Or perhaps, was that Grand Elder's breakthrough in his Cultivation Methods meant precisely for him to come here and retrieve something?

Then how did I get in?

Before Zhou Qing could sort out his thoughts, a voice, indistinguishable as male or female, suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Oh, youth of remarkable bone structure, your opportunity has arrived. If you can pass the trial, this bowl, possessing supreme might, shall be yours!"

The next moment, a porcelain bowl with a chipped rim floated unsteadily down from the Giant Tree.

Zhou Qing was stunned and immediately took a step back.

But before he could refuse, that voice in his mind spoke again.

"There's only one trial question, super simple. Answer it right, and not only is the bowl yours, but you'll also get out smoothly. Otherwise, once the tide here begins, you'll die without a burial place!"

Zhou Qing quickly said, "Isn't this trial coming a bit too abruptly? It leaves me no mental preparation at all. Besides, a broken bowl like this hardly looks like any treasure."

"I told you, this trial question is very simple. I'll give you a little more—it's a choice between two. Don't dawdle, let's begin!"

As that voice fell, lines of text suddenly appeared in the air.

[Suppose you have cultivated bitterly for a hundred years and finally avenged a great grievance, wiping out your enemy's entire household. Then you suddenly discover a child still hiding in a corner. What would you do?]

Looking at the trial question, Zhou Qing blinked. It really was, as it had said, a two-choice question.

"What would you do?" The voice, indistinguishable as male or female, sounded again.