Chapter 30

This place doesn't even have a window, so I don't know if it's a surface building or an underground palace. Judging from the ceiling and walls made entirely of stone, Bai Lang leans towards it being an underground palace. It's not for any other reason than that the customs in this world are the same as ancient China; houses where people live are usually built with wood, bricks, and tiles, while structures made entirely of stone are tombs. Underground palaces are just like that; the people here don't seem to have a hobby of building mazes underground.

Everyone dispersed in this courtyard, searching for an exit. There were only twelve hours in total, and they couldn't afford to waste any time. No one wanted to gamble on whether that mysterious voice could "annihilate" them. Bai Lang's hand traced the wall, then he thought better of it and grabbed his double iron mace, swinging it with all his might at the wall. Among everyone present, no one's weapon was heavier than his. To be honest, the young monk Ci En seemed unarmed, while Ma Rulong and Mu Ronghua both wielded swords, the slender scholarly type at that. As for the young lady Murong Jiuxiu, she also had a short sword, and Qin Lian'er from Medicine Valley was similarly weaponless.

Bai Lang was the exception. His iron mace was as thick as a wrist, its diameter probably ten centimeters and its length a meter and a half. Such a heavy and clumsy weapon was held in the handsome and dignified Bai Lang's hands. Everyone felt that he should also be wearing bright silver Bright Light Armor, a Phoenix Wing Helmet on his head, and riding a Wuzhui Horse beneath him to complete the picture. If Bai Lang himself had to say, "Mountain Pattern Armor would be fine too."

With his double iron mace, he smashed and pried at the stone wall. The wall behind was indeed hollow. Bai Lang was about to laugh heartily, "I have broken the formation!" when suddenly a large hole appeared beneath his feet. Bai Lang shouted "Ah!" and disappeared. Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

Bai Lang had been congratulating himself one moment, only to fall the next. The descent wasn't straight down but a winding slide. He slid along the slide, twisting and turning, becoming quite dizzy and disoriented. Naturally, his iron mace flew away. His short sword, however, was tucked into his waist, causing him to tumble several times. If not for the internal energy of the Golden Bell Shield being activated, he might have been bruised and battered, even suffering broken bones from colliding with the walls of the slide. "Fortunately, I didn't tie the iron mace to my wrist with a strap, or this tumbling might have made me fall even worse."

He didn't know how long he slid. Bai Lang, disheveled, tumbled out of a hole with a cry of "Aiya!" He fell about ten meters before landing headfirst in the water. "Damn it!" Bai Lang climbed out of the water, wiping the water from his face. He looked up to see a sinkhole. It turned out to be a pool of water at the bottom of a sinkhole. Its depth, Bai Lang had just measured with his own body, was about five to six meters. However, this sinkhole was probably thirty meters deep, or rather, a hundred zhang deep. It had a small opening and a wide bottom, like a pot. Vines covered the opening of the sinkhole, but sunlight could still penetrate, so it wasn't dark below.

"I'll just climb out of this. Damn it, only twelve hours, and they want me to kill someone, time isn't enough, and they'll 'annihilate' us," he muttered. As he spoke, Bai Lang began to climb. In less than the time it takes three incense sticks to burn, with the help of the Golden Bell Shield and the power and reaction speed brought by the Thirty-two Forms Long Fist's Tiger Form true intent, he had already climbed out of the sinkhole. Standing at the edge of the sinkhole, he looked out at the continuous mountain range before him. He had no idea which direction Shaolin Temple was in, let alone the Sutra Depository.

His double iron mace was gone too, stuck somewhere in a bend of the slide. "Damn it, I didn't even get to warm it up before losing it!" Bai Lang cursed again. Not knowing which way to go, he simply chose a direction that looked easy to walk in and strode off. "I can only hope those few people are capable." In fact, Bai Lang still didn't understand why this place was treating him like this. Could smashing the wall have triggered a mechanism? And that mechanism just happened to be under his feet?

Can't think about it, it's too draining. What he needed to consider now was how to reach his destination. First, he needed to ask for directions.

Just as Bai Lang was pushing through the vines and bushes in the forest like he was cleaving through waves, and arrived at a main road, he ran headfirst into a group of scoundrels holding knives and swords, their shifty eyes and furtive appearances marking them as bad guys. Bai Lang, with his handsome and dignified appearance, although his clothes were a bit torn from the bushes, and his hair was messy from tumbling around, still looked like a gentleman. So, as soon as those people saw him, they immediately shouted, "There's a spy! He's definitely trying to harm the Hall Master!"

Before Bai Lang could understand what was happening, the group had already drawn their weapons and charged at him together. "Hey! What about martial ethics? Didn't you say we were supposed to fight one-on-one?" Bai Lang felt that these people had terrible martial ethics, just like the thugs in the real estate agency he led. They would gang up if they could, never fight one-on-one, and if they encountered a tough opponent—though they hadn't yet—they would undoubtedly abandon their leader and flee without hesitation, some might even kneel and call them grandpa and grandma.

The skills of these people were much better than the thugs he led. Bai Lang didn't feel scared—it was too late to be scared anyway. Instead, he felt a surge of excitement. He had cultivated the Golden Bell Shield, but he hadn't truly fought in such a situation before. Attacking those soldiers was a surprise attack that counted as a guaranteed kill. "This is a real martial arts brawl, wa-ha-ha-ha, here I come!" Bai Lang roared, boosting his morale, then drew a broad short sword, half an arm long, and charged forward.

It would be best if this sword were paired with a shield, but it didn't matter. This thing was quite thick, polished on all six sides, and heavy enough. It wasn't necessary, but Bai Lang had specifically asked the blacksmith to make it this way. Otherwise, where would a blacksmith make a sword several centimeters thick? This thing was less a sword and more a sword-shaped axe. Anyway, its primary use was for thrusting; for slashing, due to the angle of the blade, it was better for chopping trees, but it was certainly enough to smash someone to death.

The seven or eight people charging at him all wielded weapons truly suited for martial arts combat, such as long swords and sabers. One person even used a soft whip. Bai Lang held his short sword in his right hand and his Tiger Claw in his left, roaring as he charged into the fray. He didn't bother asking why they were attacking him; he'd just fight. Each of them possessed internal energy, and the internal energy on their swords was hot and cold, even poisonous. Bai Lang smelled a fishy, sickly sweet scent. "Good people! Actually poisoning their weapons!"

Bai Lang was like a fierce tiger, and the short sword was his fangs. The internal energy of the Golden Bell Shield was directed everywhere for a direct thrust. His current Golden Bell Shield skill probably couldn't withstand their swords and sabers, so he could only use it for offense. The short sword was like a meteor, piercing the guy blocking with his saber in the front with one strike. The saber was broken, and the sword tip protruded directly from behind the man. The blacksmith had indeed used folding and forging to make this short sword. Although only ordinary iron was used, its thickness made it very durable.