Escape

Like being struck by lightning, Jiang Shuo stood frozen in place, dumbfounded like a piece of wood.

Jiang Shuo had always thought Mo Xuanwu was exaggerating and boasting, but it wasn't until reality slapped him hard in the face that he realized how narrow-minded he had been.

With Mo Xuanwu's strength, this water prison couldn't possibly hold him; as he himself said, it was his own heart that was imprisoning him.

In the scene just now, Mo Xuanwu was like a descending celestial god, omnipotent, wild, and domineering. The strength he displayed was beyond Jiang Shuo's comprehension; he had never imagined martial arts could reach such a terrifying level.

"Elder Mo, back then, how did your legs get broken?" Jiang Shuo became even more curious about Mo Xuanwu's past.

"Although my martial arts prowess is unmatched in the martial world, there are still things I cannot do." Mo Xuanwu spoke with hidden meaning but didn't elaborate, waving his hand, "Alright, you should leave quickly. Just remember, the martial world is dangerous, far more complicated than you imagine, and you must be cautious at all times."

Seeing that Mo Xuanwu was unwilling to talk further, Jiang Shuo didn't ask any more questions.

Jiang Shuo learned the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill from Mo Xuanwu, and Mo Xuanwu even turned white-haired overnight for it, implying a great cost. At this, Jiang Shuo prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed three times to Mo Xuanwu before leaving.

He leaped onto the iron cage, climbed along the chains connecting the cage to the wall to the top of the stone door, and jumped down. As he landed before the stone door, Jiang Shuo reached out his hands, gripping the half-inch indentations. The immense impact nearly dislocated his shoulders. Jiang Shuo let out a breath of turbid air and carefully climbed up. The stone door was quite heavy and small, making it difficult to apply force. Jiang Shuo could only brace his legs against the sides and use his arms to push.

"Click," the stone door moved slightly with a soft sound. Jiang Shuo, covered in sweat, was overjoyed. He pressed on, exerting all his might, and finally pushed the stone door open, revealing a gap large enough for a person to squeeze through.

The sect leader of the Mad Saber Sect, Taishu Sheng, might be outside. Jiang Shuo cautiously squeezed out and looked left and right, seeing no sign of enemies. Only then did he turn back to bid farewell to Mo Xuanwu.

He saw Mo Xuanwu with his back to him, unresponsive, as if Jiang Shuo had never been there.

Jiang Shuo's heart stirred; this saved him the sadness of parting.

He still bowed to Mo Xuanwu's back before carefully closing the stone door again, so as not to be discovered that Mo Xuanwu had broken free from his chains, which would cause him trouble.

The first thing he had to do was naturally to find Chen Han. Although he couldn't rescue him, it was good to confirm his safety.

Following the route he remembered, Jiang Shuo carefully made his way to Chen Han's prison cell. However, when he peeked inside, it was empty, with only a pile of straw that had clearly been laid by someone.

"Huh? What's going on? Did I remember wrong?" Jiang Shuo passed through several more corridors and was surprised to find that not only Chen Han, but everyone else in the prison cells was gone.

The vast prison was silent and dark, as if only Jiang Shuo remained.

"The Mad Saber Sect definitely didn't just want to kill Chen Han; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to capture him and imprison him in this Forbidden Ground. But where have all these people been moved to?" Jiang Shuo frowned, lost in deep thought. Unconsciously, he found himself back in front of Chen Han's cell. His gaze inadvertently swept across the ground, covered by straw, and he suddenly noticed a few words left behind.

Jiang Shuo immediately pushed the door open and went inside, brushing aside the straw. There were indeed words underneath, traces scratched onto the stone with an iron chain.

"The one who captured me wasn't Taishu Sheng." Simple words, but written in a bold, cursive style. The last character wasn't even finished, indicating the urgency of the situation.

"When I left, Chen Han didn't recognize Taishu Sheng at all. If he left such a message, doesn't that mean the one who took him was Taishu Sheng? The person who captured him outside the city was someone else. Was it Taishu Sheng's subordinate, or someone else?" Jiang Shuo pondered seriously for a while but couldn't uncover any more useful information. He cleared away all the straw in the cell to search but found no other clues.

"Fine, I'll go out first. They've been missing for a full seven days; I don't know how much things have changed outside." Jiang Shuo retraced his steps. He didn't encounter Taishu Sheng along the way. It seemed his guess was correct; Taishu Sheng was responsible for taking Chen Han and the others away. Forget the Forbidden Ground; they were probably not even within the sect's premises now.

Jiang Shuo went all the way to the woodshed and turned the mechanism, returning the bookshelf to its original position.

Leaving the courtyard, Jiang Shuo hid behind a tree and peeked out, looking down towards the foot of the mountain.

At the entrance to the back mountain, dense crowds of people were gathered, all disciples of the Mad Saber Sect. At a glance, there seemed to be no less than fifty of them. Leading them, Chen Xian patrolled back and forth with a long saber, on high alert. It seemed the incident of the previous assault on the Forbidden Ground had had a significant impact, causing the Mad Saber Sect to strengthen its defenses.

Although he had mastered the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill, Jiang Shuo didn't believe he was truly invincible. Rushing out in this situation would likely result in him being chopped into mincemeat by enemy blades in an instant.