They Really Made It Out!

Gu Qingfeng ran along the wall above not to show off the "running on eaves and walls" he had just learned, but because the higher vantage point let him survey the whole situation and spot anything unusual in advance.

What running on eaves and walls? He was simply using the sharpness of Geng-Metal Power to stomp shallow pits into the cave wall, then sprinting along them.

Gu Qingfeng was gradually figuring it out. As long as his power was strong and sharp enough, he really could make anything work through sheer force.

After those "senior guides" were rescued, they continued showing them the way.

"Left."

"Go left."

One "senior," half his mouth bitten away, still spoke through the wind leaking from his mouth.

Gu Qingfeng could not help wondering whether they had once escaped this far too, only to die afterward. Perhaps the path out had become their obsession, something they could not forget even after death.

After making this final right turn, only three left turns remained.

They should be very close to the exit!

But this final stretch would probably be the most treacherous of all!

By this point, more and more of those strange trees appeared.

Some of them looked dead and did not move at all, while others had already begun to squirm, curling toward Qi Lingguang and the others.

In truth, neither type was much of a problem. Many of the strange trees that had been squirming earlier were chopped to bits by Gu Qingfeng charging ahead before Qi Lingguang and the others even reached them.

The most infuriating ones were those that played dead. They would look lifeless one moment, then suddenly launch a sneak attack the next, trying to drag people inside!

This undoubtedly slowed Gu Qingfeng and the others down.

At this point, Gu Qingfeng could only jump down from the cave wall and travel together with Qi Lingguang and the rest.

Of course, another reason he came down from the wall was that his feet were starting to go numb.

The group continued onward for the time it took to drink two cups of tea, until only the final left turn remained.

But the moment they turned it, they saw a hideous and terrifying sight.

The cave, which had originally been fairly spacious, was packed full of roots from those strange trees.

The trunks of the strange trees were shaped like snakes, while these roots curled even more tightly. At first glance, they resembled the patterns of auspicious clouds, but there were simply too many of them, packed too densely together, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

At this point, even moving forward required them to first break open a path, because some of the roots could move and easily entangle a person's feet.

Even more horrifying, there were more and more corpses, some buried amid the roots on the ground.

Most of them were "awake," like prisoners trapped in cages. Whenever Gu Qingfeng and the others passed by, they would abruptly stretch out their hands and feet to grab them.

Gu Qingfeng had no time to care about any of that. Holding the two Core Branches, he completely entered a smashing frenzy.

Any roots or branches blocking his path, any corpse trying to stop him, were smashed apart one by one!

There had never been a road in this world. Wherever I, Gu Qingfeng, walked, there would be a road!

To Qi Lingguang and the others, Gu Qingfeng, swinging golden light through the dimness, was like a deity sweeping away filth and darkness, giving them hope and a sense of safety.

But that sense of safety vanished in an instant.

The sight before them made everyone shudder all over, nearly jumping out of their skin.

Not just them—even Gu Qingfeng, who was smashing ahead with murderous vigor, felt a chill run down his spine.

Ahead, roots nearly carpeted the ground, endlessly writhing like countless maggot-snakes surging madly.

And as they twisted, countless human hands, feet, and heads emerged from within.

These corpses were like living people trapped in a twisting sea, struggling desperately to drag Gu Qingfeng and the others down with them.

Many people liked to use "mountains of corpses and seas of blood" to describe a place as terrifying as hell, but Gu Qingfeng was certain that the sight before him was far more frightening than mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

It was too dense, too distorted, carrying an indescribable evil that seeped into the mind and made one's scalp crawl.

The injured Shen Yun looked at the scene before her, suddenly unable to breathe. She nearly fainted.

Gu Qingfeng gritted his teeth. Golden light surged over his body as he continued smashing a path forward!

That single strike was like one stone stirring a thousand waves. The roots, hands, and feet twisted even more violently at once, heaving like a tide.

Even Wang Wu and Zhao San, who were not badly injured, found it difficult to breathe at the sight, their legs trembling.

Could they even get through this?

They were going to meet their great-grandmothers!

Those "senior guides" who had been showing them the way were also seized by the strange trees again, tangled within them as they struggled without end.

Then Qi Lingguang suddenly pointed somewhere. "The exit!"

Everyone followed her finger and saw a ring of light ahead, at the slope.

That was the exit?!!!

Wang Wu and the others instantly rallied, their eyes shining as they fiercely kicked at the roots curling toward them.

It had not been easy for them to flee this far. How could they give up when they were just about to escape into the open skies?

Gu Qingfeng had been getting somewhat tired from all the chopping, feeling as if the scorching air he exhaled would set even his lungs ablaze, carrying a sweet, fishy taste. Yet at that moment, his spirits surged, his gaze hardened, and killing intent rose again.

It could be said that Qi Lingguang's cry of "The exit!" instantly restored their morale.

Because amid this darkness and terror, what they feared most was having no hope!

And hope lay ahead!

Even if the Ten Kings of Hell were lying in front of him, he would stomp over them fiercely!

"Stay close!"

As Gu Qingfeng spoke, he slashed forward.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

The Core Branches smashed into roots and corpses, sending sap splashing like rain.

Gu Qingfeng strode forward, branches rising and falling, rising and falling...

He had already lost count of how many times he had swung today. Even if there had been dozens of oxen, he felt he would have chopped them all into beef balls by now.

The scene before them became even more horrifying. Corpses on the ground would suddenly rise, covered in writhing roots, and pounce at them.

Yet Gu Qingfeng continued attacking without defending, his heart turning utterly cold.

It was truly one smashed for every one that came, a pair chopped down for every pair that came. The golden light in his hands never stopped!

Watching these things, hideous and terrifying though they looked, fall one by one beneath his feet, Gu Qingfeng suddenly felt heroic spirit surge within him.

"Damn, I'm way too strong!"

He had forcibly smashed a path through the mountains of corpses and sea of trees.

Inspired by Gu Qingfeng, Qi Lingguang and the others, who had initially been scared out of their wits, now punched and kicked at the corpses and roots that tangled around them, wildly stabbing with the Core Branches they carried.

They were joining forces with Senior Brother Gu in a wild slaughter!

By then, the golden light on the Core Branches in Gu Qingfeng's hands had begun to dim, even flickering on and off. It was a sign that the Geng-Metal Power within him was starting to fail to keep up.

Both his hands were severely numb, as if they no longer belonged to him. His swings were now nothing more than an instinct to survive.

But they had clearly passed through the hardest stretch.

After that most concentrated wave of attacks, the number of strange trees and corpses ahead had noticeably decreased.

Here, most of the strange trees grew from the cave walls, their roots winding around corpses. At a glance, those corpses looked like prisoners locked in cages, struggling to get out.

Some were even speaking inside.

"Ahead!"

"It's right ahead!"

"Shh, Junior Sister, be quiet. Be careful Master hears."

"If Master finds out, we're doomed!"

Some corpses were even still conversing, but they repeated only those few lines over and over, as if trapped in the time before their deaths, endlessly "repeating the same mistakes."

Ahead, the slope was almost at its end!

The light Qi Lingguang had pointed out earlier was already right before their eyes.

His hands numb, Gu Qingfeng was the first to rush out!

In an instant, cool wind and bright daylight rushed at him, making him squint.

When he opened his eyes, they were filled with wild joy.

Endless wild grass stretched into a forest that continued toward the distant horizon. Though dark clouds hung in the sky, compared to that gloomy cave, it seemed boundlessly high and vast.

They... they had really made it out!