When Chen Shuangbai slowly woke up, she found herself on a patch of dry moss.
The good news is that he is out of danger, the bad news is... a sharp pain in his right hand, possibly a fracture or injury caused by some kind of impact.
"If I'm not mistaken... it was most likely Zhao Shiyong's attack that shattered the underground currents, pushing us all into that light."
Chen Shuangbai scanned her body again with her spiritual sense and found that her physical body was fine, except for the excruciating pain from her broken right hand.
"Thinking back... this is the first time I've been injured since I started cultivating."
Chen Shuangbai chuckled jokingly, Life-Accepting Gourd floated out of the Storage Bag. He used his Law Power to take out a small amount of Life-Accepting Spirit Liquid containing the essence of water and wood, and swallowed it.
Then he made a hand Hand Seals with his left hand and chanted an incantation, casting a Sweet Dew Incantation on his fractured right hand. A shimmering blue light appeared, and it soon recovered completely.
"With practice, one becomes quite adept at using this Sweet Dew Incantation."
Chen Shuangbai picked up the Cold Spring Sword that had fallen to the side and put it back on his waist before activating his Spirit-Appraising Pupil to examine the underground space.
As far as the eye could see, it matched what Zhao Shiyong had described as an underground cave, with stalactites hanging down everywhere, but there was none of the "spiritual milk" mentioned in those folk tales.
Considering the limitations of this underground space, with all sorts of strangely shaped stones standing out, Chen Shuangbai did not release the Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch. Instead, he used the Wind Control Technique, which he had not used for a long time, to leap between the stone pillars.
He hopped forward while observing his surroundings.
The underground space was filled with a fluorescent light, seemingly from some tiny luminescent crystals in the cave walls. It couldn't be removed, but it allowed Chen Shuangbai to see clearly at some distance, preventing her from becoming blind.
After jumping for a while, Chen Shuangbai stopped, looked around at the bizarre and grotesque stone pillars that resembled demons, frowned slightly, and thought to herself, "I don't know anything about this underground space, I still need to be careful."
Chen Shuangbai pondered briefly, then took out the Flame Shadow Space-Escape Flag and held it in his left hand under his sleeve, ready to dodge any attack should he sense danger.
But simply hiding wasn't enough to give Chen Shuangbai a sense of security.
After thinking for a while, Chen Shuangbai took out a piece of light blue soft armor, put it on close to her body, and her expression improved slightly.
"Hmm, much better."
This cyan soft armor was obtained by Chen Shuangbai when he killed three Rogue Cultivator cultivators on his way back to the Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy from Returning Dragon Bay. Most of it consisted of miscellaneous items, which he had sold in the nearby market.
However, Chen Shuangbai realized that his defensive measures were somewhat lacking, so after having those miscellaneous items sold, he purchased a piece of azure soft armor. It was not of high quality, only a mid-grade Law Artifact, but it was sufficient for his use.
"I have never shown this to anyone before..."
Chen Shuangbai thought to herself, then turned and continued exploring along the underground passage.
A short while later, Chen Shuangbai saw a collapsed stone pillar. After careful examination, he could vaguely detect traces of fire Law Power within his Spirit-Appraising Pupil Observation Eyes.
"Although it's a bit diluted, it should still be Zhao Shiyong's."
"But is this guy using some kind of escape technique, or is he engaged in combat...?"
Chen Shuangbai followed the traces of Law Power, hoping to find Zhao Shiyong, but discovered it wasn't him, but Lady Yun.
only...
Her situation was somewhat dangerous.
The vice leader of the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance was confronting a giant amphibious Demon Beast. The Demon Beast was incredibly strong, and its skin, though seemingly soft, was actually covered in a layer of mucus. With a single spit, it destroyed a Blazing Flame Talisman released by Lady Yun.
Chen Shuangbai did not immediately step forward. Instead, he watched as the vice leader of the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance fought the Demon Beast for a while before recognizing Demon Beast as Water Salamander.
This Demon Beast prefers to inhabit clean waters and is relatively docile except during its breeding season.
When Chen Shuangbai was cultivating in seclusion in the sect's mountains, he had seen such Demon Beast in many bodies of water.
However, none of the Water Salamander in the sect could compare to its size or its ferocity. It almost spat out a water arrow, piercing through a thick stone pillar. With a flick of its tail, it destroyed and collapsed many other sturdy stone pillars.
Chen Shuangbai squinted and roughly judged the strength level of this Water Salamander.
"Probably... around the mid-stage of Tier 1..."
It's equivalent to the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining in a human cultivator.
Lady Yun was also at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, and in theory, she should have been able to deal with the Water Salamander in front of her, whose strength was not much higher than hers. However, she had been injured before and probably didn't have much practical experience, so she was struggling.
As Lady Yun struggled to dodge, a cold light shot out from behind a distant stone pillar, slashing the Water Salamander's head with a single strike.
A loud, explosive sound was heard.
The Water Salamander that had been so arrogant just moments before had its head neatly sliced open, revealing a yellowish-white substance scattered all over the ground, splattering blood all over the surrounding stone pillars.
Upon seeing this, Lady Yun immediately turned her head away and began to gag.
Chen Shuangbai emerged from behind the stone pillar, leaping to her side in a few bounds. He looked at the vice-leader of the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance with a hint of helplessness, and waited until she had finished vomiting before speaking softly:
"Fellow Daoist Yun is quite a figure, how could you..."
Chen Shuangbai didn't say the second half of the sentence, but the tacit understanding of leaving it unsaid made Lady Yun blush slightly.
With the crisis averted, she curtsied to Chen Shuangbai and said, "Thank you, Garrison Commander Chen, for saving my life. I will repay you handsomely once we are out of here."
Chen Shuangbai nodded, and then listened to Lady Yun recount her experiences after waking up.
Her experience was similar to Chen Shuangbai's; she woke up from a coma, but upon waking, she encountered the same Water Salamander as before. Being injured and somewhat panicked, she almost capsized in the ditch.
Chen Shuangbai activated his Spirit-Appraising Pupil again, scanning the vice leader of the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance. He discovered that her injury was on her left lower abdomen, and it was relatively shallow. However, a thin layer of toxins adhered to the wound, forcing her to use more Law Power to suppress it, which was why she had been at a disadvantage in the previous battle.
Lady Yun seemed to be particularly sensitive to other people's spiritual senses. She quickly turned to the side and looked at Chen Shuangbai with a wary expression.
Chen Shuangbai ignored her gaze and, remaining polite, said, "This is our sect's renowned healing elixir, the Spring-Turning Pill. Please take it, and after healing, go and meet up with Fellow Daoist Zhao and Yu."
Lady Yun then realized that she seemed to have misunderstood something, and felt extremely embarrassed.
Chen Shuangbai secretly became alert, wondering what this woman meant.
Why did you suddenly blush?
Could it be... that he's after my vital essence?
Oh no... I need to stay away from her.