Chapter 135: Chapter 24: Wufeng Temple in the Ruins

This time was different from Mozhou Road. Back then, Wang Ping had only been focused on destruction, allowing him to use his Wood Spirit Techniques without restraint. This time, however, he needed to uncover the truth of what lay below, so he had to be cautious.

Wang Ping’s method was to animate several plant soldiers and have them use vines to clear away the buried earth. To prevent a collapse, the process lasted for almost six hours. During this time, not a single one of the Government Soldiers stationed nearby by Lou County came over to inquire about the situation. They seemed to be afraid of this place.

With a soft THUD, an entrance about half a *zhang* wide finally appeared in the ground.

But neither Wang Ping nor Zuo Xuan rushed inside.

Another Half an Hour passed. The entrance had been expanded from half a *zhang* to three *zhang*. Bathed in the afternoon sunlight, they could faintly make out the scene inside.

The scene was different from what Wang Ping had imagined. He’d thought it would be a chaotic mess of rubble and ruined walls, but it was actually a dry and tidy cavern.

He had almost forgotten that Wenhai was an Earth Spirit Cultivator; digging tunnels was his specialty.

"Should we go in now?" Zuo Xuan asked Wang Ping.

"What do you think?" Wang Ping asked in return.

Both of them were cautious by nature.

After a moment of hesitation, Wang Ping took out two Copper Coins to perform a divination. He then scattered some thorn vine seeds nearby and activated them before finally signaling for Zuo Xuan to enter the cavern with him.

The cavern was pitch-black and had a peculiar chill. With a wave of his hand, Wang Ping lit up a ball of Spiritual Qi. As the light spread, it revealed a place that resembled an underground training ground. Two corpses dressed in blue Daoist robes lay in the center.

The bodies were badly decomposed and gave off a nauseating stench, yet there were no insects or rats feeding on the corpses.

Zuo Xuan walked over nonchalantly to examine the bodies for a moment. Then, she led her Spirit Cat to a nearby wall to inspect it carefully. Meanwhile, Wang Ping focused his divine sense, using Wood Spirit Qi to feel for the source of the unusual aura he had sensed earlier.

"They were killed by flying stones that hit their heads," Zuo Xuan said after observing for a while, walking back to Wang Ping’s side with her Spirit Cat. "It was likely collateral damage from the shockwaves of the battle between several Entering Cultivators."

Wang Ping nodded. Following the senses of his Wood Spirit Qi, he walked to a pile of rubble, grabbed a handful of seeds, and threw them out. In an instant, the ground, walls, and ceiling were entwined and secured by a dense network of vines.

Once he confirmed there was no longer a risk of collapse, Wang Ping was about to smash the obstructing rubble with brute force when Zuo Xuan volunteered, "Let me handle this."

Wang Ping wanted to see her natal weapon anyway, so he readily stepped aside.

After Wang Ping moved away, Zuo Xuan pulled off the bracer on her crimson left arm. Beneath it were countless Embroidery Needles that glinted with a chilling, heart-pounding light. As Zuo Xuan formed a hand seal, the needles swirled around her before whistling toward the pile of rubble.

The Embroidery Needles also carried the aura of fire spirits. They made small explosive sounds upon contact with the stone. In the blink of an eye, the countless needles engulfed the rubble, and amidst the flying dust, a passageway was cleared.

It was only then that Wang Ping noticed Zuo Xuan’s left arm was actually a prosthetic. The craftsmanship was exquisite, making it indistinguishable from a real arm, and it was forged entirely from top-grade, fire-attribute Celestial and Earthly Treasures.

"Done!"

As Zuo Xuan spoke, the swarm of Embroidery Needles returned to her side. They traced a graceful arc around her waist before plastering themselves onto her left arm and retracting into tiny pinholes.

’This woman’s making my tongue tremble,’ Yu Lian commented from within Wang Ping’s Spirit Sea.

Wang Ping deeply agreed. He knew Zuo Xuan was intentionally showing off her power to him. He sometimes instinctively underestimated her, and Zuo Xuan seemed very sensitive to his subconscious slights.

As the dust from the shattered boulders spread, Yu Lian’s Tengyun form materialized, circling around Wang Ping. With a gentle flick of her tail, the pervasive dust was suppressed by a Water Spirit Aura and quickly dissipated into nothing.

After doing this, Yu Lian lifted her head proudly at the Spirit Cat next to Zuo Xuan. The Spirit Cat seemed genuinely intimidated, scrambling up Zuo Xuan’s leather pant leg to settle on her shoulder. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

By now, Wang Ping had already walked through the newly cleared passage. It opened into an even longer corridor. Cracks had appeared in the packed-earth ceiling in some places. To prevent a collapse, Wang Ping once again formed a hand seal for a Magic Formula, extending the vines on the walls further inward.

The corridor was unexpectedly long. It was flanked by occasional rooms; some contained the corpses of disciples, others were empty, and still others had collapsed. From this, it was clear that the great demon’s sneak attack back then had been a great success. It seemed no one in all of Wufeng Temple had noticed a thing.

The corridor was designed in an arc, with upward steps appearing every so often. Wang Ping followed the guidance of his Wood Spirit Qi for nearly half an hour, covering a distance of several *li*, until he saw a spiral staircase leading down.

The Spiritual Energy here was like something from the legends of Hell, creating terrifying illusions all around. Zuo Xuan reached out and touched the wall. "It’s freezing," she said. "Like a block of ice in the northern winter."

As she spoke, she looked up and pointed at the scratches that were visible everywhere on the walls. "That great demon was here. The conflict must have erupted right here. Then, the two sides engaged in a chase through the corridor, which ended in the training ground where we came in."

Wang Ping agreed with Zuo Xuan’s deduction. He reached out and gently stroked the wall. It was indeed freezing—a natural cold, with no particularly strange feeling to it. He glanced up at the marks on the wall, then took out two Copper Coins to perform another divination. After confirming there were no issues, he pointed a finger, igniting the faint Spiritual Qi in the spiral staircase.

The staircase wasn’t very deep. Zuo Xuan peered down, glanced at Wang Ping, and then jumped. Wang Ping, however, didn’t jump. He gathered his True Essence and slowly descended.

As Wang Ping descended, the light source he created spread out rapidly before him, illuminating a magnificent hall, nearly half of which had collapsed. The first things Wang Ping noticed were the White Jade Walls on either side of the hall, followed by the stench in the air. It seemed to contain a miasma; an ordinary person would surely die if they entered.

After a moment of observation, Zuo Xuan walked over to a collapsed pile of rubble in the corner and knelt. The stones at the bottom of the pile appeared to be black.

"It’s blood. The Demon Race’s blood!" She turned her head to look at Wang Ping.

Wang Ping didn’t walk over. He formed a hand seal with his right hand to activate a Spirit Gathering Array, then tossed out a large handful of thorn vine seeds.

In the next moment, countless vines extended toward the ceiling and walls. After more than ten breaths, the ceiling began to bulge as if some powerful force was dragging it upward.

Before long, a ray of sunlight shone in from above, followed by more. The dense vines generated from the Thorny Vine had torn the ceiling of this collapsed area wide open...

As fresh air poured in, the vines also cleared away the rubble that had been covering half of the area.

Then, the two of them saw a pool a full two *zhang* deep. From the residue left in the pool, they could tell it was a pool once filled with blood!