Chapter 194: Chapter 121: Haitang’s "Major Crisis" (Part 3)

Let’s try the Earth Escape Technique first. With this thought, Chu Xuan asked Gu Haitang to wait on the ground for a moment, then he dived into the earth like a swimming fish, disappearing completely.

Haitang became even more worried upon seeing this, fearing whether Chu Xuan might abandon her and run away.

...

After diving over a hundred miles underground, Chu Xuan discovered a layer of pitch-black "membrane," as if sealing countless sinister, ghostly, and malicious presences below. He didn’t even dare to touch this boundary.

Moreover, the earth and rocks weren’t directly attached to this black membrane; there was a layer of space between them.

Chu Xuan tried throwing a few stones down, which were instantly swallowed by darkness, vanishing without a trace.

This is troublesome, he thought silently to himself, and then he took out the Six Souls Banner, cautiously poking the black membrane with the artifact.

The unexpected result was that the Six Souls Banner penetrated through the membrane effortlessly, without sustaining any damage.

Chu Xuan pondered for a moment, put away the magical artifact, and returned to the surface.

Gu Haitang immediately approached with a hopeful expression, "How did it go?"

Chu Xuan pondered and said, "I’ve found a way to enter the boundary, but with my current Earth Escape Technique, I can’t take you down with me."

"How about this, the outside cultivators are also about to enter en masse; I’ll first take you to see if we can find a team from the Purple Heaven Jade Mansion or Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace, and send you to join them, then I’ll go down alone."

"No!" Gu Haitang almost burst into tears.

Chu Xuan was somewhat startled by her strong reaction and seriously advised, "The dangers of the boundary are higher than those in the human realm and even greater than the usual situations in the heavenly realm. You don’t need to risk your life with me."

"I don’t mind, I just want to be with you." Saying this, Gu Haitang tried to hold Chu Xuan’s hand.

However, Chu Xuan moved away on purpose; he couldn’t understand what this woman was thinking.

"Calm down first; I can’t leave you here unattended, nor can I miss going to the boundary because of you. What should I do?"

Calm, calm, Gu Haitang took a deep breath, even if her mind was a mess right now.

She had a premonition that if they separated here today, they would gradually drift apart, eventually losing contact and becoming once-familiar strangers.

So, separation was absolutely not an option!

"How far is the boundary from the surface?" Gu Haitang asked first.

"Over a hundred miles."

"Then I can use a magical artifact to open a path and create a passage to go down with you," Gu Haitang insisted.

Chu Xuan was a bit helpless; how much time would be wasted on this, not to mention how much noise the tunnel creation would cause, possibly attracting many wild beasts.

He thought for a moment and didn’t answer immediately, instead, he held the Divine Command and activated [Earth Wisdom].

In an instant, the entire scene deep underground was revealed to his eyes—earth energy paths, hidden mineral veins, lurking beasts, boundary black membrane... all were crystal clear.

"Follow me." Chu Xuan took the lead and flew up with his sword control, following the earth’s energy path, trying to find a natural underground passage.

Gu Haitang naturally hurried to follow.

Just like that, after searching for half a day, the Ruo Wood Secret Realm finally officially opened, with a large number of cultivators randomly thrown into the heaven, earth, and human realms.

The two looked up and could see countless cultivators falling like raindrops, with some exclaiming, others flying in mid-air, and some barely stabilizing before hitting the ground.

At the same time, the entire secret realm began to stir with activity, awakening many wild beasts who started to frequently engage in fights.

From Chu Xuan’s perspective, he finally found a relatively good spot with a natural cave and immediately took Gu Haitang inside.

This place seemed to be the lair of a snake beast, with its passageways extending in all directions. Chu Xuan scanned the area and temporarily didn’t spot the beast, which might be out hunting.

Thus, he sped up even more, quickly leading her to the very bottom of the cave.

Despite this, the place was still about ten miles from the black membrane.

Chu Xuan looked at Gu Haitang, "Since you insist on following me, I have a request: from now on, whatever I ask you to do, you must comply without question. Can you do that?"

Haitang nodded repeatedly.

So Chu Xuan stepped forward and calmly said, "Hold me tight."

Gu Haitang was taken aback for a moment but then approached and hugged Chu Xuan tightly, burying her face in his chest. For a moment, all she could smell was the scent of the man, causing her cheeks to turn red and hot.

Previously, Gu Haitang had never done such a thing, not even hugging Chu Xuan’s arm like Qingqing would; at most, she had only tugged at his sleeve, but now she was "jumping straight in."

While she was lost in thought, suddenly! The two began to sink underground.

"I’m now trying my best to use the Earth Escape Technique to bring you down; the speed won’t be fast, hold your breath yourself."

Listening to Chu Xuan’s words, Haitang agreed once more.

Soon, the two were completely submerged in the earth, and Gu Haitang felt surrounded by a peculiar magical power, enveloped in darkness.

Yet, for some reason, she felt not the slightest bit of panic, but rather a full sense of calmness, as if she were willing to venture into the Underworld and Abi Hell as long as she was in this man’s arms.

Seeing this method was feasible, Chu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Earth Escape turned into a snail’s pace, there was no one chasing them now, so slow was fine.

Unclear how much time passed, the two finally landed in the gap beneath the earth.

Gu Haitang looked down at the terrifying black membrane, her brows furrowing, wondering how they would pass through.

"Close your eyes and restrain your divine sense."

Chu Xuan’s calm voice came again, and after hesitating briefly, Haitang complied. In the next second, she felt them suddenly falling downward!

Although startled, she closed her eyes and clung to Chu Xuan, trusting him completely.