After walking in the dense forest for ten days, almost a thousand miles away, I still couldn't see the source of the stream. If you don't look in the right direction every time you climb a tree, you will wonder if you are going the wrong way.
"Junior Brother Cheng, how long are we going to keep walking like this?" Wu Tianfeng asked breathlessly.
In the past ten days, the road next to the creek had become more difficult to walk. In order to save energy, they had to rely on branches to move forward.
Cheng Ling was also anxious and angry. The seven of them had walked so hard. Liu Qingyan and the two of them also brought several gale horses with them. What was the scene like? Sometimes, he wished he could summon the man in black and stop chasing him. As long as you make Qing Yan have a better life!
But he knew that this was just wishful thinking. The man in black insisted on bringing many horses with him to prevent him and others from catching up. And he was sure that the man in black could feel that he was being followed!
Cheng Ling climbed up a huge tree again and looked far into the distance to confirm that the direction of travel was correct. But just as he slid down to the middle of the giant tree, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and spotted a flat lake like a mirror.
He was so surprised that before landing on the ground, he shouted to everyone in mid-air: "Lake, I see a big lake. The end of the creek should be in front of me. We are almost out of the dense forest!"
The remaining six people were greatly refreshed, and their tired bodies were suddenly infused with great strength. They worked together to make a muddy path in the dense forest, cut through thorns and thorns, and walked non-stop for two hours, finally arriving at the source of the stream.
In front of you is a huge lake, located between several towering peaks. The peak walls are lined with trees, like knife-cut bamboo shoots reaching into the sky. Thousands of years of alluvial water has formed a majestic canyon between the peaks. It is lined with gravel and difficult to navigate.
This lake is located in the middle of the canyon, covering an area of hundreds of feet. It is like a clear spring falling from the sky, clean and quiet, without a trace of dust from the human world. The clear lake water is rippling with blue waves, reflecting the shadows of people. Not far away, several small underground springs are spewing hot steam, and the smoke is curling up, making it seem a little closer to the sky.
The lake water flows slowly along the canyon, lapping at the rocks on the shore in the breeze, making a gentle sound, like a harmonious and peaceful movement. This Tianchi embedded on the top of a dense forest is ethereal and quiet, without a trace of dust, as if it is a holy land that no one has ever been to.
Cheng Ling held up the lake water and took a sip. The faint warm fragrance filled his mouth and nose, like mother's milk, extremely sweet. Looking at the lake in the distance, the same color as the sky, Cheng Ling suppressed the excitement in his heart: "Only in the depths of this inaccessible mountain range can such a fertile dense forest be irrigated."
Yin Luoyao said: "But even if we find the source of the stream, this lake is so huge, how can we judge where they fled to?"
Cheng Ling said: "Don't worry, if you search the lakes, you will definitely find clues."
Yin Luoyao finally reacted and said, "You mean that female cultivator left clues along the way to provide you with the tracking direction?"
"Yes, that's right. Otherwise, I'm not a god. How would I know where to walk in the dense forest, and I wouldn't be able to find the creek."
Yin Luoyao immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, at least it means that she is still alive. Junior Brother Cheng can imagine how many hardships she has gone through along the way."
Cheng Ling said painfully: "I would rather bear all this pain on myself than let her suffer any injustice."
The other four girls all felt a sore nose after hearing this, and felt an inexplicable pain in their hearts, as well as a hint of jealousy. To be so valued by Cheng Ling, it took that woman countless lifetimes of cultivation.
At that moment, Cheng Ling began to search carefully along the lake. After searching for about half an hour, he finally found another piece of brocade. According to the direction stated above, it was still heading due north.
He continued heading north along the edge of the lake, but the lake occupies a very large area. To go around to the true north, he would have to go around half of the lake. The further they went, the softer the ground beneath their feet became, and more and more silt accumulated. Not only horses, but also people found it difficult to step on. The seven people could only lead the horses cautiously.
After walking for more than an hour, Cheng Ling suddenly felt something was wrong and looked around anxiously. They had reached the end of the lake. In the dense forest in front of them, there were ancient trees in the sky. Rotten leaves and pine needles fell to the ground, forming a thick layer.
When the sun sets, it should be the time when tired birds return to the forest, but there is a deathly silence in the woods. Apart from my own breathing, there is no more sound. In such a large forest, you can't hear the chirping of birds and insects, and you can't see weeds or wild flowers. Under the dim sunset, the woods are actually shining with a strange light yellow light, dots and pieces shining brightly.
"ah......!"
Just when Cheng Ling was about to slow down and remind everyone, a scream suddenly came from behind him! He quickly turned around and saw that the gale horse led by Ye Qiuhe, who was at the end of the team, fell straight to the right, causing her body to lose its balance.
The cry of "Ah" passed by, and the large dark mouth of the swamp under the larch needles instantly appeared, swallowing their bodies in the blink of an eye.
"It's a swamp and a dead pool... retreat and get closer to the lake. Junior sister Ye, grab the rope and don't let go!"
At the critical moment, Cheng Ling grabbed the rope tied to the horse's back and threw it towards Ye Qiuhe. The latter finally reacted and grabbed it with both hands!
Cheng Ling moved very quickly, rushed over, grabbed Ye Qiuhe's arm with the help of the rope, and then shouted to Wu Tianfeng behind him: "Third senior brother, grab my feet!"
Wu Tianfeng fell to the ground and grabbed Cheng Ling's feet with all his strength. Behind him, the four girls Yin Luoyao, Chu Yulu, Jin Yanrong, and Lu Xueqing also formed a chain, holding on to Wu Tianfeng for dear life and not daring to let go.
Ye Qiuhe was stuck in the mud, the mud was up to her neck, her face was red, she shook her head desperately, her body struggled and kept sinking.
"Junior Sister Ye, hold on!"
Cheng Ling screamed angrily, grabbing Ye Qiuhe's arm with both hands and pulling her up desperately. It's just that the swamp has been accumulated for thousands of years and is extremely strong. No matter how hard he exerts his whole body, Ye Qiuhe's body still slowly sinks to the mud surface.
Wu Tianfeng and others at the rear were holding on to Cheng Ling's feet with all their might, like pulling out carrots. The six of them worked together to drag Ye Qiuhe's body out of the mire inch by inch.
The seven of them sat paralyzed on the ground and gasped for air. Ye Qiuhe escaped from death. After a moment, he calmed down and thanked Cheng Ling: "Thank you, Senior Brother Cheng!"
Cheng Ling waved his hand and said: "I alone can't rescue you. Every step in the dense forest is full of murderous intent. Remember, you must be more cautious in the future, don't spread the team too thin, and follow my pace. Follow up one by one.”
The six people nodded silently. After this incident, the atmosphere became much duller.
After a long rest, Cheng Ling got up again and led them to the north. He was cautious along the way and let the wind-chasing horse go ahead to explore. Once he found that the ground was soft, he immediately stopped and let everyone cut down trees and put them on top before passing again.
As for the wind-chasing horse, after all, it is just a leg that helps with tracking. No matter how important it is, it is not as important as human life. Fortunately, although the journey ahead was bumpy, I finally managed to persevere.
Ten days later, the seven people pushed forward nearly a thousand miles again and finally walked out of the dense forest. Cheng Ling looked up and saw the clouds and mist beneath his feet, which were bottomless and turned out to be a cut-off cliff. There is a towering mountain peak thirty feet away opposite, reaching straight into the sky and threatening the sky.
The water from Tianhu Lake rushes here and falls vertically, forming a beautiful waterfall that reaches straight to the sky. The sound of water rushing against the rocks is extremely crisp.
Dead end...!
Cheng Ling's eyes widened and cold sweat flowed down. After spending so much time and energy, and painstakingly tracing it for thousands of miles, a cliff ruined all hope.
He stood blankly on the edge of the cliff, letting the night wind blow his long hair, as if he was like a sculpture, standing in front of him forever.
For a long time... I saw that he remained motionless in this posture.
Yin Luoyao sighed secretly and stepped forward to comfort him: "Junior brother Cheng, you have tried your best. Don't be discouraged. You will always find a way."
Ye Qiuhe also said from the side: "Senior Brother Cheng, I believe in you, you will definitely be able to find their traces again!"
Cheng Ling cheered up a little, turned to look at the two women, finally showed a smile, and said: "Thank you, I won't give up easily, but I don't have a clue how to walk the road ahead, so let's take this opportunity." Fix it up.”
Yin Luoyao said: "Okay, we will rest here first. If Junior Brother Cheng has any needs, please give me your instructions."
Cheng Ling nodded slightly and searched carefully along the edge of the cliff. He didn't believe that the route taken by the man in black ended here. He had followed it for thousands of miles and spent a lot of hard work to bring Liu Qingyan and Gale Wind Horse here. Was it just to face this cliff?
If there were only two people in black and Liu Qingyan, Cheng Ling might have concluded that they escaped down the cliff. But it’s impossible with a gale horse! Horses cannot fly, and it is impossible to use ropes to descend from the cliff.
The man in black was obviously very familiar with this journey of thousands of miles. Knowing that there was such a cliff here, there was no need to bother taking the wind chasing horse with him! There is only one explanation. The cliff is an illusion. They must have overlooked something on the way. Maybe there is a remote path!
Thinking of this, he immediately cheered up and returned to the place where Yin Luoyao and others rested. He said, "I think we must have overlooked something on the way here. Please wait here for me to investigate."
Yin Luoyao said: "It's better that we go with you!"
Cheng Ling shook his head and said, "Everyone is tired and it's time to repair. It won't be too late when I find a new path!"
Yin Luoyao pondered for a while and said: "That's it, let the third junior brother accompany you. That's it. We don't worry if you go alone."
Wu Tianfeng immediately stood up and said: "Junior brother Cheng, there is no need to refuse. We have been together like family for a long time. Shouldn't we help each other?"
Cheng Ling had no choice but to agree. He and Wu Tianfeng changed directions, slowed down, and slowly searched for the way they came!
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