It was also a long passage, similar to the passage they entered the underground river from the outside. After walking for a while, the five people felt that the surroundings were getting colder and colder. At this time, a slight light appeared in front of them. Then they finally walked out of the passage and entered the second level of the cold pool.
The second level was not as dark as when they first entered the first level of the cold pool. What they saw in front of them was a long and not wide cave. The light was naturally formed on the stone wall of the cave but seemed to be embedded in the stone wall. The stones in the cave are not densely packed, but are arranged up and down in disorder. They extend all the way to the depths of the cave. The yellow or white light they emit generally allows people to see things in the cave. Qian Chao also looked carefully. But this kind of stone is just some ordinary minerals that can emit fluorescence, and it is of no great use.
The cave looked rugged, and it seemed that the sound of splashing water could be heard from the depths of the cave. With the light in the cave, the five people looked around, and sure enough, they could see branches branching out one by one deep in the cave. There are more than a dozen cave entrances that can be seen. If you continue walking, there will be more such cave entrances. This is deep underground, and there is no reference to distinguish the direction. There are so many forks in the road. People who enter it will easily get lost.
After the five people arrived here, they looked around carefully. Tang Ping couldn't help but ask:
"Okay, Mr. Qian, we are here, what should we do next? Is there a route to the third floor marked on Chu Yuan's map?"
"Of course there is," Qian Chao said, taking out the map drawn by Chu Yuan, "but he doesn't know much about the second floor. In the past, he knew how to find the entrance to the third floor from here, and also That's all. He was not in the mood or mind to figure out how all the caves on the second floor were distributed, so he actually didn't draw a complete map of the second floor. However, Senior Brother Chu Yuan said that in On the second floor, just follow the red light and you can safely find the entrance to the third floor."
Tang Ping was holding the map and looking at it with Yanxuan. It was true that the map was not complete. There was only one path. There were so many branching holes here, which made the path on the map seem useless. It was necessary to find it. It was still quite laborious, but after listening to Qian Chao's words, Tang Ping looked up and looked around, and then said:
"Where is the red light? Are those stones emitting either yellow light or white light?"
After listening to Qian Chao's words, Li Jian started searching in the cave in front of him. It was obvious that he found the red light that Qian Chao said. After listening to Tang Ping's words, Li Jian raised his hand and said:
"Yes, Miss Tang, look at the floor of this cave."
Several people looked in the direction Li Jian pointed, and sure enough they found a faint red light under the cave wall or in the cracks.
It should be a kind of mushroom that grows here. It is very small, and the height is not as long as Qian Chao's index finger. Several of them are crowded together, and the small umbrella cover is less than the size of a copper coin. The so-called red light is emitted from the umbrella cover of the mushroom. It is not bright, and the umbrella handle under the umbrella cover does not emit light. Under the reflection of the luminous stones on the cave wall, this red light is not noticeable at all and can be easily missed.
Lu Pingchuan smiled when he saw it and said:
"Hey, there really is a red light. Brother Qian, are we going to rely on this all the way?"
As Lu Pingchuan spoke, he moved closer to the nearest clump of mushrooms to take a look. He was tall and the light emitted from the cave wall was blocked by his figure, making the red light more eye-catching.
"good."
Yanxuan was also very curious about these mushrooms. It was true that there were not many that could emit red light, but she couldn't recognize what kind of spiritual grass the mushroom in front of her was, so she took a closer look.
Seeing Yanxuan also coming over to take a look, Lu Pingchuan asked:
"Sister Yan, is this mushroom also some kind of spiritual herb?"
Yanxuan shook her head and said helplessly that she didn't know. She originally wanted to pick it, but after thinking that this kind of mushroom was used for road signs, it would be better to wait until she went out to pick it now, so she decided Let’s give it up for now.
If you search carefully for this kind of mushroom, you can still find a few clumps along the direction of the cave, but they are all a bit hard on the eyes. Tang Ping helplessly returned the map in his hand to Qian Chao and said:
"Alas, Chu Yuan's map is not complete. It seems that we can only follow this kind of mushroom. Mr. Qian, are you sure that the red light Chu Yuan mentioned is the mushroom on the ground?"
"Exactly, Senior Brother Chu Yuan said that the people in this cold pool call this kind of mushroom the 'Red Umbrella Cap'. If you walk along it, you will definitely be safe when entering or exiting."
"Okay, but to be on the safe side, we still have to leave a mark on where we have passed to feel more at ease."
"Well, I'll do this." Lu Pingchuan said.
"Well, let's go then."
…
The second floor was obviously much damper than the first floor. The five of them carefully walked forward while looking for the red umbrella cover that glowed red on the ground. Naturally, they couldn't go any faster. At the same time, Lu Pingchuan was still behind. From time to time, they would grab a handful on the stone wall and dig out a hole, which would be regarded as a mark left after they walked through.
There are too many branching cave entrances along the way. You will find one after walking not far. Even after walking through, you will find that there is an inconspicuous hole hidden behind you. There is also light inside each hole. Look. The terrain, light and shadow are similar to the cave they are in. If it is the first time to enter and don't know how to go, you won't know how to go on if you can't walk very far here, and you will be completely lost inside.
Whenever a new cave entrance appears, the five of them will open their eyes to see if there are any mushrooms like the red umbrella cover nearby. Li Jian has the sharpest eyes. He often points with his hand, and then the others follow the direction. Find the faint red light on the ground or in the cracks of the rocks to confirm the next walking direction. Naturally, the speed will not be faster if you walk like this.
As expected, this second level is, as Qian Chao said, a powerful barrier to protect the casual cultivators and the Yu Nianhui hiding on the lower level. After the five people went a little deeper into these caves, they realized that this place was different from the previous level.
On the upper floor, the five of them just felt a little heavier due to the influence of the chaotic spiritual veins here. Here, at first, there was nothing but a stronger feeling of heaviness, but as they entered the cave As the depth goes deeper, the heaviness will sometimes disappear inexplicably, and be replaced by a sudden and sudden thrust from behind, or an invisible force hitting you sideways, or even... When the five people walked, it was as if they had hit a wall with strong rebound. When they first encountered this situation, the five people were shocked. At first, they thought they had encountered some opponent who was secretly attacking them. , but Li Jian said that there were no living creatures near them, let alone any opponents. Needless to say, this kind of strength must be caused by the ever-changing spiritual veins here. Later, it experienced many times After that, they gradually got used to it.
To elaborate on the feeling, it was as if the five of them were five small iron nails placed on the table. Someone held a large magnet and put it under the table and rotated it frequently and randomly. Under the influence of the magnetism, , the five iron nails kept moving and bumping randomly on the table.
In fact, it was the same. There was no pattern to follow in that force. It was moving left and right, and it was uncertain when it would appear next to them. It was like an invisible opponent had been teasing them. And although the strength was not fierce, it was extremely strong. The biggest disadvantage was that Qian Chao had warned several people in advance that they could not use their own spiritual energy here, so the five of them could not stabilize their bodies at all.
Tang Ping and Yan Xuan, who were walking hand in hand, were shaken back and forth by the impact, and their hair was a little messy. If they were both a bit petite, then even if they were as strong and tall as Lu Pingchuan, Incomparably, even under this strange force, he would stagger a few steps before he could stand firm. On the contrary, Li Jian, who was walking at the front and looking for the red umbrella cover, would only sway slightly whenever the strange force came. That's all, he could vaguely sense the incoming strange force in advance with his own senses, and then while alerting his companions, he could change his body shape to remove the force. Naturally, Qian Chao's performance was also very unbearable. It was Lu Pingchuan who stretched out his hand several times to stop Qian Chao from hitting the cave wall.
"No wonder," Tang Ping was a little annoyed by the strange power that appeared here. "No wonder those elite disciples of the Five Spirits suffered a big loss here. Under such circumstances, let alone chasing the casual cultivators to fight, even if they ran away If you take a few steps, you might be knocked into other cave entrances by this force. There are many forks and paths here and it is extremely complicated. You will definitely get lost after going back and forth a few times."
As soon as Tang Ping finished speaking, a force surged out from the side. Li Jian swayed and stabilized. Lu Pingchuan took two steps and stood firm. Tang Ping and Yan Xuan supported each other. They were a little embarrassed but they all stood firm. Only Qian Chao, who was listening to Tang Ping's words, was accidentally swept away by the force and rushed into a hole in the opposite cave wall.
Well, this time Qian Chao was thrown upside down and rolled for a long distance before he stopped.
"Boy Qian!" Tang Ping shouted anxiously, going to pull him back.
"Don't come over..." Qian Chao's words came from the entrance of the cave.
Yanxuan was shocked:
"Is it dangerous?"
Li Jian shook his head.
Qian Chao's voice came from the cave entrance again:
"It's not dangerous, it's just... alas... there are a few Five Spirit disciples who died here before, and the sect's jade pendants are all there. Their identities should be unmistakable. However, they look very ugly, so don't come in and wait for me. Collect their bodies and take them out for burial.”
After Qian Chao got up inside, he did find several remains. He identified them based on the jade pendants on their bodies. After such a long time, these people had died long ago, so they were naturally very ugly. He would not let Tang Ping or Yan Xuan The two women came in and prepared to put the bodies of these people into storage bags.
Hearing that there was no danger, Tang Ping just breathed a sigh of relief, but at this moment, another strange force came over, and the money inside was unprepared and suffered another loss. It seemed that it hit something. You exclaimed. After Tang Ping stabilized her body, she immediately let go of Yanxuan's hand and was about to enter the hole, but was stopped by Lu Pingchuan.
"I'll go."
After Lu Pingchuan strode in, he heard him say inside:
"Hey! So many people?"
"Oh, yes, I just took a look. There are almost all disciples from the five sects in the sect. I don't know how long they have been here. Hey, Brother Lu, don't move their jade pendants, keep them on them, otherwise There's no way to identify them after they're taken out."
"Well, alas, you are so unlucky to die in this damn place!"
After a while, Lu Pingchuan took Qian Chao and walked out of the cave.
"There are eight people, both male and female," Lu Pingchuan said as soon as they came out. "It's a pity that they died in this place in vain. Well, Brother Qian was kind enough to take them out and bury them."
Qian Chao said:
"We can't deliberately look for the disciples of the Five Spirits who died here, but since we meet them, it's better to take them out. It's very likely that some of them have teachers. If we find them, take the bones back and return them to their masters. It can be considered a final conclusion.”
