Chapter 22: Terrifying Jedi

"Xuan Xuan, are you deliberately trying to scare me?"

Xuan Xuan ignored him and continued, "Afterwards, there were people in the palace who revealed that when the seven King-level experts entered this mansion, they sensed an inexplicable weak spiritual fluctuation. This fluctuation was intermittent, but it made the seven King-level experts feel a creeping fear. On the third night, the seven of them held hands and formed a circle, pooling their cultivation together, and their powerful divine senses immediately filled every inch of space in this mansion."

Dugu Baitian felt a chilling sensation rising from his heart and had the urge to run out of this terrifying mansion, but his male pride didn't allow him to do so. At the same time, he was also very curious about what terrifying things were hidden in this mansion.

Xuan Xuan's sweet but not pleasant voice continued, "The seven of them found an entrance to a underground cave in this bedroom. The moment they lifted the entrance, they felt a powerful terror. It was a terror that was awe-inspiring, and even the seven King-level experts with their profound cultivation felt exceptionally fearful. The seven of them originally wanted to retreat, but intense curiosity arose in these old men who were all in their fifties."

"They walked into the cave and found it to be a strange place inside, like a dreamland. But exactly what kind of strangeness it was, the people from the palace were not very clear about."

The seven experts walked in the cave for a long time and found two entrances to pitch-black holes. Each entrance extended vertically underground, and there were several lines of blood-red words that were chilling to the sight.

The inscription on one of the entrances was: Demon seal, sealing countless demons inside, intruders will die.

The inscription on the other entrance was: Saint seal, sealing the world, Martial Saints will perish, intruders will die.

The seven experts saw such arrogant inscriptions and all laughed. They walked shoulder to shoulder towards one of the entrances. But something terrifying happened. When they were three meters away from one of the entrances, their divine senses all trembled violently, and a terrible divine sense attack struck their divine senses heavily. The seven of them spat blood on the spot, and their divine senses almost dissipated.

The group dared not stay long and hastily fled from the cave. They finally understood the reason behind the mysterious deaths before. Due to the damage to the hidden door at the entrance of the cave, the energy emitted by the long-term contact with the seal in this place silently killed those people and animals.

The seven King-level experts hurried back to the imperial palace and reported the incident truthfully to the emperor of Qingfeng Empire. Then, they left again in the middle of the night to heal their injuries in hiding.

"Did you understand, you little brat?"

"You're really a demon, little witch. Why did you bring me here? There's no treasure here, it's clearly the entrance to hell. If you want to die, go ahead and do it yourself. Why drag me into this?"

"I, I'm scared alone." Xuan Xuan rarely felt embarrassed.

"What do you mean you're scared and you dragged me along to die with you? Are you bored and have nothing to do, so you came to this ghostly place? I'm leaving, you stay here by yourself." He turned around and was about to leave.

Xuan Xuan quickly blocked his way, "No, you can't leave. You've already kept me company for most of the night, stay with me a little longer."

"Go away, don't act cute with me. Even if you offer yourself to me, it won't work. You're a top-level expert, stronger than the seven great masters. I'm just a nobody, barely reaching ordinary first-class level. If we open the entrance to that underground hole, I'll probably die instantly. You're so strong, why did you involve me, a nobody? Don't stop me, let me go."

"Are you really that heartless, leaving a poor and helpless weak girl alone to be scared here?" She put on a pitiful look.

"You're so ugly, quickly change your mask, I can't stand it anymore."

Xuan Xuan really tore off another layer of mask from her face like magic, revealing a beautiful and charming face.

"How about this face, are you satisfied?"

"You've worn so many masks, no wonder you have such thick skin."

"You shallow-minded bastard, pervert. Listen carefully, I'm a woman, and you're the abnormal one, a tranny. Are you leaving or not?"

"Wait a minute, didn't you say that the faint energy leaking from the seal could kill all living beings here? Why are there still so many rats?"

"Hey, stupid little brat, I didn't expect you to be so observant. Yeah, it's strange. Let me think." The little witch was unusually confused. "Hmm, I get now. This world is fair and cruel, survival of the fittest. These rats must have been in contact with the energy fluctuations for a long time, and while many of them died in large numbers, a very small number of rats survived. These surviving rats mutated and adapted to the environment here, and then started to thrive and reproduce. Yes, that must be it."

"No wonder the rats here are so huge, they've undergone mutations." Dugu Baitian wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to say it out loud, "Xuan Xuan, have you also undergone mutations?"

"Xuan Xuan, let's go back. This place is too dangerous. There's no need to explore such a terrifying place."

"Don't worry, you'll be safe with me. The key to martial arts is enlightenment. A place as terrifying as this must hold a great secret. Who knows, we might be able to cultivate peerless martial arts here."

Dugu Baitian's heart was stirred upon hearing this. "You better keep your promise and ensure my safety."

"Don't worry."

The two reached an agreement once again.

They carefully searched the room and finally found something unusual under the tattered bed. A faint, terrifying wave emanated from there. Xuan Xuan stepped back a few steps and struck a palm towards the spot. Dust flew up, revealing a large pit on the ground, with a layer of ancient blue bricks at the bottom.

The two cautiously approached the pit, with Dugu Baitian hiding behind Xuan Xuan and nervously watching her lift the bricks. It was a funny scene, with a tall middle-aged man with a beard nervously hiding behind a delicate and beautiful girl.

Finally, all the bricks were lifted, revealing an iron ring that looked like a door handle. Xuan Xuan turned around and said to Dugu Baitian, "Hold my left hand tightly. I'll protect you while you pull the iron ring." She then extended her jade-like hand.

Dugu Baitian was anxious, feeling like he was being used as cannon fodder by this girl. He reached out and held her warm and delicate hand, squeezing it hard.

"What are you doing? Be careful, or I'll break your hand."

"You're using me as cannon fodder. Can't you be a bit gentle with me before I die?"

"What are you talking about? I keep my promises. I'll make sure you're safe. Go ahead and pull."

Dugu Baitian gritted his teeth and pulled the iron ring hard. With a loud bang, a large crack appeared on the ground, revealing a black-hole-like tunnel emitting a sinister and terrifying aura. They both had a feeling that the tunnel was the entrance to a hell that would devour all life. They remained silent for a long time, hesitating whether to go in or not.

After a while, Xuan Xuan asked, "Should we go in?"

Dugu Baitian clenched his teeth and said, "Let's just die if we have to. Let's go in." He then grabbed Xuan Xuan's hand and prepared to jump in.

"We might die. This underground tunnel has been sealed for a long time, and there is very little oxygen inside. Let's wait for a while to let the air circulate before we go in."

After a long time, the two of them held hands and jumped into the dark entrance of the hole with determination. The crack closed again the moment they jumped in, returning to its original state, except that the iron ring was gone.

The two of them descended rapidly in the underground tunnel. At this moment, Xuan Xuan's power as an Emperor-level expert was revealed. She drew out the short sword she carried with her in the darkness and used her inner strength to stab the nearby stone wall. The short sword, infused with pure inner energy, immediately emitted a dazzling light, easily piercing through the hard stone wall like mud. Then she quickly pulled it out, repeating this process of stabbing and pulling to mitigate the downward momentum.

After descending nearly thirty meters, their feet finally touched the ground. This underground tunnel was incredibly deep. Such a large project that spanned over thirty meters vertically would require immense manpower and resources.

The moment their feet touched the ground, they both simultaneously sensed something strange, a wave of spiritual energy surging towards them. At this moment, the two of them held hands, their powers connected, and Dugu Baitian keenly felt the realm of an Emperor-level expert. His senses were several times sharper than usual, and his sixth sense of spiritual perception reached an unimaginable level. He keenly sensed a powerful aura of destruction approaching.

"Xuan Xuan, did you feel it? What is this terrifying aura, whether it's from a human or..."

"I felt it too. It's a monstrous hatred, as if it wants to tear through the heavens, rip apart the earth, and destroy everything that is alive."

"What could be such a dreadful aura? Could it be the power of a seal or the power of the one being sealed?"

"I don't know. Let's keep moving forward."

What surprised them even more was yet to come.

They continued to walk sideways along the underground passage of this colossal project. One of Xuan Xuan's hands was tightly held by Dugu Baitian, while the other held the short sword, constantly urging her inner strength to make it emit a faint light, illuminating the way forward. After walking for about forty meters, the front gradually brightened, and the spiritual fluctuations of the terrifying aura also grew stronger.

Dugu Baitian truly doubted if he could continue to stand and move forward without Xuan Xuan's support of her power. After walking another forty meters, they finally arrived at the bright area.