Chapter 81: Searching for the Secret and Going on a Dangerous Journey

The biting cold wind mixed with the smell of damp soil rushed into the nostrils of Dai Shiya and Wei Qing. The two of them fell awkwardly on a pile of dead branches and leaves. They were still in shock and didn't care about the pain in their bodies. Dai Shiya pulled Wei Qing up and looked around vigilantly.

Before my eyes was a desolate valley with jagged rocks, dead trees and an atmosphere of deathly silence shrouding the land.

"Are we out?" Wei Qing asked nervously, holding onto the wall.

Dai Shiya did not respond, but opened the book in her hand and carefully identified the route on it in the weak light. The book showed that the exit of the secret room was connected to a winding path, and this path eventually led to the depths of the valley.

"Looks like we have to go in." Dai Shiya put away the booklet, took a deep breath, and her eyes were determined.

The two walked cautiously along the rugged path, taking every step with extreme caution. The valley was silent, with only the rustling sound of dead branches and leaves underfoot echoing in their ears, adding a bit of weirdness to the atmosphere.

"Shiya, do you think this place is weird?" Wei Qing lowered her voice and looked around anxiously, "It's too quiet here, so quiet that it's scary."

Dai Shiya felt the same way. Ever since entering the valley, she felt an invisible pressure enveloping them, as if a pair of invisible eyes were secretly watching their every move.

"Be careful and follow me closely." Dai Shiya tightly grasped the dagger in her hand and observed the surrounding environment vigilantly.

As they went deeper into the valley, the atmosphere around them became more oppressive, and a sickening stench filled the air.

"What's that smell?" Wei Qing covered her nose and her face turned pale.

Dai Shiya didn't say anything, but she knew in her heart that they were close to their goal.

Suddenly, Dai Shiya stopped and stared straight ahead.

"What's wrong?" Wei Qing followed Dai Shiya's gaze, but saw nothing.

"There's something ahead." Dai Shiya lowered her voice and signaled Wei Qing to hide behind a huge rock.

Wei Qing held her breath, hid behind a huge rock, and stared ahead nervously.

Dai Shiya slowly pulled out the dagger and walked forward step by step. Her eyes were sharp, as if they could penetrate the darkness before her.

"Come out, I know you are here." Dai Shiya said coldly, her voice echoing in the empty valley.

There was still silence all around, as if nothing had happened.

"Stop playing tricks!" Wei Qing couldn't help but shout, "We've already seen you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful force suddenly hit him.

The clear sky suddenly darkened, and thick dark clouds rolled in, blocking the last ray of sunlight. The wind howled, picking up dead branches and leaves, and spinning wildly in the air. From the valley came waves of creepy roars, as if coming from the depths of hell.

Dai Shiya and Wei Qing leaned against the boulder with serious expressions. They knew they were surrounded.

Coming from all directions, a group of strange-looking creatures. They were hunched, with gray-green skin, sharp claws and fangs, and exuded a disgusting stench. Their eyes flashed with a faint green light, like a ghost fire, which was particularly creepy in the darkness.

"What is this?" Wei Qing's voice trembled slightly, and she clenched the self-defense spray in her hand.

Dai Shiya did not answer. She held the dagger tightly, her eyes were sharp, and she calmly observed the enemies around her. These creatures were extremely fast and their strength was far beyond that of ordinary people. They had to be careful in dealing with them.

The battle was about to break out. A creature rushed towards Dai Shiya first, but she dodged the attack by leaning sideways. The dagger slashed through its arm, leaving a trail of green blood. The injured creature let out a shrill roar and rushed towards her even more frantically.

More and more creatures joined the battle. Dai Shiya and Wei Qing fought hard, but they were outnumbered and gradually became exhausted. Dai Shiya's dagger was accurate and fierce, and every strike was intended to be fatal, but her wounds increased. Although Wei Qing's self-defense spray could temporarily repel these creatures, it was limited in effect, and the number was also decreasing rapidly.

"Shiya, we can't go on like this!" Wei Qing shouted anxiously while fending off the attack, "We have to find a way to break out!"

Dai Shiya also understood that if they continued like this, they would sooner or later be exhausted and eventually devoured by these monsters. She dodged the attacks while quickly thinking of countermeasures.

Suddenly, she noticed a detail. When she cut a creature's skin with a dagger, the splashing green blood made a sizzling sound and emitted a puff of white smoke the moment it came into contact with the moonlight. The creature splashed with the blood also let out a painful roar and quickly stepped back a few steps.

"Moonlight..." Dai Shiya's heart moved, and she looked up at the sky covered by dark clouds. Although the moonlight was weak, it seemed to have a certain inhibitory effect on these creatures.

She swung the dagger again, forcing a creature back to where the moonlight shone. Sure enough, after the creature came into contact with the moonlight, its body began to tremble and it howled in pain.

"Wei Qing, use your mirror!" Dai Shiya suddenly shouted.

Wei Qing was stunned for a moment, then reacted and took out a small mirror from her bag. Dai Shiya took the mirror and reflected the weak moonlight onto the creatures attacking them.

The creatures illuminated by the moonlight screamed miserably and retreated as if they were burned by fire.

"It works!" Wei Qing shouted in surprise.

However, the good times didn't last long. Thick dark clouds once again covered the moon, and the valley fell into darkness again. The creatures seemed to realize the threat of the moonlight to them, and became even more crazy, rushing towards them desperately.

The mirror in Dai Shiya's hand lost its function, and she was once again in a difficult battle. Suddenly, she felt her feet go empty, and she fell down.

"Shi Ya!" Wei Qing's terrified cry echoed in the valley, and then she also felt the vibration coming from under her feet.

Dai Shiya felt dizzy, and when she came to her senses, she found that she and Wei Qing had fallen into a huge deep pit. The bottom of the pit was not hard rock, but soft ground with some strange plants growing on it, which saved them from serious injuries.

"Ahem..." Dai Shiya struggled to get up and looked around in the dim light. The pit was surrounded by smooth stone walls. Looking up, she could only see a small area covered by dark clouds. The monsters did not chase after her. Only waves of creepy roars came from the pit.

Wei Qing also got up from the ground and patted her chest with lingering fear: "Fortunately, fortunately, we are still alive."

Dai Shiya did not respond. Her eyes were drawn to the small mirror in her hand. With the faint light, she discovered that the mirror was not made of ordinary glass, but an unknown metal material with intricate patterns carved on the surface. Just now, it was the moonlight reflected by this mirror that frightened the monsters.

"Could it be some special metal that can reflect the light that scares the monsters?" Dai Shiya's mind moved, and she turned to look at Wei Qing, "Wei Qing, can you see if there are any metal objects around that can reflect light?"

Wei Qing understood, and the two of them immediately began to search carefully at the bottom of the deep pit. Their efforts paid off, and soon they found some scattered metal fragments at the roots of those strange plants. These fragments were of different shapes, but they were all made of the same material as the mirror, and the same patterns were engraved on the surface.

"These should be able to do it!" Wei Qing collected the metal fragments and handed them to Dai Shiya.

Dai Shiya took the fragments and tried to piece them together to form a concave mirror that could reflect more light. After some effort, a simple "light-concentrating device" was completed. Dai Shiya aimed the device at the pit mouth, and a faint light shot out from the center of the device, illuminating a small area of the pit mouth.

An amazing phenomenon occurred! The monster that was originally wandering at the pit mouth, when it came into contact with the beam of light, let out a shrill roar as if it was burned, and fled away in panic.

"Success!" Wei Qing shouted excitedly, "It seems that these monsters are really afraid of this kind of light!"

With the help of the light, Dai Shiya and Wei Qing successfully climbed out of the deep pit. They continued to go deeper into the valley and finally found a cave hidden behind vines on a steep rock wall. The cave was not big, only enough for one person to pass through. It was pitch black inside and no one knew where it led to.

"This should be the base of that mysterious organization." Dai Shiya lowered her voice and said to Wei Qing.

Wei Qing nodded, took out a flashlight from her backpack, and carefully shone it into the cave entrance. However, as soon as the flashlight entered the cave entrance, it was bounced back by an invisible force, and then a shrill alarm sounded in the valley.

Dai Shiya and Wei Qing's faces changed. Before they could react, they saw strange runes suddenly light up on the rock walls around the cave entrance. Then, countless sharp hidden weapons shot out from the cave.

Dai Shiya grabbed Wei Qing, and the two quickly dodged to the side, barely avoiding the fatal blow. However, this was just the beginning, more hidden weapons and traps were triggered, and the entire valley seemed to have turned into a maze of death.

Dai Shiya took a deep breath, her eyes became extremely determined, and she whispered to Wei Qing: "It seems that we must get through this level to know the truth..."