A Guide to Self-Rescue in the Cultivation World - Chapter 22

The deep pit’s edge was scorched and bottomless, and violent spiritual energy turbulence still raged within it. But Zhou Suyao could sense the extremely faint fluctuation, belonging to Ming Luo, was indeed coming from the depths of the pit.

“Stop her! Jump in and stop her!” For the first time, the Heavenly Dao Emperor’s voice was tinged with alarm and fury.

The command was like the whisper of death. In an instant, several figures, radiating the white light of self-detonation, lunged like moths to a flame, trying to intercept Zhou Suyao’s path into the abyss.

But Zhou Suyao’s eyes were cold, and the golden light of her protective seal grew denser. She ignored them all, plunging headfirst into the unknown pit.

The wind roared past her ears.

Then, it was instantly drowned out by the sound of the Heavenly Dao Assassins’ self-detonation right behind her.

On the ground above, the golden phantom of the peach tree trembled slightly. In the center of the battlefield, Zhou Shan Yuan’s fingers, clutching the peach branch, imperceptibly curled.

And beneath the earth, what awaited Zhou Suyao was an even deeper darkness.

Falling.

She kept falling.

The pungent smell of gunpowder, violent spiritual energy currents, and falling debris battered her face. Even with her protective seal pushed to its absolute limit, flying rock fragments continued to slice at her ears.

“Thud!”

She slammed heavily onto the ground. The barrier of her protective seal flickered but stubbornly held, refusing to break.

The violent impact made her qi and bl00d churn. A sweet metallic taste rose in her throat, which she forcibly swallowed. Ignoring the pain, she immediately rolled to her feet and scanned her surroundings.

It was a cold, damp underground chamber. The air was thick with the smell of bl00d and a sickening, decaying odor.

She lifted her head slightly, her gaze fixing on the few lamps hanging on the wall.

They were no ordinary lights.

Eerily green soul lamps flickered weakly and strangely, like will-o’-the-wisps, casting a chilling glow over the entire space. Looking up the walls, the light revealed tightly packed, twisted, complex, dark-red runes carved into the stone, and…

Zhou Suyao’s gaze followed the unsettling runes downwards. Her heart abruptly stopped beating.

And right in the center, a massive cage!

Curled up inside the cage was a slender figure. Several iron chains, covered in bizarre runes, were wrapped around her body. These chains seemed not only to bind but were constantly draining her life force.

It was Ming Luo!

“Ming Luo!” Zhou Suyao’s heart felt fiercely constricted, and she cried out.

As if hearing her voice, the figure in the cage moved infinitesimally, letting out an almost inaudible moan.

Zhou Suyao rushed forward recklessly, desperate to save her, but with a grating screech, she realized she had stepped on a trigger mechanism.

But it was too late!

Instantly, a sudden change occurred.

The bizarre runes on the ground and walls around the cage immediately lit up with a blinding light. In a flash, a cold, dark yin energy instantly filled the entire dungeon.

“Intruders in the forbidden area, die!”

Around her, countless hoarse, overlapping, non-human shrieks erupted simultaneously, as if from every corner of hell.

Then, the eerie runes shot out countless streams of red light, which converged into a massive barrage of red spikes, driving straight toward the cage where Ming Luo was imprisoned.

Zhou Suyao’s pupils contracted. She instantly understood: this was the final, most vicious defense of the place!

Without the slightest hesitation or thought, Zhou Suyao sprinted toward the cage, spreading her arms wide, attempting to use her body to shield Ming Luo from the dense, piercing spikes.

“You won’t hurt her!”

She yelled fiercely.

With a low hum, the countless red spikes before her moved. They rushed forward with the force of a storm, emitting a sharp, air-tearing scream.

Zhou Suyao bit down hard on her lower lip until she tasted thick bl00d. She poured every last bit of her remaining spiritual power into her protective seal. The faint golden barrier became even more dazzling than before, like a golden cocoon, fiercely protecting herself and the cage containing Ming Luo behind her.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The red spikes hammered against her golden barrier like a rainstorm, producing a dull, heavy noise.

Each strike delivered a massive impact that violently slammed into Zhou Suyao through the barrier, shaking her organs and causing bl00d to continuously leak from the corner of her mouth.

She held on with all her might. Her spiritual power drained rapidly, and the pain in her meridians was a tearing agony that made her gasp for breath.

Her vision blurred gradually.

Her consciousness was like a candle in the wind.

Just then, ten particularly sharp red spikes struck the same spot at the center of the barrier.

The barrier couldn’t withstand the blow and let out a grating “crack,” followed by the appearance of a minuscule fissure.

Zhou Suyao’s heart instantly froze.

The spiritual impact surged through the tiny crack. She groaned, her body violently trembling. A sweet, metallic taste rose in her throat, but she ruthlessly swallowed it down.

“No!” A silent scream exploded in the depths of her soul, carrying a desperate, bloody resolve. “I absolutely must hold on! Even if it’s for myself!”

She violently bit her tongue. The sharp pain brought a momentary clarity. Using this brief window of consciousness, she rapidly formed hand seals, her fingers flying so quickly they left afterimages.

She knew she had to desperately squeeze the last bit of potential from her dantian, even at the cost of burning her spiritual core, to save Ming Luo and save herself.

Under her powerful surge of spiritual energy, the barrier forcibly brightened again, even attempting to repair the fissure. But more red spikes swarmed toward the golden shield like sharks scenting bl00d, attacking relentlessly.

The crack grew more pronounced, but the golden light was visibly weakening!

Zhou Suyao felt like a vessel being constantly emptied and about to shatter. Her body grew colder, and her consciousness began to drift.

Only her final, unyielding will kept her standing, shielding Ming Luo.

Until the very last moment.

Until the final instant before her consciousness completely vanished.

She slowly closed her heavy eyelids. The strength in her arms seemed to be rapidly draining, threatening to leave her body entirely.

Just as the flickering golden barrier let out its final moan, on the very verge of shattering—

BOOM!!!

Above them, the pit Zhou Suyao had jumped down from was instantly shattered by a terrifying force. Blinding daylight and debris rained down.

Zhou Suyao looked up dazedly. She saw two figures descend like gods, bringing with them a mix of undissipated killing intent and a divine presence that felt like salvation.

An ancient sword light, carrying the finality of cleaving all things, cut the sharp red spikes before Zhou Suyao in half, as if dividing heaven and earth.

The other figure, robes fluttering, was like an exiled immortal, but his face now bore an almost translucent paleness, his brow etched with deep weariness and unspeakable pain. He looked less like a true immortal and more like a beautiful glazed figurine about to shatter.

“Master… Eldest Senior Brother…”

The nerves that had been strained to the limit in Zhou Suyao’s body suddenly relaxed the moment she recognized the two figures. The will that had supported her battle until now seemed to be instantly drained away.

She collapsed.

“Pfft—”

She could no longer hold it in and spat out a large mouthful of bl00d.

Her vision instantly plunged into darkness.

Her body, out of control, fell softly forward.

Light and airy, like a puppet drained of all its bones, or a deflated balloon, she fell toward the cold, hard ground.

The anticipated impact on the floor never came.

A pair of arms, smelling faintly of bl00d but extraordinarily solid and strong, caught her steadily before she could hit the ground and held her tightly against a chest.

Zhou Shan Yuan.

Eldest Senior Brother.

Zhou Suyao’s last remaining shred of consciousness registered a broad, warm chest, and the sound of Eldest Senior Brother’s voice—a voice she had never heard from Zhou Shan Yuan before, carrying a trembling, almost panicked emotion he struggled to suppress: “Suyao… wake up quickly!”

Following that was Master’s voice, howling with hatred, yet unable to conceal his exhaustion: “Xuan Yangming, you deserve to die!”

That furious roar was the last sound Zhou Suyao heard before her consciousness sank into endless darkness.

Strangely, in this darkness and coldness, she felt no fear, but a long-lost sense of peace, as if everything had settled.

Like a drifting boat finally reaching the shore.

Like an exhausted traveler finally coming home.

She allowed herself to sink into this peaceful darkness, falling into a deep slumber.

Behind her, the curled-up Ming Luo seemed to sense the earth-shattering upheaval. An extremely faint sob, filled with infinite grievance and dependence, like the whimper of a young animal, softly echoed in the dead silence of the dungeon.

And was quickly drowned out.