Chapter 32: Shatter and Collapse!

“Phew, that was close! Is everyone alright?”

For someone like Murong Yun, a martial arts master with extensive internal energy, running a similar distance wasn’t much of a burden. As soon as he escaped the range of the Bone Demon, he quickly turned his gaze back toward the group behind him.

Vilyric, Ling Feng, and Bai’er were naturally fine, while Du Zhe and the other two from the Guiyuan Sect, despite having some real skills, didn’t show signs of fatigue. They only looked back at the densely packed “Bone Forest” behind them, a hint of lingering fear in their expressions.

The only one in distress was Yuan Zhi, a young girl who had just been let down from Yuan Hong’s shoulders. With an angry expression and a pale face, she hobbled toward the White-clad Middle-aged Man, raising her hand as if to slap him!

“Ow!”

Unfortunately for her, Murong Yun wasn’t dumb. He simply raised his hand to block her, causing the delicate girl to wince in pain.

“What is the meaning of this, Miss Yuan?”

Murong Yun’s calm demeanor seemed to set off even more of Yuan Zhi’s anger. It appeared she finally revealed her flawed mask, yelling furiously!

“Outrageous! Truly outrageous! Are you trying to rebel? You lowly commoner dare to strike back! Do you believe I could have your entire family wiped out with a single word?!”

“…”

Yuan Zhi’s words seemed to strike a nerve with Murong Yun. His initially indifferent expression gradually darkened, and the atmosphere became tense.

“Yuan… so that’s how it is. Pray tell, what crime has this commoner committed to deserve the fate of having their entire family exterminated?”

But the foolish deer obviously didn’t sense the tense atmosphere and, unaware of the subtle differences in Murong Yun’s words, poured more oil on the fire.

“What crime? You just abandoned this temple and almost got me killed—this is attempted murder…”

“Uh, Xiaozhi, don’t act like this. Mr. Murong’s decision…”

Seeing the situation going awry, Yuan Hong hastily stepped forward to mediate, disregarding the several deep cuts the Bone Demon had inflicted on him, but Yuan Zhi forcefully swatted his hand away.

“Shut up!”

Murong Yun was surprisingly patient. After a brief moment of losing composure, he quickly regained his calm, not showing excessive anger or concern. He simply shook his head and replied indifferently.

“Miss Yuan, whether you are a noble or a divine consort, we are here to explore the secret realm, not for leisure strolls.”

“I have repeatedly emphasized the dangers within the Tidal Deep Valley. Since you insist on joining, that is an implicit acknowledgment of your role as an explorer. We all risk our lives, so there is no distinction of rank or status, nor a reason to sacrifice one person for another.”

“If injuries happened in battle, that would be acceptable. But you…”

“Slow to react, weak-willed, crying over minor scrapes, exhibiting no personal value, needing help and protection from others. After the incident, you show no remorse, fail to express gratitude, and instead complain about your teammates, passing the blame and shouting… May I ask what your purpose in existing is?”

“You! You! You! Are you mocking my worthlessness?! Outrageous!!! Outrageous!!!! My father would never…”

The impatient voice of Du Zhe, the blue-clad cultivator, interjected at that moment.

“I say, will this ever end? Though I don’t know where this young lady comes from, we don’t have time to play house in a place like this! If you can leave, then leave; if not, just split up. Take your loyal dog and hurry back to the surface, okay?”

Oh? This guy actually said something sensible for once.

Good, you get a point.

Honestly, Du Zhe, though a bit hot-tempered and self-centered, indeed had some real skills and combat experience.

His quick reactions and the way he dealt with companions were commendable. If it weren’t for him and his two companions suppressing the evil aura during the escape from the skeletal ghost, the number of bone claws they would’ve faced would have probably tripled.

In such a case, relying solely on Yuan Hong wouldn’t guarantee that the burden could successfully escape.

Despite his flaws, he could be considered a qualified teammate. Currently, it seemed he had no intention of backstabbing; he was presumably motivated by finding a Qilin to achieve merit, at least more useful than Yuan Zhi, who was just a drag.

“What is your attitude?!”

It was clear that Yuan Zhi was the type who had no idea of the world’s struggles. Though it was unclear why she came here or what the Yuan name signified, even if she were a divine ruler, it wouldn’t mean anything here.

Seeing everyone expressing their opinions, Vilyric and her two companions didn’t resort to kicking her while she was down but maintained a detached stance, causing Yuan Zhi to tremble with rage.

“Fine! This humiliation, I will remember! All of you better wait for me!!!”

“Yuan Hong, let’s go!”

“Huh? Xiaozhi, but this place is… wait a minute…”

The naive Yuan Hong tried to stop her, but Yuan Zhi had already hobbled off toward another exit of the underground lake cave, leaving him to bitterly apologize to the others before hurriedly chasing after her.

“Tch, clueless idiot.”

Du Zhe clicked his tongue, not caring to acknowledge the boy and girl, while Murong Yun, though slightly frowning, chose just to watch them leave without voicing any objections.

As he said, in a place like the Tidal Deep Valley, where dangers lurk at every corner, it might be better to part ways than to drag along a teammate with whom he had friction from the start.

Murong Yun was good-natured, but he wasn’t a soft target to be bullied.

Only Miss Vilyric nudged Ling Feng, who was also frowning at the retreating figures, and whispered.

“Hey, is this really okay? Aren’t you from the Yin-Yang Agency? That guy seems to have an exceptional background. If he dies down there and people find out you did nothing, will you lose salary?”

Not knowing what to think, Ling Feng just shook her head helplessly.

“It’s fine. They won’t encounter any trouble. We just need to move forward.”

“Really~”

Not hearing the whispered conversation between the two girls, Murong Yun glanced at the remaining six members of the team, gently exhaled, and said solemnly.

“Alright, let’s rest for a bit and then continue. Although we took a longer route to dodge the Bone Demon’s attack, this area is still recorded in the atlas, so we just need to make slight adjustments to the route.”

After the earlier experience, Du Zhe understood that Murong Yun’s previous warnings were not mere scare tactics. As the saying goes, a wise person knows the moment, and at this critical juncture, he certainly wouldn’t continue opposing him. He just nodded and returned to sit quietly with his two Guiyuan Sect companions, resting and adjusting.

Everyone took a moment to rest, and Murong Yun found a protruding rock to sit on, taking out a hard biscuit and slowly chewing it while drinking water.

With nothing to do and no need for rest, Miss Vilyric approached the White-clad Middle-aged Man curiously.

“By the way, Murong Yun, didn’t you tell us before not to casually eat anything down here? There could be poisonous insects or demonic creatures that might invade our bodies… Is this space special?”

Martial artists had a good appetite, and having quickly swallowed almost half the biscuit, Murong Yun drank some water and smiled, nodding.

“Miss Vilyric has keen insight. I’ve traveled through the Tidal Deep Valley multiple times. Here, though fraught with danger, there are places for some reason where no demons dare to tread, which serve as safe spots for a brief rest.”

He laid out the atlas scroll beside him, pointing at a few scattered green-marked areas.

“Please take a look, this is the area where we currently find ourselves. The underground lake here is quite special; despite being in a malevolent environment, the water is clean and hasn’t been polluted by evil aura at all.”

Murong Yun touched the stone next to him.

“See, this rock is dry, indicating it hasn’t been in contact with underground water for most of the time. The intensity of the wandering yin energy in this space is far weaker than outside.”

“I suspect there might be some treasure or spirit plant with abundant yang energy hidden within that lake, which keeps the surrounding environment in check, making this underground lake area relatively safe and comfortable for living beings to rest. However, I don’t know how this phenomenon came to be.”

“Hmm…”

The girl glanced at the calm, ripple-free surface of the lake in the distance.

Although there was no light in this space, many luminescent plants grew on the walls and ceiling of the cave, their faint glow illuminating the underground lake, preventing it from becoming so dark that one couldn’t see their own hand, giving it an ethereal feel, like being in a fantasy.

So much so that the torches they carried became somewhat unnecessary.

“You just said you ‘suspect’… meaning you don’t know what’s inside? Haven’t you investigated it thoroughly before?”

   

---