108. Trapped

Breathing in the air once more felt wonderful. Cultivators could hold their breath longer than ordinary people but could not live underwater like fish.

Lingyu was curious. This place was clearly at the bottom of a spring, yet there was no water flow. It seemed as if an invisible air shield isolated it.

A light flickered on. Abi held a shark silk pouch filled with moonlight stones, illuminating the surroundings clearly.

“Look,” Abi pointed toward the depths of the cave. “What is that?”

Lingyu and Qian Jiale lifted their eyes to see a small corner of the cave shimmering faintly. At first glance, it resembled the fire crystals outside, but they sensed an extraordinary spiritual energy fluctuation and an intense burning heat emanating from it.

Lingyu took out a luminous pearl from her bosom, summoned the Kanli Sword, and slowly stepped forward.

“This is…” Under the glow of the luminous pearl, Lingyu clearly saw that the faint light came from some scattered feathers.

To be precise, it was one feather and some scattered down.

The feather was about two inches long, entirely engulfed in flames as if made of fire, yet its surface was coated with a layer of frost. Fire and ice—elements that mortals deemed impossible to coexist—were perfectly fused together.

The down surrounding it took the form of tiny fireballs, like small crystal beads made from condensed flames, barely recognizable as feathers.

“What is it?” Abi asked from a distance. As a vine demon, she feared fire and dared only to watch from afar.

“Could it be…” Qian Jiale was visibly moved, staring at the pile of feathers on the ground in awe.

“Senior Brother, do you know what it is?” Lingyu tilted her head to ask.

Qian Jiale swallowed nervously and steadied himself. “I don’t know for sure, but I have a guess.” He paused. “Mount Zhuruo isn’t a volcano. It’s said that the elder masters couldn’t find any fire source, so… it’s heaven’s fire, not earth’s fire.”

Lingyu began to understand what he meant, her expression growing solemn.

“But fire doesn’t just appear from nowhere. If there’s fire, there must be a source.” Qian Jiale stared intently at the feather.

“Senior Brother Qian means the fire source… is right here?” Lingyu voiced the thought in his mind.

“Just a guess.” Qian Jiale himself found it astonishing and couldn’t be certain.

Lingyu didn’t dare to be sure either. After all, the heavenly fire of Mount Zhuruo was so intense that even Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t endure it. For them, mere Qi Refining disciples, to find its source so easily seemed unbelievable.

Moreover, for such a high-grade heavenly fire, how could they possibly withstand the fire source?

Though both were doubtful, they secretly held a glimmer of hope. Perhaps their guess was correct. These feathers were so unusual that even without approaching, they already sensed the burning heat pulsating fiercely.

More importantly, after months of cultivation on Mount Zhuruo and experiencing its heavenly fire, they could feel that the fiery essence on the feather perfectly matched the mountain’s fire.

Lingyu tilted her head, pondering for a moment. “Could it be that these feathers are just a unique product of Mount Zhuruo?”

“Hmm, you might be right,” Qian Jiale exhaled deeply. “In any case, this is definitely no ordinary object.”

He looked at Abi and smiled appreciatively. “Your spirit pet is truly rare.”

Abi’s eyes brightened. “Are you praising me?”

“Of course. Here, take this as a treat.” Qian Jiale tossed her a bottle of nourishing pill as a reward. He had previously thought Lingyu was reckless for risking her safety over a spirit pet, but now he felt such impulsiveness was worthwhile. He was a typical Cangming sect cultivator, practical and pragmatic—the value of a spirit pet had to justify its upkeep, and worthless pets weren’t worth the expense.

He didn’t know Lingyu’s way of raising Abi was no different from keeping a servant. Other spirit pets received precious pills and were cared for by disciples, but Abi did all the chores and ate only the cheapest nourishing pills. Lingyu had compared and found that the energy pearl she used was as effective as other spirit beast pills, and she occasionally borrowed it to nurture her immortal cultivation books...

One day, Qian Jiale realized this and was moved to tears. If only he had known that raising a transformed spirit pet could be so...

Abi, pure-hearted, was overjoyed by Qian Jiale’s praise and the nourishing pill. They tasted delicious, but her master was stingy, giving her only a small bottle each month.

“Senior Brother Qian, shall we take them?” Lingyu stared at the feathers and asked.

“Of course,” Qian Jiale replied without hesitation. “It’s so messy here; we better grab them and get out before we get caught up in this.”

Lingyu nodded, prepared an empty Universe Bag, and extended the Kanli Sword, attempting to pick up the feathers directly.

But she miscalculated. Before the sword could touch the feathers, she felt that intense heat surge up, almost melting the blade.

Impossible! The thought flashed in her mind, and she quickly withdrew. The Kanli Sword couldn’t withstand such heat; if forcibly exposed, it would melt. It was her life-bound spiritual sword—damage to it would cripple her cultivation.

“Senior Brother Qian, the fire is too intense. My sword can’t take it, and I fear the Universe Bag won’t be able to contain it either.” The Universe Bag was usually made from spirit beast leather and inscribed with various runes, making it difficult to damage. But the flames on the feathers were of too high a grade for their low-level Qi Refining bags to endure.

“What do we do then?” Lingyu’s expression turned bleak. His bag probably couldn’t handle it either.

After some thought, no solution emerged. Suddenly, a tremendous roar erupted, and a powerful surge of air struck them like the world had flipped upside down, shaking the entire stone cave violently.

Abi, caught off guard, rolled out with a “gulp.”

“Abi!” Seeing the violent impact, Lingyu quickly grabbed her and stuffed her back into the spirit beast pouch.

“Senior Brother Qian, look!”

“Get out first!” Qian Jiale shouted. “Saving ourselves is the priority. We can retrieve the items later.”

Lingyu didn’t hesitate to agree. No matter what, life was paramount.

As they turned to retrace their path, another massive tremor struck. Water surged into the stone passageway, nearly breaking through the cave’s air shield. Lingyu saw the shield twist violently under the water’s pressure, emitting sharp, rushing air sounds.

Then came even louder noises, continuous and relentless. Underwater, the sounds were muffled, but within the cave, they echoed thunderously, deafening.

Worse still, the surroundings trembled without cease, as if the mountain were collapsing.

Lingyu and Qian Jiale tried to swim out through the stone passage, but the currents pushed them back again and again. Despite numerous attempts, they couldn’t resist the powerful flow.

“This won’t do...” Qian Jiale wiped his face. “We can’t get out like this...”

Before he finished, a series of thunderous crashes persisted for a good while. Turbulent waters surged, bringing with them many stones mixed with fire crystals.

When the shaking finally subsided, Lingyu and Qian Jiale were dumbfounded.

The stone passage they had entered through was blocked by debris!

The two exchanged glances.

“What… happened?” After a long moment, Qian Jiale exhaled deeply.

How could Lingyu know? The passage was blocked; the tremors had ceased. She simply sat down to carefully contemplate the situation.

First, there had been chaos in the earth fissure spring, then someone shouted, “The earth is cracking again…”

“Senior Brother Qian, you once said the earth fissure spring formed from a crack two years ago, hence the name.”

Qian Jiale nodded. “Yes.”

“Just now someone shouted the earth cracked again. Could today’s events be the same as two years ago?”

Qian Jiale thought for a moment, then said, “Very likely.”

“Do you remember how loud it was when the earth fissure spring appeared last time?”

Qian Jiale looked puzzled, thinking for a while. “I’m not sure. I didn’t hear much news, so probably not too loud.” He shook his head. “Honestly, two years ago I was always at the Small Sword Pool, unaware of anything about the earth fissure at Mount Zhuruo. It was only after reaching Qi Refinement completion that Senior Brother Liu told me.”

Lingyu also knew what state Qian Jiale had been in two years ago. They had spent two years together; he had left the Small Sword Pool just a few months before her.

She thought for a moment. “If something abnormal happened, Senior Brother Liu would have told you. Besides, so many Qi Refining disciples are training here now. The sect is aware and hasn’t stopped us, which means they don’t think it’s dangerous…”

“Are you saying this fissure isn’t dangerous either?” Qian Jiale asked.

Lingyu shook her head gravely. “I have a bad feeling. This fissure probably exceeds the sect’s expectations.”

“What do you mean?”

Lingyu sighed deeply. “Think about it. The former Mount Zhuruo’s heavenly fire was so intense that even Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t endure it. Only Golden Core disciples would come here. Are there many Golden Core disciples?”

“Definitely not.” The Taibai Sect had seventy or eighty Golden Core disciples, which sounded like many, but the realm of Ling Cang was vast. The sect’s mountain base alone spanned thousands of miles. These Golden Core disciples were either secluded in their caves or seeking treasures in hidden places, rarely appearing publicly.

“That’s just it. Only Golden Core disciples came to Mount Zhuruo before, and there’s no treasure worth fighting over. Even if a dangerous fissure appeared, they probably wouldn’t be aware.”

Qian Jiale gradually understood, sweat breaking out on his back. “You mean… you mean…”

Lingyu sighed. “This time is different from two years ago. Back then, Mount Zhuruo was uninhabited. Now, there are thousands of Qi Refining disciples gathered here. If a dangerous fissure appears, casualties are inevitable.”

Qian Jiale sat beside her, nodding heavily. “You’re right. Even if the fissure isn’t severe, we saw how crowded it was earlier. Accidental injuries are unavoidable…”

Often, casualties don’t stem from the disaster’s severity but from how it’s handled. So many people rushing into the fissure spring simultaneously, trying to seize opportunity before others, meant some would be pushed in. If the fissure opened and Mount Zhuruo’s heavenly fire flared, it would be a miracle if no one died.

“What do we do?” Qian Jiale fixed his gaze on the passage blocked by debris. “Do we just wait here?”

…