Cultivating immortality relies on spatial abilities; defying fate to become the protagonist.

Chapter 115 The Secrets of the Soul Palace (Part 3)

In such a pitch-black environment, if it weren't for the eerie green glow of the will-o'-the-wisps flickering at the entrances of those caves, it would be difficult to detect their presence even with eyes wide open.

Gu Shihan cautiously probed a wisp of divine sense into the cave, and soon keenly sensed a strong, nauseating smell of blood.

"Brother, in my opinion, we should head to the cave where the stench of blood is strongest. Those people must have gone inside!"

Gu Shihan lowered her voice, her tone revealing a hint of nervousness and excitement.

The two understood each other perfectly, exchanged a glance, and then tiptoed into the cave in perfect unison.

At first, the entrance to the cave was so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time, but as they went deeper, the path gradually widened.

The cold, damp cave walls seemed to be covered with a layer of slippery mucus, emanating a chill.

On the damp, cold cave walls, countless blood-sucking red bats lay densely packed together.

These red bats stared with scarlet eyes, their sharp fangs gleaming coldly, seemingly ready to pounce on any intruder at any moment.

Fortunately, Gu Shihan and Shi Qinghan were prepared. They not only wore invisibility talismans that could conceal their presence, but also aura-concealing talismans that could suppress their aura.

This is why, despite the large number of red bats around them, they never noticed their presence.

And so, the two of them cautiously made their way forward through the cave.

About half an hour later, suddenly, a sharp "whoosh" sound came from afar.

Gu Shihan reacted quickly, suddenly reaching out to grab Shi Qinghan beside her and quickly squatting down.

Almost at the same instant, a flock of black crows swept overhead like lightning.

"That was close! We were just a hair's breadth away from being hit by this flock of black crows. If our whereabouts had been exposed, the consequences would have been unimaginable!" Shi Qinghan said with lingering fear, a fine layer of sweat already appearing on his forehead.

“That’s right! But the fact that there are black crows here means we haven’t come to the wrong place!” Gu Shihan replied softly while cautiously observing the surroundings.

To avoid another direct encounter with the crows, they had to hunch over and move silently through the darkness.

After several more turns, the road suddenly opened up, and the space suddenly became larger.

An extremely strong aura of malevolence, accompanied by a pungent smell of blood, assaulted our senses.

The two quickly crouched down, their eyes fixed on what was ahead.

A colossal pool of blood occupied nearly half of the entire cave.

The blood in the pool was as thick as paste, constantly bubbling with red bubbles, making a gurgling sound that sent chills down one's spine.

Countless tiny insects writhed in the blood pool, while a swarm of black crows gathered around its edge, greedily absorbing the blood energy emanating from the pool as if it were some unparalleled delicacy.

Looking at the stone walls surrounding the cave, there are many small stone caves of varying sizes.

Each cave contained a black box, which looked very eerie and inspired fear.

Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the box contains individual people, but it is unknown whether they are alive or dead.

Gu Shihan frowned and immediately and cautiously extended her divine sense over.

In an instant, her face turned deathly pale. It turned out that the people in those boxes were in different conditions; some had already lost their breath, while those who were still alive were suffering the cruel torture of being bled out.

Just as the two were in astonishment, a series of crisp "clinking" sounds entered their ears.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a group of mysterious people dressed in black robes leading some cultivators toward them.

Upon hearing the footsteps, the flock of black crows immediately took flight, circling and dancing in the air, seemingly warmly welcoming the arrival of the man in black robes.

Without pausing, the man in black robes leaped up like a ghost and landed steadily in the narrow stone caves.

He stared blankly at the lifeless bodies on the ground, as if their lives and deaths had nothing to do with him.

They casually stretched out their hands and, as if discarding trash, threw the corpses into the blood pool next to them, which reeked of a pungent, bloody stench.

Seeing this, Gu Shihan and Shi Qinghan, who had been observing from the shadows, were extremely anxious and could no longer suppress their urge to save the person.

The two exchanged a glance, nodded in understanding, and decided to immediately launch a rescue operation.

Xingbai swiftly unleashed a powerful binding force, instantly sealing off all entrances and exits of the cave, making it impossible for anyone to escape.

Yu Tong and Long Teng emerged from the space, and in an instant, a raging fire broke out above the blood pool, its fierce flames illuminating the entire stone cave.

Gu Shihan and Shi Qinghan, each wielding a longsword, charged into the enemy ranks side by side.

Amidst the flashing sword light, several screams rang out. After just a few rounds, four enemies lay dead in pools of blood, never to rise again.

Seeing this, the remaining enemies knew that the situation was hopeless and began to retreat, wanting to take the opportunity to escape and call for help from the outside world.

The black-robed man's wishful thinking failed, because with Xingbai guarding the area, all their attempts were nothing but wishful thinking.

After a fierce struggle, all ten enemies were finally subdued and firmly controlled.

Star White leaped lightly into the air and landed in front of the crowd. Its small, delicate claws never stopped moving, and with lightning speed, it tapped several points on the bodies of the captured people.

Before long, it removed several disgusting Gu worms from these people's bodies.

Seeing Xingbai's actions, Shi Qinghan couldn't help but feel very curious and asked, "Xingbai, what do you need these Gu worms for?"

Upon hearing Shi Qinghan's question, Xingbai looked up, giving him a "Are you stupid?" look.

The star-white fox's eyes were full of smiles as it explained: "These Gu worms can't die now. I'll remove the Gu worms from their bodies, and then you can kill these people without worry!"
It should be understood that if someone carrying a Gu worm is killed directly, the person who cast the Gu worm will inevitably notice something amiss.

Wouldn't that alert the enemy? So, this tactic is called 'not alerting the enemy,' right? Aren't you clever, young master?"

"Indeed, Xingbai, you're so clever!" Shi Qinghan praised with a smile, then turned and went to kill someone.

Gu Shihan took out the Qiankun House and waved his hand gently, causing the Qiankun House to instantly expand.

He chanted incantations and cast spells, and a beam of light shot out from the Qiankun House, enveloping all the cultivators brought by the black-robed man.

In the blink of an eye, these people were sucked into the Qiankun House and disappeared without a trace.

(End of this chapter)