Chapter 102: A Narrow Escape
The old man in black was very pleased with the scene before him. "How about it?" His tone carried a sense of superiority, clearly intending to use spiritual pressure to make the young cultivator before him submit.
All four of them felt somewhat puzzled. Judging by the young man's bone structure, he was very young—probably only sixteen or seventeen—yet he had already become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. That meant he definitely possessed some kind of treasure or had encountered some extraordinary opportunity. At the thought of this, their hearts burned with desire.
They were all old monsters who had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years. Naturally, they had witnessed countless changes of time and the rise and fall of nations. Very few things could spark even a flicker of interest in them. As for the "treasure" at Mount Li, it was also something that drew them. Unfortunately, no matter what methods they used, they simply could not get close to it—and might even be severely harmed.
They had guarded that "treasure" for so many years. They absolutely could not let some unknown cultivator snatch it away. Of course, they had also considered waiting for someone else to retrieve the treasure and then making their move, but that would be too embarrassing. Besides, there was no wall in the world that could block the wind—when the time came, it would do them no good at all.
Mu Lichuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered, "You're all Nascent Soul powerhouses, yet you'd actually strike at a junior like me who's only at the Foundation Establishment stage. If word got out, I wonder if it would become a joke?"
He understood that the reason these four had rushed over so urgently was because they feared the thing that was drawing him would be taken by him. Otherwise, they could never have been persuaded to come—even if the nation were on the brink of life and death.
From the earlier incident at the Yin Gathering Ground, it was clear that unless their own interests were at stake, the survival of the nation could not move their hearts. This was enough to prove just how cold and ruthless these cultivators were. Actually, it made sense—they had seen too much life and death, so the deaths of ordinary people no longer affected them much.
"Young friend, why force yourself?" The old man in blue sighed helplessly. "The treasure of Mount Li doesn't belong to you in the first place. It's not worth risking your life for."
Cultivation was not easy. To reach such a level at such a young age meant he was a genius among geniuses. But if he didn't know how to conduct himself, he could easily meet an early death.
"Don't you seniors feel ashamed? Does the treasure of Mount Li belong to you? If it really did, why is it still sitting beneath Mount Li? Or is it that since you can't get it yourselves, you won't allow anyone else to have it either?" Mu Lichuan's contempt for their behavior ran deep.
He was essentially saying: why would Mount Li nurture demonic beasts? It probably had a lot to do with these Nascent Soul cultivators before him. They believed the treasure of Mount Li belonged to them and that no one else could touch it. Such a mindset was truly selfish.
Even though he was no saint himself, he would never commit such outright robbery.
The fact that these people hadn't come over yet proved there must be some kind of barrier here preventing them. If that was the case, then he could only take a gamble.
"Insolence!" The faces of the old man in black and the others turned extremely ugly. Ever since they had cultivated to their current level, everyone below them spoke to them with fear and respect—nothing like this arrogant brat.
"Insolence? Do you really think you're emperors? Don't forget, this is an era of peace. There are no absolute rulers anymore." Mu Lichuan was deliberately trying to provoke them. While they were off guard, he would use the rope to descend the cliff. As for those old monsters, there was no way they could rush over in time.
In truth, Mu Lichuan's mind was spinning with many thoughts. Most of it was just speculation and might not succeed. At worst, he would be killed by them—but even then, his soul could still escape.
"You... you really don't know what's good for you. We offered you kind advice, yet you treat us with such attitude?" The old man in blue was also enraged, his face full of reproach.
Mu Lichuan's feet slowly retreated. These people could only apply pressure—their spiritual power couldn't reach inside at all. If that was the case, then right now...
"Wait..." The few of them watched helplessly as the youth backed right onto the cliff edge, and then his entire body fell. Their expressions changed drastically.
None of these Nascent Soul cultivators had expected the young man to be so brave. After all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't possibly fly through the air.
"We'll wait right here and see if he comes out!" said the other two old men who had remained silent until now. Their expressions were extremely grim.
They were all such powerful cultivators, yet they had let a Foundation Establishment cultivator escape right under their noses. If word of this got out, the four of them would lose all face.
"Well said. I don't believe he can hide down there forever." The old man in black squinted.
Their spiritual sense couldn't search the area below at all, nor could they enter. If they forced their way in, they would suffer a severe backlash—a complete loss with no gain. But as long as he left this barrier, they could crush him to death.
Mu Lichuan was taking a gamble. His entire body plummeted through the air. Fortunately, the Bloodthirsty Vine helped him—otherwise, under such gravity, his internal organs would definitely have been injured.
The cliff was much deeper than he had imagined—almost bottomless. As for how the people back then had brought her parents' bodies up, it probably had a lot to do with high technology.
He didn't know how long he had been falling. Mu Lichuan was still very nervous that those powerhouses might chase after him. But after so long with no movement at all, it proved his earlier guess correct—they couldn't get in at all.
The fact that they had appeared dozens of meters away meant there was a barrier here, one that even restricted those powerhouses. As for why, he had no idea. But he had managed to escape this calamity, safe though shaken. At the same time, Mu Lichuan deeply realized that the greater the gap in cultivation levels, the more terrifying the pressure on the weaker party. Right now, his body was injured all over.
"Master, below the cliff is very deep cold water. It's not suitable for your current body." Xiao Xue was also wary of such cold water. Of course, if it were Mystic Ice Water, it would probably become an icy vine.
By now, Mu Lichuan could already feel the cold. "Then let's find a place to land first." He had no choice—he had discovered that the rope wasn't long enough at all. Helpless, he could only untie the rope from his waist. "Can you still hold on?"
The cliff walls—these rock faces had probably been nurtured by cold energy for ages, making the walls extremely hard. An ordinary dagger couldn't pierce them at all. Even a spirit sword could only go in a tiny bit. In other words, unless he used spiritual power to drive it in and then descend slowly, it was impossible—but that required sufficient spiritual energy.
This planet's spiritual energy was already extremely thin. He couldn't rely on pills to sustain himself either. With such a massive amount of spiritual energy, unless he was meditating, his current condition made it impossible to absorb and circulate it. He might even explode and die.
"Master, I can hold on for now, but there doesn't seem to be anywhere to land below. It's all slippery rock walls." Xiao Xue was a plant, and its vines were weapons in themselves. So smooth cliff faces weren't much of an obstacle for sharp vines that could slip into any crack.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Mu Lichuan relied entirely on Xiao Xue to slowly descend. The closer he got to the water, the more he could feel the icy cold air. Even with spiritual energy protecting his body, he could still sense the chill.
The cold water wasn't churning as Mu Lichuan had imagined. In fact, this cold water river was eerily calm—so quiet it made one feel uneasy. At the same time, he confirmed that the "treasure" drawing him was actually coming from beneath the cold water. He felt like crying but had no tears.
There was no place to stand on either side of the cold water river at the bottom of the cliff. He couldn't even find a shallow bank where he could sit and meditate. "Xiao Xue, see if there's a cave or something on this cliff." Actually, Mu Lichuan was only trying his luck. Otherwise, he would have to gamble on a Spiritual Energy Pill.
A Spiritual Energy Pill could instantly replenish the spiritual energy he had consumed. When he swallowed it, he would jump into the cold water. That way, it should be able to dissolve the explosive feeling the pill brought.
Xiao Xue was a plant and naturally had some resistance to cold. After hearing its master's words, it began searching with its spiritual sense. It wasn't that Mu Lichuan didn't want to search himself—it was just that he discovered his spiritual sense could only reach a few meters at most. Anything farther was completely impossible.
About ten minutes later, Xiao Xue sent back joyful news—it had found an opening. But it was very small, only big enough for one person to crawl through. The space inside was relatively large, though.
So when Mu Lichuan saw the opening above the cold water, he couldn't help but feel it looked like a dog hole. If Xiao Xue hadn't said the space inside was decent, he absolutely would not have crawled in. What if he couldn't get out?
"Zzzz..." When Mu Lichuan crawled in, he heard a kind of sound. He immediately spat, "Xiao Xue, what you found is a snake den!"
Even though it was somewhat dark, it didn't affect his vision at all. So he could clearly see densely packed snakes—it made his scalp tingle.
These snakes were all as thick as an arm. Besides the ground, they were coiled all over the cave ceiling and walls. If an ordinary person were here, they would probably be scared to death.
"Master, the snakes are attacking! Hurry!" Xiao Xue shouted loudly, entirely to divert its master's attention.
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