Chapter 297: Chapter 297: A Drowned Sinner (7)

Meanwhile…

The tunnel stretched endlessly ahead.

It was completely dark, barely illuminated by the faint glow of the old man’s soul as he pointed the way forward.

Footsteps echoed rapidly through the narrow passage as the group rushed toward the exit.

Yet the deeper they ran, the more uneasy the air became.

“Keep going! The moment we get out of here, that thing won’t be able to chase us!” the old man shouted.

Everyone nodded at his words.

Judging by the fact that this was a prison, there must be some kind of seal preventing that black flood from leaving.

Yue Lan also remembered Li Feng mentioning that he had noticed many formations at the entrance.

’Are those formations meant to keep these things from escaping…?’

Her golden eye glimmered faintly in the darkness as she pondered.

But then—

Behind them.

BOOOOM!!!

Another distant explosion roared through the underground complex.

The entire tunnel trembled violently.

Cracks spread along the ancient stone ceiling as dust and fragments of rock rained down.

This explosion felt far more violent and powerful than the previous ones.

Shui Ruo, who was at the back of the group, flinched as she felt the aftershock ripple through the tunnel.

“H-He’s still fighting… I hope he’s alright.”

Her voice trembled slightly.

Even though they had only just met, she had already formed a good impression of Li Feng.

He seemed to be quite brave and righteous as he willing to risk himself to come and save his fellow sect members.

That alone made her admire him a little.

After all, the teachings of the Waterflow Sect were not only about defense, but also about protecting others.

Most righteous sects focused too heavily on offense rather than defense, which was precisely why the Waterflow Sect was important to the alliance.

They specialized in protecting the backline and providing support.

Because of her nature, Shui Ruo wanted to go back and help.

But…

She knew she would be useless against that monster.

So she could only grit her teeth in frustration.

And it wasn’t just her.

She could see that even Jian Ruyi and Yue Lan who were usually the most composed had worried expressions on their faces.

After all, even from this distance, they could feel the terrifying fluctuations of power coming from behind them.

Each explosion felt like two mountains colliding somewhere deep within the prison.

Yue Lan said nothing.

But her breathing had grown slightly heavier.

Her fingers tightened around the hilt of the Ice Jade Sword at her waist until her knuckles turned pale.

In her mind, she could almost picture the scene.

Li Feng standing alone against that terrifying monster in the flooded chamber.

Each explosion…

Each tremor…

Might mean he had been forced to block another devastating attack.

Her chest tightened as she was filled with worry.

Meanwhile, far behind them, Li Feng was actually…smiling as he fought, watching a flood of Favor Point notifications appear before his eyes.

Then as if he want to let her know more about his “sacrifice.”

BOOOOMMM!!

Another explosion erupted behind them.

The tremor was even more violent this time, causing the entire tunnel to shake.

Shui Ruo gulped when she felt the intensity of the battle raging behind them, but she continued running.

Because she knew Liu Yanyue was right.

Going back would only make things worse

“Just a little farther,” Jian Ruyi suddenly said as she pointed ahead.

At the far end of the corridor, a faint breeze was flowing inward.

…It was air from outside.

Shui Ruo’s eyes lit up when she sensed it.

“The exit!”

Hope flickered among the group.

They immediately sped up, sprinting through the tunnel with renewed urgency.

But at that exact moment, something behind them shifted.

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

A strange sound echoed faintly through the tunnel behind them.

At first, it was barely noticeable beneath the distant explosions.

But gradually… The sound grew louder as black liquid began seething out along the tunnel walls,

It crawled across the walls, across the ceiling, and began dripping onto the floor.

Plip…

Plip…

Plip…

Shui Ruo noticed it and suddenly froze mid-step.

“…Did you hear that?”

The others slowed slightly.

Jian Ruyi frowned.

“Hear what—”

Then she saw it, and her pupils shrank.

Black liquid was spreading across the stone floor behind them.

Not flowing like normal water… but crawling like something alive.

It twisted slowly across the ground, forming rippling patterns as if searching for something.

Yue Lan turned to look as well.

“…What is that?”

Before anyone could answer, the black liquid suddenly surged forward and shot toward them….or more precisely, toward Yue Lan, as if trying to impale her.

But Yue Lan had already moved.

Her golden eyes flashed coldly in the darkness.

The moment the black liquid twitched toward her, her hand moved.

SHING!!

The Ice Jade Sword left its scabbard in a streak of pale blue light.

Without hesitation, Yue Lan turned and slashed at the incoming attack.

SWISH!!

A crescent of icy sword qi cut through the air.

CLANG!!

The sword struck the black spike directly.

For an instant, frost spread across the surface of the liquid like crystal veins.

Then—

CRACK!!

The spike shattered apart, breaking into scattered droplets that splattered across the tunnel floor.

But Yue Lan’s expression didn’t relax.

Because the moment the attack broke apart, the droplets began writhing again.

The black liquid gathered itself like a swarm of insects.

Then it surged forward once more.

“Move!” Liu Yanyue shouted.

The group immediately burst forward again.

SPLASH!!

Behind them, the black liquid slammed into the ground where Yue Lan had been standing just a moment earlier, stabbing into the stone like a spear before it began crawling toward them at an extremely fast speed.

Shui Ruo’s face turned pale as she glanced back.

“It—it’s chasing us!”

Indeed, the black liquid was no longer simply seeping from the walls.

It was flowing and crawling rapidly along the tunnel like a hunting beast.

Thin tendrils stretched out from the main mass, slithering across the floor and walls as they pursued them.

Jian Ruyi frowned deeply.

“Why does it seem to desperately targeting us?”

“No…” Liu Yanyue said quietly, her eyes narrowing beneath the blind fold as she looked at Yue Lan.

“It’s targeting her.”

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