Chapter 245
Chapter 245
I laughed and hefted the frighteningly heavy black iron token in my hand.
“Old Cao, you have even more confidence in my master than I do, and I’m her disciple!”
He looked at me with a genial smile.
“What? Don’t you have confidence in your own master, Xiao Wu?”
I shrugged.
“It’s not that… It’s just that Master’s past, strength, and cultivation have always been a mystery. I don’t know a single thing about them. You won’t tell me either, so how am I supposed to know exactly how powerful she is?”
The damned fat bird seemed to have recovered some energy. It fluttered back onto my shoulder and chirped noisily,
“Anyway, your master is a demoness! She’s terrifying. She hits Lord Bird’s head even harder than you do. So brutal!”
Old Cao and I could not help laughing.
After retrieving the mysterious black iron token from the Yellow Springs pool, we had probably uncovered half of the secret beneath the hill behind Lianghe District Middle School!
But I still had one concern. The underground Yellow Springs itself would continue slowly corroding and damaging Lianghe District Middle School’s highly auspicious Three Stars Attending the Moon feng shui pattern.
As Old Cao had said, that probably was not the evil cultivator’s primary purpose in setting all this up, but the “side effect” would still influence the school.
If the Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation remained unchecked, then in as little as seven or eight years–or perhaps more than a decade–the school’s superb feng shui would slowly decay. In the end, it would become an ordinary middle school in a small town!
Its academic results might not even compare with schools in other towns, much less those in the county seat.
I had studied at Lianghe District Middle School for two years and felt genuine affection for it. I did not want to see that happen.
The thoughtful Old Cao seemed to notice my concern…
He patted my shoulder and said softly,
“Xiao Wu, don’t think too much. We can barely protect ourselves right now, much less destroy the Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation.”
I nodded to show that I understood.
Old Cao continued,
“But just as you said yourself, feng shui arts–especially patterns on this scale that borrow the terrain of mountains and rivers–need time to take effect, whether they’re good or bad. Even if it can destroy Three Stars Attending the Moon, that will take several years at least, won’t it?”
“You’re the most talented young man I’ve ever met. You formally entered the path of cultivation only two short years ago, yet you’ve already reached your present level. You can even stand on equal ground with an old hand like me!”
“In a few more years, when your cultivation is higher, you can return and deal with the malignant Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation. Wouldn’t that solve both problems? For now, we’d better concentrate on getting out of here alive and safe.”
Old Cao’s comfort and advice dispelled my worries, and I relaxed.
I put the strange black iron token safely into my backpack, rallied my spirits, and searched for a way out with Old Cao and Roundy…
But after the three of us searched everywhere, we finally confirmed that the underground cavern was completely sealed!
The surging yellow underground river was the only way out!
In other words, if we wanted to escape, we would have to do what we had done before: enter the underground river’s main channel and follow the current, hoping it would carry us into the Chuan River.
That was our only chance of survival!
But all my talisman paper was soaked now, so I had no way to draw any more Breath-Holding Talismans.
Without a talisman to extend how long we could survive underwater, the danger would increase enormously!
I raised a hand and smacked Roundy on the head.
“Fat bird, do you know any demonic art that can let people breathe underwater or survive longer down there?”
“No! And Wu, your big brother is warning you again: stop hitting my head.”
Roundy glared at me.
I curled my lip.
“You’re useless… Bai Su can do it. If only she were here.”
At that moment, I missed Bai Su’s demonic art that conjured a bubble around a person more than ever.
Without my Breath-Holding Talismans, our present predicament seemed to have no solution…
We truly had no choice but to gamble on luck!
Old Cao, however, appeared perfectly calm.
“Xiao Wu, stop pondering it. This is our only way out. We have no other choice. For those of us in the esoteric world, risking our luck on the boundary between life and death is sometimes commonplace. Since you’ve set foot on this path, remember to prepare yourself to face danger like this at any time.”
His eyes rested on me, warm and wise.
I froze for a moment.
Then I laughed heartily too.
“You’re right! Since I chose this path, standing between life and death is nothing unusual. Why worry so much? All right! This time, we’ll rely on our own lungs and try to make it into the Chuan River in a single breath. To tell the truth, though, I’m more worried about you and Roundy.”
For me, the practice of internal martial arts greatly improved every aspect of my physique–and that naturally included lung capacity!
The great transformative force masters of history could slow their heartbeat and pulse to an extraordinary degree, and their lung capacity was immense. Some could even hold a single breath for ten minutes–better than an ordinary beginner-level Breath-Holding Talisman!
I was still one step from the peak of overt force. I had not even reached hidden force, so transformative force remained as remote as a fantasy to me.
Even so, I was far stronger in this respect than Old Cao and Roundy.
“Oh, Wu, stop worrying about me and Old Cao. We’ll definitely be fine! Lord Bird is a super lucky star. Maybe we’re already right beside the Chuan River. We might rush forward a few dozen meters and enter it directly.”
The fat bird always possessed a mysterious confidence and boundless optimism.
“All right! Let’s get ready.”
I stopped wasting words, and together we walked toward the main channel of the surging, muddy yellow underground river…
This time, life and death would be left to fate!
“Ready?”
Whoosh!
I drew a deep breath, trying to store as much air in my lungs as possible so I could last longer.
Then all three of us jumped into the rolling underground river.
At once, that silent, lightless darkness enveloped me again!
The underground river roared as it rushed along, deafening from outside. But sound required a medium to travel, and underwater our ears could hear nothing, while our eyes could see nothing…
We could only feel our bodies being carried forward by the current. Every so often, we encountered a whirlpool that spun us around, then flung us away with powerful centrifugal force…
The sensation was truly awful!
This time, I had no idea how much time passed.
Just as I felt myself nearing the limit of my breath, the space around me suddenly opened up. It was a strange and indescribable sense of vastness.
The current immediately slowed as well.
I knew then that we had succeeded!
We had escaped the underground river and been swept into the Chuan River…