208: Chapter 208 Rescuing the Beauty and Obtaining Clues to the Heart of the Realm

With a thought, he pushed his protective golden light to its limit, making it almost tangible. He then exchanged for a floating orb of light to hang before him, illuminating a ten-meter radius around him.

Having finished these preparations, Su Changge maintained a posture ready to retreat at any moment and stepped forward, one pace at a time, into the all-consuming darkness.

The moment he stepped into the mist barrier, the bone-chilling cold intensified tenfold. Even with the golden light protecting his body, traces of Yin Qi still seeped through, making his whole body shudder and his blood feel as if it were about to freeze.

It was even more brutal than he had anticipated.

Su Changge no longer hesitated and completely submerged himself in the black mist.

The surrounding scenery changed instantly. Visibility was suppressed to five meters; beyond that was pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see their own hand.

Absolute dead silence. The sound of the wind, the chirping of insects, and even his own breathing seemed swallowed by the thick fog, leaving only the drum-like beating of his own heart in his ears.

He moved his feet extremely slowly, testing each step with his toes for fear of stepping into a trap.

After proceeding roughly a hundred meters in this manner, his footsteps suddenly halted.

The faint, ethereal sound of a woman weeping drifted from deep within the darkness ahead. The voice was very soft yet exceptionally clear, sounding now distant and now close, carrying an indescribable eeriness and sorrow.

Su Changge's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

He stood still, holding his breath and focusing his mind, and without hesitation, he activated the Pressure Special Effect.

An invisible, majestic Aura surged forward, causing the thick fog to churn wherever it passed.

The sorrowful weeping came to an abrupt halt.

The surroundings returned once more to a suffocating, dead silence.

The special effect still worked. Su Changge's nerves relaxed slightly; not daring to linger, he quickened his pace toward the depths.

After walking for about another hour, he noticed a change in the sensation beneath his feet. It was no longer hard rock but had become soft and slippery, like a marsh.

Looking down with the help of the light orb, he saw the ground beneath him was an eerie dark black, with wisps of black gas rising from it.

A strong sense of crisis welled up in his heart.

Memory fragments of Old Ancestor Xuantian flashed by: the lands of the Northern Region contained corrosive poison; if a Cultivator touched it, their flesh and blood would dissolve.

Su Changge hastily backed away and quickly took out the jade bottle gifted by the Old Priest, pouring out a green Medicinal Pill and swallowing it.

Even so, he did not dare be careless, specifically choosing protruding hard rocks to step on as he detoured forward.

Another hour passed. Just as he leaped onto a seemingly solid rock, the ground beneath him suddenly gave way.

The sudden change caught him off guard. A sense of weightlessness instantly seized his entire body, and before he could even react, he fell straight down into the endless darkness below.

"Ah!"

After falling about ten meters, he crashed heavily onto the ground. Intense pain exploded from his tailbone and spread through his entire body, hurting so much he nearly fainted.

He endured the sharp pain and struggled to get up.

Using the light to look around, he discovered he had fallen into a massive underground karst cave. The ceiling hung high above with stalactites dangling down, casting hideous shadows.

A scent of blood and decay, several times stronger than that in the valley, wafted from the depths of the cave.

Su Changge's heart tightened. Just as he was about to turn and climb back up, a familiar voice abruptly rang out from the depths, echoing through the cavern.

"Help! Is anyone there? Save me!"

The voice was shrill and filled with despair.

This voice... was exactly the same as the cry for help he had heard outside the mist barrier of the Blood Race's main hall.

The color instantly drained from Su Changge's face.

Had that person calling for help actually followed him here? Or was this voice itself one of the anomalies of the Northern Region?

He stood in place, caught in a dilemma.

Going deeper meant facing an unknown great horror. Retreating meant not knowing how much more time would be wasted.

He weighed his options repeatedly, and finally, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

Fortune favors the bold.

Su Changge activated the light orb and walked warily toward the depths of the cave. The deeper he went, the heavier the Yin cold air became, making his teeth chatter and forcing him to pour more spiritual power into his protective golden light.

After walking a hundred meters, his footsteps stopped.

At the end of his vision, beneath a massive stalactite, a figure was actually chained.

It was a woman in white. Her limbs were pierced by thick iron chains engraved with runes, which were deeply embedded into her flesh. Her long hair covered her face, her body was covered in wounds, and her breath was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.

The cry for help just now had indeed come from her mouth.

The woman seemed to sense the light and looked up with effort. When she saw Su Changge, her dim eyes exploded with the light of survival, and she used all her strength to shout:

"Fellow Daoist! Save me! I am a Disciple of the Eastern Wasteland's Qingyun Sect. I was plotted against by villains and trapped here!"

Su Changge stood in place and did not step forward, his vigilance raised to the maximum.

A Disciple of the Eastern Wasteland's Qingyun Sect? Why would she appear in the Forbidden Ground of the Blood Abyss Realm and be imprisoned in such an eerie manner?

Was it a trap, or was there another hidden story?

Su Changge stood there, staring at the woman tied to the stalactite, not daring to move even half a step forward.

He was just a noob at the Qi Refining First Layer. If this was a trap, he would be finished instantly.

Seeing Su Changge not coming forward, the woman was so anxious that tears began to fall.

"Fellow Daoist! I really am a Disciple of the Qingyun Sect! My name is Lin Waner!"

"I followed my Senior Brother from the Sect to the Blood Abyss Realm to look for Spiritual Plants, but I was captured by the Blood Race. They threw me here to feed the monsters!"

"Fellow Daoist, please save me! My Sect will give you a great reward!"

Lin Waner's voice carried a sob; she didn't look like she was faking it.

Su Changge still didn't dare to step forward. He pulled up the System panel, wanting to use an investigation special effect to check Lin Waner's cultivation.

As it turned out, the System prompted that the investigation function was restricted and could not be used.

Su Changge grit his teeth and decided to ignore her.

Better to have one less trouble than one more. Saving her would mean bringing along a burden, and if she discovered he was only at the Qi Refining First Layer, it would be over for him.

Su Changge turned around, intending to leave.

Seeing Su Changge about to leave, Lin Waner shouted in desperation.

"Fellow Daoist! Don't go! I know where the heart of the realm of the Northern Region is! I can take you there!"

Su Changge's footsteps stopped instantly.

She knew about the heart of the realm?

Su Changge turned around, looked at Lin Waner, and frowned.

"How do you know about the heart of the realm?"

Seeing Su Changge stop, Lin Waner spoke hurriedly.

"It was written in my Senior Brother's notes! The heart of the realm is in the Ancestral Hall of the Northern Region! It can purify the entire Blood Abyss Realm!"

"I'll take you to find it! Just save me and get me out of here, okay?"

Su Changge was moved.

He was just worrying about not being able to find the specific location of the heart of the realm, and Lin Waner actually knew?

However, he still didn't quite trust Lin Waner. Who knew if she was lying to him?

Su Changge stood there, weighing the pros and cons for a long time, before finally deciding to release Lin Waner first.

At worst, if he encountered danger, he would just dump her and run for it himself.

Su Changge slowly walked over and looked at the chains binding Lin Waner.

The chains were made of profound iron and were very thick. As someone at the Qi Refining First Layer, he couldn't possibly cut through them.

Su Changge frowned and commanded the System to exchange for a Sword Light Special Effect.

A dazzling sword light emerged from Su Changge's fingertip and slashed toward the chains.

The sword light struck the chains, producing a piercing sound.

The chains snapped upon impact.

Lin Waner's hands and feet finally regained their freedom. She rubbed her numb wrists and bowed to Su Changge.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for saving my life! My name is Lin Waner, and I will surely repay you in the future!"

Su Changge waved his hand, putting on an air of being profound and unfathomable.

"Enough talk. Lead the way to the Ancestral Hall."