53: Chapter 53 Exploration of Black Wind Cave (Part 1)

The entrance of the Black Wind Cave was like the maw of a giant beast, spewing out grayish-white chilly air.

Standing three zhang away from the cave entrance, Lin Xuan could still feel that bone-chilling coldness.

It wasn't ordinary cold, but Yin Qi carrying an aura of decay and decline, seeping into one's pores and making goosebumps rise involuntarily.

The Yin-Dispersing Talisman affixed to his chest emitted a faint warmth, barely keeping the Yin Qi at bay.

Zhang Meng took a deep breath and looked back at the three of them. "Everyone, stay sharp. I'll take the lead, Chen Hao will follow me, Junior Brother Lin is third, and Junior Brother Li will bring up the rear. Keep the formation tight, and obey my orders no matter what happens."

"Understood." Chen Hao gripped the crimson short saber in his hand tightly.

Li Ming nodded silently, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Lin Xuan said nothing, only gently patting the startling thunder whip at his waist—he had owned this whip for several months now, nourishing it daily. Now, when swung, it produced a low rumble of thunder, faintly resonating with his Thunder Spiritual Energy.

The four entered in single file.

The light dimmed instantly.

The inside of the cave was wider than it appeared from the outside. The main passage was about eight feet wide and over a zhang high, with rock walls covered in axe and chisel marks, clearly an artificially excavated mining tunnel.

However, having been abandoned for who knew how many years, a layer of black frost had condensed on the stone walls, piercingly cold to the touch.

In his left hand, Zhang Meng held an "Illumination Pearl." The fist-sized pearl emitted a soft white light, illuminating a range of ten zhang ahead.

This pearl was a Magical Artifact specifically refined for cave exploration; its light was stable and impervious to the erosion of Yin Qi.

"The ground is wet and slippery, watch your step." Zhang Meng's voice echoed in the cave passage, sounding somewhat ethereal.

The further they went, the heavier the Yin Qi became.

The glow of the Yin-Dispersing Talisman began to weaken. Chen Hao could not help but circulate his Fire Spiritual Energy to resist the chill, a faint red light enveloping his body.

Li Ming's expression remained normal, but his breathing became deep and long, clearly adjusting his state.

Lin Xuan secretly circulated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art, causing Thunder Spiritual Energy to flow through his Meridians. The extremely yang and rigid aura naturally dispersed the Yin Qi that had invaded his body.

He could even feel that the Thunder-Light Bugs in his space were somewhat repelled by this environment, transmitting feelings of discomfort.

After penetrating about a hundred zhang deep, a turn appeared ahead.

"Stop." Zhang Meng suddenly raised his hand.

The four stopped. The cave was dead silent, with only the light of the Illumination Pearl casting flickering shadows on the stone walls.

"There's a sound," Li Ming said in a low voice.

Lin Xuan heard it too—a very faint, dense fluttering sound coming from all directions, as if something was waking up in the darkness.

"On guard!" Zhang Meng barked, holding his heavy sword horizontally in front of him.

Before his voice could fade, the first wave of attacks arrived.

Dozens of black shadows pounced from the shadows of the cave ceiling and the crevices on both sides!

They were palm-sized, grayish-black bats. Their eyes glowed a bizarre, eerie green, their flapping wings brought an icy cold wind, and they let out shrill squeaks from their mouths.

"Yin Wind Ghost Bats!" Zhang Meng recognized them. "First-tier Low Grade, pack-dwelling, they can spit bone-corroding Yin Wind! Chen Hao, guard the flank!"

He was the first to strike. Swinging his heavy sword, crimson flames rose on the blade, and he swept out with a move called "Blazing Ring"!

The flames transformed into a circular wave of Qi that surged forward. The dozen or so ghost bats at the very front squeaked in agony as they were scorched, falling to the ground.

Chen Hao's reaction was also swift. Forming hand seals with both hands, three fist-sized fireballs shot out, accurately striking three ghost bats trying to pounce from the flank.

Li Ming did not unsheathe his sword, instead thrusting with the scabbard. Every strike carried a fierce wind blade, slicing the approaching ghost bats in half.

But there were too many ghost bats.

Just as the first wave was repelled, the second and third waves arrived in quick succession. Under the light of the Illumination Pearl, dense gray shadows surged like a tide, their wingbeats merging into a scalp-numbing hum.

"There are too many!" Chen Hao's Face turned pale. Casting the Fireball Technique continuously consumed his spiritual energy extremely fast.

Zhang Meng's heavy sword danced so fast not even wind could pass through, with flames forming a protective ring around him. Yet, the ghost bats charged forward one after another, many breaking through the flames to throw their bodies against the defensive circle.

Although they were instantly burned to death, that gloomy, cold aura still seeped inside.

Li Ming faced the greatest pressure. Responsible for bringing up the rear, ghost bats also poured from the passage behind him, leaving him under attack from both sides.

Although his Wind Blade Technique was sharp, its range was limited, and he gradually found himself struggling to cope.

Seizing the moment when Li Ming swung his sword to strike ahead, a ghost bat silently dived down from above his head, spitting a wisp of grayish-black Yin Wind straight at the back of his neck!

"Senior Brother Li, watch out!" Chen Hao cried out in alarm as he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye.

Hearing the shout, Li Ming whipped his head around, but it was already too late. The Yin Wind was less than three feet from the back of his neck, rushing at him with a corrosive aura!

Just then, a faint purple afterimage flashed by.

Lin Xuan moved.

Activating the Thunder Flash Step, he covered the three-zhang distance in an instant! He did not even have time to draw his startling thunder whip, instead wrapping his right fist in thunder light and punching toward that wisp of Yin Wind!

*Crack!*

The thunder light exploded, and the Yin Wind dispersed instantly like snow meeting boiling water.

Startled, the ghost bat squeaked and tried to turn and flee. Lin Xuan reached out his left hand, and grasping the startling thunder whip from the Void Realm, he flicked his wrist—

*Smack!*

The tip of the whip was like a venomous snake baring its fangs, accurately striking the ghost bat. Infused with Thunder Spiritual Energy, the ghost bat didn't even have time to scream before it was directly blown into a pile of ashes.

"Gather together!" Lin Xuan barked. "Thunder magic will pave the way!"

Zhang Meng understood instantly. Sweeping his heavy sword to force back the ghost bats in front of him, he and Chen Hao quickly closed in on Lin Xuan. Li Ming also fought while retreating, and the four stood back-to-back in a small circle.

Realizing their targets had gathered, the ghost bat swarm attacked even more fiercely, pouncing from all directions.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, crazily circulating the Thunder Spiritual Energy in his Dantian.

The startling thunder whip came alive in his hand.

The body of the whip transformed into a dark purple Dragon, coiling and dancing within a three-zhang radius around him.

Every swing carried a low rumble of thunder. The moment the tip of the whip touched a ghost bat, thunder light exploded like blossoming fireworks.

Even more terrifyingly, Lin Xuan integrated his newly created "Thunder Whip Technique" into it.

Every time the tip of the whip touched a target, it not only delivered a physical strike but also instantly unleashed compressed Thunder Spiritual Energy, dealing secondary damage.

*Crack, crack, crack—Boom, boom, boom!*

The sound of thunder and explosions intertwined as the ghost bats fell like raindrops.

The moment those grayish-black figures came into contact with the thunder light, they reacted as if they had met their natural predator. They let out shrill screams and desperately tried to flee, but the whip shadows were like a net, leaving them nowhere to run.

Zhang Meng watched in shock. He knew thunder magic countered evil and Yin forces, but he hadn't expected the effect to be this powerful.

With every whip strike Lin Xuan delivered, he could kill at least two or three ghost bats. His efficiency was more than double that of Zhang Meng's Fire Magic!

Chen Hao watched with boiling blood. "Lin Xuan, you're amazing!"

Li Ming said nothing, but the way he looked at Lin Xuan had already changed.

In just ten breaths, the three-zhang area around them was cleared. A thick layer of ghost bat corpses piled up on the ground, numbering no less than forty or fifty at a rough glance.

"Go!" Zhang Meng made a prompt decision. "Push forward! Junior Brother Lin, clear the way!"

Lin Xuan nodded, swinging the startling thunder whip ahead to clear the way with thunder light. Zhang Meng and Chen Hao guarded the flanks, while Li Ming brought up the rear.

Fighting as they advanced, the four pushed forward another thirty-odd zhang. Suddenly, the space ahead opened up—a natural Stone Chamber about five zhang square appeared before them.

"Get in!" Zhang Meng was the first to rush into the Stone Chamber.

Lin Xuan was the last to enter. With a backhand swing of the startling thunder whip, he sent the pursuing ghost bats flying, while simultaneously kicking up a large stone from the ground to seal the entrance of the Stone Chamber.

The Stone Chamber finally fell quiet.

There was only the heavy breathing of the four and the stable white light of the Illumination Pearl.

"For now... we're safe." Chen Hao slid down against the stone wall to sit on the ground, his Face pale. "Damn it, so many ghost bats..."

Zhang Meng sheathed his heavy sword and looked at Lin Xuan. "Junior Brother Lin, thanks for just now."

"Just doing my duty." Lin Xuan put away the startling thunder whip, his Face also somewhat pale—exerting himself fully just now had consumed a significant amount of his Thunder Spiritual Energy.

He turned to look at Li Ming. "Senior Brother Li, your left arm..."

Li Ming looked down, only to realize that a gash had been cut into the sleeve of his left arm. The flesh inside had already turned black, and the blood seeping out was dark red. Clearly, he had been grazed by the Yin Wind earlier, which he hadn't noticed during the critical situation.

"Yin Qi has invaded your body." Zhang Meng frowned and took out a small porcelain bottle from his Storage Pouch. "I have some 'Yin-Clearing Powder' here; applying it can disperse the Yin Qi."

"Let me do it." Lin Xuan took the porcelain bottle. "Thunder Spiritual Energy is more effective at dispersing Yin Qi."

He walked over to Li Ming and signaled for him to sit. Placing his right hand over the wound, he slowly channeled in faint purple Thunder Spiritual Energy.

"Sizzle..."

Wisps of black gas rose from the wound—this was the forced-out Yin Qi. Li Ming let out a muffled groan, sweat breaking out on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

Thunder Spiritual Energy was extremely yang and rigid, possessing a natural counter against Yin Qi.

After a moment, the blackness faded from the wound, returning to a normal reddish swelling. Only then did Lin Xuan sprinkle the medicine powder and bandage it with a clean strip of cloth.

"Thank you," Li Ming said in a low voice, his tone complex.

"Fellow disciples helping each other is only right." Lin Xuan put away the medicine bottle.

Watching this scene, Zhang Meng felt deeply moved. He had previously invited Lin Xuan to join the team mainly because he valued how thunder magic countered Yin and evil, as well as out of respect for Chen Hao's Face. Now, it seemed that this decision was absolutely correct.

"Rest for the time it takes an incense stick to burn," Zhang Meng said. "Check your gear and recover your spiritual energy. This Stone Chamber is not a place to linger; we'll have to continue our exploration shortly."

Sitting in the corner, Li Ming silently circulated his Cultivation Technique to recover his spiritual energy. He glanced at Lin Xuan, then quickly averted his gaze.

Outside the Stone Chamber, the squeaks of the ghost bats could still be faintly heard, but they were already growing distant.

Under the white light of the Illumination Pearl, the shadows of the four people stretched long across the stone walls.