135: Chapter 135 Hidden Cave

The central area of Ghost Island.

Lin Fan held the Soul Chasing Compass, walking at the very front of the team.

The Eye of True Sight was activated at all times.

He remained vigilant against any potential danger lurking nearby.

They had reached the heart of Ghost Island.

Not only were powerful exotic beasts prowling about,

but more importantly,

that runaway Shadow Circle

was likely lying in ambush nearby.

"Everyone, be careful."

"The magnetic field here is very chaotic."

"Electronic devices have completely failed."

Lin Fan turned back to give a warning.

The four rookie teammates behind him nodded nervously.

They gripped their weapons tightly, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Lei Zhan and his special forces team guarded the cave entrance.

Keeping a distance of several dozen meters, they could provide support at any moment without interfering with Lin Fan's judgment.

After walking for about half an hour,

the needle on the compass suddenly began to tremble violently.

It glowed intensely.

"It's just ahead."

Lin Fan stopped in his tracks.

His gaze pierced through the thick fog,

locking onto a cliff face ahead.

It was covered in vines and weeds,

looking no different from any ordinary mountainside.

But in Lin Fan's eyes,

it was emitting a nauseating, evil aura.

That was the distinct fluctuation of Sakura Country's Onmyōji arts.

"A trick of the eye?"

Lin Fan sneered.

He picked up a stone

and casually threw it.

Pfft!

The moment the stone touched the cliff,

it didn't make an impact sound;

instead, it passed straight through

and vanished.

"An illusion formation!"

Wang Xiaoming behind him exclaimed in a low voice.

Although he wasn't very strong,

he had learned the basics of formations at school.

He recognized at a glance that this was an advanced illusion formation.

"Looks like we found the right place."

Lin Fan waved his hand,

signaling everyone to follow.

He was the first to pass through the illusory cliff wall.

The scene before his eyes changed instantly.

The narrow mountain path disappeared,

replaced by

a massive natural limestone cave.

The ceiling of the cave

was covered with countless sharp stalactites hanging upside down,

like sharp swords suspended over their heads.

In the center of the cave

was an open, flat area.

At this moment,

dozens of people dressed in black ninja outfits were standing on the flat ground.

They wore hideous ghost masks,

and were busy setting something up.

In their midst

was a huge, blood-colored magic formation.

The lines of the formation were complex and eerie,

emitting a heart-stopping red light.

At the four corners of the formation,

large piles of exotic beast corpses were stacked.

Blood flowed along the grooves on the ground toward the center of the formation,

pooling into a blood pond.

The blood pond bubbled,

as if something terrifying was gestating beneath the surface.

"That is..."

Lei Zhan and his men also entered.

Seeing this scene,

his expression turned extremely ugly.

"A blood sacrifice summoning formation!"

"Those animals!"

"What are they trying to do?"

Lin Fan didn't speak.

His gaze passed over the ordinary ninjas

and landed at the very front of the formation.

A familiar figure was standing there.

It was none other than the Wang Chenguang who had just escaped.

He was also known as Shadow Circle.

At this moment, Shadow Circle

had changed into a red Onmyōji robe,

holding a folding fan in his hand,

and was commanding the ninjas.

Beside him,

stood a short, elderly man.

The old man had white hair and beard,

his eyes tightly shut,

and he emitted an aura even more terrifying than Shadow Circle's.

That was a Peak Grandmaster,

or even a Half-step Martial King powerhouse.

"That is Sakura Country's Chief Onmyōji, a descendant of the Abe Seimei lineage, Abe Ishii!"

Lei Zhan recognized the old man,

his voice laced with gravity.

"I didn't expect even this old monster to show up."

"It seems they are plotting something huge."

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes.

The Eye of True Sight peered through the red light of the formation,

seeing clearly what was beneath the blood pond.

It was a massive heart,

beating powerfully.

With every beat,

it caused the surrounding space to tremble.

On the surface of the heart,

one could vaguely see eight hideous snake-head phantoms,

frantically devouring the surrounding blood energy.

"Yamata no Orochi."

Lin Fan slowly spat out these four words,

his voice as cold as ten-thousand-year ice.

"What?"

Upon hearing this name,

everyone gasped.

Yamata no Orochi.

That was the national guardian beast of Sakura Country,

a legendary god-level creature.

Although what was before them certainly wasn't the main body,

even just a clone,

once summoned,

would be a devastating blow to the students of Tianjiao Camp.

"So that's how it is."

"The so-called assassination attempt on me"

"was just a ruse,"

"or something done in passing."

"Their true purpose"

"is to summon a clone of Yamata no Orochi here,"

"and then massacre the entire Tianjiao Camp,"

"to cut off the future of our China's martial arts."

Lin Fan instantly understood everything.

What a vicious plan.

What a grand scheme.

For the sake of this plan,

they were willing to sacrifice an ace spy as bait,

and even deployed their Chief Onmyōji.

If he didn't have the system,

and if he hadn't chased them here,

perhaps by tomorrow dawn,

the entire Ghost Island

would have turned into a living hell.

"We absolutely cannot let them succeed!"

Lei Zhan drew the war blade from his waist,

filled with murderous intent.

"Everyone, prepare!"

"Charge down there!"

"Kill all these scumbags!"

"Wait."

Lin Fan suddenly reached out and stopped Lei Zhan.

"Don't be rash."

"Look at the positions where those ninjas are standing."

Lin Fan pointed downwards.

"They are standing in the positions of the Tiangang Big Dipper Formation."

"And each of them is holding detonation tags."

"Once we launch a frontal assault,"

"they will immediately detonate the entire cave."

"By then,"

"even if we manage to survive,"

"that summoning formation will be instantly catalyzed by the explosion's energy,"

"completing the summoning ahead of schedule."

Lei Zhan abruptly halted his steps,

cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

He had been too impulsive just now,

almost causing a disaster.

"Then what should we do?"

"Are we just going to watch?"

"The energy in that blood pond is almost full."

"At most, there are ten minutes left,"

"before the summoning is complete."

Lei Zhan looked at the increasingly bright red light below,

anxious and burning with impatience.

Lin Fan rubbed his chin,

a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Since we can't attack head-on,"

"then we'll use our wits."

"Don't they like playing dirty?"

"Then we'll play along with them properly."

Lin Fan turned around

and looked at Zhang Mengmeng and the others behind him.

"Are you afraid?"

The four of them swallowed hard.

Looking at the dense crowd of enemies below

and that terrifying blood pond,

it would be a lie to say they weren't afraid.

Their legs were trembling.

However,

looking at Lin Fan's calm gaze,

the fear in their hearts

miraculously dissipated quite a bit.

"We're not afraid!"

Wang Xiaoming clenched his fists.

"Brother Fan, tell us what to do."

"We'll do whatever you say."

Lin Fan nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good."

"You've been trained for a thousand days,"

"to be used for this one moment."

"Now,"

"is the time to test the results of your special training."

Lin Fan pulled out several black metal spheres from the system space.

These were some "little things"

he had casually synthesized on the road just now.

"Listen carefully."

"I will create a diversion in a moment."

"Your mission"

"is to take these things"

"and throw them into those specific positions."

Lin Fan pointed at several nodes around the magic formation.

"Remember,"

"be quick,"

"be stylish,"

"and run as soon as you throw them."

"Don't look back."

"Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

The four of them lowered their voices

and replied in unison.

Lin Fan turned his head

to look at Shadow Circle and Abe Ishii below.

A cruel smile curled the corners of his mouth.

"Want to summon the Great Snake?"

"Have you asked me, this blind box vendor, yet?"

"Today,"

"I'll let you see"

"what a real surprise is."