196: Chapter 196 The Pathfinder

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, wake up!"

However, her Senior Brother, who usually treated her with gentleness and catered to her every request, gave no answer this time.

Feeling her Senior Brother's chest, which had no rise or fall, and sensing his body growing cold, Senior Sister Tao Tao had to accept the fact that her Senior Brother had perished.

She sobbed as she straightened her Senior Brother's clothes and wiped the blood from his face. Then, she stood up and solemnly said,

"Rest assured, Senior Brother. I will definitely survive."

Placing her Senior Brother's remains away, Senior Sister Tao Tao turned and ran toward the depths of the passage, her steps firm.

Although she had tried her best to hurry, compared to the current situation, they had delayed for too long.

After narrowly dodging a giant rock falling from above, Senior Sister Tao Tao finally stopped.

Cutting off the hem of her skirt that had been pinned by the giant rock, she looked at the pitch-black passage ahead and realized she had completely lost the group in front.

She had been rushing for the time it takes to steep a cup of tea. Judging by distance alone, she should have caught up to Lin Qing and the others long ago.

But unfortunately, the environment of the Forbidden Ground was not static; without realizing it, she had taken a different path from the crowd ahead.

For the time being, Senior Sister Tao Tao stopped running and began to move cautiously.

The road ahead might be one no one had walked before; any traps or dangers would have to be faced by her alone.

She was not disappointed; along the way, she encountered many traps—blade arrays, arrow rains, falling rocks, and so on.

Fortunately, she was one of the top tier among eighth-rank Cultivators. Now, alone, she focused to the extreme. Although the many crises left her in a disheveled state, she ultimately did not suffer any severe injuries.

By now, Senior Sister Tao Tao had no idea how many intersections she had passed, nor did she know how deep into the Forbidden Ground she had entered.

Torches began to appear on both sides of the passage. In this pitch-black Forbidden Ground, the effect of Divine Thought was very limited, but this most primitive torchlight illuminated the surrounding environment clearly.

However, these torches were sparsely arranged and could not fully cover the entire passage. The strong contrast between light and dark made the areas not covered by the firelight appear as thick as ink.

Just as she passed a junction not covered by firelight again, crisis struck once more.

A large, bony hand suddenly reached out from the darkness at the corner and grabbed her by the throat.

Senior Sister Tao Tao's reaction speed was not slow; otherwise, she could not have passed through layer upon layer of traps to reach the depths of this Forbidden Ground.

But before this lightning-fast hand, her reaction speed was like a joke.

The hand's strength was terrifying. Upon contact, she felt as if her neck was about to be twisted.

The crisis of death descended. In her panic, she instinctively made the most primitive move: she grabbed her neck with both hands, trying to pry that large hand away, while her feet kicked wildly forward.

Fortunately, the person did not seem to want her life. The hand on her neck did not continue to apply force, but instead lifted her up and walked back into the area covered by the firelight.

She then clearly saw the face of the person in front of her—it was Lin Qing.

Afterward, Lin Qing threw her to the ground, and Senior Sister Tao Tao clutched her neck, coughing violently.

"Get up, lead the way!"

Like Senior Sister Tao Tao, Lin Qing had been wandering alone in this area for a long time, naturally encountering many traps along the way.

Although he hadn't even a speck of dust on him so far, one who walks by the river often gets their shoes wet.

Lin Qing was in good condition now because he had dodged all the traps. If he were to take a direct hit, he wouldn't dare guarantee he wouldn't be injured.

Just as he was looking for a pathfinding stone, he ran into Senior Sister Tao Tao, and thus the scene just now occurred.

Senior Sister Tao Tao's expression was complex. Previously, when they learned that Divine Thought was sealed and spiritual power suppressed in the Forbidden Ground, many people thought they might not be weaker than Lin Qing, and Senior Sister Tao Tao had thought the same.

But after feeling Lin Qing's terrifying speed and strength just now, Senior Sister Tao Tao knew she had overthought it.

Although thrown to the ground by Lin Qing, Senior Sister Tao Tao dared not harbor any dissatisfaction. She feared Lin Qing might kill her directly, so she could only get up from the ground and lead the way.

This was a T-junction. Before this, she and Lin Qing had taken different paths, so now they naturally took the other one.

The two of them proceeded like this, one in front and one behind, moving through darkness and light.

Now that she was at the mercy of another, Senior Sister Tao Tao began to think of a way to escape.

She recalled Lin Qing's young face and remembered the information about Lin Qing she had heard at the mountain gate—he was only twenty-one years old.

A young Genius!

Senior Sister Tao Tao had seen many so-called young Geniuses. Most of them had a common flaw: they believed that any woman should like them, and any beautiful woman should be with them.

Thinking of her Senior Brother choosing to commit suicide so as not to drag her down, and thinking of his instructions to survive before he died, Senior Sister Tao Tao made a choice.

She began to increase the sway of her body, her entire hips swaying with her steps.

Senior Sister Tao Tao was blushing, red as a beet; it was her first time seducing a man.

"Are you injured?"

Senior Sister Tao Tao, already nervous, heard Lin Qing's abrupt question and instinctively answered honestly,

"No!"

"If you're not, then walk properly. What are you acting like a slut for?"

Senior Sister Tao Tao's face turned even redder, almost black.

She had always believed that no man could resist her charm; her position as second on the Beauty Ranking proved her beauty, and the one at first place was merely higher in cultivation than her.

Now, Lin Qing's words made her doubt her own beauty.

Just then, Lin Qing kicked her in the butt, sending her flying, and she landed on the ground in a disheveled heap. Immediately after, a dull, loud crash came from behind.

Senior Sister Tao Tao, lying on the ground, hurriedly turned around. She saw a giant rock had fallen right where she had just been standing, deeply embedded in the ground.

Lin Qing walked around from behind the rock and looked down at her.

"Didn't I tell you to walk properly?"

Having finally found someone to find the path, Lin Qing naturally wouldn't let her die easily. Under the condition that it was possible, he didn't mind saving her.

Senior Sister Tao Tao didn't dare to answer and hurriedly climbed up from the ground to lead the way. This time, she was much more obedient.

After an unknown amount of time, the two finally left the passage briefly and arrived in a relatively wide stone chamber.

The walls of the stone chamber were filled with torches, illuminating the entire room clearly.

There were many stone carvings on the walls, and several statues about a zhang tall stood in the corners.

Just as the two were carefully examining this stone chamber, another sound of a falling rock came from behind. Senior Sister Tao Tao hurriedly looked back; the exit had been sealed.