68 - A Farewell to Mr. Luo

**Chapter 68** Several cultivators were all thinking about obtaining the Enlightenment Fruit here, forgetting that they hadn't even found the barrier yet. Unlike Bai Fan and her group, who faced only poison arrows along the way, these cultivators were immediately met with miasma, venomous insects, and various small traps. By the time they reached the barrier, only five of them remained, with one severely poisoned and half of his face discolored. Seeing the water-membrane-like barrier in front of them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "This must be the barrier. Let's go in," one said. They exchanged glances and then stepped inside. Unlike the earlier demon cultivators, they didn't hold hands but instead carried a smooth white pearl. Fortunately, they didn't separate upon entering and found themselves in the same place. Unfortunately, it was the sandy area where He Yiman had previously appeared, and the scorpions were still there. During a fierce battle, five people suddenly appeared among the scorpions, causing them to shift their targets and charge the newcomers with raised pincers. "Where is this place? Damn it, so many scorpions! Run!" In an instant, the Golden Core cultivators grabbed the Foundation Establishment cultivators and flew far away. Only after they were no longer chased by the scorpions did they land, showing visible fatigue. "We should quickly head to the main hall before anyone else gets there first." Everyone nodded in agreement; even though they were exhausted, they refused to rest. The Northern Continent had too few cultivation resources, let alone such a great opportunity as the Enlightenment Fruit. After watching those demon cultivators leave, Bai Fan returned to the small clear spring. Without a jade cleansing bottle, the liquid would seep through and leave nothing behind, which made her frustrated. She had heard the demon cultivators mention that the liquid was called Jade Marrow and was valuable, but she had nothing to contain it. She tried scooping it with her hands to no avail and then attempted to drink it. Surprisingly, she could actually drink the intangible liquid, which felt like a refreshing coolness that cleared her mind, mitigating the influence of the blue moon. Her vision, previously golden-tinged, now returned to normal. "I should take some with me to prevent further influence." After drinking a lot, Bai Fan searched through her storage bag and finally found the little gourd given to her by Senior Brother Zhou Zhi. She tried filling it with the liquid. Although the gourd's mouth was dark and she couldn't confirm if it was getting full, the sound of water splashing inside brought her great joy. "Thank goodness for Senior Brother Zhou." The small, green, unripe-looking gourd kept swallowing liquid like a vortex. Bai Fan wondered how much it could hold, and after two hours it was finally filled. The little gourd felt heavy in her hand, heavy enough to possibly make a small dent if dropped. She secured the gourd and continued her journey, now creating some distance from the Red Carp Spirit's group, making their encounter unlikely. As she delved deeper into the main hall, Bai Fan grew increasingly cautious. Just a moment ago, the seemingly stable path she was on had suddenly shifted, flipping the stone walls and changing the murals on them. Her primary way of marking her path, through murals, was now gone, leaving her to wander aimlessly and possibly get lost. She continued walking while observing the new murals, relying on her good memory to find her way back if needed. When she looked at one mural, a swarm of multi-colored poisonous insects suddenly fell from above. Fortunately, Bai Fan dodged quickly. The insects, meant to land on her, crawled towards her. She frowned and struck them with a small thunderbolt, reducing them to black charred bits with a terrible stench. Covering her nose, Bai Fan examined the ceiling but saw nothing unusual. She began to suspect someone might be watching her but found the area empty and her spiritual sense detected no living presence. Regathering her wits, she quickened her pace. Meanwhile, the demon cultivators ahead faced even greater challenges. They had exited the mural corridors only to find countless puppets armed with swords blocking their path, preventing them from flying over. These puppets were new even to the demon cultivators. The Red Carp Spirit had been there longer because she had arrived first, but her attempt to bypass the puppets only alerted them, causing a horde to awaken and chase her back. "How do we get through? This wasn't the path we took last time." "They say the underworld's routes constantly change. The path you took before might not be the same now. We can't alter our route once chosen; whoever is at the front activates the random path. It's just bad luck we ended up here," the Little Snake Demon said, glancing at the Red Carp Spirit, thinking she had lousy luck for triggering such a terrible route. Seeing others had arrived, the Red Carp Spirit said urgently, "I tried flying over, but every puppet wakes up if even one is disturbed. There's no way to pass." "Standing here won't help. We have to fight through. These puppets operate on instinct, without consciousness. Just be careful," said one before charging in and smashing a puppet. The demon cultivators, who honed their physical strength, attacked the puppets vigorously. As more joined the fray, only the Red Carp Spirit and the Little Snake Demon stayed back. The Little Snake Demon glanced at the Red Carp Spirit and then jumped in; the Red Carp Spirit gritted her teeth and followed. A fierce battle ensued. The puppets, not particularly strong individually, were numerous. The fight dragged on as thousands of puppets kept appearing, and they soon realized that breaking more puppets just caused more to spawn. Sensing something wrong, the Tiger Demon roared and leaped back to the others. "Something isn't right. The more we break, the more appear. We started with a few thousand, and now it looks like there are tens of thousands." The others, still fighting, looked around and saw the truth in his words. "What do we do, Brother Tiger? Once we choose a path, there's no turning back." "Let's get back and think of a plan." They withdrew, but the Red Carp Spirit, farther in and more entangled with the puppets, was struck on the shoulder by a puppet, bleeding profusely. She gritted her teeth, destroyed the puppet, and jumped back. Watching her, another demon remarked disdainfully, "How could you get hurt like this? There’s a long way to go; be more careful," making the Red Carp Spirit blush. She turned away from the Little Snake Demon's mocking gaze, feeling irritated. Meanwhile, Bai Fan reached an open hall with seven doors, each in a different color. She wondered if there was more to these doors, and without further distinction, headed to the purple door, the last one. After pushing it open and stepping in, the door slowly closed behind her, blocking the way back. Bai Fan frowned, regretting her decision to enter without further thought. --- Looking ahead of the purple door, what lay before Bai Fan was a swamp, and in the putrid mud nestled countless toads, croaking loudly. The incessant noise gave Bai Fan a severe headache. "Why would such a place have this kind of setup?" Initially, Bai Fan thought of rushing through, but then she saw a toad spit out a burst of flames, roasting a palm-sized moth and then snapping it up with its whip-like tongue. Any thoughts she had of charging through quickly dissipated. The swamp was vast; being bombarded with fire by a swarm of toads didn’t sound appealing. As the croaking crescendoed, many toads noticed Bai Fan's presence, staring at her from a distance. Some, unable to contain themselves, spat fire in her direction. The flames barely missed her, the scorching heat making it clear these were no ordinary flames—they had demon energy. The swamp below was teeming with demons. Bai Fan stuck close to the door, grateful for maintaining enough distance. The flames fizzled out just short of her. However, just as she breathed a sigh of relief, the croaking intensified, resembling thunder. Suddenly, thunderclouds formed in the confined space. The friction between the lightning and the toads' bellies grew, and several toads simultaneously spat out multiple bolts of lightning at Bai Fan, forcing her to dodge frantically. Being a demon snake, she found it unbearable to be bullied by a horde of toads. --- ### Thanks I will strive to do three updates today! Thank you to the angels who cast [grenades] or irrigated [nutritional fluids] for me~ **Special thanks to:** - [Grenade] cast by: Huanyu, 1 pcs; - [Nutritional fluids] irrigated by: Gaoxing, 2 bottles; Thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard! --- Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter