Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Ancient Bridge Grotto
Darkness was everywhere. It was oppressive, making it impossible to see what was around. A vast emptiness filled the air, carrying a hint of tranquil silence.
Wen Qingye walked forward. His heart suddenly began to pound as if under some kind of natural pressure, beyond his control.
’What powerful pressure!’ Wen Qingye wondered silently. ’What on earth could this be? To have such immense pressure that I’m even losing some control over myself.’
Wen Qingye’s pace grew slower and slower as he moved forward.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a small point of light finally appeared ahead.
He walked a little further, and his vision was suddenly filled with a vast brightness. Multicolored lights flooded Wen Qingye’s eyes.
Before him lay a massive grotto. A cluster of independent, varied, steep, and beautiful peaks stood there, emitting a dazzling, seven-colored radiance.
The beautiful and diverse scenery was enchanting. The entire grotto was surrounded by water, and a long corridor ran above the water’s surface. Wen Qingye seemed to be standing in a corner, as if a hole had been opened in the wall of a room.
Wen Qingye stepped onto the corridor and looked at the strange, beautiful scenery around him. ’Someone must have been here before,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, this corridor wouldn’t have been built.’
The corridor was exquisite. Twenty Luminous Pearls hung along the sides, and there were also some stone pillars carved with ancient patterns, such as flowers, birds, fish, and insects.
The patterns were lifelike, depicting the scenes with remarkable realism.
Everything came together to form a beautiful and moving picture. Even Wen Qingye couldn’t help but marvel at it.
Ahead, a pearlescent, glazed light shimmered with a heart-stirring hue. Wen Qingye couldn’t help but quicken his pace.
"On twenty-four bridges in the bright moonlight, where does my fair lady teach the flute to play?"
A painting appeared before Wen Qingye. It depicted a man and a woman sitting at the head of a bridge, flanked on each side by twelve beautiful women. The man held a flute, while the woman held something in her hands—it looked like a fan-shaped object.
Wen Qingye couldn’t help but imagine it: the bright moon shining on a stone bridge, a scene as poetic as a painting, as ethereal as a dream. A deep, melancholy longing stirred the imagination. Beneath the vast, inky night sky, a man and woman leaned on each other, whispering endlessly—a warm, romantic scene that one would long for.
’Who could have built this place?’ Wen Qingye wondered, feeling puzzled.
This was exactly as the leader of Black Cloud Mountain had described. ’Could this be the place he was talking about?’
Wen Qingye took another step forward. In the bright light of the Luminous Pearls, gleaming white bones appeared ahead. He focused his gaze and saw a pile of skeletons.
Why a pile? Because Wen Qingye sensed it wasn’t just one person, but the bones of two. From their posture, it looked as if they had died while clinging tightly to each other.
’The bones have a jade-white sheen, which means both of them were quite powerful in life,’ Wen Qingye thought to himself. ’One skeleton shows signs of damage, so they must have died from severe injuries. The other skeleton is unharmed but slightly curled up—it was most likely a death from complete exhaustion. It seems the two of them encountered a formidable enemy.’
Beside the bones, there seemed to be a bag and some tattered clothing. Wen Qingye found the bag strange, as if he had seen it somewhere before. He couldn’t help but walk forward.
’What a strange smell... Wait, no!’ As if recalling something, Wen Qingye’s expression changed drastically, and he retreated four or five steps in a row.
"A Poisonous Insect Bag... Is this a Blood Gu!?"
The Blood Gu was a type of Gu Insect cultivated through Gu Skill. This particular Gu Insect was relatively common, but it had great potential for growth. Furthermore, the Blood Gu emitted a peculiar odor that could make those who smelled it feel slightly dizzy.
Gu Skill was one of the two great forms of Witchcraft of the Jiuli Witch Clan, both mysterious and powerful. When Wen Qingye was born in his previous life, the Jiuli Witch Clan had already begun to fade into seclusion, and the Demon Race was also in decline. It was the golden age of the Immortal Court. Therefore, he knew a little about Gu Skill and the Corpse-Driving Skill, but not a great deal.
The Poisonous Insect Bag was a pouch used to store a Gu Insect.
The Blood Gu loved to feed on human Essence Blood and bone marrow. Simply put, once it bit someone, it would devour them completely, leaving not even a speck of bone behind.
Wen Qingye finally understood why there was clothing left behind. These people must have tried to grab the Poisonous Insect Bag. This place had clearly been discovered long ago, but most of the discoverers, despite being powerful, were caught off guard and ended up dying at the hands of this Gu Insect.
’One of these two people knew Gu Skill. This Blood Gu must have been refined by one of them, which is why their skeletons are still so complete,’ Wen Qingye thought with a frown.
A Blood Gu wasn’t considered an exceptionally powerful Gu Insect, but this one had been alive for an unknown length of time. Moreover, Wen Qingye’s current strength wasn’t high, and he didn’t know to what extent this Blood Gu had developed. It was better to be cautious.
Although that was what Wen Qingye thought, the Blood Gu seemed to have other ideas. The Poisonous Insect Bag began to shake, and after a moment, a thumb-sized insect crawled out.
This insect was the Blood Gu. Its entire body emanated that peculiar odor. As if sensing Wen Qingye, it flapped the wings on its back and shot toward him at high speed.
Wen Qingye frowned, quickly getting up and moving away to evade it.
But the Blood Gu’s speed was astonishingly fast, and it reached Wen Qingye’s side in an instant.
"Courting death!"
Wen Qingye could tell at a glance that this Blood Gu hadn’t fed on Essence Blood and bone marrow for a long time. Its power was clearly greatly diminished. Otherwise, judging by its size, its strength should have been at least at the Peak of Refining Spirit.
Besides, Gu Insects had a particular weakness: they feared fire.
With a wave of his hand, a red flame immediately appeared in Wen Qingye’s palm. As his cultivation had progressed, his Yang Fire had already reached the level of a Third Grade Yang Fire.
The moment the raging flames appeared, the surrounding temperature shot up by an unknown degree. The Blood Gu instantly froze, then frantically tried to flee as if it had seen something terrifying.
"Trying to run?"
Wen Qingye executed the Butterfly Step, rapidly giving chase. He swiped his palm fiercely, and a stream of fire shot out like a bolt of silk.
WHOOSH!
Scorched by the Yang Fire, the Blood Gu’s body trembled violently, and it seemed on the verge of falling. Before it could escape the range of the Yang Fire, it was reduced to ashes.
Seeing that the Gu Insect was finally dead, Wen Qingye slowly walked over to the skeletons. There was nothing beside them, but the corridor behind them continued to extend, seeming to lead somewhere.
Wen Qingye continued deeper into the corridor. The passage was dim and dark, appearing to lead somewhere. It seemed this was the original path, not the hole that had been carved into the wall.
After a short while, Wen Qingye sensed a surge of bright light ahead.
A gentle breeze brushed across his face, and the surrounding air became fresh and clean.
Wen Qingye looked ahead to see a verdant, green land exuding vitality. The azure sky seemed to open up one’s very soul, and soft, white clouds drifted through the air.
In the distance, tall trees stood proudly. Further beyond them was a clear, calm pool of water, over which an ancient bridge was built.
The ancient bridge stretched forward continuously. Its stone beams were a pale yellow, bearing a simple, ancient, and weathered look from the passage of time.
