Chapter 1672: Chapter 1974: The Fate of the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion (6)
Just as Ling Chen was about to give up, he suddenly saw a few beams of light emerging from the forest, as if someone was using flashlights for illumination. Seeing this, Ling Chen quickly lay on the ground, hiding in the grass to avoid being detected. Soon, the lights drew nearer, and Ling Chen could already vaguely make out the outlines of a few people.
Those people, shining their flashlights, didn’t notice Ling Chen’s presence and walked past not far from him. After watching them leave, Ling Chen then slowly got up and walked towards the depths of the forest. Soon, he arrived at the very spot where those people had just appeared. At this moment, he was standing on a flat piece of land, surrounded by a lot of weeds and encircled by a few towering trees.
Looking around, Ling Chen noticed that there were still many footprints on the ground. Following these footprints, he easily found a patch of grass. The footprints disappeared by the edge of the grass, which suggested that there was certainly something wrong with this patch.
Thinking of this, he felt around the grass with his hands and discovered that it wasn’t soft; instead, it was quite hard. Could it be... Ling Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately lifted the entire patch of grass. As expected, this patch of grass was merely a disguise. Underneath was a hard panel, and below the panel was a passageway lit by lamps.
It turns out there was a secret passage hidden here. No doubt, those Dark Pavilion members who attacked the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion disciples must have sneaked into the Pavilion through this secret passage, catching Song Ge and his team off guard.
However, he had discussed this with Su Mei and Du Kang before. The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion only had one secret passage, and it had already been destroyed, so what’s the deal with this passage? Could it be that the Heavenly Dragon Sect dug it? Ling Chen silently shook his head. Impossible! The Heavenly Dragon Sect couldn’t have accomplished this in such a short time. Moreover, he had been covertly monitoring the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s actions these past few days, and they hadn’t disturbed the soil.
Could it be the Dark Pavilion?
Contemplating for a while, Ling Chen covered the panel again and then returned all the way to the wine cellar.
After meeting with Su Mei and Du Kang, he told them everything he had just discovered. After listening to his account, Su Mei blurted out, "Impossible, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion doesn’t have a second secret passage. If there were one, I wouldn’t not know about it."
Du Kang nodded in agreement, "Neither have I ever heard Old Su mention a second secret passage."
"If that’s the case, then the only possibility is the Dark Pavilion. The Dark Pavilion has been secretly preparing for decades to deal with the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. Within such a long time, digging a secret passage wouldn’t be difficult for them."
After hearing Ling Chen’s analysis, Su Mei asked, "Where is the exit of that secret passage you found?"
"In the forest near the Yangxin Pavilion. Why, is there an issue?"
"I had always found it strange why the Heavenly Dragon Sect would know about the secret passage of our Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. Thinking back, perhaps when the Dark Pavilion was digging the tunnel back then, they accidentally dug into that secret passage, which is why they would know its location."
Du Kang added, "This is indeed possible. Ling Chen, have you gone down to check the secret passage? Can you get out from there?"
"Getting out is not a problem, but I’m not sure if there’s anyone guarding the exit of the secret passage. Here’s the plan, I’ll go scout it out first, and if it’s safe, I’ll take action immediately to rescue Song and get everyone out of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion."
"Alright, thank you for your efforts. Please be careful."
"I know." Ling Chen replied, then climbed out of the wine cellar again.
Returning to the spot where the secret passage was, Ling Chen lifted the panel on the ground and jumped down. The secret passage was more than a meter wide, so even three people walking side by side wouldn’t feel cramped. Furthermore, there were electrical wires at the top of the passage, with a light bulb every few meters, making it very bright inside.
Walking along the secret passage for hundreds of meters, Ling Chen passed through smoothly without encountering anyone. However, when he was about to reach the middle of the passage, he suddenly discovered an additional opening in the middle of the passage. Moreover, faint snoring sounds were coming from inside the opening.
Immediately, he slowed his pace and stealthily walked to the edge of the opening, peering inside. Behind the opening was a man-made dugout, very spacious, enough to accommodate dozens of people. Inside the dugout were beams set up to prevent the ceiling from collapsing. Against the wall, there were over ten bunk beds, equipped with some electrical appliances.
At this moment, about twenty people were sleeping on those bunk beds. If he wasn’t mistaken, they should all be members of the Dark Pavilion.
So these guys were all living in here. The Dark Pavilion set up this dugout probably to monitor the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion for extended periods and gather intelligence. Tsk tsk! Ling Chen couldn’t help but admire the Dark Pavilion; to deal with the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, they were incredibly painstaking.
Back when he met with Tian Xiong, it wasn’t surprising he was so confident, asserting that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion was bound to lose. Indeed, the Dark Pavilion had spent decades quietly amassing power, all for one goal. Such long preparation could be said to be foolproof.
Seeing that the members of the Dark Pavilion inside the dugout were all asleep, Ling Chen didn’t linger. He quietly continued to move forward. A few minutes later, he finally reached the exit of the secret passage. Exiting the passage, Ling Chen observed the surrounding environment and silently breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, there was no one guarding the exit outside. It seemed the Dark Pavilion was very confident in their plan, so they didn’t arrange for guards.
The secret passage was fine, but the Dark Pavilion members couldn’t be ignored. Pondering for a while, Ling Chen jumped back into the secret passage and retraced his steps.
Back at the wine cellar, Ling Chen met with Du Kang and Su Mei, then went to the valley behind the Yangxin Pavilion.
At this time, it was already the early hours of the night, and the Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples responsible for guarding the captives were all sitting on the ground with their eyes closed, seemingly dozing off. Ling Chen carefully approached the rock, surveyed the situation around him, and then made a gesture to Song Ge among the crowd. Song, understanding, gently nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Ling Chen sprinted out from behind the rock. At the same time, executing the Nine Yang Qiankun Step, his entire form became like a fleeting shadow, merging with the darkness.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
With Ling Chen’s steps, sharp throwing knives shot out like lightning, instantly claiming the lives of several Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples. As soon as they fell, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion disciples sitting beside them immediately pounced, covering their mouths to prevent them from making noises that would wake the dozing Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples.
With everyone’s cooperation, in less than a minute, all twenty or so Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples were quietly dealt with.
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