Inquiry about immortality

Chapter 2717 The Decline of Human Nature

Master Mu manipulated the bubbles to speed through the deep sea, while Qin Sang stood silently to the side, secretly communicating with Zhuque.

“Those three guys behind you seem pretty relaxed; they must be fairly strong,” Suzaku said.

The fact that Lord Yinshan was completely manipulated by Zhuque, and that Youyan and his group received such high praise, is enough to prove their strength is indeed considerable. Of course, Youyan may not necessarily think this praise is high.

However, Suzaku was not praising Youyan herself, but the three of them together. Clearly, they had a special combined attack ability, and their strength was not simply the sum of their individual abilities.

"This is the Nine Nether Demon Clan? The Nine Nether Demon Flame is two completely different things in their hands and in yours!"

Zhuque didn't hold back in rubbing Qin Sang in her sore spot.

Qin Sang also refined the Nine Nether Demon Fire, but whether it was because the quality of the Nine Nether Demon Fire he obtained was insufficient or because he lacked the matching supernatural power, in his hands the Nine Nether Demon Fire was just a kind of Yin Fire that could impact the soul. Its greatest use now was to form a Yin-Yang balance with other flames.

Knowing only what's in their own family, Qin Sang was powerless to refute, but she was determined to find out the secret of the Nine Netherworld Demon Fire.

"Why haven't they shown up yet?" Qin Sang felt something was wrong.

Elder Mu had not found anyone else and was alone, posing no threat to him. If Elder Mu and Youyan wanted to join forces to deal with the mastermind, Youyan had no need to hide from him.

It seems that Elder Mu and Youyan both have their own agendas. Youyan is secretly following Elder Mu, probably because she suspects that Elder Mu is up to no good. After all, besides her, Elder Mu is the strongest one.

"Does Elder Mu know that Youyan is following him?"

Qin Sang secretly observed Elder Mu, but could not discern anything from his expression.

At this moment, Elder Mu was lamenting that everyone had entered this mysterious cave together, but now only the two of them remained, and the fate of the others was unknown.

"Fellow Daoist, please remember to stick close to me from now on. Only by working together can we hope to get out! I have never seen such a strange cave world before. Danger lurks everywhere. If we get separated, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

The old herdsman spoke earnestly and patiently, like a kind and benevolent elder.

Qin Sang naturally expressed her gratitude profusely, and judging from Elder Mu's tone, he seemed to be completely unaware of the people following him.

The bubbles carried them across stretches of water, but their speed suddenly slowed down, and the seawater ahead seemed to become viscous.

"what?"

Old Mu looked down in surprise.

Inside the bubble, Qin Sang could feel a lifting force from the seabed pushing them upwards.

Having been confined underwater for so long in the deep blue sea, unable to break free, this situation suggests that they may have already ventured out of the deep blue sea.

As the bubbles rose, a strange sight appeared ahead: although it was the same body of water, the seawater in front of them was sinking, and they could clearly see streams of water crashing against the seabed, like an underwater waterfall.

'Whoosh!'

The sound of the surging water echoed across the seabed, like muffled thunder, deafeningly loud.

Before long, the bubbles rose to the surface of the sea, and the lift disappeared, revealing a piece of land.

"Island or mainland?"

Old Mu retracted the bubbles, and the two hovered above the water's surface, observing the scenery of the land.

The moment Qin Sang saw this land, one word flashed through her mind—fragmented. The land was riddled with ravines, crisscrossing and cutting it into pieces. The ravines were extremely deep; some had become rivers at their bottom, and most were just jumbled rocks.

The water flowed from deep within the land, converged before them, and finally rushed into the ocean, forming the underwater waterfall they had just witnessed.

Looking into the depths of the land, shrouded in mist, the shadows of palaces seemed to appear in the clouds, only to vanish in an instant, so clear that even Tian Li could not see them clearly, like a mirage.

They did not hesitate for long; the Typhon giants were blocking their way, and they had to move on.

"Be careful," Elder Mu kindly reminded Qin Sang.

As is customary, this grotto-heaven may have been divided into territories by the creatures living here. They had previously passed through the territories of the Typhon giants and the crystal anemones, and the owner of this land was unknown.

The two cautiously approached the edge of the land. All was silent ahead. Their gaze swept over the ravines, but they saw nothing amiss. They then stepped onto the land, but shortly after taking flight, the Vermilion Bird suddenly issued a warning.

Immediately afterwards, Elder Mu's expression changed drastically, and he abruptly turned his head to look to his right.

To their right was a towering mountain range, its peaks inevitably carved by ravines, creating a discontinuous landscape. Such terrain was not naturally formed, which was one of the reasons they were extremely cautious.

Qin Sang belatedly realized that she had heard a sharp shriek. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw a dark shadow suddenly appear on a mountain peak.

The shriek was full of warning and was clearly directed at them. The shadow grew larger and larger. Judging from its outline, it looked like some kind of spirit bird, but its body was too huge. When it spread its wings, it was like a cloud hanging from the sky, covering the entire mountain!

The dark shadows quickly spread out from the ravines, and both Qin Sang and Elder Mu felt a strong threat!

Before stepping onto land, Elder Mu had deliberately used a treasure to conceal the aura and figures of the two, but it was to no avail. They were recognized by the owner of this place as soon as they stepped onto land.

"retreat!"

Mu Lao made a decisive decision and retreated back to sea.

Surprisingly, when they left the land, the shadowy figure only chased them to the edge of the land, as if there were an invisible barrier there. After a moment of silence, the shadowy figure began to roam the vicinity, and after searching in vain, it gradually retreated until it disappeared back into the mountain peak.

As the shadow disappeared, so did the oppressive aura.

"What is this?" Qin Sang and Tian Li secretly used their supernatural powers, but they still couldn't see the true appearance of the black shadow. They could only see patches of black feathers, and between the feathers seemed to be heads that looked like pythons, but they couldn't make out its facial features.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the ancient ferocious beast, the Ci Peng!" Elder Mu's expression was rather grim.

"Ci Peng?"

Qin Sang's knowledge of the ancient ferocious beasts of the Demon Realm all came from the jade slip of the old man surnamed Mu, which recorded the ferocious beast Ci Peng. Because it was not a sea beast, it was only mentioned in a few words.

"Is this the real Cipeng, or just an illusion?" Qin Sang's question was not unfounded; the shadowy figure had given them a very strange feeling.

“The Chibi has been missing for too long. I’ve only heard about it in some ancient books. It’s said that the Chibi is a heavy sleeper and needs to gain power in its sleep, but it can also sense intruders in its territory while it’s asleep…”

Old Mu stared at the mountain where the dark figure had disappeared. "Perhaps that Chipeng has not yet awakened. If we stay too long, we will inevitably attract the Chipeng itself."

This land is unavoidable; no one knows how many roc-like creatures inhabit it.

At this moment, Elder Mu suddenly looked at Qin Sang and asked, "When the dark shadow attacked just now, did you notice anything unusual?"

"abnormal?"

Qin Sang recalled for a moment, then her eyes lit up, "Old Mu was talking about those ravines?"

"Not bad!" Elder Mu nodded. The dark shadows clearly swept over the ravines but couldn't penetrate them. Perhaps we can use those ravines to cross the territory of the Ciri Peng.

Qin Sang frowned and remained silent. Something was definitely amiss. Even if the ravine could help them avoid the perception of the pheasant, there must be other dangers hidden within.

"It's better than alarming the entire Chipeng clan..."

Elder Mu said calmly that they really didn't have a better choice at the moment.

Not long after, the two returned, and the dark figure reappeared, attacking them.

As the dark figure drew closer, the two plummeted and fell into a ravine.

'Shuh! '

A dark shadow swept over their heads, and an astonishing scene unfolded: the shadow that had been constantly patrolling above, searching for the intruders, completely ignored the two people hiding in the ravine, as if the inside and outside of the ravine were two different worlds.

"It just wouldn't come down!"

The two were overjoyed, but then their hearts tightened again.

"Watch out!" Qin Sang turned around abruptly, only to see a thick fog rising from the ravine behind them, the surging fog spreading towards them.

These fogs are clearly unusual.

With the threat of the swarming roc above and the dense fog closing in from behind, the two were momentarily caught in a dilemma. But this was their own choice, and they had been prepared. Seeing this situation, they made a decisive move and rushed along the ravine into the depths of land.

There were too many ravines here, and the terrain was winding and meandering. They were moving very fast, but the thick fog spread even faster.

The dense fog relentlessly pursued them, and before long, the fog crest was almost upon them.

Qin Sang had already revealed his speed before, and now he was flying alongside Elder Mu. He guessed that Elder Mu must still have something to hide. Faced with the approaching thick fog, he did not use it, but was swallowed up by the thick fog together with him.

'Whoosh!'

The thick fog swept past them and rushed toward the end of the ravine. They were instantly plunged into the sea of ​​fog, their vision almost disappearing. Even Tian Li's Heavenly Eye Divine Power was affected.

'Shuh! '

A faint sound came from within the fog.

Qin Sang sensed a wisp of energy suddenly approaching her at an astonishing speed, and it was already within arm's reach in an instant.

Qin Sang reacted quickly, and without hesitation, she slashed with her sword. Then she suddenly froze, realizing that her sword had struck empty air.

At the same time, a strong sense of alarm rose in Qin Sang's heart; danger was coming from another direction. Fortunately, he hadn't withdrawn his sword domain, keeping the starry sky above his head. The starry sky shot out sword light, finally striking that wisp of energy.

In an instant, Qin Sang saw a green snake cut in two, its body disappearing into the thick fog and vanishing without a trace.

Elder Mu was also attacked. He killed the Green Serpent faster than Qin Sang, but like Qin Sang, he was initially misled.

"It's not the snake's skill, it's the fog that's strange!" Old Mu said in a deep voice.

It was no coincidence that both of them had their spiritual senses clouded. Being in the fog would interfere with their spiritual senses, causing them to have confused perceptions. Fortunately, they were strong enough, otherwise they would have already fallen victim to the trick.

The two men were on high alert, unsure when an attack might strike.

"Does Elder Mu know the origin of those green snakes?" Qin Sang asked telepathically.

It seems this land has two masters, with a clear division between them. The Cirrus Peng occupies the surface, while the Green Snake dwells in the ravines. It's just unknown where they and the thick fog hid before.

Stopping would only make things more dangerous, so the two exchanged words as they flew through the thick fog.

"I don't know, I've never seen such a creature in ancient books," Elder Mu pondered. "Although they are not as strong as the Typhon giants or the roc, they will only be more troublesome in the thick fog. I can sense that the attack just now did not kill it, and it will soon come back!"

Before they could finish speaking, a rustling sound came from behind them, as if countless green snakes were chasing them. The two men's expressions changed slightly. Even an ant colony could kill an elephant; they didn't want to be surrounded.

Now that they had identified their direction, they sped through the thick fog with all their might, but the sounds behind them only increased, as if more green snakes were gathering in the ravine where they were.

There were no roars, only the rustling sound of something crawling on the ground echoing in the ravines, making it seem even more eerie.

Qin Sang followed behind Elder Mu without daring to stop for a moment. Suddenly, Zhu Que, who had been silent all along, transmitted her voice.

"This old man is quite capable; he even managed to fool me."

"What happened?" Qin Sang looked at Elder Mu, who was flying away with his head down, completely bewildered.

Zhuque sighed, "The guy you're following probably isn't his real body. You and those three idiots from the Nine Netherworlds have all been fooled by him!"

"What? It's not Elder Mu himself? Didn't you realize that before?"

Qin Sang trusted Zhuque's judgment too much and never considered that this Elder Mu was actually an imposter.

"The one before was real, even just a few breaths ago, it was real, otherwise how could it have fooled my discerning eyes?" Zhuque snorted. "This old thing used some means to suddenly turn from real to fake, almost flawlessly. If my discerning eyes weren't sharp, I might have been fooled... Interesting!"

Qin Sang glanced at Elder Mu's back; Elder Mu now was no different from the Elder Mu before.

Why did this person suddenly leave, and in this way, abandon himself here?

Thinking of Youyan and the other two, Qin Sang realized that Elder Mu's real target was not himself, but Youyan. He had obviously noticed that Youyan was following him and wanted to use this method to shake off his pursuers.

"People's hearts have changed!"

Qin Sang was deeply moved.

He encountered two elderly men in succession, one named Mu and the other named Mu. One used him as a stepping stone, while the other used him as bait.

Fortunately, Zhuque was by his side; otherwise, even knowing it was a trap, there would have been nothing he could do.

"That's not all!"

Zhuque snorted twice, "There's a problem ahead. He wants to lure you to your deaths! That old bastard may have already come alone, but the road ahead was blocked, so he went back to find a scapegoat. He's the same kind of person as that woman!"

"What danger?" Qin Sang was startled.

"With Zhuque here, what's there to be afraid of? Just go ahead and make your way through, leave the rest to me," Zhuque said proudly. "Don't forget, danger often comes with opportunity. If you want to uncover the secrets of this cave, how can you do it by cowering in fear!"

Since refining the Qilin's essence, the Vermilion Bird has indeed become much more reliable than before. Qin Sang's strength is also vastly different now, and she has the ability to protect herself in dangerous situations. Moreover, the three powerful Nine Nether Demon Clan members behind her are Elder Mu's true targets.

Elder Mu's plan was undeniably ruthless, but unfortunately he misjudged Qin Sang and underestimated Zhuque.

Qin Sang felt somewhat relieved and pretended not to know anything. He followed this avatar, which was almost indistinguishable from Mu Lao's original body, and rushed to the end of the ravine.

Suddenly, a massive wave of fog rushed towards them, the violent impact nearly knocking them over. (End of Chapter)