Underground Cave
"Damn it, we walked for half an hour for nothing."
Ling Feng grumbled as he walked back into the cave, Ke Qing behind him with a look of helplessness on her face.
They had walked along the underground river for nearly half an hour.
Upon reaching the end, they discovered it was a dead end.
The path downward was completely blocked by large rocks.
Even the underground river was not spared; it was blocked too.
With the small gaps left, a person would have no way of squeezing through unless they were a fish.
Ling Feng had thought about moving the rocks to proceed further and had indeed done so.
The consequence of doing so was another collapse, blocking it even more thoroughly.
Helpless, the two had no choice but to retrace their steps.
Ke Qing frowned slightly, worriedly saying,
"The earthquake caused the ground to collapse, sealing off the paths. It might have even blocked the river channel on the other side."
Since the underground river was blocked by rocks on one side, it was highly likely the same on the other.
In other words, they were very likely trapped underground.
Ling Feng nodded.
There was no denying what Ke Qing had said.
However, Ling Feng's expression did not become dejected or worried because of this. He remained as calm as usual, saying,
"If that's the case, then I'll need to find a helper."
A helper?
Ke Qing was confused.
Where could there be a helper underground? Could he conjure someone out of thin air?
But upon further thought,
Ling Feng was a disciple of an immortal sect; perhaps he truly possessed some miraculous means.
How could the methods of immortals be fathomed by mortals like them?
With this thought, Ke Qing no longer had any doubts.
It was not an area she was skilled in, so thinking too much was futile.
Looking at Ling Feng's back, Ke Qing always felt that his presence was very reliable.
Whether in work or in combat.
Although Ling Feng still appeared too young and acted immaturely, like a novice just stepping into the world,
based on her observations of Ling Feng's actions over the past month, he actively sought to understand and find answers to problems he was unfamiliar with.
This was one aspect of Ling Feng that she admired.
"Alright, there are no more paths ahead, we'll have to go by water."
While Ke Qing was lost in thought, they had already reached the wall at the other end of the underground cave.
Ling Feng skillfully took out Jian Li Long Yin, levitated it over the river using Sword Control technique, and then enlarged it with the Giant Sword technique until it was large enough for two people to stand on.
Ke Qing looked at the enlarged Jian Li Long Yin, her beautiful eyes slightly brightening, her surprise unable to be fully concealed.
She thought, as expected, immortal methods were truly miraculous.
"Come, stand on it."
Ling Feng was the first to step onto Jian Li Long Yin, extending a hand to Ke Qing with a smile.
Ke Qing did not refuse. She took Ling Feng's hand and stepped onto it.
After this experience, their relationship had unconsciously grown closer, something she hadn't realized.
Once Ke Qing was on board.
Ling Feng's lips curved upwards, and he said with a smile like a bus announcement,
"Alright, passengers, please stand and hold on, buckle up your seatbelts. The veteran driver's express train is about to depart."
Veteran driver's express train?
A new term?
Before Ke Qing could ponder further, the long sword beneath their feet suddenly moved, and with a "whoosh," it carried them into the underground river, upstream.
Ke Qing was startled by the sudden acceleration of the sword control and instinctively closed her eyes.
After a moment, feeling that nothing was wrong, Ke Qing cautiously opened her eyes.
The moment she opened them, a gleam of unconcealable brilliance flashed in Ke Qing's beautiful eyes, her mouth slightly agape.
So beautiful!
So stunning!
The river water shimmered under the crystal light, like a river of stars.
Crystals of various mineral deposits were intertwined and scattered in every corner, emitting their faint glow.
It was as if one were in a dazzling starry sky on a dark night.
It felt wonderful.
Ling Feng glanced back at Ke Qing and found her immersed in the brilliant river of stars.
Those clear, sparkling pink pupils, coupled with her exquisite beauty and the slight smile at the corner of her lips.
"So beautiful."
Looking at this scene, Ling Feng's heart pounded like it had been injected with stimulants.
His heartstrings were plucked.
This was a true beauty, this was Ke Miao Miao.
Both were lost in their own thoughts, but Ke Qing was the first to snap back.
Seeing Ling Feng gaze at her with such fascination, her heart fluttered, and a blush quickly spread across her cheeks. She said softly,
"Ling Feng, you're still staring. If you keep looking, I'll dig your eyes out."
Hearing Ke Qing's voice, Ling Feng shook his head, snapping out of his daze.
"Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment."
With that, he quickly turned his head and made sword gestures to accelerate their speed.
Ke Qing watched Ling Feng turn away sheepishly, the corners of her mouth curling into a charming arc.
As expected, her beauty was still so captivating.
In reality, she didn't dislike Ling Feng's gaze. Instead, it gave her a sense of accomplishment.
Although she appeared serious and diligent in her work, she was still a young girl inside and would have moments of smugness.
After about an hour, Ling Feng's divine sense detected that the top of the river channel not far ahead was hollow.
"We might have arrived."
"Arrived?"
Behind him, Ke Qing, who had been carefully observing the stone walls of the river channel, heard Ling Feng's words and looked forward.
A moment later, they reached the bottom of the hollow. Under Ling Feng's control, the long sword carrying them slowly rose from the underground river.
At the same time, both of them became vigilant.
Splash!
The sound of water splashing echoed.
Ling Feng and Ke Qing flew out of the underground river.
It was pitch black, with almost no light.
"Hoo hoo."
A ball of flame appeared in Ling Feng's palm, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
Although it was just a flame, it provided ample light.
Ling Feng cast four balls of flame around, illuminating the entire dark environment.
What met their eyes was the familiar valley.
However, this valley was now in ruins.
Due to the collapse, the overall space of the valley had shrunk considerably, with remnants of stone pillars piled everywhere.
And the natural bridge had also vanished.
"I didn't expect we'd end up back here."
Ke Qing looked around the familiar surroundings.
"But returning isn't the most important thing. It's that the way we left seems to be blocked again."
Ling Feng glanced at the original exit on the mountainside.
That exit had also collapsed into a mess due to the earthquake.
Ling Feng controlled the long sword and flew over.
He made the sword hover in place, then flew up himself and lightly tapped the rocks.
"Dong dong dong..."
A clear sound spread. Ling Feng closed his eyes and released his divine sense to scan.
He needed to sense how many rocks were blocking the entrance and their volume.
Ke Qing stood on the long sword, not interrupting Ling Feng.
After a few breaths, Ling Feng opened his eyes and shrugged at Ke Qing, chuckling wryly.
"Looks like we were buried quite deep."
"We still need to find someone."
As he spoke, Ling Feng glanced at the system interface on the side. The partner panel displayed on it showed that Tu Shan Hong Hong's status had changed from red to green.