Chapter 482: Beneath the Cliff

This Black Wind Beast’s Level was equivalent to a Mid-stage Heavenly Immortal, even stronger than Lie Rufeng, who had the highest cultivation in their party.

Coupled with the natural advantage demon beasts held over humans, the showdown became extremely tricky.

Fortunately, Lie Rufeng was no pushover. With his variant Wind Spirit Root, he was incredibly powerful. Combined with his seamless coordination with Mu Lin, their joint assault slowly put the Black Wind Beast on the back foot.

Lu Sangjiu, of course, wasn’t just standing by idly. She provided timely support to the two men.

For instance, when Mu Lin had no time to pull back and defend against an incoming attack from the Black Wind Beast, Lu Sangjiu would raise a timely shield to help block it.

Or, when Lie Rufeng needed a bit more time to cast a spell and form hand seals, Lu Sangjiu would coordinate with Mu Lin to hold the Black Wind Beast’s attention for a moment, buying Lie Rufeng ample time.

Overall, her presence as a support wasn’t flashy, but it was certainly a great help.

With such teamwork, the three of them were finally about to take down the Black Wind Beast. But unexpectedly, their fight had attracted other demon beasts!

Lie Rufeng’s expression changed. "This is bad! Three more Heavenly Immortal Stage demon beasts are heading this way! We can’t handle them!"

One was manageable, but three more meant they would be little more than a meal for the demon beasts.

Lu Sangjiu and Mu Lin’s expressions also grew grim. Lu Sangjiu spoke up, "Finish it quick, then run!"

They definitely couldn’t escape without dealing with their current opponent. The only option was to eliminate this Black Wind Beast as fast as possible and then bolt before the other three arrived.

Lie Rufeng and Mu Lin understood the gravity of the situation. They stopped holding back, unleashing their deadliest attacks and quickly slaying the Black Wind Beast.

"Go!"

Lie Rufeng quickly collected the Black Wind Beast’s corpse, then fled eastward with Lu Sangjiu and Mu Lin.

They chose that direction because it was the only one where no demon beasts were approaching them.

In their haste, they had no other choice but to mindlessly rush east.

However, as the three of them ran, they gradually realized something was wrong.

They noticed that it wasn’t just them being chased by demon beasts; other Cultivators in the Wild Ancient Forest were in the same predicament!

Lie Rufeng’s brow furrowed. "Something’s not right. Stop. It seems like these demon beasts are intentionally herding us in a certain direction!"

Lu Sangjiu had actually harbored a similar suspicion, but her thoughts were more practical. ’Even if we know that, stopping still means death. If we weren’t afraid of dying if the demon beasts caught up, we wouldn’t be getting chased so wretchedly, would we? It’s like being caught between a rock and a hard place; moving forward or stopping both lead to death. What’s there to even think about? We should just keep running as long as we can. Maybe we’ll run into a lucky break?’

Lie Rufeng realized Lu Sangjiu was right. Even if they knew, it seemed they couldn’t stop.

Just as his mind was in turmoil, unsure of what to do, Mu Lin suddenly cried out, "There’s a cliff ahead!"

A cliff wasn’t really a big deal for Cultivators. With their level of cultivation, even if flying was restricted here, they wouldn’t die from the fall. After all, their physical bodies were incredibly durable.

The problem was, a strange aura was churning below the cliff, and there was even a suction force pulling them downward!

They hadn’t noticed it at first, but by the time they were close enough to feel the pull, it was already impossible to break free.

Even though Lu Sangjiu and the others desperately tried to fight the force, their bodies were still being dragged inch by inch toward the cliff.

At that moment, the demon beasts that had been chasing them arrived. However, they all stopped in unison at the same spot, just out of range of the suction force.

Then, without leaving, they stood there like statues, their cold eyes watching Lu Sangjiu’s group dispassionately, as if they would only leave after seeing them fall.

Right before Lu Sangjiu was completely pulled over the edge, she saw two more Cultivators being herded to the same spot, struggling just as futilely as they were dragged toward the fall.

Finally, Lu Sangjiu was pulled to the edge of the cliff. The next moment, her body plunged downward, plummeting into the bottomless abyss at an incredible speed!

The wind howled in her ears. Lu Sangjiu could feel with increasing clarity an unsettling power emanating from the bottom of the abyss.

As she fell, she drew closer and closer to that power, yet there was still nothing she could do.

At last, with a loud THUD, Lu Sangjiu slammed hard onto the ground, smashing a deep crater into it.

Before she could even recover, she heard several more dull thuds of heavy objects hitting the ground. Without even thinking, she knew it was Lie Rufeng and Mu Lin, and perhaps the two Female Cultivators she had seen at the end.

Fortunately, no one had landed directly on top of her.

Lu Sangjiu struggled to climb out of the crater, wanting to check on the others.

But what she truly hadn’t expected was that the moment she crawled out, the first thing she saw wasn’t Lie Rufeng’s group, but pairs of calm eyes staring in her direction.

She froze for a moment, then looked around and saw about a dozen men and women watching them from a short distance away, their expressions placid and numb.

’No need to ask... They must have been dragged down by that strange suction force, too!’

’The fact that they were doing nothing, just sitting there quietly watching, was enough to prove... this godforsaken place is probably impossible to escape.’

Lu Sangjiu remained in her position, half-sprawled on the edge of the crater, and didn’t speak for a long time.

By this time, Lie Rufeng and the others had also climbed out one after another. Seeing the bizarre scene, they came to the same conclusion.

And so, the bizarre silence continued.

Lu Sangjiu sighed, used her hands and feet to pull herself completely out of the crater, and then kindly gave a hand to the Female Cultivator beside her.

Once all five of them were up, despite the uncomfortable, strange awkwardness of the situation, they steeled themselves and walked toward the group of a dozen or so people.

Mu Lin, who was better at socializing, cupped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute and spoke. "Excuse me, fellow Cultivators, but... what is this situation? Could you please enlighten us?"

Most of the people in the group appeared numb and dazed, exuding a deathly stillness.

But there were a few who were in better shape. Seeing that no one was answering, one of the male cultivators kindly replied, "It’s just as you see. You can get into this place, but you can’t get out."

"The whole valley is only this big. People fall down over there from time to time, so it’s dangerous. This spot here is a blind corner, so everyone stays over here."

He paused, shuffled to the side, and added kindly, "I have a little space here. You can come squeeze in."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’Even though you can see the whole underground area at a glance, are they really not even trying to find a way out? Just quietly waiting to die?’