All the mysteries were unraveled. The red creatures were deliberately bred by the Thousand-Foot Divine Lord inside the bodies of the Entropy Tribe members. These creatures bestowed the gift of spatial teleportation upon the tribe, but they also absorbed the life force of those who nurtured them. Once they drained the life force completely, the red creatures would burst out and fly into the statue of the Thousand-Foot Divine Lord, providing immense vitality for his rebirth.
From the very beginning, it was a conspiracy, a plot to manipulate the entire Entropy Tribe. This so-called Thousand-Foot Divine Lord was nothing more than an evil and aberrant creature, a monster that had attained supernatural powers.
The thought of the entire Entropy Tribe perishing filled Qin Yu's heart with immense anger. He may not be a Taoist priest, but as a human being, how could he not be outraged by such a cruel plot that led to the annihilation of an entire tribe?
"Thousand-Foot Old Demon, you still want to be reborn? After causing the deaths of so many people, even if I have to risk my life, I will destroy your foundation." Qin Yu began searching for vulnerabilities in the "Petrification Rebirth" technique from the Zhuge Inner Canon in his mind. One's efforts were not in vain when determined. After spending half an hour, he finally found a method.
Those who practiced the Petrification Rebirth technique feared the spirits of the Underworld, as before they succeeded, they had no life force and were essentially dead. The responsibility of the Underworld spirits was to collect the lingering souls in the mortal realm. Once the soul was collected, the Petrification Rebirth technique would completely fail.
The Zhuge Inner Canon provided various methods to invite the spirits of the Underworld, but most of them required special props or rituals to summon the spirits. Qin Yu found himself at a loss in this regard.
The Zhuge Inner Canon detailed the nine levels of mastery for diviners. To summon the Underworld spirits, at least a diviner of the fourth level was required. Qin Yu had recently broken through to the second level of diviners after being nourished by the Dragon Qi, still far from being able to summon the Underworld spirits.
If he had some preparations and relied on his second-level diviner status, there would still be a chance to summon the Underworld spirits. But for now, Qin Yu could only be helpless.
"Better leave this place for now." Since he couldn't currently disrupt the Thousand-Foot Old Demon's Petrification Rebirth technique, Qin Yu had no choice but to leave first and find an opportunity to destroy it later. It seemed that the Old Demon needed some time to complete his rebirth.
Qin Yu approached the side of the stone bed and felt around the right corner. After a while, a gleam flashed in his eyes. He had indeed found a slightly raised area. According to the silk cloth owner's account, there was a hidden passage beneath this stone bed that led to the outside. It took the silk cloth owner over a month to dig it out after discovering the red creatures. Unfortunately, he felt the disturbance in his heart and knew that escaping would be futile, so he left behind the words on the cloth and returned to the chamber where the bones of the deceased were buried.
However, this turned out to be advantageous for Qin Yu. He extended his hand and pressed down forcefully on the raised stone, causing the stone bed to move, gradually revealing a passage.
"Senior members of the Entropy Tribe, rest assured, once I get out, I will find a way to deal with this Thousand-Foot Old Demon and avenge you." Qin Yu bowed deeply three times outside the chamber where the Entropy Tribe members were buried. With sincerity in his heart, he then entered the passage in the stone bed.
The passage could only accommodate one person crawling inside, and it was quite rough. Qin Yu's hands occasionally grazed against stone fragments, causing his skin to be cut in several places. However, even so, he was grateful to the senior member of the Entropy Tribe. Without this passage, he might not have been able to escape at all.
Qin Yu crawled with great effort in the passage. On the other side, Mo Yongxin and her group searched the entire area but found no trace of him. Finally, they regrouped in front of the Nine Stars Three Talents Array.
"Sister, Qin Yu might not be here. Why don't we go up first? Perhaps he has already found a way to escape," Mo Yongxing suggested, noticing her sister's pale complexion.
"We have searched everywhere on this level, and there is simply no way out. The only way up is the one we fell from. If we leave, how will he be able to climb up?" Mo Yongxin rejected Mo Yongxing's suggestion.
"Miss Mo, since there is no exit in this place, where could Brother Qin have gone? Miss Mo and Brother Qin triggered a mechanism and fell down here. I personally believe that there must be some hidden mechanism or passage down here. Brother Qin must have triggered some mechanism and reached a secluded place. It's not a viable solution for us to keep searching like this. Why don't we station someone at the entrance of that hole and go back up to discuss how to find Brother Qin? It's highly unlikely that we will be able to find the hidden mechanism or passage with just a few of us," He Ping advised.
Mo Yongxin glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement. Indeed, continuing to search like this was not a solution. Moreover, she had a feeling that Qin Yu must be safe and there was nothing to worry about. The group started to walk back along the path they came from.
"Finally, the end."
A ray of light shone in from not far away, and Qin Yu's spirits lifted. Crawling in this cramped stone tunnel was suffocating, but fortunately, the presence of light indicated that the exit was nearby. He hastened his pace and crawled towards the source of light.
"Whoosh!"
Qin Yu pushed aside the vines covering the opening of the cave, causing nearby birds to panic and flutter away in a frenzy.
"This is the foot of the mountain. I've actually come out here directly." As soon as he emerged from the cave, Qin Yu covered his eyes with his hand. Having been in the darkness of the cave, sudden exposure to sunlight could harm the eyes without giving them time to adjust.
Once he identified his location, Qin Yu turned around and arranged the vines to cover the cave entrance. As long as no one closely examined it, they shouldn't be able to detect the hidden opening. After completing these tasks, he turned and headed up the mountain.
"We finally made it out. This cave is truly not a place for humans to stay." Mo Yongxing carefully supported her older sister as they ascended, expressing her admiration.
"Don't waste time talking. Qin Yu is still down there. Let's all discuss how to find him later," Mo Yongxin said, using her delicate hand to shield her forehead while casting a sideways glance at her younger brother.
"Miss Mo, I don't think we need to go looking for Mr. Qin. Look at the person up ahead," one of the bodyguards pointed ahead and spoke to Mo Yongxin.
"Up ahead?" Mo Yongxin followed the direction indicated by the bodyguard's finger and saw a figure approaching them. The figure had a similar build to Qin Yu. As they came closer, a familiar face appeared before her—it was Qin Yu. However, he looked somewhat disheveled, with his clothes torn in several places, and his hair covered in dust. He had the appearance of a raggedy man.
"Ha!"
Mo Yongxing couldn't help but burst into laughter. She walked up and slapped Qin Yu on the shoulder, laughing heartily, "Qin Yu, how did you turn into a wild man from Bronze Clapper Mountain?"
Seeing Mo Yongxing's grin and her delight in his misfortune, Qin Yu inwardly complained, "It's all because of your Mo family's affairs. Otherwise, how could I end up like this?"
With this thought in mind, Qin Yu's gaze involuntarily shifted towards Mo Yongxin in front of him, coinciding with her looking at him. Their eyes met, and suddenly, two blushes appeared on Mo Yongxin's face. Her eyes resembled a startled rabbit, and she quickly averted her gaze.
"Could it be that she remembers what happened after being affected by the Lustful Spring Fragrance?" Qin Yu speculated silently. Judging from Mo Yongxin's expression, it was highly likely. Fortunately, he had restrained himself back then and didn't do anything inappropriate. He felt relieved.
"By the way, Qin Yu, how did you end up coming from the bottom of the mountain? Weren't you inside the cave? And who knocked out my sister, and where did you go?" Mo Yongxin asked, curious about Qin Yu's appearance here. It seemed that she hadn't confronted him yet, judging from her eye blink, and Qin Yu understood that Mo Yongxin hadn't revealed their plan to He Ping. Although he didn't know what Mo Yongxin was up to, since she hadn't disclosed it, he couldn't expose it either.
"Well, it's a long story. After Mo Miss and I fell into the river, we kept walking downstream. Eventually, we arrived at the Nine Stars Three Powers Array and found Li Long's body. Mo Miss hurried over, triggering the formation. I don't know what mechanism was activated, but I fainted. When I woke up, I found myself at the foot of the mountain," Qin Yu explained, pointing to the other side of the mountain's base with his hand. He did so to prevent He Ping from secretly investigating the base of the mountain. If they discovered the cave entrance, it could lead to more trouble.
"Fainted and ended up at the foot of the mountain? Qin Yu, you must be joking," Mo Yongxing said, wearing a skeptical expression. She couldn't believe that someone could go from inside the cave all the way to the foot of the mountain while unconscious. Perhaps there was something inside the cave that kindly guided him out.
"Young Master, please don't make things up. I think what Mr. Qin said is highly possible. There might be something in this cave that we don't understand," Mo Yongxin interrupted Mo Yongxing's doubts. She didn't believe Qin Yu's words either. She knew very well that he was the one who knocked her unconscious. Naturally, he couldn't have fainted. However, she couldn't inquire further in front of He Ping.