Translator: Cinder Translations
---
"Miaofa, you bald donkey, how dare you follow us secretly into the Blood Cloud Cave!"
The speaker was a tall member of a cultivation family.
The person referred to as Miaofa was a short and stout monk.
With his palms pressed together, the monk wore a compassionate expression of pity on his face.
"Tang Fu, this Blood Cloud Cave is a no-man's land. How can you say that we monks have sneaked in?"
Tang Fu shouted angrily.
"I went through great trouble with Alliance Leader Zhong to reach this place. You bald donkeys are just tailing behind us, reaping the benefits for free!"
Facing Tang Fu's scolding, Miaofa remained calm and composed.
"Since ancient times, treasures have a virtue to reside with them. I have calculated that this place has a connection to our Buddha and should rightfully belong to the Buddhist family."
"Pah! Even a fool knows that this Blood Cloud Cave is a stronghold of demonic forces, which has nothing to do with your Buddhism! Not only did you sneak in, but you also ambushed and killed two of Alliance Leader Zhong's subordinates, which activated the prohibitions here."
"Now, this Blood Cloud Cave can only be entered, not exited. The thirteen stone statues also show signs of being activated, all because of you bald donkeys who speak of compassion but have wicked hearts."
Tang Fu looked like he wanted to tear the other party to shreds, but due to the prohibitions in this area and the thirteen stone statues in the plaza, he dared not act.
If another person were to die in this plaza, it could likely trigger the activation of the statues.
Miaofa gazed at the two corpses on the ground, displaying a face full of sorrow.
"After leaving the temple, I will certainly chant the Rebirth Mantra a thousand times for these two wronged individuals to help them reach paradise quickly."
Tang Fu's eyes blazed with fury, like a roaring fire ready to burn Miaofa to ashes.
"Everyone, let's stop arguing. Right now, we can only cooperate and cannot turn on each other," spoke a loose cultivator.
He was the leader of the loose cultivators mentioned by Tang Fu, Zhong Liang.
A smile appeared on Miaofa's face.
"Zhong, you are absolutely right."
However, Tang Fu was somewhat unwilling to cooperate with Miaofa and the others.
"Hmph! Who knows if these bald donkeys will stab us in the back again?"
Miaofa said, "Tang, please rest assured. Just now, it was my oversight, and I did not know that killing would trigger the prohibitions here. Now that I know, how could I dare to commit murder again?"
"Moreover, in exploring ancient ruins, there is no guarantee that no one will die. Why must you dwell on it so much?"
"This place has been abandoned for many years, yet the prohibitions still function normally, which is indeed unexpected. We should discuss how to enter this grand hall before us."
Before Miaofa could finish speaking, a blue light suddenly illuminated the plaza, causing everyone to squint their eyes.
The crowd was a bit startled, but aside from the blue light, no other danger appeared.
After a moment, the blue light dissipated, and a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the great hall.
"A teleportation array!"
Everyone in the plaza became vigilant, their gazes fixed on the figure at the entrance of the great hall.
"Who are you? Why have you come here?"
Tang Fu questioned sternly.
The person was Song Wen, who had been mysteriously teleported here.
After a brief moment of shock, Song Wen quickly regained his composure.
He looked at Tang Fu with fear on his face and stammered,
"Senior, I am a loose cultivator. By chance, I discovered an ancient cave, and while exploring it, I don't know why the teleportation array in the cave suddenly activated, transporting me to this place."
Tang Fu, Alliance Leader Zhong, and Miaofa exchanged glances, all showing an understanding expression.
It seemed they had inadvertently triggered the prohibitions, which activated the teleportation array in Song Wen's cave and brought him here.
Song Wen was merely an unsuspecting loose cultivator who had been caught up in this place.
"Rumble!"
Inside the great hall, a loud noise suddenly erupted as the stone doors slowly opened.
Zhong Liang, Miaofa, and Tang Fu exchanged wary glances.
They had put in great effort to come to this place, and their sole purpose was the treasures within the great hall. Now that they were trapped here, the only potential escape route was likely within this grand hall.
Just a moment ago, the three parties were discussing cooperation, but now signs of imminent collapse began to appear.
"You, get out of the way! Don't block the entrance!"
Tang Fu, with his gaze fixed on the gradually opening stone doors, shouted loudly at Song Wen.
"Understood, senior!"
Song Wen looked terrified and dared not delay for a moment, retreating to the edge of the plaza.
As Song Wen moved toward the edge of the plaza, a sudden pressure arose.
The closer he got to the plaza's edge, the stronger the pressure became. He hadn't even reached the edge before the weight nearly made it impossible for him to stand.
"Gravitational prohibition!"
Song Wen was alarmed.
The gravitational prohibition was extremely strong, and with Song Wen's current cultivation level and physical strength, he absolutely couldn't leave the confines of the plaza.
When the stone doors of the great hall fully opened, each of the three factions sent a representative inside.
A moment later, voices from the great hall indicated that it was safe and signaled for everyone to enter.
Before long, only Song Wen remained in the plaza.
Although there might be treasures inside the great hall, Song Wen wasn't in a hurry to enter. He wanted to first survey the surroundings and confirm his current situation before deciding on his next move.
He instinctively released his Sacred Gu but found that it fell to the ground.
"Spatial prohibition!" Song Wen was taken aback.
He attempted to use his flying technique and sword control technique, only to discover that he couldn't fly off the ground.
He extended his spiritual sense, only to find that it too was restricted; his spiritual sense could only explore within the plaza and could not extend beyond its boundaries.
With a gravitational prohibition preventing him from leaving the plaza, a spatial prohibition hindering flight, and limited spiritual sense, he felt completely trapped.
"I really am stuck here. Even the Substitute Corpse Technique can't help me escape. I wonder if the Blood Escape Technique will work."
Song Wen thought to himself.
Since his spiritual sense couldn't reach beyond the plaza, he had to rely on his eyes.
He conjured a fireball in each hand and tossed them upward. As soon as the two fireballs left his hands, they plummeted straight to the ground, exploding in front of him.
Feeling quite helpless, Song Wen had hoped to observe his surroundings with the light of the fire.
Even his spells were affected by the gravitational prohibition.
He took out a glowstone the size of a washbasin, raised it above his head, and infused it with spiritual energy.
Instantly, the glowstone emitted a brilliant light.
With the light from the glowstone, Song Wen managed to see the entirety of the Blood Cloud Cave.
Directly in front of the grand hall, about fifty paces away, was a deep cave entrance, from which Tang Fu and the others must have entered.
Not far from the cave entrance was a waterfall cascading down.
An idea sparked in Song Wen's mind as he recalled a dark river he had seen earlier; he speculated that this might be the river's lower reaches.
If he could swim upstream, perhaps he could find a way out.
The thirteen stone statues in the plaza glimmered with an eerie red glow in their eyes, as if they might spring to life at any moment.
The two corpses on the ground had already turned into mummies; their blood had long since disappeared, leaving only a dried stain on the ground.
After thoroughly surveying the entire plaza, Song Wen turned and headed into the grand hall.
(End of the Chapter)
---
Want More of (RDC)?
Read ahead on [Pa.treon](pa treon . com / CinderTL) – up to Chapter 436.
Early access starts at $5. Your support keeps this going!
Translated 1100+ Chapters and 1.3M+ Words.