“…”
The disappearance of the black threads made Ling Chen stay. After staring at it for a while, he looked at his Lunar Scourge as the black glow disappeared. After a brief hesitation, he stepped forward with his right hand stretched out.
As he drew closer to other lines, his Lunar Scourge glowed black again, and the threads in front gradually dimmed and slowly dissipated.
These black threads were bodies of energy… which were afraid of the Lunar Scourge!?
Why this happened, Ling Chen didn’t know. The Lunar Scourge still had many secrets that he didn’t know of. But the reality is before his eyes… The black web that keeps the beautiful red bird in captivity is afraid of the Lunar Scourge’s light and under the glow of the Lunar Scourge, the threads silently dissipated.
If he approached step by step, then, these black threads will all have completely disappeared under the light of the Lunar Scourge. And that beautiful red bird… with the flutter of its eyes proving that it was alive, and with these black threads gone, it will no longer be captive, it will be set free.
Ling Chen put his foot down, no longer moving ahead. He was an idiot. He should have known that this captured bird was no normal beast. It undoubtedly had powerful strength. The red light and hot breath coming from it even under captivity was proof of its extraordinary nature. If it was an evil beast, and he released it with his Lunar Scourge, then it will immediately kill him, and bring terror to the land around it after it escapes… then he will be the bad guy. Moreover, if this really was the thing that that “scary bastard” was keeping watch of, if he found out that Ling Chen let it go, then, without a doubt, there would be someone with Mysterious God level strength that would hate him, and would relentlessly try to find and kill him… Being hunted by someone with Mysterious God strength, no matter how powerful a player is, they would ultimately be destroyed, never advancing further in this game.
So, Ling Chen stopped walking, no longer pushing ahead.
The black threads disappearing under the influence of the Lunar Scourge could clearly be seen by the red bird. Its red eyes were flashing, the red feathers made little sparks of excitement. But then, seeing Ling Chen stopping, and retracting his arm, and the black glow fading from his bracelet… it became anxious. The red light in its eyes fluttered… it was crying with light.
Ling Chen could understand its pleading eyes, it was a psychic beast. It had a very strong sense of emotional perception. But, Ling Chen still didn’t know. He still didn’t know if it was good or evil. Even if it really was a good creature, saving it was a huge risk for Ling Chen.
But, he didn’t turn and leave. Because the bird was so beautiful and such a beautiful thing was completely captured in this web, with all freedom taken away and perhaps no one could bear to see such a thing. Ling Chen subconsciously couldn’t bear to see it. He even had the urge to save it after staring at the red bird that was anxious for some hope, even though it couldn’t move or make a sound, and could only express itself through its eyes. It had no idea how many years it had been stuck there for… so, it would give anything for freedom.
“You must have been here for over 10,000 years, it’s really sad indeed.” Ling Chen looked at it, and suddenly said out loud. “I don’t know why you’re stuck here, or whether you’re good or evil, I don’t even know why this thing on my hand can save you… so, I have no idea whether I should save you.”
“But…” Ling Chen laughed, stepping forwards, and raising his right arm at the same time, and as he moved ahead, Lunar Scourge’s glow appeared again, making the threads disappear as he got close: “Me meeting you here, is a great opportunity. My ability to save you with this thing on my hand, makes it an even bigger opportunity. This event… I can’t say for sure, but perhaps it is destiny that you are freed. But this isn’t the main reason I decided to free you… I have a sister, and after a long period of time, she developed a terminal illness. That is a kind of despair where you can’t see any hope, that it was inevitable that she would soon meet God, but my sister was saved. Because of this, it was the first time I sincerely thanked God. Here where I met you, if I dig deep into my heart, there’s no way I can’t save you… because if everyone was selfish and didn’t help each other… I would have already lost someone really important to me. The consequences of me saving you, good or bad, will be my full responsibility, and no one else.”
Ling Chen said this with a calm voice and continued to walk forwards. As he moved ahead, the black threads, one at a time, quickly dissipated.
When Ling Chen reached the centre of the space, the Lunar Scourge’s light had enveloped all the lines. After some time, all the threads were illuminated by the Lunar Scourge’s glow and were slowly breaking down… Then, after a while they completely disappeared, until all of them were gone without a trace.
Chirp~~~~
A bird sound rang out after for a long time in this quiet underground space. As the black web completely disappeared, the red bird made a sound of excitement as it was freed from captivity. It cheerfully beat its wings, flying up high, until it was above Ling Chen. It flew around his head, accompanied with bursts of flashes and sparks. Its chirps were filled with the excitement of being freed. It also seemed to express gratitude towards Ling Chen.
With the red bird freed, the hot air was gone, and so Ling Chen’s discomfort completely disappeared. It must be that the free bird now has regained control to properly manipulate flame and it has withdrawn the fiery glow. Ling Chen looked at it. Its whole body was like a cluster of burning flame. The flames were a magnificent gold. They were stunning and pleasing to watch. Releasing the red bird didn’t seem to pose a threat to him and based on its actions and sounds, he could sense a real gratitude.
At least, it isn’t an evil beast, which means he did the right thing.
“Well then, you better leave quickly. The scary guy that blocked you in here is not around. But he’ll be back soon. If you don’t leave quickly and he catches you, I won’t be able to save you again… go” Ling Chen said looking at it.
Chirp~~~
The red bird understood Ling Chen’s words and it continued to fly around Ling Chen for a few more laps, before finally spreading its wings and flying away. It flew towards the tunnel before flying into the tunnel, then it went upwards and after that he couldn’t see where it went.
“I got to do something good. It feels pretty nice.” Ling Chen said to himself, looking at his right hand. The Lunar Scourge had changed back to its original form, but Ling Chen couldn’t not care about its performance before. The black threads should have contained a powerful force, but the light from the Lunar Scourge caused it to disappear so easily. Within the lunar scourge, how many secrets are there truly…
The black threads had disappeared. The freed red bird had already left so the whole space was empty. There was nothing else here. Ling Chen went back the original way. It hadn’t been long before he was back to the mountain top by the rope ladder. Next to him was the big rock on the ground. He could still hear the howling cold wind. The vast expanse was still filled with dust and he couldn’t see too far in front.
Since entering the Lonely Spirit Ridge, it’s been 4 hours. Looking at the thick fog, Ling Chen breathed lightly. The surrounding area was deathly quiet. The red bird he rescued should be far away by now. It staying around was far too dangerous and staying here alone, it would face constant danger… Every second it stopped for, the danger would increase significantly and if that scary bastard comes back, it will become a dire situation.
After searching and finding nothing in 4 hours, did he really want to keep searching?
“Xiao Hui, do you think we should continue searching?” It was a hard decision and so Ling Chen asked his only partner. It tilted its head, shook its tail and thought about it for a while but didn’t come up with an answer. He rushed hundreds of miles from Azure Dragon City to get here and he also had to go through the Ghastly Grounds to get here. Then he took advantage of a golden opportunity, searching till now. It had already been more than 4 hours. If he left now, he wouldn’t have inner peace, because it could be that the Flaming Black Grass is just ahead
But if there really was no Flaming Black Grass in the Lonely Spirit Ridge, continuing the search would just make him more and more desperate… Once Ling Chen dies, his level will go to 0! But if he returns, he will have to bear the punishment task.
“I’ll search for another hour!” Looking ahead, Ling Chen let out a deep breath of air, speaking in a low voice before quickly walking ahead.
The Lonely Spirit Ridge already didn’t have any Flaming Black Grass left. This is a fact that not many people know. Ling Chen could continue searching for 100 years or 1000 years and he still wouldn’t be able to find it.
Walking from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the other side, he still couldn’t find it. The desire for him to leave this place was growing increasingly strong. After a few minutes, he stood at the foot of the next mountain. Looking ahead, he was just about to take a step when behind him, a sound rang out.
“Big brother… big brother!!”
Ling Chen’s body was suddenly paralysed and the Soaring Cloud and Zephyr Blade appeared in his hands.
This was the sound of a human… moreover it was a sweet sounding girl.
No one dared to step into this forbidden land. And in this land where anyone who steps in will die, there actually came a girl’s voice. Ling Chen walked towards the way where it came from and did not even see a girl’s shadow. But the sound sounded like it was right behind him. Although this was a girl’s voice, he was still too shocked.
The whole way here had been completely silent. With this fact alone, it is enough to prove that this person was terrible.
Could it be, that the “scary bastard” that Qian Gun Gun was talking about… was finally back!!