Chapter 7: Unifying the Three Races (4)
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At this moment, it’s anyone’s guess whether the attacking and defending sides had begun their epic battle.
Strong Brother looked up with a worried expression; above him was a thick layer of rock and soil, plunging downwards since they entered the cave. They must have been dozens of meters underground by now.
Little Musashi was in her element in the narrow, dark cave, as if she were best buds with the place.
But Strong Brother was well aware this was just an illusion. After all, the soft, loose soil beneath their feet bore no extra footprints apart from theirs, indicating that Little Musashi was just as clueless as he was about this cave.
Just as he was growing increasingly anxious, the cave’s path began to wind upwards.
He perked up, could it be that this cave actually had an exit?
Though Little Musashi had been silent, her quickening pace said it all: she shared Strong Brother’s newfound hope.
About half an hour later, when Strong Brother spotted a sliver of light ahead, he nearly burst into tears.
Finally, no matter where this tunnel led, their trip hadn’t been in vain!
Little Musashi wiped the sweat from her forehead and said to Strong Brother, “Step back a bit.”
Strong Brother nodded and hurriedly retreated about ten steps.
The exit looked similar to the entrance; apart from a few rays of light streaming in, it had no obvious exit and required them to open it themselves.
“Dual Sword Style! Heavenly Domination Slash!”
Two sharp beams of light flashed by, even underground Strong Brother felt a tremor beneath his feet.
“Boom! Boom!”
With a thunderous roar, the exit instantly brightened up.
Little Musashi dusted herself off, spat a few times, and took a confident step out of the cave.
Strong Brother rushed after her.
But out of nowhere, Little Musashi let out a sharp “Ah!” and suddenly disappeared from the exit.
Strong Brother’s scalp tingled, and he rushed forward to understand what was going on.
“Master, Master, what happened?”
The next second, the cool and handsome figure of Little Musashi flipped back into view at the entrance.
“Approach slowly, don’t be rash.” Little Musashi’s voice had taken on a serious tone.
Relieved, Strong Brother, following her instructions, slowly inched toward the cave’s exit.
But when he looked down, he could hardly believe his eyes.
Below the exit was a sheer cliff! Little Musashi had almost taken a tumble into the abyss, but luckily her quick reflexes saved her as she grabbed onto a slightly protruding rock and flipped back into the cave.
Peeking over the edge, Strong Brother took a closer look, and a nagging thought crossed his mind.
If it was a crack between valleys below, the light would gradually dim as they went further down until it was engulfed in darkness.
But what he saw now was like looking down from a towering building; the sun illuminated everything, and every inch of land seemed to glimmer with color!
Could it be… they were actually floating in the air?
This… is beyond ridiculous!
He and Little Musashi had been trudging through the tunnel for ages, and yet somehow ended up suspended in mid-air!
At that moment, both of them stood there, completely baffled, unable to grasp the implication of this phenomenon.
As Strong Brother collected his thoughts, he suddenly gasped.
Could it be…
They weren’t floating in the air,
but rather the whole Sky Void City was in some bizarre condition, suspended above the Asking Dao Continent?
So, the tunnel they traversed must be at the root of Sky Void City, allowing them a glimpse of the truth.
Previously, due to the Extermination of Immortals Guild constantly being on guard against enemy attacks, they were completely oblivious to the drastic changes in Sky Void City.
……
Hey, hey, what’s going on here?
Lin Nan stood on the head of a Dark Feather Crane, gazing at the mushroom forest piercing the clouds in the distance, feeling like she’d suddenly been transported to the Land of the Tiny People, having accidentally wandered into the realm of normal folks.
She distinctly remembered Sky Void City being right ahead, so what were those giant mushrooms doing?
Lin Nan pulled out her map to confirm she hadn’t taken the wrong turn.
“Master, it should be right here. I can feel a weak connection between the Demon-Slaying Squad and us,” Xi’s voice came from behind her.
Lin Nan nodded; she understood that the character cards shared varying strengths of mental connections.
Looks like they were heading in the right direction.
With that in mind, they moved closer to investigate what was going on with Sky Void City.
The Dark Feather Crane let out a sharp cry and carried Lin Nan and the bl**d Moon Team toward the mushroom cluster.
……
Meanwhile, in the Sky Sword City of the Small Thousand World.
Since Master Sister Luo Ying took over as Sect Leader, the barely surviving Heavenly Sword Sect had been recuperating and trying to restore order under her leadership.
Although the Small Thousand World still looked like a war zone, the gentle spring rains were bringing life back to the blasted remains, and even the half-exploded dead trees were sprouting little green buds.
Life was returning, and everything was moving in a positive direction.
However, Luo Ying’s heart remained heavy and anxious, not easing even slightly because of these changes.
Because, unbeknownst to everyone,
the Small Thousand World had not just the mountains surrounding the Heavenly Sword Sect but also a dozen or so small worlds and small cave heavens of similar size.
And within these areas, the triplet brothers known as Shiyuan were darting about, cutting off connections between the various small worlds and the Small Thousand World, as instructed by the Cold Moon Witch.
Some creatures in certain dimensions were dangerously powerful, and if they were allowed into the Asking Dao Continent,
they could wipe out most living things before divine punishment struck, severely weakening human resistance.
So, Lin Nan would never stand by as the Asking Dao Continent fell into a multi-front war.
Thus, the Small Thousand World, being the central hub of these small worlds, was crucial. Although a significant portion of beings from small worlds had already appeared on the Asking Dao Continent using the Small Thousand World as a springboard during previous wars,
it wasn’t too late to plug the gaps. Thanks to the combined efforts of the three Shiyuan, most loopholes had been sealed.
Much like Frost North Snow, their consciousness, formed from the essence of the Small Thousand World, made it relatively straightforward to trace back to its roots; it just took a significant amount of time to identify where the gaps were.
Plus, during their search for loopholes, they found traces of humans in a frigid, ice-covered small world.
If they had delayed any longer, those poor souls would have been frozen stiff like popsicles, never to awaken again.
“I had a long dream on the ice field.
I dreamed I went to an alternative martial arts world. Wait, then it kinda turned into a fantasy fairy tale,
with Human Emperors, Demon Emperors, and Magic Emperors – after a massive brawl, everything settled down… What role did I play in all of this?
Haha, of course, I was the calm observer!”
Fatty, back in the Small Thousand World, relaxed in a hot water barrel, chatting pleasantly with the Male Character.
The latter sighed, “After all this time apart, I thought you and White Peach were hiding somewhere having little babies.”
Fatty grinned, “Soon, soon.”
