"Risking wealth and status for a chance at success?"
Lao Gong demanded that piece of corpse Dan!
The actions of that group of straw hat cultivators are truly terrifying. One person is willing to die, first maintaining the Dragon's vein and the General's Mountain. Roughly after we leave, he will spit out the Corpse Dan. Although the mountains will collapse and the earth will split, the Corpse Dan must be preserved intact!
Their objective is to take the Corpse first, then to obtain the Dan!
If even the slightest problem arises, for example, if we haven't left yet and are still inside the mountain, and he spits out the Corpse Dan prematurely, then everyone would be buried here. Their plan would end in vain, and no one would know what happened here!
What kind of sect is this, capable of putting the interests of the sect above human life and death?
"Quick, go!" Jin Luan plashed into the shore. He understood everything at once and hurriedly urged.
I don't want to leave because Lao Gong has no object to take on, and there is no clear connection between us.
We can't leave, but it's too late.
Under the cool moonlight, a huge boulder split from the mountain body and roared downwards! Countless tiny pebbles, like rain, no, hailstones, rained down from above!
We started to run for our lives with all our might!
During this process, there was no time to care about others.
My ears could hear more collapsing sounds, as if they had pierced through the clouds, more like the dying screams and howls of a desperate creature, full of resentment and unwillingness!
The falling rocks hit the ground, causing larger vibrations to gradually arise, and more broken stone and dirt were flying everywhere!
I subconsciously glanced back, and the sight I saw will forever remain in my memory.
A dense cloud of smoke was cascading down from the massive mountain.
It was a landscape formed by the powder of a large number of broken mountain stones and the rocks sliding down.
Hazy and dim, those mudflows seemed to be a gray thin dragon, about to collapse and fall down!
I don't know how long we had been running.
I only heard a deafening loud explosion, and the ground shook violently again.
After about 10 seconds of shaking, everything returned to calm.
The night seemed even darker than before.
In the direction we came from, we couldn't see the mountain anymore. There were only huge shadows and a tangible dust cloud.
There were a few people scattered around me. Upon closer inspection, only six remained, including Jin Luan.
They were already in a state of disarray, and now they looked even more desolate. They had many wounds from the broken stones, and blood was continuously flowing.
I was no better myself. I had several minor injuries on my face, and there were a few places where blood was still flowing from my hands and feet.
Before, adrenaline surged, and I didn't notice these minor details.
Jin Luan's injuries were much more severe. His arm, chest, abdomen, and leg had a large area of bruising, and several branches were even stuck inside.
"Jin Luan Dao Zhang, are you okay?" I hurriedly approached Jin Luan, worried in my eyes.
With a bang, Jin Luan fell heavily to the ground and shook uncontrollably.
"There were two disciples struck by falling rocks and killed on the spot."
"There was a large falling rock above my head, and I couldn't escape in time. I was also about to die. Fortunately, two disciples who were close to me pushed me out at the last moment, but they were killed by the falling rock!"
The trembling voice was filled with intense regret, remorse, and sorrow.
Jin Luan struck the ground with his hands fiercely, and his head dropped heavily, emitting a painful wail.
The other five surviving Buddhist martial artists walked around him, and everyone's emotions were extremely low and sad.
At that moment, I didn't know how to comfort him.
Three corpses in the mausoleum passage, one above the tomb chamber, one in the main tomb chamber. Originally, five people had died.
Rescued ten people, four more died during the escape, almost a two-thirds loss, only a few were left to barely survive.
Looking at me now?
Looking at me now? I agreed to give him a chance and let him go to Daxiang. But he was betrayed by the General Ghost, and all the others in the Ghost Canal were killed. It was a complete defeat.
A surge of suppressive and blocked emotions rose up, like being hit repeatedly with a punch in the heart. It was hard to breathe.
The silence lasted for a long time, and Jin Luan's wailing turned into tears.
An old man who had long passed his sixtieth birthday cried as helplessly as a child.
"I'm sorry."
My voice was especially hoarse, and my expression was very complex.
Those negative emotions eventually turned into self-blame and criticism of the inner self.
"I misjudged the strength of Wuling."
"So many Buddhist martial artists died because of me."
I bowed deeply to the vast cloud of smoke in the distance with a loud bang and knelt on the ground.
Jin Luan's sobs stopped, and he stood up unsteadily, walking over to me to support me.
"Jin Luan Dao Zhang, please don't comfort me. It's a debt of life. Too many people have died because of me."
The wave of self-blame surged even more, like terrifying waves crashing over me, leaving my face pale and making me vomit up a mouthful of blood!
"If you, Xian Shen, truly believe you are wrong, then shouldn't my master and I commit seppuku to atone for our sins?"
"If it weren't us who handed the Tian Shao Head to Wuling, if it weren't us who easily trusted the little fox, how could there be so much trouble when you return to the mountain?"
"We are not here to kill Wuling because you told us to do so, but because Lao Gong said that Wuling could obtain something from the corpses. He can take away the life numbers of those who have passed away from your Four Law Mountain. That's your sect's business. But if he takes something from the Tian Shao Head, that would be our failure!"
"Lei Ping Dao Ren trusted us, and he allowed us monks to turn to the path of cultivation, ascend to the Xian Dong Mountain, take charge of Tian Gong Spring, and learn Lei Ping's Dao method. However, the body of this traitor Tian Shao has flowed out, and there is a high possibility that a great mistake has already been made. This is something that we have disappointed Lei Ping Dao Ren."
"You, just like us, have the same goal, so what's wrong with that?"
"At Gaotian Observatory, without your move, Tian Shao would have died hard. Today, if not for your move, we might not have been able to survive. Old Dao... " Jin Luan paused and then sighed and corrected himself: "Old Dao failed to protect his disciples. Moreover, old Dao was too confident. He thought that Wu Ling, who seemed like a little clown to us, would have no chance of surviving in front of me no matter how many tricks he used. So he fled in haste and we chased after him relentlessly until we fell into this mountain and fell into his trap!"
The other disciples were also silent.
I was stunned for a long time.
I didn't know how to respond, what to say. Jin Luan's words were indeed correct. The reason for this was indeed that one.
Can one really absolve all responsibility by attributing it to the cause?
No.
The most important thing is our carelessness and underestimation of Wu Ling.
Not only Jin Luan, but we in the Shenqiao sect underestimated Wu Ling. Wasn't that true for me too?
"Where is that scoundrel? Does Xian Shen Dao Zhang know?" A Buddhist monk's voice was hoarse, filled with extreme anger.
I shook my head, but couldn't come up with any clues at all.
"This person is cunning and treacherous. He excels in calculation. It's possible that we've completely scared him away without a sure way to kill us. He wouldn't dare come out." Jin Luan sighed again.
I don't want to admit Jin Luan's words, but indeed, such a relentless pursuit would likely be a nightmare for Wu Ling.
He is only strong due to his calculations, and his own strength is quite weak.
If I put myself in his position, he would have thought everything was in hand, staying peacefully at the Yu Tai Dao Chang, waiting for the next move. But instead, he was met with a group of martial monks and accompanied by a highly skilled Jin Luan Dao Ren.
Jin Luan's cultivation level should not have reached the Realm-level, but he would not be too weak. At least among various Daoist sects, he would be considered a top elder.
So many high-level martial artists, specifically targeting him!
He fled in disarray, and only after trapping and killing Jin Luan and others did he manage to escape with his life, surviving the disaster.
That's why he dares not return to Four Laws Mountain.
He must know that some of his actions have been exposed and he dared not go back to take any risks.
