Chapter 15 Twist

Ji Bu, who was listening to Murong Ying's explanation of various matters in the martial world, and Xiao Tan and Bei Ling, who were underground, also heard the prompt that the main quest had been updated. Although the information they obtained from these fragmented quest prompts was limited, the keywords "Lingzhong Jing" (Realm in the Bell) and "soul" were enough to make them understand that this script was definitely not just a martial arts world.

"This 'Lingzhong Jing'..." Xiao Tan said as he walked, "Could it be a setting similar to the 'Huzhong Jing' (Realm in the Pot) and 'Tianshu Shijie' (World of Heavenly Books) in the Xuan Yuan Sword series?"

"If so, this script will change from a martial arts world to a Xianxia (fantasy) world with a hint of supernatural elements," Bei Ling replied. "But the giant crocodile monster we encountered earlier was already a supernatural setting, so there's nothing strange about it."

"Well... in any case, the main quest is now somewhat clear. Maybe before we can get out of here, Brother Jue and Sister Yu will have already cleared the game," Xiao Tan said.

"Don't dream..." Bei Ling immediately poured cold water on him. "From the initial introduction, we can see that no matter what settings are hidden in this script, the plot is ultimately inseparable from the duel between those two great swordsmen. It's just that we haven't discovered the connection yet. But as the script's exploration level increases, there will definitely be clues to lead us to that duel."

"Well... behind every duel between peerless masters, there is a huge conspiracy..." Xiao Tan continued.

"What did you think?" Bei Ling replied. "For a duel, two people can just agree on a time and find an open space to settle things. To specifically run to this haunted town, and even pick the night of the full moon, it would be strange if there wasn't a conspiracy."

As they spoke, the tunnel in front of them reached its end. Ahead was actually a dead end, a rock wall blocking the way completely.

"No way..." Bei Ling muttered, "I thought you had been lucky all along."

"Huh?" Xiao Tan was stunned for a moment. "So, that was the reason you let me guess all along?"

"What did you think?" Bei Ling said weakly. She felt quite discouraged because the road from the crossroads to this end was quite long, and it took them more than half an hour to get here. Hitting a wall here meant they had wasted a lot of time and energy again.

From falling into the pool, Xiao Tan and Bei Ling swam ashore, explored, encountered monsters, turned back, fought, and then advanced, and explored again... By the time they arrived here, their stamina was already halfway depleted. Although they could stop and recover in place at any time, Bei Ling knew very well that wasting time here would be a potential threat to the team. If they didn't return to the inn room as planned by sunset, it would definitely affect their teammates' next actions, which could lead to a series of unpredictable changes and risks.

Therefore, leaving this underground cave as quickly and safely as possible was their main goal.

"Um..." Xiao Tan seemed to be infected by Bei Ling's frowning expression and also frowned and pondered, "Hey? Maybe this wall is like the previous metal object, it can be unlocked or something?" As he spoke, he stepped forward and touched the rock wall, wanting to see if a system menu would pop up in his vision.

Bei Ling sighed, "System creations that can be unlocked are very obvious, and this kind of thing looks like a backdrop used to block the road..." Who knew that before she could finish her words, the rock wall underwent an unexpected change.

This was indeed not the kind of system setting that would provide players with menu prompts, but after Xiao Tan touched the rock body, a layer of rock debris on the surface of the rock wall instantly fell off, and a circular recessed area was revealed in the center of the rock wall. The diameter of this groove was about fifty centimeters, and the inside was flat and smooth. Under the light, you could see a Taiji symbol imprinted in the groove.

[Side Quest Triggered]

[Find the Yin and Yang stone slabs to open the stone door]

"This works too?" Bei Ling was dumbfounded. As soon as this quest was triggered, she understood... At the previous crossroads, they probably had to walk each path once. There was a stone slab on the left and right sides, and the middle here was where the stone door was located.

"So, it's always good to have a try-it-and-see attitude, and maybe something good will happen," Xiao Tan said with a smile.

"Are you Mr. Nice Guy?" Bei Ling replied with squinted eyes, "Don't be smug, we still have to go back and find the stone slabs. Objectively speaking, taking the middle path first still wasted an hour of time and energy."

Xiao Tan adjusted his miner's hat, bypassed Bei Ling, and walked in the opposite direction: "Objectively speaking, you were the one who asked me to guess at the beginning, and as a result... Ouch... Alright, alright, it's my fault!"

The two of them turned back again and arrived at the crossroads, this time choosing the path on the left.

Fortunately, the tunnel on this side did not extend very far. They only walked for five or six minutes before arriving at another relatively open cave.

In fact, at the crossroads, Bei Ling had also considered acting separately, and each of them taking a stone slab could save a lot of time. But she quickly dismissed this idea... mainly because she was not very confident in Xiao Tan's ability to handle problems alone, and was afraid that this kid would not return.

"Be careful and pay attention to your surroundings," Bei Ling reminded softly behind Xiao Tan. After entering the cave, she became obviously alert.

Xiao Tan replied, "Ah... understood." He also knew that according to the game's consistent habits, there must be some kind of flag to test the players here, either monsters or puzzles.

Sure enough, as soon as the two of them walked less than ten meters, they saw a flash of fire in the depths of the cave, and a strange shadow burning with flames窜 out.

The shadow's speed was simply unbelievable. In a few moments, it窜 out to not far in front of the players. Immediately afterward, it jumped high from the ground, as if it were completely unaffected by gravity, directly leaping onto the top of the cave, hugging a stalactite hanging upside down from the top of the cave, overlooking the two players from a high place, and making a strange cry from its mouth.

"Is this guy a Digimon..." Xiao Tan said as he looked at the monster. At the same time, he had already taken out his shotgun.

"Shoot cautiously, don't let the opponent get close when you're reloading," Bei Ling gave a very serious instruction at this moment, without paying attention to Xiao Tan's吐槽.

Xiao Tan stopped joking and concentrated his attention on the battle in front of him.

The monster in front of him was about 1.6 meters tall, shaped like an ape, with a face like a ruby, as if made of crystal; its body was golden red, and its surface was burning with a layer of flames; there was also a whip-like long tail curled behind its buttocks, and the tip of its tail was also a rhomboid red crystal.

This fire ape's debut could be considered quite sharp, coupled with its unique shape, it was basically a mini-boss level monster.

Another ape cry came, and the fire ape flashed down and moved horizontally, hiding behind a rock. From this moment on, the battle officially began.

…………

Let's talk about Feng Bujue and Si Yu, each holding a bell, jumping into the crack in the ground. Not knowing how long had passed, the dark, velvet-like darkness in front of them finally faded away.

When they came back to their senses, they were standing side by side on a beautiful plain. The sun hung high in the sky, and white clouds floated slowly. Under their feet was a stretch of green grass, boundless and verdant. And in the far distance that the eye could reach, in the misty clouds, one could see a chain of mountains standing tall, cliffs piercing the sky, horizontally like a row of screens.

Turning their heads to look back, just tens of feet behind them, it was as if the end of the world, a completely different scene. One could see long slopes and steep hills, vast and boundless, overlooking deep valleys, with clouds and fog sealing the valleys, bottomless.

About ten meters to their side, there was also a stone tablet standing, the tablet body towering like a small mountain, engraved with three large characters - Lingzhong Jing (Realm in the Bell).

"This is interesting," Feng Bujue said with a smile, looking at the stone tablet from afar, "The handwriting seems familiar."

"Cang Ling Zhen (Azure Spirit Town)?" Si Yu continued. She didn't study handwriting, but she could guess what Feng Bujue was referring to.

"That's right, it seems that 'Cang Ling' will turn into 'Cang Ling', there really is some kind of reason..." Feng Bujue said, facing Si Yu, suddenly, his eyes changed, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Yo, there's a beauty."

Si Yu inadvertently avoided his gaze: "What's this... do you think I'll be happy if you suddenly praise me for no reason during a conversation?"

"Um... I'm talking about her..." Feng Bujue slightly turned his head, his gaze crossed Si Yu's shoulder, and he raised a hand, pointing in the direction behind Si Yu.

Si Yu turned her head and saw that on the side of the plain, a woman was walking towards them unhurriedly.

The woman was wearing a plain green robe, a long sword hanging from her waist, her figure graceful and her gait vigorous. Although she was still some distance away from them, her appearance could already be glimpsed, and she was definitely a beauty.

"Humph..." Si Yu snorted coldly, also turned to face the approaching figure, and looked in that direction with Feng Bujue.

"Although you put on an 'even if you praise me, I won't be happy' look, you seem a little unhappy when you find out that I didn't praise you," Feng Bujue said with a smile.

"Do I look like such a childish person?" Si Yu replied coldly.

"This is not a question of childishness or not..." Feng Bujue said, "You should have read this sentence in *Second-rate Detective and the Cat*..." He paused, "Women need food, water, flattery, and a pair of versatile shoes."

"I've read it, but I don't agree," Si Yu replied. "This kind of deeply sexist, one-sided, and subjective argument has no logic at all."

"Ah... so I wrote in this month's manuscript..." Feng Bujue said, "And men only need the approval of a certain woman to survive."

As they chatted, the woman had already approached. She glanced at Feng Bujue's and Si Yu's faces respectively, and then clasped her fists and cupped her hands, "I am Lu Qingning, the Fallen Plum Sword. I accidentally entered this place. I wonder if you two know where this is? How can I return to Cang Ling Zhen (Azure Spirit Town)?"

"Fallen Plum Sword..." Si Yu murmured upon hearing this, and quickly remembered that this should also be one of the Six Swords of Flower Shadow.

Feng Bujue said directly: "Oh? Are you Lin Chang's junior sister?"

Who knew that as soon as Lu Qingning heard the name Lin Chang, she immediately put on a hostile expression and raised her long sword horizontally, "Could it be that you are people sent by Lin Chang?"