Chu Lingwei watched its movements and couldn't help but smile. It was truly a sentient stone.
However, wanting to escape after encountering her was out of the question.
The stone tried to rush into the tunnel, but suddenly, its vision went black, and it knew nothing more.
Chu Lingwei emerged from the cave. There were no runes here, and the formations that Lei Tao and his group had set up were still in place, indicating that the swamp snakes had not rushed through.
"Has your spiritual energy recovered?"
Chu Lingwei could sense the spiritual energy emanating from them.
"Yes, as soon as we left the range of that tunnel, our spiritual energy returned." Lei Tao looked up, a ball of spiritual fire appearing in his palm. The feeling of possessing spiritual energy was like regaining control of one's destiny.
"That's good." Chu Lingwei opened the formation. The Bei Ming Valley remained as it was. "You should not leave this place for now. The swamp snakes outside are rampant; going out would be a death sentence."
Lei Tao walked to the entrance and looked towards the direction of the swamp, seemingly not fully grasping the severity Chu Lingwei had described.
"Those swamp snakes have all ascended to the fourth stage and are incredibly fast. They have now surrounded Wang Tian City."
As soon as Chu Lingwei spoke, Lei Tao and the others' expressions changed drastically. The number of swamp snakes that could surround Wang Tian City must be immense. "So, this place is actually the safest."
"What are we going to do? This place isn't safe either." The stone was on the verge of tears. They had finally escaped, only to be told that the outside was even more dangerous.
"Here, you still have a chance to live. Outside, you will be swallowed by the swamp." Chu Lingwei stated the truth. However, she could lead them to the swamp and rendezvous with her senior brother.
Chu Lingwei turned her head to look at Lei Tao and the others, then suddenly dismissed the idea.
The path of spiritual cultivation was a struggle against heaven. She could help them this once, but would they expect someone to save them again next time?
"Not all parts of Bei Ming are dangerous. You just need to hide here until the people of Wang Tian City resolve the issue with the swamp snakes, and then you can return safely." Chu Lingwei explained to them.
"What about you? Can't you take us with you?" Yang Ruoyi saw that Chu Lingwei was making arrangements for them, but not for herself. She knew Chu Lingwei didn't want to take them.
"Yiyi, don't speak carelessly."
Lei Tao immediately stopped Yang Ruoyi when he heard her words. Chu Lingwei coming to save them was already a great kindness; they couldn't make any more requests.
"I have other matters to attend to and cannot take you with me." Chu Lingwei refused decisively. She didn't have a deep connection with them; saving them was to repay the kindness of staying at their home for one night.
Lei Tao approached apologetically and bowed to Chu Lingwei. "Fellow Daoist Chu, Yiyi is just too scared. You don't need to take her words to heart. If we cannot survive in Bei Ming Valley, how can we further our spiritual cultivation in the future?"
"Alright, I'm leaving then. Take care." Chu Lingwei didn't waste any more words. She stepped onto her flying sword and headed towards the direction of the swamp.
"Brother Lei, she could clearly take us with her." Yang Ruoyi watched Chu Lingwei leave on her flying sword, very unhappy. If she could travel from Wang Tian City to this place, she could definitely take them back to Wang Tian City.
"Yiyi, Fellow Daoist Chu coming to save us is already a great fortune. We cannot ask her to do anything else for us." Lei Tao frowned at Yang Ruoyi, knowing that being greedy would only make their path narrower.
The phantom cat listened to their conversation and snorted indignantly.
"If I had known, we wouldn't have saved them."
Chu Lingwei smiled and said nothing. Those who were saved would naturally have such thoughts. If she saved them, she should escort them safely back to Wang Tian City.
This was human nature.
"The swamp is just ahead. Be prepared." Chu Lingwei stood up. They would soon reach the airspace above the swamp. Seeing the increasing number of swamp snakes, Chu Lingwei's brows furrowed.
Looking at the undiminished number of swamp snakes below, she couldn't help but feel worried.
Even if there was a snake mother here, its speed of reproduction shouldn't be this fast. It was like infinite replication.
"Do you sense Senior Brother's aura?" Chu Lingwei waved her flying sword, sending streaks of spiritual energy towards the swamp snakes below, causing a great commotion.
"No, Senior Brother's aura is not here. Senior Brother should not have come here." The phantom cat shook its head. It sensed the aura of many cultivators here, but not the aura of Wei Wei's Senior Brother, Leng Xingzhi.
Senior Brother hadn't come here?
Never mind.
Chu Lingwei didn't care about the details; she needed to find the root of the problem first.
The area was now filled with swamp snakes. The only thing she could do was clear them out.
For a time, one person and two beasts began the continuous work of slaying.
"What's going on? Why can't these snakes be killed off, and why are there more and more of them?" Feng Ming had already unleashed a lot of Netherfire. Tens of thousands, if not thousands, of swamp snakes had died under his Netherfire, yet the number of swamp snakes here only increased.
"Wei Wei, something is strange here." The phantom cat was also perplexed, but it didn't detect any illusions here, nor did it sense any demonic arts.
"This situation must have a reason. We need to find it."
Chu Lingwei stopped her actions. Continuing like this, they would be unable to kill all the swamp snakes here.
She took out her Soul Chasing Thunder Strike and bombarded the area she suspected was problematic.
When Leng Xingzhi appeared above the swamp, his junior sister had already used many Soul Chasing Thunder Strike talismans, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"Junior Sister."
"Senior Brother, you're here." Chu Lingwei turned around and was pleasantly surprised to see her Senior Brother standing behind her.
"You can't kill them all." Leng Xingzhi came to Chu Lingwei's side and led her away from the area.
Chu Lingwei was astonished. She knew she couldn't kill them all, but there should be a way to find the reason for this situation. "Senior Brother, why has this place become like this?"
"Soon, the people of Wang Tian City will come to deal with this matter." Leng Xingzhi brought Chu Lingwei onto his flying artifact and headed towards Wang Tian City. "This matter should be resolved quickly."
"So, what exactly is the reason for this?" Her Senior Brother had talked for a while, but he still hadn't told her why these swamp snakes had become like this.
"A primordial evil formation has appeared underground. It was likely accidentally activated by some cultivator, which is why it has become like this."
His junior sister was determined to get to the bottom of it, so Leng Xingzhi patiently explained to her.
"A primordial evil formation?" Chu Lingwei had never heard of anything that could endlessly replicate so many swamp snakes. She wondered if it could also replicate cultivators.