From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 64 The Labyrinth and the Lost Path

I held my breath, hiding behind a massive stone pillar, my heart pounding. The man's voice, though deep, carried an invisible pressure that made it almost impossible for me to breathe. Blood-red eyes, an eerie altar, and that crimson sphere radiating an eerie light… all of this sent chills down my spine.

The masked man stood respectfully to the side, not daring to breathe. I dared not linger any longer and quietly retreated, wanting to leave this horrible place as soon as possible. However, just then, a slight noise suddenly came from behind me.

I was startled and turned around abruptly, only to find Wen Chen standing behind me without me noticing. His expression was grave, and he shook his head at me, signaling me to be quiet.

We carefully retraced our steps until we reached the long passage, at which point we finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems we've stumbled into a dangerous place," Wen Chen said in a low voice. "This ruin is more complex than we imagined."

I nodded in deep agreement. After entering the ruins, we were so captivated by the gold and silver treasures before us that we overlooked the dangers lurking in the shadows.

"What do we do now?" I asked. "Should we continue forward?"

Wen Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Now that we're here, we should figure out exactly what this place is. Besides, I feel like there's something here that's attracting me."

His voice was deep and firm, carrying an irresistible force. I nodded, deciding to continue following him.

At the end of the passage was a massive stone gate. The gate was carved with intricate patterns, resembling some ancient script that we couldn't decipher.

"Miss Ye, come and see what's written on this?" Wen Chen said to a petite woman not far behind him.

We met Miss Ye after entering the ruins. She claimed to be a treasure hunter and had extensive knowledge of various ancient tombs and ruins.

Miss Ye stepped forward and carefully examined the patterns on the stone gate, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

“This seems to be a kind of formation from ancient times,” she pondered. “I once saw this kind of formation in an ancient book. It is said to lead to a mysterious place, but the book does not record what that place is.”

"Then how do we open this door?" I asked.

Miss Ye did not speak, but instead took out a crystal-clear jade pendant from her bosom. The pendant was carved with intricate patterns and emitted a faint glow.

She pressed the jade pendant close to the stone gate, muttering incantations.

As she chanted her incantation, the light on the jade pendant grew brighter and brighter, eventually transforming into a beam of light that shot towards the stone gate.

"Rumble..."

The stone gate trembled violently and slowly opened to both sides, revealing a dark and bottomless abyss.

"Watch out!" Miss Ye exclaimed.

However, it's too late.

My feet suddenly gave way, and I plummeted uncontrollably into the abyss... "Ah—" I closed my eyes in despair, awaiting the onslaught of excruciating pain.

However, the expected pain did not come. I felt myself being held tightly in a warm and strong embrace, and I could hear Wen Chen's steady heartbeat, which seemed to have a soothing power.

He landed me gently with me, completely unharmed. Still shaken, I looked up and saw Miss Ye and Pavilion Master Sima standing safely beside me, though their faces were pale.

"Thank you so much, Immortal Venerable Wen, for saving us!" Pavilion Master Sima was the first to react, bowing to Wen Chen in gratitude. Miss Ye also gave Wen Chen a grateful look.

Wen Chen simply nodded, but a hint of exhaustion lingered between his brows. Only then did I notice that his originally rosy complexion had turned somewhat pale, clearly indicating that he had expended a great deal of his immortal power to save us.

"That masked man is truly treacherous and cunning!" I said through gritted teeth. "He actually sabotaged us in the shadows, almost causing us to fall!"

"This maze is eerie in every way. We must be extremely careful and keep our guard up," Wen Chen said in a deep voice.

We continued forward, however, just as Wen Chen had said, this maze was far more complex and dangerous than we had imagined.

Every step we took felt like walking on a knife's edge. The masked man seemed to know this place inside and out, constantly setting up various traps and obstacles in an attempt to stop us from advancing.

Once, we accidentally entered a secret chamber filled with poisonous gas. If Wen Chen hadn't intervened in time and used his immortal power to protect us, we probably would have died from the poison long ago.

"This can't go on." I looked at Wen Chen's increasingly pale face, my heart filled with worry. "How much longer can your immortal power last?"

Wen Chen shook his head without saying anything, but I could tell that he was already very weak.

Just then, Miss Ye, who was walking at the front, suddenly exclaimed, "Look, what's that?"

Following her gaze, we saw a huge stone tablet in front of us, covered with dense ancient runes, emitting a faint golden light.

"This is..." Elder Yue stepped forward, carefully examining the runes on the stone tablet, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes, "These runes seem to be..."

He suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on an inconspicuous corner at the very bottom of the stone tablet. There, carved a strange pattern, like an eye, yet exuding an eerie aura.

Elder Yue reached out and gently touched the pattern. The next second, the stone tablet suddenly shone brightly...

After the blinding light subsided, the stone tablet returned to calm, but the surrounding scenery had undergone a dramatic transformation. The narrow passage had vanished, replaced by a vast, open space.

"This is..." I looked around in surprise and found that we seemed to have entered a huge underground palace. The walls of the palace were carved with exquisite and intricate patterns, which shimmered with a mysterious light in the dim light.

“These patterns…” Elder Yue’s hands trembled as he stroked the carvings on the wall, his eyes filled with excitement, “They are runes passed down from ancient times! These runes contain immense power; if we can decipher their secrets, perhaps…”

He suddenly stopped, turned to look at Wen Chen, and said in a solemn tone, "Immortal Wen, I need some time to decipher these runes. Please make sure to protect my safety."

Wen Chen nodded, indicating that he understood. Although I was curious, I knew that now was not the time to ask, so I stayed with Miss Ye to keep watch around the area and prevent any accidents from happening.

However, while Elder Yue was engrossed in studying the runes, I inadvertently discovered a strange place.

In a corner of the palace, there was a stone slab that seemed out of place. I went over to examine it closely and found that the slab was a darker color than the surrounding slabs, and its surface was very smooth, as if it had been touched frequently.

A thought struck me, and I reached out and gently pushed the stone slab.

Rumbling--

A dull thud was heard, and the stone slab slowly moved to the side, revealing a dark passage.

A chilling aura emanated from the depths of the passage, sending a shiver down my spine. At the same time, I felt something stirring in my mind, a strange calling drawing me deeper into the passage.

I glanced back at Wen Chen and the others. They were all focused on observing Elder Yue and hadn't noticed my actions.

I gritted my teeth and thought to myself: It's just going in to take a look, there shouldn't be any danger, right?

With that thought in mind, I no longer hesitated and stepped into the passage.

The passage was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. I could only feel my way along the walls and carefully move forward.

I don't know how long I walked, but suddenly I sensed a faint light ahead. Overjoyed, I quickened my pace.

However, when I walked into the light, I was stunned by what I saw.

“This…this is…” I murmured to myself, staring incredulously at the scene before me.

Before me, a...

"Miss Xiao, what are you doing here?!" Suddenly, the cold voice of Pavilion Master Sima came from behind me. I turned around sharply and saw him standing at the entrance of the passage with a group of his subordinates, looking unfriendly.

My heart tightened; I knew things were going badly. Master Sima was a treacherous and cunning man; now that he had discovered this passage, another fierce battle was likely to ensue.

“Master Sima, your arrival is quite timely,” I forced a smile and said, “I was just curious about what was in this passage, I didn’t expect to alarm you.”

"Curious?" Pavilion Master Sima sneered. "I think Miss Xiao's curiosity is more than just that. You and I both know perfectly well what's in this passage."

As he spoke, he began to lead his men to break in.

"Wait!" I quickly blocked the entrance. "Sect Master Sima, this ruin doesn't belong to you alone. If you want to go in, you'll have to ask us for permission first!"

"You think you can take me on?" Pavilion Master Sima glanced at me disdainfully, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

Just then, Wen Chen suddenly appeared beside me, radiating a cold aura, and coldly looked at Pavilion Master Sima: "Anyone who dares to touch her will have to get past me first!"

Pavilion Master Sima's expression changed slightly. He was wary of Wen Chen's strength and dared not make any rash moves.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose from the depths of the passage, and then a dark shadow flashed by; the masked man had also appeared there.

"Looks like we're thinking the same thing," the masked man said sinisterly, his gaze sweeping over Wen Chen and me before finally settling on the passage. "What's inside this passage, I'm determined to get it!"

Before he could finish speaking, the masked man made his move first, rushing towards the passage.

"Stop him!"

Seeing this, Master Sima no longer cared about arguing with us and followed closely behind with his men.

For a moment, chaos erupted at the entrance to the passageway.

"Let's go in too!"

Wen Chen grabbed my hand and, taking advantage of the chaos, rushed into the passage.

The passage was dimly lit, and we ran frantically, but we still couldn't find Miss Ye or Elder Yue.

"What if they..." A sense of foreboding rose in my heart.

"Don't worry," Wen Chen reassured him, "they are all experienced cultivators, they'll be fine."

Despite what he said, I still couldn't put my mind at ease.

Just then, the sound of fighting suddenly came from ahead.

We exchanged a glance and quickened our pace, heading in the direction the sound came from... We held our breath and carefully bypassed the pile of rocks in front of us. Not far away, we saw two groups of people fighting fiercely, the aftershocks of their spiritual energy collisions sending dust flying all around.

“It’s Pavilion Master Sima and… the masked man!” I said in a low voice, feeling even more uneasy.

Wen Chen's expression was solemn. He didn't speak, but simply gripped my hand tightly and moved silently into the shadows to one side.