38: Deep into the ruins, Death Pathfinder

The stone door slammed shut behind him.

The light was completely cut off.

An ancient aura, mixed with ten thousand years of dust, decaying bones, and a faint smell of blood, crashed into everyone's faces like an invisible wall.

In the darkness, only their own heavy, suppressed breathing could be heard.

Several Disciples instinctively summoned illuminating magic beads.

The soft light dispelled some of the darkness and also illuminated the hair-raising scene before them.

This was an incredibly magnificent grand hall.

In the center of the hall, dozens of unimaginably massive skeletons stood scattered.

Some resembled giant apes, others looked like Flood Dragons. Each one emitted a faint, immortal spiritual glow, proving what terrifying existences they had been in life.

Dead silence.

A dead silence that could make one's heart stop beating.

Just in the depths of this dead silence, in the abyss-like shadows cast by those giant skeletons...

One pair.

Two pairs.

Dozens of pairs of ghastly green lights silently lit up simultaneously.

They were like eyes opened by darkness itself, devoid of any emotion, only the most primitive, cold malice towards living beings.

"Be on guard!"

The Leading Elder let out a low shout, and the Golden Core Stage pressure exploded outwards.

However, those things showed no hesitation.

No roars, no growls, not even a whisper of wind.

Dozens of dark figures, like ink seeping from the shadows, silently lunged towards the group with a speed that defied physical common sense.

It was breathtakingly fast!

"I'll scout ahead!"

A slightly trembling, yet unusually clear shout broke the solidified air.

It was Lin Gou.

While everyone was still stunned by the ghostly speed, he actually charged directly into the densest group of shadows.

Zhao Linger's heart tightened sharply.

Murong Fei's lips, however, curled into a barely perceptible cold sneer.

Idiot.

Seeking death.

Lin Gou's figure instantly intersected with those seven or eight dark figures.

There was no earth-shattering clash of Spells.

No intense clang of metal.

"Rip!"

A faint sound, like tearing cloth, rang out.

Lin Gou, like a paper doll violently torn by a child, was instantly dismembered into primal fragments by countless sharp claws and teeth.

Blood and flesh splattered in the air, forming a small, tragically beautiful flower.

He vanished completely into the shadows without even a single scream.

Zhao Linger's pupils suddenly constricted to the size of a needlepoint. She instinctively gripped the long sword in her hand, her knuckles turning white from excessive force.

The other team members were all terrified, a chill rushing from their feet straight to their heads.

This was the horror of an ancient ruin.

A "fearless" Inner Sect Genius, gone in a single encounter.

Just at the entrance of the team, in front of the tightly shut stone door, the air twisted imperceptibly.

Lin Gou's figure quietly materialized.

"Ding! Host has died!"

"Death method: Torn apart by a 'Bone Spirit' swarm!"

"Overall evaluation: D-rank!"

"Congratulations to the Host, you have obtained the 'Undead Creature Bestiary (Incomplete)'!"

"Congratulations to the Host, Yin Qi Resistance +15%!"

"D-rank, huh... just an appetizer, not bad."

Lin Gou's heart was calm, but his face was appropriately filled with extreme fear and the relief of surviving a disaster.

He "escaped" back to the rear of the team, scrambling and crawling, his voice becoming sharp and piercing from "fright."

"Weakness! Their weakness is in the center of their skull's forehead!"

"That's the core of their Soul Fire!"

"Use Yang-attribute and Lightning-attribute Spells! They're effective against them!"

He shouted while panting heavily, as if he had truly just walked through the gates of hell.

The precise information instantly enlightened everyone who was still in a panic.

"Blazing Sun Talisman!"

"Thunderbolt Charm!"

In an instant, scorching flames and violent electrical arcs illuminated the entire grand hall.

Those originally elusive and troublesome Bone Spirits seemed to have met their natural enemy under the Yang-Lightning attribute Spells.

They emitted silent shrieks, their black resentment Qi evaporated, their hard bones shattered in the lightning, and the faint green Soul Fire in their foreheads extinguished like a candle in the wind.

The battle became exceptionally easy.

In just a moment, dozens of Bone Spirits were cleared out.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their gazes towards Lin Gou completely changed.

It was no longer the look reserved for a reckless person.

But admiration.

The purest admiration for a brave man, for a sacrificer.

He used his life to obtain the most crucial information for everyone.

Murong Fei's expression was somewhat ugly. He snorted coldly and said nothing.

Zhao Linger walked up to Lin Gou, handing him a Medicinal Pill, her beautiful eyes filled with worry and lingering fear.

"Are you... alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, Senior Sister. I'm lucky."

Lin Gou took the Medicinal Pill and grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, looking honest and reliable.

Passing through this hall of bones, the sight ahead once again made everyone's hearts sink.

It was a bottomless abyss.

The chasm was a hundred zhang wide and unfathomably deep, the bottom a pitch-black expanse, with only gusts of fierce winds, howling like ghosts and wolves, swirling upwards.

The sound of the wind carried a terrifying power capable of tearing apart the Divine Soul.

In the middle of the cliff, only a few arm-thick, rusty iron chains hung, swaying violently in the fierce wind, as if they would break at any second.

Falling down meant certain death.

Even the Golden Core Elder's expression was extremely solemn.

"Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, wait here. Allow me to try!"

The familiar voice rang out again.

Lin Gou once again "stepped forward."

He didn't give anyone time to react. Taking a deep breath, he leaped and landed steadily on one of the iron chains.

The iron chain swayed violently, and his body swayed with it.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats.

Lin Gou cautiously took a few steps forward.

"This one's a trap... Hmm, the wind is strong enough, a good place to die."

He mused inwardly, but his foot "accidentally" slipped.

"Ah—!"

Accompanied by a scream filled with terror and despair, his body lost balance, and like a kite with a broken string, he plunged straight into the endless dark abyss below.

The fierce wind instantly swallowed him.

Zhao Linger's face instantly lost all color.

"Ding! Host has died!"

"Death method: Torn into elementary particles by the Abyss Fierce Wind!"

"Overall evaluation: C-rank!"

"Congratulations to the Host, 'Swift Wind Steps' proficiency +300!"

"Congratulations to the Host, Wind Resistance +20%!"

"Not bad, C-rank, and it even gave me movement technique proficiency, a huge profit."

At the anchor point at the entrance, Lin Gou's figure materialized for the third time.

He had already seen the full view of the cliff through his death perspective.

On the dark cliff face, there were several hidden platforms obscured by illusions.

And among those iron chains, only the leftmost one was the truly safe passage.

He didn't return immediately.

Instead, he found a spot on the cliff face, used his spiritual energy to shatter his robes, and then made a few shallow cuts on his body, making himself look utterly miserable.

After doing all this, he used both hands and feet, pretending to have exhausted his last bit of strength, and "miraculously" climbed back up from the edge of the cliff.

"Hoo... hoo..."

He collapsed to the ground, his clothes tattered, covered in blood, his face as pale as paper, with only his eyes shining astonishingly bright.

"Cough, cough... Th-that side..."

He extended a trembling finger, pointing to the only safe iron chain.

"The leftmost one is real... In the middle... there are three hidden platforms to rest on..."

"The others... are all traps..."

After speaking, he tilted his head, as if he had directly fainted.

The entire team was silent.

Everyone looked at Lin Gou, who was sprawled on the ground, with the gaze reserved for a Divine Being.

Resurrection from the dead.

No.

This was not resurrection from the dead.

What astonishing perseverance, what terrifying life-saving methods, to be able to climb back from that certain-death fierce wind abyss!

And, he even brought back information about the path to survival!

The Leading Elder quickly stepped forward and personally checked Lin Gou's breath, finding that he had only exhausted his spiritual energy and collapsed from fatigue. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief.

He looked at Lin Gou with shock and admiration.

This child is the Qilin of my Qingyun Sect!

Under Lin Gou's "miraculous" guidance, the team passed through the natural barrier without incident.

The path ahead seemed smooth.

Whenever there was a Restriction, Lin Gou would "scout ahead," get "half-killed" by explosions, and then bring back the method to break it.

Whenever there was a dangerous area, Lin Gou would "go first," fall into a "dead end," and then point out the safe route.

Each of his "sacrifices" made his image in the team grow taller, more mysterious, and more awe-inspiring.

Even Murong Fei, who had always been arrogant, fell silent.

He had to admit that in such a place, Lin Gou's role was far greater than his own, as the number one Inner Disciple.

The team proceeded deeper without incident.

They arrived in front of the ruins of a largely collapsed palace. The ancient characters on the plaque could vaguely be identified as "Alchemy Room."

Just then.

Lin Gou, who had been following in the middle of the team, so "weak" that he seemed like he could collapse at any moment, suddenly twitched his nose.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

He smelled an aroma.

An incredibly fresh, yet overwhelmingly potent fragrance.

The fragrance permeated his nostrils, as if even his Divine Soul had been cleansed, making him feel as if he was floating.

He was too familiar with this scent.

It was a scent he had seen countless times in the System's dazzling reward lists.

It was the scent of a top-grade Spirit Medicine that was about to mature, enough to drive even Nascent Soul Old Monsters to madness!