128. Return to the Surface

Chen Fengyun was the fastest, racing toward the distant mountain peaks like a bolt of lightning. Although the underground world was dim, the higher they climbed, the more clearly they could see that the dark clouds overhead were actually thick layers of rock.

“Boom…”

A tremendous flood surged in from afar. Before long, it reached a fissure in the underground palace. Its furious advance was briefly obstructed, but the crack was soon submerged, and the flood continued to spread toward the mountain.

“How could so much water appear all of a sudden? Could the waterfall and pool outside have begun flowing again?” someone asked, his face pale.

“This underground palace must be connected to some enormous body of water. Before we entered, there was a defensive light barrier, wasn’t there? That was why the water didn’t flood in. But now that we’ve destroyed the barrier, the flood has found its way inside,” someone speculated.

“What are we supposed to do now? Are we going to be trapped underground and die here? Once this place is submerged, even a Grandmaster may not be able to dive back out, will they?” Many people began to panic.

“Fengyun, what do you think we should do?” Martin Dang immediately went to Chen Fengyun for advice.

“Yes, Mr. Chen. Do you have any way for us to get out?” The other Grandmasters gathered around him.

Chen Fengyun did not answer. Instead, he extended his spiritual sense upward and discovered that the mountain was only a hundred-odd meters from the rock layer overhead. Beyond that rock was an underground river, separated from them by barely twenty meters of stone.

“I can take everyone out, but you’ll need to cooperate with me.” Chen Fengyun nodded. He had a way to escape on his own, but without the help of the other Grandmasters, he might not be able to bring everyone from the Southern School out with him. Thus, he chose to work together with them.

“Mr. Chen, please give us your orders. As long as we can get out, we’ll be forever grateful.”

“That’s right, Mr. Chen. What you’re doing is no different from saving our lives. If you ever need our help in the future, just say the word.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chen. We’re willing to cooperate.”

Everyone spoke over one another. Chen Fengyun then struck at the rock above and to one side, punching through more than two meters of stone. Large chunks of rock and earth came crashing down.

“Everyone, attack this spot together. There’s an underground river outside. Once we break through, we can escape through it and leave the underground world.”

“Boom…”

Under Chen Fengyun’s direction, the Grandmasters launched a combined assault on the rock layer. Yet as the targeted section continued to collapse, rocks and earth also began falling from the surrounding ceiling, nearly crushing those gathered atop the mountain.

“This is bad! The flood is almost here!” someone cried out.

The others looked down and saw that the flood was now only a few meters below the mountaintop. They feared it would engulf them before they could finish opening the passage above.

“Don’t panic. I’ll set up a defensive formation. Keep attacking the ceiling, and the rest of you stay alert. Don’t let the falling rocks hit you,” Chen Fengyun instructed calmly.

His formation knowledge had already reached the tenth tier of the Mortal Grade, which was more than enough to arrange a small defensive formation. He also possessed several formation cores and other materials, all of which he had found underground earlier.

Chen Fengyun took out six formation cores and arranged a Six Directions Lock-Yang Formation around the group. He even expended a considerable amount of spiritual energy to infuse them. When the flood reached their position, the defensive barrier flared to life and forced the water back.

“Boom…”

Then Chen Fengyun summoned the Earth Dragon to help attack the rock overhead. Thick-skinned and immensely powerful, the beast let out a roar and slammed into the ceiling. Along the passage the others had opened, it instantly crashed several meters deeper.

By the time the flood had submerged the defensive barrier surrounding them, the Earth Dragon had already launched three attacks. With its final strike came a thunderous explosion. A massive boulder fell from above, accompanied by an enormous surge of water.

The flood had already engulfed everyone underground, so the falling water and boulder caused them no harm. The boulder landed not far away, and the passage above was only twenty or thirty meters beyond it.

“The passage is open. Everyone can use that boulder to reach it. But I want each Grandmaster to take two or three non-Grandmaster martial artists up with them,” Chen Fengyun said at once. The defensive formation would not hold for much longer.

Everyone sprang into action. Chen Fengyun led the way, taking Chu Wangshu and Ye Mingfu with him. They dashed out through the defensive barrier, climbed onto the boulder, and then shot upward, carrying the two men through the passage. Breaking out of the underground river, they surfaced and discovered that although the surroundings were somewhat dim, they were inside a vast cavern.

Behind him, Feng Tianbao emerged with Yang Wanshi and Liang Lun’gang. Ye Bufan followed with Ye Yunfeng, while Martin Dang brought up two disciples from the Northern School. Hong Chongshan came next with Wan Jianlin and the others. The remaining disciples of the Northern School were carried up by the other Grandmasters, and soon everyone had escaped.

“Hahaha! We finally made it out! We’re not going to be trapped underground after all!” someone shouted with laughter. Everyone felt as though they had narrowly escaped death.

“All underground rivers eventually lead to bodies of water on the surface. As long as we follow this river, we should be able to return to the ground.” Everyone was exhilarated.

“Fengyun, which way do you think we should go?” Martin Dang asked from beside Chen Fengyun.

The moment Chen Fengyun emerged from the underground river, he had already swept his spiritual sense toward both ends. He discovered that the light grew increasingly dimmer downstream, while it became somewhat brighter upstream.

“Let’s go upstream.” Chen Fengyun pointed in that direction and led the people of the Southern School onward.

The underground river was only a little over a meter deep, and its current was not swift. There was even a strip of sand along the bank. Once everyone climbed onto it, they began racing upstream at tremendous speed.

Among them were nine Grandmasters, while the other martial artists were also quite strong. Even in the dim underground, they could see their surroundings clearly. In just over ten minutes, they had covered more than ten kilometers, and sure enough, the light ahead was steadily brightening.

“Splash…”

Unlike the muffled sound of water they had heard when they first emerged from the underground river, a clear and thunderous rush now echoed from ahead. It sounded as if a waterfall lay before them, lifting everyone’s spirits as they realized they were drawing closer to the surface.

Sure enough, several minutes later they reached the source of the underground river: a vast pool resembling a sinkhole, roughly the size of two soccer fields. Waterfalls more than ten meters high poured down from all around it, roaring with tremendous force and grandeur.

“Could this be part of the sinkhole cluster near Heavenly Lake on Mount Changbai?” the people of the Northern School exclaimed. As northerners, they were relatively familiar with the geography around Mount Changbai.