Chapter 6: Pit Collapse, Dummies

Master Xuanqing’s tone was laced with not only disdain, but also a clear provocation.

When he said the name "Shen Bai," the Jianghu People present exchanged confused glances, having no idea who he was talking about.

A murmur of discussion rippled through the crowd of Jianghu People.

"Who’s Shen Bai? I’ve never heard of him. Is he some prodigy from a major faction?"

"I haven’t heard of him either. But judging by Master Xuanqing’s tone, he seems to take this person very seriously. He must have offended him somehow."

"From the sound of it, Shen Bai isn’t here. He probably doesn’t dare to show up."

Every comment was filled with surprise and doubt. But one thing was certain: having heard it for the first time, the name Shen Bai was now etched in their minds.

Qin Shuang heard it all and felt a chill wash over her.

The source of that chill was Shen Bai, who stood right next to her.

A faint killing aura was now emanating from Shen Bai. His eyes narrowed, and a dangerous glint flashed in them.

Qin Shuang knew Master Xuanqing had just made a fatal mistake.

Here in Shengyun County, Shen Bai had always kept a low profile, unwilling to reveal his true strength or identity. It was obvious that was just his nature.

But after Master Xuanqing’s little stunt, the name "Shen Bai" would likely spread throughout Shengyun County, and perhaps even all of Fenglin State.

As far as Qin Shuang was concerned, Shen Bai’s killing intent was completely justified.

Qin Shuang thought for a moment, then squeezed Shen Bai’s hand. "You can’t make a move right now," she said. "Too many people are watching. You have no proof that he sent those Jianghu People to investigate you. If you attack now, you’ll be the one in the wrong."

Shen Bai reined in his killing aura and nodded. "I know. We’ll settle this inside the great tomb."

Qin Shuang nodded, her eyes tinged with pity as she glanced at Master Xuanqing.

’Knowing Shen Bai’s temper,’ she thought, ’she doubted Master Xuanqing would make it out of the great tomb alive.’

The commotion died down. Other than planting the name "Shen Bai" firmly in the minds of the Jianghu People, nothing else came of it.

Master Xuanqing found a spot to sit by himself. He crossed his legs and seemed to enter a state of meditation, as if enhancing his power.

The surrounding Jianghu People kept their distance, leaving a wide open space around him.

Over with the constables, Zhou Qing glared at the arrogant Master Xuanqing, his hand tightening around the hilt of his saber.

Seeing this, Chief Zheng clapped Zhou Qing on the shoulder. "Don’t worry," he said. "This isn’t your fight. I doubt Shen Bai will let him get away with it."

Zhou Qing nodded, his hand relaxing. "I don’t know how my brother offended him, but he exposed him the moment he arrived. As for what comes next... I hope you’ll all be willing to look the other way."

None of the other constables replied, but their silence was a clear sign of their agreement.

Chief Zheng again told Zhou Qing to be patient, his own eyes scanning the area for any sign of Shen Bai.

To his surprise, however, he couldn’t find him anywhere.

Given the strange circumstances, Chief Zheng gave up. ’Perhaps Shen Bai has his own plans,’ he thought, and stopped looking.

Time gradually passed as everyone waited.

In the blink of an eye, it was late afternoon. The setting sun blanketed the western sky, its fiery light painting the encroaching dusk like a splash of ink on canvas.

Throughout this time, everyone remained wary of those around them. No one dared to let down their guard.

The sun sank lower and lower on the horizon.

It was then that the strange phenomenon occurred once more.

A tremor, even stronger than before, echoed across the wilderness.

Along with the continuous tremors, a massive hole suddenly appeared in the ground.

The earth around the opening caved in, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Everyone shot to their feet, their gazes fixed warily on the dust cloud.

The dust cloud gradually dissipated, and a passageway appeared before everyone’s eyes.

It was a staircase leading deep underground. Despite the dim light, they were all Cultivators and could see it with perfect clarity.

Once the staircase appeared, the sinister, cold aura intensified, enveloping the area and causing some of the less powerful individuals to shiver involuntarily.

Shen Bai rubbed his chin as he looked at Qin Shuang. "As a Thief Sect Disciple, now’s your time to shine, isn’t it?" he asked. "Do we head straight in, or what’s the plan?"

Qin Shuang’s eyes darted sideways. "You never want to be the one to go first," she said. "Let’s wait for the others."

Shen Bai’s lips twitched. "You don’t actually know what you’re doing, do you?"

"Of course not!" Qin Shuang lifted her chin. "I know what I’m doing. There’s just no reason for us to take the lead right now."

Shen Bai considered her point. It made sense, so he remained in the shadows to observe.

That was his line of thinking, and every other clever person in the crowd thought the same.

Many of the Jianghu People exchanged glances, but no one made a move. They were all waiting for someone else to be the guinea pig.

Of course, the world has its share of clever people, but it also has fools.

A few impatient Jianghu People couldn’t resist and started toward the passageway.

The closer they got, the thicker the sinister, cold aura became.

As the group of Jianghu People drew near, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed up from the dark depths of the staircase.

The sound was unnervingly abrupt, as if materializing out of thin air, and it reverberated across the open wilderness.

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes, placing his hand on the hilt of his Longsword.

The icy aura grew even stronger.

Just then, a network of fine lines appeared on the wild ground.

The lines glowed with a golden light and spread out from the passageway, covering the entire field in an instant.

"It’s Dao Text."

Qin Shuang whispered, "This is Dao Text, a specialty of masters from the Daoist School. It can be used for both offense and defense. It’s terrifyingly powerful."

Shen Bai frowned. "But why would this Dao Text spread throughout the wilderness?"

Qin Shuang scratched her head. "Given how this is unfolding, it seems like it’s meant to attack the wilderness... Wait, attack the wilderness?"

The moment she said that, the true anomaly occurred.

Cracks appeared in the ground.

Shen Bai heard a great RUMBLE, and the next thing he knew, the ground beneath him began to rapidly collapse.

Everyone in the open field began to plummet.

"So the staircase was just a decoy!"

As he fell through the air, Shen Bai grabbed Qin Shuang, and a white light erupted from his body.

Qin Shuang reacted just as quickly. Using Shen Bai’s grip to steady herself in midair, she pulled a handful of fine needles from within her robes.

The needles flew into the air and began to link together, weaving themselves around Qin Shuang’s body to form a suit of Soft Armor.

As he continued to fall, Shen Bai scanned his surroundings.

The wind howled past him. When he saw what lay below, his pupils contracted.

Far below in the pitch-black chasm stood rows of mannequins. Yellow Talisman Paper was stuck to each one, and they stood as still as wooden dummies.

As far as the eye could see, there were at least a thousand of them.