Chapter 505: Desperation

"A'Zu, what do we do now?" Pei Mianman's usual radiant smile was gone, her face now pale.

As cultivators, death itself wasn't inherently terrifying.

However, there were many ways to die. Being killed in a fair fight due to inferior skills was one thing, but being surrounded and bitten to death by countless snakes was simply unbearable.

She finally understood why the skeletons they had previously observed had no visible wounds. Clearly, these strange snakes had poisoned them. Their small size ensured their teeth wouldn't leave significant marks on bones. After poisoning their victims, the snakes would then burrow into the bodies to devour the flesh.

The thought of countless snakes inside her body, crawling in and out of her eye sockets, sent shivers down Pei Mianman's spine.

Zu'an's mind raced. They clearly couldn't defeat the dense swarm of strange snakes head-on; they needed to find another way.

Yet, they had already circled the entire pit without finding any exit.

It made sense. This pit was clearly designed to trap and kill these people. Not only were the surrounding walls made incredibly smooth and hard to prevent climbing, but a seal had also been placed above to prevent anyone from escaping. How could there possibly be a way out?

Zu'an felt a pang of despair. How had they carelessly fallen into this pit in the first place?

Wait, hold on. When they fell, that seal wasn't there. Surely, the seal wasn't designed to allow entry but no exit; it shouldn't be that sophisticated.

He quickly scanned the surroundings. All four walls were perfectly vertical, but he was absolutely certain they had descended via a slope when they fell. Even if the slope was very steep, it definitely wasn't vertical.

"A'Zu?" Pei Mianman called out from beside him, striking away strange snakes with her Black Flame as she saw Zu'an lost in thought.

Zu'an snapped back to reality and quickly told Pei Mianman, "We need to go back, fast."

"Go back? To where?" Pei Mianman was confused.

Zu'an replied, "To where we first fell. There should be an exit there."

Pei Mianman quickly protested, "But we just checked! The walls around here are all straight and solid; there's no exit."

They had searched elsewhere precisely because they hadn't found an exit in that area. Now, they were several football fields away, and going back meant traversing a path full of strange snakes.

Zu'an quickly explained, "What we see isn't always reality. Perhaps there's some mechanism or illusion making us believe it's just a wall."

Pei Mianman was still puzzled. "But we checked the surroundings, and there were no mechanisms."

She wasn't foolish; in fact, she was quite intelligent, otherwise, she wouldn't be a top cultivator among her peers at such a young age. Before they left, she had specifically inspected the surrounding walls and confirmed there were no mechanisms.

Zu'an replied, "We only checked the section closest to the ground. What if the mechanism is higher up on the wall?"

He pulled Pei Mianman back, swinging his sword to cut down approaching strange snakes, and continued to analyze: "If you think about it carefully, you'll see the contradiction here. Since there's already a seal at the top, why would they bother making the walls so smooth and hard to prevent climbing?"

"Huh?" Pei Mianman had instinctively thought the seal was for powerful cultivators and the smooth walls for ordinary people. But with a seal in place, designing the walls this way was indeed redundant.

Zu'an quickly continued, "We checked earlier, and there were no signs that these people were bound before they died, so they should have been able to attempt escape at any time. If they were thrown in first and then the seal was applied, it would be troublesome if they escaped during that window. So, most likely, the seal was already in place."

"That raises a question: if the seal was already there, how did they get these people in? Clearly, there must be another passage specifically for bringing people in. When people were dropped in, they were likely unconscious, so they wouldn't have known about this passage."

Pei Mianman immediately questioned, "If that's the case, couldn't they just knock everyone out, throw them in, and then calmly apply the seal from above? That way, they wouldn't have to worry about escapes."

"There are three reasons!" Zu'an explained. "First, there are too many skeletons down here. Bringing them all down at once would be too much work. Also, as I observed on the way, these skeletons are different. They aren't uniformly distributed at the bottom of the pit but are in groups, maintaining some distance from each other. Clearly, these groups didn't know each other. When we were running, we accidentally stepped on some skeletons; some were still very hard, while others crumbled easily, indicating the latter had been there for a longer time."

"Second, if I were the one in charge of building such a massive pit, I would never make it a one-time use structure. It would certainly be designed for repeated, long-term use. This supports the possibility of the hidden passage I mentioned."

"Third, and most importantly, we were conscious when we fell into the pit, and we clearly tumbled down a large slope. This is the basis for my theory."

Pei Mianman's beautiful eyes shone with newfound hope. She had been on the verge of despair, but after hearing his analysis, she suddenly felt a glimmer of light. Although she hadn't yet seen the secret passage with her own eyes, she clearly believed him. "A'Zu, you're truly amazing!"

Praised with such adoring eyes by a beautiful and sweet-voiced girl, Zu'an's heart warmed. "I already am amazing. Just try not to fall in love with me by accident."

"Pfft, you wish!" Pei Mianman playfully spat, her face flushing. Yet, she secretly admired him. This man seemed to maintain an optimistic outlook at all times, capable of influencing those around him and providing a sense of security.

However, they soon had no energy for conversation. On the way back, the strange snakes became increasingly numerous, making it almost impossible to step anywhere.

At first, it was manageable. Pei Mianman could use her Black Flame, and the strange snakes were wary of fire, keeping their distance.

But Pei Mianman was heavily injured and couldn't sustain the Black Flame continuously; she could only ignite it after a long rest.

Zu'an had no choice but to swing his long sword to clear the strange snakes along the path. Fortunately, his "Evil-Dispelling Sword Art" didn't consume much energy, and its straightforward approach was well-suited to the current situation where enemies were everywhere.

However, his "Sunflower Phantoms" movement technique was useless. Its primary purpose was evasion, but with strange snakes everywhere, evasion was simply not an option.

Faced with the dense swarm of strange snakes on the ground, Zu'an could only use the tips of his toes to step on the skeletons for leverage and maneuverability. Several times, strange snakes hidden within the bones lunged out, nearly biting him. If not for his quick reactions and Pei Mianman's timely Black Flame saves, he would have died on the spot.

Driven by desperation, Zu'an devised another method: jumping directly onto the adjacent wall. Although the wall was smooth and offered little purchase, he could alternately stab his Taia Sword and Death-Seeking Dagger into it.

No matter how hard the wall was, it was no match for the Taia Sword, which could cut through iron like mud, and the Death-Seeking Dagger.

Zu'an breathed a sigh of relief, patting Pei Mianman who was clinging to him. "This way, it's finally not as dangerous as being down there."

He planned to move back to their starting point by alternately embedding both swords into the wall, step by step.

Pei Mianman hummed, her face flushing slightly. With her arms wrapped around his neck and her body pressed tightly against him, she could feel the warmth of their skin through their clothes. No matter how bold she usually was, she now felt shy and embarrassed.

Zu'an also felt uneasy. Smelling the faint fragrance of the beautiful woman in his arms, and feeling the magnificent softness against his chest, he felt his body grow warm. The perilous pit, which had been so detestable, suddenly seemed... less so.

Just then, he suddenly felt the woman in his arms slowly sliding down. Startled, he quickly let go of one hand to support her thigh. "Mianman, don't let go! It'll be trouble if you fall."

Below them, the strange snakes had gathered, each one craning its neck, its single vertical eye staring intently at them, flicking its tongue menacingly. It was an extremely chilling sight.

Pei Mianman bit her lip, also feeling very embarrassed. "I'm weak all over; I can't hold on properly."

Where was this guy putting his hand?!

However, she knew he was trying to save her, so she didn't say anything.

"Then wrap your legs around my waist; you'll hang more securely that way," Zu'an said, lifting her legs and placing them around his waist.

"No!" Pei Mianman quickly refused. Even as an inexperienced young woman, she knew such a position was quite improper and couldn't bear it.

Zu'an was breaking out in a sweat. "My lady, I'm not trying to take advantage of you! I need both hands to alternate stabbing into the wall to move forward. If I hold you with one hand, we'll just be stuck here."

Pei Mianman looked up and saw the veins bulging on the arm holding his long sword, clearly bearing a considerable weight. She wasn't one to be difficult. Although it was embarrassing, considering their predicament, she agreed. "Alright then. But you must not tell Chu Yan about this. No, don't tell anyone."

Zu'an was speechless. "Why would I tell her about something like this?"

Pei Mianman finally let out a breath. Biting her red lip, she wrapped her arms around his neck and managed to lift her legs, clamping them around his waist, hanging in his arms like a sloth.

Feeling his masculine presence, and with their bodies now intimately pressed together, Pei Mianman, usually fiery and playful, grew shy. She buried her head in his chest, her body trembling slightly, daring not to utter another word.

Even though Zu'an initially had no ill intentions, seeing her body react so sensitively, his heart couldn't help but stir.

However, the hissing of the strange snakes around them pulled him back to reality, reminding him that the danger hadn't passed yet.

He quickly freed a hand, gripped his Death-Seeking Dagger, and was about to move forward when several blue lights suddenly shot towards them.

His hair stood on end. He quickly swung his dagger, knocking down the blue lights. He recognized them as the strange snakes themselves, launching through the air.

He saw the strange snakes on the ground coil up, then suddenly launch themselves, flying directly towards the two of them in mid-air.

Zu'an blocked with his dagger, secretly grateful that he hadn't yet embedded his sword into the wall to move. Otherwise, with both hands stuck in the wall, he would have been completely defenseless.

Moreover, being in mid-air, far fewer strange snakes could launch themselves up compared to the ground, so he could barely cope.

Yet, he couldn't feel happy at all. Entangled by these strange snakes, he could only focus on defense and couldn't move.

Pei Mianman also saw his predicament and quickly said, "Give me a moment. Once I've recovered a bit, I'll use Black Flame to help you, and you can take the chance to move forward."

"Alright!" At this point, they had no choice but to cooperate. Zu'an focused on slashing the leaping strange snakes.

After about five minutes, Pei Mianman finally spoke. "I can just about use the Black Flame now, but only for about three breaths. Hurry and move forward as quickly as you can, and make sure to immediately switch to defense when the time is up."

"Okay!" Zu'an nodded and concentrated, preparing himself.

Pei Mianman thought for a moment, then took a pendant from her neck and put it around his. "Wear this."

Zu'an was stunned. "What is it?" He had noticed a red cord around her neck earlier, but the object attached to it was deeply nestled in her cleavage, so he had no idea what it was.

Watching her slowly pull the object from her chest at such close proximity, with her fair skin peeking out, almost made him have a nosebleed.

"This is a protective charm my mother gave me; it can make you immune to the Black Flame's damage," Pei Mianman explained. "I'm not in my best state right now, so my control over the Black Flame isn't as good as usual. We're also so close, it would be troublesome if I accidentally burned you later."

"Huh?" Zu'an was deeply moved. He couldn't help but say, "This must be your most precious possession. If you give it to me, won't you be completely defenseless against me? What if I harbored ill intentions towards you? You wouldn't be able to resist."

It was known that most of Pei Mianman's cultivation revolved around her Black Flame. If this pendant could neutralize its effects, then her very life would be entirely in someone else's hands.

Pei Mianman shot him a reproachful glance, her eyes filled with gentle chiding. "If I truly feared that, how could I possibly give it to you? Now, compose yourself; we need to move."

"Alright!" In such a critical moment, Zu'an dared not be distracted.

"Go!" As soon as Pei Mianman spoke, a blazing Black Flame ignited in one of her hands. The strange snakes that had launched themselves at them instantly caught fire, shrieking as they fell.

The black snakes below, wary of the strange flames, dared not make any rash moves for a moment.

Zu'an seized the opportunity, stabbed his dagger into the adjacent wall, and moved forward swiftly, like Tarzan.

Throughout the process, he felt the Black Flame change. He used to find it terrifying, filled with destructive power, but now it suddenly felt quite warm, even familiar. He surmised this was thanks to the pendant; he could now feel a warmth emanating from his chest, though he wasn't sure if it was from the pendant itself or the lingering body heat of the woman.

"Quick, defend!" Pei Mianman urgently warned.

Zu'an was already prepared. He swung his Taia Sword, blocking the strange snakes that shot towards them. Compared to the Death-Seeking Dagger, the longer Taia Sword was more effective at this moment.

The strange snakes stopped attacking then, as if realizing their previous series of assaults had been futile and suicidal.

Zu'an breathed a sigh of relief. They hung in mid-air, resting, waiting for Pei Mianman to recover enough for their next leap.

Smelling the fragrant scent of the woman so close, Zu'an was about to tease her, when his eyes suddenly narrowed. He noticed many strange snakes below, coiling together.

At first, he paid no mind, but as more and more strange snakes coiled together, they gradually formed a massive ball of snakes.

Seeing their relentless coiling, it was clear that this ball would grow larger and higher, bringing it closer and closer to them.

Previously, because they were in mid-air, only a portion of the strange snakes had the jumping power to successfully threaten them. But once they formed a large ball, many snakes could climb onto it, shortening the distance and allowing them to leap across and endanger them.

"Hold onto me tight. We need to move to the next spot immediately," Zu'an said gravely. Staying here would only lead to being attacked.

"Huh? But I haven't recovered yet." Pei Mianman's temples were beaded with sweat; the previous exertion had clearly drained her, leaving her without the strength to use Black Flame for cover again.

"No need, I can teleport a certain distance." Zu'an had intended to save this ability for a more critical moment, but staying any longer was genuinely dangerous.

Pei Mianman suddenly realized, remembering his teleportation ability from earlier battles. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly wrapped herself tightly around him.

Zu'an summoned Gale. His maximum teleportation distance with Gale was about a hundred meters. Since the pit was roughly the size of several football fields, he couldn't teleport to the other side in one go. He roughly estimated it would require at least five summons.

Unfortunately, summoning Gale three times consecutively was his current limit, and the distance was still insufficient. But at this moment, he couldn't afford to worry about the details; they just needed to get out of there first.

The next second, he appeared a hundred meters away. Since they were in mid-air, to prevent accidental falls, he had directly targeted the wall. The moment he reappeared, he quickly stabbed his sword into the wall with one hand, simultaneously turning his body sideways to brace against the wall, preventing the weakened Pei Mianman from directly hitting it.

However, the immense impact still caused Pei Mianman to crash deeply into his embrace.

With a soft gasp, Pei Mianman's face instantly turned red.

They were already in an extremely intimate embrace, and this forceful impact made their bodies tremble even more.

Pei Mianman bit her red lip, her eyes glistening. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "You rascal, does Chu Yan know how perverted you are?"

"This isn't my fault, really! It's a natural bodily reaction, I can't control it," Zu'an said, almost in tears. He was just trying to save her!

"I know..." Pei Mianman paused, then softly added, "I'm not blaming you."

Zu'an's heart skipped a beat. What did she mean by that?

He didn't have time to ponder, for the massive snake ball was now rolling towards them. As it rolled, its efficiency in gathering more snakes increased significantly, and the ball grew ever larger.

He groaned inwardly, quickly warned Pei Mianman, and then summoned Gale once more, teleporting them forward.

After summoning Gale three times in a row, Zu'an was panting heavily. He wouldn't be able to summon Gale again for a while; these three teleports were all at maximum range, and the energy consumption was immense.

Watching the massive ball of strange snakes relentlessly pursue them, Zu'an was grateful that Pei Mianman had recovered slightly and could use her Black Flame to provide cover again.

Zu'an seized the opportunity to move another few dozen meters forward, but after that, they were out of options.

Zu'an gazed unwillingly at the last few dozen meters remaining. He was eighty percent certain that the secret passage was on the wall high above, but unfortunately, they couldn't get there now.

While swinging his sword to fend off the strange snakes that relentlessly launched themselves from below, he watched helplessly as the massive snake ball rapidly approached them.

He roughly estimated that they wouldn't have enough time to recover before the snakes caught up.

Yet, the instinct for survival kept him relentlessly swinging his long sword, striking down the approaching strange snakes. But when the snake ball finally reached their feet, they truly despaired.

Just then, a crack suddenly appeared in the nearby wall, and a gigantic tongue shot out, plunging directly into the horrifying pile of snakes below.