"Then what are we waiting for?!"
As soon as Li Chengfeng finished speaking, Ouyang Nan immediately jumped in. Qin Mieqin shook his head and followed.
The others could not wait any longer and entered one after another.
Su You mumbled, "I didn't see any trigger points for any mechanisms or arrays when I went in …"
Tianjun sneered, "You're just an idiot, how could you find the trigger points for mechanisms?"
Every mechanism had a trigger point. Some were activated passively, as long as someone touched or stepped on a key point, the mechanism would automatically activate. Some were active, requiring someone to control them.
The same principle applied to magical arrays. They were also divided into passive and active magical arrays. The active magical array was the one that Li Chengfeng and the rest practiced, which required many people to work together to form a magical array. The passive magical array was the Devouring Magical Array, or the Shaking Heaven and Earth Array that Grand Senior Brother once set up on Shiwu Mountain. These were all activated passively, and when certain conditions were met, they would automatically activate.
The people here were all experienced cultivators, so they more or less had some understanding of spirit arrays. They all knew that if there was a spirit array on the manor, then it couldn't be an active spirit array because the old butler couldn't find so many cultivators. If it was a passive spirit array, then this spirit array must be a spirit array that could only be triggered when certain conditions were met, similar to the Devouring Spirit Array.
After they entered the escape tunnel, they carefully searched every inch of the cracks and bricks. After a round, Qin Mieqin suddenly whispered, "It's here!"
Everyone quickly gathered around and saw Qin Mieqin staring at a piece of green brick on the wall near the oil lamp. Ouyang Nan took a closer look and touched it with his hand. He said in a low voice, "There's nothing strange about it."
Qin Mieqin held a ball of light green magic power in his hand and shone it near the green brick. Immediately, everyone saw a dense and small pattern appear on the green brick. Obviously, it was a small magic array.
Yuehan took a look and whispered to Li Chengfeng, "It's the Flame Array. If you hit this brick hard and break the array, it will be activated!"
"Then what are we waiting for?!"
Ouyang Nan raised his hand to hit the brick but Qin Mieqin immediately pulled him back and turned to Li Chengfeng.
"Junior Brother, are you sure?" Qin Mieqin stared at Li Chengfeng solemnly.
Li Chengfeng nodded. "There's no other way. We'll just have to try!
Does anyone have any objections? "
As Li Chengfeng spoke, he stared at Sun Yongcai because most of the people here would agree with his suggestion. Sun Yongcai was the only exception.
But right now, Sun Yongcai had no other choice. He could only put on a gloomy expression and nod slightly. His eyes were slightly red, but no one knew if it was because he was grieving over his own fate or because his junior brothers had all died here.
When Li Chengfeng saw Sun Yongcai nod, he nodded at Ouyang Nan. Ouyang Nan took a deep breath and punched the brick.
Everyone could only see cracks appearing on the hard green bricks under Ouyang Nan's fists. Immediately after, the spirit design on it lit up. This light quickly spread along the cracks on the green bricks. After a while, everyone heard a low vibration, followed by a very soft hissing sound.
Then, the crowd heard a low rumbling sound above their heads and felt the entire stone path heating up. The green stones on both sides of the stone path turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye. The crowd felt like they were in an oven, and soon, they were sweating profusely.
"Get out of here!" Li Chengfeng yelled.
Of course, the crowd did not want to be roasted into jerky. They quickly rushed out of the secret passage.
As soon as they rushed out, they felt a wave of heat on their faces. Behind them, the manor was in flames. The waves of blood evaporated from the heat, emitting a suffocating stench. Meanwhile, the zombies were wailing and rolling in the flames, emitting a horrifying sound. It was like hell.
They felt chills down their spines because they knew that if they let the old housekeeper have his way, they would be the ones wailing and rolling in the manor right now!
The crowd stared blankly for a while, fear gripping their hearts. Sun Yongcai's eyes were brimming with tears, gritting his teeth.
Mieqin and Li Chengfeng glanced at him, then at each other. Mieqin said, "Junior Brother Sun, come back. No matter how bad Hidden Sword Court is, it's still our home. No matter how good Hidden Brocade Court is, it's still a place of tigers and wolves."
Sun Yongcai stared at the manor behind him, tears streaming down his face. He did not say a word. Zuo Fei clenched his fists, his eyes red.
Qu Tongqiu and Zhao Yibai were both unlucky and lucky at the same time. They hugged their heads in despair while Zhao Yibai mumbled, "It's over, it's all over!"
Qu Tongqiu could not help but scream, "We're all going to die here, all of us!"
Ouyang Nan picked him up and yelled, "If you keep farting, I'll throw you in and burn you to death!"
Qu Tongqiu cried, "Why, why are we still so pitiful after becoming a cultivator?
Why is this happening?! "
His words cut straight to the heart!
Yes, why did they become cultivators?
Wasn't it to break free from the shackles of the human world, stop being bullied and change their fate?
But in the end, it was as if they had jumped from one cage to another, from one hell to another.
Then why did they cultivate so desperately and endure so much humiliation to bear such a heavy burden?
Ouyang Nan gritted his teeth. "To become a cultivator is to become stronger, to climb up, to not be stepped on, to not be looked down upon!
But for some people, even if they become cultivators, their knees will still be soft. Once they kneel, they will never be able to stand up again! "
As he spoke, he was enraged and was about to throw Qu Tongqiu into the sea of fire in the manor.
Everyone was shocked. Li Chengfeng quickly stepped forward and held Ouyang Nan back. "Senior Brother Ouyang, please calm down. Let me do this."
Ouyang Nan was a straightforward and hot-tempered person. He hated spineless traitors like this. He threw Qu Tongqiu to the ground and huffed, then turned and walked to the side.
Li Chengfeng picked Qu Tongqiu up from the ground and patted the dust off him. "Senior Brother, even if we can't escape, we have to try.
Playing with dreams is the scariest thing. Just like our fate in the future, it looks strong and undefeatable but they still have to work hard because if they don't run, they will die. If we work hard, we still have a chance to live!
We have to go. Senior Brothers, if you want to live, you have to keep up. "
Li Chengfeng turned to Ouyang Nan and the rest and nodded. "Everyone, whether you live or die will be decided tonight. Run as fast as you can!"
Everyone's expression was solemn as they sprinted. Only Qu Tongqiu and Zhao Yibai were left standing at the side of the burning manor. They turned to look at the fiery hell behind them, then looked at each other before yelling in unison and sprinting after Li Chengfeng and the rest.
Just as Li Chengfeng had said, fate was like the fire behind them, and the black fog in front of them. If they went back, they would die, and if they went forward, their future would be uncertain. However, if they did not suppress their fear and move forward, they would only be abandoned, left where they were, and then die a silent death.
However, if they charged forward with all their might, at least there was a chance of survival.
Li Chengfeng and the rest were all cultivators so they sprinted rather quickly. Even Han Tianxing, a weak scholar, had been cleansed in the Marrow Cleansing Pool and his muscles and bones had become extremely strong. He was able to hold on for the rest of the journey.
However, after running for another twenty li, they quickly realised something was wrong.
This was because they once again saw a bright light not far away from them. This time, they realized that the light was very familiar. It was still in a low position, and it was still the same dark red light.
"Don't tell me … we're back?" Ouyang Nan's voice trembled, almost falling to the ground.
In front of them was that familiar manor, that familiar little door, and the old housekeeper with two black holes standing in front of it, his head raised and mouth agape.
The manor was silent, as if the fire had never burned at all. Everyone felt chills run down their spines as a sense of helplessness washed over them, almost destroying their will to live.
"What do we do?
We … we've been hit by an illusion, we can't escape! "Everyone knew this was an illusion.
Could they break Xi Mengcai's illusion?
How?
No one had any hope. At this moment, even Li Chengfeng was in despair. They could only listen to the low growls around them. In the darkness, an endless horde of zombies shuffled towards them with a rustling sound.
No, they couldn't die here!
Li Chengfeng thought of his home and the people he cared about. He could not help but yell, "Get into formation, don't give up!"
Everyone instinctively drew their swords and got into formation, looking fearfully at the approaching zombie horde.
But at this moment, no one noticed that Yuehan, who was in the middle of the array, was quietly pinching her fingers together. A ball of green light flowed from her fingertips, drilled into the ground, and spread in all directions.
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