Tianlongguan Hall (200 years ago):

Lingxi paced in the hall, and it was rare for Hua Zhong to see her so uneasy. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

"Seven people...... None of them came back! ”

"Master, don't worry. With my brother here, I will be able to save the day. ”

Lingxi shook his head vigorously: "The news of the government has come, the fire in Xiangtang Town has been burning for several days, and the officers and soldiers and the people have been killed and injured countless times!" Tianlongguan lost face in this matter, and this is not enough! The key is that Hua Xia and those carefully selected masters are the hope of Tianlongguan for the future! In case ......"

One of the disciples hurried into the main hall. He was followed by two elders who had gone to the scene of the incident to investigate the situation.

"Senior brother! How's it going? Lingxi didn't wait for the two of them to sit down, and couldn't wait to ask.

"The heart of the spell was in ruins. If there are people, I am afraid that there will be no bones left! Instead, some partially incomplete remains were found on the edges...... Also...... I can't tell...... In the summer of flowers, they must be more auspicious and less auspicious...... Sister Day mourning! ”

When Lingxi heard this, his eyes were dark, and he couldn't stand on his feet.

……………………………………

The bottom of the sinkhole:

Jiang Feng and Su Wuqian climbed ashore one after another, but Yuan Xing fell into the distance, and when the three of them reunited, they were already exhausted. Fortunately, at the bottom of the sinkhole is an underground river with extremely deep water level, and there is no danger. Standing at the bottom of the pit and looking up, I saw that the blue sky was like a full moon, and I felt like sitting in a well and watching the sky.

It's a pity that they don't have the heart to enjoy the beautiful scenery now, and the jackals fell off the cliff, although some fell to their deaths, but most of them also went ashore unharmed. There were many more jackals rushing down the sinkhole from a slightly slower slope to the south, blocking the way out.

"Is it just for the sake of our two taels of meat that such a large group of jackals are gathered here? It's not enough for them to stuff their teeth! Su Wuqian sighed that she had experienced a catastrophe of life and death, but it was still difficult to get out of the mouth of the beast.

At this time, the group of jackals did not put pressure on the three of them, but surrounded the center of the bottom of the sinkhole. Above the strip, there was a group of animals flying, or more appropriately, gliding.

The jackal herd is the most disciplined, organized, and hierarchical of all the herds. There are jackal kings, soldier jackals, nanny jackals, and bitter jackals who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the group, just like a perfect military organization. And today's battle is obviously not prepared for Yuanxing and them.

Su Wuqian pointed to the sky: "What are those in the sky?" Flying, but not like a bird. ”

"They are flying beasts unique to Tiankeng, named Liuyi, commonly known as flying cats!" Jiang Feng explained.

At this time, a few flying cats landed near Yuanxing, picking up and eating mountain peaches on the ground, seemingly indifferent to the imminent war.

Looking at the flying cat closely, the face is like a fox, the eyes are like a cat, the sharp-beaked rat, the ears are like a rabbit, the paws are like a duck, and the tail is the same as a squirrel, no wonder it is called "six dislikes". The wide fins between their front and back legs open like an umbrella and glide between cliffs and trees

"Do you see the bones of the six on the ground? It is said to be the burial ground of flying cats, who migrate back once a year and give birth to new life here. ”

"In other words, the jackals came all the way to hunt flying cats, we just hit by mistake and strayed into the tiger's mouth, no, it's the jackals!"

Seeing that Yuan Xing didn't say a word, his head was covered with beads of sweat, Su Wuqian said with concern: "What's wrong with you?" Did it hurt somewhere? ”

Yuan Xing's left trouser leg had been stained red with blood, and Su Wuqian opened it to see that a large piece of skin and flesh on the outside of his calf was missing, and blood continued to ooze from the sunken wound.

"It's okay, I can hold on."

"Oh my God! Was it bitten by a jackal? ”

Yuan Xing himself looked at his left leg: "No, this bite is very neat, as if it has been dug out by a sharp blade." Jackals' teeth are not like this. ”

Jiang Feng picked up some flying cat feces on the ground around him, ground them up, and smeared them on Yuan Xing's wounds. Yuan Xing was in pain, and his eyebrows were tightly locked.

Su Wuqian picked up the black thing and asked, "What is this grain by grain?" ”

"Flying cat droppings."

"What?" Su Wuqian was extremely disgusted and hurriedly threw it away.

"This is a natural five-spirit fat! It can stop bleeding and relieve pain! Brother Yuanxing's injuries were not light, and he was in urgent need of medicine. ”

Su Wuqian got up and dusted off her skirt, looked around and said vigilantly, "But when were you bitten?" Is there anything else we need to watch out for? ”

"After we fell off the cliff and fell into the water, we ...... in the water," Yuan Xing replied.

Yuan Xing and Su Wuqian both looked at Jiang Feng at this time.

Jiang Feng shook his hand and said, "Don't look at me, it's the first time I've entered the sinkhole." The matter of the flying cat is also from my grandfather, he once came to collect five spirit fat, and he told me not to go near the underground river, as for what is in the water, then I don't know......"

The brief silence was rudely interrupted by a familiar howl.

A single ox obviously can't fill the bellies of all jackals, and the rules of the jackal herd are simple: either everyone has something to eat, or everyone goes hungry. Jackals with a lot of physical strength must be the first force to attack.

Jackals are one of the best hunters in the forest. Every battle for survival is a reflection of their unity, cohesion and dedication. The jackal is the undisputed leader here, directing the jackals to approach the gathering place of the flying cats.

Every movement, every sound has a purpose. Drive, isolate, encircle in one go. However, the cats are determined and confident, and always use their jumps to avoid the most dangerous attacks. The health, strength and flexibility of the flying cat colony ensure their safety.

At this time, the jackal may be wondering: why are there no cubs and the old, weak, sick and disabled in the flying cat group? The leader of the herd of jackals raised his head and ears, staring at the rock walls on all sides.

There are many crevices and caves of various sizes on the rock wall, and the habit of flying cats is to build their nests in the caves of the rock wall, usually they will have a main nest and several alternate nests. Flying kittens rarely leave their nests, so the concealment of the nest is extremely important, and if a predator finds a hiding place, the place of refuge will immediately become a death trap.

As the jackals continued to howl, the jackals obeyed the call and began to shift their targets, scattering into the nearby caverns on the rock wall to search carefully for the flying cat's lair.

Seeing that the jackals were starting to attack the cubs, the group of flying cats flew and pounced on the rock wall on the west side.

Based on the changes in the behavior of the flying cats, the jackal guessed that the cave to the west was their main nest, so he moved to the other direction with a large army in the rear. Just to go to the cave on the west side of the rock wall, you need to wade through the water. The water quality of this river is cold, and I don't know if it's dangerous. However, in all cases, shallow waters are always the safest route. The bitter jackals in the jackal herd began to take the lead in crossing the river.

Seeing that the flying cats all flew to her side, Su Wuqian shouted, "What should I do now?" Those jackals are coming! We have nowhere to run! ”

The pups of the jackals began to roll down the hill and gathered nearby, and the nanny jackals followed without leaving. These young jackals must be very hungry, otherwise they would not normally come forward like this. Or maybe these young jackals saw the river for the first time, and they were so excited that they jumped and wanted to start the adventure right away.

The nanny jackals went down the river before the cubs, and it seems that they did not see any danger for the time being, otherwise the cubs would not have been allowed to come so close to the water's edge.

But at this point, they ran into a fatal problem. A cub playing by the river was suddenly dragged into the water by something, and with a wail disappeared.

The nanny jackal, who noticed the abnormality, immediately howled in warning and drove the remaining young jackals in the water, trying to drive them back to the shore. At this time, a large army of jackals was slowly moving through the river. Hearing the movement of the river, the jackals were on high alert, but the river was still calm, but the air could smell danger.

That's the smell of blood.

Suddenly, as if the water had exploded, schools of shimmering scales sprang out of the bottom of the river, with bright green backs and bright red bellies with markings on the sides.

They struggled to open their mouths, and those sharp, triangular teeth were staggered up and down. The fish bite the jackal's body and then bite tightly, tearing the meat off with the twisting of their bodies. In an instant, the river was full of blood and wailing.

"That's the wolf clan in the water, the redfin pomfret!" Jiang Feng pulled Yuan Xing and Su Wuqian left and right, and the three of them stuck tightly to the rock wall, as far away from the waterfront as possible.

Schools of fish take turns attacking, one by one rushing forward to bite and then get out of the way, leaving room for the fish behind them, quickly breaking their targets into zeros with incredible speed. In just a few moments, many jackals in the water were eaten by the fish, and only their bones remained.

Jackals are ruthless, stoic, and cruel, but they are also affectionate, caring, and protective. The jackal did not retreat, it called for more helpers to come to the rescue, trying to drag down the jackal in distress, but unfortunately it only increased the casualties.

It's no wonder that the flying cat chose this place as its nest, and it's no wonder that even when it is besieged by jackals, it is safe. In addition to natural hazards, there are also redfin pomfret in this river.

The herd of jackals kills for food, but it also becomes food for killing.

At this time, the nanny jackal has fled upwards with the cubs. The jackals who had been lucky enough to cross the river rushed at the flying cats like crazy, looking furious. Perhaps it was because the jackals felt that the flying cats had deliberately lured them across the river to cause such casualties.

Seeing the group of jackals rushing in their direction, Su Wuqian and Jiang Feng hurriedly took the limping Yuan Xing into the cave.

……………………………………

Cave Complex:

It's a labyrinthine cave biome of intricate cave tunnels and cul-de-sacs. The cave hides the seepage hole, which leads to the abyss, and the drop is as high as tens or even hundreds of meters. Moving forward in this darkness, even one wrong step can be fatal.

As they went deeper, the light faded away, and the trio stopped to look for the source of the fire. Yuan Xing took out the rune paper and fire fold from the Taiyi sword box, although the fire light was small, it was the only warmth that could be found in this cold cave.

"No, this light is not enough, the three of us are still prone to make mistakes when we walk back and forth." Yuan Xing asked everyone to tear off some strips of cloth from their clothes, wrap them in rune paper and wrap them around the end of the Eight Desolation Sword, and then light them with a fire fold, and a simple torch was completed.

These caves lead in all directions, and Yuan Xing and they have been lost in the caves, and it is impossible to return the way they came, so they can only find another way out.

The flames drifted to one side with the air currents that sucked out of the cave. "The exit should be in that direction." Yuan Xing pointed to the darkness and said, "These caves are connected to each other, and there is more than one entrance, and there may be more than one exit. We must not be scattered. ”

Yuan Xing was careful with every step, carefully looking for the exterior features of the cave surface and rock formations as symbolic landmarks, so as not to spin in place.

"I'm afraid I'll run into jackals at any time, and we can't fight back in a place like this." Su Wuqian said worriedly.

"How can this place be so cold!" Jiang Feng hugged his arms and kept rubbing.

Before Jiang Feng's voice fell, the echo sounded, and the cave space became open. The larger the space, the more careless it is. Yuan Xing held the torch and shone it from top to bottom. The cave is full of stalactites, moist and fresh, some are like jade pillars from the top to the ground vertically, some are like rain clouds hanging upside down in the air, some are like white waves surging, the waves are surging in the sky, it is really a thousand weather, it is a wonder.

But now is not the time to look at the view, and when you look ahead, rows of stalactites like icicles under the eaves of winter hang down from the top of the extremely high cave.

"Don't worry about the jackals just yet, look at these." Yuan Xing pointed to the falling stalactites on the ground and said, "They are fragile and can come loose at any time, and this height is high enough to pierce the skull." And, how long have we been in the hole? Half an hour, or an hour? ”

The cave was rugged and difficult to walk, the wet mud on her feet, and her body unconsciously resisted the severe cold inside the mountain, which brought a great burden to Su Wuqian's body, and she gasped and said, "...... What's the difference? ”

"The sun should have gone down by now, and even if there was a bright light shining through the cracks, we wouldn't be able to see it. There is no point in going deeper now. And we're all wounded, and we're all physically depleted......"

"What? Do you really want to spend the night here? Su Wuqian choked.

Jiang Feng echoed: "Yes, we don't have food. ”

Su Wuqian couldn't help but look back and smile: "You're going to become someone else's meal, and now you still have the heart to eat?" ”

"There are stone needles hanging on the head, there is an abyss under the feet, the cold in the cave is pressing, and we have nothing to replenish our strength. If you can't find a way out tomorrow, it's really a lot of luck. As he spoke, the torch in Yuan Xing's hand suddenly went out, and the strips of cloth and fire talisman had burned out.

Yuan Xing had no choice but to tear his shirt again, re-wrap and ignite it. "The source of fire is also limited, and sooner or later the mountains and rivers will be exhausted." Yuan Xing stuck the torch on the ground, and the three of them sat in a circle, baking the fire to keep warm.

"Brother Yuanxing, did you say that those flying cats really built nests in the cave, how can they come and go freely?"

"Animals have animal nature. If we can really find a nest, we won't have a problem with food and clothing, haha. Yuan Xing was whimsical and smiled to himself.

"Boring...... Thinking about what happened to the jackals, I don't think this flying cat is necessarily a good kind to be slaughtered. Don't off the flying cats, we don't even have a place to live in the cave. ”

"By the way, Su Wuqian, what do you mean when you say you didn't come to Beizhan alone? In the past month, haven't you all lived in Taolin Village by yourself? What about the others? ”

Touched by the heart, Su Wuqian's delicate face suddenly lost its vitality: "Staying in the peach forest is an accident and a helpless ......"

"What do you mean by that?"

"My brother and I, as well as Uncle Xing and Xiao Weizi, have been traveling together in recent years, and we are also well-known in our industry. The four of us came to Beizhan because someone asked us to find something. ”

"Oh?" Yuan Xing became interested, "What is so mysterious?" ”

Su Wuqian shook her head: "It's not that I don't say it, it's just that my brother took over the job, and I don't know what it is." I only know that things are in a general's tomb in this Yao Mountain. ”

"You also do tomb robbing?"

"If you eat mixed rice, then you have to order everything. But I don't usually go down, I just do a strategy on it. When they started, I was in Taolin Village. ”

"It turns out that you stayed in Taolin Village to wait for news."

"That's right. Things didn't go well, and there was a long delay just to determine the location. The burial chamber is obviously difficult to find, but it feels like this ancient tomb is everywhere. In addition to defrauding a little money, I took root in Taolin Village, mainly to wait for them. Who knows that the first wait is a month. ”

"But why did you drown in Hantan Falls? After leaving Taolin Village, what happened? ”

"At that time, you ran away by yourself, how dare I stay. After leaving the village, I searched for the messages my brother had left along the way, and found the entrance to their tomb. After entering, they found that this ancient tomb was full of mechanisms, which was extraordinary, and it was definitely not possible to crack them one by one, no wonder they spent so long. ”

"And then? Did you get it? ”

"When I find them......" Su Wuqian paused and took a deep breath, "...... Got into trouble. Later, we were also lucky that we sank to the bottom of the water and escaped from the tomb along the river. My life is almost in the tomb, how can I think of bringing out something......"

"Then you met us, but the others don't know if they're safe."

"I've always believed that no news is good news."

"What are the physical characteristics of the three of them? In the river when I came, I came across a ...... A man with a somewhat puffy face, but he has no hair on half of his side, which is also impressive. ”

"Uncle Xing! It's Uncle Xing! He had a knife wound to half of his head, and he never had hair again. Su Wuqian excitedly pulled Yuan Xing's wrist, her tearful eyes filled with sadness. She covered her sobbing nose and asked, "He...... Where......"

"I have cremated him on the spot." Su Wuqian's appearance of pear blossoms with rain is very pitiful, and Yuan Xing inevitably has the urge to touch her hair. However, his tone was still calm: "You didn't rush to ask him if he was safe, you should have known that he had passed away." It seems that the story is not as simple as you described. ”

Su Wuqian let go of the hand holding Yuan Xing and squatted on the ground alone. Now is not the time to talk about this matter, and it is inconvenient for Yuan Xing to ask. Jiang Feng listened with his ears pricked up on the side, but he couldn't interject.

Yuan Xing saw that Su Wuqian and Yuan Xing were both silent, and there was nothing to do at this time, so he simply hid aside and opened the cloth bag and inspected his money bag again.

"Hey, this is ......" Jiang Feng touched the furry thing in the bag. He grabbed the tail that looked like a squirrel, and took out a white flying cat cub from the cloth bag, with a round head and big eyes, and looked very simple and cute. "Look!" Jiang Feng shouted.

Su Wuqian's nose was blocked, and she opened her small mouth and gasped deeply. She raised her head to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked at Jiang Feng. "It's ...... Oh my! Where did the flying cat come from! Su Wuqian squatted over, caught the flying cat's body hanging in mid-air with both hands, and carefully held it in her arms. The coat color is very light, and it seems that it has not changed its fur yet, so this should be a cub. ”

The flying cat cub held a mountain peach on its two forefeet, half of its body was hidden in Su Wuqian's arms, and its mouth made a cry of "Du Luo Duluo" from time to time. Cute things are always easy to forget sadness. All three of them were distracted by it.

"I said......" Yuan Xing's throat rumbled unconsciously, and a strange smile appeared on his face.

"No way!"

"Can't eat it!"

Su Wuqian and Jiang Feng were almost in unison.

Yuan Xing looked aggrieved: "I didn't say anything......"

"Let's stay away from this terrible hungry man." Su Wuqian hugged the flying cat, leaned against the rock wall on one side, kicked her heel on the stone, and made a muffled sound.

Yuan Xing crouched over and tapped carefully on the rock. He found that the stone walls were empty, and when the sound was clear, the thin layer of stone was like eggshells.

"It's empty from here to here." Yuan Xing gestured with his hand in the light of the torches, "Hollow stones are rare, and it is likely that the outside of the rock wall is connected to another cave passage. ”

"What are you going to do?!"

Seeing that Yuan Xing picked up a stone on the ground and was about to smash it against the stone wall, Su Wuqian hurriedly stopped it.

"You want to knock on the rock wall? Don't come to nonsense! Su Wuqian looked at the roof of the cave, "If we make a shock, I'm afraid we will all be buried alive by those stalactites that are about to fall off." ”

Su Wuqian's words also make sense, Yuan Xing just doesn't want to let go of any chance to get out of trouble.

"My original idea was to put out the torches tonight and rest for the night, and tomorrow I was looking for my way. But it's getting colder and colder, we need temperature, and the torches can't be extinguished. But if you burn like this, the torch won't burn for long, and what will we do when there is no fire source? One more path is one more opportunity......"

Boom...... Boom......

Just as Yuan Xing and the others were talking, a faint sound came from the other side of the stone wall.

The three of them didn't think that there were other people here, but they were all shocked when they heard the abnormal noise, and their pores stood up.

"Anyone?" Yuan Xing put his ear against the stone wall, and his right hand struck three times in a row at the same interval to transmit the signal to the opposite side.

The other side did not give the same response, and Yuan Xing only heard some irregular sounds, like footsteps, slow and deep. It's like a toothless old lady chewing the food in her mouth, squirming.

The sound in the distance became clearer and clearer, and suddenly something hit the stone wall, and Yuan Xing's ears hurt.

Boom...... Boom......

A continuous, slow pounding sound came out through the stone walls.

At this time, Su Wuqian's fingers tightly grasped the collar on her chest, and her hind legs step by step.

"Could it be...... Be...... It'......"