Chapter 71: Jumping into the Dark River, Hidden Space! (1/2)

Ye Qingning took a deep breath, dodging the pursuit of the Black-Winged Griffin, while sending out her spiritual sense to quickly search through the pitch-black mountains. Soon, she locked onto a cave in the distance.

The entrance to the cave was extremely hidden, concealed behind a waterfall and obscured by the rushing water and dense green vegetation. Without a careful look, it was hard to notice this place.

[Ningning, Ningning! Hurry up! Over here!]

The system, embodied as a small green bird that emitted light, was afraid that Ye Qingning might not see it due to the poor visibility in the night.

Ye Qingning broke through the wind and swiftly sped toward the cave, her speed so fast that she left afterimages in her wake.

The Black-Winged Griffin was relentlessly chasing her, its wings vibrating and striking the air, producing a heavy sound. Its sharp shrieks pierced her eardrums, and the growling noise grew louder, seeming as if it could tear her apart at any moment.

Just as she was about to be caught, Ye Qingning nimbly passed through the waterfall and dashed into the cave.

The cave was dim, with only faint light coming from the entrance, just enough to make out the surroundings. The walls were covered in moss, and the air carried a damp scent.

Despite entering the cave, Ye Qingning continued to rush deeper, not daring to slow down. She knew that although the entrance was small, the Black-Winged Griffin could still squeeze through the waterfall and follow her inside.

As Ye Qingning had expected, the Black-Winged Griffin’s pursuit did not stop just because she entered the cave. On the contrary, with its advantage in the air taken away, it became even more furious.

Its eyes glowed bright red in the dark, madly charging toward the entrance.

The Black-Winged Griffin’s large body made the cave feel even more cramped. Each time it flapped its wings, the stone walls were mercilessly torn apart, and shattered rocks flew everywhere, producing sharp crashing sounds.

Ye Qingning felt the entire cave shaking, and the violent aura behind her grew closer. There was no doubt that the Black-Winged Griffin was catching up.

[Ningning, Ningning, hurry up! Those crazy birds are catching up! Ahead! Ahead is the underground dark river!]

Ye Qingning increased her speed once more, and as the system had said, she could already hear the sound of the water from the underground dark river.

At that moment, a powerful force of impact suddenly came from behind her.

A Black-Winged Griffin, the largest one and with the strength of a baby-stage flying beast, actually spread its wings inside the narrow cave, chasing her.

“Boom!”

A massive shockwave exploded in the cave, sweeping over her back with a powerful force. Her internal organs felt like they were being displaced, and the pain made it hard to breathe.

The strength of a baby-stage flying demon beast was certainly not to be underestimated.

“Ningning!” The system’s voice was filled with urgency.

Ye Qingning ignored the sharp pain in her back and gathered all her strength to rush toward the underground dark river.

The Black-Winged Griffin was like a shadow, closely following her, its sharp claws almost touching her back.

Ye Qingning gritted her teeth, making a sudden turn and swinging her fist to meet the claws.

“Bang——”

The collision of fist and claw created a dull thud.

Ye Qingning felt a massive force transmit through the contact, and she was sent flying backward by the impact, crashing into the riverbank of the underground dark river.

With the Black-Winged Griffin following her through the cave passage, it spread its wings and let out an enraged roar.

Its crimson eyes fixed on Ye Qingning, as though it wanted to tear her apart.

Warm reminder: If you can’t find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author. It might have just been renamed!

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Chapter 71: Jumping into the Dark River, Hidden Space! (2/2)

The water flow was rapid, and the sound of the rushing water reverberated like thunder. Ye Qingning moved swiftly, without hesitation, and leaped into the dark river.

Having suddenly lost their target, the Black-Winged Griffins, which had been chasing from the cave, froze for a moment.

Then, they let out a series of enraged roars, their wing flapping sounds mixed together, as if they were trying to collapse the entire underground area.

The Black-Winged Griffin was indeed a terrifying flying demon beast, but it had poor swimming abilities and couldn’t freely roam in the water. It feared the underground dark river.

Especially when faced with the unfathomably deep dark river and its rushing current, the griffins didn’t dare to enter, only howling angrily by the riverbank.

After a long time, seeing that Ye Qingning did not emerge, they finally left in frustration and helplessness.

Once Ye Qingning jumped into the river, her vision was engulfed by a chaotic darkness.

The water was icy cold, and the currents spun around her. The pressure surged from all directions, and her body was pulled into the underground current, only to be thrown out again.

However, she had already forged her body with the Thunder Strike, so her physical strength had improved significantly. Soon, she managed to maintain her balance in the turbulent water.

She also gradually adjusted to the dim light underwater and began to faintly discern her surroundings. Small fish could be seen swimming in the water.

As she descended deeper, the light around her became darker, and the water temperature dropped. She silently reminded herself to remain alert at all times.

Since there were fish in the river, it was possible that other unknown creatures were hiding in the depths. The water was not necessarily safe.

When she was almost at the riverbed, a powerful suction force suddenly swept toward her.

Ye Qingning wasn’t alarmed. She immediately adjusted her body, not resisting the suction, but instead going with it, allowing herself to be pulled downward.

In the dimness, she could feel her body being pushed by the current. In the blur, she seemed to see a huge whirlpool at the riverbed, swirling and devouring everything in its path.

Her body was drawn into the whirlpool, spinning and sinking…

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[Ningning, Ningning, wake up! We’re safe now!] The system, worried that it wouldn’t wake her up, pecked at her forehead, almost breaking the skin.

Ye Qingning was jolted awake by the system’s call, propping herself up with her arms. Aside from a slight dizziness in her head, her back still hurt intensely.

However, cultivators had amazing recovery speeds, and though she had only tempered her body once, the pain in her back had already lessened.

Of course, there was no need for medicine, as cultivation allowed the body to heal itself. The more one was injured and healed, the stronger their self-healing abilities became.

Having escaped the Black-Winged Griffins, Ye Qingning finally relaxed, and the scenery around her became clearer.

She found herself in an underground cavern, with the river from the cavern’s center connecting to the underground dark river. This explained how she had ended up here, following the water’s current.

The entire cavern was vast, with stalactites hanging from the high ceiling, some resembling flowing waterfalls, while others bloomed like lotus flowers.

Above, the ceiling was dotted with shining stalagmites. Occasionally, droplets of water would fall, creating ripples on the surface.

There was a crack at the top of the cavern, and moonlight streamed down, resembling a river of stars, bringing a soft glow to the dim cavern.

After picking the Thunder Flame Fruit earlier, she and Xie Jibai had been evading the Black-Winged Griffins’ pursuit, accidentally stumbling into this place. Otherwise, she would never have known about this hidden cavern.

At one corner of the cavern, the peculiar white crystals, which emitted a faint glow and came in various shapes, were not ordinary minerals, but Moonlight Crystals.

Moonlight Crystals were rare minerals formed from the essence of heaven and earth, glowing faintly under the moonlight like stars.

Not only were they incredibly hard, but they also possessed great flexibility, making them ideal materials for crafting high-level and god-tier treasures.

In fact, the Moonlight Crystals weren’t the only treasure hidden in this cavern. It also concealed a secret space.