n

n

nAs they walked back, Ming Yue looked at the boxes before her. Her eyes went from one side of the floor to the other, making note of all of the boxes. Taking a few steps back, she checked the positions of the boxes before finally finding her spot.

nThe other two just watched her while Niu Hong and Qiang Rong were busy pushing the boxes away.

n

"What is she doing?

" She Xing muttered.

nYu Tu just shook her head.

n

"I don't know

", she replied.

nAfter a moment, their eyes suddenly glued to Ming Yue's body as the cultivator gathered her energy. A powerful aura rose out from her as wind began to pick up in this room.

nThe commotion was enough for the other two beast people to stop and look.

nAfter several moments, she raised her hands up, creating a massive wall of wind between her and boxes. After doing so, she moved them down and pushed forward. The wall of wind began to move to touch the first boxes and force them to move.

nThe sound of wood grinding on the stone ground grew louder and louder as the wall pushed all of the boxes to the side, not even letting one pass through it.

nThe process only took a few moments as all of the large boxes of stone were shoved to one side. A process that would've taken the Four Claws days was done just like that. And when she was finished, Ming Yue looked at the other side where Niu Hong and Qiang Rong stood by.

nShe Xing looked at them, Qiang Rong especially.

n

"Well, we're done, just waiting on you two

", she teased him before walking off.

nHe just looked at her before turning to Ming Yue.

n

"Would you like to help us as well?

"

nHe asked her with a slightly embarrassed smile to which she nodded, repeating what she had done on one side to the other side, clearing the boxes there as well. With it all out of the way, they saw the carved formation in its entirety.

n

"Alright then, time to draw this out.

"

nQiang Rong took out his staff and planted it on one side of the floor. Jumping on top of it, his tail came out, wrapping around the top end of the staff.

n

"Extend!

"

nAs his voice echoed out, the staff did as told, elongating and bringing him higher and higher until he was near the ceiling. Just like that, he whipped out a brush and paper from out of nowhere and began to draw the formation.

nMing Yue just looked at him, finding the staff quite interesting while the others waited for him to finish.

nThe process didn't take long as when finished, Qiang Rong descended down as his staff returned to its original size.

nHe looked at his work, walking to the others with the completed drawing.

n

"Finished, we can move on now. This will certainly give the scholars an easier time.

"

nNow that he was finished, the other moved onwards, checking the rest of the level to see if there was anything else they missed. Going from one side to the other and back, the scenery was the same. A dimly lit floor with nothing but boxes of broken stones and a carving of a formation on the floor.

n

"Since there's nothing else here, why don't we head down?

" said Niu Hong.

nMaking their way back to the stairs, Ming Yue looked down, extending her senses to the steps below. However, there was no strange sensation like the stairs leading up to the first floor. Perhaps that was the only obstacle but she felt that if there was more to it than that.

nTaking her first few steps, nothing happened again and everyone began to descend the stairs. Just like before, it began to illuminate as they walked further and further down.

nIt seemed as if there was an endless number of steps but they reached the end soon enough. However, what they saw was the complete opposite of the previous level. Even Ming Yue revealed some surprise from this.

nUnlike the open and spacious floor earlier, they were met with a small locked door.

nYu Tu walked forward, taking out her tools and trying her best to open unlock it. But it didn't look like it would give. She tried numerous tools and methods but nothing worked. And her expression was one of a very rare frustration.

nAfter a dozen attempts, she stopped and back away, looking at the others.

n

"I can't break this lock, either it's too rusted to work or the mechanism is too ancient for any of my tools to work

", she said.

n

"Let me try then.

"

nQiang Rong then made his attempt at the door. With his glowing eyes, he studied it, looking for any weaknesses or any magical properties that it may have. But after twenty minutes, he closed his eyes and turned away.

n

"What a very strange door! There doesn't seem to be a formation or anything of that sort. Not even a strange aura! It's certainly not an illusion either!

" he said.

nThere was a tone of bewilderment in his voice as he glanced at the door, trying to figure it out.

nNiu Hong and She Xing looked at each other before facing the other two.

n

"Then, are there any traps connected to this door?

" they asked.

nAnd in response, Yu Tu and Qiang Rong shook their heads.

n

"There's nothing connected to the door, not even a strand of energy.

"

n

"The only mechanism is the lock, if there were other traps I would've noticed it beforehand.

"

nWith the confidence in their tones, Niu Hong and She Xing felt more confident. Giving each other a look, they moved forward to cut the door but then Ming Yue suddenly stopped them, holding her hand out.

nHer other hand rested on her sword, which hummed within its scabbard.

n

"There's something behind that door. Something that's alive

", she said.

n

"What?! How do you know?!

"

nThey were all surprised by this, not expecting her to make a move.

nInwardly, Ming Yue spoke with her counterpart.

n

"Are you sure?

" she asked.

nXue Yue responded will full confidence.

n

"Yes, something is behind that door, something that is alive. I don't know what but it could be dangerous, very dangerous.

"

n

"Is it something we can handle?

"

n

"Yes.

"

nWith this little exchange, Ming Yue walked in front of the locked door and unsheathed Blood Moon. She quickly attacked, slicing the door down as if it was just air. In fact, after cutting it, the door still seemed to be intact.

nIt was only after she pushed it that it fell, cut cleanly in half. Behind that door was a single room shrouded in darkness. With the torch in her hand, she entered, followed by the others who walked in and examined this room.

nBut as they waved their light around, Ming Yue saw something glint, catching hers. Narrowing them, she walked closer but still had Blood Moon out, ready to attack when need be. Hei Yue and Xioa Yin were the same, eyeing that direction and preparing for any attack.

nAs she walked closer and closer, the torch revealed the only thing in this room. It was a stone bed with a body laying upon it, a perfectly preserved one.

nA body of a young girl, who couldn't be older than five or six years old, a human girl at that.

nLooking at her, it reminded Ming Yue of Shen Varuna, the little demon girl she had taken care of for a bit.

nBut as she looked closer, the young cultivator noticed something that shocked her. Staring at this little girl, Ming Yue found that her chest moved up and down just a tad, but enough for her to see.

n

"She's- she's still alive?!

"

n