readytorunbook Chapter 229 Exploring the Cave and Facing Adversity
Chapter 229 Exploring the Cave and Facing Adversity
Zhuang Yu stood in front of the cave, his brows furrowed, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Golden light surged from the depths of the cave entrance, forming a shimmering curtain of light, like an insurmountable wall.
On the light screen, ancient runes swam like fish, shimmering with strange light and emitting heart-pounding energy fluctuations.
The air around seemed to freeze, making it hard to breathe.
He tried to probe the light barrier with a wisp of spiritual energy, but as soon as the spiritual energy touched the light barrier, it bounced back as if it had touched a red-hot iron.
A strong counterforce traveled back into Zhuang Yu's body along with his spiritual energy, causing him to feel a surge of blood and qi, and a dull pain in his tiger's mouth.
"This restriction..." Zhuang Yu took a deep breath, suppressing the surging blood and qi within his body, and secretly marveled.
The power of this restriction far exceeded his imagination; it was not an ordinary defensive restriction, but contained a strange repulsive force that seemed to be preventing any form of probing.
The surrounding spiritual energy also became unusually active, as if drawn by some force, forming visible swirling air currents that circled around the cave, as if guarding its secrets.
These air currents, though seemingly gentle, contained immense power, hindering Zhuang Yu's further exploration.
Zhuang Yu closed his eyes, trying hard to recall what he had learned about restrictions.
He went through all the knowledge of restrictions he had learned, from basic Five Elements restrictions to complex compound restrictions, but found that none of them were similar to the one in front of him.
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness welled up in Zhuang Yu's heart, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh, yet he felt no pain whatsoever.
The cave was so close, yet it felt like an insurmountable chasm separated him from getting closer.
Time ticked by, and the tense atmosphere enveloped him like a tidal wave.
"Should I... just give up like this?" Zhuang Yu muttered to himself, his tone filled with resentment.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes. He remembered that in the mysterious space, he had once read an ancient book called "The Return of All Prohibitions," which recorded various strange prohibitions, including some ancient prohibitions that had long been lost.
That book, which he had kept hidden away, has now become his only hope.
He immediately closed his eyes, and his mental energy surged into the depths of his mind like a tidal wave.
He searched diligently for records about "repulsion power" and "wandering runes".
The pages of the book flipped rapidly through his mind as if blown by a gentle breeze, and various obscure and difficult words twinkled before his eyes like stars.
He was like a traveler searching for his way home in the vast starry sky, searching tirelessly and never daring to slacken his efforts.
Just as Zhuang Yu was fully focused, the spiritual energy around the cave suddenly became even more violent.
Tiny specks of light emerged from the void, twinkling like fireflies.
These points of light grew larger and larger, eventually condensing into various spiritual creatures.
Some resemble leaping flames, some resemble swimming serpents of light, and others resemble menacing ghosts.
They roared and screamed, like enraged wild beasts, and pounced on Zhuang Yu.
Zhuang Yu suddenly opened his eyes. He hadn't expected that the restriction could conjure up such a troublesome enemy.
These spiritual creatures have bizarre attack methods. They are not only extremely fast, but also highly corrosive. Once hit, they will probably be instantly reduced to dust.
He dared not be careless in the slightest, dodging the attacks of the spiritual creatures at lightning speed while continuing to search his mind for a way to break the restriction.
He was like a small boat in a storm, struggling to survive amidst the raging attacks.
Every dodge felt like dancing on a knife's edge, every breath filled with suspense.
His body was taut like a bowstring, every muscle brimming with power.
"Found it!" Zhuang Yu was overjoyed, finally finding a description of a similar restriction deep within the pages of the book.
"Gathering spirits backfires, the way to break the restriction is to use softness to overcome hardness..." He quickly scanned the words on the page and memorized the solution.
However, at that moment, a spiritual creature as sharp as a sword stabbed towards his chest with lightning speed.
Zhuang Yu's pupils suddenly contracted, and his body instinctively leaned back, narrowly avoiding this fatal blow.
However, his back slammed against the cave wall with a dull thud.
He felt a sharp pain in his back, as if it were being torn apart.
More spiritual beings, like sharks that have smelled blood, swarmed towards him.
Zhuang Yu did not directly confront these spiritual beings. He stared intently at the light screen before him, a meaningful smile slowly creeping onto his lips, and said softly, "I see..."
Zhuang Yu ignored the menacing spiritual creatures, took a deep breath, and mobilized the spiritual energy within his body.
He quickly formed hand seals, and streams of spiritual energy flew out from his fingertips like threads, rapidly weaving into a blurry humanoid phantom in front of him.
The phantom was extremely similar to Zhuang Yu's figure, also dressed in a blue robe, and even the hairstyle was exactly the same, only slightly illusory, like a reflection in water.
"Go!" Zhuang Yu shouted, and the humanoid phantom seemed to be infused with a soul, instantly rushing towards those spiritual creatures.
The afterimage moved extremely fast, leaving trails of afterimages in mid-air, like a ghost, attracting the attention of most spiritual beings.
As expected, the spiritual creatures fell for the trap and rushed towards the phantom. Roars, screams, and the explosions of colliding spiritual energy intertwined into a chaotic symphony.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhuang Yu steadied himself, closed his eyes again, and concentrated all his mental energy on the ancient book in his mind.
He scanned the pages rapidly, his eyes gleaming, imprinting the obscure and difficult words deep into his mind as if branded.
"Use softness to overcome hardness... Gathering spirits backfires..." Zhuang Yu muttered to himself, silently reciting the method from the book, and began to move his hands rhythmically.
A soft light shimmered at his fingertips, and streams of pure spiritual energy flowed from his body like trickles, gently touching the golden light barrier.
At first, when the spiritual energy came into contact with the light screen, it was still bounced back, but Zhuang Yu was not discouraged. He continued to adjust the frequency and intensity of the spiritual energy output.
He adjusted his spiritual energy fluctuations to the same frequency as the runes on the light screen, creating a subtle resonance.
As time went by, Zhuang Yu felt the repulsive force emanating from the light screen gradually weaken.
The runes on the light screen also began to slow down, no longer as active as before, as if they were bound by some kind of force.
Zhuang Yu's face was covered in more and more sweat, but his eyes were shining with excitement.
He could feel the light barrier loosening little by little, and the restriction crumbling bit by bit.
The feeling of breaking through the restrictions was like solving a series of complex puzzles, giving him immense satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
A slight smile played on his lips, revealing a confident expression.
As Zhuang Yu continued to pour in his spiritual power, the golden light screen finally emitted a slight tremor, and then disappeared completely like a shattered mirror.
The scene inside the cave was clearly displayed before Zhuang Yu, and an ancient and mysterious aura wafted over him.
Just then, a slightly surprised voice came from behind: "I didn't expect you to actually break the restrictions here. It seems I underestimated you."
Zhuang Yu slowly turned around and saw an old man in a white robe with a sinister face, accompanied by his expressionless disciple, who had been standing behind him at some point.
The old man's eyes were sharp, filled with a mixture of scrutiny and greed, as he stared intently at the cave entrance behind Zhuang Yu, seemingly having anticipated his arrival.
After the restriction was broken, the depths of the cave were dark and quiet, filled with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere, with a faint fragrance of damp earth.
Zhuang Yu stepped inside, and a faint rustling sound echoed under his feet in the empty cave.
The cave walls were dotted with fluorescent lights, like stars in the night sky, illuminating the path ahead.
As they ventured deeper into the cave, a vast space suddenly opened up before Zhuang Yu.
The cave ceiling is inlaid with unknown gemstones, which emit a soft light, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.
In the center, an ancient treasure chest sits quietly on the stone platform, emitting a faint golden light, like a sleeping beast waiting to be awakened.
The treasure chest was made entirely of an unknown metal, with intricate patterns carved on its surface, bearing the marks of time.
A strange energy fluctuation emanated from the treasure chest, causing Zhuang Yu to feel a pang of fear.
He took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and walked step by step toward the treasure chest.
They walked each step cautiously, as if afraid of disturbing something.
As the distance decreased, the patterns on the treasure chest became clearer, and Zhuang Yu could even sense the ancient aura remaining on it.
He reached out and gently touched the cold surface of the treasure chest with his fingertips. A strange sensation came over him, as if he were touching the river of time.
He closed his eyes, sensing the powerful energy contained within the treasure chest, his heart filled with anticipation.
Just as Zhuang Yu's hand was about to touch the lock on the treasure chest, a sudden change occurred!
A powerful suction force came from the depths of the cave, like an invisible giant hand, trying to devour him.
The ground beneath our feet began to shake, and the gems on the cave ceiling wobbled precariously, emitting a piercing scraping sound.
Caught off guard, Zhuang Yu's body involuntarily tilted in the direction of the suction.
"What's going on?!" Zhuang Yu exclaimed, trying to steady himself, but found that the suction force was getting stronger and stronger, as if it was going to tear him apart.
He hurriedly circulated his spiritual power, trying to resist the suction force, but found it was completely futile.
"Damn it!" Zhuang Yu cursed under his breath, feeling unwilling as he was about to be sucked into the depths of the cave.