Chapter 78

(Thanks to the support from 'Under the Great Way'.)

Ding Qi saw the dead Li Hao and sighed.

Ding Qi had long guessed that this underground palace must be fraught with dangers, so he was extremely cautious when exploring. Earlier, when he discovered that Li Hao, not far away, had found a mechanism and rashly activated it, he tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Looking at the nearby Li Hao, whose head had been pierced, the charming girl who was searching a box not far away had a deathly pale face. Seeing this, Ding Qi gave her a wry smile.

This charming girl, who had previously called Ding Qi a 'coward,' could no longer say such things now.

The people from the Qingyun Sect also noticed the situation on their side. In fact, several disciples of the Qingyun Sect had witnessed Li Hao being killed by a crossbow bolt through the head, but these Qingyun Sect members were still in a daze.

Soon, the high-ranking members of the Qingyun Sect stood beside Li Hao's body, their faces grim.

Ding Qi stood not far from the high-ranking members of the Qingyun Sect, listening to their conversation. From the conversation, these people finally realized that this exploration would not be as easy as they had originally thought.

However, just as these high-ranking members of the Qingyun Sect were talking with grim faces, Ding Qi suddenly opened his eyes wide, shifting his attention away from them, his face showing a serious expression.

Ding Qi looked towards the first hall, and his expression suddenly changed.

At the same moment that Ding Qi's expression changed, the entire hall suddenly rumbled. The first hall, in particular, made a loud noise, as if something had collapsed.

Hearing this sudden noise, Ding Qi seemed to have a premonition that something had happened.

Under such a loud noise, all the attention of the Qingyun Sect members was drawn to the direction of the first hall. For a moment, even the incident of Li Hao being shot was temporarily forgotten.

The Qingyun Sect members quickly figured out what the loud noise from the first hall was about.

Now, most of the Qingyun Sect members were in the first hall, looking at the scene before them with panic. Ding Qi, seeing the scene in the hall, also frowned slightly.

The originally large hall now had only a small part left, the rest being buried by earth and stones. This vast hall had actually collapsed.

However, this was not the most critical issue.

Thinking about this, Ding Qi looked towards the entrance to the underground palace. The part that should have been the entrance was now completely gone. The path to enter and exit the underground palace was sealed by rocks and earth.

From the collapse at the scene, it was clear that the collapse started from the entrance to the underground palace. The damage to the hall was mostly a result of the collapse.

Ding Qi knew that the entrance to the underground palace was deep and long, and they were now at least dozens of feet underground. In the case of a complete collapse, it was impossible to dig through.

In other words, the Qingyun Sect could no longer leave the underground palace; they were completely sealed inside.

"This mechanism that Li Hao accidentally triggered... is a chain mechanism." Thinking of something, Ding Qi's face showed a bitter smile.

Reflecting on what had happened, Ding Qi realized that what Li Hao had triggered was a chain mechanism. The crossbow bolt that killed Li Hao was just the first mechanism. After Li Hao was killed, the subsequent mechanisms were activated, ultimately causing the entire entrance to the underground palace to collapse.

Others with similar thoughts were not just Ding Qi. From the murmurs of the high-ranking members of the Qingyun Sect that he heard, these people also realized the connection.

However, even if they realized this, it did not change their current situation. Trapped in the underground palace, if they could not get out, no matter how much they gained here, they would all die here.

The Qingyun Sect members were very clear about this. Thinking about being trapped and dying in the underground palace, everyone's face showed panic.

"Everyone, there's no need to panic yet."

Just as the Qingyun Sect members were falling into panic, a voice suddenly spoke up.

This voice immediately drew everyone's attention.

The person who spoke was Zuo Yang.

At this moment, Zuo Yang's face was not good, but he paused and then said, "Actually, everyone should have noticed. This underground palace has been sealed for at least a hundred years, but have you noticed that the air in this underground palace is not at all stuffy?"

After Zuo Yang's reminder, others immediately realized this issue. Many people, understanding Zuo Yang's meaning, showed a look of understanding, and their originally panicked faces quickly turned to joy.

Zuo Yang scanned his disciples and continued, "It seems that many people have already understood my point. Since the air in this underground palace is so fresh, this place must have more than one entrance. As long as we can find other exits in the underground palace, we can get out of here."

"However, to do this, we must explore the underground palace more thoroughly to find other exits." Zuo Yang added.

Those who had not initially understood Zuo Yang's meaning finally got it after hearing the sect leader's explanation. The panic on their faces gradually disappeared, and they finally relaxed.

With Zuo Yang's words, the panic that had spread among the Qingyun Sect members due to the collapse of the passage finally subsided.

Next, under Elder Guan's arrangement, they returned to re-explore the second hall.

Although some people were skeptical about Zuo Yang's claim, no one truly expressed these doubts. They ultimately chose to follow the others and obediently carry out the orders. After all, Zuo Yang's claim was their only hope.

In the absence of other options, following Zuo Yang's suggestion might really allow them to leave the underground palace.

Ding Qi, of course, could not completely trust what Zuo Yang had said. When he returned to the second hall, he looked at the completely collapsed passage and then looked up, frowning.

"If we really can't find another exit, I'll have to break through the underground palace from the inside. Although this is impossible for others, for me...," thinking about this, Ding Qi shook his head.

Recalling the brocade that could cut through stone as easily as tofu, Ding Qi smiled wryly.

He decided that if the worst-case scenario occurred and the Qingyun Sect members did not find another exit, he would use the brocade in his hand to dig a passage to the surface and leave the underground palace.

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