Xu Xiaoxiao's Immortal Cultivation Life (Transmigration)

Chapter 59 The Secret Realm Trial of Haoyue Manor 2

The crowd was gathered around the riverbank, frowning at the dark, turbulent waters, when danger was quietly approaching once again.

In the stillness, a rustling sound came from the woods behind, the branches and leaves swaying as if a huge creature were moving through them. A junior disciple, his face pale, cried out in terror, "What...what is it again? Can't this secret realm have a moment's peace!"

As soon as the words were spoken, several enormous spiders emerged from the forest. Their legs were as thick as pillars, gleaming with a cold, eerie light. Their hairs stood on end, and they were still covered with strands of silk, clearly indicating that they had just hunted prey.

The spider in the lead, with its compound eyes the size of mung beans, darted around and locked onto the group. With a "whoosh," it shot out a strand of spider silk, sticky and thick, comparable to a steel cable, aimed straight at Xu Xiaoxiao's face.

Xu Xiaoxiao dodged to the side and slashed at the spider silk with her flying sword, only to find it unusually tough. She frowned and said, "This spider silk is really strange; it can't be cut!"

Yuan Mengyao flicked her whip, which wrapped around the surrounding branches. Using the momentum, she leaped up and shouted, "Don't chop it head-on! Dodge its attacks first and find its weakness!"

The spiders' attack grew increasingly fierce, weaving vast webs that descended from the sky, enveloping everyone within them.

Trapped in the spider web, their movements were hindered, and even their spiritual energy flowed more slowly.

A senior female student cried out in distress, her eyes reddening, "This is terrible! We can't break free!"

Yang Qingfeng's expression was stern. He formed hand seals, and golden light burst forth from his body as he attempted to pry open the spider web. He said in a deep voice, "Everyone, hold on and work together to pry it open!"

Everyone gritted their teeth and exerted all their spiritual power. The spider web creaked and cracked, finally managing to create several large openings.

The group emerged in a disheveled state, and before they could catch their breath, the ground beneath their feet began to glow with an eerie blue light. Wherever the blue light passed, the ground turned into a swamp with an astonishing suction force, causing their legs to sink deep into the mud.

Xu Xiaoxiao struggled to pull her legs away, shouting as she did so, "This ground has come to life! It keeps dragging us down!"

Yuan Mengyao swung her spirit whip, which wrapped around a tree trunk in the distance. Using the force, she pulled and shouted, "Quick, grab the whip! Don't sink in!"

The group scrambled to free themselves from the mud, pulling and tugging at each other. Just then, the spiders caught up with them again, summoning a swarm of poisonous bees that buzzed and whose stingers gleamed coldly, their venom clearly potent.

One of the senior brothers raised his hand and unleashed a wind blade of spiritual energy to disperse the nearby poisonous bees, complaining incessantly, "Good heavens, the spider even brought helpers, this is never going to end!"

Yang Qingfeng's eyes sharpened, and he summoned his sect's magic weapon, which shone brightly, temporarily forcing back the swarm of insects. He panted and said, "This place is not safe to stay for long. Let's retreat to an open area by the river and find a way to cross it!"

The group stumbled and staggered their way back to the riverbank, with the insects and beasts in hot pursuit.

Xu Xiaoxiao stared anxiously at the surging river: "This river looks dangerous, but there's no other way out right now. We either risk crossing it or get torn apart by the insect beasts!"

Yuan Mengyao stamped her foot: "Crossing the river! It's better than waiting to die here. At worst, we'll take a gamble."

Yang Qingfeng frowned, quickly scanned the crowd, and said in a deep voice, "Those who are good swimmers should lead the way, and those with strong spiritual power should guard the perimeter and support each other. Go into the water!"

Although everyone was filled with trepidation, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and step into the icy, turbulent river.

As soon as they entered the water, several strange hands emerged from the depths and grabbed at their ankles, creating an extremely dangerous situation. The predicament of this secret realm trial became increasingly difficult and heavy.

The underwater excavator exerted sudden force, pulling hard, and several people were almost pulled down and choked by water.

A junior student shouted in panic, "How can this ghostly hand be so strong? It's going to drag us to the bottom of the water and make us fish food!"

Xu Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth, gathered her spiritual energy in her feet to steady herself, and swung her flying sword repeatedly at the strange hand, but it was as if she was hitting rubber, with no effect. She was so anxious that she was sweating profusely: "I can't cut it! Senior brothers and sisters, what should we do?"

Yuan Mengyao plunged her spirit whip into the water, causing it to shine brightly and splash water everywhere. In an attempt to force back the strange hand, she shouted, "Don't panic! Infuse your spiritual power into your weapon and unleash your power together!"

Upon hearing this, everyone poured out their spiritual power, and for a moment the surface of the river shimmered with spiritual light, creating a dazzling contrast with the darkness of the river water.

The excavator, in pain, released the group, but quickly transformed into a water snake, slithering over with its mouth wide open, spewing out corrosive mucus.

The slurry splashed onto the rocks on the shore, making a "sizzling" sound, and instantly eroded holes in the rocks.

Yang Qingfeng's expression turned solemn. His hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals to create a spiritual energy shield in front of him. He shouted, "Watch out for the poison! Hide behind the shield!"

The group quickly gathered together and moved forward, pressing tightly against the shield.

But the current grew increasingly turbulent, with whirlpools appearing one after another, scattering everyone in disarray.

A female student was swept away by the whirlpool, crying out for help: "Help! I can't hold on any longer!"

Xu Xiaoxiao was extremely anxious. She flew towards the whirlpool on her sword, trying to pull her senior sister back, but the resistance of the water made it difficult to move forward. She shouted, "Hold on, I'm coming!"

Yuan Mengyao flicked out her spirit whip, the other end precisely wrapping around her junior sister's wrist, and pulled back with all her might: "Don't let go, let's all pull together!"

It took everyone's combined efforts to pull the senior sister back to safety.

After a difficult journey to the other side, before they could even catch their breath, the ground on the shore suddenly collapsed, revealing rows of sharp stone spikes. The tips of the spikes gleamed coldly and dripped with eerie green venom.

Seeing the sharp stone spikes bursting from the ground, flashing with cold light and dripping with venom, Xu Xiaoxiao reacted extremely quickly. She lightly touched the ground with her toes and used her spiritual power to instantly elevate her body, leaping up as lightly as a swallow. At the same time, her flying sword moved at will, spinning rapidly beside her and cutting down the approaching stone spikes one by one.

As she dodged, she shouted, "Everyone, take off quickly, don't get pricked!"

Yuan Mengyao didn't hesitate either. With a flick of her whip, the tip precisely wrapped around a thick tree trunk, using the force to leap into the air, flip in mid-air, and land steadily on a branch.

From her elevated position, she wielded her spirit whip, clearing away the stone spikes for her junior brothers and sisters below who couldn't dodge in time, and shouted, "Get to higher ground! Watch your step!"

Yang Qingfeng's expression was cold and stern. He quickly formed hand seals, and golden light surged around his body, transforming into a thick spiritual energy shield. In a flash, he teleported in front of his junior brothers and sisters who were trapped in the stone spikes. The shield opened, and with a few clanging sounds, the stone spikes broke off when they hit it.

He calmly ordered, "Don't panic! Form a triangular formation and look out for each other!"

Everyone quickly did as instructed.

The junior disciples, skilled in spirit control, chanted incantations and rapidly changed hand seals, summoning several spirit birds. The birds flapped their wings and flew high, grabbing the hems of the clothes of several lighter fellow disciples, helping them to take off and escape danger.

Several senior brothers and sisters worked together seamlessly, with one using spiritual power to lift up their companion while another attacked the nearby stone spikes, clearing a safe space.

In the chaos, a fellow student accidentally had his clothes torn by a stone spike and was almost splashed with venom.

Xu Xiaoxiao reacted quickly, shooting out her flying sword to deflect the drop of venom, and exclaimed urgently, "Be careful! This venom can be deadly if it gets on you."

Yuan Mengyao also flicked her spirit whip, wrapped it around her junior brother's arm, and pulled him up to a safe tree branch. She scolded him, "Don't get distracted right now, be on your best!"

After everyone stabilized their positions in the air, Yang Qingfeng formed hand seals again, pushed his palms forward, and a powerful wave of spiritual energy blasted towards the group of stone spikes, uprooting a large number of stone spikes and shattering them into pieces.

"We shouldn't stay here any longer, let's move to an open area!"

As he spoke, he led the way and sped toward the spot where the stone spikes were sparse. The others followed closely behind, dodging the scattered stone spikes while remaining vigilant for any movement around them, not daring to relax their guard and preparing to face the unknown dangers that lay ahead.

Everyone hurriedly jumped up to avoid it, only to see dark clouds gathering overhead, lightning flashing wildly, and then a bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket struck down with a deafening roar.

Yang Qingfeng reacted swiftly, raising a spiritual energy barrier to defend himself, and said in a deep voice, "This place is full of traps! Be alert!"

Before everyone could recover from their shock, a thick fog rolled in from all around, and strange roars could be faintly heard from within it.

Xu Xiaoxiao hugged her arms tightly, trembling: "What kind of monsters and demons are these? It sounds terrifying."

Yuan Mengyao gripped the spirit whip tightly, scanning her surroundings warily: "Whatever it is, if it comes, we'll fight it. We've fought our way here, we can't afford to fall!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several three-headed, dog-like beasts rushed out of the mist. They were huge, surrounded by flames, and each head had protruding fangs. They roared and pounced.

One of the senior disciples widened his eyes, raised his sword to meet the attack: "Good timing, perfect for venting your anger!"

The two sides clashed instantly. In the fierce battle, the beast's hide was thick and tough, and all the attacks could only leave shallow wounds on it. For a time, they were locked in a bitter struggle.

Xu Xiaoxiao seized the opportunity and, following the secret manual, unleashed a strange vortex of spiritual energy to trap a beast, shouting, "Quick, attack its vital points!"

With everyone working together and using all their spiritual power, they finally managed to kill these troublesome beasts.

After the battle, everyone collapsed to the ground, their clothes tattered, their spiritual energy nearly depleted, their faces filled with exhaustion and lingering fear.

Yang Qingfeng, panting heavily, looked towards the unknown road ahead: "It's far from over... Everyone, take a moment to catch your breath, then continue on. We must uncover the secrets of this secret realm."

Everyone nodded silently, making the most of their time to recover their spiritual energy and prepare for the next unknown life-or-death challenge.