Chapter Ninety-Three: The Mysterious Cave

Lin Yanghao struggled to his feet, then followed Icehowl as it moved around the cavern. Only after that did he realize that this was no mountain cave at all; there was not even an exit here.

What was more, Lin Yanghao used his spiritual sense to search the area around him, and the result shocked him.

He discovered that he was actually underground.

Yes, beneath the earth. And the most important thing was that even with his spiritual sense, which could reach several hundred meters, he still could not touch the surface. It was obvious just how deep below ground he was.

“Icehowl, we’re underground,” Lin Yanghao said, naturally having to tell Icehowl about it.

“What did you say?” Icehowl stared blankly after hearing this.

Both of them were thinking the same thing: had they really fallen into the Beast Sovereign’s trap, and been sealed beneath the earth?

“Icehowl, I still have an earth-escape talisman. Let’s see if we can get out,” Lin Yanghao said after a moment. Since he was underground, wasn’t this precisely the time to use it?

So Lin Yanghao quickly took out the earth-escape talisman and, bringing Icehowl with him, prepared to leave.

Bang! Bang!

But what answered him were two thunderous crashes. Looking up, he found that he and Icehowl were pressed flat against a wall.

Lin Yanghao rubbed his chin, the impact leaving him badly bruised, while Icehowl was unharmed. There was no helping it; Icehowl was a spirit beast, after all, with a hide like iron.

Lin Yanghao almost wept in frustration. Why had he exerted so much force just now?

Clearly, the earth-escape talisman had failed, and Lin Yanghao and Icehowl had painfully learned what it meant to slam into a wall.

“Lin Yanghao, there are restrictions here!” Lin Yanghao did not understand, but that did not mean Icehowl did not. This was not the talisman failing; the entire underground had been sealed with restrictions.

Restrictions were actually a kind of formation, only far more difficult to arrange than ordinary arrays.

Restrictions and arrays alike came in many kinds, the most famous of which were attack restrictions and defensive restrictions.

And the ones in this cavern were clearly not attack restrictions, because if they were, Lin Yanghao and Icehowl would not still be standing here so calmly.

“Then what should we do now, Icehowl?” Lin Yanghao knew almost nothing about restrictions, so he could only turn to Icehowl for a solution.

“There are only two ways. Either you have overwhelming strength to force the restrictions open, or you stay here and wait to die.” Icehowl said helplessly. With its own meager strength, even if Lin Yanghao were added to it, they probably could not shake these restrictions in the slightest.

“We should be under the Beast Sovereign’s palace right now. Even if we could get above ground, we’d probably still not escape the spirit beasts’ pursuit. What’s more, we stole the Beast Sovereign’s demon-blood vine. He must be hunting us all over the world by now!” Lin Yanghao said.

Because the cavern was dim, many places still remained unchecked, and Lin Yanghao and Icehowl continued toward the other side.

Perhaps they might yet find some clue, some way to survive.

...

In the Beast Sovereign’s sleeping chamber, the Beast Sovereign stood dazedly, staring at the ruin of his room, unable for a long while to speak a single word. It was obvious the suddenness of everything had hit him hard.

The floor of the chamber had nearly completely collapsed, and the surroundings were in utter disarray.

“My demon-blood vine! My demon-blood vine!” Only then did the Beast Sovereign finally come to himself. The first thing he thought of was the demon-blood vine hidden in the secret passage, and he immediately rushed toward the entrance.

After the Beast Sovereign finally cleared the passage open, there was not the slightest trace of the demon-blood vine inside. Not a shred of debris, not a single fallen leaf remained.

“Who stole my demon-blood vine! Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find you! By then, even tearing you limb from limb will not quell the hatred in my heart!” The Beast Sovereign’s roar shook the heavens and echoed through the entire palace.

The demon-blood vine, which he had nurtured at the cost of numerous spirit beasts, had been stolen. How could he not be enraged?

What was more, not only had the vine been taken, but even his sleeping chamber had been ruined to this extent. It was as if someone had defecated upon his head.

Now that the Beast Sovereign said this, it was obvious that Lin Yanghao and Icehowl being trapped underground was not his doing, and he did not even know about the mechanism in the secret passage.

“Beast Sovereign, what has happened?” The commotion outside naturally alerted the guards.

The one speaking to the Beast Sovereign was unexpectedly the Ghost-Face Fox who had fought Lin Yanghao and Icehowl that day. In barely more than half a month, it had recovered so completely that there was scarcely any sign of injury left. One could not help but marvel at the spirit beasts’ formidable healing power.

“An extremely important item of mine has been stolen, and even my sleeping chamber has been destroyed by that thief to this state. I now command you: no matter what the cost, even if you must dig through the earth, you must bring that thief to me!” The Beast Sovereign spoke these hoarse words. The theft of the demon-blood vine had clearly dealt him a severe blow.

Without the demon-blood vine, his tribulation would be far more difficult to overcome. The Beast Sovereign did not have full confidence that he could pass the heavenly tribulation, which was why he had not hesitated to pay such a great price to prepare the vine.

He had already made his plans: before or after his tribulation, Tan Zhuo, the heir of the imperial bloodline, should be able to emerge from the land of inheritance. At that time, Tan Zhuo would naturally take over as the next Beast Sovereign, and he himself could then ascend to the immortal realm in peace.

But now that the demon-blood vine had been stolen, all his plans had been thrown into chaos.

It turned out that the Beast Sovereign had never intended to sacrifice so many spirit beasts for no reason. Rather, he had done so in the name of helping the heir of the imperial bloodline better accept the inheritance.

“Beast Sovereign, do you still remember the two intruders from the other day?” Ghost-Face Fox naturally had not forgotten Lin Yanghao and Icehowl. The theft of the Beast Sovereign’s chamber was clearly inseparable from them.

“Yes! It must have been them!” Without Ghost-Face Fox’s reminder, the Beast Sovereign would almost have forgotten Lin Yanghao and Icehowl. But now, he immediately concluded that all of this must have been their doing.

There was no other explanation: those two must have hidden in his sleeping chamber to evade pursuit, and then been discovered when he entered the secret passage. Only after he left did all of this happen.

“They definitely have not gone far yet. Quickly, go and find them! Even if you must turn the entire Beast Domain upside down, you must bring them to me!” the Beast Sovereign said urgently.

After taking his leave, Ghost-Face Fox immediately summoned a great number of spirit beasts from the southern region and decided to launch a carpet search.

Not only for the stolen item of the Beast Sovereign, but of course for the humiliation he himself had suffered long ago.

No matter what, Lin Yanghao and Icehowl had to be found.