“Sect Master, could you employ your powers to assess the situation below the cliff?” Qin Changkong inquired, clinging to a sliver of hope.
If Chen Fan and Qin Yao had indeed fallen to their deaths, he wanted to confirm it for himself.
Zhuo Bufan rose from his seat and placed his palm on the primeval mirror, emitting a powerful aura.
After a brief moment, he shook his head and said, “No, I can’t do it, not with my current strength, at least. I’m afraid only the Leader and the High Elder, with their extraordinary powers, could reveal the situation below the cliff.”
The light in Qin Changkong’s eyes dimmed.
The Spring Autumn Leader and the High Elder boasted the highest cultivation levels in the Spring Autumn Sect, having transcended the Core Formation realm and reached the realm where the core shatters and the nascent appears—the Divine Nascent realm.
As a mere outer sect elder, it was impossible for him to request their help.
“Changkong, I understand what you’re thinking, but...” Zhuo Bufan hesitated momentarily before continuing, “That cliff is so deep that its bottom is imperceptible. It’s at least ten thousand feet deep, and I can faintly sense a strong yet enigmatic force shielding the bottom. Chen Fan and Qin Yao can’t possibly be... alive.”
Zhuo Bufan sighed endlessly in his heart.
Like a shooting star, Chen Fan had streaked through the skies of the Spring Autumn Outer Sect, showcasing potential comparable to even Duan Jingtian. Yet, his demise came abruptly.
Qin Yao had embarked on the path of an Alchemist by fusing with the Bone Spirit Flame, so her future was equally bright.
The loss of such exceptional individuals was a hard blow to the Spring Autumn Sect.
As the Outer Sect Master, he wanted to save those two as well, but he couldn’t do anything.
While most people expected the bottom of the Scarlet Cliff to be hard ground, it was actually a pond of considerable depth.
When Chen Fan and Qin Yao were about to hit the water’s surface, they used their primeval qi to form a shield, creating a thunderous splash akin to falling meteorites, spraying water hundreds of feet high.
Falling from such a great height would have reduced even Qi Grandmasters to meat paste, even if the pond water had cushioned their fall. However, the layer of primeval qi, their makeshift cushion, shattered upon impact, sparing them from immediate death.
However, the brutal recoil nearly shattered their skeletons. A fierce force invaded their minds, plunging them into darkness as they lost consciousness.
Like driftwood, they floated on the pond's surface, carried away by the water's current.
An enormous spider rushed out from a nearby cave, boasting ten legs that resembled steel spikes and emanating an icy gleam.
The spider's visage resembled a demon that had emerged from the depths of hell, evoking a shiver at its frightful appearance.
The earlier disturbance had drawn out this Devil-Faced Spider.
Noticing Chen Fan and Qin Yao, this Devil-Faced Spider spat out its black silk—a stark departure from the typical white hue.
This resilient black silk sliced through the air, swiftly enshrouding the pair like dumplings and hauling them back into its cave. The duo was bound to be its next meal.
The cavern, spacious yet cocooned in the spider's web, housed smaller Devil-Faced Spiders. When they saw the big spider hauling the “dumplings,” they scurried away.
This was a Devil-Faced Spider nest.
Unaware of their surroundings, both Chen Fan and Qin Yao remained unconscious. Chen Fan, in particular, was barely breathing.
The Devil-Faced Spider dragged them deeper into its cave.
In the innermost sanctum, there was another cave. It resonated with intermittent dragon roars as if a divine dragon lived inside.
The Devil-Faced Spiders displayed a peculiar mix of longing and fear toward this cave.
Weathered spider corpses littered this cave’s entrance. No one knew how old these corpses were.
Suddenly, Chen Fan, whose breath was steadily fading, radiated a dazzling golden light.
“Zhizhi, zhizhizihi...”
As soon as this light burst out, something like divine might coursed through Chen Fan. The spider silk encasing him melted like ice cream, startling the colossal Devil-Faced Spider.
The golden radiance surged into the cave, carrying Chen Fan and Qin Yao.
This cave wasn’t huge, but it was dry and clean. In a slightly deeper area of this cave, there was a twenty-foot-long pond.
However, the water in this pond wasn’t clear; instead, it resembled fresh blood, pulsating with powerful energies.
The pool seemed to be the origin of the draconic roars echoing in the cave. On the surface of this blood pool, faint images of a divine dragon intermittently surfaced and dissipated.
It was a pool of dragon’s blood!
Enveloped in golden light, Chen Fan and Qin Yao traversed the cave.
The divine dragon's image on the blood pool's surface seemed to sense something, responding with resounding roars that agitated the pool.
A blood-colored light emerged, shrouding the pool as a dragon silhouette swam atop it, issuing continuous warnings—it was the guardian of the dragon blood pool.
Undeterred by the roars of the pool’s guardian, Chen Fan and Qin Yao, cocooned in the golden light, swiftly descended into the dragon blood pool.
Bubbles erupted, and the pool, like boiling water, reacted vehemently.
Air bubbles and blood dragons, condensed from the crimson liquid, attacked the intruders.
However, the golden light surrounding Chen Fan exhibited a sentient quality, erupting violently with formidable pressure.
The pressure made the blood dragons explode, turning them back into dragon blood.
A more formidable blood flood dragon emerged, but it also succumbed to the golden light’s power.
The pool of dragon’s blood finally seemed furious. The whole cave started trembling, and the shadow of a rain dragon materialized. The divine dragon's might flooded the cave and asserted its dominance over heaven and earth. [1]
The golden light radiating from Chen Fan gradually condensed, forming a small golden figure. This entity's facial features and appearance remained a blur, discernible only as a human-like silhouette.
Immediately, the rain dragon’s shadow exploded, transforming into the purest life essence, gushing into Chen Fan. Simultaneously, the golden figure whooshed into Chen Fan, settling between his eyebrows.
1. The word used for rain dragon here is “Ying Long” or “应龙”, It is said to be a winged dragon associated with rains and floods, once used by Huangdi to kill Chi You. Meanwhile, what is commonly translated to Flood Dragon is “Jiao Long” or “蛟龙”, a hornless dragon. ?