Chapter 2273: Chapter 2270: Phantom
"What are you standing there for? Run!" Lin Tian shouted, pulling the Miss along as they ran, simultaneously urging Bai, who was carrying two people on his back.
But just as Lin Tian took a step, he stepped into the grass and, like the skeleton earlier, instantly sank half a leg into it, with signs of sinking further, a terrifying drag coming from below.
Fortunately, the Miss was right next to him, pulling Lin Tian into the air and away. The female CEO held Lin Tian, scattering her Qinggong, skimming across the grass like she was truly flying over it.
"I saved you once." Miss glanced at Lin Tian and said earnestly.
"Your Qinggong is a bit fast; I’m getting dizzy." Lin Tian leaned his entire body against Miss, his hand instinctively holding onto her slender waist, seemingly not quite used to it.
Lin Tian’s breath was close, making Miss’s heart skip a beat, almost causing her True Qi to falter and sink into the grass.
Seeing Lin Tian’s cheeky manner, Miss felt both embarrassed and helpless. Yet, oddly enough, she didn’t resist; instead, a thought emerged: continuing like this wouldn’t be so bad.
This thought surprised her, making her face flush uncontrollably, especially when Lin Tian’s hand on her waist would occasionally move, causing her True Qi inside to verge on losing control.
Fortunately, a rocky area was not far away. Miss took Lin Tian to a large rock where everyone else gradually arrived. The Ghost had a hard time carrying the Fatty, but they finally got ashore safely.
Indeed, at this moment, water was bubbling from the grassland, turning it into a marsh. The skeleton had long disappeared, submerged somewhere unknown.
"How could this happen? The grassland turned into marsh at once. Without our Qinggong, we’d probably have been wiped out, becoming fertilizer for the grass." Ling Shuiyao murmured, with lingering fear.
Now, looking at the grassland, it no longer seemed beautiful in its lushness. Maybe its lushness came from countless corpses turned into nutrients. Thinking this way, no one could feel happy anymore.
The Miss nudged Lin Tian, making the lecherous rascal stand farther away.
Lin Tian swallowed, thinking it was a pity, but on the surface, he still spoke seriously, "I understand now, there’s a layer of permafrost beneath the grass."
"What’s with the permafrost?" Huang Xiaopang asked puzzled, most others were as half-understanding as he was.
Lin Tian exhaled and said, "Permafrost contains a lot of underground ice, which is very sensitive to temperature. A slight rise in environmental temperature can cause it to melt and sink."
"This area is a cold mountain zone. During winter, the valley temperature is below zero, so the permafrost is fine. But now spring has arrived, temperatures are rising, even if just above zero, the permafrost changes dramatically."
"Also, someone just violently shook the ground, triggering a chain reaction in the permafrost, disrupting its original structure. It quickly turns from solid to semi-fluid, even fluid."
"The fluid structure of this permafrost is more dangerous than the marsh since it melts and sinks internally. So whether it’s a person or animal stepping in, they’ll be quickly dragged underground, becoming fertilizer for the grassland." Lin Tian explained simply.
Everyone wasn’t foolish; they understood upon hearing this. Understanding made their faces turn worse, fear lingering in their hearts.
Subsequently, everyone turned their heads, all staring at Situ Yufeng because it was him who, in his eagerness to show off, had used his inner power to shake the skeleton.
That shake was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, turning the grassland into a swamp, nearly wiping out the entire group.
Situ Yufeng was embarrassed but defiantly raised his head, "What kind of looks are you giving me? Is it all my responsibility? If Huang Xiaopang hadn’t found the bones, why would I touch them?"
"If you want to blame someone, blame him for being nosy, always flipping bones around. Also, who knew about the permafrost beneath? Did any of you know?" Situ Yufeng stuck his neck out, desperately shirking responsibility.
Others hadn’t said anything yet, but Situ Yufeng had already refuted a lot.
Lin Tian shook his head, lacking interest in arguing with him. Instead, he began to observe the surrounding terrain.
The others ignored him, letting him vent into the air. Xiao Manxuan softly asked, "Lin Tian, where do we go?"
"I suggest we find a place to spend the night first. Judging by the sky, it should be getting dark soon." Yan Lingling answered first.
"I agree. We aren’t familiar with the terrain here, traveling at night would only be worse." Shen Lin surprisingly didn’t oppose, maybe because he only cared about Yan Lingling.
"I don’t mind; we have no idea where the Shennong Ding is anyway. Maybe we’ll get some signs during the night’s rest." Lin Tian said casually, not to risk the safety of the Xiao sisters and the Ghost, as the exact location of the Shennong Ding was still a mystery anyway.
There was a flash in everyone’s eyes; the sign of the Shennong Ding was what they truly wanted. Without the next sign, they’d just be blindly fumbling around like headless flies.
"Over there is the rock wall, judging by its dryness, it seems suitable for setting camp." The Ghost pointed to the distant mountain rock, offering a professional suggestion.
Speaking of wilderness survival, probably no one was more professional than him. As a former mercenary, he’s slept in more wild places than they’ve crossed bridges.
No one objected, so the group used Qinggong again to reach the foot of the mountain, where the stones weathered down from above, though not very flat, were more reliable than marsh.
"Lin Tian, there’s something on the rock wall..." Xiao Manxuan suddenly shouted.
She and Yan Lingling arrived quickly and were the first to see the condition of the rock wall. Lin Tian ran over and discovered the unusual aspects of the rock wall.
The rock wall wasn’t flat; its brown surface had some strange shadows, black in color, shaped like humans and beasts, maintaining strange postures.
"Is it martial arts manuals? That’s how it plays out in movies." The Ghost joked.
Though a joke, the participants’ eyes lit up, partially believing the Ghost. But they were Ancient Martial Artists, carefully observing, and realized these shadows were without order.
"I think it’s rock paintings; they’ve been found in many places." Xiao Manxuan guessed.
"Rock painting pigments are usually applied to the rock surface, but these shadows seem to grow from the rock itself, having become one with it, unlike rock paintings." Lin Tian shook his head, disagreeing somewhat.
"Not rock paintings, could it be ghost images?" Xiao Manxuan whispered. The little girl had seen real Spiritual Bodies.
Just as she spoke, the sun finally set completely, the last ray of sunlight fading away.
The night in the valley came earlier and more suddenly, descending just like that. With dim starlight falling, the shadows on the rock wall became somewhat illusory. At a glance, they seemed to sway like ghostly images.
"Oh my, it’s really ghost images!" Huang Xiaopang exaggeratedly shouted.
"It’s just an illusion caused by changing light, quickly set up the tent, or else you’ll sleep on the ground tonight." Lin Tian didn’t mind.