Urban Martial Saint

Fortunately, the tunnel was not far from the bottom, and it didn’t take long for Ye Qing and Wen’er to climb down. However, once at the bottom, Ye Qing became even more vigilant. The dark and quiet cave felt as though danger was lurking everywhere, compelling caution.

Ye Qing had previously seen the long-haired monsters dragging the corpses of the dead to their gathering cave to consume them. And just now, Wen’er mentioned encountering two long-haired monsters in this cave, plus the signs of a scuffle with no bodies in sight. Ye Qing was certain that the cave where the long-haired monsters gathered was connected to this cave. The missing bodies must have been dragged off and eaten by those long-haired monsters, which is why not a single body can be seen here.

While coming through the waterway, Ye Qing encountered a fork in the path; one led to the cave where the long-haired monsters gathered. The other path, Ye Qing had not ventured down and was unaware of the situation there. Now, Ye Qing could basically ascertain that the other cave was actually the path leading to this cave. Those long-haired monsters could enter this cave through those paths!

Earlier, when those long-haired monsters left their gathering place, it seemed something had happened outside. Previously, Ye Qing did not know where those long-haired monsters would go, but now within this cave, he suddenly realized that those long-haired monsters might have come to this cave. Was it possible that Zhou Changjin’s group, or the people brought in by the spy, had a conflict with the long-haired monsters, thus luring them all out? If so, wouldn’t this cave be even more fraught with danger?

Wen’er, of course, didn’t know what Ye Qing was thinking, and she whispered beside him, ”Brother Ye, the exit is about five or six miles from here, we need to speed up and get out. Otherwise, if we encounter those long-haired monsters along the way, it will be troublesome.”

Ye Qing glanced at Wen’er; accelerating was not the issue now. The problem was those long-haired monsters might be within this cave. Encountering one or two, they might still have a chance of survival. However, if they came across a large group of long-haired monsters, it would be certain death. So now, the crucial thing is to avoid running into that large group of long-haired monsters.

Of course, Ye Qing could not tell Wen’er about these concerns. After all, she was just a girl, and knowing the current situation might only frighten her more, which also wouldn’t be beneficial for Ye Qing.

”Follow me,” Ye Qing whispered to Wen’er, gripping the Metamorphic Iron Dagger as he cautiously led the way. His ears were constantly listening for surroundings’ noises; fortunately, those long-haired monsters were hefty, and their footsteps made a loud noise upon landing, allowing to hear them coming in advance.

The cave was spacious, and the two of them sneaked forward like this, advancing about two hundred meters when they suddenly noticed a dark figure lying on the ground up ahead, seemingly a corpse. Wen’er got startled, quickly gripping Ye Qing’s clothes. Meanwhile, Ye Qing remained alert, swiftly raising the Metamorphic Iron Dagger.

Weren’t all the bodies here supposed to have been dragged away by the long-haired monsters? Why was there still a corpse here?

Furrowing his brow, Ye Qing carefully examined the dark figure and found that it was a relatively tall person. He slowly groped his way closer, reaching out to touch. Yet, as soon as he laid his hand on it, he felt a pile of prickly long hair!

Ye Qing’s expression changed, instantly withdrawing his hand and stepping back, holding the Metamorphic Iron Dagger in front of him, eyes fixed on the dark figure. Seeing that the dark figure showed no movement, Ye Qing finally felt a bit more at ease. Taking a deep breath, suppressing his inner panic, he retrieved a flashlight from his body and shone it upon the dark figure.

Under the light, the first thing he saw was a body covered in black hair.

”Ah!” Wen’er couldn’t help but gasp in a low voice because she had already discerned the true nature of this dark figure. It was not a human but rather one of those long-haired monsters they had encountered before. This long-haired monster was lying on the ground, bleeding from the mouth and nose, clearly deceased!

Ye Qing didn’t expect to find not a human corpse within this cave but rather a long-haired monster’s corpse. What was going on? Didn’t the long-haired monsters consume their own kind?

”Is this long-haired monster one of the two you killed before?” Ye Qing asked Wen’er in a whisper.

”No,” Wen’er replied straightforwardly, pointing at the long-haired monster lying on the ground, she said in a low voice, ”The place where we encountered the long-haired monsters wasn’t here, but near the exit, about two or three miles away from here. Besides, those two long-haired monsters were killed by us with weapons and had many wounds on their bodies. But this long-haired monster doesn’t have any wounds on it, so it wasn’t killed by us!”

Hearing this, Ye Qing suddenly realized, just as Wen’er had pointed out, this long-haired monster indeed had no wounds on its body.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Qing walked over, turned this long-haired monster over, and meticulously searched, yet he still found no trace of wounds. This long-haired monster was merely bleeding from its mouth and nose without any external injuries. It appeared to have died from ruptured internal organs, which was very bizarre.

Ye Qing knew that this kind of death, unless by encountering a master of Neijia who shattered the person’s internal organs with powerful Inner Strength, could cause such an outcome. Could this long-haired monster have also encountered some master of Neijia, thus getting killed by someone’s Inner Strength? But who was the Neijia master it encountered? Was it Zhou Changjin’s group, or the ones brought in by the spy?

Thinking back to how those long-haired monsters hurriedly left earlier, Ye Qing was suddenly apprehensive. Regardless of which group this long-haired monster encountered, it was very dangerous. The combat power of these long-haired monsters was terrifying, and if they all mobilized, it indicated how formidable the opponents they encountered were. Regardless of which group, it clearly showed their mighty strength!

While Ye Qing was pondering, Wen’er suddenly grabbed his clothes, urgently whispering, ”Brother Ye, look over there, quickly look over there!”

”What’s wrong?” Ye Qing followed the direction Wen’er pointed, seeing another dark figure lying about two hundred meters away. With only a flashlight to see, he could faintly make out the silhouette of a figure. However, based on the outline, it seemed like a person.

Ye Qing immediately stood up, leading Wen’er over. Getting closer, they finally discerned the shadow for what it truly was, another long-haired monster!

Turning this long-haired monster over repeatedly to examine it, Ye Qing astonishingly discovered that this long-haired monster’s cause of death was identical to the previous one; both were killed by a master of Neijia, their internal organs shattered by strong Inner Strength.

”What on earth is happening?” Ye Qing frowned, scanning the surroundings, and solemnly spoke, ”Judging by the toughness of this long-haired monster, it would require a full-force attack from a Peak Master to kill. Have top-level masters also entered this cave?”

Wen’er didn’t fully understand the situation but noticed another deceased long-haired monster nearby. Together, Ye Qing and Wen’er followed this pattern, eventually discovering over twenty bodies of long-haired monsters. Each one had died the same way, killed by Neijia masters, their internal organs shattered by Inner Strength.

”Who could have come?” At this point, even Wen’er was gasping, somberly saying, ”Even a Peak Master facing so many long-haired monsters might not necessarily win. These long-haired monsters’ combat abilities are each on par with a Top-Level Master!”

Ye Qing hadn’t fought these long-haired monsters, so he didn’t know much about them. But hearing Wen’er’s words, he could already surmise the power level involved.

If that were true, the situation was even more startling. To kill so many long-haired monsters, it would undoubtedly take more than a typical Peak Master; only the crème de la crème from among the Peak Masters, such as Helian Tiehua or the Bloody Monk, could achieve such a feat!

But which group among them holds such top-tier Peak Masters?

While Ye Qing was lost in thought, Wen’er suddenly said, ”Brother Ye, we’re not far from the exit now.”

Ye Qing realized, in this moment of being here, they had come to escape from here, not to dwell on these things. It seemed that those long-haired monsters certainly encountered even more formidable figures, and it was unclear if the long-haired monsters were still alive or dead. But at least now Ye Qing and Wen’er were safe, and finding the exit to leave was crucial.

”Let’s go, let’s get out of here first!” Ye Qing said softly, as there was danger lurking within this cave, and he was unwilling to stay here much longer.

”Alright!” This time, Wen’er led the way because up ahead there were many diverging paths, dozens apparent at a glance. If Ye Qing had to choose which path to take, he truly wouldn’t know which one to go down.

Wen’er’s memory of the path was clear, and she led Ye Qing down one of the paths. After covering about two hundred meters, they reached a dead end, where a stone wall stood before them.

”This is it.” Wen’er said softly, approaching the stone wall. It was unclear what she did to the wall, but suddenly, a door slowly lifted, revealing a passageway.

The passageway led to bright light outside; they had reached the exit of the cave!

Upon seeing this exit, Ye Qing felt a rush of joy. He quickly ran over, looking out, and he discovered that this exit was located on a rock face about three meters high. Below the rock face was a pile of white bones, precisely the same pile of bones Ye Qing had seen before!