Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 24 The Fairy in the Cage

"ah--!"

"What's going on?!"

The screams and wails of the crowd rose and fell, and the spiritual light of the protective array flickered.

The violent tremors grew stronger with each wave, and the entire stone chamber was tossed about wildly like a small boat in a storm.

As time went on, it emitted a terrifying "crunching" sound, the cracks continued to break open, and dust and debris fell down in a flurry.

Just as everyone was using their abilities to protect themselves, several angry roars easily pierced through the protective array of the stone chamber, exploding directly in their ears:

"The Heavenly Fiend Sect's century-long plan, who dares to obstruct it!" But the next instant, the boastful words changed abruptly: "Long Han and Feng Bing? What are you doing here! Fellow Daoist Yun, don't run away! Let's join forces against the enemy!"

"Fellow Daoist Fire Dragon, you can handle that rogue cultivator. Elder Jin, let's take down True Monarch Heavenly Fiend together!"

The divine sense of the Nascent Soul cultivator was like a thunderclap from the heavens, containing unparalleled terrifying pressure, but everyone was too preoccupied to care about it at the moment.

The shattered gray granite slammed into the various colored spiritual light shields. Some disciples with insufficient defenses only had time to let out short screams before being mercilessly swallowed by the giant rocks.

Lin Jingchu pushed the Mist Mirror to its limit to withstand the constantly falling rubble.

"Boom—!!!"

With a deafening roar, he felt the ground beneath him suddenly give way, and he fell along with countless pieces of rubble.

I should have been more shameless and sat next to Song Yu in that corner.

……

In the darkness, no one knew how much time had passed.

"Cough! Cough!" Lin Jingchu struggled to move his body, only to find himself firmly pinned down by heavy rubble. Apart from the sound of rushing water, there was only deathly silence around him.

He channeled his spiritual power, and the Mist Mirror pressing against his chest instantly spewed out a dense mist, pushing away all the broken stones.

Using the light and mist, he could see his surroundings clearly.

I was in an underground cave, surrounded by collapsed rocks, with the sound of water roaring beneath the piles of stones.

"Uncle Mu!" The shouts echoed through the cave, only to be answered by a few fallen rocks.

His heart sank; the cave was probably unstable. He decided to follow the underground river upstream to find a way out.

[Task Discovered]

【Quest Name: Fairy in a Cage】

[Posted by: Song Yu (Favorability: Approved)]

[Mission Description: Fairy Song Yu has been buried under gray granite and is trapped in darkness. Please rescue her immediately {Map}]

[Quest Reward: A rare treasure possessed by Song Yu]

Lin Jingchu's mind raced, and the map instantly unfolded, with the marker just a few dozen steps away. He took two steps at a time, quickly traversing the pile of rubble, and arrived in no time.

Beneath his feet lay a mountain of rubble. He quickly summoned his Green Edge Sword, plunged it into the bottom of a boulder the size of a human head, and flicked it sharply.

"Whoosh!" The stone flew and rolled to the side.

He did the same thing, knocking away more than a dozen obstructing pebbles, until a huge granite strip was revealed.

"Which fellow disciple is it?" A female voice, speaking slowly but with a slight tremor, came from inside the dark stone cage.

"It's me, Jing Chu. Senior Sister Song, are you injured?"

"Junior Brother Lin!" Song Yu, who was trapped, was both surprised and delighted. "I'm fine. These few rock pillars and the corner of the wall just happened to create a gap."

"Don't worry, senior sister, I'll get you out of here right away!"

Lin Jingchu thrust the Qingfeng sword into the crevice in the rock, trying to pry it open as before, but the sword bent so much it almost broke, while the rock strip remained motionless.

He had no choice but to withdraw his longsword, take a deep breath, and pour his spiritual power into the sword.

With a hum, the Qingfeng Sword emitted a burst of spiritual light and slashed fiercely at the rock strip.

"clang--"

Sparks flew everywhere, leaving only a faint white mark on the hard gray granite.

"Junior Brother Lin, let it go. With only the Qi Refining stage cultivation, you can't cut through the gray granite. I have the sect's mark and a communication talisman on me. Once the secret realm is stable, I will ask for help myself."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jingchu felt a surge of intense resentment.

Wait? He's waited so many times on his path to immortality, he doesn't want to wait any longer!

He began to work hard to clear away the other rubble around him. After about 45 minutes, he finally cleared it away, leaving only a triangular ruin about 20 feet square, made of gray granite.

He carefully examined the ruins, finding no gaps or openings to exploit.

"Junior Brother Lin, there's no need to waste your time." Song Yu's voice had returned to normal amidst the ruins.

Lin Jingchu leaned on his sword, panting, and looked at the ruins that were mostly submerged in the dark river. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him!

"I have a way to break this gabion!"

He patted the storage bag at his waist, and several array flags flew out and landed in their respective positions. Then he took out an array plate.

The Water Tide Cloud Miasma Array is the signature cave protection array he sells.

It has the effects of poisonous fog to confuse, water shield protection, and water area control, making it an excellent protective formation for home and cave dwelling.

Previously, when he was refining the Water Tide Cloud Miasma Array for Uncle Ye, he refined an extra set for the sake of safety.

With his left hand holding the array plate and his right hand forming a hand seal, the array plate instantly unfolded layer by layer. He wanted to adjust and modify the purpose of this array on the spot and reduce its activation costs!

"Click... Buzz..."

With the final incantation cast and a finger pointed, the array plates reassembled into a single unit!

Lin Jingchu placed it at the bottom of the river next to the ruins, and then embedded more than ten low-grade spirit stones into the center of the array.

"Senior sister, I'm about to begin. Get ready."

"Um!"

The next instant, the originally turbulent river was drawn by the magic array and transformed into a huge vortex. A blue water ball condensed at the array's core and then suddenly expanded, covering an area of ​​more than ten feet.

The enveloped space transformed into a hemispherical body of water with incredible buoyancy and undercurrents, where numerous pebbles were stirred up and floated erratically by the current.

As the main figure, Lin Jingchu was unaffected.

He plunged the Qingfeng sword into the crevice again, and with the help of the powerful buoyancy and water flow, he pried it open with all his might! The incredibly heavy rock slab tumbled down with a crash.

The cage is broken!

In an instant, a figure in white spun and floated up in front of Lin Jingchu.

Song Yu clutched a talisman tightly in her hand, struggling to find a foothold in the buoyant and turbulent waters, her slender arms moving in vain.

Suddenly the water area vanished.

"ah--!"

With a short, soft cry, Song Yu fell straight down.

Lin Jingchu stepped forward and caught the falling girl steadily.

What I touched was a soaked and icy dress, and the warm, soft embrace beneath the white garment.

Her wide, blue-purple eyes gleamed with a watery sheen in the misty light, revealing five parts panic, three parts shyness, and a despair that dared not face reality.

Lin Jingchu quickly calmed himself down and put the girl in his arms down.

Song Yu steadied herself and casually withdrew her soft hand from Lin Jingchu's neck.

She turned her back to him, her almond-shaped lips slightly parted: "Thank you for saving me, Junior Brother Lin."

Her voice sounded completely calm, but her ears, which were as smooth and white as jade, turned bright red at a visible speed, becoming as translucent as agate.

Lin Jingchu turned sideways with his hands behind his back, looking up to study the stalactite on the cave ceiling that seemed about to fall. "Just something I grabbed."

A faint, intoxicating scent of musk orchids seemed to linger around the tip of my nose, and my right hand involuntarily tightened its grip.

Song Yu's figure was too slender, and in his haste, his right hand accidentally slipped under her armpit and pressed directly on a place he shouldn't have touched.

I really underestimated her!

[Mission Completed: Fairy in a Cage]

[Quest Reward: Rare Treasure - Jade Heart Pendant]

[Character: Song Yu (Affection Level: Trust)]