Chapter 192: Oppressive Atmosphere

Li Zijian also mentioned that he could arrive near the Seven-Color Sect before eleven o'clock tonight, and told us to run straight out as soon as we got the items.

Shortly after, Chen Chen hung up the phone and sat with me on the bench at the edge of the square. Next to us was the well-informed little chubby guy, who was still telling stories.

I handed Chen Chen a cigarette, lit it, and asked him, "Are you scared?"

Chen Chen took a deep drag and said, "What is there to be scared of? If we can't get the item, we're dead anyway. We might as well give it everything we've got; otherwise, all our efforts over the past few days will go to waste."

I nodded after hearing this, then glanced at the crowd nearby. They were all engrossed in the little chubby guy's story, and no one paid any attention to us.

The sky was very dark, and the moonlight shone upon the earth. I had originally thought this would be a simple operation, and Chen Chen and I had planned it out perfectly, but I still felt something was amiss.

Just in case someone discovered us, I would have to let Chen Chen take the item and leave first. After all, Chen Chen's strength was inferior to mine, so I had to sacrifice the individual for the collective.

I only hoped we could all get out safely...

After about another half hour, the square gradually emptied out, and the little chubby guy telling stories also packed up and went home.

In an instant, the once lively square was left with only Chen Chen and me. However, the time was not right yet; we had to wait a little longer.

With my impatient nature, sitting there felt like sitting on pins and needles. I even wanted to rush in right now, grab the item, and run.

Reality, however, did not allow me to do so. If I were alone, it would be fine, but Chen Chen was here with me; I had to consider the safety of both of us.

That said, such a long period of tempering had also greatly improved my temperament. Gone was my initial impetuousness, and I could slowly calm my mind.

Perhaps this was the metamorphosis of a person...

Time ticked away second by second. Except for the dim streetlights keeping us company, everyone else had returned to their dormitories.

For so long, Elder Cao had not appeared again, which meant he must have gone back to rest.

......

The two of us waited until past ten o'clock, when the surroundings were pitch black, before preparing to make our move.

I placed the Miao saber right at the outermost layer of my storage ring to prevent any panic later on; grabbing the wrong weapon would be disastrous.

"Let's go. Success or failure hangs on this single move."

I whispered to Chen Chen, and he also extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand, looking ready for a major showdown.

"A dark night and a howling wind—truly favorable for our operation..."

Chen Chen said indifferently, taking the lead and walking toward the Hall of Seven Colors.

Now, except for the lights in the Hall of Seven Colors, the other floors were almost entirely dark, without a single speck of light visible.

Moreover, from afar, I could see that the disciple on duty at the Hall of Seven Colors was also nodding off to sleep, which undoubtedly made the operation even more convenient for us.

Just as the two of us were about to reach the entrance of the Hall of Seven Colors, that disciple finally noticed us.

"What are you two doing here in the middle of the night instead of going back to sleep? Hurry back."

Though he put on a solemn front as he spoke to us, his eyelids were already struggling to stay open.

At that moment, I exchanged a glance with Chen Chen, and he understood instantly. I suddenly exerted force, darting forward in a flash right in front of the gatekeeper disciple.

Before the disciple could say anything more, I clamped my hand over his mouth. Without any hesitation, I used a burst of wrist strength and snapped his neck.

I looked around and, seeing no one, dragged him inside the door.

That large statue was very suitable for hiding someone. Under the current circumstances, I couldn't drag this disciple into the forest to burn him, so I could only temporarily place him behind the statue.

Afterward, I looked at the doors on both sides, hesitating greatly over which direction to take.

"Shall we split up?"

Chen Chen suggested at that moment, but I directly rejected the idea. Because staying together allowed us to look out for each other, splitting up would be unsafe.

Right now, I could only rely on my intuition to make a choice. I gently closed my eyes and used my heart to sense the surrounding environment.

Suddenly! I detected a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy on the left side. Such a trace of spiritual energy was normally imperceptible to ordinary people.

Even during my previous visits, I hadn't felt it; this time, my innate sensitivity had truly bailed me out.

"Left."

I snapped my eyes open, grabbed Chen Chen, and ran quickly toward the left side.

This door led to an underground basement; no wonder it had looked pitch black from the outside.

The entrance went down quite deep, but for the sake of time, the two of us ran downward at almost full speed.

As I ran, I observed the four walls. They were cleaned very cleanly with almost no impurities, yet they lacked any decoration, consisting purely of stone walls.

Ever since I first arrived at the Seven-Color Sect, I had noticed that the sect was truly dirt poor. Although I hadn't visited many sects, I felt the Seven-Color Sect had to be the poorest of them all.

Poverty breeds schemes...

Along the way, the two of us did not linger and ran straight to the very bottom. At the bottom was still a long corridor.

The four walls remained very plain, hung only with dimly lit oil lamps.

However, the very first moment we entered the corridor, I felt that faint spiritual energy suddenly vanish for a split second, only to reappear again.

I didn't know what that meant, but I had a feeling it was no good omen.

Thinking of this, I accelerated my pace, channeling my spiritual energy to run at full speed. Chen Chen followed closely behind me, even drawing his weapon.

十几秒后，我也跑到了走廊的尽头，这时候，那股灵气离我越来越近了，甚至我感觉就在附近

A dozen seconds later, I reached the end of the corridor. By now, that wave of spiritual energy was getting closer and closer to me; I even felt it was right nearby.

The end of this corridor was a turn. Because I still felt a lingering fear toward such things, I gently pressed against the wall and slowly poked my head out to look.

Yet, I was overly suspicious after all. Aside from a small room, there was nothing else.

As for this room, it gave me a huge shock. The walls inside were entirely covered with terrifying black-themed patterns.

Black and more black—it was my first time witnessing such a scene, and my heart suddenly felt extremely oppressed, filled with an urge to drop to my knees.

Chen Chen's condition was much worse than mine. He was now leaning against the wall, clutching his chest and panting heavily, clearly suffering greatly.

All I could do right now was circulate the spiritual energy within my body and try to dispel this condition.

Clearly, it worked. After a dozen seconds, the sensation vanished instantly, and I simultaneously summoned spiritual energy to protect my body.

Then, once again gathering power in one hand, I struck Chen Chen with a stream of spiritual energy from my palm. He spat out another mouthful of black blood.

"Use spiritual energy to protect your body," I whispered.

After hearing my words, Chen Chen also circulated his spiritual energy outward. In this way, that oppressive force could no longer affect us.

Yet, I couldn't help wondering: why had I only experienced a feeling of chest tightness, while Chen Chen's reaction was so intense?

Never mind, never mind. Let's not worry about that for now; let's take the things inside the room first.

(Brothers, good night)