Driven to Desperate Measures—Do You Want to Get Out Alive?
Driven to Desperate Measures—Do You Want to Get Out Alive?
Within the imperial palace, the Vermilion Bird Emperor, Bai Yang, Chu Hao, and the others all received the news.
They were stunned at once, never imagining that things would develop in this direction.
“I underestimated how much these great families and sects fear Gu Changge... They would rather abandon their homes and flee to other domains than stand with us against Gu Changge at this time...”
The Vermilion Bird Emperor’s face turned deathly pale. He collapsed back into his seat, his soul seemingly lost.
“It’s over, it’s all over...”
He muttered incessantly, his expression ashen, filled with nothing but despair.
“How is this possible... Everyone fled overnight...”
Chu Hao’s face was equally pale. His whole body felt as if struck by lightning; he simply could not believe any of this.
They had already begun to feel hope.
Yet out of nowhere, every single family and sect had fled?
This was completely different from what he had anticipated!
“My imperial family has treated them well! Facing such a crisis, they don’t even think of standing with us against the foreign enemy! They actually fled in the face of danger!”
Chu Hao trembled with rage all over, until in the end, only despair remained.
Could it be that they could only watch helplessly as the Vermilion Bird Empire was destroyed?
While he could do nothing at all?
“Your Majesty, this is a letter delivered by Tutor Wang...”
At that moment, a guard outside the hall, his face somewhat pale, hurriedly presented a letter.
“Wang-shi? His old self still thinks of me?”
Hearing this, the Vermilion Bird Emperor jolted and rose from where he sat. He took the letter, hope emerging in his eyes, believing that Tutor Wang still supported him.
But soon, after he finished reading the letter, his entire face turned deathly pale as if struck by lightning. It took him a long while to come back to his senses, as though his soul had left him.
If not for Chu Hao’s quick reflexes in catching him, the Vermilion Bird Emperor would likely have collapsed to the ground.
“Father, what happened?”
Chu Hao couldn’t help but ask.
“Even Wang-shi has abandoned me...”
The Vermilion Bird Emperor’s face was full of grief. To him, Tutor Wang...
was a figure who was both teacher and father. But who could have imagined that at a time like this, he too would choose to abandon the Vermilion Bird Empire, leading the entire Wang Family away overnight.
This letter contained Tutor Wang’s apology to him.
“This happened because of me?”
Chu Hao quickly finished reading the contents of the letter as well, and his expression immediately turned ugly.
Originally, he had held considerable respect for Tutor Wang, who had taught him since childhood, but now there was nothing but anger.
“Nonsense! It was clearly that Gu Changge who went too far, who forced our hand—why blame it on me?”
“My Vermilion Bird Empire treated him well, yet at such a critical moment, he left alone without a care. For someone so heartless and unrighteous, Father, why should you grieve?”
Chu Hao’s expression was ugly and gloomy to the extreme, practically dripping with darkness.
Seeing this, Bai Yang at the side also fell silent, feeling that this matter had already become a dead end, virtually impossible to change.
Just as Tang Wan had said before—before Gu Changge, Chu Hao was as weak as an ant!
“Hao’er, you must think of a way for your father! The Vermilion Bird Empire cannot perish in my hands! Otherwise, I’ll have no face to meet our ancestors in the afterlife. From this day on, your father will bear eternal infamy, reviled by future generations...”
“Hao’er, you surely have a way! Your father knows you must have a way!”
The Vermilion Bird Emperor’s face was ashen, filled with despair. He couldn’t help but grip Chu Hao’s hand tightly, pleading.
“Father, I...”
Hearing this, Chu Hao fell into despair as well. He turned his pleading gaze toward Bai Yang, but all he received was Bai Yang’s sigh.
At this point, even if the Supreme Cave Heaven dared to intervene, there was no time.
Besides, Gu Changge might not even care about the Supreme Cave Heaven.
“Wan’er, that’s right!”
“Wan’er can definitely help me! She’s met privately with Gu Changge several times... If she helps, putting in a few good words before Gu Changge, he might agree to spare the Vermilion Bird Empire.”
At this moment, Chu Hao suddenly thought of Tang Wan, as if he had found a lifeline, hope emerging in his eyes.
Facing this desperate grasping at straws, Bai Yang could only sigh deeply.
Before this, Chu Hao had not been such a person.
He had been mature and steady, confident and composed, everything within his grasp, favored by the Fortuity of heaven and earth—there was almost nothing he couldn’t accomplish.
But now, he was like a headless fly.
He had completely forgotten how he had spoken to Tang Wan before, and how furious he had been over her private meetings with Gu Changge.
This feeling made Bai Yang sigh in his heart, sensing that a perfectly good seedling had already been driven mad by Gu Changge!
...
The towering, majestic Ancient Battleship stood upon the firmament, practically like a floating continent, blotting out everything. Clouds and mist churned around it—utterly awe-inspiring!
Deep within the Ancient Battleship lay rows upon rows of palaces and buildings, grand and archaic, bearing the style of the Celestial Ancient Times, appearing incomparably magnificent.
And at this moment, beneath these buildings, in a well-hidden dungeon.
The air was damp, reeking of rot and blood, enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
Beast-oil lamps burned along the corridors on both sides, the light extremely dim.
But one could still make out that the dungeon was divided into two sides.
In the left-side cells were imprisoned a group of cultivators with frightened, uneasy expressions—around a hundred of them, men and women of various races, with differing auras. The strongest among them had reached the Sacred Realm.
Their hands and feet were shackled in chains, runes flickering upon them, heavy as ten thousand jun, making even movement difficult for them.
And in the right-side cells were imprisoned eight people—three women and five men—whose clothing differed noticeably from that of the various races of today.
Moreover, most of them wore expressions of even greater terror, huddled in the corners. Though they bore no chains, they didn’t dare move.
Everything they saw outside filled them with panic, fear, and despair.
At this moment, two of them were conversing in their own language.
“Ah Chen, do you think this counts as transmigration? We were perfectly fine doing archaeology, and then out of nowhere we got hit by that white light and brought to this mysterious, bizarre world. And that little bronze boat that suddenly appeared back then—why did it suddenly vanish...”
“But those people should be the Qi Practitioners recorded in those ancient legends among the ruins, right? Not only can they fly through the sky and burrow through the earth, move mountains and fill seas—even the monsters here are as big as mountain ranges.”
“That woman who captured us back then was honestly as beautiful as a fairy. Although Campus Belle Xiao is also inhumanly beautiful, compared to that fairy, she always feels like she’s missing something. What a pity...”
“If we can make it back alive and reveal everything here to the public, it’ll definitely shock the world. We’ll become famous.”
The man speaking had an honest-looking face and a burly build.
But when he spoke, the shrewdness that inadvertently flickered in his eyes showed he was not as simple as he appeared.
“I don’t know. By all reason, we should count as having transmigrated—otherwise there’s no explaining any of this.”
“Before anything else, we should first learn about this world, or we might not even keep our lives. These Qi Practitioners are no good people.”
“In their eyes, everything is settled with fists.”
The man called Ah Chen said this in response.
His features were quite handsome, his build average.
And unlike the others, he wasn’t all that frightened; on the contrary, he was relatively calm, constantly surveying the environment outside the dungeon.
His original name was Jiang Chen, a graduate student in archaeology at a geology university, and he knew quite a lot about various ancient relics.
This time, several good friends had followed a former university mentor to a recently discovered ruin, to conduct research and investigation, and to prepare for their graduation theses along the way.
But unexpectedly, within that ruin, they encountered a series of strange events, and quite a few people perished along the way.
Some felt something was off and hurriedly withdrew.
But they didn’t believe in superstition and pressed on all the way in.
Finally, deep within, they encountered something very strange, like an altar, surrounded by all kinds of Wondrous Stones glimmering with light, which immediately captured everyone’s attention.
Back then, beside that altar, there were also the skeletons of many enormous beasts—utterly terrifying.
Some of the more timid ones nearly wet themselves on the spot, their legs going soft, because those skeletons had never been recorded in any ancient text.
It was as if they had opened the gates of hell and glimpsed another side of this world!
For some unknown reason back then—and no one knew who triggered it all—brilliant light suddenly appeared on that altar, and then it struck everyone.
Many people instantly lost consciousness.
When they woke again, they had already appeared in this bizarre, fantastical world, felt its dangers, and witnessed all its terrors.
When they arrived in this world, there had still been more than a dozen of them. Now only eight remained.
And none of the eight knew how much longer they would live.
“Yeah, keeping ourselves alive comes first. Who knows where that woman plans to lock us up.”
The burly man sighed. His name was Niu Tian, and he was very close with Jiang Chen—the two did almost everything together.
They were practically inseparable.
“Mm.”
Jiang Chen nodded, but his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the other side of the dungeon, toward a woman hugging her knees, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, her features exquisitely flawless, her skin snow-white and delicate—beautiful beyond compare.
Xiao Ruoyin.
The very Campus Belle Xiao that Niu Tian had mentioned.
The two of them were from the same school, same department, same class.
In many people’s eyes, they were even a well-matched pair—Jiang Chen was learned and hardworking, while Xiao Ruoyin herself was outstanding in both talent and looks.
Only, their relationship was merely a bit closer than ordinary friends.
This left Jiang Chen quite helpless; he knew many reasons were preventing anything more.
And this time, the reason he had come along on this archaeological trip actually had a great deal to do with Xiao Ruoyin.
Because she had been the one to invite him.
Including Niu Tian, many of his classmates had actually been invited by her as well.
If not for Xiao Ruoyin, when he had sensed something was wrong back then, he would have already fled—how would he have ended up in this state?
However, Xiao Ruoyin seemed not to notice Jiang Chen’s gaze upon her. She continued staring at the void beyond the dungeon, her eyes calm, as if in a daze, yet also as if pondering something.
She didn’t carry the panic and unease of the others either. On the contrary, she was very calm, as if she had already accepted all of this.
“Right, Ah Chen, did you notice how that Bronze Flying Boat appeared back then? I saw a flash of white light, and then many people passed out...”
“And then a Bronze Flying Boat suddenly appeared and carried us all the way here.”
At this point, Niu Tian suddenly couldn’t help asking, his gaze puzzled.
Although many of those struck by the white light had lost consciousness,
he had not. So he had seen a Bronze Flying Boat suddenly appear, looking ancient and worn, even the old flag on it tattered and ragged, carrying everyone through the vast cosmos.
Afterward, he really couldn’t hold on any longer and suddenly fell asleep.
Niu Tian didn’t know how much time had passed along the way. When he woke up, they had already appeared in this world.
And the Bronze Flying Boat that had carried them all had already vanished.
Hearing this, Jiang Chen’s expression shifted slightly, but he quickly recovered and shook his head. “I don’t know where that flying boat went either. After I saw you fall asleep back then, I really couldn’t hold on either and fell asleep. I don’t actually know what happened after that.”
Among those struck by the white light back then, besides Niu Tian, quite a few others had actually remained conscious—naturally including Jiang Chen.
He actually knew everything Niu Tian had said. It was just that some things, Jiang Chen didn’t know how to say, so he simply didn’t say more.
The Bronze Flying Boat that had carried them all here had, in fact, burst out from within his own body.
That white light had struck him head-on, and then a mysterious, indescribable change emerged within his body, after which the Bronze Flying Boat appeared and carried everyone straight away.
Apart from Jiang Chen, no one else knew of this matter.
Even now, Jiang Chen still couldn’t figure out why such a thing would emerge from within his body.
Just then, seemingly having overheard their conversation, Xiao Ruoyin on the other side turned her head and looked at Jiang Chen. “Do you have any way to get us out of here?”
Hearing his goddess’s question, Jiang Chen looked over and smiled. “I do have an idea, but I feel it’ll take some time. We’d need to learn their language first.”
Hearing this, a flicker passed through Xiao Ruoyin’s eyes, as if she had thought of something, but she still shook her head. “I’m just worried there’s no time left.”
Jiang Chen fell silent as well. Facing this group of mysterious and powerful Qi Practitioners, they didn’t have even half a chance of resisting.
Not to mention that among these Qi Practitioners, there were even more powerful beings hidden. Jiang Chen even felt that such beings, back on his home planet, could destroy the world single-handedly.
Against such beings, how could they possibly resist?
At this point, the only thing he could hope for was that the mysterious Bronze Flying Boat would appear once more and carry them all away from this place.
“Actually, this world... has appeared in my dreams.”
Just then, Xiao Ruoyin seemed to consider something and suddenly spoke again.
But the words she spoke instantly stunned Jiang Chen and Niu Tian.
“What?”
Jiang Chen’s eyes went wide; he could hardly believe his ears. Xiao Ruoyin said this place had appeared in her dreams? Could it be she had long known that going to that ruin would lead to all this?
Seeing the two’s shocked, disbelieving expressions, Xiao Ruoyin seemed about to say something more.
But a sound suddenly came from outside the dungeon, making her quickly shut her mouth and turn to look.
Jiang Chen and the others heard the commotion too and looked over, their gazes carrying vigilance, fear, and unease, their backs drenched in cold dread.
“It’s that black-dressed woman who captured us back then...”
Niu Tian said in a low voice, noticing the two figures slowly walking toward them from outside the dungeon.
The black-dressed woman had a tall figure, her face veiled in light gauze, revealing only a pair of autumn-water eyes and dark, jade-like brows, giving off a sense of tranquil grace. A hazy mist seemed to swirl around her, making it hard to see her surroundings clearly.
But they had experienced her terror—especially having witnessed with their own eyes the miserable deaths of their companions at her hands.
Naturally, Jiang Chen and the others didn’t dare let their guard down or assume she was any kind of good person.
A femme fatale!!
That was what everyone thought in their hearts.
However, what shocked Jiang Chen and the others was that today, this black-dressed woman was actually accompanying a young man as they walked in.
Judging by her demeanor, she was clearly extremely respectful toward that white-robed man.
One had to know that before this, the impression the black-dressed woman had given them all was one of power and nobility, carrying majestic authority, like a queen.
Just what was this white-robed man’s identity?
In their eyes, this white-robed man’s entire body seemed to glow, immortal radiance resplendent, even his hair crystalline like dark jade. He looked incomparably transcendent and divine, like an immortal dwelling above the nine heavens in mythology.
From within his profound eyes, one could not see any change of joy or anger, nor any ripple of emotion—like a deep, still pool.
This feeling, to them, was like how they themselves had once looked down at ants.
Jiang Chen, Niu Tian, and the others couldn’t help but shudder. Clearly sensing no malice at all, they still couldn’t help but feel immense fear, as if their very lives and deaths had been stripped from their hands.
The newcomers were none other than Gu Changge and Hei Yanyu.
“Master, these are the mysterious people I captured back then in the Forbidden Area of the Ancient Celestial Continent. Though due to certain matters along the way, quite a few of them died.”
Hei Yanyu’s voice was gentle as she spoke respectfully to Gu Changge.
Gu Changge nodded, his gaze very calm.
Then he looked at Jiang Chen and the others before him, his gaze pausing briefly on Jiang Chen and Xiao Ruoyin in particular, before asking, “Do you want to get out of here alive?”
Jiang Chen, Niu Tian, and the others looked bewildered, unable to understand what Gu Changge was saying.
“Master, they can’t understand our language,” Hei Yanyu explained upon seeing this, assuming Gu Changge was unaware of the matter.
However, Gu Changge paid her no mind. His gaze landed on Xiao Ruoyin with keen interest. “Interesting. You can understand what I’m saying.”
Xiao Ruoyin looked at him with apparent confusion, as if she couldn’t understand what he was saying at all.
“I like smart people. Smart people know what to do at a time like this,” Gu Changge said indifferently.
Hearing this, Xiao Ruoyin’s expression couldn’t help but change slightly.
In that instant, her whole body felt as though an invisible pair of hands had seized her by the throat—she simply couldn’t breathe, nearly suffocating.
It filled her with a dreadful fear.
She didn’t know how Gu Changge had found out. Clearly, her disguise had been flawless.
“Do you want to get out alive?” A faint smile appeared at the corner of Gu Changge’s mouth as he asked once more.
Xiao Ruoyin was silent for a moment, then answered in this world’s language, “Yes.”