Stop grinding, I'm really just a free spirit.

Chapter 73 Iron-Backed Bear

Dark as ink.

A mountain breeze swept through the forest, creating a rustling sound.

Chen Bai walked at the front, using the faint moonlight filtering through the branches and leaves overhead to determine the direction.

Duan Heisi followed closely behind, carrying a long sword, his steps heavy. Miao Wuniang brought up the rear, walking extremely lightly, her footsteps almost inaudible.

The three walked in silence for about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, until the light of the campfire behind them was completely blocked by the mountain ridge.

Miao Wuniang couldn't help but speak up:

"Wu Liang and Lü An just stood by and watched."

Her voice was very low, almost squeezed out from between her teeth, but it couldn't suppress the surging anger. "When the three of us were chosen by Xue Zhen to go and die, those two didn't dare to utter a single word."

"Wu Liang is usually quite talkative, so why has he become mute at this crucial moment?"

Without turning his head, Duan Heisi said in a muffled voice, "Fifth Sister, say less."

"Why should I say less?"

Miao Wuniang became angrier as she spoke, and her pace quickened unconsciously as she caught up with Duan Heisi. "Our group of independent cultivators started with six people, and we agreed to advance and retreat together."

The results of it?

Xue Zhen betrayed us with just one sentence, and the two of them just sat there watching, not even bothering to stand up.

As for Lü An, he was timid by nature and his fighting skills were mediocre. I didn't expect him to be anything special anyway.

But what about Wu Liang? Wu Liang is known for his shrewdness, usually very quick-witted, and able to befriend anyone. How come he's become a coward at this moment?

Duan Heisi remained silent for a while before slowing his pace and turning his head to the side.

The moonlight shone on his dark face, revealing a rare complex expression on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Lü An, we haven't known each other for very long."

His voice was a few decibels lower than usual, as if he were defending someone or convincing himself, "He's an alchemist, not very skilled in combat, and timid. It's only natural that he wouldn't dare to step forward in a crisis."

"If it were me, alone in a place like this, facing pressure from disciples of the immortal sects, I might not dare to stand up either."

He paused, then said, "As for Fellow Daoist Wu Liang... he probably has his own difficulties."

"Difficulties?"

Miao Wuniang sneered, "What difficulties? We've known each other for a long time!"

Among our group of independent cultivators, Brother Duan, you've known Wu Liang the longest, at least two or three years, right?

In the past two or three years, he has been making connections in the market, and whenever he encounters trouble, we are always there to help him out.

Now that we've been dragged into this as cannon fodder, he just dismisses us with a simple "difficulties"?

Duan Heisi was speechless after being rebuked by her barrage of sharp remarks. After a long while, he sighed, scratched the back of his head, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Fifth Sister, I understand everything you're saying."

But people are different.

Wu Liang... he's smart and righteous, but his righteousness has its limits.

He'll help where he can, but if helping means getting himself involved, he'll have to think twice.

Perhaps he was just thinking about how to put in a good word for us…”

He shook his head suddenly, his voice lowering even further: "Forget it, what's the point of saying all this at this crucial moment?"

Regardless of what he's thinking, the three of us are now on the edge of a knife. Arguing about who stood up or not won't change the current situation.

Fifth Sister, don't worry about it. The key is how to get through this.

Miao Wuniang opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but seeing Duan Heisi's face full of exhaustion and helplessness, she finally just snorted heavily through her nostrils and turned her head away.

"Fine, I'll let them go."

Her tone was still sullen, but the sharpness in it had lessened considerably. "When I get back this time, I'll have a good talk with that bastard Wu Liang."

Let's not talk about that now.

After she finished speaking, she stopped talking, lowered her head and hurried on her way, but she pounded on the gravel road even harder than before, as if she was venting her anger on the gravel road.

Duan Heisi looked at her like this, shook his head with a wry smile, and turned to look at Chen Bai walking ahead.

"Brother Chen, you said you had a solution..."

Duan Heisi quickened his pace to catch up with Chen Bai and lowered his voice, saying, "That's a mid-stage Nascent Soul Ironback Bear."

Even if the three of us were tied together, we wouldn't be enough for one of its slaps. Your method... will it really work?

Chen Bai stopped and turned around.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, falling on his face. His usually gentle and humble face appeared exceptionally calm at this moment, so calm that Duan Heisi felt even more uneasy.

"Brother Duan."

Chen Bai's voice wasn't loud, but it had a calmness that compelled people to listen attentively. "Since I dared to take on this mission, I certainly wasn't going to my death."

Duan Heisi and Miao Wuniang both looked at him at the same time.

Chen Bai simply shook his head slightly: "It's not time to go into details yet. Just trust me."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and continued walking forward.

Duan Heisi and Miao Wuniang exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of doubt in each other's eyes, but also a faint glimmer of hope.

The two asked no more questions and continued their journey behind Chen Bai.

The night wind grew colder, and the mountain road became increasingly rugged.

The three hurried along, crossing two mountain ridges and a dry stream under the alternating shadows of moonlight and clouds, and then groping their way through the dense forest for about half an hour.

Finally, Chen Bai stopped in front of a rocky hillside.

He raised his hand, signaling the two to stop.

The three of them crouched low, using a clump of short pines on the slope as cover to look ahead.

Dozens of feet below the hillside, there was a dark cave entrance.

The ground around the cave entrance was covered with scattered pebbles, and several broken pieces of animal bones could be vaguely seen half-buried in the soil, appearing pale white in the moonlight.

A strong, pungent stench wafted from the cave entrance, mixed with the sour smell of rotting flesh and damp soil, making people frown even from dozens of feet away.

Chen Bai cautiously extended his spiritual sense.

His spiritual awareness was already far superior to those of others in the same realm. The solid foundation of his innate spiritual light made his spiritual awareness almost as strong as that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator after he had refined it.

This time, he carefully condensed his spiritual sense into an extremely thin thread and slowly probed it into the cave.

The scene inside the cave gradually emerged in his mind.

The cave was much deeper than it appeared at the entrance, and the interior space was quite spacious, measuring several meters in diameter.

The cave walls were covered with a thick layer of grease and mud, which was the nest wall made by the Ironback Bear using its own demonic power to mix saliva and mud. Its sturdiness was comparable to refined iron.

Several thick stalactites hang from the cave ceiling, with water droplets dripping from their tips, making a very faint dripping sound as they fall into the puddles on the ground.

The most shocking thing was that the bottom of the cave was covered with a thick layer of white bones.