173 A Beast's Nightmare

"This is awesome!" Huxian yipped. "We finally get to go on a trip! We've been so bored in this city. The only bit of excitement we've had is tearing apart those shabby buildings."

Three days had passed since Cha Ming sent out the message. After confirming with Wang Jun that his help was no longer required in Songjing, he spent all his time preparing talismans and studying the Swamp Tribulation Totem.

"They should be here any moment," Cha Ming muttered. Sure enough, he soon sensed four presences approaching from afar. Two were at the peak of foundation establishment, and two were core-formation experts. All four of them wore alabaster-white cloaks.

"Sister Xuehua, Brother Hao, I'm so glad you could make it," Cha Ming said. "And these are?"

"Two elders we convinced to come along," Xuehua said. "Teacher decided to allocate some contribution points for participating in this mission. It turns especially lucrative if devils end up being involved, though he was especially intrigued by the cooperation between devils and evil spirits. Such cases are rare, even in transcendent realms."

"I'm glad he could spare some manpower," Cha Ming said. "Gong Lan should be here any minute."

"We're already here," a voice said from beside them. Gong Lan and nine other monks had appeared without anyone noticing. "Greetings to our friends from the Alabaster Group."

"Teacher Lu sends his regards to your master," Luo Xuehua replied.

"If only he were still around," Gong Lan said wistfully. "However, I am thankful that the Alabaster Group remembers our long-term friendship. This is an important turning point for this small kingdom, and while the situation isn't as dire as in the south, the consequences for failure in this mission are far-reaching.

"Noted," Luo Xuehua said. "I've just transmitted this information to Teacher. He'll be monitoring the situation for external interference."

No wonder they agreed so quickly, Cha Ming thought. It was just a passing suggestion, but they already have history. He now felt much more confident about this outing. Anything Lu Tianhao was concerned about was worth investigating.

"Are you sure Silverwing is up for carrying so many people?" Cha Ming asked Huxian.

"He's actually getting quite fond of carrying people around now," Huxian said. "It's a great way to show off."

A falcon's cry suddenly pierced the skies, and a small whirlwind formed as Silverwing majestically landed before them.

"See what I mean?"

"Everyone hop on," Cha Ming said. He and Huxian jumped on Silverwing's broad back, which he had padded with a cushion of clouds. Seeing their concerned expressions, he laughed. "Don't worry, I've flown with Silverwing many times before. It's perfectly safe, and extremely quick."

"I, for one, can't wait to experience flying," Luo Xuehua said. It was usually only possible to do so at her level with the help of special artifacts, and just barely at that. After seeing that even a blind woman was willing to hop onto the beast, the remaining members hopped on to save face.

Only Gong Lan remained. Instead of hopping on, she walked up to Silverwing's large head. "A friend of mine was good friends with your ancestor, Silverwing," she said. "He asked me to pass on this blessing to you."

A tiny green bodhi seed appeared in her hand. She crushed it between her thumb and index finger, and the green dust flowed into Silverwing's open beak. Cha Ming's eyes widened as Silverwing's back suddenly doubled in size. His wingspan also doubled to 160 feet.

This is amazing! Huxian sent. She just fed him super-concentrated life force. The bloodline he painstakingly nurtured suddenly became much stronger. I've never heard of such an impressive tonic.

There's no point worrying about a good thing, Cha Ming sent back. Who knows, maybe she has something for you.

Huxian shook his head. I wouldn't dare take something like that until you break through to core formation. We don't want a repeat of last time.

Cha Ming agreed. As they spoke, Silverwing excitedly flew off. Each flap of his wings carried them ten miles. It only took them an incense time to reach their destination.

"There." Gong Lan pointed to an old forest that didn't stand out in the least bit. "Once you fly through the barrier, you'll understand."

Silverwing nodded and plunged down. Everyone on his back felt an incredible repulsive force before hearing a loud pop. The forest disappeared and was replaced by a large stone city. It was filled with crumbling buildings and covered in rampant greenery. The only undamaged structure was the front gate, where three characters proudly displayed the name of their location: Song Imperial Tomb.

They circled five times on their way down. Silverwing's wind gusts cleared the dust and gravel that had accumulated on a large road that led up to the tomb's opening.

"This is where the first twelve emperors of the Song Dynasty were buried, along with their famous generals and selfless protectors," Gong Lan said. "Even their first emperor, who transcended, returned to be buried with his people at the end of his lifespan. They served their country well—for a time. Now, they have been corrupted by time and conflict."

A golden aura covered Gong Lan and her nine protectors. It spread out one hundred feet before stopping and enveloping the entire group. As they approached the tomb, they became aware of an ominous presence. Crimson veins covered the once-pure pathway that should have lasted for millennia. Meanwhile, crimson spirits hovered around them, wailing in resentment as they approached the entrance. Some told them to go back, while others goaded them to approach. The distance to the tomb seemed to increase one moment and decrease in another. Only one thing remained constant—the writing on the entrance: Guardian Labyrinth.

"Brother Cha Ming, what's a labyrinth?" Huxian asked.

"I'll tell you later," Cha Ming said. "Let's just get inside and discuss once we get there."

"It's important to stay together inside the labyrinth," Gong Lan said. "One misstep, and you could be trapped for all eternity. As a precaution, here is the labyrinth's map, which was discovered by my master 160 years ago."

A beam of light shot from her forehead and split into each of theirs. A clear golden picture of the maze within was etched into their minds.

"What are all these lines about?" Huxian said nervously. "And why do I suddenly feel afraid?"

"Relax," Cha Ming said. "Nothing will hurt you. I'm here."

"Let's enter the labyrinth now," Gong Lan said. As they approached the doorway, the lines of corruption grew increasingly dense. Gong Lan crossed the threshold first, while Cha Ming crossed alone. The three beasts followed, and Luo Xuehua, Dongfang Hao, and the two core-formation cultivators passed next. A crimson light shimmered once the last person passed.

"It's a spatial fluctuation!" Huxian yelled. He pulled back Silverwing and Lei Jiang and rushed toward Cha Ming. "Stay together!" he yelled.

Cha Ming rushed toward Huxian, but it was too late. A gray light enveloped him, and the next moment, he was surrounded by tall gray walls.

Brother… Brother… Where have you taken us? Huxian yelled mentally.

Cha Ming sighed. He could only hope they'd get over it. He tuned out Huxian's ranting and focused on his surroundings. The tall stone walls were inlaid with golden runes, but for all he knew, these were illusions just like the outside of the tomb. All around him, voices whispered in his ears.

He walked a few steps before a voice said, "There's a trap up ahead!" He pushed the voice out of his mind, but to his surprise, the warning was accurate. The floor crumbled, revealing sharp stakes dripping with deadly poison. He screamed as his body was impaled in three dozen places.

***

"And I thought things wouldn't get complicated until later," Gong Lan said wryly. "It seems that even the protective labyrinth has been corrupted. The map is now useless."

"I hope Brother Hao will be fine," Luo Xuehua said. "He's very strong, but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed."

"I believe I saw him teleport together with your two elders," Gong Lan said. "They should be fine. I take it that communication is impossible between our different parties?"

"Right," Luo Xuehua replied. "The walls seem to be covered in some sort of dampening formation."

Fortunately, Gong Lan's aura covered the walls in their vicinity. They could see a plethora of crimson lines along with the authentic appearance of the maze walls.

"Stop!" Xuehua suddenly yelled as Gong Lan was about to take a step.

Gong Lan paused in midair and allowed Luo Xuehua to send three dozen blue sigils right below her feet. The tile she was about to step on shimmered before going dull. "There seem to be traps in this labyrinth," Luo Xuehua said. "Please let me scout ahead before we proceed any farther."

"It's fortunate that we came here together," Gong Lan said as they walked. "I think Cha Ming will pull through fine, but I'm more worried about those beast friends of his."

"Why is that?" Luo Xuehua asked as she disabled yet another trap. "Their physical bodies are so strong. How could these traps possibly do anything to them?"

Gong Lan chuckled. "Beasts have an innate phobia of walls. While I'm not worried that the traps can damage their insanely strong bodies, I'm more worried about them going insane. Think about it, what is a labyrinth made of?"

"Um… walls?" Luo Xuehua said.

"Exactly," Gong Lan said. "Endless walls, up, down, and to the sides. It's literally a beast's nightmare in here."

***

"Don't stop running!" Huxian yelled as they stumbled across one trap after another. "It's the wall's ploy! If we stop to face the traps, they'll surround us, and then we'll be doomed!" A white aura surged around him, crushing arrows and spikes to smithereens. He'd already torn fifteen of these damnable traps to bits, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough.

"Boss, I touched one!" Lei Jiang yelled. "Am I going to die?" To avoid one of the poisonous spikes, he'd jumped off one of the tall gray abominations. In his memories, that spelled certain doom.

"We must never lose hope," Huxian said. "I'll die before letting any of them get to you."

Meanwhile, Silverwing was putting on an impressive show of aerial gymnastics. Evidently traps had been laid in such a way that even flight could not avoid them.

"There's even a wall above us!" Silverwing yelled. "What sort of damnable place is this? And where is Cha Ming? Did he betray us and abandon us?"

"I just don't know," a teary-eyed Huxian said. "I tried to speak to him, but he cut me off. Is he upset with me? Does he want to get rid of me? I swear, if he takes us out of this damnable place, I'll behave."

"Incoming!" Lei Jiang yelled. A large marble man detached from the wall and charged at them. "The walls even have servants to do their bidding. What can we do? Boss, I think we're doomed."

"Let's charge this wall servant together," Huxian said grimly.

Light and darkness overlapped as he used his strongest move to charge at full speed toward the stone monster. Silverwing sent blades of wind at him while Lei Jiang turned into an iridescent ball of lightning. The guardian didn't stand a chance. It crumbled before it could even swing its mighty hammer.

"Ha! There's hope yet," Huxian yelled. "Onward! There's only one road up ahead—it must lead to the outside."

They continued for some time before arriving at a fork.

"Um, it must be the center one," Huxian said confidently. Then they arrived at a second fork. "The center one?" Huxian said in confusion.

Before long, they arrived at a tall gray blockade. There were now four walls—one above, two to the side, and one ahead.

"This…" Huxian breathed in sharply. "This is worse than I ever imagined."

For the first time in their lives, they prayed to their ancestors.