TRCP 227 PART 1

Chapter 227 part 1

As the mushroom forest and the underground palace caved in, the entire mountain cavern began to shake violently. Debris constantly fell from the ceiling, starting with fine dust and small stones, but the shaking grew more and more intense. The cavern was in danger of complete collapse at any moment.

Tang Tingzhi sighed, “We can only try.”

“Try what?” Cong Xia asked anxiously. He could feel Abu’s unease beneath him. Abu was pacing restlessly in a small circle, looking up at the cave entrance one moment and twisting its neck to look at the unconscious Zhuang Yao on its back the next. Cong Xia gripped Abu’s ear, rubbing it so hard it was almost kneading, trying to soothe it.

“The smaller ones go up first,” Tang Tingzhi said. “Xuanzhu and the Prince, watch out for falling rocks below.”

Those who could fly carried people upwards, and those with strong climbing abilities began to scramble quickly toward the exit. The opening was incredibly steep, almost vertical, and while its diameter was wide—a good four meters—it was still too small compared to the size of the mutated animals. Even the larger birds had to fold their wings to fly through.

Deng Xiao, with Zhuang Yao on his back, grabbed Cong Xia. “Brother Cong, let’s go.”

“You guys go first. I’ll stay behind with Abu. Tianbi and Mr. Sun aren’t out yet, I’ll wait for them.” He spat out the Puppet Jade from his mouth and handed it to Deng Xiao. “Hold on to this.”

Deng Xiao hesitated. “Why don’t you go up, and I’ll stay…”

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“Ls dlle. Qlv Hbwydt Zys wr vblal iwknjzu. El’zz nsxl wr yp pssd yp Mkydck tlvp blal.”

“Ebyv ycswv Gcw?” Pldt Dkys ypjle, osaakle.

“R oswze dlhla zlyhl Gcw clbkde. Rq kv nsxlp vs kv, ol’zz ts cynj vbl oyu ol nyxl. Kwpv ts.”

Pldt Dkys takvvle bkp vllvb. Tkp xyppkhl nzyop nzwdt vs vbl asnj oyzz, yde bl pnyzle kv okvb tayhkvu-elqukdt prlle, ekpyrrlyakdt qasx pktbv kd xsxldvp.

Gqvla pbyvvlakdt y qlo xsal asnjp, Mydt Zydikw vssj Nkw Wldtuw yde qzlo sqq yp olzz.

Fsdt Ck oshl plhlayz zyatl dlvp, pnssrkdt wr vbl xwvyvle ydkxyzp vbyv nswzed’v nzkxc yde olal vss zyatl. Mbl okdtle ckaep xyel xwzvkrzl vakrp, rykdpvyjkdtzu rwzzkdt vblx wr.

Mbl asnjp qyzzkdt qasx vbl nlkzkdt talo xsal dwxlaswp yde zyatla. Mbl nyhlad oswzed’v bsze qsa xsal vbyd y qlo xkdwvlp. Mbl qyzzkdt pvsdlp bye clnsxl y plakswp vbalyv vs vblka pyqlvu. Rq kv olald’v qsa Ubw Dkdtgbsw yde Zys Ckydfkydt bszekdt vblx cynj, vblu oswze dlhla byhl clld yczl vs lpnyrl vbaswtb vbyv srldkdt.

Rd vbkp ekal pkvwyvksd sq kxxkdldv nszzyrpl, vblu aynle ytykdpv vkxl vs tlv xspv sq vbl rlsrzl yde ydkxyzp swv. Wkdyzzu, sdzu Usdt Dky, Mydt Mkdtgbk, y qlo dyvwayz qsanl lhszhlap, yde vbl vball zyatlpv xwvyvle ydkxyzp—Gcw, Psafl, yde Jyk Nkdt, obs nswzed’v rsppkczu qkv vbaswtb vbl lmkv—alxykdle kd vbl nyhlad.

The rockfall intensified. Dai Kuilin manipulated mushrooms, creating mushroom umbrellas above them that barely shielded them from the rain of stones, big and small.

Cong Xia anxiously looked back again and again, but there was still no sign of Cheng Tianbi and Mr. Sun. The mushroom forest had already sunk into the earth, and the underground palace was surely in ruins. If they didn’t come out soon, their chances were slim. It had been almost half an hour since Cheng Tianbi went to find Mr. Sun. What could have possibly delayed them for so long?

“To get them out,” Tang Tingzhi said, “we’ll have to break open the entrance.”

“What? Break it open? This is a mountain,” Cong Xia said.

Tang Tingzhi looked at Chu Xingzhou and Li Da’ai. “Only the two of you can do this. The rest of you must block the falling rocks.”

Rong Lan said urgently, “Mr. Sun isn’t out yet.”

“We don’t have time to look for them,” Tang Tingzhi said decisively.

Just then, Xiao Zhou squeezed its body through the opening and flew down. “Your Highness!”

“What are you doing back here?” Yao Qianjiang shouted.

“I came to carry you up.”

“Nonsense, I don’t need you… Watch out for the rock!” Yao Qianjiang shot out a jet of water, forcefully deflecting a large boulder that was hurtling straight for Xiao Zhou.

Terrified, Xiao Zhou quickly scurried to Yao Qianjiang’s side. “Get up there now. I can get out on my own,” Yao Qianjiang ordered.

Xiao Zhou looked at the rocks raining down from the entrance and knew that with its large body, it would be difficult to dodge them. “It’s not easy to get up now either. I’ll go with you in a bit, Your Highness!”

“Shen Changze and I are going up first,” Tang Tingzhi said. “You all hurry.”

Shen Changze picked up Tang Tingzhi and flew up, dodging the stones. When Shen Changze was in his elemental form, no one could get near him, so he wasn’t much help staying behind.

Chu Xingzhou and Li Da’ai exchanged a glance, their expressions grim. Above them was a hundred meters of solid rock. With their power, breaking open the entrance might not be a problem, but whether they could hold back the thousands of tons of rock that might fall was another matter entirely.

“Can you really control such a large mass of rock?” Chu Xingzhou asked in a low voice.

“Yes,” Li Da’ai said calmly. “Can you really lift a hundred tons?”

“Yes,” Chu Xingzhou replied.

“Then let’s try.”

They joined hands, and a furious torrent of earth energy raged within them. Even the others standing nearby could feel the impact of the immense power. Their bodies slowly floated into mid-air. A crack appeared in the ground beneath them, spreading like a burning fuse toward the rock wall. Countless fragments of stone rained down from above but hovered just over their heads, like asteroids in space—a spectacular sight. The crack, now a dozen centimeters wide, quickly climbed the rock wall, stretching toward the entrance, tearing at it with brutal force, trying to wrench it open.

At the same time, a massive boulder, the size of a train car, broke loose from the ceiling above. As everyone looked up, it blotted out the sky.

Wu You and Yao Qianjiang’s bodies simultaneously swelled on the spot, transforming into five-meter-tall giants of ice and water. They braced their hands against the falling boulder. The weight was so immense it pressed their feet deep into the soil. With a unified shout, they pushed the massive rock away.

More and more giant rocks fell from the sky. The entire cavern shook, on the verge of total collapse at any second.

The entrance couldn’t withstand the immense tearing force. The surrounding rock walls began to crack and crumble, and stones rained down like hailstones. Snow even fell along with the rocks. The entrance was being forced wider and wider, as if the entire mountain was being split apart!

The number of floating rocks above Chu Xingzhou and Li Da’ai also increased, and their energy drained away like a river. Cong Xia strained with all his might to replenish their energy, but he could only keep up with half the speed of their consumption. “They’re almost out of energy!” Cong Xia yelled. “Get them out, quickly!”

Wu You and Yao Qianjiang picked up Bai Ling and Dorje respectively and ran for the entrance. Rocks constantly rained down on them. Grunting, they endured the stone shower and climbed upwards. Bai Ling and Dorje were not skilled climbers and couldn’t assist, so they had to be carried. Although Wu You and Yao Qianjiang had become elemental giants, the five or six-ton weight was a tremendous strain. They nearly slipped from the rock face several times, only to be held up by Chu Xingzhou and Li Da’ai. At the same time, their earth energy consumption became even more alarming; they were on the verge of exhaustion.

Dai Kuilin continuously grew more mushrooms to block the rocks, but the heavier ones couldn’t be stopped. Rong Lan had to slice the rocks apart in mid-air. He transformed into a golden streak, darting back and forth between the boulders. The energy drain on both of them was equally significant.

Cong Xia was frantic, and Abu began to shriek in distress. He turned to look. The entire mushroom forest had completely collapsed, and the underground palace was surely destroyed. Yet, there was still no sign of Cheng Tianbi or Mr. Sun. He couldn’t stop himself from yelling, “Cheng Tianbi—!”

No miracle occurred.

With help from the people on the mountaintop, Bai Ling and Dorje were finally hauled up. Wu You, his energy depleted, could barely move. Yao Qianjiang wasn’t in much better shape. Thinking of Xiao Zhou and Cong Xia still below, he gritted his teeth and transformed into a column of water, dropping back into the cavern.

“Hurry!” Li Da’ai screamed.

After landing, Yao Qianjiang once again became a water giant and scooped Abu up by the waist. Xiao Zhou grabbed Cong Xia and Dai Kuilin with its claws. They used a mushroom umbrella to forge a temporary path, climbing toward the entrance under the rain of stones.

Abu, being a feline, was a decent climber. Once Yao Qianjiang brought it to the entrance, it dug its claws into the rock and began to scramble upwards with all its might. However, more and more rocks fell from above, and it was knocked down several times, its head bleeding.

“The cave is really collapsing! Faster!” Rong Lan shouted.

“Cong Xia, I’ll take you up first! Abu will be last!” Yao Qianjiang yelled.

Cong Xia knew they were planning to abandon Abu. Everyone was nearly exhausted. Abu was too large to dodge the falling rocks, and at this point, no one could carry its six-ton body up. “No!” he cried. “You guys go first! I’ll… I’ll wait for Tianbi! He will definitely get me and Abu up!”

“Are you crazy?” Yao Qianjiang roared. “We don’t even know where Cheng Tianbi is! The cave is about to collapse! Do you want to be buried alive?!”

“He’s coming, I can feel it!” Cong Xia wiped away the blood that had somehow appeared on his face. “You guys go up! Don’t worry about me.” If he left Abu behind, he couldn’t face Zhuang Yao.

Yao Qianjiang glared at him, then finally said, “Xiao Zhou, you and Dai Kuilin go up first.”

“Your Highness…”

“Go now! You’re just a burden here! Who told you to come down?!” Yao Qianjiang snapped.

Xiao Zhou’s mouth trembled in grievance. It grabbed Dai Kuilin and flew toward the top of the cave. Dai Kuilin continuously grew plants on the rock face to block the stones. The short hundred-meter journey was fraught with peril, but they finally reached the mountain top.

Chu Xingzhou and Li Da’ai could hold on no longer. The rocks above their heads began to tremble. It looked like the thousands of stones were about to bury them alive.

A flash of golden light shot past, grabbing them both by the waist. In an instant, Rong Lan was dozens of meters away with them. The rocks that had been floating weightlessly in the air crashed down with a deafening roar that made everyone’s ears ring. The force of the impact sent them staggering. In the chaos, a rock struck Rong Lan’s back. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly drained of all color.