"W-what do we do now?!" Jing Hei asked as he immediately pulled back down Qian Lin when they saw there were also crawling insects coming from above them.

They sucked in a cold and sharp breath when they saw the insects started to crawl onto the vines where they are hanging by the arms.

"L – Let me try throwing a fire talisman!" Qian Lin said and pulled a talisman from inside his sleeve, then threw it to the nearest insect.

BOOM!

"WAH!" they exclaimed when the vines swung because of the impact. They fought the dizziness and tightened their hold onto the vines.

They looked up to see if the insect died, only for their heart to sink when they saw that the insect was fine. Because the insect was near them, they saw it has an outer shell that is glistening. Its back, head and legs were all covered by the shell. They could even see it has antennae, and worse, it has wings on its back that started to make a buzzing noise as it flapped, as if it was thinking whether to continue crawling towards them, or just fly to them and eat them.

Jing Cheng, Jing Bai and Jing Hei who could guess the bug's thought from watching its twitching antennae. "…" damn insect. You just wait until we catch you and then we'll wrap you with flour and deep fry you in boiling oil! They thought as their eyes flashed with vengeance.

Manwhile, Qian Lin has finally completely calmed down after his attention was diverted from his acrophobia to them being sieged by the crawling insects. "Our attacks have no effect on them, since their shell is too hard to be scratched." He said and looked at the shell on the back of the insect he threw a fire talisman to earlier.

Not even a scratch or a mark of a burn could be seen. It was glistening brightly, as good as new.

"What should we do now?" Jing Bai asked as he panted. His forehead and back were soaked in sweat like Jing Cheng. Not only do they have to bear their weight, but also Jing Hei's and Qian Lin's. Fortunately, the vine they are grasping on to is sturdy, or else it would have already snapped since earlier from the four men's weight.

Jing Cheng's brows are knitted into almost a line. "Above us is no good, as well as to our left and right sides…" he said. His teeth are grinded into almost a dust.

"Then – " Jing Bai gasped as he finally followed Jing Cheng's thoughts.

Jing Hei, who was slow just a beat from the speed of Jing Bai's mind working, widened his eyes in realization and he subconsciously looked beneath them, into the dark abyss. "You don't mean – " he muttered under his breath.

"Ah Hei? What are you all talking about?" Qian Lin asked when he saw Jing Hei's horrified expression, Jing Bai's regret and Jing Cheng's pained expression.

Jing Cheng didn't give Jing Hei a chance to refuse as he let go of the vine and they plunged into the abyss!

"AAAAAAAH - !" Jing Hei screamed and his voice was cut off a second later as his and Jing Cheng's figure disappeared in the darkness.

Qian Lin was stunned. He was about to scream when he suddenly felt the air whipped into his face as Jing Bai let go of the vine not long after Jing Cheng did. The moment they fell, the insect had just reached their previous place and slashed at it.

Qian Lin's scream was trapped in his throat as he was hit by the darkness in the abyss. Then, he saw something shone in the darkness; the light cutting through the abyss.

"AH LIN!" it was Jing Hei. He was riding on his sword. When the light from his sword illuminated the surrounding, he saw Qian Lin and immediately grabbed him.

Jing Cheng and Jing Bai, who were free falling, also summoned their sword and rode on it, stopping them from completely falling flat on the depths of the ground in the abyss. They all hovered in the air and looked at each other in silence. "This is – " they said when they saw the stone walls coated with green moss.

"A cave." They all held their breath. "Is this the Cave of Retribution?" they asked as they descended.

"No – " a voice spoke from the darkness. " – the whole underground palace is the cave."

"Who's there?!" Jing Hei asked as they looked around.

"Congratulations for finding the cave first." The voice didn't answer the question and just expressed his congratulations by illuminating a path for them.

They were the bioluminescent plants, and they are swaying even without air moving them.

"Who are you?" they asked again as they descended on the ground and raised their sword towards the darkness.

"The competition is already over, since it will inevitably be cancelled due to the Zhongyang being under attack by the demonic cultivators." Jing Bai said.

"Are you an elder of the Righteous Alliance waiting for our arrival?" Qian Lin asked.

However, the voice just chuckled and didn't respond to them. They waited for the voice to speak again, yet it was for naught since they didn't hear the voice speak again.

…

Yu Sheng watched the Zunjingde Sect foolishly stood as they searched for his voice. "Xiao Qi." he called. "You don't want for them to die?" he asked when he saw the water in the spring swirled to a different direction. "You wish for them to be sent back to their home?" he added.

The flowers around them sway, as if Shen Qi was nodding as an answer.

"Very well." Yu Sheng sighed before he paused. "Your subconscious finally making a respond, even Bai Shen never had received before…" he said.

When he entered this independent space created by the spring, he saw Bai Shen waiting upon Shen Qi for years, yet Shen Qi had never made any action to respond to Bai Shen, even just expressing his gratitude for being taken care of for all these years.