Before entering the caverns, as the group sat in a circle to rest, Xuan Feng suddenly spoke with a solemn expression: "I've heard there are ancient legends about the caverns in this area. The Qingyu Guard once explored something here, reportedly connected to a mysterious power of the Xuanniao, a creature that seems to possess the golden light to dispel darkness. Furthermore, there are rumors regarding the Nine Nether Soul-Refining Formation—a perilous formation that, once triggered, will consume the veins of the earth and unleash endless darkness." After hearing this, though they did not take it entirely to heart, the group nevertheless retained a vague impression of it.
The instant her fingers dug into the rock crevices, Lu Yao heard a crisp sound like cracking bones from deep beneath the earth, a piercing noise that drilled into her ears and made her scalp tingle.
Purplish-black patterns like cold snakes slowly crept up from the tips of her hair, condensing into an icy spiderweb between her eyebrows, the touch resembling the frost of a bitter night, biting cold against her skin.
Chapter 121