The air immediately grew heavy and damp as the groups tried to escape across the mossy threshold, the entrance a jagged maw in the sheer rock face. It felt like sinking into the earth's cool, steady breath. The last vestiges of sunlight were choked off, plunging them into a profound, almost velvet darkness that pressed against the eyes.
The silence was not empty, but thick and resonant, punctuated only by the steady, hypnotic drip of water filtering through the limestone overhead.
Outside of Wang Changming's tomb at the foot of the stairwell, Mu Dishi pushed Cao Wenyan toward Cao Fengge. Cao Wenyan looked at Mu Dishi, pleading. "Mu gongzi, let's leave this place together."
Mu Dishi remained detached. "Cao gongzi, we don't owe the other party anymore. You remember to go up the stairs and go left; don't go back to the original place. This will take you to a different path that will lead you back to the front entrance."
Cao Wenyan insisted, "Come with me."
Mu Dishi began to walk back toward the tomb room. Cao Wenyan hurriedly followed, but Cao Fengge hit his neck, causing him to faint instantly. Two disciples carried him, and the group—Cao Fengge, Wang Biming, and Miao Mingzhu—left to follow Mu Dishi's directions.
Inside Wang Changming's tomb, the walls began to creak ominously, and the stalactites started to fall to the ground. The creaking of the walls was like thunder on a rainy day. Ma Jingguo and the poisoned Wang Zedong stood opposite each other in the debris-littered tomb.
Wang Zedong pointed a trembling finger at Ma Jingguo. He said, his voice ragged with rage and madness, "I will kill you!"
Wang Zedong yanked Ma Jingguo closer, his powerful, poisoned hand grabbing Ma Jingguo's neck and squeezing it tight. He lifted Ma Jingguo clean off the ground. Wang Zedong hit Ma Jingguo's chest twice and began to batter his abdomen.
"How dare you disobey me?" Wang Zedong snarled, his voice a venomous hiss. "Did your bastard mother teach you to disobey me? I would rather kill you with my own hand than have you stand on my enemy's side!"
Ma Jingguo's voice was weak, but his resolve was firm. "Then kill me. I don't want to live anymore. I don't want to watch Xiao Shushu fall in love with others. I can't accept it." He forced a shout through his crushed throat. "I won't accept it!"
"Very well, you can go to hell with your bastard mother," Wang Zedong sneered.
Wang Zedong delivered a powerful punch that smashed Ma Jingguo's abdomen, sending him flying forward.
Ma Jingguo slammed onto the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Wang Zedong then pulled back the vine that was still tightly tied around Ma Jingguo's waist, dragging him closer. Wang Zedong spotted a sword on the ground, picked it up, and prepared to cut Ma Jingguo's throat.
Mu Dishi sprinted from the entrance of the tomb, unsheathing Honglei with his left hand. He swiftly cut the vines binding Ma Jingguo and simultaneously shot two golden needles at Wang Zedong. Mu Dishi lowered his eyes, taking in Ma Jingguo, who was badly injured and lying on the ground.
Ma Jingguo's voice was weak but focused on his betrayal. "Are you leaving with Cao Wenyan?"
Mu Dishi's reply was cold and detached. "You leave now. You must quickly leave before the door closes."
Ma Jingguo asked, desperate for his lover to join him. "How about you?"
Mu Dishi stated flatly, "I'm not leaving."
"Why not?" Ma Jingguo pressed.
Mu Dishi looked at Ma Jingguo, revealing a piece of his own desolate heart. "I don't have anyone waiting for me at the other side." He quickly put on a pair of black metal gloves, then forcibly pushed Ma Jingguo toward the door and went straight for Wang Zedong. "Hurry up, your time is running out," he commanded.
Ma Jingguo murmured, lost and broken. "Leave? Where to? Who is waiting for me on the other side of this cave?" He looked back at Mu Dishi.
Mu Dishi pierced Honglei into the ground, then released four guzheng strings that immediately nailed Wang Zedong onto the wall. Mu Dishi picked up a sword on the ground and stabbed at the immobilized Wang Zedong. Wang Zedong, driven by the poison, broke free with his right hand and grabbed the sword. Wang Zedong dragged the sword forward, striking Mu Dishi on his left chest, sending him stumbling back several steps. Mu Dishi shifted the sword to his right hand and pounced at Wang Zedong again. Wang Zedong radiated his internal force into his hand and slammed his fist at Mu Dishi.
Ma Jingguo knew instantly that if that punch struck Mu Dishi's left chest, it would be the end of him. He had protected Mu Dishi many times before, and if he could do it again, he was willing. He sprinted forward, positioning himself directly in front of Mu Dishi, holding Mu Dishi tightly inside his arms.
Then, he felt Wang Zedong's fist fall squarely on his right shoulder blade. He could hear the distinct sound of his shoulder blades cracking. He spat out blood.
Mu Dishi's reaction was instantaneous and deadly. The sword was a blur, not a strike, as he drove it straight into Wang Zedong's throat. With the same brutal efficiency, he slammed the now lifeless Ma Jingguo's body behind him. A surge of his internal energy—a focused, sharp snap—sheared the sword in half, leaving the jagged blade lodged deep in Wang Zedong's neck. Before the dying man could even twitch, Mu Dishi followed through, plunging the remaining fragment into his chest. The force of this final, devastating blow hurled the poisoned grandfather violently backward, crushing him against the cold tomb wall.
Wang Zedong coughed up blood, gasped for a few minutes, and then collapsed, dead, with his hands hanging limply at his sides.
Mu Dishi pulled Honglie from the ground, sheathed Honglei and turned to look at Ma Jingguo. Ma Jingguo fell to the ground, vomiting more blood. Mu Dishi quickly helped Ma Jingguo up. Together, they rushed out of Wang Changming's tomb and hurried up the stairwell, even as rocks and debris began to fall heavily around them.
Safely escaped out of the collapsing cave, Cao Fengge stood outside the main entrance, looking at the chains that still lay across the mouth of the tunnel. Cao Fengge gave a ruthless command, "Light it up."
Yan Zhanjin was taken aback at Cao Fengge's instructions. He said in horror, "Chief Cao, Ma-xiong and Mu Dishi are still inside!"
Cao Fengge was absolute. "Now!"
Cao Yanmei pleaded, "But father, Mu Dishi saved da ge!"
Cao Fengge was unmoved. "I don't care. He is my enemy, and he must die." He roared at his disciples: "Light it up!"
Zhu Mingyang was instantly enraged. "You dare?" He began to attack the Beixing Sect disciples who were holding the torches. But some disciples had already lit the gunpowder.
Gu Yingjie, knowing the futility of fighting, urged, "Mingyang, stop arguing, let's leave here first."
Cao Fengge seized the moment. "Guard Zhu, if you don't like it, then you can go back to the cave." He grabbed a torch from a disciple and threw it back into the cave. The cave began to explode. "Everyone heads down the mountain now!"
Yan Zhanjin instinctively ran back toward the exploding cave, but Zhu Mingyang grabbed his hand, then grabbed Gu Yingjie's hand, and forcefully dragged them both down the mountain.
The massive explosion sealed the fate of the remaining people: those trapped in the Mu Treasure Cave were either killed by the wreckage that fell when the cave roof collapsed, or by an opponent's hand before the final blast.
At the foot of the mountain, many martial artists came running down, fleeing for their lives. The mountain rumbled on the other side; the earth began to slide down, and underground water erupted from the mountainside, creating a rushing stream. The people at the foot of the mountain could only stand still and watch. They breathed a collective sigh of relief, lucky enough that the landslide was happening on the far side of the mountain and they were out of danger.
Fu Yuanjun commanded, "No one move or go up the mountain until we know for sure that the landslide has stopped."
They listened to the faint cries for help and painful screams echoing from the mountain, but there was nothing they could do except wait for the chaos to settle down and assist any survivors. Soon, more and more martial artists of different sectors and clans began to appear at the foot of the mountain—people who had not been at the cave entrance earlier.
Fu Yuanjun looked at Elder Tong. "Why are these people only appearing now?"
Elder Tong replied grimly, "I don't know, but no matter what their reasons are, it's absolutely not good."
Fu Yuanjun made a quick decision. "You wait here with these people. I will go see if Mu Ge and Ma-xiong escaped." He then ran up the mountain toward the wreckage.