TGCFNM -Chapter 277 Avalanche

As she ran forward, Chu Ling stole a glance at the few ghosts drifting effortlessly beside her and complained aggrievedly, “Why can’t we use qinggong here? Who exactly are they trying to exhaust to death?”

Wan Sanjin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “My lord, have you lost your mind? You led us onto this narrow path—how are we supposed to fly? Stick to the wall and fly?”

Chu Ling gritted her teeth. Considering Wan Sanjin was injured, she decided to let it slide this time.

“My lord, there’s light ahead—we’re almost out!” Wan Sanjin cried in delight.

Chu Ling let out a small sigh of relief. But at that very moment, the ground and walls began to shake violently. Countless fragments of stone tumbled down as the cave entrance started collapsing.

Chu Ling grabbed Wan Sanjin and shouted, “Move faster! It’s collapsing!” She surged forward, accelerating sharply. When they were close to the entrance, she directly hurled Wan Sanjin out first, then threw herself forward and rolled out after him.

Wan Sanjin clutched his chest, dust-covered and disheveled, then pulled up the equally bedraggled Chu Ling. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, “Good thing I held onto it.”

Only then did Chu Ling react—the Divine Water was on him.

“It didn’t break, did it?” she asked in alarm.

Wan Sanjin shook his head. “Of course not. That’s all money.”

Chu Ling finally relaxed. One after another, people began emerging from the cave entrance. Every single one of them looked miserable, but fortunately, they had survived.

The last to come out were Xie Yubai, the old man, and Yuan Luo.

Yuan Luo looked around and said in surprise, “The back mountain cave?”

“Huh?” Chu Ling looked puzzled.

Xie Yubai was even more confused. “Lord Chu, you didn’t know this was where we would come out?”

Chu Ling nodded. “That statue raised its hand and pointed somewhere. I thought—when even their own god is pointing the way, if you don’t follow it, aren’t you just courting death?”

Xie Yubai couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. Then, with the relief of surviving a calamity, he said, “It’s actually the back mountain cave. We all managed to come out alive. This place is close to… the path leading back to the sect. It’s a secret route of Tianjian Sect.”

At this moment, Yuan Luo’s voice grew slightly heavy. “Not everyone came out.”

Chu Ling sighed softly and patted Yuan Luo on the shoulder. “For him, this is a good ending.”

Yuan Luo shook his head faintly. “Lord Chu, my master and I both said we would follow you. But many people stayed behind to pick up gold and gemstones. In the end, they retreated along the original path.”

Chu Ling froze.

Just then, a deafening boom erupted from the mountaintop. The ground trembled violently, and everyone struggled to keep their footing, forced to support one another.

Xie Yubai and the old man exchanged a look. With a light tap of their toes, they leapt into the air to take a look.

An instant later, they landed, faces grim as they lowered their heads.

Xie Yubai opened his mouth, his voice dry. “The place belonging to the Wu Clan… it seems to be gone. It looks like the whole area has sunk. I didn’t see anyone come out…”

The old man let out a deep sigh, regret evident on his face.

“Lord Chu said greed comes with a price,” Yuan Luo murmured. “They really paid that price…”

Chu Ling glanced around and said quietly, “At least… quite a few people made it out.”

Xie Yubai gave a soft hum. “Fortunately, many survived. That’s thanks to Lord Chu’s keen insight in finding a sliver of hope.”

Wan Sanjin clutched his chest and said, “Enough talking. Let’s hurry down the mountain. If another big tremor comes, we’ll all die here.”

No sooner had Wan Sanjin finished speaking than another tremor struck. At the same time, the snow atop the mountain began rushing downward at astonishing speed, kicking up a cloud of white mist.

Chu Ling slapped Wan Sanjin sharply on the shoulder. “Jinx!”

An avalanche!

Xie Yubai was the first to react, shouting hoarsely, “Follow me down the mountain!”

Everyone’s expressions changed drastically as they charged downhill behind him, picking up speed with every step.

The tremors behind them grew stronger. The snow fell faster and faster, and the biting cold chased after them like a vengeful ghost, driving them to their limits.

Finally, when they caught sight of a group dressed in long black robes embroidered with patterns, Xie Yubai called out in a raspy voice, “Get down the mountain first!”

The crowd stared in astonishment at the black-robed figures. They appeared to be disciples of Tianjian Sect as well, yet no one in the martial world had ever known that Tianjian Mountain concealed such a force.

The old man cursed as he ran, “Xie Yubai, you old fox—you’ve hidden things well!”

Panting, Xie Yubai replied, “They answer directly to my master. If Grandmaster Qi is dissatisfied, he’s welcome to take it up with my master personally.”

The old man spat and quickened his pace.

By the time they finally descended to Tianjian Sect, people from the various sects were already waiting there to escort them down.

Xiao Hua rushed forward and grabbed hold of Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin. Seeing how disheveled they were, she exclaimed in shock, “Sir, Master Wan—what happened to you?”

Su He, Uncle Wu, and Zhang Dong hurried over as well to support them.

Wan Sanjin collapsed against Su He, gasping for breath. His voice trembled as he said, “No time to ask about the Su family… Bai Zhuoxing is dead. Dead.”

Su He’s hands tightened. “Thank you,” he said solemnly.

Chu Ling, hands on her hips and utterly exhausted, leaned on Xiao Hua’s shoulder for support. Her legs felt weak as she turned her head to look back.

From here, only a small portion of the snow-capped summit was visible. The peak looked perfectly calm, as if the avalanche moments ago had been nothing but an illusion. But everyone present knew they had narrowly escaped death—twice. First, they had nearly sunk into an icy pool; then, they had almost been buried alive by snow.

Xie Yubai caught his breath and addressed the group. “We’ve survived a calamity. I’m sure everyone is exhausted. Return and rest. If you wish to descend the mountain tomorrow, simply ask a disciple to escort you.”

Uncle Wu cupped his hands. “Sect Leader Xie, we will head down tomorrow. We’ll trouble your disciples then.” With that, he quickly led his people away.

The others gradually dispersed as well, limping back to rest.

Mei Zhongxue arrived a step late. Seeing the bedraggled state of the crowd, he was about to ask what had happened when Xie Yubai waved a hand between breaths. “Master—wait. Ask later. I’m about to collapse from exhaustion.”

At that moment, Yuan Luo spoke. “Bai Zhuoxing is dead. Gui Wushuang… is dead as well…”

Mei Zhongxue’s brows knit instinctively. He lowered his voice. “After Gui Wushuang followed you up the mountain, the Holy Maidens guarding him went straight back down. I had disciples inquire about it—they left the city immediately.”

Yuan Luo froze, eyes widening in disbelief. Then grief and fury surfaced on his face. “So… the Palace Master sent him here deliberately to die?”

Mei Zhongxue sighed softly. “I don’t understand the reason. But judging by their actions, they never expected Gui Wushuang to return.”

Yuan Luo shook his head with bitter laughter, his eyes reddening. “This Yun Palace… what ruthless methods.”

Xie Yubai gave his shoulder a heavy pat before dismissing everyone.

Mei Zhongxue looked at Yuan Luo. “The dead cannot be brought back… Yuan Luo, let it go.”

“I had only this one friend,” Yuan Luo said quietly before slowly turning and walking away.