Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  Guo Mohan walked step by step along the stone steps into the demon cave that had already been flooded by underground water, until the water completely engulfed her body, she ignited the water-dividing charm, the spell burst into flames, and the blue light transformed into a mottled spiritual energy surrounding Guo Mohan.

  In an instant, the water inside the cave was pushed to both sides by a powerful force, and Guo Mohan's path actually formed a hollow area where she could move freely. Guo Mohan cut through the surrounding water like a sharp blade cutting through silk, and she didn't dare to delay for a moment, taking advantage of the effect of the water-dividing symbol to rush down the steep stone steps hastily.

  Although the effect of the water-dividing charm allowed Guo Mohan to move freely in the water, what she didn't expect was that the effect of this water-dividing charm actually lasted for a shorter time than she had imagined. Having walked for less than two minutes, the effect of the first charm had already become somewhat weak, and the water on both sides began to drip down on her with a gurgling sound.

  It shouldn't be, right? Although the time when these talismans were placed may have been a bit long, it's not like their effect would become so short-lived. Guo Mohan was puzzled and didn't understand, but he didn't dare to delay, and hurriedly burned the second talisman, accelerating his downward sprint even faster.

  Just as she was about to arrive at the monster's lair, because she walked too quickly, she didn't notice that a stone step had been destroyed by the surging backflow just now.

  She stepped into thin air, and her whole body rolled down. The effect of the second water-dividing talisman had also reached its strongest point, and this was truly a disaster that didn't come alone. With this one fall, she completely fell into the water, and her whole body was like being thrown into the spinning drum of a washing machine, starting to spin rapidly, with water surrounding her from all sides.

  She gritted her teeth and thought to herself, "Although I've fallen into the water, it's okay, I can swim." But the key was that once this Watershed Seal was dissolved in water, there would be no way to burn it off, which meant she wouldn't be able to continue diving.

  As she thought so, the water around her had already completely broken through the weak spiritual barrier of the second watershed, churning and wrapping her inside.

  Guo Mohan was almost desperate, letting the evil tide swallow her. But just then, the water from all directions suddenly dispersed miraculously, forming a hollow area in the middle. Guo Mohan couldn't help but stare blankly, looking at her own hand, and she was shocked to discover that the Shuiyin symbol she had been holding in her hand, which hadn't been burned yet, had automatically activated itself.

  It turns out that this talisman doesn't need to be burned, but can automatically activate when it comes into contact with water?

  No wonder the usage time decreased significantly after cremation earlier.

  Guo Mohan finally understood the correct way to use the water-dividing charm, but he didn't have time to think about it anymore. Under the cover of the water-dividing charm, he rushed towards the monster's den quickly. This time, the effect of the water-dividing charm was much better than before, and after five minutes had passed, it could still continue to maintain its effect without showing any signs of weakening.

  Guo Mohan gazed through the water wall into the interior of the nest, as if walking in an aquarium. But unlike that, everything she saw was hazy and unclear.

  Because of the collapse earlier, the mud and sand underground mixed with the groundwater poured out, and the water was a mess. Moreover, there was no light at all in such a deep place, and Guo Mohan turned on his flashlight, but he could only see the shadows of countless floating objects through the water wall vaguely.

  Suddenly, she was surprised to find that among these floaters, there seemed to be something swimming.

  Is Ding Lingxu still alive? His life is too big, right? Not being crushed by stones, he would have been drowned to death for so long.

  She hastily shone the flashlight in that direction, but when she finally made out what it was, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. It was just two wooden chests used by the monsters to store treasure, now floating up and down in the dark currents inside the cave.

  Guo Mohan found that time was running out, the effect of this third Shui Fu symbol had lasted for a long time, close to seven minutes, but the previous two combined had only been used for five minutes, she must seize the moment.

  She burst into the lair, only to find that it had completely changed. The roof of the cave had collapsed, and Guo Mohan looked around to see massive boulders everywhere, even blocking the entrance to the stone stairs. She could only climb up along the rock wall, but the large boulder in front of her was extremely smooth, likely due to years of being washed by underground water. What's more, although the water-diverting charm could block water, it couldn't block rocks. The rocks that were still sinking would break through the water barrier and suddenly crash into Guo Mohan as soon as they got close, and there was no way to predict when this would happen.

  Guo Mohan gritted her teeth, carefully avoiding the falling rocks, and used her mouth to hold onto the flashlight as she climbed up with all her might. After expending a huge amount of effort, she finally managed to climb onto this large boulder.

  As she was about to continue further into the lair of the monster along the rugged and uneven pile of rocks, she found that the effect of the water-dividing talismans began to weaken.

  Guo Mohan glanced at her watch and found that it had lasted for ten minutes, which was too long. Fortunately, she still had a water-dividing charm.

  Just as she wanted to use another talisman, she suddenly realized that she was not wearing anything and had no pockets to hold the talismans. Where would she have another talisman now? The last one had been activated together with this one in the water, which was why it had lasted so long.

  Guo Mohan furrowed her brow, wishing she could slap herself, but if she went back now, there was still a chance of survival; if she continued searching, she would undoubtedly die.

  To advance or retreat? Although this thinking process is complex, it was almost instantaneous at that moment.

  Guo Mohan didn't know where he got the courage to rush to his death, or perhaps it was a woman's intuition before danger arrived.

  This intuition seemed to be telling her that if she went back, she would sleep underground for a long time, and only by continuing to search was there a glimmer of hope.

  Women may indeed be creatures that would rather believe in intuition than reason, even for someone as intelligent as Guo Mohan.

  The effect of the water-dividing charm has completely disappeared, Guo Mohan is wearing goggles and tightly holding a flashlight, surrounded by absolute silence. In front of her is a complex pile of rocks, with an extremely exaggerated degree of ups and downs, and standing on the rock looking down, below is a pitch-black abyss.

  Guo Mohan struggled to swim deeper into the rock pile with the dark tide, and the sand and gravel washed by the dark tide hit his skin very painfully, just like rubbing with a piece of sandpaper.

  Guo Mohan thought she could hold on for at least three more minutes, but what she didn't anticipate was that the underground water here was connected to the upper underground waterway of the demon's lair. Now the two waterways were linked together, equivalent to connecting two large water tanks together, and Guo Mohan's current position was at the bottom of the lower water tank. What she had to face now was no longer just a lack of oxygen, but also the powerful water pressure of the underground water that made her lose her soul.

  Kuo Mo-han was almost desperate, her swinging arms were starting to ache, she knew this situation wouldn't last too long, her eardrums and chest began to feel extremely uncomfortable, as if a pair of invisible big hands were squeezing her body, forcing her to spit out the air in her lungs.

  How hateful...

  Guo Mohan's heart was unwilling, but her consciousness had already become blurred. Just as she was almost mechanically swimming forward, no longer holding onto the hope of survival, she suddenly discovered that in the several rock piles not far in front of her, a very eye-catching beam of light had appeared.

  Guo Mohan was stunned, Light Column? What's going on?

  Moreover, judging from the color and shape of the light column, it is extremely similar to the light emitted by the flashlight in her hand.

  Is Ding Lingxu really still alive? Or is it that his flashlight hadn't turned off before he died?

  Guo Mohan's spirits lifted greatly, because no matter what the situation was, it meant that either Ding Lingyu or his corpse should be near that beam of light. Finding him might just lead to a way to escape.

  Guo Mohan quickly grasped this thread of life and desperately swam towards that beam of light.

  Although the light was not far away, it was less than twenty meters from her, but this short distance of twenty meters was more torturous than a five-thousand-meter long run. She almost didn't approach that beam of light with her own consciousness, but rather completely mechanically and instinctively, and it was only her strong will to survive that made her swim there.

  But when she saw the true state of this beam of light, she was so shocked that her eyes widened and she almost choked to death.

  In an instant, she felt like a monkey in a circus being teased with food by the animal trainer but not given any, on the verge of going crazy.

  Guo Mohan stiffened in the beam of light, his heart unsure whether he should feel thrilled or indignant.

  But an idea emerged in his mind:

  Ding Lingxiu, I must kill you!