In the following time, Long Chen examined everyone's bodies, assessing their flesh, soul, and bones.
This was originally a group of geniuses, but had been neglected. Now, Long Chen wanted to reactivate their talents, so he needed to strike hard.
Long Chen had tailored the medicinal liquid for them, and the Gu poison he had previously given them was actually a potential pill. Unlike the pills at the Pill Institute, Long Chen had privately improved it to maximize their potential. This was also why Li Cai could awaken so easily—everything was within Long Chen's expectations.
Preparing the potion for thirty-six people took Long Chen an entire day. The next day, Long Chen threw everyone into a valley surrounded by cliffs on three sides.
"Mentor Long Chen, are you bringing us here for a trial?" But what kind of trial is there here? A disciple asked in confusion.
"Hiss!"
Long Chen didn't answer. He grabbed a stone and threw it, which shot like a meteor, crashing into a cliff.
With a loud explosion, a huge hole was blasted open in the cliff. Everyone was startled—Long Chen's power was terrifying.
"Buzz buzz buzz...
But before they could recover from Long Chen's terrifying power, a large hole appeared where the cliff had burst open, and countless fist-sized wasps flew out from inside.
The wasps were as small as ordinary fists, with some as long as their forearms, and their front had scorpion-like pincers. Their heads were covered in patterns, making them look extremely fierce.
"Scorpion wasps?"
A disciple shouted that this was an extremely terrifying existence; its pincers, tentacles, and tail stinger were highly poisonous.
But strangely, each time they attack, they only use one part of their body, then need a brief rest before switching to another part, and the toxins in the three parts differ.
If a person is stung by three parts of a scorpion wasp, gathering all three toxins, they will die, but being stung once or twice is not a problem.
But with thousands of scorpion wasps, if they caught up, they'd definitely be stung like sieves, and death was certain. In an instant, the courage they had just summoned vanished like smoke.
"Scorpion wasps fly very fast. At least you can't outrun them. If you want to survive, kill them all. Whether you survive depends on personal luck." Long Chen said calmly.
"Mentor Long Chen, this won't do. We've been neglecting it for years; we need to proceed step by step... a disciple shouted.
"How could I have time for you to progress step by step? Will your opponents give you this chance? If you want to reclaim what you have, you must pay the price. Are you still living in fantasies now? Long Chen snorted coldly.
At that moment, scorpion wasps swarmed in, enraged and lunging to bite everyone.
"What are you just standing there for? Draw your weapon to block." As the regiment leader, Li Cai was finally a bit stronger than the others. He was the first to wield his long sword and slashed at the scorpion bees.
"Give it your all!"
The disciples gritted their teeth. With no other choice, they all grabbed their weapons and swung their swords at the scorpion bees.
"Ah..."
For a moment, screams echoed endlessly. The elite squad was overwhelmed by scorpion bees, and after holding out for less than a few breaths, everyone collapsed to the ground.
"Bang!"
Long Chen threw out a handful of dust. The scorpion wasps seemed extremely afraid of the dust and immediately retreated.
After more than an hour, Li Cai and the others slowly regained consciousness. They felt numb all over, aching and itching.
"Are we dead?"
A disciple looked around in confusion. When he saw Li Cai, he suddenly smiled, because Li Cai's face was swollen like a pig's head, almost unrecognizable.
And with that smile, a sharp pain shot through the corner of his mouth. It turned out he wasn't doing much better—his face had already swelled to the extreme, and with a single smile, the corner of his mouth was torn apart.
Everyone slowly woke up, finding their bodies swollen, their hands like steamed buns, fingers like little radishes, and their whole bodies numb and numb.
"Actually not dead?" I remember being stung dozens of times—how lucky am I? A disciple exclaimed in delight.
"Where is Mentor Long Chen?" Someone asked curiously, because they realized this was no longer the valley they had just been, and Long Chen was gone.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed in the distance, like a river breaking its banks. Immediately after, a scorching wave of air struck, igniting the distant mountains and billowing smoke.
"What happened?"
"Yes... Magma!"
Someone cried out in alarm. Lava was flowing out from ahead, rushing toward them. Only then did they realize they were in a river channel, and the lava was flowing toward them along the river.
"Run!"
Li Cai was shocked. If they were swallowed by lava, they would all be reduced to ashes.
"Ouch... Li
Cai had just taken a step when he collapsed headfirst to the ground. His numb body made his reactions dulle, as if filled with lead.
"Quick, the cliff ahead is a few miles away. There are vines there. If we climb up, we can escape danger." Li Cai got up from the ground and shouted ahead.
This was a dried-up river channel. There should have been a waterfall ahead, but the waterfall disappeared, forming a deep pit. Countless vines sprouted from the cliff, making it the only way out.
Behind them, the area was blocked by magma. Watching the magma slowly approach, everyone rolled and crawled forward.
"I can't take it anymore, please save me, I can't move my legs." One disciple cried out in terror.
His legs were swollen like wooden barrels, completely numb, and could only crawl out, quickly leaving everyone behind.
"Bring me a leg-wise one."
Li Cai gritted his teeth and ran to the disciple's side, grabbing his hand with one hand and pulling him forward, but after Li Cai called out, no one else responded.
Li Cai was furious: "Mentor Long Chen said that if we want to get back what we need, we must unite. Have you all forgotten?" When
Li Cai said this, many people hesitated. They were all disciples of noble families and had seen the sinister faces of people. They had never thought of doing anything for others. Asking them to risk their lives to save others was too difficult for them.
"Damn it, if I'm dead, I'm dead."
One disciple gritted his teeth and ran back to grab the other disciple's hand. Soon after, the others came back to drag down those who were running slower.
The disciples who were dragged along were moved to tears; in their lives, they had never experienced anyone willing to risk their life to help them.
"Quick, quick, ...
A disciple shouted as the magma behind them slowly closed in on everyone. Not far behind, they had already felt the terrifying heat of the lava. If they were devoured, their bones would be wiped out.
A distance of several miles would normally take them to cover in just a few breaths, but now it was harder than reaching the sky.
However, with desperate effort, people unleash boundless potential. When the magma was still several zhang away, they finally reached the cliff with difficulty. They grabbed the vines and climbed upward, quickly lifting their bodies into the air, temporarily escaping danger.
Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a person appeared on the cliff.
"Mentor Long Chen?" Everyone was overjoyed, thinking they could be saved.
But Long Chen's next move made them scream in terror. The long sword in Long Chen's hand struck the vines, severing dozens of vines.
"No...!"
Everyone shouted, their bodies plunging into the lava, instantly swallowed by it.