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Cang Hai Plays with the Qilin — Chapter 23. The Chain Formation and the Ren Mian Niao. Part 1


From the moment they first heard the distant screech of the Ren Mian Niao, Qilin’s body had been trembling uncontrollably. His mind buzzed with panic, consumed by a singular thought—escape. He couldn’t think clearly about where this narrow tunnel would lead. All he could do was run.

Pushing Wang Cang Hai forward, Qilin crawled deeper into the cave on all fours, barely making it a few steps before the outside erupted in a cacophony of noise.

Amidst the frantic shrieks of what sounded like flying rats, there were also vague, unclear shouts—human voices.

Qilin suddenly froze. Then, a bloodcurdling scream tore through the air.

“Help! Help… ah—!”

“There’s someone outside!” Qilin and Wang Cang Hai spoke in unison.

Wang Cang Hai turned back. “I’ll go check. You keep moving forward.”

Qilin grabbed his arm. “Facing the Ren Mian Niao is a death sentence. You can’t save anyone. You’ll only die, too.”

Wang Cang Hai felt Qilin’s trembling grip but spoke gently, “I’ll be careful. I’ll act according to the situation.”

Qilin shook his head, refusing to step aside. “I’m sorry, Wanbao. I can’t just watch you walk to your death. If there were even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival… or if I still had my ‘Dun Di’ with me, I’d go with you to save them. But…”

Wang Cang Hai interrupted him. “What is ‘Dun Di’?”

Qilin replied, “It’s a magical artifact that allows instant movement. I accidentally dropped it in the Jin Po Cave earlier.”

Wang Cang Hai frowned slightly, uncharacteristically hesitant. “Are you talking about… a wooden hairpin?”

Qilin nodded.

From his sleeve, Wang Cang Hai took out the wooden hairpin called Dun Di and handed it to Qilin.

He felt a little guilty admitting that he had secretly taken it when he found it in the water. At the time, he hadn’t known it was a magical artifact—he had thought it was just an ordinary hairpin.

The moment he had grabbed it from the water’s surface, a strange thought crossed his mind. If they managed to escape the Jin Po Cave, would Qilin, this little immortal, suddenly disappear—just like in Donghai last time? If he hid Qilin’s hairpin, just like how Dong Yong had hidden the Seventh Fairy’s robes in the old legend, would Qilin never vanish again?

For a fleeting moment, Wang Cang Hai had felt like a sixteen-year-old boy again, indulging in a naïve, childish fantasy. So, he had secretly tucked Qilin’s hairpin into his sleeve, keeping it safe.

And sure enough, after they escaped the Jin Po Cave, Qilin was still there.

Now, as Qilin took the wooden hairpin back, he looked at Wang Cang Hai in shock. “Why did you…”

Wang Cang Hai quickly changed the subject. “Let’s go save them.”

* * *

The scene outside
The sight beyond the cave was completely different from before.

The Zhang family members who had been with them earlier had all gathered inside the cavern.

Wang Cang Hai surveyed the area and saw Zhang Hai Wang standing at the deepest part of the cave, his back against the massive roots of a Nine-Headed Snake Cypress. He was facing the direction where the Ren Mian Niao was emerging, holding aloft the Zhang family’s heirloom—his black-gold blade.

The rest of the Zhang family members were positioned along the walls, each stationed at various openings, gripping massive chains. The chains crisscrossed through the air, creating an intricate formation that covered the entire cavern, from the lowest depths to the highest ceilings.

Qilin recognized their positions instantly and murmured to himself, “The Golden Crow Demon-Slaying Formation…”

Hearing the name of the chain formation, Wang Cang Hai couldn’t help but feel a deep respect for the Zhang family’s mastery.

Historical records described two of the most powerful demon-slaying arrays—the Yin and Yang formations.

The Taiyin Demon-Slaying Formation could tear apart the heavens and earth, reshaping celestial patterns and landscapes. Legend had it that over a thousand years ago, someone had activated a fragment of an ancient Taiyin Formation, splitting open a seventy-mile-long canyon in the middle of a vast plain, creating an abyss a thousand meters deep—an act so terrifying it sent chills through all who heard of it.

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