Time Travel: Ancient Martial Arts Chronicles

After Lin Xiaoxiao, Su Yao, Ye Wuhen and others successfully withdrew from the Western Regions to the Central Plains, they brought back the good news of destroying part of the "Dark Night Brahma Sound" preparatory camp, but everyone knew that this crisis was only temporarily suppressed. The threat hidden in the dark was still like a beast ready to pounce, with fangs hidden, and could pounce again at any time.

Inside the Wulin Alliance's main hall, the atmosphere was so tense it felt as if water could be squeezed out of it. The leaders of the major sects gathered once again, surrounding a long table covered with maps of the Western Regions and intelligence letters, their brows furrowed, their gazes deep. The Alliance leader, his expression stern, clutched the latest intelligence file in his hand. He spoke in a deep voice, "Lin Xiaoxiao and the other chivalrous warriors have performed great service this time, but after this attack on 'Dark Night Brahma Sound,' their actions have become even more secretive. We haven't yet fully grasped the details of the forces they've recently colluded with. It's like a puzzle with key pieces missing, posing a huge threat."

Everyone passed around the new intelligence, which featured bizarre symbols and sketches of people, marking the locations of several recently discovered, yet unknown, outposts in the Western Desert. Lin Xiaoxiao leaned in, her gaze focused, and pointed to a marker. "I seem to have heard this place before during our evacuation. Strange noises were faintly heard in the sandstorm. They didn't sound like natural wind, but rather like some large-scale mechanism operating." Ye Wuhen nodded, his expression grave. "It seems they've concealed their vital points even deeper. These outposts may be the key to their next plot."

After discussion, the Wulin Alliance decided to send out multiple spies again, including not only experts from the Beggars' Sect who are well-versed in the desert's customs and adept at concealing their movements, but also individuals from various sects with exceptional martial arts skills and keen ears and eyes, tasking them with completing the "intelligence puzzle." Meanwhile, Su Yao, Ye Wuhen, and Lin Xiaoxiao volunteered to explore a valley suspected of holding the core secrets of the "Dark Night Brahma Sound," rumored to be a gathering place for numerous mysterious forces to exchange secrets.

The three set out on their journey westward, this time traveling light and tactfully concealing themselves. Deep in the desert, the wind howled, sand and gravel flew like hidden weapons, obscuring the sky and making every step difficult. Despite her youth, Lin Xiaoxiao showed no fear. With her small and nimble form, she leaped and darted across the dunes like a nimble sand fox, occasionally using simple tools to detect hidden traps beneath the sand.

As they approached their target valley, the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie. A layer of lavender mist hung at the valley's entrance, slowly flowing as if alive, emitting a faint, pungent odor of decay and strange fragrance. Ye Wuhen pulled out his custom-made compass, and the needle spun wildly, indicating a disturbed magnetic field. Something was definitely amiss. Su Yao gripped her Emei sword tightly, leaning over to whisper to her companions, "Everyone, be careful! This mist could distort the mind and erode internal strength."

Covering themselves with wet cloths soaked in the antidote, the three of them cautiously entered the valley. The valley was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional "tick-tock" sound, like falling water or the whirring of a mechanism. The mountain walls on either side were engraved with strange runes, shimmering with a faint blue light. Curious, Lin Xiaoxiao approached to observe. As she approached, a hidden spring suddenly activated beneath her feet, sending several spikes erupting from the ground. Quickly reacting, she tapped her toes, leveraging the momentum and leaping backward, narrowly avoiding them. Seeing this, Ye Wuhen swung his Tai Chi sword in an arc, sweeping across the area, triggering the surrounding hidden mechanisms one after another. Suddenly, poison arrows and darts rained down. Su Yao's Emei sword danced like a flower, clanging and deflecting all the hidden weapons.

After groping forward for a long time, they finally saw a cave with black-robed guards patrolling in front of it. The three of them hid behind a huge rock, and when the guards changed shifts, Ye Wuhen used the "Ghost Step" to quietly approach and quickly knocked down several people. Entering the cave, it was filled with parchment scrolls, strange-looking experimental instruments, and pottery jars containing various poisonous insect samples. Lin Xiaoxiao flipped through the parchment scrolls, which recorded the details of the transactions between "Dark Night Brahma Sound" and various forces, the methods of cultivating and upgrading poisonous insects, and a detailed battle plan draft against the Central Plains martial arts world. She widened her eyes and exclaimed in a low voice: "Found it, this is their lifeblood!"

But at this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the cave, as if a large number of reinforcements had arrived. Su Yao hurriedly said, "Hurry up, we can't be trapped here!" Ye Wuhen grabbed the key sheepskin scroll and put it in his arms, and the three of them broke out. The enemy outside the cave had blocked the way. The black-robed leader stood in the front, his face ferocious: "There is a road to heaven, but you don't take it. There is no door to hell, but you insist on breaking in. Today is your burial place!" After saying this, he waved his hands and swung out an iron chain from his sleeve. The chain head had a sharp barb and pressed it straight into the throats of the three people.

Lin Xiaoxiao dodged nimbly, her sword ripping the chains apart. Ye Wuhen's Tai Chi sword, using softness to overcome hardness, entangled the chains, leveraging the force to swing back. Su Yao, targeting a weak spot in the enemy's encirclement, unleashed a fierce sword strike, carving a bloody path. The three fought and retreated, using the valley's terrain to maneuver around the enemy. Fortunately, the remains of the previously triggered traps also became a natural barrier to their pursuers. After a hard fight, they miraculously broke through the encirclement and disappeared into the desert. Returning with valuable intelligence, they added a crucial weight to the Central Plains martial arts world's response to the crisis. However, they also knew that the life-and-death game with "Dark Night Brahma Sound" had only just begun to intensify.