From cute to empress

Chapter 355: Prologue to Escape from Life and Death

"Not good!" Zhen Youcai's face suddenly changed. He stood up suddenly and pulled me back.

Almost immediately, the stone slab he had touched glowed brightly, and then the entire ruins began to shake violently as if by an invisible giant hand. The stone wall above him cracked with a teeth-grinding sound, and broken stone rained down, raising a cloud of dust.

"Run!" Zhen Youcai shouted and pulled me to run desperately back the way we came.

However, the originally flat ground began to undulate like waves, cracking into bottomless cracks, and hot magma gushed out from deep underground, like fire snakes weaving under our feet.

The violent tremors made me lose my balance, and I tripped over a protruding rock and fell to the ground, about to be swallowed by the lava chasing behind me. At the critical moment, Zhen Youcai turned around, pulled me up, and dragged me to continue running forward.

"Cough cough..." I was almost unable to breathe due to the choking dust and thick smoke. My vision was blurred and I could only hold Zhen Youcai's arm tightly and let him take me to escape from the chaotic ruins.

The screams and wails behind us came one after another. I didn't even have time to look back before Zhen Youcai dragged me into a narrow passage.

"This way!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the narrow space.

We ran along this passage, the walls on both sides constantly collapsing, the rubble blocking our way back. I felt my heart was about to jump out of my throat, fear and despair like an invisible hand, tightly strangling my throat.

"There is no way forward!" I was horrified to find that the end of the passage was blocked by a huge stone slab, and behind me, the deafening roar was getting closer and closer, indicating that a greater disaster was about to come.

Zhen Youcai remained silent, his eyes darting around as if searching for something. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pointed to an inconspicuous groove in the stone wall and said, "Here! Maybe..."

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly pushed me into the groove, then used all his strength to push down a broken stone pillar, which happened to be stuck at the entrance of the groove, sealing me firmly inside.

"No! Don't!" I cried at the top of my lungs, trying desperately to push away the heavy stone pillar, but my strength was insignificant compared to Zhen Youcai's.

"Take care of yourself..." His voice came from outside the stone pillar, with a hint of determination, "Wait for me..."

I watched helplessly as the figures outside the stone pillars were swallowed by darkness, their desperate cries drowned out by the deafening roar. And I, trapped in this small space, faced the unknown terror alone... Darkness, boundless darkness, swallowed me. I curled up in the narrow stone cave, my ears filled with a deafening roar and the eerie scraping of rocks. I hugged my knees tightly, tears blurring my eyes. The image of Zhen Youcai pushing me into the cave, using his body to block the falling rocks, replayed in my mind.

"Youcai..." I murmured his name weakly, my voice swallowed by the roar around me, like a stone sinking into the ocean. Fear gripped my heart like an icy hand, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

I don't know how long it took, but the vibrations around me finally began to subside, eventually returning to calm. I stood up trembling, groping along the stone wall, and slowly moved towards the cave entrance.

The stone pillars still blocked the exit tightly. I struggled mightily to move the rubble away and get out through the gap.

The sight before me made me gasp. The once magnificent underground palace had now become a shattered mess, littered with collapsed stone pillars and steaming lava, the air thick with the pungent smell of sulfur.

"Talent! Great monk! Meteorologist!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing in the empty ruins, but I got no response.

I suppressed my fear and despair, and with the faint light, I began to search for my companions in the ruins. I carefully avoided the hot lava and the rocks that could collapse at any time, and every step I took was terrified.

"Your Majesty! Where are you!" A familiar voice came from a distance. I was delighted and immediately ran in the direction of the voice.

"Master monk! Meteorological officer! Where are you?" I saw the master monk and the meteorological officer standing on a huge rock, looking around anxiously.

"Your Majesty! I'm so glad you're okay!" The meteorologist breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me.

"Where are the others? Have you seen Zhen Youcai?" I asked anxiously.

"We didn't see General Zhen..." The monk's face was a little solemn, "We originally wanted to look for you, but..."

Before he could finish his words, a terrifying cracking sound suddenly came from above our heads. The three of us looked up at the same time and saw a huge stone slab hanging precariously in mid-air, ready to fall at any moment.

"Run!" the monk shouted and pulled the meteorologist to the side.

I was about to run after them when I found that the ground beneath my feet suddenly cracked open, and hot magma gushed out from the crack, forcing me back under the huge rock.

"Your Majesty! Be careful!" I heard the terrified cries of the high monk and the meteorologist. Then, a huge rock fell from the sky, smashing heavily onto where they stood, burying their figures in a cloud of dust...

I looked at the scene in horror, my heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand and almost stopped beating.

"Roar--" At this moment, a deafening roar came from the depths of the ruins, carrying with it terrifying pressure and anger. My body instantly stiffened in place, and a chill rushed from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

I slowly turned, looking in the direction of the sound. I saw a massive black shadow slowly emerging from the darkness... It drew closer, and in the dim light, I finally saw its true form—a massive monster, covered in black scales that gleamed like metal. Its scarlet eyes burned like flames, emitting a chilling light. It took heavy steps, each one shaking the earth. It seemed like an ancient demon, bent on destroying everything in the world.

I'd never seen such a terrifying creature before. Terror washed over me like a tide, my legs feeling heavy as lead, unable to move a single step. Could this be the guardian beast guarding the energy core? The overwhelming pressure it emanated made it nearly impossible to breathe. I knew, with my current abilities, I was no match for it.

However, my instinct for survival made me grip the sword tightly. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. Now was not the time to be afraid. I had to survive, for my people and for... Youcai.

I brandished my sword, casting fear and despair behind me, and resolutely faced the enormous guardian beast. The guardian beast let out a deafening roar and pounced on me. I nimbly dodged, and the blade of my sword slashed through its claws, leaving only a shallow white mark on its hard scales.

My heart sank. This monster's defenses were even stronger than I'd imagined! I didn't dare to fight, relying on my speed and agility to outmaneuver it, searching for its weaknesses. But the guardian beast's speed was beyond my expectations. It swung its massive claws, each strike carrying overwhelming force. I could only dodge awkwardly, quickly leaving several scars on my body.

My strength was rapidly declining, and the scene before my eyes began to blur. Just when I was about to despair, I suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting from afar: "Mengmeng! Hold on!"

Is... talented?!

A glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in my heart, and I looked desperately in the direction where the sound came from.

……

Meanwhile, Zhen Youcai was anxiously searching for Niu Mengmeng in this maze-like underground ruins. The collapse continued, and he didn't know how much longer he could hold out, but he would never give up. He had to find Mengmeng and get her out of this hellhole!

Suddenly, he discovered a passage hidden in the rubble. The passage emitted powerful energy fluctuations, which were exactly the same as the fluctuations they had felt near the energy core before.

Could it be that... this passage leads to the core of the ruins? Could Mengmeng be inside?

He rushed into the passage without hesitation. It was filled with violent energy turbulence, as if it was about to tear him apart. He gritted his teeth, mobilized all his spiritual power to resist the impact of the energy turbulence, and moved forward step by step with difficulty.

Finally, he reached the end of the passage, and the view suddenly opened up. A huge underground space appeared before him, and Niu Mengmeng was being cornered by a huge monster, in danger...

Youcai's figure was getting closer and closer, but I couldn't feel happy. Instead, I felt more desperate: "Don't come over! Go! This monster is not something you can deal with!"

"Don't be afraid, Mengmeng! I'm here to help you!" He seemed not to hear my cry, and rushed towards me without hesitation. A long spear danced in his hand like a dragon, carrying a sharp murderous aura, and pierced the guardian beast's vitals.

The guardian beast, distracted by Youcai, temporarily let go of me and turned to engage Youcai. It brandished its massive claws, colliding fiercely with Youcai's spear. Sparks flew, and a deafening roar echoed through the air, sending my blood boiling.

"Mengmeng! Are you okay?" Youcai took advantage of the gap between the guardian beast's attack and turned back to ask with concern.

“I’m fine…” I shook my head and struggled to stand up, but found that I was no longer able to support myself. I could only watch him fight with the terrible monster, “Be careful!”

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you!" He gave me a firm look and rushed towards the guardian beast again.

I know that it's impossible for me, a talented person alone, to defeat this monster. We are like prey caught in a spider's web, and only death awaits us.

The feeling of despair gradually spread, my vision became more and more blurred, and a deafening sound of collapse seemed to ring in my ears. Could it be... are we really going to die here?

No, I can't give up! I still have my people, I still have... talent!

I forced myself to stand, scanning the battlefield in front of me, searching for a glimmer of hope. Suddenly, I noticed a flash of pain in the guardian beast's scarlet eyes, and its massive body trembled slightly, as if enduring immense pain.

Could it be... injured? However, with its indestructible defense, how could it be easily injured?

I forced myself to concentrate and carefully observed the guardian beast's every move, trying to find the reason for its abnormality. Finally, I found that every time Youcai's attack landed on its abdomen, it would show this painful reaction.

"Great! Attack its belly!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

When Youcai heard what I meant, he immediately understood what I meant. He seized the opportunity when the guardian beast attacked and thrust out his spear like lightning, heading straight for the guardian beast's belly.

“Roar——!” The guardian beast let out a painful roar, and its huge body fell to the ground with a bang.

"Success?" I was delighted and was about to go forward to check, but suddenly I felt an even more powerful pressure emanating from the guardian beast.

Oh no! It's going to...

"Mengmeng! Be careful!" Youcai exclaimed and threw me to the ground.

The next second, a black energy beam burst out from the guardian beast's mouth, blasting a huge crater where we were originally located...