Do You Want It?

“What kind of thing can increase our strength?” Jiang Lu asked, her curiosity piqued.

Chi Li shook its head. It could only roughly understand what Mengbao meant. As for what treasure was inside, even Mengbao didn't know; it had merely sensed its presence.

Jiang Lu nodded. No matter, they would know once they went inside.

Looking at the stone walls on both sides that were growing increasingly towering and deep, Jiang Lu knew she had already left the outer region of the Illusionary Forest.

However, this was no longer a dense forest, so they must have entered a different area.

Although she had never studied arrays, she knew this place was hidden by one. Their ability to stumble in was entirely because, over time, the energy at the array core was no longer sufficient to sustain it.

Only then did the array vanish, exposing this location.

Because very few people came here, those two had discovered it, leading to this stroke of fortune.

As they walked, the stone walls on both sides grew increasingly towering and narrow.

Suddenly, a series of cries echoed from deep inside. The three of them paused in their tracks. Something was trapped within!

The two men stopped, their faces deathly pale. What a terrifying sound! It made their hearts tremble, giving them the urge to kneel and submit. After some hesitation, they headed toward another fork in the path.

Jiang Lu glanced at them, then headed straight toward the source of the sound.

Not long after she left, the two of them poked their heads out.

“Big Brother, do you think she followed us here, or did she come on her own?”

The speaker's tone carried a lingering fear. They couldn't see through that cultivator's strength, so she was definitely much stronger than them.

“Whether she followed us or came on her own, she's not someone we can afford to provoke. Don't have any improper thoughts.”

“Big Brother, how would I dare?”

After saying this, the man glanced at his elder brother, thinking his brother thought too highly of him.

Afterward, the two crouched in place, not daring to leave.

That fork in the path was also extremely cold and eerie; with their strength, they wouldn't be able to proceed.

Their faces were filled with depression. This was the inconvenience of having low strength.

If they had the strength, they would have gone to investigate themselves long ago, instead of paving the way for others.

That cultivator was stronger than them, yet she had walked behind them without attacking them.

She had either followed them or was kind-hearted enough to ignore them.

They felt the first option was more likely.

They just didn't know if this cultivator could come out safely. If she did, they hoped she might give their clan some resources in exchange for leading the way.

Although it was a bit of a stretch, for some reason, the two felt they should stay this time.

Jiang Lu had walked about halfway when she saw stone steps leading underground.

Without hesitation, she stepped down. The stone steps seemed endless, leading into a deep, dark cavern.

As she entered the cavern, she saw drawings on the stone walls that told a story.

Jiang Lu walked, looking at the drawings as she went.

It roughly depicted a family that had produced an exceptionally gifted genius. When she went out to gain experience, a divine bird had recognized her as its master. The two of them gradually rose to prominence, and the divine bird eventually became the guardian beast of the family.

As the disciples of the family gained fame and prestige, the divine bird's strength began to gradually fade. It sensed something was wrong.

Shockingly, its master had used a secret technique to extract its divine beast bloodline and feed it to the family's disciples. Its bloodline was continuously drained, leaving it weaker and weaker.

Meanwhile, more and more geniuses emerged in the family, to the point where they eventually no longer needed it.

It was filled with resentment, hating itself for misjudging people and hating its master for returning kindness with enmity.

Thus, it harbored malice toward all members of this family.

Its master did not know that a divine beast's bloodline was unique to divine beasts; how could mere mortals withstand it?

Before long, using the secret technique as a medium, it caused all the disciples to explode and die.

Not a single member of the family survived. Its master also perished due to the backlash, and because it had used the secret technique, it too suffered a backlash, leaving it on the verge of death.

It could be described as mutual destruction.

“Master, we won't be like this, right?”

Chi Li's voice echoed in Jiang Lu's mind.

Sensing the fear of the three spirit beasts, Jiang Lu patted her pouch.

“Of course. We are family, so we definitely won't be like them.”

Hearing this, Chi Li and Cang Chen felt at ease. Their master was indeed different from other humans. They had heard from their seniors that some humans, after contracting spirit beasts, would make them work like beasts of burden to secure benefits for themselves.

But their master wouldn't. She even gave them delicious food and would face danger herself first.

They were different!

Having figured this out, the two of them exchanged a glance and raised their heads proudly.

Not understanding what was going on, Mengbao also raised its head.

Jiang Lu's heart warmed. These silly things.

As they ventured deeper, the interior grew not only freezing cold but also carried a trace of wickedness.

Then, Jiang Lu saw a large altar.

The altar was oval-shaped, with nine chains linked to a stone pillar in the center.

Jiang Lu slowly approached.

Suddenly—

The firelight around the altar instantly lit up, illuminating the pitch-black cavern.

Sensing a gaze on her, Jiang Lu looked toward its source.

There, she saw a black figure not far away.

Following the gaze, Jiang Lu looked over.

A pair of blue eyes was staring intently at her.

Without any fear, Jiang Lu raised her head and looked back.

“Human—”

“This is not a place you should come!”

Suddenly, it spoke.

“Not a place I should come? The array outside is already broken, and someone would have come sooner or later. I merely arrived before them.”

Jiang Lu looked at it, her divine sense alertly monitoring her surroundings as she spoke.

“What did you say? The array is broken?”

The voice grew increasingly shrill, making Jiang Lu's ears ring.

Jiang Lu nodded, her tone provocative.

“That's right!”

Upon hearing this, black mist emanated from the figure, and the air around the altar grew colder. Even with a layer of fire enveloping her, Jiang Lu could still feel the biting chill.

“Damnable human, how dare they deceive me!”

“Back then, I gave half of my master's family's resources to him and asked him to build this altar for me, only waiting for the right moment to recover from my injuries and reappear in the world.”

“And now, the array is destroyed. I no longer have any chance of emerging!”

“Damn it!”

“Damn it!”

Jiang Lu immediately blocked her senses. Its furious voice echoed throughout the cavern.

Jiang Lu blinked. She didn't feel any harm.

After venting its rage, it finally calmed down, looked at Jiang Lu, and asked,

“Human, did you come here for these countless magic treasures?”

“I didn't know what you had here. I merely sensed that there were treasures in this place, so I came to investigate.”

Jiang Lu naturally couldn't admit it. Coveting someone's things right to their face—she would have to be a fool to do that.

“Do you want them?”

Jiang Lu raised an eyebrow, remaining silent as she waited for it to continue.

“Hehe—”

“I see your strength is low. Although I cannot harm you right now, if I want to trap you here, I can still easily do so.”