The Conspiracy Unfolds

Li Nanzhu's pupils contracted sharply.

It was Sixth Senior Brother!

Fortunately, she knew she couldn't make a sound. After her expression shifted slightly, she pressed her lips together and stared at those men.

"This kid is really troublesome," one short, stout black-robed man panted. "He's clearly just in the foundation establishment stage, yet he took out two of our brothers."

The tall black-robed man on the right kicked the iron cage. "If the boss hadn't stepped in personally, he almost would have escaped. This kid's blade techniques are strange; he even split Old Three's heart-protecting mirror."

"The most irritating one is that female cultivator," the scar-faced black-robed man on the left spat. "She was clearly trapped in the spirit-locking array. No matter how powerful she is, breaking that array should have taken time. But then this kid crashed into it with no regard for his life, causing a flaw in the formation and letting her slip away."

The short, stout man wiped away sweat. "The boss was furious." He made a gesture behind him. "He sent six more people to pursue her in three directions. That female cultivator won't get far."

"Of course," Scarface snorted. "Throw this kid into the water dungeon first. We'll deal with him once we catch that woman."

Li Nanzhu's fists trembled. With every word the black-robed men spoke, her heart grew more uneasy. Sixth Senior Brother had been captured, and Fifth Senior Sister had escaped but was being hunted... she had to find Feng Qingping as soon as possible!

Rong Yuying noticed the change in Li Nanzhu and gently squeezed her hand to offer comfort.

As the three black-robed men dragged the iron cage around a corner, Scarface suddenly stopped, looking around warily. "Wait, I feel like something is off..."

"Here he goes again!" Although the short, stout man complained, he immediately performed a hand seal and released his divine sense, a ghostly green light scanning every inch of the cave walls.

The tall man also looked impatient, yet he pulled a bronze mirror from his robes and bit his finger to draw a blood talisman on its surface. "Spirit-detecting mirror, open!"

Rong Yuying held her breath behind the scroll. Pink spiritual light flowed from her fingertips, perfectly blending everyone's auras into the mist seeping from the stone walls. Suisui shrank to the size of a fist, its soul fire condensing into a needle-thin point.

After three breaths, the bronze mirror showed no reaction. The short, stout man then took out a handful of black sand and threw it into the air, but the grains fell straight to the ground.

"I don't know why you're being so tedious," the tall man said, putting away the copper mirror. "All one hundred and twenty-three paths in this cavern have restrictions in place. Not even an ant could escape detection!"

"Enough," Scarface interrupted. "Better safe than sorry. Those Hehuan Sect female cultivators should be arriving in this area within the next two days. Everyone stay alert!"

The short, stout man shrunk his neck. "They're just some foundation establishment stage..."

"Fool!" Scarface lowered his voice. "Hehuan Sect's Rong Yuying is at the early golden core stage. Even the boss is wary of her divine sense cultivation. If she discovers this place, everyone will escape. If it ruins the big plan, see how the boss deals with you!"

"We've done the search," the tall man said, dragging the cage again. "Let's hurry and lock this kid up. I'm waiting for the shift change. Though..." He suddenly gave a sinister smile. "Speaking of which, those Hehuan Sect women are quite a sight..."

Scarface suddenly grabbed the tall man's throat. "Old Six, who acted selfishly last time, is still soaking in the water dungeon." He flung his hand away, and the strange patterns embroidered in gold thread on his black robes glowed with a dark light.

The tall man fell silent at the sight and dragged the iron cage further away. Their footsteps eventually faded at the end of the tunnel.

Rong Yuying waited a moment longer and only slowly retracted the scroll once she confirmed it was safe.

"These people hide so deeply. We've been here for three days and didn't even notice them..." Jingyi said with lingering fear.

"Do you know him?" Yu'er had noticed Li Nanzhu's reaction long ago and inquired in a whisper.

"...That's my Sixth Senior Brother. The female cultivator they mentioned is likely my Fifth Senior Sister." Li Nanzhu realized her voice was dry when she spoke. No wonder Sixth Senior Brother hadn't responded no matter how she tried to contact him when they first arrived. He might have run into these black-robed men back then.

As for Fifth Senior Sister... what was her situation now?

Rong Yuying's expression was exceptionally grave. "It seems the disappearance of our junior sisters is also related to them. Their purpose for this trip is likely to capture people. I just didn't expect them to know I was here as well." She turned to Li Nanzhu. "What are the cultivation levels of your senior brother and sister?"

"My Sixth Senior Brother is at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, and my Fifth Senior Sister is at the early golden core stage..." Li Nanzhu clenched her fists. "The boss they mentioned is at least at the mid-golden core stage, possibly even the late-golden core stage..."

Li Nanzhu knew well that if it were an ordinary early golden core stage cultivator, these men wouldn't have been able to capture Sixth Senior Brother so easily. With Fifth Senior Sister's auxiliary arrays, they could have easily held out against someone at the mid-golden core stage.

"Your senior brother should be safe for now," Rong Yuying mused. "According to them, they have a use for the people they catch. They won't do anything to him until they've captured us all. Don't worry."

Li Nanzhu nodded slightly, feeling a bit relieved. She just didn't know if Fourth Senior Brother had also been captured and brought here.

Jingyi suddenly interjected, "Senior Sister, do you think the female cultivator who escaped might be with our missing junior sisters?"

Rong Yuying pondered for a moment. "Let's follow them, but we must not alert the enemy."

Just as the four of them reached an agreement, Jingyi suddenly let out a soft cry of surprise. "Senior Sister, look at the ground."

Everyone looked down and noticed that besides the drag marks on the damp floor, there were a few undried bloodstains and some fine powder.

"It's our Hehuan Sect's specially made incense powder." Yu'er crouched down, touched some of the powder with her finger and sniffed it. Her expression instantly soured. "It's Baizhi's white magnolia!" Her voice dropped sharply. "Team three might be in trouble..."

Rong Yuying's brows knitted together once more. "But team three was led by Junior Sister Ling, who is also at the golden core stage..."

The four of them looked at each other, realizing the gravity of the situation. If one golden core stage cultivator met with an accident, it could be bad luck. But if two did in a row...

"Should we go find Qinghe?" Yu'er asked. "She's alone..."

"We can't," Rong Yuying shook her head. "If she hasn't been discovered, it's better if she meets up with team two. But if she's already been captured, going there now would definitely alert the enemy. It's better to act as if we know nothing."

With that, she took out a communication jade slip and sent a message to team two. "It's best if the message goes through. If not..."

They all understood her unspoken words. If it didn't go through, the other party could only wait for rescue.

Rong Yuying put the slip away and lightly traced a finger across the stone wall, leaving behind an exquisite Hehuan flower pattern. "We'll continue to follow them, leaving marks along the way. If Qinghe isn't captured and sees these markings, she'll naturally be on guard."

Li Nanzhu noticed that the patterns she carved stood in sharp contrast to her own sect's pentagram mark.

The four followed the drag marks. The tunnel grew increasingly damp and cold. After turning three corners, the marks ahead suddenly vanished!