"What is that smell?" Li Nanzhu stopped and sniffed the damp air of the mine, but she could only smell the earthy scent of the rocks and a faint hint of blood.
Rong Yuying's round fan swayed gently. Ling Suxin was the best at making incense in the sect and possessed the keenest sense of smell. Since she had spoken up, there must be something strange. Rong Yuying turned to her with a grave expression. "What do you smell?"
Ling Suxin's brow was furrowed, and the lotus lamp in her hand trembled slightly. "A... rotten, fishy stench." She pointed to a fork on the left. "It’s drifting from over there. It’s faint, but I’m absolutely sure."
Feng Weilan's blade had already silently unsheathed three inches, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the direction Ling Suxin pointed. Feng Qingping's array disk also quietly lit up with a faint shimmer, its patterns flickering in the darkness.
"I still don't smell anything," Li Nanzhu whispered to Suisui. The small skeleton lay on her shoulder, its soul fire flickering as if it were also trying its best to perceive something.
Seeing Rong Yuying and her group preparing to leave through the right tunnel, Li Nanzhu exchanged a look with her senior brother and sister.
"Daoist Rong," Feng Qingping suddenly stopped, the array disk in her palm rotating silently. "We shall part ways here."
Rong Yuying's round fan paused slightly as her gaze swept across the three of them. "Are you really going to go that way?" Her expression was filled with disapproval, and even Jingyi and the others looked over with concern.
Li Nanzhu looked at the left tunnel and spoke softly, "There is no trace of our Fourth Senior Brother anywhere else, and no other signals have been left. We must find him."
Ling Suxin's lotus lamp swayed slightly. "The smell is getting a bit stronger... are you sure you want to go deeper?"
"Exactly. Why don't you come with us first? We can find the elders."
"Yes, it's safer with the elders!"
The female cultivators of the Hehuan Sect also began to persuade them in low voices.
Li Nanzhu shook her head and smiled. "We cannot leave just for the sake of safety." She looked at Feng Qingping and Feng Weilan, seeing no hesitation in their eyes either.
"Just like you all—even though you knew it was dangerous, didn't you still come to rescue people?"
Ling Suxin opened her mouth, but the words of persuasion died on her lips. Indeed, if it were them... would they really leave so easily?
Rong Yuying fell silent for a moment before suddenly taking out the leather map from her sleeve. She condensed spiritual energy at her fingertips, and a memory stone emitted a faint glow, creating a complete copy of the map, which she handed to Li Nanzhu.
"The map belongs to the sect, so I cannot lend it to you, but I can provide you with a copy."
Li Nanzhu took the memory stone, her fingertips lightly stroking the smooth surface, a flash of gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Senior Sister Rong."
She understood that this was the greatest help Rong Yuying could provide. As the leader, Rong Yuying could not lead the other disciples to risk their lives with them. Li Nanzhu had originally intended to trade pills for a copy of the map, but she hadn't expected the other party to simply give it to them.
"Don't forget the corridor where we first met," Rong Yuying suddenly reminded them, the pearl hairpin in her hair swaying slightly as she tilted her head. "There are markings from your Five Elements Dao Sect there. If they weren't left by Daoist Feng, they were likely left by your Fourth Senior Brother."
Li Nanzhu's eyes lit up at the news, and she hurriedly activated the memory stone to check the map.
Rong Yuying's slender finger pointed to a spot not far from their current location. Li Nanzhu's heart rate suddenly quickened—she had a strong premonition that they were truly close to finding their Fourth Senior Brother this time.
As the two groups were about to part, Rong Yuying suddenly turned around, her skirt fluttering in a graceful arc. "You three."
"Yes?"
"I will be waiting for you to visit the Hehuan Sect as guests." As she spoke, her gaze lingered on Li Nanzhu for a moment longer. The other Hehuan Sect disciples also nodded, their eyes filled with sincere expectation.
Li Nanzhu and her companions were startled for a moment, then smiled in understanding. In this secret realm fraught with danger, this simple sentence was perhaps the best blessing they could receive.
Wasting no more time, the two teams quickly separated and vanished into the darkness of the tunnels.
The left tunnel Li Nanzhu's group took was much more humid than before. Dark red water droplets seeped from the rock walls, making a strange pattering sound as they fell. Suisui suddenly became somewhat restless, and Feng Qingping and Feng Weilan stopped in their tracks at the same time.
"Movement," Feng Weilan mouthed silently.
The sound of disorganized footsteps came from the corner ahead. The bloody light of a lantern pierced the darkness first, reflecting three distorted shadows. Three evil cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage were grumbling as they patrolled.
"Dammit, all those pieces of fodder ran away!" the leader, an evil cultivator at the middle-stage of Foundation Establishment, cursed as he kicked a pebble. The bloody light of the lantern illuminated his twisted face. "Now we have to come out and look for them. How are we supposed to search so many places? It's exhausting!"
"Shh—keep it down!" the second evil cultivator whispered nervously, looking around. "They might be nearby!"
The third evil cultivator shrunk his neck, his voice even lower. "I heard one of the adults was heavily injured... even used a blood escape... and another one was killed outright. If we run into those people..."
The other two evil cultivators immediately shut their mouths. Just as they were about to hurry away, the one at the back suddenly slipped. The lantern hit the rock wall with a clatter. The three evil cultivators froze simultaneously, looking around warily.
Seeing no movement, the leader couldn't help but slap the man on the head.
"Can't you watch where you're going? How did you make such a racket? Do you want to die?"
The man didn't dare say anything after being slapped, only nodding submissively. Li Nanzhu and the others exchanged a glance. It seemed this evil cultivator was the most cowardly; perhaps they could learn something from him. They had to capture him alive!
The edge of Feng Weilan's blade reflected a cold light against the rock wall—this was the signal to strike.
Feng Qingping's fingertips lightly tapped the array disk, and three hexagrams silently emerged. Li Nanzhu held back the eager Suisui, her talismans ready in her hand.
"Strike," Feng Qingping mouthed.
As soon as the words were spoken, Feng Weilan's blade light flashed like lightning! The throat of the evil cultivator on the far left was instantly slit, blood spraying onto the rock wall.
At the same time, Feng Qingping's array disk glowed with green light. The late-stage Foundation Establishment evil cultivator at the front didn't even have time to react before his throat was crushed. The last and most cowardly evil cultivator turned to run, but Li Nanzhu blocked his path with a quick step.
"A mere early-stage Foundation Establishment thinks they can—" The evil cultivator hurriedly began to form a seal, but he froze the moment he saw the skeleton on Li Nanzhu's shoulder.
With a sharp crack, Suisui extended its joints, instantly growing to the height of a person, its bone-white teeth snapping toward the evil cultivator's neck! Simultaneously, the green flames in Li Nanzhu's palm transformed into a fire lotus and shot out, while several vines suddenly lunged from the rock crevices to bind his ankles.
"Mercy! Have mercy!" The evil cultivator fell to his knees with a thud, Suisui's teeth stopping just inches from his throat!
The three of them were somewhat surprised. They had thought it would take some effort, but they hadn't expected the opponent to surrender so easily.
"How do you communicate within the mine?" Li Nanzhu asked the question she wanted to know the most.
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