Chapter 604 - 611: Too Late to Regret

The location on the map wasn’t too far. After about three or four days, Song Wanning had arrived.

She took out the map to confirm she was in the right place, then jumped down from her Flying Artifact.

Before her was an abandoned medicinal herb garden. The surrounding fences and the Array were still present, but there were no Medicinal Herbs left.

Instead, the weeds grew with impressive vigor.

Song Wanning let her little companions out to help her search for the monsters’ location.

Meanwhile, she observed the surroundings.

"Sister, there are no treasures here!"

The Dragon Spirit only needed a moment to sense that there were no treasures.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of a potent aura. The most valuable things here were probably the weeds.

"Oh?"

Song Wanning looked up slightly, a sharp glint flashing through her eyes.

’The suspicion in my heart resurfaced, impossible to suppress.’

About half an hour later, a monster was suddenly forced out of a narrow crevice by the Divine Nether Profound Fire, squeaking anxiously.

Her little companions swarmed it at once, frightening the monster into an even more piercing shriek.

Perhaps sensing that one of their kind was in danger, more and more monsters crawled out of the crevice and attacked her little companions.

Their blood-red eyes were filled with bloodthirsty ferocity. Even though each was just a small ball, they felt incredibly threatening.

A group of monsters quickly surrounded and attacked the little companions.

Song Wanning didn’t intervene this time. For one thing, she wanted to give her little companions a chance to practice and help them grow.

For another, she wanted to observe exactly how these monsters were crawling out of that crevice.

She had discovered that the monsters seemed capable of shrinking their bodies, making them exceptionally subtle and hard to detect when they hid.

If she and her companions hadn’t shown themselves, she probably wouldn’t have found them either.

After observing them carefully for a while, Song Wanning had a better understanding of the monsters. She took out a Communication Talisman and reported the matter to Luo Hantian.

"You mean, there’s a problem with Lan Garden?"

Luo Hantian’s cautious voice, tinged with surprise, came from the Communication Talisman.

’Once is a coincidence, but a second time?’

’Whether Lan Garden is aware of it or not, they are definitely involved in this matter.’

"Yes. I suspect they deliberately released this map to deliver food to the monsters."

A cold glint flashed in Song Wanning’s eyes. ’If that’s true, then everyone from Lan Garden deserves to die!’

"Sect Master, please investigate how many of these maps Lan Garden has auctioned off over the years. Also, check for any auction houses that have secret ties with them."

"If I’m not mistaken, they may have started this a long time ago!"

"What?"

The Sect Master’s hair stood on end when he heard this, but he quickly calmed his mind.

’If there really are traitors within the Human Clan, or if some faction is raising these monsters, what are they planning to do?’

A chill rose within him as Luo Hantian swiftly realized the gravity of the situation.

"Wan Ning, be careful for now. I’ll have Liu Xingzhi come help you deal with the monsters."

"I’ll start investigating Lan Garden immediately. I will get to the bottom of whatever power is behind this as soon as possible!!!"

He quickly ended the call on the Communication Talisman, dropped everything else he was doing, and immediately went to investigate Lan Garden.

There were no definite conclusions yet, so he couldn’t inform the other factions.

He could only investigate secretly on his own for now.

On the other end, Song Wanning also ended the call, her expression grim.

She took out the map, the killing intent in her eyes intensifying.

’If someone is really pulling the strings from behind the scenes, they must be eliminated!!!’

’I will not allow anyone to destroy this world!!’

...

"Eldest Senior Brother, this is the place!"

A group of people finally arrived at another location on the map, their eyes shining with delighted surprise.

Before them was an abandoned mine, littered with rocks.

Not far away was a mine shaft, its dark, gaping entrance facing them.

It was as if it were beckoning to them.

The Eldest Senior Brother led them as they jumped off their Flying Swords, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.

"Everyone, pick up the pace!"

With a wave of his hand, the group instantly ran toward the mine shaft.

Everyone was very cautious, having prepared their defensive measures.

But not long after entering the mine, someone discovered a stray Spirit Stone.

"There are Spirit Stones! And they’re Mid-Upper Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Really?"

The group was already short on Spirit Stones, so they grew even more excited at the sight.

They began searching all over for Spirit Stones and, to their surprise, actually found quite a few.

"This map really is legitimate! Isn’t this a huge treasure?"

"With just these Spirit Stones, we made the right choice coming here. Whether there’s a bigger treasure or not, this trip was worth it!"

"Exactly! I told you there was nothing wrong with the map. That senior probably wanted to keep all these treasures for herself!"

"It’s a good thing we came!"

The group couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. The glittering Spirit Stones were a particularly joyous sight.

Especially since the number of Spirit Stones was quite substantial. If they kept searching, they might find even more surprises.

The Eldest Senior Brother was also happy, but hearing everyone talk like this, he frowned in disapproval.

"No matter what, that senior saved our lives. Let’s not make wild guesses about her intentions."

"Hurry up and search. Once we’ve found enough, we’ll leave immediately!"

He was still a little worried, fearing the senior might suddenly return, which would put them in an awkward position.

However, not long after he finished speaking, a black shadow suddenly shot out.

Before anyone could get a clear look, a disciple’s chest was pierced by a claw.

"AAHH—"

Following a scream, blood began to gush wildly from the person’s chest. In just over ten seconds, he collapsed heavily to the ground, his body twitching a few times before he stopped breathing entirely.

Everything had happened too fast. The panicked group came to their senses and stared at their dead companion in utter shock.

But they weren’t given much time to think. More and more monsters appeared from nowhere, swarming toward the group.

"This is bad! Everyone, run!"

The Eldest Senior Brother shouted and tried to lead everyone out of the mine shaft.

But the number of monsters kept growing, until they had completely blocked the entrance, leaving no room to escape.

"We’re done for! There are so many monsters!!"

"What do we do?"

The group finally panicked. Having experienced being hunted by the monsters before, they were all too familiar with their capabilities.

And this time, the number of monsters was clearly even greater!

"Everyone, find a way to break through! Use every life-saving measure you have! We have to get out of here first!"

The Eldest Senior Brother was filled with immense regret. ’If I had known this would be the outcome, I would never have brought them here!’

’The senior was right. These places really are dangerous.’

But it was too late for regrets.

Everyone could only use every means at their disposal and begin to fight back.

Inside the mine shaft, miserable screams rose and fell, mixed with the squeaking of the monsters, making the entire cavern sound horrifyingly grim.