Chapter 605 - 612: Making a Move

More and more monsters appeared, and the group soon found themselves unable to hold them off.

One by one, people had their hearts torn out. The eldest brother watched helplessly as the monsters devoured the hearts in a single gulp, his eyes turning red with desperation.

But he could barely protect himself, let alone rescue anyone else.

In the end, even he was seized by a monster, which brutally ripped his heart from his chest.

The eldest brother collapsed to the ground. Gazing at the pools of blood, his heart filled with endless regret.

’That senior’s warning was so direct, yet we thought she was just after the treasure for herself...’

’But thinking about it now, if there really was a treasure, why would the auction house put it up for sale instead of quietly taking it for themselves?’

’This was a premeditated trap from the very beginning.’

’And we, driven by greed, have thrown our lives away.’

The eldest brother closed his eyes in remorse and breathed his last.

All that remained in the entire mine was a floor of corpses and monsters swallowing hearts.

...

The ground was littered with severed limbs. Before Song Wanning, there was only a pile of monster carcasses.

Rivers of blood flowed continuously, staining the surrounding earth red.

The Golden Small Sword was covered in blood, all of it from slaughtering the monsters.

But it seemed excited, its eyes even glowing red.

It didn’t even seem to feel the toll of its own exertion.

The other little ones were much the same. They had all gone all out to deal with the monsters, expending a great deal of effort to kill every last one.

"Sister, there were just too many of these monsters."

"How did they all hide in there? I wonder if there are any more in such a tiny crack?"

Its eyes filled with confusion as it moved closer to the crack, peering inside intently.

Song Wanning also walked over and tried to extend her Divine Sense into it, but it was blocked the moment it touched the crack.

She had no choice but to withdraw it. After trying to lure more out for a while and confirming that no more monsters were emerging, she finally retracted her Divine Sense.

The area was a complete mess. She threw out a fireball, incinerating all the corpses.

Once she was certain everything was cleaned up, she led the little ones toward the other locations on the map.

The map had a total of five marked points. Two should now be dealt with, leaving three remaining.

So, she began to investigate them one by one, based on their proximity.

As she was dealing with the fourth location, Liu Xingzhi arrived.

"Junior Sister Song."

Liu Xingzhi no longer called Song Wanning "Junior Martial Niece," effectively raising her a generation in seniority.

Song Wanning didn’t find it strange. After all, both of them were now Integration Stage Cultivators, so it was acceptable to base their seniority on their cultivation.

So she smiled and replied, "Brother Liu."

Liu Xingzhi gave a faint nod and looked at the small cliff before them.

"The monsters are here?"

He sent out his Divine Sense but didn’t seem to detect anything unusual.

"Yes."

Song Wanning nodded and explained the whole story.

When he heard that all the locations recorded on the map contained monsters, Liu Xingzhi’s expression turned completely cold.

"Lan Garden? Their intentions are utterly malicious!"

He had also been to Lan Garden’s auctions before, though that was several decades ago. He never expected something like this to happen.

"Right now, the various factions know about the monsters’ existence, but they aren’t taking it seriously."

Song Wanning sighed. Those people had never witnessed the terror of a monster tide, so naturally, they paid it no mind.

After searching for a while, they simply put the matter out of their minds.

’Judging by the current situation, the monsters have likely already spread to various corners of the world.’

"I now suspect that a huge conspiracy is hidden behind these monsters."

"I’m even starting to suspect that someone has deliberately set this up and is raising these monsters!"

Song Wanning stated her judgment.

"The Sect Master is still investigating the power behind Lan Garden. I’m sure there will be results before long!"

With that, she sent her little ones out, and they flew down toward the base of the cliff.

Liu Xingzhi said no more, but his expression grew even grimmer.

The killing intent radiating from him intensified.

’Since Song Wanning has said as much, the truth must be more or less what she described.’

He leaped into the air and took the initiative, flying down toward the base of the cliff.

Soon, the horrific shrieks of monsters echoed from below.

Song Wanning spread out her Divine Sense, watching as the monsters crawled out one by one, only to be cleanly dispatched by Liu Xingzhi.

His techniques were incredibly powerful; a single move could annihilate a whole swath of monsters, greatly speeding up the process.

Song Wanning didn’t act, instead standing guard nearby in case of any unexpected developments.

With Liu Xingzhi’s help, all the monsters were wiped out in less than half a quarter-hour.

They disposed of the corpses and flew back up.

"Let’s go!"

Song Wanning was decisive. Wasting no more time, she headed for the next location.

Along the way, neither of them spoke much, but it wasn’t awkward.

Soon, they arrived at the final marked location.

"A mine?"

Song Wanning’s eyelid twitched. She instantly recalled the monsters from the Lower World, which she had first discovered in the He Family’s abandoned mine.

Back then, however, she had only seen one and didn’t know they were social creatures.

"I’ll go in and take a look."

Wielding a long saber, Liu Xingzhi walked directly into the mine.

Song Wanning fell silent for a moment, then followed him inside.

However, the scene that greeted her inside made her freeze for a second.

The ground was covered with signs of a battle and hollowed-out corpses. The air was thick with the stench of rot and the heavy reek of blood.

And the people... she recognized them. They were the very group she had saved before.

Song Wanning fell silent. ’These people... they actually walked to their own deaths.’

"Sister, you warned them, but they still dared to come..."

The Dragon Spirit couldn’t help but complain.

"Well, serves them right. They’re all dead for real now!!!"

It snorted coldly, thinking these people truly didn’t know what was good for them.

Liu Xingzhi also looked over, understanding who these people were.

He wasn’t surprised. After all, treasures move the hearts of men. The Cultivation World is fraught with danger, and for the sake of survival, few people are willing to give up on a known opportunity.

These people were certainly no exception.

Song Wanning remained expressionless. ’There’s no persuading someone who’s determined to die.’

’There was nothing I could do.’

She acted, burning the bodies to ash before turning her gaze to the opening where the blood was pooling.

Without a word, Liu Xingzhi also noticed the spot. He then took out his long saber and cut a gash on his own arm.

Fresh blood trickled down his arm.

DRIP.

The blood splattered onto the ground.

Song Wanning’s gaze sharpened. In the next instant, a black shadow shot out from the small crack.

"SKREEE—"

The monster rushed out excitedly, pouncing toward Liu Xingzhi.

A flash of saber light—before it could even get close, the monster was sliced into a bloody mist that dissipated into the air.

With one of their kind dead, the monsters in the crack grew agitated. They swarmed out one after another, rushing toward Liu Xingzhi.