56. There’s a Traitor Among Us!
After almost forty minutes, Gong Yiling returned to the starting point.
She still couldn’t find Qiu Shui.
Although there were traces of her presence in the rock forest, Qiu Shui herself was gone.
Despite her reluctance to believe it, the only possibility was that Qiu Shui had also been attacked by the creature that left those claw marks.
However…
Qiu Shui wasn’t dead.
—The system, usually useless except for annoying her, finally proved its worth.
Qiu Shui’s status screen didn’t show any “deceased” status, which would have devastated Gong Yiling.
The only possibility was that the missing people were attacked but not killed.
Most likely… they were taken somewhere.
“So you anticipated that the number cards would attract danger?”
Only four of the cultivators brought back by the two survivors remained. Including the three of them, seven people were missing.
Putting aside their grief, they thanked Gong Yiling profusely.
Some had noticed this eccentric girl since the preliminaries.
Her initial performance was impressive, defeating opponents far above her level with swift and decisive moves.
They had considered her a potential rival.
But since the first round of the official competition… after joining their team, she had been slacking off.
Cheering from the sidelines in the second round, surrendering instantly in the third.
She hadn’t taken the competition seriously at all. They couldn’t understand her motives.
But now, things were different. Her sharp intuition had saved them.
“Yeah, I just thought about it for a bit and figured it out,”
Gong Yiling said, “but now we need to find a way out of this predicament. Do any of you have random teleportation talismans?”
They all shook their heads.
Such life-saving items were rare and precious.
She could draw one herself, but without any connections, she couldn’t obtain the necessary materials, except by asking Shangguan Lingyue.
“How about… we try to force our way back?”
Finally, someone suggested what Gong Yiling had been considering.
Was it feasible?
Gong Yiling demonstrated.
She released a spirit bird detection talisman, and the bird, after flying a short distance, hit an invisible barrier and was incinerated.
“See? That’s what it’s like.” Gong Yiling said to the disheartened group. “Unless you think you can withstand that.”
“Then what should we do?”
They looked at each other, at a loss.
Besides waiting here, they had no other options.
“At least the number cards are gone.” A few sighed in relief. “My grandfather will find it strange if I stay inside for too long. He’s quite influential in the Heartflame Empire…”
“Do you think that beast can only find us through the cards?”
Gong Yiling poured cold water on their hopes. “The main body of the demonic spirit must be here. It can simply create more fragments to guide the beast to us.”
“This…”
These problems were obvious.
But they had been avoiding this despairing reality.
Until Gong Yiling pointed it out bluntly.
“Then what do you suggest, young lady?”
“You’re asking me?” Gong Yiling, preferring to slack off, wasn’t used to being the leader.
When would her disciples become independent and allow her to laze around?
“Well… since staying here is pointless, why don’t we search for the inheritance or other relics?” Gong Yiling shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with the Heart of Blazing Flame itself. It’s just that there’s an unknown demonic beast lurking inside.”
“While it hasn’t found us yet, let’s explore. Maybe we’ll find some ancient inheritance and a way to break this barrier.”
To be honest…
This sounded incredibly unreliable.
Weren’t they just gambling with their lives?
But they thought about it and felt relieved.
They had… no other choice.
“I suggest teams of two,” Gong Yiling said, seeing no objections, even starting to make arrangements. “This way, while exploring, one person can watch out for demonic spirits.”
“That’s my suggestion. As for how you divide yourselves, that’s up to you.”
She picked up the sleeping girl and, without another word, walked into the thickening mist.
A few followed her advice, deciding to explore. Even if they died, they would fight until the end.
However, including the two who had already left, there were only seven people. So, either some formed teams of three, or one person had to be alone.
—A cultivator named Hua Liansheng chose to stay behind, seemingly too afraid to explore, preferring to wait here.
Even if it meant being found by the demonic spirit.
Seeing his fear, the others left him alone.
But as they left, Hua Liansheng’s fear suddenly vanished.
He sneered and took out six number cards from inside his clothes.
These weren’t the cards discarded earlier. As for where they came from, perhaps only—
“Young Master Hua.”
A sudden voice behind him made Hua Liansheng freeze.
—That girl? Why was she back?
“Oh, it’s Miss Bao.” He quickly hid the cards and feigned surprise, turning around. “Didn’t you leave?”
“Leave?”
Gong Yiling shook her head, smiling. “If I hadn’t given you a chance to be alone, you wouldn’t have taken those out, would you?”
