Chapter 96

Since slaying three disciples of the Green Cloud Sect, Ding Qi explored the maze for another half an hour. Just as he emerged from a room in the maze, he let out a long sigh.

He slightly turned his body, his gaze shifting to a corner on the right.

"Here again!" Ding Qi muttered to himself with a hint of helplessness.

At that moment, a figure appeared from the corner of the maze.

This person was dressed in the attire of a Green Cloud Sect disciple, clearly a member of the sect.

Ding Qi looked at the Green Cloud Sect disciple. After learning about the false charges fabricated by Zuo Yang and Guan Qiu, he understood that these disciples had already set his head as a great achievement.

Encountering a member of the Green Cloud Sect would not end peacefully.

After those three Green Cloud Sect disciples, Ding Qi encountered another one during his exploration of the maze.

Judging from the position where this Green Cloud Sect disciple appeared, it was clear that his route through the maze was entirely different from the three Ding Qi had previously encountered.

This made Ding Qi realize that the Green Cloud Sect had divided their exploration of the maze into several routes.

As the Green Cloud Sect disciple turned the corner and raised his head, he was also taken aback, only just noticing that there was someone in front of him.

Ding Qi, with his senses heightened to a superhuman level after cultivating the先天功 (Xiantian Gong), could sense the presence of the Green Cloud Sect disciple even before he appeared. However, this person could not do the same.

It was only when he entered this maze alley that he noticed Ding Qi's presence.

Upon seeing Ding Qi, the person's face showed the same stunned expression as the previous three.

This Green Cloud Sect disciple was quite young, looking only twelve or thirteen years old, with an innocent and pure face typical of a young person.

This person was actually the young boy with an innocent and harmless appearance but a deeply calculating mind.

It seemed that this young boy, surnamed Bai, had successfully made his way out of the mechanical passage.

Ding Qi coldly watched the young Green Cloud Sect disciple at the corner.

However, the boy's next actions were unexpected.

After the initial shock of seeing Ding Qi, the boy quickly sized him up with a look of interest, as if pondering something.

After examining Ding Qi, the young boy surnamed Bai suddenly smiled and said with evident interest, "Patriarch Zuo and Elder Guan once told us that you are a spy for the Heavenly Spring Sect?"

Ding Qi looked at the strange expression on the boy's face, unsure of what he was getting at.

He had initially thought that the boy, upon seeing him, would try to kill him, just like the previous three, to claim the easy-to-grab achievement for the sect.

However, the boy's current behavior revealed some abnormality, clearly not what Ding Qi had expected.

"I don't think you look much like a spy," the boy said suddenly, as Ding Qi watched him with growing confusion.

Hearing this, Ding Qi was momentarily stunned, then his face showed a rather peculiar expression: "Oh, you don't believe it! I didn't expect there to be a smart person among the Green Cloud Sect."

The young boy, surnamed Bai, seeing Ding Qi's reaction, seemed to have his original suspicions confirmed, and said with a smile, "Indeed. I was puzzled how someone with no significant ties to the sect could suddenly become a spy for the Heavenly Spring Sect. If the Heavenly Spring Sect really intended to cultivate a spy, they would have made sure he successfully entered the sect. Moreover, the opening of this underground palace was an unexpected event for the entire sect. It's impossible that a random outsider who joined this operation would coincidentally be a spy for the Heavenly Spring Sect."

Then, the boy looked at Ding Qi with a curious expression and said, "Since that's the case, can you tell me why Patriarch Zuo and Elder Guan identified you as a spy?"

"Or perhaps, you know something you shouldn't, which is why Patriarch Zuo and Elder Guan decided to eliminate you?"

...

"How about this: if you tell me why Patriarch Zuo and Elder Guan ordered your pursuit, I will pretend I never met you and let you go."

The boy finally said with a rather magnanimous air.

"You are quite interesting," Ding Qi said with a rather amused expression after hearing the boy's words.

However, while Ding Qi's face showed amusement, a closer look would reveal that his eyes, when they glanced at the boy's feet, gradually took on a cold, icy look.

...

In another small hall far away from the maze area where Ding Qi was, Deputy Sect Master Sha Yi had already entered the middle level of the maze.

At this moment, Sha Yi's face was cold as he looked at a Green Cloud Sect hall master in front of him. Beside him lay the body of a Green Cloud Sect protector, cut into several pieces, with blood gushing out and covering the ground, filling the small hall with a strong smell of blood.

The scene was extremely terrifying.

On Sha Yi's shoulder, the immortal insect hung in the air, emitting a hissing sound.

The Green Cloud Sect hall master was now looking at the translucent insect with a face full of fear.

"I will ask you one last time: which route did Zuo Yang and the others take to explore the maze? If you don't want to say, this person's fate will be yours," Sha Yi said to the Green Cloud Sect hall master with a stern expression.

Hearing Sha Yi's words, the Green Cloud Sect hall master's face turned red and then white. In the end, the desire to live overcame his initial resolve, and he said with difficulty, "If Elder Sha truly keeps your word and lets me go after I reveal the route Patriarch Zuo took, I will tell you the truth. I am just a small hall master in the sect, and I have no power to interfere in the grudges between you and Patriarch Zuo."

"Very well, I will keep my word," Sha Yi said, nodding at the person in front of him.

Hearing this, the Green Cloud Sect hall master's face relaxed, and the tension in his expression gradually eased.

Then, the Green Cloud Sect hall master said, "When we entered the maze, according to Protector Qian's calculations, we divided into several routes to explore the maze, and we would meet at specific areas in the maze calculated by Protector Qian after exploring a certain distance. Now, Patriarch Zuo should be in the direction of the left front of the maze."

At this point, the Green Cloud Sect hall master glanced at Sha Yi.