Chapter 56

As they entered the cave, everyone activated their mystic energy shields to guard against any unexpected dangers.

Zhan Bai was the first to enter, naturally leading the way for everyone. The moment he stepped inside, he took out a golden talisman from his storage bag and held it in his hand. At the same time, his flying sword, Zanyun, began to rotate around him, ready to strike at any moment.

Fortunately, there was no sign of anything unusual, but Zhan Bai remained cautious. After waiting for a moment, the others followed in a line, and only when Tu Zheng finally entered did he slightly relax his tense nerves.

When Qin Feng entered, he also had his protective shield activated, and in the palm of his hand, he secretly held a burning flame.

In such a strange and dangerous environment, it was always better to be cautious.

The surroundings were a stone-paved corridor, which was currently safe.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, we should continue forward!" Zhan Bai said after confirming the safety of the surroundings.

Everyone retracted their mystic tools and began to move forward along the dilapidated corridor. As usual, Zhan Bai and Tu Zheng led the way, while Qin Feng, being the lowest in cultivation, walked at the back.

Qin Feng shook his head with a bitter smile. Walking at the back was not necessarily safe either; who knew if any danger would sneak up from behind? However, he couldn't refuse their well-intentioned arrangement.

The corridor was long and looked very ancient. The entire underground cave emitted a foul smell, a result of being sealed for too long, giving off a special decaying odor. The walls were covered with thick moss due to the dampness, indicating that this place had been isolated from the world for a very long time.

As he walked, Qin Feng observed the walls around him. Sure enough, beneath the moss, he found some traces. Just like in the temple, various strange blood patterns and pictures were carved on the walls, but due to the long passage of time, they seemed to have lost their effectiveness and were gradually being eroded by the plants.

Seeing this, and recalling the pictures he had seen on the temple walls, Qin Feng's eyes flickered, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

It seemed that there was indeed a great secret hidden here!

But what were those two people's intentions? Could they be here for that thing?

Qin Feng's gaze fell on Qin Hu again. Qin Hu was constantly looking around, his face filled with curiosity, but the deep excitement in his eyes did not escape Qin Feng's notice.

"Is this guy deliberately leading everyone here?"

This suspicion suddenly startled Qin Feng!

It was likely the case. Perhaps this fake Qin Hu knew some secrets about the Blood Fork Temple.

It seemed that this person had infiltrated the group with the intention of using the team's strength to enter this place.

"But what is here? Treasures? Or some sinister purpose?"

Qin Feng's brows furrowed.

There was another person. Qin Feng shifted his gaze to Sun Daogu, who was not far ahead of him.

Sun Daogu had maintained a detached and otherworldly demeanor from the beginning, speaking very little, which was fitting for a nun. However, Qin Feng found her highly suspicious.

Pretending to be such a character was the easiest way to slip through unnoticed.

Shi Yuan, who could transform into a snow leopard, had already been ruled out by Qin Feng. As for Fang Xinyi, she had always been with Zhan Bai, and the likelihood of her being killed alone was low. Moreover, she had shown no suspicious behavior throughout the journey.

Hua Ruyan, on the other hand, with her flirtatious manner, would be easy to pretend.

However, it seemed that she and Tu Zheng had a good relationship. Although Tu Zheng was somewhat naive, he wasn't stupid. If Hua Ruyan were fake, would he not have noticed?

After this reasoning, Qin Feng was about 70% certain that the other infiltrator was this Sun Daogu.

This expedition, though dangerous, could be managed if everyone cooperated well. However, if an insider caused chaos within the team, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, Qin Feng's gaze turned cold!

As if sensing something, Sun Daogu suddenly turned her head and met Qin Feng's gaze. She looked puzzled for a moment, then her eyes became calm and gentle. She clasped her hands together, nodded at Qin Feng, and turned back to continue walking.

"Huh?" This glance made Qin Feng's suspicions waver.

"Could my guess... be wrong?" There was no trace of impurity or violent emotion in Sun Daogu's eyes. What did she feel like? A person without desires or demands.

Without desires or demands? What kind of person would be like that?

"Nun!"

Qin Feng's brows furrowed as he pondered.

But at that moment, a sharp cry came from ahead, snapping Qin Feng back to reality. He quickly looked up.

Bodies, many of them!

Not far from Qin Feng, the ground was littered with bodies. Their clothing varied, mostly elite disciples from various sects and families, with some independent cultivators mixed in. Although their deaths were tragic, most of their bodies were intact.

"These people seem to have died suddenly!"

At this point, Zhan Bai had already examined some of the bodies. There were no fatal wounds, but they had all died for no apparent reason.

Qin Feng also examined a body but found no cause of death.

However, in the pile of bodies, Qin Feng found a storage bag containing several dozen low-grade mystic stones and a pair of high-grade mystic gauntlets. He took them out, put them on his right arm, and swung them around. They felt quite comfortable.

The most lethal part of the gauntlets was a row of spirit-breaking spikes on the knuckles.

The gauntlets were aptly named—Spirit Breaker!

Mystic tools were divided into four grades: low, medium, high, and supreme.

Mystic tools had spirits, even low-grade ones. After taking the gauntlets, Qin Feng focused his mind, and they slowly transformed into a fluid state, shrinking until they became a thin iron ring on his thumb. This feeling of control was very satisfying for Qin Feng.

Of course, this was because the original owner of the mystic tool was gone, and the owner's mark on the tool had disappeared, making it easy for the tool to recognize a new master.

Not bad, no wonder the disciples in the family all envied having a mystic tool.

Not just Qin Feng, but some of the others were also collecting valuable items, such as mystic tools and storage bags. However, most of them, except for Qin Feng, already had one or two mystic tools, and Zhan Bai's flying sword was even a supreme-grade one that could transform. Therefore, they didn't find the items in front of them particularly appealing.

Thus, they were casually picking up items without much competition.

Shi Yuan, however, had good luck and found a high-grade mystic defensive vest in the pile of bodies. She showed it off to everyone and put it on.

Although it was a high-grade mystic tool, it was well known that defensive mystic tools were relatively rare, especially in such a dangerous environment. Having such a high-grade defensive mystic tool was like having an extra life.

This made everyone envious, and they intensified their search.

During this time, Qin Feng found a small silver sword with a flowing blade inscribed with the ancient characters "Bishui." Although it was only a medium-grade mystic tool, it looked very beautiful. Thinking of the frail figure at home, Qin Feng felt a warm feeling and put the sword in his storage bag.

Just as everyone was preparing to search more thoroughly, hoping for a stroke of luck, suddenly—

The light orbs in everyone's hands began to flash rapidly.

"This...? Did the energy run out?"

That was impossible. A typical light orb could last at least a year or two, and the ones Zhan Bai had prepared were of high quality, so they shouldn't have run out of energy so quickly.

However, the flashing of the light orbs was indeed a sign of energy depletion.

In a short while, all the orbs in everyone's hands, after flashing rapidly, turned gray and then black, and finally shattered with a "crack."

This "crack" made everyone's hearts race!

At this moment, Hua Ruyan was the first to show fear, rubbing against Tu Zheng and whispering, "Little Tu, we won't end up like them, lying here as corpses, will we?"

Tu Zheng's face was also not good, but he was a seasoned veteran. Although he was also wary of the mysterious deaths, he straightened his face and said confidently, "Don't worry, I'll protect everyone."

"Um, I knew Little Tu was the best!"

Seeing Hua Ruyan's flirtatious behavior, everyone felt a chill, but Tu Zheng was flattered.

Everyone has their own preferences, after all.

However, the atmosphere did become a bit lighter, not as oppressive as before.

Without the light orbs, the surroundings were pitch black, but for the god realm experts with activated divine senses, darkness was not a problem. However, there was still a slight psychological pressure.

"Swoosh!" At this moment, a series of very light sounds suddenly made everyone's nerves taut again!

"Everyone, stay where you are and be on high alert!"

Everyone once again drew their mystic tools and activated their shields. The sound of wind and movement was constant. Qin Feng released his divine sense and found that the movements were very fast, and the figures were moving along the walls like shadows, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact location or see what they were.

"Ah!~"

"Ah!~"

In an instant, a series of screams echoed, and three people in the group fell to the ground, clutching their heads and rolling around.

The first to fall were the cultivators surnamed Hu, Fang Xinyi, and Sun Daogu.

Qin Feng was startled, but before he could react, he suddenly felt something pierce through his protective shield like a ghost. The next moment, he felt a dizziness and a sharp pain in his head...