The team had hit a stalemate right at the start, and it felt like they were on the verge of falling apart. Chen Xiaofeng was getting extremely anxious.
'These True Disciples might not care if we complete the mission, but as an Inner Sect Disciple, I have to finish sect missions to get Contribution Value for Cultivation Resources.'
'If we can't finish this, not only will it be a waste of my time, but I won't get any Contribution Value. All this trouble for nothing?'
Just as he was wondering how to try and persuade them again, Lu Sangjiu spoke up.
"Alas, since Senior Brother Qin is so insistent, I suppose there's no other way."
"To make sure the mission can proceed smoothly, how about…"
She looked at Qin Yu. "Why don't we let my senior brother and Senior Sister Ye go in as a team to investigate? Senior Brother Qin, Brother Chen, and I can stay outside as backup. How does that sound?"
'Given their relationship with Qin Yu, neither group would feel at ease if the other went in. But the mission can't just get stuck here, can it?'
'If Li Qiancheng and Ye Zhiyao go in, given how much Qin Yu cares about Ye Zhiyao, he definitely wouldn't stand by if anything happened to them.'
'And with me in a group with Qin Yu, plus Chen Xiaofeng on the side, Qin Yu won't be able to do anything too obvious to harm me. It's the perfect solution.'
But the moment she said it, Qin Yu immediately objected. "I disagree! Who knows if he'll use this as an excuse to settle a personal score and harm my junior sister?"
This time, even Chen Xiaofeng couldn't hold back. "Junior Brother Qin, the mission has to move forward. You say no to this and no to that, so what exactly do you want? Are we just going to abandon the mission?"
Qin Yu was choked up. He wanted to say, "Fine, let's not do it then!" But then he remembered this was a punishment from the Sect Leader. If they went back in disgrace, not only would the Sect Leader be displeased, they would probably become the laughingstock of the entire sect.
Just then, Lu Sangjiu looked directly at Ye Zhiyao. "What do you think, Senior Sister Ye?"
Ye Zhiyao hadn't expected the question to be directed at her. "Oh, I…"
She glanced at Qin Yu, silently pleading for help.
But Lu Sangjiu didn't give her an opening, pressing on, "Don't tell me you don't even trust Senior Brother Qin, Senior Sister Ye?"
Hearing this, Ye Zhiyao immediately shook her head. "Of course not! I'm sure that if there's any danger, Senior Brother will save me!"
Lu Sangjiu nodded, satisfied. "Then it's settled!"
Qin Yu: "…"
Ye Zhiyao: "…"
Since she'd cornered them like that, the two of them had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree, no matter how unwilling they were.
Afterward, the group discussed a few more details. Once they finished dinner, they all returned to their rooms to rest.
Before parting ways with Li Qiancheng, Lu Sangjiu whispered an instruction to him. "Senior Brother, let me tell you a life-saving secret you'll need tomorrow."
Li Qiancheng looked puzzled. "Huh? What secret?"
Lu Sangjiu gave a faint smile and gestured for him to lean in closer…
Li Nan was far too weak to go up the mountain, so he had simply drawn them a map of the approximate location.
Chen Xiaofeng was fairly familiar with Luoya Mountain. One look at the map and he knew the spot, so he led the other four there directly.
With a clear destination, the group used Sword Control to fly at a low altitude, quickly reaching the outskirts of the area Li Nan had described.
Putting away his Flying Sword, Qin Yu gently instructed Ye Zhiyao, "If anything happens, message me immediately. If the Communication Talisman doesn't work, just yell."
Ye Zhiyao gave him a gentle smile. "Okay. With you here, Senior Brother, I know nothing will happen to me."
On Lu Sangjiu's side, Li Qiancheng also offered her a few words of caution, but Lu Sangjiu only said one thing in return, "Make sure you remember that life-saving secret I told you!"
Li Qiancheng didn't fully understand, but he nodded anyway. "Don't worry, I remember!"
Soon, Li Qiancheng led Ye Zhiyao deeper inside, while Lu Sangjiu and the other two stayed put, warily scanning their surroundings.
The mountaintop was shrouded in a thick fog. Within moments, the two of them had vanished from sight.
But they were all Cultivators, and their Divine Senses could still perceive one another, so there wasn't much cause for alarm.
Before long, Qin Yu received a message from Ye Zhiyao via her Communication Talisman. "Senior Brother, I see the demon beast tracks Li Nan told us about. They're huge… bigger than a person!"
Ye Zhiyao's voice was laced with tension and fear. "And there's so much blood everywhere! I'm so scared!"
At almost the exact same moment, however, Li Qiancheng sent a message to Lu Sangjiu. "The demon beast tracks here are tiny, maybe half the size of my own footprint. It doesn't look like any powerful demon beast. I don't think you need to worry!"
Lu Sangjiu and Qin Yu both heard the messages coming from each other's Communication Talismans. They immediately knew something was wrong. They exchanged a look and spoke at almost the exact same time. "…An Illusion Realm!"
'Their descriptions were completely different, yet neither of them had any reason to lie. That could only mean they were seeing different things. Only an Illusion Realm could produce such a result!'
'Although an Illusion Realm isn't very lethal at first, becoming trapped in one for too long can be fatal.'
'The Communication Talismans were still working, which meant they were only experiencing minor visual hallucinations. But if it continued, their entire consciousness would become submerged, and they would lose contact with the outside world.'
Thus, almost simultaneously, both Lu Sangjiu and Qin Yu sent messages to their partners inside.
Lu Sangjiu: "Senior Brother, it's an Illusion Realm! Use an Illusion-breaking Talisman, quickly!"
They didn't know what was causing the illusion, so they didn't dare rush in after them. Sending a message was their only option.
Fortunately, Li Qiancheng quickly replied. "We realized it right after we messaged you. I used an Illusion-breaking Talisman, but now it seems we can't get out… I suspect there's a compound Array here. Don't come in yet!"
Qin Yu, on the other hand, was frantic. Hearing it was a compound Array made him even more worried for Ye Zhiyao's safety. He shot to his feet. "This is not good. I have to go in and check!"
Chen Xiaofeng quickly grabbed him. "Don't be impulsive! If it's an Array that even Junior Brother Li couldn't detect, we'll be even more helpless if we rush in blindly. We're better off trying to find the array's core from out here and breaking it with external force!"
Hearing this, Qin Yu finally relented, but he turned to glare viciously at Lu Sangjiu. "If anything happens to my junior sister, I swear I won't let you off!"
Lu Sangjiu: "…"
'He says that as if I deliberately tried to harm his junior sister. How ridiculous!'
So she turned and walked over to Chen Xiaofeng's side, saying in an aggrieved tone, "Brother Chen, I think I'll stick with you. Senior Brother Qin is so aggressive. I'm scared!"
Chen Xiaofeng couldn't help but frown. 'I'd always heard that Qin Yu was a wonderful person,' he thought, 'but it seems you really can't believe everything you hear.'
'Nothing has even happened, and he's already taking his anger out on a teammate. If something actually went wrong, would he really try to kill Lu Sangjiu?'
But given Qin Yu's status, Chen Xiaofeng wasn't about to get into a direct confrontation with him for Lu Sangjiu's sake. He simply tried to placate her. "In that case, Junior Sister Lu, just stick with me. I'll protect you."