The girl in black only realized they were in the middle of the mountain when she stood up.
This was the work of Mother Nature – leaving the middle hollow in the shape of a bowl, allowing sunlight to reach the ground and reflect off the stream and the rocks off the mountain. It was rather dream-like.
“Let’s go. The Zhang twins are already in front of us.” Lu Mingshu tapped Ying.
Ying kept quiet and followed.
After a few moments, Ying suddenly thought of something and glared at Lu Mingshu. “Didn’t I say that I’m not cooperating with you?” Why the heck is she commanding me?
Lu Mingshu turned back and flashed her a smile. “What, are you not going to pay for what you ate?”
Ying choked at Lu Mingshu’s words. “What are you trying to say?” This loony says that as if I slept with her and am unwilling to be responsible for it. What the hell?
“You have already gotten the benefits, but now you don’t want to cooperate with me. Aren’t I being taken advantage of?”
“This…” bitch. As someone who wasn’t really good at quarrelling, Ying kept her mouth shut.
She’s right anyway. If not for her, I wouldn’t have found out about the courtyard so quickly.
“Come, let’s get going now. You may be willing to waste time, but I’m not.” Lu Mingshu continued her journey.
Ying bit her lips and gave Lu Mingshu a death glare before following at a fast pace.
Moving through the middle of the mountain was quite the walk. It had been quite some time, but they still had yet to see the end.
Ying wanted to say something on several occasions, but seeing Lu Mingshu in front, she swallowed her words. I’m older than this bastard, maybe even twice her age! What does she see me as? When I was fighting for my life, where the hell was she? I doubt she was even in her mother’s womb!
Lu Mingshu led the way and checked the compass from time to time. The compass was stable, which meant that the magnetic field here was stable. And that meant there were no traps set up here.
She raised her eyebrows and thought about it.
In the deserted Jasper Sun Mountain, she found this valley and the entrance to the blessed land. However, the same question wouldn’t be asked three times. Since she was here now, that meant that the question was different. What is it now?
After much pondering, a ray of light came into their eyes. They were now at the end.
Both of them blinked their eyes to try to get used to the surroundings.
After that, they started to get used to the light, and they observed their surroundings.
There was flourishing greenery and a neat pathway. Lu Mingshu bit her lips before taking another step.
“What are you, a snail?” The girl in black finally found a chance to roast Lu Mingshu. “Aren’t you worried the Zhang twins are a step ahead?”
Lu Mingshu ignored her and let her take a step forward first.
As soon as the girl in black finished her words, she felt something behind her. She immediately took out her sword and slashed it in half.
Whoosh!
With that, blood was everywhere, and two halves of a ferocious beast were lying on the ground in a puddle of blood.
Chills ran down her spine. She looked back to see where the beast came from, and what she saw left her rooted to the ground. “The entrance… the entrance is gone!”
Lu Mingshu looked over to where she was pointing and hummed in response. “Yeah, it’s gone. We don’t want to go back anyway.”
Seeing Lu Mingshu so calm, the girl in black felt safer and looked at her, eyes twinkling. “You expected this?”
“No.”
“Then why aren’t you surprised?”
“Because I’m smart!”
The girl in black sent Lu Mingshu a death glare.
Seeing this, Lu Mingshu burst into laughter. “Look, what’s the hardest part of this test?”
“When you don’t know the question?” The girl in black bit her lips.
“Yeah.” Lu Mingshu nodded. “This Grandmaster likes riddles, I guess. He doesn't give the question but asks for answers. This kind of situation is the most headache-inducing. One has strength but can only wait around in a daze. Thus, it’s better like this, don’t you think? The environment suddenly changing can reveal the question!”
Ying nodded. True.
“Then what do we do now?” Subconsciously, she started to take Lu Mingshu as the leader. “Just keep killing beasts?”
“Yeah, just kill them!” Lu Mingshu winked and fished out her sword. “This should be something that you’re good at, right?” Lu Mingshu asked, staring at something that was eyeing them from the bushes.
…
Zhang Jingyu was like a cat on hot bricks.
“Brother, why are there so many!?” She whined, jumping back and forth.
Zhang Rulin fought with a heavy staff. He quickly looked over his surroundings. “There’s a house there!” he shouted in glee. “Let’s head over there.”
They were surrounded by ferocious beasts as soon as they arrived, and it was a tough journey with never-ending beasts rushing toward them.
As soon as Zhang Jingyu heard him, she sighed in relief. It’s good enough that we can find a house to rest for a while. The pair of siblings killed the beasts on the way as they moved toward the house.
…
When Ling Wuxia saw the palace courtyard that had collapsed, she sighed in defeat. “Somebody beat us to it!”
Junior Sister Zuo glanced over the place. “Perhaps they did it by chance? Senior Sister Ling, we can catch up soon if we hurry now.”
“Who would do this just by randomly fighting? It’s obvious that they did it intentionally.” Ling Wuxia shook her head, disagreeing with what Junior Sister Zuo said.
“Who do you think it is?”
Three of them exchanged glances. Lu Mingshu.
This made Junior Sister Zuo feel extremely unhappy. “It may not be her. The Grandmaster is so brilliant, how could she see through his test?”
On the other hand, Junior Brother He furrowed his eyebrows. This is not something obvious, so how could she find it so quickly? Such a weird person; she must be monitored closely.
If Lu Mingshu didn’t know about arrays, it would’ve taken her days to find the mountain valley. If Lu Mingshu didn’t purposely tear down this palace courtyard, it would’ve taken her days to find the entrance.
This made him feel uneasy. The enemy is always one step ahead. We could get back the upper hand once, but can we do it every time?
“Come on, let's get moving and not waste time.”
Ling Wuxia’s cool demeanor put their minds at ease. Senior Sister Ling has never lost before, so we will never lose following her!
…
A sword-light flew out, and a beast dropped to the floor.
Ye Mingguang had already lost track of how long he had been killing. He could only feel his hands getting numb, and sweat was trickling down his face now.
Splat! The ferocious beast’s blood splashed on his face. Ye Zhenyan glanced over at him and yelled, “What fucking nonsense are you pulling now? Go to the side if you’re going to drag me down!”
Being chided, Ye Mingguang gritted his teeth and picked up his sword once again.
Ye Mingguang never doubted his third brother. If he pulled his third brother down during this trip, he would not have a place in the Ye Family. However, if his third brother acknowledged him, neither Ye Zhenfan nor Ye Zhenxing could do anything to him ever again.
This was his only chance to become a true Ye Family disciple. I must not lose it!
As time passed, more and more people found the entrance and entered.
They were all surrounded by beasts. Those who couldn’t defeat them escaped, but for those who could, they gritted their teeth and reached the destination.