After experiencing the strange sensation of weightlessness yet again, Carson Flores returned to the ancient tomb, and then he climbed the stone stairs, stepping up step by step.
When sunlight fell on Carson Flores’ face, he subconsciously squinted his eyes.
Blue sky, white clouds, green mountains...
The usually familiar sights felt extraordinarily dear at this moment, and even gave Carson Flores a sense of almost being in a different world, although he hadn’t actually been underground for very long.
The Howell Family’s team was actually the first to return.
All the waiting families and government officials were astoundingly surprised; the Innate Great Grandmaster, Kane Howell, walked out of the tent with a frown on his face, "Weren’t you supposed to explore for ten days? Why have you returned so soon, is the exploration over?"
Garrett Howell gritted his teeth and said, "There are creatures in the Underground City like bats, each one about thirty to forty centimeters long, swarming everywhere. An exploration team of five was annihilated in the blink of an eye, their flesh devoured, leaving only skeletons. We didn’t dare to stay any longer, so we hurried back."
Everyone was shocked.
Jaiden Howell’s eyes went wide, "There’s a living thing in the Underground City?"
Garrett Howell took out his phone, "I even took photos..."
In the photo, burning houses merged into a sea of flames. In the glow of the fire, the ground was covered with dense bodies of Ghost-faced Bats, appearing eerily terrifying, with blood-spattered skeletons in the midst, exuding a horrific aura.
Garrett Howell flipped through the photos one by one; everyone around was utterly stunned.
"Garrett Howell, what you took pictures of are all dead, have you seen any live ones?"
Garrett Howell appeared hesitant; he wanted to say that Carson Flores had seen them, but he didn’t dare to mention it.
Carson Flores spoke up, "I saw them."
Jaiden Howell paused for a moment, "Weren’t you together?"
Carson Flores casually answered, "To increase efficiency, we searched separately; I made a trip to North Mountain..."
Carson Flores straightforwardly recounted what he saw at the ancient temple on North Mountain, since he couldn’t possibly keep such matters hidden from everyone.
"Heavenly Mountain Cave? A gate to the Unknown Land?"
All the onlookers, including the Howell Family’s four-man team, widened their eyes in shock.
Carson Flores, unconcerned with them, continued narrating how, after everyone had left, he "far away" saw a pillar of fire lighting up the sky, beneath which was an overwhelming horde of dark creatures covering the ground, and then he kept his distance and ran back all the way.
Carson Flores didn’t mention the man in green taking away the gate’s key; what he narrated had to be consistent with what he could have seen from afar. As for the rest of the story, he’d let those survivors fill in the details.
All the Sects were frightened.
For each Sect, having five Great Grandmasters was a significant strength, but now these Great Grandmasters had been steadily lost within the Underground City, and with nothing to show for it; wasn’t that a grievous loss?
Someone asked, "Did you find anything?"
Carson Flores kept silent; Garrett Howell hesitated a bit and then said, "We found some medicinal herbs that are quite old. Other than that, there isn’t much to report."
In fact, Garrett Howell and his team had also found a Heart Cleansing Pill in a wealthy household in the village earlier, but the item was somewhat sensitive, so he simply didn’t mention it.
Fearing disbelief from others, Garrett Howell explained, "Everything in the large households there was neatly cleared out, nothing left behind. They must have evacuated in an organized and prepared manner. As for the common households, they seemed a bit more chaotic, yet there wasn’t anything of value there either..."
The Innate Great Grandmaster of the Howell Family, Kane Howell, took them back to the Howell Family’s tent and asked again, "Are you sure there’s nothing else?"
Garrett Howell replied, "There’s also a Heart Cleansing Pill."
After an explanation, two traces of joy appeared on Kane Howell’s face; after all, it was no small feat to gain an additional Great Grandmaster, especially given that the other Sects had lost many or even all their Great Grandmasters without any gain. To return intact and with some discoveries was indeed a great outcome.
Kane Howell glanced over at Carson Flores, "What about you, Carson Flores? Weren’t you searching separately, what did you find?"
Carson Flores calmly answered, "Five Heart Cleansing Pills, a major supplement pill, and a bottle of Heart Cleansing Pill."
Kane Howell’s eyes bulged, "How come you alone have so much?"
Carson Flores smiled and remained silent.
Garrett Howell and the others were considerably embarrassed, wishing they could hide in a hole. They quickly explained in a low voice, "All the medicinal herbs we have were given to us by Carson Flores; he had better luck and found more..."
Kane Howell turned to look at Garrett Howell and the others, but found that they all looked embarrassed, their glances shifting all over, none daring to meet Carson Flores’ eyes; he knew immediately there was something fishy going on.
"I see, that’s fine then. You’ve all worked hard. Go and rest."
Jaiden Howell stood aside, observing Garrett Howell and the others, then looked at Carson Flores with his composed expression and furrowed his brows, "Mr. Flores, come with me."
The two left the Howell Family’s tent and went to a deserted area nearby. Jaiden Howell stared into Carson Flores’ eyes and said, "Did they do something to you?"