“Sure, I can help you with that. But you need to be careful and not create too big of a scene. Otherwise, there won’t be anything left for us once the academy finds out,” said Yao Jiaojiao.
She then dragged Xiang Shaoyun far away from the two. Ugly Gambler wanted to keep Xiang Shaoyun behind, but he couldn’t be bothered anymore. His priority was to investigate the miasma. And then, both he and Smiling Monk worked together to explore the miasma.
Xiang Shaoyun had exhausted all his uses. Thus, he asked Yao Jiaojiao softly, “Big Sister Jiaojiao, can I return to the academy now?”
“Hehe, what’s the rush? Are you afraid that your big sister will eat you up?” Yao Jiaojiao smiled, caressed his face, and continued, “Don’t worry. Your big sister likes you so much she wouldn’t bear to harm you!”
With a bashful look, Xiang Shaoyun replied, “Big sister, you’re so kind to me.”
“Um. It’s good that you know it. Stay obedient, and your big sister won’t mistreat you,” said Yao Jiaojiao as she shot him a coquettish look before continuing, “Be honest. How had you discovered this place?”
“I have already explained it,” Xiang Shaoyun answered.
“Do you think you can lie to me? Although your grasp on the profundity of powers is decent, you have yet to reach a level where you can actually sense that place,” said Yao Jiaojiao with a shrewd look in her eyes.
Xiang Shaoyun blanked out slightly before saying, “If I say I had found out about it from that group of people you saw earlier, would you believe me?”
“What do you think?” asked Yao Jiaojiao as she winked her eyes, an innocent look on her face.
Xiang Shaoyun sank into a short silence before a sorrowful look covered his face as he said, “Big Sister Jiaojiao, you don’t know this, but I’m mortal enemies with that group.”
He then told her his past, and he even exaggerated the story to make it sound even more sorrowful. He was trying to make her believe that he had been paying close attention to the Ziling Sect people all along, looking for a chance of revenge. Surprisingly, the Ziling Sect people had discovered this place, and with the assistance of the incomplete map, he had noticed that this was the place Ugly Gambler was looking for as well.
This version of the explanation was much more believable. Yao Jiaojiao had been looking straight into his eyes all along, before a look of sympathy covered her face as she said, “Little Brother Shaoyun, you are really pitiful. Don’t worry. Your big sister will help you with revenge.”
She might seem like she had accepted his explanation, but she only trusted half of it. The only thing she was sure of was the fact that this was probably the place they were looking for.
Meanwhile, Ren Zhijiu’s group had concealed themselves not far away. They were unwilling to give up and leave just like that.
“Old Winter, Old Summer, what do you think?” Ren Zhijiu asked.
Here, Old Winter and Old Summer were the sect master’s oldest and most trusted aides. Thus, even Ren Zhijiu had to show them respect.
“This is the Dragon Phoenix Academy’s territory. The moment anything big happens, they will find out. We need to have a proper plan,” said Winter Frost.
Ren Zhijiu cursed inwardly, It’s like you didn’t say anything.
Summer Flame said, “We won’t be able to do anything if we return to the miasma anyway. We need to wait for the experts sent by the sect master. After that, we need to find that place as soon as possible. But if we do that, the sect master will probably lose confidence in us.”
The final sentence hit Ren Zhijiu hard. Even before coming, Ren Zhijiu had planned to perform well so he could earn Di Batian’s trust. But now, one single Dragon Phoenix Academy member had scared all of them away. If others really discovered that place, how should he face Di Batian?
“Old Summer is right. Also, that Dragon Phoenix Academy elder seems suspicious. If she is really an elder, would she have spared us so easily?” Winter Frost questioned.
“Old Winter, are you saying we have been tricked?” Ren Zhijiu’s face sank.
“It’s merely a feeling,” said Winter Frost with a shrug.
Ren Zhijiu sank into thought before he said, “Let’s go back and take another look. We can’t let others locate that place before us.”
And thus, they headed back to the poisonous miasma. Before long, Yao Jiaojiao sensed their approach. She immediately transmitted a message to Ugly Gambler and Smiling Monk, getting them to leave. Both of them were currently digging a tunnel, trying to locate the divine site through that method.
However, they found that even the ground contained a large amount of devouring phosphorus poison. Furthermore, a lot of devouring phosphorus bugs were living in the ground as well. With the bugs constantly disturbing them, it was hard for them to make any progress. Thus, they retreated the moment they received Yao Jiaojiao’s message.
“They are probably returning. Should we leave?” Yao Jiaojiao asked.
“We are already digging, so is leaving even an option? Just kill them all,” suggested Ugly Gambler ruthlessly.
“No, I think we can leave first and let them finish digging while we fish in troubled waters,” said Smiling Monk with a sneer.
“Smiling Monk is right. Let’s go,” Yao Jiaojiao agreed as she dragged Xiang Shaoyun away. Smiling Monk followed them, leaving Ugly Gambler with no choice but to go with them.
Inwardly, Xiang Shaoyun sighed, These fellows are too shrewd.
In truth, he had ordered Winter Frost and Summer Flame to make Ren Zhijiu’s group return so they would get into a conflict with the three villains. That was the only way he would be able to find a chance to escape.
Alas, the three villains had decided to leave, causing his plan to fail. The failure depressed him. When Ren Zhijiu’s group arrived and saw the tunnel, they realized that they wouldn’t be able to keep the place a secret for long. They hastily held a discussion, trying to find a solution.
“Place a fire formation down and start digging,” Summer Flame proposed.
Winter Frost voiced his support, which left Ren Zhijiu with no choice but to comply. Summer Flame was good at controlling flames, and coupled with the other flame cultivators in the group, they took out a bunch of rare flame-elemental materials, intending to defeat the poison through fire.
They were met with tragedy.
Their flame attacks managed to reduce the poison, but it seemed they had poked a hornet’s nest. A large number of devouring phosphorus bugs flew out, instantly killing some of the group’s weaker members.
The Soul Foundation Realm experts initially wanted to clear out the bugs, but there were too many bugs, and their poison was too powerful. Even two Soul Foundation Realm experts were killed on the spot.
It shocked them greatly, causing them to flee as far as they could. The swarm of devouring phosphorus bugs caused a calamity, and soon, news of the situation started spreading.
