"What's your name?" Ye Lanshan asked the woman before her coldly.
The woman replied respectfully, "Returning to the clan leader, my name is Ling Chunian."
"Good. Now take me to your headquarters' dungeon."
Ye Lanshan didn't care whether it put her in a difficult position—since they were asking for a favor, they had to show sincerity in seeking help.
"Well, clan leader, it's not that I won't take you, but going in now would definitely be dangerous. Those people are utterly twisted, constantly running all kinds of experiments." Ling Chunian's whole demeanor turned furious as she spoke of them.
The people behind her nodded in strong agreement, even angrier than she was.
"Twisted? I'd like to see just how twisted they really are. Lead the way."
Ye Lanshan's gaze gradually turned icy. Though she knew the people before her weren't lying, she couldn't wait any longer.
If those people were as twisted as they claimed, Ye Lanshan dared not imagine what might have become of Qingdai and the others—they were people she had painstakingly trained with her own effort.
And Yun Di—if anything happened to him, Sikong Kuang would probably kill me.
As for Huo Feiyan, she wasn't as worried, since she could always sense their contract bond and knew the other was unharmed. She just couldn't understand why Huo Feiyan hadn't sent word of their capture.
"Since that's the case, I'll take you there." After some hesitation, Ling Chunian finally gritted her teeth and agreed, then instructed those behind her, "Wait here safely."
"We should go instead. You're the only genius of our Ling clan—we can't let you fall in there."
The people behind her no longer showed the initial respect toward Ye Lanshan; instead, their eyes were filled with resentment.
"Enough. Trust me, I'll be fine. You must stay here—that's an order." Ling Chunian shot them a stern look, as if trying to etch them into her memory.
"Let's go." Ye Lanshan wasn't particularly moved by this.
"I never expected to find such a magnificent palace here." Ye Lanshan gazed at the underground palace with some awe.
The palace was built in resplendent splendor, extremely lavish, with every valuable thing imaginable found within.
"Shh, don't speak, or you'll alert them." Ling Chunian impulsively covered Ye Lanshan's mouth.
Ye Lanshan understood and signaled the others with her eyes.
The palace was dazzlingly grand, yet the dungeon was utterly shabby—even the cell doors holding prisoners were dilapidated, as if a gust of wind could knock them over.
The master here was certainly bold, not fearing that the prisoners might escape and come for revenge.
But soon she realized she was wrong. It wasn't shabby at all—it was as solid as iron. Everything was an illusion. When the illusion shattered, the dungeon revealed countless hidden traps and mechanisms.
"Wait, don't move yet." Ling Chunian stepped carefully to the mechanism before her, tampered with the button, then crept back.
"Alright, let's go. Remember to tread lightly."
"Is this heavenly silk?" Ye Lanshan's sharp eyes caught the obstacles made of heavenly silk set up throughout the passage.
"Yes, exactly. We absolutely must not touch the heavenly silk, or it will trigger mechanisms releasing countless arrows and alert the dungeon guards. Then we'd be done for."
Ling Chunian looked at the heavenly silk before her, a hint of difficulty in her eyes.
"Heavenly silk like infrared beams—they really went all out." Ye Lanshan dismissed it with disdain. She turned to tell the others to wait while she brought the people out, then they'd destroy this place together.
She herself crouched low, carefully dodging the heavenly silk. Fortunately, her flexibility was enough to navigate the tricky path without touching a single strand.
But no matter how flexible, there were always impassable spots. For instance, here, ten threads crisscrossed, splitting the already narrow space into countless sections. To get through, she'd have to lean her entire body backward, but leaning back would inevitably hit the heavenly silk behind her.
How was she supposed to get through this? A hundred, a thousand methods flashed through Ye Lanshan's mind, but she dismissed them all. What should she do?
In the end, Ye Lanshan decided to take a gamble—what if she could push past her human limits?
She tested cautiously, but ultimately accidentally touched one of the heavenly silk threads. A hail of arrows shot toward her wildly.
Ye Yutian's pupils dilated, and he rushed toward her without regard for whether the heavenly silk would cut him.
"Damn it, we're all finished now." Ling Chunian's face showed panic, but a cold glint flickered in her eyes.
"You'd better not try any tricks, or you'll be the first to be sliced to pieces." Yue Shu's heart burned with urgency, but he had to keep a close watch on Ling Chunian to prevent any mischief.
Meanwhile, Mu Xinlian had already charged forward the moment the arrows were released.
"Hurry, someone's broken into the dungeon!"
Chaotic voices rose from all directions, and soon footsteps drew closer.
In this chaos, no one noticed that Mu Xinlian had vanished.
"Ling Chunian, how dare you bring people into the dungeon! Capture them, dead or alive!"
Yue Shu coughed lightly, but his eyes showed no fear, as if he didn't care about them at all.
Ye Lanshan and Ye Yutian emerged from the arrow storm unscathed, though Ye Yutian's robe had been torn by the heavenly silk during his charge, making him look a bit disheveled.
"Capture us? You've got quite the nerve." Ye Lanshan wielded her Devourer blade and cut through the heavenly silk that even divine weapons couldn't sever.
"Who are you?" Jiang Kui looked at this seemingly refined yet arrogant man, a flicker of interest stirring within him.
"A dead man doesn't need to know my name." Ye Lanshan held her dagger and walked slowly toward them, a murderous motion executed with fluid grace.
"Arrogant." Jiang Kui's interest in her only grew.
They seemed to be just four people, but their combat power was terrifyingly abnormal. By comparison, Ling Chunian might be the most normal.
Yue Shu looked sickly, yet he turned out to be a ninth-rank Mystic Divine General. Ye Lanshan, though only a Great Mystic General, was more formidable than an Emperor Mystic General. And Ye Yutian—his level was completely unreadable.
What kind of monsters were these?
Jiang Kui couldn't fathom why such extraordinary talents had broken in here.
"Stop. I think we need to talk." Seeing his forces rapidly dwindling, Jiang Kui had no choice but to call a halt.
"I don't think we have anything to discuss. End this quickly—I have no time to waste here."
Ye Lanshan swiftly slit a man's throat, then closed in on Jiang Kui.