Qu Xuanqing was the first to run out of the dim passageway, leaving the mycelium far behind. She shot out like a swift swallow and landed steadily on the ground beyond the exit.
Feeling the murky air around her, she immediately raised her sword and looked around, wary of a possible attack.
Before them lay a relatively open stretch of ruins.
The twisted buildings were sparser here. Rubble and indescribable organic remains littered the ground, and at the far end of the ruins stood the warped mirror image of the church they had been pursuing, now just a stone's throw away!
Its spires, like the horns of a monster, pierced the writhing sky. Its massive silhouette cast a suffocating shadow beneath the bleak "starlight." It was only a few hundred meters away.
Qu Xuanqing: "..."
A moment later, Lingren appeared silently beside her like a ghost.
"Oh? Looks like we picked the right direction. How lucky." He remained as composed as ever, not even a wrinkle in his clothes, and wore an inexplicably faint, pleased smile.
"How convenient." Qu Xuanqing turned her head, the corners of her mouth dipping. "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"
Lingren tilted his head slightly. His gaze settled on Qu Xuanqing, who still gripped her sword and had yet to catch her breath. The corners of his mouth curled into an inscrutable smile. "Are you saying I led you all here?"
"Then I must be a real do-gooder who never takes credit. I knew the way from the start, but instead of telling you outright, I went about helping everyone with the mission. What do you think I'd gain from that, little girl?"
Qu Xuanqing gave him a cold look and said nothing, but her grip on her sword tightened. The