The Twist!

In the darkness, Gu Jianlin raised his right index finger. A drop of golden blood shimmered at its tip.

It was only a drop of blood, yet it gave off a rich, sickly-sweet scent.

Like a vivid, poisonous fruit borne by a toxic tree, it was both dangerously lethal and deeply tempting.

For a moment, all five people, including the mentor, held their breath.

The mentor most of all. Unconcealed eagerness and longing shone in his eyes, as if he had seen hope for survival.

"Look. The Ancient God Blood you crave."

Gu Jianlin said flatly, "I might understand the terror of having your mind corrupted, your body twisted and collapsing, and your life nearing its end. But the question is, what could make you worthy of it?"

In the deathly silence, their quickened breathing and pounding heartbeats were clearly audible.

"If you would grant us the Ancient God Blood, we'll prove our worth."

The mentor knelt on the ground and said solemnly, "We can serve as your bridge to the outside world! Take Sea Siren, for example. She can provide you with intelligence from the Ether Association, the largest Ascender organization on Earth and the greatest enemy of the Ancient God race. Moon Maiden and Butcher are skilled fighters. They can help you seize resources outside!"

His throat bobbed as he continued, "As for me, just as I said, next time I'll provide you with an ample supply of spirit! Considering that we're being hunted and wanted by the Ether Association, and are on the verge of losing control and mutating, refining these Spirit Potions is already extremely difficult. I can't provide you with a large amount of spirit."

They were confident because this Ancient God couldn't reach the outside world.

There were too many people in this world stronger than they were.

But in the Kirin Immortal Palace, there was no other choice but them.

In the darkness, Gu Jianlin's gaze remained cold, his Golden Eyes burning fiercely.

"Can't you do it, or don't you want to?"

The hoarse, drifting voice rang out like thunder.

The mentor was terrified, as if his little scheme couldn't escape the Ancient God's notice.

He'd been seen through.

Because he really didn't want to.

After all, making a deal with an Ancient God was extremely dangerous.

The mentor wasn't sure how much spirit the Kirin Venerable needed to break free of his restraints.

But he knew one thing.

Once the Kirin Venerable broke free, they would be of no use.

The five of them, led by the mentor, were trying to survive. They wouldn't stop until they achieved their goal.

The worst that could happen was death.

Being killed by an Ancient God was no different from mutating out of control and dying.

"Of course I can't."

The mentor prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling. "As you can see, I'm nearing the end of my life! I beg you, please grant me one more chance. I'll refine an even higher-grade..."

The next moment, his words were cut off by a faint, mocking laugh.

"Human talent has its limits. Don't push yourself too hard."

Gu Jianlin raised his blazing Golden Eyes and enunciated each word. "I want you to do something else."

For now, he didn't need higher-grade Spirit Potions. He'd only been trying to put these people in their place.

He knew that this Alchemist was calculating and would never provide a large amount of Spirit Potions all at once.

Of course, that suited him just fine.

The mentor fell silent for a moment, then trembled violently as he said, "Please, tell us."

Gu Jianlin spoke indifferently. "When you entered the Kirin Immortal Palace, did you see Kui?"

He didn't know how else to describe that thing, so he used a name as a stand-in.

He wanted to test these people.

After all, that monstrous thing was so terrifying that anyone who encountered it would remember it vividly.

"Kui?"

The mentor and his four students exchanged glances.

"Though I don't know what you mean, if it's something important to you, then we haven't seen it."

The old man said, "We entered this place with the help of Records of Xu Fu, avoiding most of the dangers in the Kirin Immortal Palace. The strongest among us is only at the fourth rank. If we'd encountered any of those powerful beings, we'd already be dead."

So that was it.

Gu Jianlin hadn't expected much in the first place. He said indifferently:

"Besides that, there's someone else who interests me. He once entered this tomb as well. By your Ascenders' reckoning, he should be a sixth-rank Celestial Master."

Gu Jianlin said coolly, "I want to know where he is."

As soon as he said that, an eerie silence fell over the tomb chamber.

The mentor was kneeling, but his hunched body visibly shuddered, and his hands clenched against the ground.

At the same time, Sea Siren and Moon Maiden tensed up as well.

Gu Jianlin was highly sensitive to subtle changes in expression and body language. He spotted the tell at once.

The three of them clearly knew who he meant as soon as he mentioned a sixth-rank Celestial Master!

"Could the person you're referring to be Gu Ci'an?"

The mentor spoke with a tremor in his voice. "The only sixth-rank Celestial Master I can think of is him. After all, there are only a handful of people in this world capable of entering here without the help of Records of Xu Fu."

"And Gu Ci'an is the only sixth-rank Celestial Master."

Even his voice turned dry as he mentioned the name. "He... he did appear in the Immortal Palace. Could he have entered before us?"

At that moment, emotions surged in the depths of Gu Jianlin's heart.

They really did know!

From what he could tell, the mentor seemed extremely reluctant to mention his father's name. The two of them must have had some history.

"You seem to remember him vividly."

Gu Jianlin forced himself to calm down and spoke evenly.

The mentor's eyes flickered for a moment, as if recalling an old terror. He lowered his voice and explained, "As you guessed, I do remember him vividly. How could I not? I once secretly kept ancient documents and entered the Immortal Palace with Book Elder and Butcher. Then Gu Ci'an hunted us down, and we barely escaped with our lives..."

Gu Jianlin thought, At least the old man wasn't lying.

Joker had said the same thing.

"Back then, we were all trapped in the lowest level beneath the sea. That area was still habitable for humans, unlike the uppermost level, which was filled with the mental domain you left behind. As long as we brought enough supplies, we didn't have to be teleported away. But Gu Ci'an followed us in and tracked us for six whole months!"

The mentor continued in a low voice, "Gu Ci'an was also an expert at profiling. To us, he was practically a nightmare. If we hadn't had Records of Xu Fu, he would have caught us long ago."

For a moment, dead silence filled the tomb chamber.

Gu Jianlin kept an utterly calm expression, but a storm raged inside him!

This Pharmacist was saying that Dad had been trapped with them in the lowest level beneath the sea for six whole months!

For a moment, he couldn't tell who was telling the truth.

"Gu Ci'an was with the Ether Association, right?"

Gu Jianlin continued to struggle to stay calm and said evenly, "He was hunting down a traitor."

"That was what I thought at first, too. But later, I began to feel there was more to it."

The mentor's pupils contracted slightly. He replied respectfully, "After half a year of fighting, Gu Ci'an suddenly gave up hunting us. We found it strange. Even with Records of Xu Fu, the Immortal Palace was far too dangerous for us. We were already at the end of our rope, and Gu Ci'an was just one step away from catching us."

"Yet he suddenly disappeared, and we ended up entering the next level by following the route he'd taken."

He paused, and a note of suspicion crept into his voice. "By chance, we were teleported back to reality. Then, on that very day, we received some shocking news."

Gu Jianlin tilted his head and looked down at them.

"The Ether Association announced that three months before we returned to the real world, Gu Ci'an had suddenly lost control and caused the Blood Moon Massacre, slaughtering a large number of A-rank investigators before fleeing overnight. When we heard about him again, he'd inexplicably died in a car accident. A sixth-rank Celestial Master, killed in a car accident?"

The mentor shook his head. "And he lost control while he was hunting us in the lowest level of the Immortal Palace. I still have some of the supplies he left behind, and the dagger he used to stab Butcher."

"..."

At that moment, Gu Jianlin's thoughts were a raging storm.

If what this Alchemist said was true, then Dad really had been trapped in the Immortal Palace.

Then who was the other Gu Ci'an?