After Cui Xuanjing reunited with the eight clansmen, he searched the entire valley once more, yet still found no trace of the Baleful-Devouring Demon Flower.
He could only return in frustration with the eight heavily injured clansmen.
When he reached the place where Ye Hua and the others were, he immediately noticed Song Wen beside Ye Hua. His gaze turned sharp, and with a sudden burst of speed, he arrived before Song Wen.
"Gou Jun, why are you here? Where is Cui Gu?"
Faced with Cui Xuanjing's aggressive questioning, Song Wen appeared somewhat fearful.
"Reporting to Senior Cui, not long after you entered the cave, rumbling sounds came from within, attracting a late-stage third-rank fish demon corpse. Cui Gu and I originally intended to join forces and swiftly kill it. But things did not go as planned. Aided by the corpse baleful aura within the valley, the demon corpse was extremely troublesome. Only after considerable effort did we manage to eliminate it."
"The commotion from killing the fish demon was too great. This junior feared it would attract even more demon corpses, so I left alone and returned here. After that, this junior never saw Fellow Daoist Cui Gu again."
"A coward who fears death!" Cui Xuanjing barked, then asked, "How long have you been back?"
"It has been two quarters of an hour," Song Wen said.
Cui Xuanjing roughly calculated in his heart. Two quarters of an hour ago was approximately when he had entered the underground cavern hall for the second time and reunited with his clansmen.
Given the speed of a Golden Core cultivator like Gou Jun, as well as the dangers scattered throughout the valley, if Gou Jun had returned here two quarters of an hour ago, then it was likely as he had said: he