Do You Want It?

"What kind of thing can enhance one's strength?"

Jiang Lu was rather curious.

Chi Li shook its head. It could only vaguely understand Cutie's meaning. As for what treasures lay inside, even Cutie itself did not know; it had merely sensed the treasures' presence.

Jiang Lu nodded. No matter. She would know once she went inside.

Seeing the stone walls on both sides grow ever deeper and more secluded, Jiang Lu knew she had already left the outskirts of the Illusory Forest.

Yet this was not dense woodland either. They had likely entered another region.

Though she had never studied formations, she knew this place had been concealed by one. They had stumbled into it only because, as time passed, the energy at the formation eye had become insufficient to sustain the formation.

That was why the formation had vanished, exposing this place.

Since few people ever came here, the two of them had discovered it, and thus gained this stroke of fortune.

As they continued onward, the stone walls on either side grew taller and narrower.

Then waves of cries rang out from deeper within. The three of them halted. Something was trapped inside!

The two men stopped in their tracks, their faces deathly pale. That sound was too terrifying—it made their hearts tremble and filled them with the urge to kneel and submit. After some hesitation, they headed toward another fork in the path.

Jiang Lu glanced back at them before walking straight toward the source of the sound.

Not long after she left, the two men poked their heads out.

"Big Brother, do you think she followed us here, or did she come on her own?"

The man's voice carried lingering fear. They could not see through that cultivator's strength; she was surely far stronger than them.

"Whether she followed us or came by herself, she is not someone we can afford to provoke. Don't entertain thoughts you shouldn't have."

"Big Brother, how would I dare?"

After saying that, the man glanced at his big brother. His big brother thought too highly of him.

The two of them then squatted where they were, not daring to leave.

That fork was terribly frigid as well. With their strength, neither of them could venture down it.

Their faces were filled with frustration. This was the inconvenience brought by being weak.

If they had the strength, they would have gone to investigate on their own long ago. They would not have had to make wedding clothes for someone else.

That cultivator was stronger than them, yet she had walked behind them without making a move against them.

Either she had followed them here, or she was kind-hearted and simply did not regard them as worth her attention.

They felt the former was far more likely.

They only wondered whether that cultivator could emerge safely. If she did, then for the sake of their having led the way, they hoped she would give their Lineage some resources.

Though it was somewhat demanding the impossible, for some reason, the two of them simply felt they should remain here this time.

Halfway along, Jiang Lu saw stone steps leading underground.

Without hesitation, she lifted her foot and descended. The steps seemed endless, leading only into a deep cavern.

As she entered the cave, she saw patterns carved into the stone walls, telling a story.

Jiang Lu walked while looking at the images above.

It roughly described how a peerless genius had emerged from a Lineage. While training abroad, she had been acknowledged as master by a divine bird. The two gradually began to rise to prominence, and the divine bird slowly became the guardian Divine Beast of that Lineage.

As the Lineage's disciples rose to fame, the divine bird's strength gradually faded, and it realized something was wrong.

Its master had actually used a secret art to give the Divine Beast bloodline from its body to the Lineage's disciples to consume. Its bloodline was continuously extracted, leaving it weaker and weaker.

Meanwhile, more and more geniuses emerged from the Lineage, until in the end, they no longer needed it.

It was filled with resentment—resentment at having failed to see people clearly, resentment at its master for repaying kindness with enmity.

Thus, it came to bear malice toward every member of that Lineage.

Its master had not known that the Divine Beast bloodline belonged solely to Divine Beasts. How could mortals possibly endure it?

Before long, using the secret art as a medium, every disciple exploded and died.

Not a single person in the entire Lineage survived. Its master also suffered backlash and perished because of it. Having used the secret art, it too suffered backlash and was barely clinging to life.

It was truly a case of both sides losing.

"Master, we would never do that, right?"

Chi Li's voice rang out in Jiang Lu's mind.

When everyone came across ads such as "Are you a real person?", there was no need to pay attention to them. Simply close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!

Sensing the fear of the three Spirit Beasts, Jiang Lu patted the cloth pouch.

"Of course. We are family. We definitely won't be like them."

Hearing this, Chi Li and Cangchen were reassured. Their master truly was different from other people. They had heard their elders say that some humans, after contracting Spirit Beasts, would make them toil like oxen and horses to fight for benefits for themselves.

But their master would not. She even gave them delicious food, and when danger came, she was always the first to step forward.

They were different!

After figuring it out, the two exchanged a look and proudly raised their heads.

Cutie did not understand why, but raised its head along with them.

Warmth filled Jiang Lu's heart. These silly little things.

The farther inward they went, the more the place carried, beyond its chill, a trace of sinister evil.

Then Jiang Lu saw an enormous altar.

The altar was oval-shaped, with nine chains upon it. Every chain was connected to the stone pillar at the center of the altar.

Jiang Lu slowly approached.

All of a sudden—

The flames surrounding the altar ignited in an instant, and the pitch-black cave immediately lit up.

Sensing someone's gaze, Jiang Lu looked toward its source.

She saw a black figure in the distance.

Following that gaze, Jiang Lu looked over.

A pair of blue eyes was staring fixedly at her.

Jiang Lu fearlessly raised her head and met its gaze.

"Human—"

"This is not a place you should have come to!"

It suddenly spoke.

"Not a place I should have come to? The formation outside has already been broken. Sooner or later, someone would come. I merely arrived before them."

Jiang Lu watched it, while her Divine Sense vigilantly monitored her surroundings.

"What did you say? The formation has been broken?"

That voice grew ever sharper, stabbing pain into Jiang Lu's ears.

Jiang Lu nodded, her tone provocative.

"That's right!"

At her words, black mist spilled from the figure and spread in all directions. The air around the altar became increasingly frigid. Even with a layer of fire wrapped around her body, Jiang Lu could still feel that icy aura.

"Despicable humans, you actually deceived me!"

"Back then, I gave half of my master's Lineage resources to him and had him build this altar for me. Once the time came, I would be able to recover from my injuries and reappear in the world."

"Now that the formation has been destroyed, I no longer have any chance of returning to the world!"

"Damn it—"

"Damn it—"

Jiang Lu immediately sealed off her five senses as its furious voice echoed through the cave.

Jiang Lu blinked. She had not felt any harm.

Could it be unable to hurt her?

After venting for quite some time, it finally calmed down. Looking at Jiang Lu, it asked,

"Human, did you come here for these countless magical treasures?"

"I do not know what you have. I merely sensed that there were treasures here and came to investigate."

Jiang Lu certainly could not admit it. Coveting someone else's possessions right in front of them—she would have to be a fool to do that.

"Do you want them?"

Jiang Lu raised a brow without saying anything, waiting only for it to continue.

"Heh heh—"

"I can see that your strength is not high. Though I cannot harm you now, I can still trap you here."

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