"What?" The cultivators who had yet to head toward the Trial Tower exchanged startled looks and cried out. Although the white mist around them had dispersed, it was clear that the White-Mist Figure had no intention of letting them leave. There was an air of coercion about it: farther away, the white mist remained, churning in the distance. Leaving plainly would not be easy...
"Senior! This humble woman knows her cultivation is shallow and that she cannot pass the Trial Tower's trials. Please point me toward a way out!" Xi Lanruyu addressed the White-Mist Figure respectfully, neither arrogant nor impatient.
"Very well!" Seeing that only three or four cultivators had entered while so many remained, the White-Mist Figure seemed to change his mind abruptly. "There are Teleportation Formations inside the Trial Tower that can take you straight out. Whether you can find them depends on your luck!" With that, the White-Mist Figure seemed unwilling to say anything more and suddenly dissolved into a cloud of white mist...
"Senior..." the cultivators cried out...
Only one sentence echoed through the air: "The Trial Tower is your only way out. You're on your own!"
"..." Everyone was thoroughly frustrated now, exchanging looks. Naturally, they would not charge forward like those earlier cultivators who had almost no hope of surviving their next heavenly tribulation...
Doubts weighed on everyone's minds, and they fell silent for a while...
"Fellow Daoist Modong, what do you think?" A trace of doubt flashed through Ning Mozi's eyes. Wary as well, he asked Prince Modong through voice transmission.
"Well..." Prince Modong hesitated before replying through voice transmission. He paused, then continued with a frown, "There are plenty of suspicious points here. We'd better proceed cautiously!"
"Yes! I think so too! The White-Mist Figure appeared under rather strange circumstances. I suspect