A familiar shout came from the eastern side of the cavern, brimming with barely concealed excitement and echoing between the stone walls.
Qing Chen turned toward the voice, his gaze sweeping past the pitch-black Black Profound Hall beside the Magnetic Sand River;
beside a bluestone pillar before the hall stood a figure in green-it was Lin Changsheng.
The spirit robe over his chest was stained with patches of blood, and his aura was unsteady. Clearly, he had fought several bitter battles earlier, and his injuries had yet to heal completely.
Qing Chen tapped the ground with his toes, his figure turning into a wisp of green smoke as he arrived before Lin Changsheng in an instant.
He first examined Lin Changsheng's injuries closely, then looked toward the faint outline of the altar deep within the hall and asked gravely:
"How did it go?"
Lin Changsheng dropped heavily onto one knee and cupped his fists. "I have fulfilled my mission! Chang Ping'an has been captured alive, and the Duer Secret Residence is inside the hall!"
With that, he stepped aside, revealing two people bound in chains of blue-black baleful energy behind him.
Chang Ping'an lay slumped on the ground, his wrists twisted like braided dough, dark-red scabs of blood clinging to the corners of his mouth.
Beside him, Chang Yao's eyes had rolled back, and her clothes were disheveled.
Strange rasping sounds came from her throat. The aura of the Soul-Extracting Gu entwined around her clashed violently with the baleful energy, as though about to tear her skin apart.
"This woman is done for."
Lin Changsheng hurriedly explained, "The old ghost's remnant soul turned on her, and after my interrogation, her mind is now muddled and witless."
He pointed at Chang Ping'an as he spoke. "This traitor wanted to keep all