Guan Congnan came to Northern Qiong Cave feeling completely confident.
He had a map and already knew before entering the secret realm that a Three-Tailed Fish Dragon lived here.
To prepare for this, he had carefully studied the monster’s habits and weaknesses, made a detailed plan, and formed a well-balanced team.
He was certain that few people would target such a remote and unpopular location. Before even arriving at Northern Qiong Cave, he had already imagined how he would brag about his achievements to his fellow disciples after leaving the secret realm.
When Qingyang asked his question, Guan Congnan still had no idea what had happened. He even secretly thought that his junior brother simply lacked experience because he had not been in the sect for very long.
So he pushed past the people in front of him, placed a hand on his sword hilt, and said arrogantly,
“Why are you panicking? Northern Qiong Cave can—”
Before he could finish speaking, he was stunned by the sight before him.
The rest of his sentence got stuck in his throat.
When he saw Zhu Mingyan standing beside the Three-Tailed Fish Dragon, he could not help shouting in shock.
“Why is she here?!”
The confidence he had been showing disappeared instantly.
The moment Zhu Mingyan saw Guan Congnan, she immediately became alert.
He was the most likely suspect in the collar incident, and now he had appeared at her location. It was far too suspicious.
Guan Congnan looked around the cave, which seemed as if it had been bombed. Then he looked at the dying Three-Tailed Fish Dragon lying on the ground.
A terrifying thought appeared in his mind.
“Senior Sister Zhu… did you kill the Three-Tailed Fish Dragon?”
“So what if I did?” Zhu Mingyan replied.
She was confused.
If he had come specifically for her, why was he so surprised to see her here?
And if he had not come for her, why had he come to Northern Qiong Cave?
“Senior Sister is truly… truly impressive!” Guan Congnan exclaimed.
Then he hesitated before speaking again.
“I have a small request. I wonder if Senior Sister could…”
“No.”
Zhu Mingyan rejected him immediately without even hearing the request.
Guan Congnan: ?
Duan Qingyang immediately became unhappy.
“Senior Sister Zhu, my senior brother hasn’t even finished speaking. How can you reject him already?”
Zhu Mingyan could not be bothered arguing.
She sneered.
“I’m not close to your senior brother. Why should I help him?”
“Your senior brother knows exactly what he did!”
Ning Qiubai’s voice suddenly rang out.
Since she had little ability to protect herself, she had hidden in a safe corner while Red Chase lured away the Fish Dragon.
After everything settled down, she came to meet Zhu Mingyan in the southeast corner and happened to hear Guan Congnan’s voice.
She immediately spoke up.
Guan Congnan looked confused.
“What did I do?”
Duan Qingyang could not tolerate anyone speaking badly about his senior brother.
He was about to argue with Ning Qiubai, but Guan Congnan stopped him.
“Senior Brother?”
“Do not be rude to Senior Sister Zhu.”
Guan Congnan bowed apologetically toward Zhu Mingyan.
“Senior Sister Zhu, I think there may be some misunderstanding between us.”
Zhu Mingyan felt goosebumps rise at his words.
She quickly waved her hand.
“You don’t need to explain. The Three-Tailed Fish Dragon has already been killed, but the other creatures and spiritual plants in this cave do not belong to me alone.”
“We are leaving now. Junior Brother, do as you wish.”
“I…”
Guan Congnan wanted to explain further, but Zhu Mingyan had already picked up Fuchuan and signaled Ning Qiubai to leave.
Then she suddenly stopped.
“Oh, right.”
It seemed as though she had remembered something.
“Junior Brother Guan, where are you heading next?”
“I’ll probably continue north. If Senior Sister is interested, you can come with us.”
He sounded completely sincere.
“Qiubai, let’s head south after we leave.”
Zhu Mingyan spoke as though she had not heard him at all.
Guan Congnan: …???
Duan Qingyang had reached the limit of his patience.
Pulling on his senior brother’s sleeve, he said angrily,
“Senior Brother, she’s being completely unreasonable. Let’s stop wasting time on her.”
Guan Congnan calmed himself and nodded.
“Everyone, come in. The strongest monster in the cave has already been killed. We can safely collect resources now.”
…
After leaving Northern Qiong Cave, Zhu Mingyan and her group used a compass to determine their direction and continued south.
As they walked, Ning Qiubai kept talking.
“What is wrong with this Guan Congnan?”
“I don’t understand either.”
Zhu Mingyan thought carefully as she walked.
“I treated him quite badly, yet he never got angry. From beginning to end, he addressed me respectfully as Senior Sister and acted very friendly.”
“Could Gu Zicheng have lied to you? After all, you never actually saw Guan Congnan that day.”
“That’s possible.”
Zhu Mingyan nodded.
“But until I find clear evidence, I’d rather trust Gu Zicheng. I’m familiar with him, while I’ve barely spoken to Guan Congnan.”
Ning Qiubai sighed.
“As long as you know what you’re doing.”
Beside them, Fuchuan walked lazily.
He had no interest in their conversation.
Instead, he kept staring at Red Chase sitting on Zhu Mingyan’s shoulder and whispering into her ear.
A strange feeling rose in his heart.
It felt as though something was scratching at him from the inside.
For some reason, he wanted to pull Red Chase down and take its place.
No, that’s not possible.
I’m much bigger than it.
She definitely wouldn’t let me sit on her shoulder.
Fuchuan suddenly felt disappointed.
…
The battle in Northern Qiong Cave had consumed a lot of time.
By now, the sun was setting.
Everyone was exhausted, so they found a safe place nearby and stopped to rest.
Ning Qiubai dropped her luggage onto the ground and said curiously,
“We’ve been heading south ever since leaving Northern Qiong Cave. Logically, we should be getting closer to the central area.”
“So why haven’t we seen a single monster?”
Zhu Mingyan’s expression became serious.
“Before reaching Northern Qiong Cave, we encountered at least four or five monsters.”
“For things to be this quiet, there are probably only two possibilities.”
“What’s the first one?” Ning Qiubai asked.
“Someone arrived here before us and already killed all the nearby monsters.”
“And the second?”
“There is an even stronger monster nearby.”
“The other monsters have all been scared away.”
“But I don’t sense any powerful monster.”
Ning Qiubai looked puzzled.
“If there were a creature strong enough to frighten away every monster in the area, how could we not notice it?”
Red Chase hesitated.
Ever since they entered Northern Qiong Cave, it had felt a terrifying pressure.
It was an instinctive fear coming from deep within its bloodline.
If Zhu Mingyan had not been here, it probably would have run away already.
Suspiciously, it glanced at Fuchuan.
To its surprise, Fuchuan was staring back with an unpleasant expression.
Red Chase immediately shrank back.
For some reason, a chill ran down its spine.
“Red Chase, Fuchuan, what do you think?” Zhu Mingyan asked.
“It feels like something nearby is suppressing me through bloodline pressure.”
Unable to endure Fuchuan’s stare any longer, Red Chase lightly jumped down from Zhu Mingyan’s shoulder.
“Bloodline pressure?”
Zhu Mingyan repeated the phrase.
“What about you, Fuchuan?”
Since Fuchuan still could not speak, he simply shook his head.
“It’s only affecting you?” Ning Qiubai said in disbelief.
“Red Chase, who did you offend?”
Red Chase was about to defend itself when a deep bell suddenly rang through the sky above the secret realm.
It was the same bell used by the sect to announce important news.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
A steward elder’s calm voice echoed through the secret realm.
“Today’s rankings have been updated. You may inject spiritual energy into your wooden tokens to view them.”
“Good luck with your trials.”
Ning Qiubai took out her wooden token and infused it with spiritual energy.
A projection of the ranking list appeared in the air.
Neither she nor Zhu Mingyan cared much about placing in the top three, so they only glanced at it casually.
But what they saw shocked them.
In ninth place on the ranking board—
Zhu Mingyan’s name was clearly displayed.