Disciples followed Captain Bai’s gaze, seeing countless human-sized caves chiseled out at the base of a steep cliff in the distance.
“There! Those aren’t all tunnels dug by the Ten Thousand Year Pythons, are they!”
Bai Ran chuckled, “That’s right, those are the tunnels dug by the Ten Thousand Year Pythons.”
“All of them?? So many??”
“How will we know which cave the Ten Thousand Year Python is in?”
The disciples were momentarily stunned by the dense array of caves below the cliff. Were they expected to search through them one by one?
Yan Shuang gazed at the stone caves in the distance, her expression darkening, “Not only that, but if we encounter a Ten Thousand Year Python and are outmatched, we’ll be trapped inside the cave.”
At this, the disciples fell silent. It would take ten days to half a month to search through so many caves.
Even if they were lucky and found it quickly, if they couldn’t defeat the Ten Thousand Year Python, the entrance would be blocked, leaving them in grave danger with no escape.
In a corner of the crowd, a woman glared fiercely at Bai Ran.
If she had known this would happen, she would have just accepted one mission. Why did she have to boast and accept three!
Bai Ran felt the gaze behind her and turned her head, “I believe your name is Gu Ke. Is something the matter?”
Her gaze focused, Gu Ke immediately panicked, “Cap… Captain Bai! With so many caves, I have an idea!”
Bai Ran’s eyes held a hint of amusement, “Oh? What good idea do you have?”
Gu Ke pointed at her, “Captain Bai is powerful. You can go in and scout the path first!”
“Absolutely not!” Yan Shuang reprimanded, “Gu Ke! This is a mission we accepted together. Captain Bai doesn’t need to go into danger alone!”
“She’s the one who took the mission! We are merely passively accepting it!” Gu Ke cried innocently.
“Gu Ke!” Yan Shuang clenched her fists, “How can you be so unreasonable!”
Ma Huai also stepped forward, “Yes, Gu Ke. Captain Bai has been helping us since we entered the forest.”
“Our rapid progress and abundant gains are also thanks to Captain Bai’s elixirs and formations.”
Hearing this, Gu Ke looked at him in disbelief, “It’s her! All of this is her fault!”
“She ordered us to fly here, which led to the loss of our food and water! She took on the mission on her own accord, which has led us to this predicament!”
Bai Ran narrowed her eyes. What was bound to happen, was indeed happening.
…
At the same time, in the Divine Realm – Nine Star Divine Palace.
In the empty hall, Divine Lord Baili’s face was haggard, “Why? Why can’t the star chart find any trace of her?”
His slender fingers tightly gripped the star chart, which was dim and lusterless, as if it had malfunctioned.
The rabbit demon, transformed into human form, was filled with worry, “Divine Lord… You haven’t slept for three days…”
Divine Lord Baili lowered his head, a look of melancholy on his face, “Wusi…”
“I can’t find her anymore…”
Wusi’s heart clenched. The Divine Lord… cared about her so much?
What about her? She had accompanied the Divine Lord for over twenty years. If she disappeared, would the Divine Lord miss her like this?
Wusi gave a bitter smile. She already knew the answer…
Suddenly, Divine Lord Baili seemed to remember something and rushed to the cabinet, pulling open a drawer.
“Where is the peach wood sword!” His body trembled, “The peach wood sword is gone?”
The peach wood sword had always been kept by him with utmost care because only it could block the star chart’s guidance.
However, he was the only one who knew this…
No! There was one other person who knew!
Divine Lord Baili slowly raised his head, looking at the rabbit demon beside him, “Wusi… Was it you?”
Wusi bit her lower lip, remaining silent.
“You stole the peach wood sword… and gave it to her?”
“Why…?”
Wusi’s hands clenched her robes. If the Divine Lord knew her feelings, she would be expelled from the Nine Star Divine Palace, never to see the Divine Lord again in this life…
“I… I was coerced by the Demon Lord…”
She lied, but she didn’t intend to.
“The Demon Lord?” Divine Lord Baili gripped her shoulder, “Was it the Demon Lord who forced you to steal the peach wood sword?!”
Wusi slowly nodded.
And the Divine Lord Baili, who had always been gentle like jade and aloof like an immortal, now had a faint aura of killing intent emanating from him.
“Divine Lord…” Wusi subtly glanced at him.
“No need to say more!”
Divine Lord Baili clenched his fists tightly, “The Demon Lord of the Demon Realm acts recklessly, coercing people of the Divine Realm. I will report this truthfully to the Divine Emperor!”
Wusi was shocked and yanked his sleeve, “Divine Lord, no!”
“Do you want the Divine Emperor to know of Miss Bai’s existence?!”
Divine Lord Baili froze. The Demon Lord forcing Wusi to steal the peach wood sword could only be for her sake.
If this matter was reported to the Divine Emperor, then she would also be discovered by the Divine Emperor…
She would die…
Slowly, Divine Lord Baili calmed down, “Wusi, you are right.”
He couldn’t let the Divine Emperor discover her existence…
…
On the other side, Gu Ke glared at Yan Shuang, “Was I wrong?”
Anger surged within Yan Shuang, “Gu Ke!”
Bai Ran smiled calmly and walked forward, “You’re unhappy with my arrangements, aren’t you?”
Gu Ke crossed her arms, “That’s right! Whoever wants to do the mission can do it. I don’t want to risk my life with you for nothing!”
“Then you can go back,” Bai Ran looked at the other disciples, “Who else feels the same way? You can all go back.”
The disciples remained silent. They all felt Gu Ke was being somewhat unreasonable.
“You! On what grounds!” She stared intently at Bai Ran.
“On what grounds?” Bai Ran let out a cold snort, “Since the Sect Master entrusted you to me, whether you can gain experience or compete is up to me.”
“Since you are not satisfied with my arrangements, I won’t stop you. Hand over the beast-attracting powder and you can leave.”
Beast-attracting powder! Gu Ke clutched the storage bag at her waist. This small bottle of powder was worth a lot of money!
“What, you don’t want to give it?” Bai Ran glanced at her coldly, “I’ll count to three. If you still don’t hand it over, you’ll bear the consequences.”
Just as Bai Ran began to count, Gu Ke suddenly shouted, “I! I’m not unhappy with your arrangements!”
“I… I was wrong.” She turned her face away. kuAiδugg
Yan Shuang’s face turned red with anger. How could there be such a core disciple in the Que Tian Sect!
Anyone with eyes could see that Gu Ke wasn’t admitting fault. She clearly didn’t want to hand over Captain Bai’s beast-attracting powder!
“Bah! I’m disgusted by you!” Yan Shuang glared at her.
But unexpectedly, Bai Ran’s counting didn’t stop, “Two.”
“What do you mean? I admitted I was wrong, isn’t that enough?” Gu Ke stared blankly at Bai Ran.
Ma Huai sneered at her, “Disgraceful thing. Hand over the item quickly and you can scram back!”
“Three.”
As soon as the words fell, Bai Ran vanished from her spot.