Supreme Emptiness

Of course.

Pathetic as it may be.

Ren Guhong would never share the lotus seeds.

The Blood Corpse was his kill, and he used so many talismans, even his ultimate weapon.

Why should he split it with Jiang Fan?

"Hmm, there really are none left."

"We're both rather upset about it."

Ren Guhong said casually, without a hint of shame.

Wu Manyue naturally didn't dare offend Ren Guhong too much.

She pursed her lips and didn't expose his lie.

Jiang Fan said helplessly, "Alright, at least we found the key for free."

"Let's hurry and leave this place then."

The group nodded.

Ren Guhong kept an eye on the footprints on the ground as they walked.

He noticed Jiang Fan's footprints indeed came all the way from the dining hall.

It was clear Jiang Fan had been too frightened to move earlier.

Ren Guhong shook his head secretly:

"I really don't understand what Wu Manyue is wary of when it comes to this boy."

"A simple little trick, and he's already fallen for it."

At that moment.

He noticed the skeleton in the dining hall had been shattered by Jiang Fan.

His gaze flickered slightly: "Junior Brother Jiang, did you find anything on the skeleton?"

If they hadn't been in such a hurry to get the Dragon Blood Lotus earlier.

He would have certainly given that skeleton a thorough inspection.

Wu Manyue curiously stepped forward and searched through the pile of bones.

But she didn't find anything.

Her gaze also shifted toward Jiang Fan.

"That senior disciple had already scavenged everything clean. Besides bones, there's nothing left here for us."

Jiang Fan sighed.

At this.

Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue didn't feel too disappointed.

After all, someone else had already searched the area.

The chance of missing treasures was slim to none.

"Alright, let's leave this place then."

"All these spirit tablets are unsettlingly eerie."

Ren Guhong stepped lightly as he led the two out of the secret chamber.

Outside the stone door.

Ren Guhong clasped his hands and asked, "What do the two of you plan to do next?"

Jiang Fan looked around at the air and said, "Senior Sister Wu."

"Do you have any other Secret Realms?"

"I'd be glad to accompany you."

Swoosh swoosh swoosh—

Wu Manyue instantly darted away from Jiang Fan, snapping, "Stay away from me!"

"Nothing good ever happens when I'm near you!"

Jiang Fan looked utterly innocent, "You came back empty-handed this time, and you're blaming me for it somehow?"

Wu Manyue was momentarily speechless in frustration.

This time, Jiang Fan had surprised her by not causing any chaos.

She was almost unaccustomed to it.

"Either way, just stay far away from me, hmph!"

Her voice grew fainter as she stormed off into the distance.

Ren Guhong clasped his hands together and said, "In that case, this is where the three of us part ways."

But.

Just then.

The ground suddenly shook.

No.

It wasn't the ground itself trembling.

Their senses were hit by some kind of force, causing an intense reverberation.

"This isn't good!"

Ren Guhong muttered under his breath.

Whatever it was.

Running immediately seemed like the safest option.

Jiang Fan reacted even faster, instantly activating Cloud Shadow.

Yet.

The moment he took to the air.

He was yanked back by an unimaginable force and slammed hard into the ground.

Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue also let out miserable groans.

Evidently, they had all been caught.

Not one of them escaped!

Buzz—

A resonating shockwave surged up from below.

A massive array, glowing faintly with earthy yellow light and spanning ten meters in diameter, began to shimmer beneath them.

As the array activated.

The three felt their bodies being sucked by an overwhelming force.

They couldn't even move a single finger.

The Dustless Talismans pinned to their chests were the first to crumble under the suction, peeling off their bodies one after another.

Their figures were revealed in full.

"A heavy gravity formation?"

"The array… Ye Banxia? It's you!"

This array could only have been set up by Ye Banxia, who specialized in such formations!

Ren Guhong scanned the surroundings and shouted.

Whoosh—

A sound of breaking air echoed from afar.

It was none other than a hovering jade phoenix chair.

Sculpted with intricate Spirit Gathering Arrays, the chair was surrounded by swirling Spiritual Energy.

Its carvings were exquisite, with nine vivid and lifelike phoenixes that seemed as though they might take flight at any moment.

And on the jade chair.

Sat a tall woman adorned in a black dress.

Her slender legs crossed lazily, swinging lightly.

Occasionally revealing a glimpse of fair-white skin.

Her feet were clad in black knee-high boots, their lustrous glow piercing even the dim underground world.

She reclined against the jade chair.

Dark, sleek hair cascaded carelessly down her back.

Her delicate oval-shaped face bore finely chiseled features.

In her right hand, she held a white jade ruler, rhythmically tapping it against her shapely and pillar-like legs.

Her left hand cradled her cheek as she watched them impassively.

She spoke in a cold, condescending voice.

"The Blood Corpse inside must have caused you quite some trouble, hm?"

What?

Ren Guhong's expression darkened: "How did you know there was a Blood Corpse inside?"

Ye Banxia gazed down at him and replied:

"Because Wu Manyue's journal was something I deliberately let her obtain."

"And the news that the key was in my possession was something I intentionally let you learn."

What?

Ren Guhong immediately realized.

He shouted in anger, "So it was all your plan?"

"You knew about this place all along, knew there was a Blood Corpse here, and knew the dangers?"

"So you manipulated it all, using others as pawns to retrieve the Dragon Blood Lotus for you?"

"And you only needed to set the array outside the door, waiting for them to come out?"

Wu Manyue was also furious.

She snarled angrily, "Ye Banxia, you used us!"

For someone as proudly clever as Wu Manyue, nothing was more intolerable than being used!

Ye Banxia looked down at her with an air of superiority.

"Third rule of the underground world's creed: Avoid greed."

"If you weren't greedy, you wouldn't have fallen into my trap."

She leapt down gracefully, her lithe figure landing lightly.

Hands behind her back, she stood over the three incapacitated figures.

"Hand over the Dragon Blood Lotus."

Ren Guhong's eyes narrowed as he spoke, "The Blood Corpse already ate the entire Dragon Blood Lotus."

"We didn't get any of it."

Ye Banxia shook her head.

She pulled out a faintly glowing green lotus seed from her pocket.

It was dry and withered.

But unmistakably a Dragon Blood Lotus seed.

"We'll see about that."

Holding the seed between two slender jade fingers, she stepped closer to Ren Guhong.

The dried Dragon Blood Lotus suddenly gleamed with a cyan light.

It condensed into the symbol for "one."

"The Dragon Blood Lotus seeds can sense each other."

"They can even detect their exact numbers."

"Lying won't help you."

Ye Banxia remained expressionless as she retrieved another Dragon Blood Lotus seed from his pocket.

"No!" Ren Guhong tried to stop her.

But he couldn't lift a finger, watching helplessly as the Dragon Blood Lotus seed was taken away.

In this venture, he'd truly been played for a fool, doing someone else's dirty work for nothing!

"Brother Ren!"

Jiang Fan shouted furiously, "You said there were no Dragon Blood Lotus seeds left, didn't you?"

"This is my first time visiting the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and venturing with you, Brother Ren."

"And I end up betrayed like this!"

"How could you bear to deceive me like this?"

Ugh—

Ren Guhong forced an awkward smile and replied sheepishly, "Junior Brother Jiang, as your senior, I've only just managed to break even myself."

"If there were any extras, I'd certainly have shared them with you."

Jiang Fan coldly shot back two words:

"Shameless!"

Ren Guhong's face burned with embarrassment, and he didn't dare utter another word.

Ye Banxia—still expressionless—held the Dragon Blood Lotus seed as she approached Wu Manyue.

"No need to test me. The Dragon Blood Lotus seed was indeed eaten by that damned Blood Corpse, leaving only one behind."

Wu Manyue snorted.

Ye Banxia stared at the unresponsive seed in her hand, visibly disappointed.

"Only one left, after all."

Abruptly.

Her gaze landed on Jiang Fan as she handled the seed and walked toward him.

Jiang Fan grew uneasy.

He had stored all the remaining seeds in the Heavenly Thunder Stone.

With the Space Storage Device in place, they shouldn't be detectable, right?

But, to be safe, he quickly tried to absolve himself.

"Senior Sister Ye."

"I'm just a passerby."