Chapter 724: May I Know When You Came to the Mystic Forest?

　　If she looked closely enough, she could even identify those people, which included the Black Guards and the various sects’ disciples. There were a few people she couldn’t identify though. They were likely to be people who had entered the Mystic Forest on their own and ended up swallowed by the ground.

　　It had never crossed Shangguan Wan’s mind that she’d receive such a huge and pleasant surprise. According to her initial plan, she had intended on making a move on only a handful of people after entering the Mystic Forest, for she would inevitably arouse suspicion if something happened to everyone.

　　Also, she could only act when she was certain that nobody would discover what she was up to. It was just like how she dealt with the dozen people when trapped in the enclosed area.

　　Everyone else would think that they were swallowed by the soil and thus wouldn’t associate their deaths with her. After all, it was only normal that accidental deaths would occur in a dangerous place like the Mystic Forest.

　　With all those factors combined, the chances of her making a move became even slimmer. However, it was different now—she could easily kill those people without anyone’s knowledge.

　　She checked her condition once more. After unleashing its force twice, the fireball finally settled down in her dantian, no longer causing any trouble.

　　She even waited a while to make sure.

　　As Shangguan wan recalled what happened earlier, she surmised that the force came from the two tree roots, but it only healed one-tenth of her Yuan meridian. This meant that she had to continue absorbing force if she wanted her Yuan meridian to recover fully. The force from those people trapped underground should be enough, right?

　　Shangguan Wan trembled in excitement at the thought there was hope for her Yuan meridian to recover fully. God knows how long I’ve been waiting for this day. Nobody will know that I’m the culprit behind their deaths, so I can just kill them without a care. On top of that, my cultivation level might even increase.

　　Her eyes glowed red in excitement as she started selecting her first picks, which were naturally those with higher-grade Yuan meridians. Not only could she convert all the force contained within their Yuan meridians into hers this way, but the recovery effectiveness of her Yuan meridian would also be maximized.

　　One person suddenly came into her mind just then. Oh right, where’s Chu Liuyue? Her Yuan meridian is the best among these people. That girl is an eyesore. I won’t feel relieved until she’s dead.

　　Unfortunately, she couldn’t find Chu Liuyue even after searching everywhere. She was slightly disappointed to know that the latter’s force hadn’t been swallowed by the rolling leaf fir. Forget it. Healing my Yuan meridian is more important!

　　With just a thought, the tree root suddenly tightened its hold on one of the disciples who was just about to break free from it. It then pierced right into his heart.

　　“Ugh!” A sharp, strangled cry escaped from his throat, but it quickly died off, for all the force in his body had been sucked by the tree root.

　　He was dead in an instant, with no chance to even react. His eyes were wide open, his cheeks were sunken, and his body was curled into a ball, making it a strange sight.

　　The same scene repeatedly played out in this dark space.

　　…

　　The news of the crumbling Mystic Forest left everyone in shock.

　　When Chu Liuyue noticed Qin Yi’s grave expression, she knew that he and Lei Laosi had never encountered this situation before, which made things even trickier than she thought.

　　“Why is it suddenly crumbling?” asked Jiang Yucheng with a frown.

　　Chu Liuyue pointed to the rolling leaf fir in the middle. “It might be what Brother Qin said earlier. Someone has touched its seal…”

　　Knowing very well why Shangguan Wan came on this trip, Jiang Yucheng fell silent at that. It must be Shangguan Wan… She jumped into the hole from there earlier.

　　“In that case, we have no choice but to go down now,” said Chu Liuyue as she walked forward.

　　Lei Laosi hurriedly followed in her footsteps. “I’ll take the lead!”

　　Chu Liuyue looked back and smiled at him. “Don’t worry, Brother Lei. Since the red-tailed phoenix is my contracted fiend now, I’m likely the safest person here.”

　　“That won’t do. How can I let Your—a lady like you be in the front?” said Lei Laosi immediately. Even though Her Highness has a legendary fiend, she’s only a stage-five warrior!

　　“My big brother and I have been here for a long time, so we know how to go down. It’ll also be more efficient if I take the lead!” Lei Laosi finally came up with a justifiable reason.

　　Refusing Lei Laosi’s offer would seem a little strange at this point, so Chu Liuyue conceded and went along with his suggestion. “I’ll have to trouble you then, Brother Lei.”

　　Lei Laosi’s hands trembled once more. Unable to stand hearing Chu Liuyue address him as ‘Brother Lei,’ he rushed forward to the spot where Shangguan Wan had jumped down earlier.

　　Said spot was currently sealed.

　　His expression turned serious as he tightened his grip on the hammer.

　　Everyone else had followed him here as well. Since there was nowhere they could escape to, it was safer for them to stick together.

　　Lei Laosi’s aura surged as he channeled his internal force. An ice-blue lightning bolt swam across his hammer, and a mighty pressure poured out from it.

　　The next instant, he lifted his hammer, shouting, “Wind Strike!”

　　Strong winds violently blew across them as the dust in their surroundings flew about.

　　With a dull thump, Chu Liuyue immediately felt the ground underneath her feet trembling.

　　A crack was instantly formed, which grew bigger as the hammer’s force continuously spread out. Soon, the ground was filled with web-like cracks.

　　Rumble!

　　The ground in front of them started crumbling again, revealing a huge and deep hole.

　　Lei Laosi was the first person to jump down, followed by Chu Liuyue.

　　Qiang Wanzhou and the others moved to follow suit but were stopped by Qin Yi’s barrier. They looked back to see Qin Yi patiently and lazily looking at Jiang Yucheng and his gang. “Please go ahead.”

　　Despite the narrowing of his eyes, Jiang Yucheng didn’t argue with him and jumped down straight away.

　　Elder Qiuxi dared not be the first and last person. It was only after seeing Jiang Yucheng jump down did he dare to follow him.

　　For some reason, this person looks familiar… thought Mu Qinghe as he glanced at Qin Yi. “May I know when you came to the Mystic Forest?”

　　Qin Yi raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Sorry, but I can’t tell you that since it has nothing to do with you. Besides, Eldest Young Master Jiang has gone down. Aren’t you going to follow him, Lieutenant Mu?”

　　Mu Qinghe could only suppress the questions in his heart for now. He then turned around and jumped into the hole as well.

　　That made Qin Yi smile in satisfaction. Only then did he take Mu Hongyu and the others down the hole to catch up with the others.