“Fine. Ye Zi and I will head toward the right. You guys go for the center. Once we've succeeded, retreat. If you encounter any danger, call for help,” Ye Jiuge told Ye Yu.

“Alright.” Ye Yu nodded. Grey specks of light flickered around his body, and he disappeared into the shadows.

The black shadows made up of small Legendary Venomous Insects started to envelop Jun Yichen's body. The insects covered his body and even reached out toward Luo Tian. Then, the three people disappeared.

Ye Jiuge turned to Zi Shang and asked, “Give me a Concealment Talisman.”

Zi Shang began drawing a Concealment Talisman on Ye Jiuge without asking permission.

The Concealment Talisman was not effective against advanced opponents like the Bloodthirsty Patriarch. But it worked on the Bloodthirsty Sect's ordinary disciples.

After Ye Jiuge and Zi Shang hid, they kept to the shadows and made their way toward the right.

The Bloodthirsty Sect had probably never imagined that anyone would be so bold as to infiltrate their base, so security was rather lax.

As Ye Jiuge and Zi Shang made their way in, they only encountered two patrol teams.

The guards were tired and unfocused, and they kept yawning. They did not notice Ye Jiuge and Zi Shang sneaking past.

The duo successfully arrived at the Forbidden Grounds.

A severe warning dripping with blood and filled with murderous intent hung on the stone walls—Death to Trespa.s.sers.

Zi Shang did not even spare it a glance and pulled Ye Jiuge into the Forbidden Grounds.

They entered and found themselves in a cave-dwelling with many tightly shut stone doors. From top to bottom, it was like a maze.

“Where should we go?” Ye Jiuge felt a little heady just looking at the doors.

If they searched each room one by one, they wouldn't be able to find the formation's core by the time the sun rose.

Although the Bloodthirsty Sect's security was lax, if they took too long, it was inevitable that they'd be found out.

“The dwelling is designed based on the protective formation's ability to disrupt hearing and sight. The formation's core isn't a treasure. Even I can't find it.” Zi Shang shook his head.

The core was not a living thing. It was the same as a stone. No matter how powerful his pupil technique, it was still unable to differentiate and identify the core of the formation.

“Treasure?” Ye Jiuge's eyes lit up. She was suddenly reminded of what Jun Yichen had said about how the Bloodthirsty Patriarch treasured the Blood Lotus Flower so much that he'd planted it near the formation's core. If they found the Blood Lotus Flower, they would find the core.

Ye Jiuge quickly summoned the Treasure-hunting Scorpion.

“What can I do for you, Master?” The Treasure-hunting Scorpion crawled out of the sack with great difficulty.

It had been following Ye Jiuge for some time, living a comfortable life. It could keep its mate company without having to work. Its life was so relaxed that it had bloated like a sausage.

“Can you help me find the location of the Blood Lotus Flower?” Ye Jiuge looked at the Treasure-hunting Scorpion's plump waist with worry. Would he be able to move?

“Blood Lotus Flower? Easy-peasy!” The Treasure-hunting Scorpion did not even stop to ponder, and it waved its large pincer in the direction of the east. “It's behind that cave-dwelling.”

“You are certain?” Ye Jiuge raised an eyebrow. Even Zi Shang was unable to discern its location. Yet, the Treasure-hunting Scorpion had found the spot with a mere flick of his pincer. It was so unbelievably haphazard!

“Of course! I lived with Liu Yunfei here for many years and am very familiar with the Blood Lotus Flower. For instance, I can tell that three stalks will bloom in five days,” the Treasure-hunting Scorpion explained with pride, puffing up his stocky chest.

On the surface, Liu Yunfei had displayed the utmost reverence for the Bloodthirsty Patriarch. But she had always been secretly plotting for the Blood Lotus Flower.

Every time the Patriarch went into cultivation, she sent the Treasure-hunting Scorpion to check things out. The location of the Blood Lotus Flower was like the Treasure-hunting Scorpion's backyard. It knew the place like the back of its pincer.

“Then, are you aware of the core of the formation's location?” Ye Jiuge had not forgotten that their mission was to destroy the core.

“Core of the formation? What's that? Can it be eaten?” The Treasure-hunting Scorpion was perplexed.

“Well…let's just get going. Lead us to the Blood Lotus Flower.” Ye Jiuge knew she should not place too much hope in the Treasure-hunting Scorpion.

“Let's go!” the Treasure-hunting Scorpion's chubby body landed on the ground heavy and hard, but it still moved speedily.

Ye Jiuge and Zi Shang followed it until they came to a stop outside the cave-dwelling where the Blood Lotus Flower was planted.

They pushed the stone door hard, but it did not budge.

“The mechanism is here.” Zi Shang pointed to a dull grey corner of the cave-dwelling solemnly. He continued, “Be careful to avoid touching the Shrieking Gra.s.s.”

Ye Jiuge took a careful look and spied a handful of greyish-green gra.s.s growing in the corner. It blended in with the stone wall. It was hard to notice unless one looked carefully.

This was a small trap set by the Bloodthirsty Patriarch.

All the blades of Shrieking Gra.s.s were connected. Once one stem started shrieking, the rest would do the same.

If she were not careful and brushed against it, everyone in the Bloodthirsty Sect would be immediately notified of their presence.

Just as Zi Shang was about to show off his high-level demonic magic by freezing the Shrieking Gra.s.s in front of Ye Jiuge, she took out a bag of poisonous powder from her sack and scattered it in the direction of the Shrieking Gra.s.s.

Before the Shrieking Gra.s.s could even emit a peep, it had already dissolved into a puddle of powder residue.

Ye Jiuge quickly pressed the mechanism. The moment the cave dwelling's doors opened, she stepped in immediately.

Zi Shang quietly retracted a finger, pretending that nothing had happened, and followed her into the cave-dwelling.

The moment they entered, the doors swiftly swung shut.

It was pitch black inside. They could not even see their fingers.

Zi Shang flicked a ball of purple light upward, and the surroundings lit up.

There were three dark, forbidding paths in front of them, and they looked like some monster with its mouth wide open.

“Which path is the right one?” Ye Jiuge asked the Treasure-hunting Scorpion.

“The center path. But if you just head straight in, you will have to get past 49 traps to reach the Blood Lotus Flower's pond,” the Treasure-hunting Scorpion replied.

This was the reason Liu Yunfei had never dared enter the cave.

The 49 traps were meticulously complex in their design. Even if an intruder could circ.u.mvent all the traps, the alarm would still be triggered.

“The center path leads to the Blood Lotus Flower. What about the left and right paths?” Ye Jiuge asked.

Jun Yichen had mentioned that the core was near the Blood Lotus Flower. That meant that the center path could be eliminated. That left the left and right paths.

“No idea. I have never gone there.” Whenever the Treasure-hunting Scorpion traveled through the ground, it always went straight to the targeted location.

“Go take a look,” Ye Jiuge ordered.

“Alright.” The Treasure-hunting Scorpion's body s.h.i.+mmered with yellow light as it burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

After about five minutes, the Treasure-hunting Scorpion's haggard face reemerged. It reported gloomily, “The left path leads to 13 stone pillars. The right path leads to a deadly and poisonous hole.”

The minute it appeared on the right-hand path, mere moments before, it had been immediately attacked by hordes of poisonous things. It almost hadn't escaped.

“You've worked hard. You can return to the sack!” Ye Jiuge beckoned to the Treasure-hunting Scorpion to come back then turned to Zi Shang and said, “Which way should we go?”

“Left,” Zi Shang said without hesitation.

“Then you take the lead!” Ye Jiuge stood behind Zi Shang resolutely.

In such a dangerous place, she had to let that devil go first!

“Wimp! Come on!” Zi Shang tossed Ye Jiuge a look of disdain, and his body started emitting a light purple fog.

Ye Jiuge headed into the purple fog and realized that it did not smell as pungent as she had expected. Instead, it had a faint fragrance, similar to the way Zi Shang usually smelled.

If it not for the current life-and-death situation, it would have been very romantic.

“What crazy thoughts are you having?” Zi Shang admonished her with a straight face as if Ye Jiuge was trying to take advantage of him during such a time.