The people in the mountain forbidden zone also heard the bell.
The people giggling foolishly continued to walk inside.
Shen Qingcheng did not stop, continuing to channel her energy and cast spells to disperse the gas released by the mirage ants outwards.
Yu Qing and the others looked at each other in silence, not knowing what the bell sound meant.
Nie Pinlan grabbed Wu Xieshan, who was lying on the ground in the corner, pulled him up, unblocked his mute acupoint, and asked, “What is going on with the bell outside?”
Wu Xieshan watched the villa personnel continuously walking deeper into the dark tunnel. Because Shen Qingcheng had stirred the air with her spellcasting ahead, the smell of blood had rolled out from the darkness. He roughly guessed what was happening, his eyes almost bursting with anger.
His gaze suddenly returned to Nie Pinlan’s face, and he gritted his teeth, saying, “What do you think is happening? Naturally, they discovered an anomaly and are ringing the bell as a warning. Anyone who hears the bell will gather outside.”
His gaze then shifted around the group, and he finally asked the question he had always wanted to know, “Why are you not afraid of the mirage ants’ poisonous gas?”
By this point, he naturally understood, especially since he could already see those smoking stone tubes, making it obvious at a glance that they had brought the mirage ants from the forbidden zone.
Nie Pinlan did not reply. She struck a few acupoints on him, sealing his mute acupoint again and making him shut up once more.
After some time, the continuous arrival of the foolishly giggling people stopped and ceased completely.
Shen Qingcheng had to stop and ran outside to check personally. Yu Qing and the others also ran out to take a look, and indeed, there was no one left behind.
It was unclear whether everyone who had been affected had already arrived, or if the villa had found a way to neutralise it.
Everyone estimated that, as Wu Xieshan had said, the bell had called the unaffected people to gather outside.
Footsteps came from behind. Everyone turned to look and saw Lu Xingyun returning gracefully. She was still wearing a dignified black dress, looking entirely like a gentle and virtuous woman, except for a few spots of blood slightly staining the small white flower at her temple.
Yu Qing was truly convinced by this woman’s aura. Who could tell that this woman had just killed people like cutting down grass?
Lu Xingyun saw Wu Xieshan lying in the corner. After a brief gaze, she still walked towards the group and asked when she reached them, “Why did it stop?”
“There are no more. Those affected have probably all come, and those who have not come were probably called out by the bell…”
Shen Qingcheng reported the general situation to her mother.
A little while later, Ning Chaoyi and Zhu Kuanzhen returned. The information they brought back was consistent. The area behind was empty, and no more people were coming over.
“Have all the remaining people gone out?” Lu Xingyun seemed to be talking to herself, the thoughtful expression between her brows suggesting she was pondering something.
Ning Chaoyi said, “Judging by the situation, it is unlikely that the remaining people will fall for it so easily. It is no longer safe here. Once the other side decides to counterattack, they will plot against this place. We can discuss other matters later. Let us change locations and take shelter first.”
The thief couple agreed with this, and the mother and daughter, Lu Xingyun and Shen Qingcheng, also agreed. Afterwards, they took out a simple map to discuss where to hide.
Wu Xieshan, lying in the corner, tried hard to roll his eyes, seemingly wanting to see the map in their hands clearly.
Yu Qing and the others were also surprised, wondering where this group got the map. Could it be the topographical map they had scouted out while killing people the previous two nights?
They wanted to go over and look, but without permission, they felt embarrassed to look at someone else’s secret map, especially since they were not on the same side.
When Ning Chaoyi’s side decided where to go and carried a pile of stone tubes to change locations, Yu Qing and the others could only follow behind. Fortunately, Ning Chaoyi and the others did not seem to mind them at all and actually allowed them to follow.
Yu Qing sighed inwardly. Now it seemed that even those not on the same side had become one group. He did not know what these guys were up to, running around and messing things up, turning the perfectly fine Rift Valley Villa into this ghostly state.
Asking himself honestly, with things getting this bad, he seemed unable to escape responsibility. If he had not saved them, it would not have turned out like this.
On the other hand, if he had not saved them, these people would have all turned into white bones.
He did not want to suddenly tear off the mask and start a massacre, but he did not have many choices. If he did not save these people and let them stand at the front to resist the Rift Valley Villa people, the few of them would have to stand at the front and risk their lives. Having learned the secret of the Rift Valley Villa’s forbidden zone, it was highly unlikely that the villa would let them go.
The group changed to another location. After arranging for Zhu Kuanzhen to stand guard, they finally turned their attention back to Wu Xieshan. They pulled him into the middle of the group, unblocked his mute acupoint, and made him sit against the wall facing everyone.
Wu Xieshan’s gaze swept over them but fixed on Yu Qing and the others. He spoke first, “Brother Lin, no matter what, those few are well known in the cultivation world. I know who they are. But who are you guys? If I am not mistaken, Lin Erqing or whatever is not your real name. Things have come to this, and you have already started a massacre. Are you still unwilling to let me know who you are?”
Ning Chaoyi and the others also looked at the other few, actually wanting to know who they really were.
Yu Qing sighed and spread his hands. “Second Villa Master, we are truly innocent. We are really not on the same side as them. We broke into the forbidden zone purely to find out what they were doing. Who knew we would get tangled up in this mess so confusedly.”
Since he had the chance to speak, he had to explain quickly, hoping the other party would understand his difficulties and leave him a way out.
Nan Zhu quickly nodded and said, “That is right, that is right. We are really not on the same side.”
Ning Chaoyi scraped his small moustache with his middle finger and slowly said, “Speaking of which, we should thank them. If they had not stepped in to help, we would have already become white bones in the mouths of the mirage ants.”
The half smiling, half mocking expression at the corner of his mouth was very obvious. Want to clear your name? I might as well make things perfectly clear for you.
Sure enough, Wu Xieshan’s gaze suddenly locked onto Yu Qing, and he said in a deep voice, “How do you know how to neutralise the poisonous gas released by the mirage ants?”
Damn it! Yu Qing glanced at the seemingly well meaning Ning Chaoyi. Forget it, he gave up. He could not be bothered to explain anymore. What was the point of explaining? Even if he explained it beautifully, it would be useless.
Nan Zhu twitched the corner of his mouth, glanced at Ning Chaoyi as well, and fell silent.
Ning Chaoyi stared at Wu Xieshan again and asked, “Why are you not afraid of the poisonous gas released by the mirage ants?”
Wu Xieshan glanced at his hand dangling on the ground. “Because of the ring on my hand. All three Villa Masters have an heirloom ring passed down through the generations. Wearing it on the body can ward off the mirage ants’ poisonous gas.”
Everyone’s gaze immediately fell on his fingers, and they saw that there was indeed an amber coloured ring on his index finger.
Crouching down, Ning Chaoyi grabbed his hand and was about to take it off to examine it. However, Yu Qing reminded him at this moment, “Mr Ning, in order to save you, I have used up all the antidote for the mirage ants’ poison. If he gets poisoned again, I will have no way to cure him.”
He had to make this clear first to avoid putting himself in a difficult position later. It was impossible for him to make Datou boil water for them to drink in front of everyone.
Hearing this, Ning Chaoyi had to stop. After all, he still had questions for Wu Xieshan, and there was a pile of poisonous stone tubes placed around them. At least for now, Wu Xieshan could not be allowed to get poisoned.
Another thing was that he was a bit surprised. He did not expect Wu Xieshan to be so sensible, actually answering whatever was asked.
He immediately tried asking again, “Second Villa Master, where is the halberd from your clan emblem kept?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Yu Qing and his two martial brothers were shocked beyond measure, losing their composure instantly. They never dreamed in their wildest dreams that these people were also after that halberd.
The three martial brothers secretly exchanged glances, trying their best to pretend they did not understand to hide the storm in their hearts, while simultaneously pricking up their ears to listen carefully.
Wu Xieshan stopped speaking, gazing deeply into Ning Chaoyi’s eyes.
The two stared at each other for a while. Ning Chaoyi said, “Your silence at this moment tells me the answer. You know. What, are you unwilling to say?”
Wu Xieshan slowly closed his eyes, seeming to find it hard to choose, seeming to be pondering. The combination of his white hair and a bundle of ink black long beard was quite unique.
A trace of venom flashed in Lu Xingyun’s eyes, and she said softly, “Has the Second Villa Master fallen asleep?”
Hearing this, Wu Xieshan opened his eyes, gave a light sigh, and provided the answer, “The halberd is in the ancestral temple.”
Lu Xingyun immediately took out the map, and the few of them leaned in to look.
This time, even Yu Qing could not help but stand on his tiptoes to peek at that simple map. His heart was surging, but he was also a bit doubtful. Could they really find it just like that?
After confirming the route, the group that had just changed locations immediately packed up their things again and escorted Wu Xieshan to the villa’s ancestral temple once more.
After twisting and turning for a while, Yu Qing saw that Zhu Kuanzhen was sent out to scout the path again. Estimating that they were almost there, he could not help but speak up to remind them, “Everyone, please be extra careful. Our Second Villa Master seems to have explained things a bit too easily. Be careful of any ambushes inside the temple. In my humble opinion, it would be better to first use the poisonous gas released by the mirage ants to fumigate that area for a while before proceeding.”
The existence of that so called Sleeper still weighed heavily on his heart. Although he maintained an attitude of extreme caution, upon learning that they might be approaching, even with a group of people in front acting as a shield, he was still a bit afraid.
According to the man in black, the Sleeper’s strength back in the day was such that even if the top few experts today joined forces, they would not be a match. Even if he was not at his peak now, his strength would probably still rival the High Xuan realm, right?
He had witnessed the power of a High Xuan cultivator in action with his own eyes at Xiaoyunjian. It was simply terrifying. To ordinary people in the mortal world, it would probably be enough to be considered a god.
Even if his strength had dropped to the Upper Xuan realm, it was probably still not something the people in front of him could match.
Once reaching the Xuan level, countless people found it difficult to climb another step in their entire lives. The gap of that single step was the gap between heaven and earth. Otherwise, he would not have bothered to fear that Island Master Su of Panlong Island.
If using underhanded tricks could solve the problem, why not do it?
Nan and Mu, who also knew about the existence of the Sleeper, nodded repeatedly. Nan Zhu even chimed in, “It is good to fumigate with the poisonous gas. Fumigating makes it safer.”
Ning Chaoyi and the others exchanged glances and all felt that being careful could not hurt. They then moved further forward to find a suitable position, set up the stone tubes, and began casting spells again to disperse the poisonous gas emitted by the mirage ants towards the target direction.
With his cultivation restricted and a sword held to his neck, Wu Xieshan suddenly stared at Yu Qing and spoke, “Now I believe you are not on the same side. However, you really do worry your heart out for them.”