Inside the vast cave, where the ground was formed by golden liquid, hundreds of stones were scattered across the surface.
A powerful spiritual energy was exuded by the lake, and the closer to the center, the smaller the stones became, but the greater the benefits of cultivating there.
Currently, sitting in lotus position on the central stone — the smallest of all — was a girl in red robes with crimson hair who, even while cultivating with her eyes closed, kept her neck raised like a proud phoenix.
She was Feng Tianfei, the girl who hated Mu Luyin for stealing her throne as number one of the younger generation.
Around her, on stones a little farther away, were the various young masters. Behind them came the other cultivators belonging to the Twelve powers, and only at the very back were the rest of the people.
Everyone cultivated in silence, but from time to time, someone would arrive and compete for a place closer to the center. No one, however, dared to disturb the people of the Twelve Powers, leaving only the less favorable spots to be contested — even by those strong enough to seize better positions.
They were powerless regarding this, after all, those powers had placed bombs in their bodies, which could be detonated at any moment by the other side. They could only accept the sorrow of the weak.
Thus, in the relatively peaceful environment of the Dragon Lake, twelve hooded figures suddenly appeared at the entrance. No one, however, paid them any attention, except those at the outer edge, who prepared themselves to be targeted by other cultivators wanting their places.
Aotian, through his avatars, who were the ones that had arrived with the couple, observed the cave calmly, and then his eyes fixed in the distance on the girl in red at the center, before shifting focus to carefully analyze the forces present and assess the situation.
Mu Luyin beside him also observed everything, her eyes narrow and heavy.
["There are about eighteen Holy Sons and Daughters from the Twelve Powers here, all highly capable within the same cultivation stage. In addition to them, there are around fifty other cultivators from their ranks — some even in the late stage. Fortunately, their numbers are few, since most prefer to enter the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain during the early or middle stages after advancing to the Nascent Soul realm. It's rare for someone who has reached the late stage not to have entered already."]
["Finally, the rest must be cultivators with close ties to the Twelve Powers. Otherwise, they likely wouldn't have been allowed to waste time here instead of searching for the orchid — or perhaps the young masters simply haven't yet found the time or motivation to drive them away."]
She transmitted, receiving some calm nods.
Lei Yun pondered, his gaze inquisitive after also evaluating the situation.
["I remember that when we entered, the youths of the Twelve powers should have brought at least over 100 men. Considering that we dealt with more than 15 of them, there are still people missing."]
He voiced his doubt via sound transmission, and the girl immediately replied:
["Their main target is the Silent Cadaver Orchid, but the opportunity to access the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain is unique within the same realm. With the difficulty of reaching Soul Formation, those who are already in Nascent Soul will probably never again have the chance to enter this mountain, so the young masters certainly won't waste this opportunity."]
["As for the rest of the cultivators from the Twelve Powers, they've likely split their forces — leaving one group to cultivate while the other searches for the herb. They'll probably rotate their people later. Even the young masters might not remain here the whole time, since the importance of the Silent Cadaver Orchid to their sects far outweighs their personal cultivation progress."]
She explained clearly, and Aotian agreed.
He knew that not even the ancestors of the Twelve powers intended to prevent this situation. After all, there was still plenty of time to search for the herb, and they also had many enslaved people to help. There was no need to sacrifice the growth of good talents like the young masters and mistresses just to add a few more people to the search.
While they conversed, Elder Han of the Formation Pavilion once again analyzed the array. This time, he did not crouch down, but simply transmitted energy through the ground via the soles of his feet.
After a few moments, he shook his head.
["My energy is still too little to see the entire design of the array. I need to reach the center to better analyze the situation, if we want to enter the underground."]
He said, as he pulled out a spirit stone to recover the energy he had lost.
Gu Jian remained silent for a moment after hearing him.
["How long?"]
With his eyes fixed on the girl in red who occupied the place they needed to reach, he asked.
["To find the control points and cross the core? Probably one minute, but we'll have to remain in the center during that time."]
Elder Han replied solemnly, and Gu Jian nodded before turning to the couple.
["Do you still want to follow? The risk of death is very high this time."]
He asked in a heavy tone via transmission.
Mu Luyin, hooded, widened her eyes upon realizing what those men intended to do.
["Are you insane?! Don't you know there are hundreds of cultivators there, all enemies? And you're seriously talking about finding the control points of a Void-Tier formation in one minute?! That's not arrogance anymore, that's seeking death!"]
She spoke in shock, beginning to grow irritated.
["Brother Yun and I will not take part in this madness!"]
She declared firmly, leaving no room for discussion.
Lei Yun was also surprised and hesitant. He found it hard to believe that those men could decipher a Void-Tier formation in just one minute. No matter how excellent the heritage they had access to was, deciphering a formation was a matter of skill. He himself believed he was capable of doing so in one minute, but… who was he? A cultivator who had already reached the Mahayana realm in his past life.
On the other hand, it would look bad for him, who had just entered the sect, to tuck his tail and run. Besides, he felt there could be good opportunities to strengthen himself there, if those mysterious elders truly valued going underground so much.
After hesitating for a while, he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, who was already nearly fuming with anger.
["Sister Luyin, I trust them, you can stay here, I will go with them."]
In the end, he made his decision. Based on the strength he had seen from them before, he judged that the men could hold the defense for at least one minute. As long as they managed to endure that long — even if Elder Han was only boasting without the power to back it up — wasn't he, Lei Yun, still confident he could get it done within that window?
Thus, under the girl's almost tearful and pleading gaze, he stood firm in his decision, and she could only, powerless, follow her beloved into death.
Yes, she believed it was certain death, and yet she still followed Lei Yun. This stirred the boy's heart, and in the end, even though his original intention was not to let any woman into his heart, he could not avoid accepting his fate before the other party's sincerity.
Since their discussion had taken too long, the twelve standing at the entrance were drawing more and more attention.
The men seated on the stones closest to the entrance frowned, and just as they were about to speak to those figures who had been standing there at the mouth of the cave all this time, they finally moved.
Strangely, one climbed onto the back of another, and then, all of them shot forward together, flying at full speed like rays of light, catching the cultivators by surprise.
Several people in their path rose to defend, but upon seeing the group pass above them, they did not act.
Only when they reached a stone midway, where five men with the symbols of the twelve powers on their robes were seated, did they stop, startling everyone in the cave with such insane audacity.
The five men, confident that no one would dare touch them, were slow to react to the sudden event, only then realizing they were the targets. That time was enough for Mu Luyin to form a green fist of energy and strike down on them mercilessly.
Three managed to defend in time and were only flung away, toward the sky, but two weren't so lucky and were hurled into the golden lake, falling into the Dew of the Dragon's Lament, horror etched on their faces.
"NOOOOOOO!!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!!"
Their desperate screams echoed for mere moments, as they saw their fate, and then, under the terrified gazes of all, their bodies that touched the liquid swelled slightly before exploding like balloons, leaving no trace other than a mist of blood and fragments of clothing, which soon dissolved in the fierce spiritual energy.
Mu Luyin, who landed on the stone along with the avatars, looked at Lei Yun on her back, whose face was flushed and teeth clenched beneath his hood, only returning to normal once they steadied themselves on the rock.
"Brother Yun, are you alright?" she asked with concern, but he only nodded calmly before closing his eyes to deal with the excess energy that had entered his body.
The energy of Dragon Lake was so powerful that merely remaining in the air was nearly unbearable. It was necessary to be on the stones, which had protective formations capable of softening the impact of the wild and ferocious energy, if one wished to cultivate safely.
As for touching the Dew of the Dragon's Lament, it was the same as courting death. The powerful and uncontrollable energy simply invaded the body, overloading spiritual roots and dantian, making the cultivator explode from the inside out, just like the two men before.
With such an uproar, it was obvious that the entire cave was now focused on them, especially the young masters and mistresses, who looked at the twelve hooded figures with narrowed eyes.
The three men who had been flung into the air glared at them with intense hatred, especially upon seeing the death of their companions, and the luck they had had in defending themselves at the last moment and avoiding the same fate. They could not help but tremble in both fear and rage at the thought.
"You damned worms! Who gave you such audacity to seek death?! Repent in hell!" one of them shouted through clenched teeth, forming seals with his hands. Aiming at the group, he pushed out a wave of invisible energy, which passed harmlessly through the avatars and the couple.
The man, who already considered them dead after activating the spell, froze upon realizing they remained intact.
One of his companions, who also expected to see them perish, grew confused and formed a few seals, observing the twelve closely. What he discovered shocked him.
"You… you don't have slave seals?!" he exclaimed, stunned, eyes widening.
And his voice, which echoed through Dragon Lake, immediately revealed their identities to all, causing uproar in the entire place.
Everyone understood who they were with that, and the tendency for the whole crowd to surround the twelve on the stone, with greedy and hopeful eyes, began to grow.
Feng Tianfei, who was in the center of the lake observing the scene coldly, suddenly rose gracefully, as a cruel smile appeared on her beautiful lips.
Her attention immediately fell on the figure carrying another person.
She had heard the girl's voice earlier, and would recognize her even in death.
In her red eyes, a thirst for blood and cruelty grew, and she spoke with a trace of delight.
"Mu Luyin… it seems you weren't satisfied with dying in some unknown place and came to deliver your head before so many people. Since that's the case, I won't waste your efforts," she mocked aloud.
Even from a distance, with her Nascent Soul cultivator senses, her voice was still clear to the other party.
The green-eyed girl glared back coldly and pulled down her hood, revealing her hair of the same color.
"Feng Tianfei, big words for a defeated general. If you weren't a coward, and your confidence didn't come from hiding behind these people as meat shields, your place would still be the same as always… beneath my feet," she replied coldly, making a vein pop on her opponent's forehead.
Thus, red eyes met green, and the stench of blood and death seemed ready to consume Dragon Lake.