"Just where is this place? Tell me everything you know!" Shen Congsheng said as he launched another attack against Miao Ming Shen.
But though his killing move was activated, it inexplicably vanished into thin air. Shen Congsheng grunted, and blood immediately streamed from his nostrils as he bore the backlash of the failed attack.
"Supreme Grand Elder, hold your hand. It seems fighting each other is prohibited here. Any attack made with hostile intent — whether a killing move or a Gu Insect — will fail. But healing oneself faces no such restriction," Shen Tan said.
"Then why didn't you say so sooner?" Shen Congsheng glared at him.
Shen Tan felt aggrieved, thinking, "Because you attacked too quickly, of course!"
But he certainly couldn't say that out loud. He had no choice but to lower his head and accept the rebuke.
Miao Ming Shen and the others let out a long, relieved breath.
They had been silently healing themselves as well.
When they had first awakened and seen Shen family Gu Immortals nearby, they had attacked without thinking, so they had suffered considerable backlash too.
Shen Tan and his companions were in no better shape.
However, at that time Shen Congsheng had not yet awakened, and no one knew whether an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal would still be subject to the restrictions.
"Even an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal cannot defy Immortal Venerable Le Tu's arrangements," Miao Ming Shen exhaled a turbid breath. Seeing Shen Congsheng's failed attack had put his mind fully at ease.
At least for now, they were safe.
Shen Congsheng caught the implication, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes. "So this is the Immortal Orifice world inside the Azure Dragon Whale."
Miao Ming Shen neither confirmed nor denied it.
Beside him, Ghost Old Seven fixed his gaze on Tong Hua and roared, "Tong Hua! You actually betrayed us!"
Tong Hua lowered her head in silence, guilt written across her face.
She was standing together with Ren Xiuping.
She was the mole within Miao Ming Shen's group.
Earlier, when Shen Congsheng had launched his killing move, he had deliberately circled around her — a detail many had noticed.
In that moment, her identity had been exposed.
Flower Butterfly Fairy's face was cold as ice. "Fairy Tong Hua, our master placed such trust in you. After you survived your tribulation and needed to rebuild your Immortal Orifice, he personally helped arrange everything. He did a great deal for you, didn't he? And this time he even invited you to explore the Azure Dragon Whale together. Yet you do something like this — biting the hand that feeds you! Why did you betray us? Where is your conscience?"
Tong Hua opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped herself. She turned her face away and refused to look at Miao Ming Shen and the others.
It was Miao Ming Shen who sighed and held back Flower Butterfly Fairy from pressing further. "Fairy Tong Hua must have her reasons. Very well — to each their own path."
Tong Hua's gaze wavered painfully for just an instant.
"Master... you're far too kind-hearted. How can you let someone like this off?" Flower Butterfly Fairy stamped her foot.
Ren Xiuping let out a smug, cold laugh. Turning Tong Hua had been his handiwork. "Miao Ming Shen, you'd best understand the situation clearly — who is strong and who is weak! Tong Hua chose the better side. If you surrender and hand over all your intelligence, we might just let you go."
Flower Butterfly Fairy was seething with indignation. This had been their opportunity, snatched away and threatened by these people. She immediately rolled her eyes and shrieked, "I'm soooo scared! Come on, attack me! I'm trembling from head to toe!"
Shen Congsheng's expression was ice-cold.
Ren Xiuping narrowed his eyes, his laughter growing even more sinister. "Little girl, you've got a sharp tongue. Do you think Immortal Venerable Le Tu's measures can protect you forever? Once we leave this place and return to the Eastern Sea, who among you could possibly stand against Lord Shen Congsheng? And even here — is Immortal Venerable Le Tu's arrangement truly flawless, without a single vulnerability?"
Flower Butterfly Fairy's expression froze.
Miao Ming Shen and the others wore grave looks as well. Zeng Luozi in particular gazed at Shen Congsheng with a trace of fear in his eyes. After all, he had been killed by Shen Congsheng with a single strike.
"Who wins and who loses remains to be seen. Let's go!" Miao Ming Shen was unwilling to waste breath on verbal sparring. He turned first and strode away from the stretch of beach.
"This man was able to probe the mysteries of the Azure Dragon Whale — he certainly knows more than we do. Follow them!" Shen Congsheng issued the order swiftly.
Since fighting was temporarily off the table, keeping close to Miao Ming Shen's group was guaranteed to be the right move.
The two parties moved one after the other, walking forward in silence.
Before long, they left the beach behind and entered a dense woodland.
"The trees here are rather strange — every leaf has a heart-shaped blank in the middle," Flower Butterfly Fairy remarked with puzzlement.
"The trees are just ordinary trees." After examining one, General Bee reached out and stroked the trunk.
With a muffled crack, the entire tree he had touched toppled over, shattering into piles of fine wooden powder.
"What happened?" The assembled immortals sensed the disturbance and quickly gathered around.
"This is no ordinary tree. It's a Seventh Transformation immortal plant — Cloud Ladder Wood," Shen Congsheng said, his voice grave as he inspected the wreckage.