Five days later, Jiang Chen finally emerged from the underground cave. By now, the Flame Heart Ice Marrow had been completely refined by him, becoming a seed within his Spirit Sea — a new Divine Ability.
Calculating the time, less than two days remained before the exit deadline. Jiang Chen didn't dare delay and hurried toward the designated meeting point.
By the time he arrived at the rendezvous, only half a day was left.
Consort Dan and Xue Tong were both extremely anxious. With the deadline just half a day away, if Jiang Chen missed it, no matter how capable he was, he wouldn't be able to get out.
"Ha ha, Brother Jiang Chen, you've finally shown up! If you hadn't, Sister Consort Dan was about to go back looking for you." Ye Rong greeted him happily as he approached.
His gratitude toward Jiang Chen came from the bottom of his heart. Without Jiang Chen, he might not have even survived this Labyrinth Autumn Hunt.
It was precisely because of Jiang Chen that he had turned misfortune into blessing, sweeping away all his competitors for the Crown Prince position.
Hearing Ye Rong's exaggeration, Consort Dan blushed slightly and gave him a reproachful look. "Ye Rong, you little monkey, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"Heh heh, now that Jiang Chen's back, we can count ourselves as returning at full strength without a single loss." Ye Rong quickly changed the subject.
"Sigh, this Labyrinth Autumn Hunt really has been costly. Look — even now, only this many have returned. I'd estimate it's about half, wouldn't you?"
Ye Rong sighed. "Who could have guessed that so many Spirit Beasts would suddenly appear in the last few days, hunting us trial participants everywhere? If we hadn't come back early, we probably wouldn't have been so safe and smooth in there either. Jiang Chen, didn't you encounter any Spirit Beasts hunting you these past few days?"
Jiang Chen smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I was in closed-door cultivation the entire time. I didn't encounter any."
After saying this, he noticed that everyone's eyes held a look of "we wouldn't believe it even if you beat us to death," and he couldn't help but smile wryly. "I really was in closed-door cultivation! What's with that look?"
"Alright then." Ye Rong chuckled. "Good thing you were in seclusion. From what those survivors who escaped back are saying, at least several dozen Spirit Beasts were out hunting human trial participants. Most of the people who joined the Labyrinth Autumn Hunt perished in that Spirit Beast storm during the last few days."
Jiang Chen smiled bitterly to himself, wondering — could those be the Spirit Beasts from the abyss that the Ice Fire Demon Lotus hadn't killed? Were they hunting me?
It wasn't impossible.
But naturally, Jiang Chen would never admit such a thing, not even under threat of death.
The final half day passed without any incidents. Jiang Chen followed the main group into the teleportation exit and was transported out in batches.
When his feet once again touched the soil of the Tiangui Kingdom, Jiang Chen felt as though he had been separated from the world for an eternity.
At the exit, a group of Treasure Tree Sect disciples were maintaining order.
Jiang Chen knew that rather than maintaining order, they were really guarding the premises — worried that trial participants would slip away and take their autumn hunt spoils with them.
The Treasure Tree Sect organized this autumn hunt, and regardless of how much was caught, they would claim half on the spot. So it was hardly surprising that the Treasure Tree Sect had set up such a strict cordon.
If even one person got away, that meant lost revenue.
Even Ye Rong, as a prince, was no exception. He too had to hand over his storage items, open them, and lay out all the spoils to be divided in half.
When it was Consort Dan and Jiang Chen's turn, old man Ye Chonglou walked straight over and said to the Treasure Tree Sect disciple doing the inspections, "These two were sent in by me. No need to check them."
The old man was utterly domineering — he simply took one by each hand and led Jiang Chen and Consort Dan away, leaving the Treasure Tree Sect disciples standing there dumbfounded, too angry to speak but not daring to say a word.
In all of the Tiangui Kingdom, they feared not even the King, but this old man was someone they genuinely dreaded.
They could only wave their hands impatiently. "Next!"
With a belly full of anger and nowhere to vent, the next batch of people naturally became the outlet for the Treasure Tree Sect disciples' frustration.
Jiang Chen and Consort Dan were led aside by the old man.
Consort Dan smiled brightly. "Master, those Treasure Tree Sect disciples seemed rather unhappy."
"Couldn't care less." At Ye Chonglou's level, he naturally wouldn't care about the moods of a few Treasure Tree Sect disciples. Happy or not, it made no difference to him.
"Little Dan, quite the haul this time, eh?" The old man looked at the bamboo basket on Consort Dan's back, clearly in excellent spirits.
"Hehe, third time's the charm. If I hadn't brought something back this time, little Dan wouldn't have dared show her face to you, Master."
The old man chuckled. "See? I suggested you team up with little Brother Jiang Chen, and look how it turned out. I'd wager Jiang Chen's contribution this time wasn't any less than yours."
Consort Dan's pretty face flushed red. This... she really couldn't deny it.
Jiang Chen smiled. "Old Master, I was just helping out on the side. What merit could I possibly claim?"
Consort Dan murmured hesitantly, "Master, Jiang Chen and I had agreed beforehand that the Spirit Beast cubs we obtained would be split evenly between us."
The old man laughed freely. "Naturally. Since you teamed up, the spoils should be divided equally."
Consort Dan had initially been worried the old man might object, but seeing his attitude, the unease in her heart eased somewhat.
The old man's gaze suddenly swept across the crowd, and his brow furrowed slightly. "It seems rather few have made it out this time."
"Old Master, of the four princes who participated in the autumn hunt, all except Ye Rong are dead." Consort Dan suddenly recalled this.