Meng Ying and Mu Cengxiao also stopped moving forward.

Zanxing asked: “What’s wrong?” She walked forward.

Ahead at the shrubs—the entrance to Li’er Kingdom’s secret realm where they had entered—there was now an open area beside the bushes. Many of the shrubs ahead had been destroyed, and weapons and bloodstains were scattered on the ground. It looked like a fierce battle had just taken place.

“This is…” Zanxing bent down to pick up a broken sword at her feet. She still remembered this sword—it belonged to that Chihua Gate disciple called Huang Fan. All Chihua Gate members used swords, with scabbards always inlaid with gold, jade, and gems, particularly ornate. Now this sword was broken into two pieces.

Zanxing turned back to ask Tian Fangfang: “Senior Brother, didn’t you say the Golden Flower Tiger was already killed by Senior Brother Mu?”

“Yes.” Tian Fangfang was equally confused. “And this bunch ran fast—the Golden Flower Tiger came chasing us instead. It shouldn’t be like this.”

“It wasn’t the Golden Flower Tiger,” Meng Ying said in a low voice.

Several people looked at her.

“There are no burn marks from spirit fire here, and all the traces on the ground were caused by weapons.” She frowned: “Who could force them to such a state?”

“Could it be infighting among themselves?” Mu Cengxiao thought deeply: “I’ve heard that in secret realms, sometimes sects openly and secretly fight each other over competing for secret treasures.”

“Even if it was infighting, Chihua Gate couldn’t possibly suffer losses,” Gu Baiying interrupted their conversation.

However, despite all their doubts, this place had left nothing but a scene of destruction, so naturally, no one would answer their questions.

“Could they have encountered some other fierce beast?” Mendong asked.

“Who’s there?” Just then, Gu Baiying suddenly raised his head. His Embroidered Bone Spear shot like an arrow toward the bushes. There was a loud crash, and black smoke emerged from the bushes. Meng Ying’s eyes widened: “Demonic evil!”

Several people immediately drew their weapons and swept toward the bushes, but saw only a palm-sized wooden puppet lying on the ground.

Gu Baiying reached out to pick up the wooden puppet and tore off a talisman paper stuck to its back. The wooden figure instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke. He stared at the talisman paper, his gaze suddenly sharp.

“A puppet talisman. Someone was monitoring us,” he said.

“Martial Uncle, when you thrust your spear just now, I sensed demonic energy.” Meng Ying looked at Gu Baiying with a cold expression. “I’m afraid…”

“It’s demonic evil.” Gu Baiying released his hand, and the puppet talisman burned up in his palm. “It seems Yinying’s death made them very uneasy.”

“In that case, Qinghua Xianzi’s speculation was true,” Mu Cengxiao also said. “The other party was determined to cut off the inheritance in the secret realm. Now that their plan has failed, they’ll probably cause more trouble.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Tian Fangfang shouldered his axe: “Let’s quickly return to Gufeng Mountain to inform Master of this matter. Maybe we can still take advantage of the situation to capture that demon hiding the Xiaoyuan Pearl and crush their conspiracy!” He spoke righteously: “We’ll take that demon’s head to claim credit—guaranteed to earn us a big reward!”

Zanxing: “……”

She was about to speak when she saw Gu Baiying turn and walk toward the transmission array, saying as he walked: “Time is of the essence. Let’s exit the secret realm first.”

Everyone nodded and followed.

The transmission array was the same as when they came—exiting would put them on the Star Platform of the imperial mausoleum. Right now, they didn’t know if the people from other sects had left earlier or suffered at the hands of those demonic evils. But the appearance of demonic evils in Li’er Kingdom’s secret realm was not something to take lightly. Thinking of Qinghua Xianzi’s prophecy, everyone was somewhat worried.

Others were worried, and Zanxing was worried too, just about different things. Only Tian Fangfang was cheerful, probably having collected many spirit herbs and fruits on this trip, plus the unexpected bonus of the Golden Flower Tiger. His face was full of spring pride. He even had the mood to joke: “Li’er Kingdom’s emperor isn’t much of a person, but he’s quite wealthy. Look at these spirit stones in the transmission array—they’re all top-quality blue jade marrow. If we secretly took one…”

“Hey, don’t get any bad ideas!” Mendong got anxious: “If the transmission array’s spirit stones are wrong, the destination could be completely different! Besides, have you ever seen anyone steal transmission array spirit stones?”

“I was just joking around—how did you take it seriously?” Tian Fangfang laughed loudly: “Of course, I know you can’t steal transmission spirit stones. If it accidentally sent us to some demonic evil nest, that really wouldn’t be funny. I just think these spirit stones are of good quality.” He touched the blue jade marrow above one by one: “Look at this color, this texture—ice-cold to the bone, crystal clear…”

When he touched the last one, he suddenly made a sound of surprise.

Zanxing asked: “What’s wrong?”

“How come this one feels gritty, like a stone?” he muttered.

Just then, the transmission array activated.

The blue halo suddenly expanded, and everyone fell into the vortex. Transmission arrays weren’t as stable as spirit boats. When people were inside, space was folded and compressed—the feeling wasn’t very good.

Zanxing felt somewhat dizzy.

She had gone through a transmission array once before. Though she felt dizzy, the time didn’t last too long. However, this time was longer than when they came, so long that her stomach churned. Looking at Mendong beside her, he was already crying out, unable to bear it: “What’s happening? Why haven’t we gotten out yet?”

“Something’s wrong,” Gu Baiying’s expression changed slightly. “This isn’t the transmission array to Li’er Kingdom!”

Mu Cengxiao was stunned: “What?”

“The transmission array has been tampered with,” Meng Ying suddenly looked at Tian Fangfang. “Junior Brother, you just said the transmission spirit stones were different?”

“Yes, yes,” Tian Fangfang was swaying back and forth from the transmission array, barely managing to stand steady. “My sense of touch wouldn’t be wrong. The last spirit stone was much rougher.”

Gu Baiying and Meng Ying exchanged glances, both having bad premonitions.

Zanxing also understood: “The transmission array was tampered with? Who could modify a transmission array? Those ordinary people in Li’er Kingdom couldn’t do it, and sect cultivators don’t have the cultivation level for it. Could it be demonic evils?”

“Oh no,” Mendong looked devastated: “We’re not being sent to a demonic evil nest, are we!”

Coming out of the transmission array to immediately face a group of demonic evils—for those demonic evils, what difference was there between this and home delivery?

Mu Cengxiao was the protagonist and wouldn’t die, but it was very common for supporting characters to die in each story arc—dispensable cannon fodder!

“How can we make the transmission array stop?” Mu Cengxiao could still think calmly and asked.

“Once a transmission array starts, it can only stop when it reaches its destination,” Meng Ying answered his question, but this answer made people even more desperate.

Just as everyone was anxious, they suddenly felt the dizzy sensation gradually ease, and the turbulence beneath their feet gradually calmed. The blue halo around them dispersed bit by bit until it completely dimmed.

The transmission array stopped.

They had reached their new destination.

End of Divine Maiden Arc