Chapter 57 Exclusive Secret

The restaurant seemed quite old, and the stairs creaked as they walked up. As Luo Xuanyi and the other two reached the second floor, an unfamiliar child approached Qi Mingzhe and said, "Lord Feng has finalized it. We will be the second team, following the first vanguard, into the ruins. Has Lord Feng informed you of this? Why is the arrangement so hasty?"

Everyone here is the core member of the team decided by Qi Mingzhe. Qi Mingzhe alone cannot lead the entire team of a hundred people.

The other people sitting in the chairs had gloomy expressions. Seeing them arrive, they only nodded slightly, their eyes fixed on the person who was singing along, as if they were going to quit unless he gave them a reason. When exploring unknown ruins, experienced people usually set out in third or fourth place. By this time, with the explorations of the previous teams, the general framework of the ruins has been basically established. This greatly reduces the risk while maximizing the reward, making it the safest option.

Moreover, Feng Wutong was the absolute leader of this team. They had chosen to join this team because of the opportunity to occupy the best strategic position, but in the end they became cannon fodder who entered first? Such a gap could not be laughed off.

The entire floor was brightly lit, but everyone's breathing subsided unconsciously, and no one spoke to smooth things over. Qimingzhe had no followers here except Lu Kewei. Qimingzhe was well aware of the level of his followers, and he was confident that he could subdue this group of people with different ideologies without their appeasement.

Qi Mingzhe strode to the empty main seat. After Luo Xuanyi was invited by Lu Kewei to sit in the first seat on the lower left, Lu Kewei stood behind Qi Mingzhe with his eyes lowered.

"This is the best arrangement. We have leverage that others don't have." Qi Mingzhe's confidence emanated from within. "The sect's claim of having almost no information was just a lie. In reality, some information was covered up, and my master informed me of it."

"I already have a rough map of the ruins in my hands."

The atmosphere immediately relaxed. This was the effect of having a powerful and influential deputy leader. After calming everyone down, Qi Mingzhe continued, "Before sharing information, we must first determine your responsibilities. Rest assured, with the right remedy and the right people, the intelligence we possess will definitely allow us to breach the ruins after the vanguard and seize most of the treasures."

"First, to Luo Xuanyi, who's in charge of the elixir countermeasures, Junior Sister Yi, the incense has been a real help. Could you please prepare some more? This ancient alchemist's ruins are full of poisons that deplete spiritual energy. Since we haven't identified any, incense is the only thing that can help."

"Yes, just bring me the furnace and herbs."

Qi Mingzhe nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Besides this, do you have any alternative elixirs that can improve perception?"

Improving perception—that was already pretty concrete information. Luo Xuanyi remained calm, demonstrating her value here, not as an attacker but as a support. She thought for a moment, "Master has a Mingtai wine that can do that, but it has a few side effects. After taking it, the overly powerful perception can cause excessive tension in one's nerves, magnifying even the smallest sound several times and causing pain."

Qi Mingzhe had originally had little hope, but upon hearing this, he was very surprised and immediately replied, "Of course, it would be the best! With this minor drawback, we only need to select a few people to use it, not everyone needs to take it."

The child who had initially questioned him had retreated to his chair, sipping his tea. Hearing this, he glanced over and said, "Brother Qi, do you really have the general information you have? It's impossible for Elder Wen to have such a clear source of information to himself. Or are you and Lord Feng colluding to trick us into achieving some ulterior motive?"

Thanks to Feng Wutong, this team was considered the strongest of the twelve. If they were to be lured into the ruins to fight for their lives, it would definitely be much more useful than those unbalanced individuals. They might be able to explore the ruins in one go, but in return, the entire team might be wiped out.

"Junior Brother Run is always so fond of joking." Qi Mingzhe laughed a few times. "Junior Brother Qiao Yangrun has many experiences in exploring ruins. It was Junior Brother Run who led a team to conquer the Wulu ruins. This time, he will be our deputy captain. I will share the intel with you in detail later." The last sentence was directed at Qiao Yangrun. Hearing this, Qiao Yangrun picked up his teacup and drank again, showing an attitude of tacit approval.

"Okay, everyone, please look at this picture. Who can tell what it is?"

The image being drawn in the air with exquisite spiritual power was a fragmented painting. Fluent lines depicted a partial leg, a beastly figure with six curved, enlarged fingers. He looked expectantly at Ding Yu, who sat in the first seat to his right.

Ding Yu, the deacon of the library, was only a deacon in name only, his rank only equal to that of an outer sect elder or inner sect disciple. Therefore, while important within the team, he was still ranked second to the Qiming disciples. He was also a devoted reader and disliked the struggles for power and wealth, so he didn't care.

"Judging from the painting style, it should be from the same period as the Wanhun Sect, or a little later, close to the period when the Wanhun Sect was destroyed, because the painting skills are very mature. But I don't know what the painting is about." She observed carefully for a while and came to a conclusion.

Qiao Yangrun took a look and pointed across, saying, "Just ask Junior Brother Shang about these strange beasts. He's practicing a beast control method adapted from Wu Lu's method, which was of great help during our last exploration of the ruins."

"Do you have any blueprints? Let me see them." Shang Siding, who had been sitting with his legs crossed, didn't refuse. He took the paper given by Qi Mingzhe and glanced at it. He couldn't help but complain, "Who drew this? What's the picture?"

Having said that, he didn't sit back and do nothing. Instead, he swept the table beside him, spread out the paper, took a sip of the tea, and then spat it all onto the paper. Qi Mingzhe's eyebrows jumped, and he almost rushed over to snatch the paper back.

"Hmm, I see." Shang Siding didn't notice Qi Mingzhe's almost frantic expression at all, but instead observed the page. "The object depicted has no shape and has six fingers. It's some kind of extinct ancient beast. The drawn lines exude pure spiritual energy, but its cultivation level is not high. This ancient beast is probably not used for combat. Then I don't know. I won't raise such a waste. I like strength, the beauty of strength!"

Shang Siding wanted to return the paper to Qi Mingzhe, but Qi Mingzhe naturally picked up the teacup. "Brother, keep it for now. After all, you're the one among us who might recognize it."

"Anyway, this picture was drawn by the previous advance team. He was the only one who had some memories after emerging from the ruins, but he didn't live long. He died after drawing this picture. Of course, the one we have is a reproduction using a water mirror. This may be a particularly important clue. I will also distribute it to the rest of the team later to see if anyone knows it."

"Well, the advance team's role is actually negligible. This is what's important." Qi Mingzhe carefully removed a deep blue cloth bag from his arms. Luo Xuanyi immediately felt a strange wave affecting Qi Mingzhe's spiritual energy, which began to distort slightly. It was like a small world trying to manifest.

He peeled off the cloth layer by layer, finally revealing six light particles floating lightly above the cloth.

"This is the remnant soul of an ancient cultivator who experienced the Jingyunpo battlefield, which my master obtained. Although his memory is fragmented, my master has refined the information. We can directly obtain the contents of this memory."

Everyone, including Luo Xuanyi, suddenly leaned forward, staring at the six light particles with scorching eyes.