Youyou was completely bewildered by the other party's bizarre actions. She had never seen anyone poison themselves and was at a loss for what to do.
"Third brother, have you finally got it sorted out?" A deliberately lowered voice suddenly came from inside the wall beside him.
She was startled; could this person be part of some kind of gang?
The next moment, a creaking sound came from the wall, as if a mechanism had been activated. The wall shifted, revealing a hidden door, as if someone was about to emerge.
In a moment of panic, Youyou's mind went blank. She glanced at the man on the ground, and without knowing what she was thinking, she lay down and closed her eyes—pretending to faint.
Wait, if she can fight, why is she pretending?
(⊙_⊙)？
Before they could think further, they heard the approaching voices of several people. They seemed to have noticed the two people on the ground and exclaimed, "Third brother!" They seemed to help the other person up, their voices filled with urgency.
"What happened? How did he get unconscious here?"
"This situation...it's like I've been drugged!"
"What? Didn't he bring a defensive talisman beforehand? How could he still be poisoned?"
"Who knows what he did, but the woman passed out too, so the third brother got what he wanted!"
"We can't stay here any longer, let's take these two away first!"
They stopped talking there, and the next moment Youyou felt someone lift her up. The noise on the street faded into the distance, as if they had arrived at some quiet place.
Youyou was carried like this for more than twenty minutes, not knowing where she was, before she was finally put down. She could hear the sound of people walking away slowly, and only when everything around her was completely quiet did she open her eyes.
She then realized that it was extremely dark all around, seemingly a tunnel. At first, she thought those people were con artists seeking money, but now they seemed more like human traffickers. She had just made a rash decision and ended up here, and for a moment she hesitated whether to just rush out.
She stood up, intending to pull out a map to see where she was, when suddenly she tripped over something and almost fell. Looking down, she realized that she wasn't the only one in the tunnel; there were four or five other people lying there.
"Hey, wake up!" She quickly helped the nearest person up, but there was no response after calling them several times. She then looked at the other people, and without exception, they had all fainted and could not be woken up no matter what she did, and they were all women.
So, is this a trafficking den?
Youyou's expression darkened. Just as she was about to try using the Rejuvenation Technique, footsteps echoed through the tunnel again. The human traffickers who had just left had returned. Youyou hesitated for a moment, then immediately sat back down in her original spot and closed her eyes.
Sure enough, the next moment, those people came in, and one by one, the people in the tunnel were carried out.
"Hurry up! The city's protective array can only be weakened for a quarter of an hour. If we wait any longer, the teleportation array won't be able to activate." Someone urged them.
Immediately afterwards, she felt something light up around her, like the glow of an array, and the next moment she was in another place. Suddenly, the surroundings became noisy, mixed with many shouts and cries.
"Release me immediately! I am a disciple of the Immortal Sect, a member of the Snowfall Sect! Let me go back."
"Shut up! What are you yelling about? You think you can go back to the immortal sect after coming here? Dream on!"
"What exactly do you want? You've captured so many noble ladies and female cultivators. If the immortal sects find out, they won't let you off the hook."
"Hmph! You fools who can't tell the situation right from the start, now that you're here, no one can save you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a whip cracking rang out.
"ah!"
Immediately following, screams rang out. You You couldn't help but open her eyes and take a look. She saw that it was a huge stone chamber, seemingly underground. There were even more people around, at first glance thirty or forty, almost filling the entire stone chamber. Most of them were women, some struggling, some weeping softly, and some with numb expressions, all with fear in their eyes, being driven out in a direction to the left.
On the other side of the stone chamber, a formation was lit, and cultivators carrying women kept appearing within it. Some were drugged like her, while others were bound and looked panicked; they had all clearly been abducted here.
Youyou's heart tightened; it seemed this gang was bigger than she had imagined.
Before she could get a good look, the unconscious women and another group were herded into another stone chamber. It looked like a dungeon, with over a dozen rooms, each holding four or five women. As soon as they entered, a transparent barrier rose up at the entrance, blocking their path.
"Stay put!" the men who were driving them away warned, then turned and left.
The women were clearly terrified, their faces filled with panic and fear. Some of the braver ones began to scream desperately, but no one responded.
"Where is this place? Why are they arresting us?"
"They dare to abduct noblewomen, aren't they... afraid of divine retribution?"
"They all know magic, so they must all be cultivators."
"They even dare to capture female disciples of immortal sects, let alone noble ladies."
"What should we do? Will someone come to rescue us? I want to go home..."
These words seemed to have flipped a switch, and many people started crying, filling the entire cell with sobs.
Youyou opened her eyes and was about to say a few words of comfort when she heard footsteps coming from the other side again, as if a lot of people were heading this way. She had no choice but to stop herself from speaking.
Sure enough, a few moments later, several men dressed in black appeared outside. Unlike the people who had just abducted them, these men were clearly more powerful, probably around the Foundation Establishment stage. In particular, the leader, a shifty-eyed man, was probably at the Golden Core stage. As soon as he entered, he squinted and scanned each cell with the look of someone appraising merchandise.
"How many of those with cultivation have come this time?" the man asked.
The person next to him quickly replied with a flattering tone, "There are thirteen in total, most of them have been drugged with a mind-controlling incense and will not wake up within three days."
"What are their cultivation levels?" the man continued to ask.
"They're all at the Qi Refining stage, and there's one at the Foundation Establishment stage."
"Tch!" The leader scoffed. "It's getting worse and worse. The requirements for accepting disciples by the immortal sects have really been getting lower and lower over the years."
"Female cultivators are kept under strict surveillance, and things are tense right now, so..."
"Alright, alright, the old rule applies: those with cultivation levels, take them to disperse their internal energy; those without, just give them their medicine." With that, he turned and walked towards the door.
"Yes, Manager Zuo!" The man quickly bowed.
"Oh, right!" The leader suddenly stopped, a greedy glint in his eyes, and gave a wink, saying, "Send that Foundation Establishment cultivator to my place for a look later."
The man who answered was taken aback for a moment, then immediately nodded, "Yes, yes, I understand!"
The leader then led his men out, leaving only the man who had spoken earlier and two other people.
As soon as the steward left, the man straightened up and directed the people behind him, "Go, bring that Foundation Establishment female cultivator out and take her to the Nether Pavilion! The rest of you, give her the medicine!" After saying that, he took out a porcelain bottle and handed it to the people behind him.
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