Fengling Yueying Sect

After preparing the ropes, the duo, Cube and Rose, went down first.

A rustling static came from the walkie-talkie. A moment later, Cube's steady voice sounded, confirming the area below was safe.

The members of the Dongfang team hesitated no longer. One by one, they grabbed the ropes and agilely disappeared into the bottomless elevator shaft.

The clinking of their gear produced faint metallic sounds, which were quickly swallowed by the darkness.

Dongfang Shuye was the last one. He glanced back at Lin Mo and the others, his tone flat but leaving no room for argument.

"Since there's no more rappelling gear anyway, you don't need to be involved in the rest. Just stay here and stand guard. After all, this is the mission we came here for."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and grabbed the rope. Pushing off the shaft wall with his legs, he slid down swiftly like a gecko, giving Liu Zheng and the others no chance to speak.

In the blink of an eye, only Lin Mo's group remained at the entrance of the elevator shaft, along with Ma Wenlong and Frozen Killer, who stood blankly like wooden puppets.

Dead silence.

The oppressive atmosphere was deeply unsettling.

After he went down, Lin Mo turned his head to look at Liu Zheng and the others.

"Damn it," Liu Zheng cursed under his breath. He kicked a book lying on the floor, sending it tumbling a few times.

"We've made it to the final step, and they treat us like glorified security guards?"

Old Bai let out a long, heavy breath, pent-up anger burning in his chest. He said in a deep voice, "I'm pissed. I'm really fucking pissed."

Xia Zhi's gaze never left the elevator shaft, as if something in that profound darkness was drawing her in.

"We've come all this way. If we don't bring Ning Qingcheng back, I'll feel like my mission is still a failure."

Lin Mo finally looked at Shou Zhen.

"Little Daoist, what do you think?"

Shou Zhen, who had been keeping his head down, looked up upon hearing this, his eyes clear and bright. "Wherever Layman Lin goes, this humble Daoist will follow. I know that Layman Lin definitely wouldn't just wait here for them."

"Look at you, such a smart guy. It's a pity you belong to the Quanzhen Sect."

Shou Zhen merely smiled shyly and didn't reply.

Saying no more, Lin Mo reached into his jacket and pulled out several yellow talismans. With movements as quick as a magic trick, he slapped one onto each person.

"One for each of you. The No Fall Damage Talisman. I guarantee none of you will end up like Geralt."

Liu Zheng was already annoyed, and the cold touch of the talisman paper made his eyelids twitch wildly. "No, seriously... Can't you give your talismans a more proper name? It sounds like a total joke."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but touch the talisman on his chest. It felt real enough.

"I've been meaning to ask..."

Liu Zheng's tone grew somewhat complicated. "What sect do you and Perfected Beixuan actually belong to? How come you only have these unheard-of things?"

Lin Mo stroked his chin, recalling with a serious face, "I actually asked my teacher about this. He said our lineage is called the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect, and it's a very powerful sect."

Shou Zhen tilted his head. "Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect? Never heard of it."

After all, he was from the Quanzhen Sect, considered a historically orthodox lineage. But no matter how many times he ran the name through his mind, he couldn't recall such a sect existing.

"That's normal."

Lin Mo wore an expression that said you are still too young.

"Do you think just anyone can hear about such a high-level sect?"

Having said that, he didn't give the group time to react. He took two steps forward to the edge of the elevator shaft and turned around.

Under the astonished gazes of Liu Zheng and the others, Lin Mo, without the slightest hesitation, fell straight backward, instantly swallowed by the darkness.

"Holy shit!" Liu Zheng's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

This was a completely different concept from Dongfang Shuye's professional rappelling!

This was just jumping off a building!

Without time to overthink, the group exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and rushed toward the elevator shaft after him.

A sudden sense of weightlessness hit them, accompanied by the howling wind in their ears.

Yet, at the very moment they were about to hit the bottom, the talismans on their chests emitted a gentle force that softly caught their bodies, controlling their descent speed to an extremely comfortable rate.

They landed steadily on top of the elevator car.

Lin Mo was also standing on one corner of it.

"How about it? Products from Wind Spirit Moon Shadow are guaranteed to be fair and honest, right?"

Meanwhile, inside the elevator, Dongfang Shuye suddenly looked up.

Just then, the elevator doors were pulled open, revealing a pure white corridor.

Strangely, there was no one outside, making it look like an abandoned secret base.

Above them, the elevator's safety hatch clicked and swung open.

A ladder slid down, and Lin Mo slid down along with it.

As soon as he touched down, he found himself staring wide-eyed at Dongfang Shuye, who was right behind the ladder.

"What's wrong? Waiting for me here? No need to be so polite."

Dongfang Shuye took a deep breath, forcing down the anger in his heart.

"Did all of you come down?"

"Yep, didn't leave a single one behind."

"And what if someone escapes from up there?" Dongfang Shuye questioned sharply.

Lin Mo pointed outside the open elevator doors. "Look at this place. Do you really think they only have one entrance and exit?"

Dongfang Shuye was instantly left speechless.

"Let's go, stop yapping here."

Saying that, Lin Mo took the lead and stepped out of the elevator. Under everyone's gaze, he looked around, but in reality, he was spreading his divine sense outward.

Lin Mo pulled a yellow talisman from his pocket, which instantly ignited.

"By the urgent command of the Jade Edict! Go!"

The yellow talisman flew through the midair while burning.

"Let's go. Follow my talisman and we'll find Ning Qingcheng."

The group didn't move immediately; instead, they all looked toward Dongfang Shuye.

After all, Dongfang Shuye was their commander.

Dongfang Shuye looked at the yellow talisman floating in midair and finally nodded. "Follow it. Keep an eye out for any forks in the road. We can't afford to split up right now."

Lin Mo nodded with a smiling face.

Dongfang Shuye watched Lin Mo warily. He was not fond of this guy with an ordinary-looking face.

For some reason, he always felt that the other party's attitude towards everything happening before them was like treating it as a game.

However, at least for now, he could be certain that Lin Mo was on their side.

Moreover, he had learned from Liu Zheng and Shou Zhen that the person in front of him was actually a student. He was much more concerned about Perfected Beixuan, who stood behind Lin Mo.

The group finally started moving again.

Emitting an orange-red glow, the yellow talisman burned continuously without turning to ash. It moved through the air on its own without any wind, leading the way straight down the white corridor.

However, not a single security guard appeared.

The further Dongfang Shuye walked, the more panicked he felt. Had these people already evacuated?

If that were the case, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?

However, Dongfang Shuye was overthinking it.

Because this white corridor was actually just a VIP passageway, and at the end of it was a checkpoint.

It was just that the few people stationed at the checkpoint were idling away, playing cards.

One of the men who lost the game threw his cards onto the table.

"So boring. I don't even know why we're guarding this place. I want to get powers too. If the experiment is really a complete success, do you think I'll have a chance to participate?"

"Stop dreaming, your turn would never come even in a million years."

"Besides, the current test subjects are still unstable. Do you really want to turn into that monster that went up earlier?"

Hearing this, the group of people hiding in the blind spot of the passageway couldn't help but turn to look at the Frozen Killer, who stood as still as a wooden statue.