"Depart!"
The next morning, Li Xuan's team of nineteen people appeared on time outside Li Xuan's pavilion. After glancing at everyone, Li Xuan waved his hand and shouted.
As figures soared into the sky, Li Xuan's figure moved, appearing directly in front of everyone and shooting towards the south.
After Li Xuan and his group of twenty left, a man looked up from around the bend of the hillside before his figure moved and he sped away into the distance.
"Li Xuan has already set off?" In another pavilion on the other side, Du Jing Tong stood up after hearing the report.
"Reporting to the commander, he has indeed set off. I saw it with my own eyes. And judging by the direction, it's towards the Blood Gorge Cave." The man nodded in response.
This man was the one who had been outside Li Xuan's team's pavilion earlier.
"Very good! Du Shao Lian, this matter cannot be revealed to a third person. If you weren't from my Du family, this matter wouldn't have been entrusted to you. Now, go and inform them to prepare. Half an hour later, we depart!" Du Jing Tong nodded slightly and said.
"Yes!" Du Shao Lian bowed and quickly left.
As Du Shao Lian departed, a smile slowly spread across Du Jing Tong's lips: "Li Xuan, Li Xuan, if you die in that Blood Gorge Cave, you can't blame this commander. After all, the Blood Demon isn't always dormant. Hahahaha..."
...
Half a day passed, and twenty figures appeared in unison above a mountain range. This group was Li Xuan's team.
"Commander Li, according to the map, this is the Blood Luo Mountain Range. The Blood Gorge Cave is not far from here," a man named Wen Qing said as he looked at the map and spoke to Li Xuan.
"This place is indeed rich in spiritual energy. No wonder it produces so much Narcissus Ice Grass and Heartpiercing Mushroom. Alright, everyone rest for a quarter of an hour. After a quarter of an hour, we will begin entering the cave," Li Xuan nodded upon hearing this and spoke after sensing the surroundings with his divine sense.
"Yes!" Everyone nodded and then sat down on the spot to meditate.
Time flew by. A quarter of an hour later, everyone opened their eyes and looked at Li Xuan. Li Xuan nodded slightly, then got up and headed directly towards the Blood Gorge Cave. Seeing this, everyone followed suit.
"Everyone be careful. This Blood Gorge Cave is divided into three levels. The danger level of the first level is relatively low, but you must not be careless. Brother Qiu, will you take the rear when I go ahead?" At the entrance of the Blood Gorge Cave, Li Xuan raised his hand, stopping everyone, and said in a low voice.
"Good!" Qiu Jiu Qian nodded in response.
"Let's go in." After making the arrangements, Li Xuan waved his hand and walked in.
"Strange, according to the information, the first level of the Blood Gorge Cave should have Narcissus Ice Grass and Heartpiercing Mushroom. But why isn't there a single one here?" After entering the Blood Gorge Cave and searching for a while, everyone looked at Li Xuan in confusion.
The harvesting in the Blood Gorge Cave was always announced once every six months. This arrangement was to allow the Narcissus Ice Grass and Heartpiercing Mushroom to grow.
Although the quantity on the first level was small, it would never be as barren as it was now.
"Commander Li, come quickly!" At this moment, a team member suddenly called out in a low voice. Li Xuan hurried forward and, guided by the team member, immediately discovered the anomaly. The traces of being picked on the vegetation of the first level of the Blood Gorge Cave were extremely obvious. Looking at these traces, it was clear that they had been picked not long ago.
"It looks like someone harvested the Narcissus Ice Grass and Heartpiercing Mushroom in the Blood Gorge Cave before us," Li Xuan took a deep breath and said slowly.
"Could it be that some other spiritual master passed by and happened to discover the Narcissus Ice Grass and Heartpiercing Mushroom in this cave?" a team member asked Li Xuan.
"There's no possibility of that. Although the Blood Gorge Cave is far from the Tian Yi Pavilion, there is a sensing formation set up by the Tian Yi Pavilion. Only disciples of our Tian Yi Pavilion know how to bypass this sensing formation."
"Furthermore, the sensing formation constantly transmits information back to the Tian Yi Pavilion to ensure the integrity of the mission. If it had been harvested before, the pavilion would definitely have known. Our mission would naturally have been declared terminated and a new one chosen."
"Even if we take a step back and assume it was accidentally harvested by someone, they would never have gone to such lengths to collect everything. Also, I discovered that the sensing formation here has been destroyed," Qiu Jiu Qian shook his head and said.
"Brother Qiu, do you mean that someone knew we were coming to harvest here, so they harvested all the Narcissus Ice Grass and Heartpiercing Mushroom here in advance?" Gong Han Feng asked, suddenly realizing.
"At present, it seems this is the only explanation."
Li Xuan sighed slightly and then said slowly, "Currently, the only person we have a grievance with in the Wood Pavilion is Du Jing Tong. It seems Du Jing Tong has forces supporting him. Otherwise, he alone would not have had so much time."
"Commander Li, now that you mention it, I remember. Du Jing Tong is from the Du family, which is a considerable local power in our Tian Yi Domain. Furthermore, another elder in our Wood Pavilion is named Du Wei. He also seems to be from the Du family," Gong Han Feng said with sudden realization.
"Could it be Elder Du Wei's doing?" Qiu Jiu Qian frowned and asked.
"It shouldn't be," Li Xuan shook his head and said, "Given Elder Du Wei's status, he would never do such a thing. Moreover, he is far more aware of the severe consequences if this matter were exposed than we are. Therefore, this matter is likely done by people from Du Jing Tong's Du family."
"Commander Li, what should we do now?" a team member asked Li Xuan.
Li Xuan pondered for a moment and then said, "The Blood Gorge Cave has three levels. Since Du Jing Tong had people clear out the first level, I'd like to see if his Du family has the strength to clear out all three levels."
"Brother Qiu, Brother Gong, you two come with me. The rest, wait outside the cave."
"Commander Li!" Everyone exclaimed.
It was obvious that the reason the Blood Demon hadn't appeared on the first level was because someone had been there. And the probability of the Blood Demon appearing on the first level was historically very low. However, on the second and third levels, the probability of the Blood Demon appearing would naturally increase greatly.
"Don't worry, I know my limits. If we encounter the Blood Demon, it will be an unavoidable tough battle. Your cultivation is still too low, and even with more people, it would be difficult to maneuver effectively," Li Xuan said, waving his hand.
"Commander Li, we will wait for you here!" a team member immediately said.
"Yes, yes, we'll wait for Commander Li and the others to come out here!" As the former spoke, the rest of the team members echoed in agreement.
"Alright, then you wait here." Li Xuan pondered for a moment. He had inspected the first level and indeed found no traces of the Blood Demon. The danger level was undoubtedly the lowest, so he nodded in agreement.
"Brother Qiu, Brother Gong, let's go down." After settling everyone, Li Xuan looked at Qiu Jiu Qian and Gong Han Feng and said.
Qiu Jiu Qian and Gong Han Feng both nodded, their figures moved, and they followed Li Xuan towards the entrance of the second level.