âWhat kind of condition?â Zu An asked, suddenly feeling a little strange.
In all the stories he had read, it was usually the men who had the womenâs weaknesses in their grasp, and they would use those weaknesses as leverage in various ways. Why was it now the other way around?
Yun Jianyue forced herself to maintain a smile when she saw how nervous he was. âOf course, thatâs for you to become mine.â
âNo, he is mine!â Yan Xuehen cried in panic.
Zu An was confused. Yu Yanluoâs lips parted slightly, her expression filled with shock. Even though they had indeed shared a heavenly experience, how had these two found out? Besides, werenât they both grandmasters? Was it really appropriate for them to be fighting over someone so shamelessly like this?
Yu Yanluo suddenly felt as if she had to step forward and voice her own opinion.
Yun Jianyue noticed their expressions. After a moment of shock, she cried, âYou damn brat, what are you thinking of? I was talking about taking me as your master!â
Yan Xuehen also realized that there were several meanings to what they had just said. Her cheeks flushed red, and she shot Zu An a resentful look.
Itâs your fault for not saying things that clearlyâŠÂ Zu An thought with a downcast expression. He coughed lightly and said, âActually, I have a master. I have to listen to her opinion first, right?â
He actually didnât mind taking on a master, but these two were fighting with each other at the moment. It would feel weird for him to reject either one of them.
If he said he wanted both of them, deciding on the one he would choose to take as his master first would also be a problem. As such, he planned to use Mi Li as an excuse to just get by for the time being. Then, heâd find a chance to deal with them one by one.
âWho is your master?â Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both asked, looking at him. Anyone who could produce such a formidable disciple was definitely an extraordinary master. The two of them might even just acknowledge that master.
âI promised her that I wouldnât expose her identity to anyone,â Zu An replied, feeling a bit troubled.
The two women understood that kind of thing. There were many eccentrics who had such preferences. But that only made them even more curious about this master.
Zu An changed the topic, saying, âLetâs deal with the spatial rift here first. It would be really bad if some more creatures cross over from a different world.â
âAlright,â Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue replied. They didnât have any objections.
However, as soon as Yu Yanluo took a single step, her legs buckled and she almost fell to the ground. When they saw that, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyueâs expressions became extremely strange. Their gazes screamed âbruteâ when they looked at Zu An.
Zu An was also a bit embarrassed. He reached out his hand to support Yu Yanluo, but she was way too embarrassed and quickly pushed his hands away. Her cheeks were red as she said, âIâm okay.â
Then, the group headed deeper into the cave.
âŠ
With the two grandmasters Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue leading their party using their extremely sharp spiritual senses, finding the spatial rift wasnât too difficult at all.
They quickly arrived near where they had fought the intense battle with the deathworm. When he saw the corpse on the ground, Zu An walked over to it and said, âHold on.â
Yun Jianyue nodded and remarked, âSmart decision. That thing should have quite a few treasures on its body. Its scales are a little tougher than even dragon scales, and its fangs are excellent materials for forging weapons. Even its poison is useful⊠But its body is extremely tough, so it might not be that easy to break⊠down?â
Then, her eyes widened, because the mother wormâs corpse abruptly vanished!
âHuh?â Yan Xuehen exclaimed, completely stunned. âWas that because of your storage treasure?â
âSomething like that,â Zu An replied. He thought back to how, even though he had killed many Gray Wolf Kings during the crown princeâs exam, he had never collected their corpses. He didnât want to make the same mistake again.
âWhy is it so big?â Yan Xuehen asked in shock.
Yun Jianyue also found that inconceivable. Due to her cultivation and status, her storage artifact was already quite extraordinary. However, there would be no way she could store such a massive mother wormâs corpse!
Yu Yanluoâs face turned red. She was just as shocked as the others.
âMaybe my luck is just good, hahaâŠâ Zu An trailed off, as thunderous noises erupted in the distance. How could there be thunder underground?
Yan Xuehenâs expression changed. She cried, âOh no, the spatial rift!â
The group was alarmed, and they quickly headed in the direction of the noise.
âŠ
Soon afterward, an open space appeared before them. There, a pitch-black rift floated in midair. It was shaped almost like an eye that was rotated ninety degrees, narrow on either end and wider in the bottom.
The spatial rift was similar to a wormhole out of a science fiction movie. In its vicinity, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. It was clearly extremely unstable. In addition, several terrifying silhouettes deep within appeared to be trying to break through the lightning and rush out of the spatial rift.
âAs expected, without that mother worm asserting its dominance, the other creatures now want a slice of the pie too,â Yun Jianyue said, her expression grave.
Just then, Zu An summoned the Fire Phoenix. He unleashed a Flame Blade that was several dozen meters long directly at the pitch-black rift. However, when it approached the rift, the enormous Flame Blade became incredibly small, immediately disappearing into the space within the rift.
âItâs useless. The space within the spatial rift is folded in on itself. You cannot damage it,â Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.
âThen what do we do?â Zu An asked, feeling dejected.
âIt would be great if senior brother were hereâŠâ Yu Yanluo said. âHis achievements in the field runes are extremely profound. He would be able to neutralize the spatial force here.â
Zu An was briefly stunned. Then, he realized that she was talking about Xie Daoyunâs master, the libationerâs first disciple.
âYan Xiangu is indeed an incredible genius. Iâve heard that his knowledge in runes has already reached an incredible level,â Yun Jianyue remarked. She had naturally heard about such people, who were at the top of their fields. She continued, âBut thereâs nothing to worry about. He might not be here, but this woman has a way.â She pointed at Yan Xuehen and said, âThe White Jade Sectâs knowledge regarding runes is on the same level as Yan Xianguâs.â
âYan Xiangu is without equal in the field of runes. However, we only need to deal with this spatial rift, so I can give it a try,â Yan Xuehen said as she walked forward. She raised her Flying Snow Sword, then began drawing strange and profound runes in the air.
At first, she drew runes at a normal speed, but over time, she slowed down greatly. Furthermore, her body began to shake visibly.
âWhatâs up with you?â Yun Jianyue asked in confusion.
âNothing,â Yan Xuehen replied. She took a deep breath, then continued to draw. When she finished the final stroke, the rift trembled and began to change.
Yan Xuehenâs complexion was pale as she said weakly, âHurry, attack it with all your strength. You should be able to destroy it directly now.â
Zu An didnât dare to hesitate. He once again summoned the massive Flame Blade, and he also used the Blue Luan Sword Formation. He used everything he had against the spatial rift.
Yun Jianyue didnât show any negligence either. She gathered the strength she had recovered over time, lashing out with a palm.
Even Yu Yanluo attacked with all her power.
Several streaks of light collided with the rift. They were no longer absorbed by the mysterious space as before, but rather made proper contact with the edges of the rift.
With a huge explosion, the thunder and lightning inside the rift ran amok. Waves of destructive aura gushed out of it. The terrifying figures inside screamed miserably, then all turned into ashes. The spatial rift closed like an eye, instantly disappearing into nothingness.
Afterward, the entire mine began to rock back and forth. It was far more intense than the previous shaking. The ground was quaking so hard that it was hard to stand still. Rocks tumbled down from the ceiling with no signs of stopping.
Yu Yanluoâs expression changed. She cried, âNo! This entire mine is about to collapseâŠâ A deafening noise erupted in the distance as soon as she spoke.
Yun Jianyue let out a forced laugh and said, âThat noise seems to be coming from the cave entrance. Itâs already collapsed, and weâre trapped here.â