Chu Lingwei and Shui Yi stood in the crowd, constantly subjected to scrutinizing gazes.
It was because all the cultivators going to kill the savage dogs were men, with only the two of them being women.
"Mistress, I shall destroy their prying eyes." Shui Yi looked at each of the cultivators' gazes. The pressure from their strength made them tremble inwardly and lower their heads involuntarily.
"No need to bother. Once we reach our destination, they won't have the energy for it." Chu Lingwei shook her head. They were going on a mission, and they were so leisurely now; soon, they wouldn't even be able to attend to themselves.
"Yes."
Shui Yi then cast fierce glares at any cultivator who dared to look again.
"Time's up, let's head out now."
Before long, the person who appeared to be the leader emerged. He merely glanced indifferently at the cultivators who were to descend into the caves today, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction, and he couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
Chu Lingwei was close by and heard his words clearly.
"Why are the cultivation levels getting lower and lower? Utterly useless."
Chu Lingwei swept her spiritual sense over them. This time, the people accepting the missions were all cultivators at the Spirit Wheel stage, with one-third of them at the Heaven Merging realm. They even disdained cultivators at the Heaven Merging realm, so how strong must the savage dogs they were about to face be?
"Mistress, we must be careful." Shui Yi couldn't help but remind her. She could protect Chu Lingwei, but she worried about these people playing tricks.
"Mm, let's see what's different about this mine later." Since they knew this mine was dangerous and still sent so many cultivators to their deaths, it could only mean something important was here.
Chu Lingwei, along with all the other cultivators, boarded the spirit ship artifact. After flying for an hour, they entered a region of numerous mines.
"Mistress, the aura here is wrong. There's a demonic aura."
Shui Yi's expression changed, and she warned Chu Lingwei.
"Demonic aura? How can there be demonic beings here?" Chu Lingwei suddenly became curious. The last time she and her senior brother left the demon realm, the demon realm had been sealed, and it shouldn't be possible for demonic beings to appear on the Profound Heaven Continent for the time being.
The demonic beings appearing now might have been here all along.
There was the Leng family's wine shop here; how could they not have discovered the presence of demonic beings?
Had they not discovered it, or did they not want to intervene?
"You two, come here."
As they stepped onto the spirit ship, the leader pointed at Chu Lingwei and Shui Yi.
Chu Lingwei obediently stood beside him, awaiting his next instructions.
"Take them into Mine Number One now."
The leader pointed at the cultivators who had descended with Chu Lingwei and instructed someone nearby to lead them into Mine Number One. He then used his spiritual power to project his voice far and wide, "Once you enter Mine Number One, any savage dog you personally kill will be recorded on your mission token. Come out within an hour, and you can directly exchange it for spirit stones."
As soon as he spoke, those preparing to enter the mine began to stir. As long as they killed more savage dogs, they would receive an endless supply of spirit stones.
This mission was simply too easy.
Chu Lingwei watched as they followed the staff towards a mine entrance, her gaze filled with confusion.
Strange, they said that many cultivators had come here before, yet she hadn't seen any.
"You two, follow me." The leader saw the others leave, then turned to look at Chu Lingwei. Seeing her quietly observing their situation displeased him. "You must remember, you are here to kill savage dogs. Do not speak any unnecessary words, and do not ask questions."
"We understand." Chu Lingwei followed behind him and arrived at what was clearly a smaller mine entrance. "You two enter from here. The number of savage dogs you kill will be the amount of spirit stones you receive."
Chu Lingwei and Shui Yi exchanged a glance. There were even guards specifically stationed at their cave entrance.
"When can we come out to exchange for spirit stones?" The leader had just told the male cultivators they could exchange within an hour, but for them, nothing was mentioned.
"Two hours."
The leader seemed to have not considered this issue. After Chu Lingwei raised it, he paused slightly before stating a number.
"Mistress, if we go in, it's a dead end," Shui Yi transmitted to Chu Lingwei.
"Then I must go in and see."
The guards at the cave entrance saw that the leader had finished giving instructions and opened the entrance. A barrier appeared before Chu Lingwei and the others.
"You can go in now."
Chu Lingwei walked in without a second thought, striding forward.
Before her body had fully entered the cave, the entrance closed with lightning speed.
"There's a seventh-tier savage dog inside. Spirit Wheel stage disciples entering here will only meet their demise," Shui Yi released her spiritual sense. The seventh-tier savage dog's body trembled violently, and it stopped moving altogether.
"So, they brought us in here to die."
Chu Lingwei strode further inside. After walking less than fifty meters, she saw a group of female cultivators sitting together, weeping softly.
"More people have arrived?"
The female cultivators here saw Chu Lingwei enter, and their voices held a hint of joy. However, some female cultivators cried even more sadly.
"Aren't you killing savage dogs?" Chu Lingwei approached them. They were covered in wounds, clearly scratched by some sharp claws.
"We were all deceived by those people. They weren't asking us to kill savage dogs, but to be their food." One of the female cultivators' eyes were filled with hatred. Those scoundrels outside, once she got out, she would tear them to pieces.
"Where are the savage dogs?"
Chu Lingwei looked inside. The interior was pitch black, and there wasn't a hint of a savage dog's aura.
"They are inside. They come out every hour." The female cultivator who answered Chu Lingwei's question stood up directly. "We can't go on like this. Otherwise, we will eventually become that dog's food. We must find a way to kill it."
"It's not that we haven't thought of ways; we just can't kill it."
One female cultivator began to cry uncontrollably. Dozens of them, working together, still couldn't kill that seventh-tier savage dog.
"What secret does this mine hold? Why did they deceive us into coming here... to feed the dogs?" Chu Lingwei considered many phrasing options, finding this one acceptable.
"We don't know."
The female cultivators here didn't know.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Chu Lingwei's spiritual sense scanned the cave. Inside, there was only one seventh-tier savage dog, lying obediently like a cat in the deepest part.
This was likely Shui Yi's doing.
"Fellow Daoist, be careful. That is a seventh-tier spirit beast. We are no match for it." As Chu Lingwei took a step, a female cultivator grabbed her arm. "This seventh-tier spirit beast specifically eats the hearts of women and has already devoured many female cultivators..."
"Thank you for the reminder."
Chu Lingwei thanked the female cultivator and quickly walked further in. Half an hour later, she arrived before the savage dog.
At this moment, it stared vigilantly at Chu Lingwei.