I courted death and then tried to escape, so the whole sect wants to get rid of me.

Cheng Yue remained relatively calm, shaking her head: "I didn't see clearly what it was. Everyone was looking for the Lotus Bird Grass when the whole cave suddenly shook. Everyone ran, and we ran after them."

Mingran was overjoyed: "I saw it! It's a snake demon! Several snake demons were shaken out! The ground even cracked open! But those snake demons are different from the golden scale snakes in the miasma forest; they're fiercer and more powerful."

Chen He gasped.

The Golden Scale Serpent Demon was already strong enough, but these Serpent Demons were even more ferocious.

His expression turned grave. "Could it be that the Insect Cave is actually a snake's den? Did you see any Lotus Bird Grass?"

"no."

Mingran crossed her arms and said thoughtfully, "Although the Insect Twin Cave is large, so many people should have searched it thoroughly, but there's nothing there."

Chen He: "That's strange, where could it be?"

"If you want to know where it is, why don't you just go in and take a look?"

After kicking the person, Ye Chang'an glanced over and his gaze lingered on Song Yao and Chen He for a moment. His eyebrows were raised high, and a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes.

Those useless guys from the Northern Shaking Sect couldn't stop a single one of them.

Or perhaps, these two never even bumped into Lu Mingxuan and his group?

Where did Lu Mingxuan and the others go?

Why haven't they arrived yet?

He straightened up, casually brushed the dust off his brocade robe, his earlier dishevelment somewhat subsided, and said in a mocking tone with ill intent, "We've already gone in, but found nothing."

He drawled out his words, implying something, "However, your Nine Saints Hall claims to be the number one sect, so you should be more capable than us. Shouldn't you go in and take a look?"

Mingran immediately frowned and retorted without hesitation, "How dare you say that? When the snake demon came out, you ran faster than anyone else, and now you have the nerve to stand here and let others go in to their deaths?"

These words were merciless and undoubtedly struck a nerve with Ye Chang'an.

The smile on his face vanished instantly, and his eyes turned cold.

He raised his hand, and several disciples behind him immediately understood. With a clang, they drew their swords and stepped forward, surrounding Song Yao and the others.

Ye Chang'an crossed his arms, leaned against the stone wall, and curled a sinister and arrogant smile on his lips: "What? You think you're so great?"

He took two steps forward, the hem of his brocade robe sweeping across the pebbles on the ground, each step carrying an air of oppression: "I let you go in on your own earlier to give face to your Nine Saints Hall. Why, do you insist that I invite you in?"

There were many disciples from various sects around, but none of them dared to utter a sound, and some even silently stepped back and turned their heads away.

It's not good to offend either of the two major sects when they're causing trouble.

In addition, Ye Chang'an not only has disciples from Taiqing Pavilion under his command, but also disciples from affiliated sects to help him. Isn't interfering now just courting death?

But after a moment of silence, someone actually stood up, their face flushed with anger, and roared, "Young Master Ye, isn't it inappropriate for you to bully others by abusing your power and outnumbering them?"

Everyone looked over.

The speaker was none other than the Millennium Hall disciple who had come to the Nine Saints Hall to demand justice and whose clothes had been stolen.

The young man, filled with resentment, charged at the Nine Saints Hall members, sword in hand, with a defiant air: "They're still young, come at me if you have a problem!"

Not only was Ye Chang'an a little confused, but the people being protected behind him were also a little confused.

Isn't this eldest brother supposed to hate the third senior sister to the point of death?

Why are you risking your life to rush up and protect them now?

Mingran hesitated before asking, "Brother, what are you doing?"

The young man looked at her firmly and said, "No matter what, I had a brief affair with your third senior sister. Her junior brothers and sisters are also my junior brothers and sisters. Today, even if I have to risk my life, I will protect you all."

Song Yao: "..."

How could she not know about this fleeting affair?

The others also fell silent for a moment. Mingran swallowed hard and said, "You really are infatuated with Third Senior Sister, huh?"

She can fall in love with something so much just because her clothes were stolen.

That's truly rare.

However, Ye Chang'an seemed to have been stepped on the tail. His face, which had just been somewhat frivolous, instantly twisted, and his eyes suddenly turned ruthless.

He didn't even give anyone time to react before rushing forward.

A hand like an iron clamp suddenly grabbed the neck of the Millennium Hall disciple and slammed him hard against the rough stone wall, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"What a fleeting romance!"

His voice was extremely low, yet it carried a chilling malice, almost forced out through gritted teeth, "Even in death you're still out there flirting with other women, Song Yao, you're really something!"

The boy's face turned red from being choked, and he could only kick his legs in vain. The sword in his hand had long since slipped from his grasp and hit the ground with a crisp sound.

Ye Chang'an showed no sign of letting up, his eyes swirling with an almost insane obsession as he said, word by word, "Let me tell you, when Song Yao was alive, she was my fiancée, and even in death, she is still mine. Who do you think you are, to dare to protect your junior brothers and sisters on her behalf?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he twisted his wrist sharply, tightening his grip on the boy's neck, and the boy's struggles gradually weakened.

Mingran and the others hurriedly tried to help, but the surrounding disciples immediately moved their swords forward a few inches to stop them.

It wasn't until a disciple from the Taiqing Pavilion whispered "Young Master" that Ye Chang'an seemed to come to his senses. He sneered, suddenly released his grip, and slammed the boy to the ground.

"Since you're so nosy, why don't you become my protector?"

Ye Chang'an looked down at him, the tip of his boot lightly grinding against the sword beside the boy's hand, a cruel smile curving his lips. "Then let's go all the way and go into the Insect Twin Cave with them."

He raised his chin, and the disciple behind him immediately stepped forward, pressing the tip of his sword against the young man's back, forcing him to stagger to his feet and squeeze in with Song Yao and the others.

"Or, go in yourself."

Ye Chang'an's voice carried an undeniable pressure, "Or I'll throw you all in one by one to feed the snakes."

Song Yao pressed her temples and took the lead, saying, "Let's go."

If she stayed here any longer, she really wouldn't be able to resist beating Ye Chang'an up in public.

The others quickly caught up, calling out, "Seventh Senior Sister! Wait!"

Chen He walked alongside her, lowering his voice to say, "The snake demon in this cave is so ferocious, why should we go in and die? We'd be better off fighting Ye Chang'an and finding a chance to break out!"

Song Yao didn't stop walking: "Since we're already here, I heard that lotus buds are very valuable."

Mingran: "Exactly, maybe we can find it."

Stepping into the cave, a cold and damp atmosphere enveloped us once again.

Water droplets condensed on the rock face, trickling down the slippery cracks in the stone. A faint fishy smell lingered in the air, and it was much colder than outside.

Cheng Yue noticed that Song Yao's expression wasn't good, so she took out a thicker fur-trimmed cloak from her pouch and handed it to her: "Wear this."