The Blood Sphere spoke in a weak voice, "I don't know."
"You don't know?" The crowd found it impossible to believe, and even Evan Yang asked skeptically, "Then how do you know he's still in the space?"
Just now, the Blood Sphere said the emissary was still in the space and hadn't left. If it didn't know where he was, how could it know he hadn't left?
But the Blood Sphere went on, sounding aggrieved, "This space only opens at certain times each year. You can't leave whenever you want."
Everyone was shocked—they hadn't expected this space to open only at fixed times, not controlled by anyone.
"He came to see you?" Evan Yang asked, suspicious. Otherwise, how would it know the emissary had entered and couldn't leave?
Sure enough, the Blood Sphere replied to Evan Yang, "Yes, he just came, took some primordial spirits, and left."
"Just as I thought." Evan Yang was secretly shocked, while the others couldn't wait to learn the whereabouts of the masked man. Not catching him felt like a threat, so they kept trying to force the Blood Sphere to reveal his location. In the end, it was pointless—Blood Sphere really didn't know.
"You said this space opens at certain times—is it always fixed? How often does it open?" Evan Yang asked, guessing that the space must open regularly. Otherwise, how could it collect so many primordial spirits from Soul-Forming experts, and how did the blood pool get so huge?
"About once every half month," the Blood Sphere replied bitterly.
"I see." Evan Yang looked understanding. The others were thrilled to hear they'd be able to leave in half a month, though the remaining time would be hard to endure—after all, not knowing the masked man's whereabouts meant they could still be threatened.
Being threatened like this was something none of them liked.
"Do you know why he needs so many primordial spirits?" Evan Yang wondered. Someone who needed this many was definitely not simple—after all, each primordial spirit was the crystallization of someone else's cultivation.
But the Blood Sphere said it didn't know, and added that only once a year does an emissary come to collect primordial spirits.
Everyone started guessing what so many primordial spirits were for. Only Evan Yang was pondering something else: this operation had never been exposed before, but this time the Everwind Valley incident was made public—and it was the so-called emissary who spread the news. His goal was obviously to harvest more primordial spirits in one go.
But why not wait a few more years, let the Blood Sphere keep working here, and avoid such risks—even the danger of attracting Spirit-Wandering experts?
Evan Yang thought of all this, but still couldn't figure out why. Only by catching the masked man would he know the truth. With a flash, he appeared in front of the Blood Sphere.
The Blood Sphere had just felt relieved that Evan Yang wouldn't do anything to it, but then saw him come right up and tap it a few times, discovering its power was completely sealed. Alarmed, it cried, "I'm innocent! Don't do this!"
"I'll let you go once we find him," Evan Yang said. But he had no intention of letting it go—after all, this ancient monster had killed so many people and lived for tens of thousands of years. Who knew how it might escape or frame him? Sealing it now was just an extra insurance for his own safety.
The Blood Sphere was extremely frustrated, begging over and over, promising to behave, but Evan Yang was unmoved and finally stored it away in his space.
When the others saw the Blood Sphere vanish, they all looked curiously at Evan Yang, wanting to know where it had gone. Evan answered calmly, "To keep it from escaping, I've used a special method to store it away."
"That's good. If that ancient monster suddenly escaped, we'd be in danger," one representative said. The others all agreed, approving of Evan Yang's approach.
"Let's check these tunnels for any sign of him. If we find nothing, we'll head outside." Evan Yang noticed many junctions connected to the outside and planned to investigate each one. Everyone nodded and followed him out.
These tunnels were all wide and long—otherwise, forty-plus people would have been packed to death inside.
Everyone activated their divine sense, and Evan Yang did the same, releasing over forty strands of divine sense.
They searched along the way, originally thinking they'd capture the masked man somewhere like they had with the Blood Sphere, then teach him a lesson and seal him up. But after a day, the group reached an underground palace—not tunnels, but actual buildings, with pillars spaced out to support the structure and prevent collapse.
"What the—?" Everyone was shocked—they hadn't expected to see such an underground palace.
They all looked around and found the palace was huge, with no idea how far it extended.
"Everyone be careful—this place seems strange." Suddenly, Evan Yang's four hundred strands of divine sense detected something floating in the air. It was dim and hard to see, and still far away. Those who hadn't noticed yet heard his warning and quickly grew alert.
Evan Yang headed toward one of the places where something was floating, walking over slowly.
When he finally got a clear look, he was stunned—the things floating in the air were actually insects. Because of the darkness, their color was impossible to tell.
When the others saw them, they were shocked and crowded around Evan Yang. But there were too many people, and Evan Yang was only one person, with just two flames—he couldn't protect everyone, so he could only stand there helplessly.
Just as everyone released their aura to prepare for battle, suddenly a swarm of insects flew out from inside the pillars.
"Not good! These pillars are hiding tons of insects." Evan Yang was alarmed to see so many insects emerging from the pillars, as if the pillars were their nests.
Everyone was terrified, especially since several pillars nearby had insects flying out, all targeting Evan Yang's group.
No matter how strong Evan Yang was, he could only handle a few at a time. These insects had incredible defense and speed; even with Evan Yang's skills, he could only deal with so many at once. Protecting everyone was impossible.
Everyone knew Evan Yang was doing his best and didn't blame him. Angry, they started attacking the insects like mad. Those weaker in strength couldn't withstand the attacks and screamed as their bodies shriveled—their primordial spirits snatched away in an instant.
Seeing their companions' tragic fate, everyone fought without holding back, afraid they'd be next.
While Evan Yang had his flames attack, he also used his qi to strike the insects. Though his attacks weren't strong enough to kill them all at once, he could at least push them back for a bit.
Everyone saw that any insect approaching Evan Yang would immediately get knocked back, only to charge forward again and then get knocked back once more.
No one knew how Evan Yang managed it, but the insects couldn't get close to him at all.
The others tried to use aura shields to block the insects, but the bugs were too fast and strong. The shields could only hold for a while, unless they poured in more spiritual power—which meant, at most, they'd last half an hour. If the insects kept coming, their primordial spirits would be taken for sure.
Everyone was praying Evan Yang would come up with a new way to deal with the insects.
Evan Yang had no idea what everyone else was thinking. All he wanted now was to wipe out the insects and carve a bloody path through them.
So he used his two flames to clear the way, while multiple strands of divine sense searched for places with fewer insects. The rest of his divine sense locked onto those approaching him, using qi to push them back.
Evan Yang had a system for self-restoring spiritual power, plus another for self-cultivation. His consumption was much less than others', so lasting a whole day was no problem for him.
Seeing Evan Yang clearing a path up ahead, everyone followed, using aura shields to protect themselves. They knew this would eventually kill them, but still preferred to buy more time and leave with Evan Yang.
But time was merciless. Depending on their recovery speed and spiritual power usage, some couldn't hold out. With a scream, one was attacked, their body shriveling as blood flowed out and their primordial spirit was snatched. The others could only watch helplessly—some even wore regretful expressions, cursing their choice to enter this strange space or to chase after the possibly fake Five-Spirit Pill.
Evan Yang was helpless too—if he couldn't carve a path out in a day, he'd have to use an aura shield like the others. But his spiritual power recovered faster, so he wouldn't die; at worst, he'd just keep searching for an exit.
Where there was one, there was soon another. As time passed, their numbers dropped from over forty to just thirty-something. Someone suggested they turn back and leave the tunnels.
But their divine sense detected even more insects gathering at the tunnel entrance—as if the bugs wanted to block it completely.
Seeing this, no one wanted to go there anymore. They could only follow Evan Yang forward, helplessly.
Evan Yang knew returning to the tunnel entrance was impossible. He understood the danger better than anyone—if more than four hundred insects attacked him at once, he'd be forced to use an aura shield just like the others.
Using an aura shield against hundreds or thousands of insects would drain spiritual power much faster than fighting just a few. Even with Evan Yang's strong recovery, it wouldn't be enough.
So Evan Yang never planned to retreat—he kept searching for another exit. As for everyone else's tragedy, there was nothing he could do; he could only keep moving forward. Meanwhile, his two flames were having a blast—any insect touched by the fire dropped to the ground.
Some were scorched black, others frozen. If anyone else came here, they'd find a path paved by dead insects.
Now, these people were walking on that insect-paved road, following Evan Yang and searching for hope.
Their numbers kept dwindling, down to just twenty-something. Some, unable to hold out, angrily burned their own primordial spirits, refusing to let the insects have it easy.
Burning a primordial spirit was like burning a pill before, only the energy in a primordial spirit was far greater—not something a pill could compare to.