Nie Kong’s specious reasoning held no water whatsoever with Mu Hongling. Finding the stone tablet before could perhaps be attributed to intuition, but activating the spirit patterns was something intuition could never explain!

The same held true now.

Even if Nie Kong had somehow judged the fifth fork as the exit through sheer instinct, there was no way he could possess the absolute certainty he displayed now. Intuition without any basis might prove correct once or twice, but it couldn't possibly remain accurate forever, especially when choosing among these forks meant the difference between life and death.

Nie Kong must have been aware of this point.

Since he remained so confident in his intuition, there could only be one explanation: he must have obtained information about Flaming Mountain before entering the "Prison Fire Nether Spring"!

Thinking this, Mu Hongling’s beautiful eyes fixed intensely on Nie Kong’s face, trying to decipher some clue. Alas, Nie Kong’s expression betrayed nothing unusual.

After a long moment, Mu Hongling sighed in slight defeat. “Oh well, since choosing any fork might be right or wrong, I’ll trust your intuition this time. Sister Bai, what about you? If you’ve also picked one, feel free to tell us.”

Bai Yuqing replied coolly, “My intuition is always wrong, so there’s no point in saying anything!”

“……” Mu Hongling was struck speechless.

Nie Kong laughed heartily. “Since neither of you objects, let’s set off then.” Saying this, Nie Kong’s figure flickered, and he had already entered the fifth fork.

Having made up her mind, Mu Hongling did not hesitate, immediately following up with Bai Yuqing.

After entering the fork, the trio proceeded for several dozen meters before stopping, turning back to look. Not long after, the exit of this fork indeed sealed itself completely. After waiting silently for a while longer, the fork did not reopen as it had during their earlier probe, further confirming their suspicions.

“……”

The three exchanged glances and continued forward.

This passage remained perfectly straight. After about another quarter of an hour, nine identical passages appeared before them again, exactly mirroring their previous encounter.

“We’ve circled back?” Mu Hongling frowned in confusion.

“No!” Bai Yuqing spoke calmly, raising a finger to point at the passage on the right. On the wall just outside that entrance, faint markings were inscribed. Upon closer inspection, they bore an uncanny resemblance to the character “Two.” These markings were very shallow, extremely difficult to spot without careful observation.

Mu Hongling suddenly understood, her face breaking into a relieved smile. “So this is Two, which means the path ahead is One. Disciple, it seems your intuition was correct.”

“That’s a relief.”

Nie Kong showed a smile, letting out a long breath.

When he had chosen the fifth fork earlier, Nie Kong had been full of confidence, but things were never certain. If any mishap had occurred, Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing would have been led into a death trap by him. Therefore, though Nie Kong appeared calm throughout the journey, he had actually been quite tense.

Fortunately, the outcome proved that the choice made with the half piece of the “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf” was the right one!

Mu Hongling arched an eyebrow at Nie Kong, making a gesture of invitation: “Disciple, it’s up to you again. Make your intuition shine!”

So, under the watchful eyes of Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing, Nie Kong spun around left and right again. Although after the previous choices Nie Kong had great faith in the guidance of the “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf,” the stakes—the lives of three people—demanded a few more checks before proceeding.

“The ninth one!”

Before long, Nie Kong announced the judgment of the “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf” while meeting the expectant gazes of Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing: “The ninth path!”……”

“Here we go again!”

A quarter of an hour later, Mu Hongling rubbed her forehead and sighed in frustration. Following the ninth passage to this point, nine completely identical forks had once again appeared before them. On the wall farthest to the right, there were also fine inscriptions, though this time they formed the character “Three.”

Bai Yuqing remained expressionless, but her eyes shifted toward Nie Kong……

Time flowed quietly by……

After a long while, Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling stopped once more, six eyes fixed on the nine passages before them. On the right wall, the dense cluster of fine markings had coalesced into the character “Nine,” signifying that they had just made eight consecutive correct choices!

Most importantly, those eight choices had all been correct, otherwise they wouldn't have arrived here.

“Nine times!”

Mu Hongling lamented, fiercely gripping the heart of the “Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon” with her five fingers. Bai Yuqing looked vacant but tightened her grip on her sword hilt.

Nie Kong chuckled. “Perhaps that’s why the ‘Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon’ warned us we’d regret it before its soul faded? In this place, after every correct move, nine paths appear. Even the sharpest intuition can guess right the first and second time, but it can’t be right nine times in a row. Good luck always runs out. One wrong step, even if all previous choices were perfect, renders it all meaningless.”

Mu Hongling nodded in agreement, but a sly smile then curled at the corner of her lips. “Disciple, you finally admit your choices aren’t coming from intuition?”

Bai Yuqing’s gaze toward Nie Kong also took on a strange quality.

In fact, both Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing were perfectly clear: if they hadn't relied on ‘intuition,’ they would never have made it this far. Take Mu Hongling, for instance; facing the first choice, without Nie Kong, she likely would have entered the ninth fork.

That was clearly a path to death!

“Huh?”

Nie Kong froze, realizing his words had inadvertently confessed to something. He let out a dry laugh. “Let me take another look at which path to take. Hopefully, this is the last one!” With that, he pretended not to notice Mu Hongling’s curious expression and began the tedious process of turning around.

“This time it’s the first one—let’s go!”

Nie Kong flashed into the fork first. Seeing this, Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing could only hurry to follow. Everyone had their secrets; if Nie Kong wouldn't speak, they couldn't just pry his mouth open and reach inside to pull out every secret he held hidden in his belly……

Following that violent upheaval, Flaming Mountain bore no resemblance to its former self. The once towering mountain body had collapsed, leaving behind a monstrously huge pit.

By this time, the disciples of Spirit Control City and Ink Snow Sect had all gathered at the edge of the massive crater.

Earlier, Lan Shang and Liu Hemeng, along with others, had searched the mountain from west to east, while Nie Fenghua and the other Ink Snow Sect disciples had searched from east to west, eventually converging here, yet they had never seen any sign of Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, or Mu Hongling.

Although they had anticipated such an outcome when Flaming Mountain began to collapse, they had held onto a sliver of hope then.

But now, the results of the search had completely extinguished that last shred of luck in everyone’s hearts. There was no longer any doubt: Nie Kong and the other two had perished within Flaming Mountain.

Everyone gazed into the gaping crater, deathly silent.

It wasn't necessarily because of deep affection for Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing; rather, they were all fellow sect members, and only a few days had passed in this realm compared to the two months spent inside the “Prison Fire Nether Spring.” Two out of the ten Spirit Control City disciples were already lost—hardly an auspicious sign.

After a long silence, Lan Shang finally managed a bitter laugh. “Junior Brother Nie Kong and Junior Sister Yuqing are both gone. How are we supposed to report this to the Hall Master when we get out?”

“We’ll just tell the truth,” Liu Hemeng sighed.

“……”

The group descended the dramatically altered Flaming Mountain, gradually moving away……

“The real exit is just ahead!”

After another fifteen minutes, the sight at the end of their vision was no longer nine identical forks, but an expanse of blood-red void rippling incessantly like disturbed water. Seeing this sight, Mu Hongling’s eyes lit up, and she couldn’t hold back, waving her small fists in celebration.

Nie Kong also felt a surge of joy. The closer they got to the front exit, the more intensely the “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf” in his pet pack trembled. It was highly likely that whatever was attracting the leaf was located beyond that exit, though that location equally carried the possibility of hidden dangers.

“This time, nobody tries to snatch it from me!”

A cyan blur flashed, and Nie Kong appeared ahead of Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling, rushing toward the exit like a wisp of smoke. As he moved, his body was rapidly enveloped by the stems and leaves of the “Purple Luo Phantom Spirit Incense,” and the moment he plunged into the exit, his figure was completely encased in dark energy.

“Thud!”

As if a massive stone had dropped into a lake, the void shuddered violently, and Nie Kong’s figure vanished within it. When Nie Kong reappeared, he found himself in a vast hall. Eighteen thick pillars stood tall on either side, firmly supporting the hall’s roof.

In the center of the hall rested an octagonal platform over ten meters high, ascending in tiers of steps. Something was placed upon that platform, emitting a crimson brilliance that scattered in all directions, illuminating the vast hall with a dazzling, dreamlike sheen.

“Buzz!”

“Buzz!”

Two resonant hums sounded—it was Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling appearing almost simultaneously around Nie Kong.

“Oh, you disobedient disciple! Rushing ahead of your master! Showing no respect for your elders at all!” Mu Hongling glared fiercely, her eyes wide.

“Sister Bai and I both rushed first this time; we’ll let you go next time!”

Nie Kong laughed heartily and quickly shifted the topic. “Little Master, did you see the red light on that platform? There might be a treasure there; don't you want to go take a look?”

Mu Hongling turned her gaze toward the platform, indeed captivated. She smiled broadly. “We should certainly look… But if there is truly a treasure, you and Sister Bai can split it. Having this ‘Dragon Heart’ is enough for me.” She patted the heart of the “Prison Fire Soul Heavenly Dragon” in her palm, looking perfectly content.

“No treasure is better than the sword in my hand!” Bai Yuqing commented dismissively after just a glance.

“Looks like it will only benefit me then!”

Nie Kong laughed aloud and strode toward the platform. Since entering this hall, the “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf” in his pet pack had been pointing directly toward that platform. If his guess was correct, the object emitting the red glow atop the platform was likely what had been attracting that piece of the “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf.”

Ascending the steps quickly, when Nie Kong took in the entire view atop the platform, a single red leaf entered his sight……