As soon as Bai Lingli appeared in the stone chamber, Ye Xin and the others immediately channeled their soul power, rushing to Lin Qian's side, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
Zhao Long, holding his Tai Long spear, dashed over to stand beside Lin Qian, his face filled with rage as he glared at Bai Lingli.
Earlier, he had also noticed the presence of these damned Swift-Hidden Clan members, but the emperor's voice in his mind had instructed him not to act rashly. Otherwise, he would have already charged forward and turned this guy, who dared to plot against the emperor, into a pincushion!
As Zhao Long had thought, Lin Qian had long known that these Swift-Hidden Clan members were heading towards the fortress. The small world was now teeming with the Empire's scout beasts, and any movement was immediately reported by Zhuge Ming.
The Swift-Hidden Clan members had emerged from the same place where the Black Blade Fish Clan had previously disappeared and made their way here.
Although their talent allowed them to hide their presence, it consumed a significant amount of soul power, so they hadn't used it while traveling.
As a result, they had been under Lin Qian's surveillance the entire time!
"You don't seem surprised by our arrival," Bai Lingli remarked, noticing Lin Qian's calm demeanor and frowning in suspicion.
Boom!
At that moment, the stone chamber shook violently, causing everyone except Lin Qian and Zhao Long to react in alarm.
Large chunks of rock fell from the entrance they had come through, and in no time, it had completely collapsed, blocking the exit entirely.
"Don't worry, it was done by my people outside, following my orders, just in case," Lin Qian explained to the startled Ye Xin and the others. "After all, we can't let a single one of these Swift-Hidden Clan members escape."
With that, Lin Qian turned to Bai Lingli, smiling but saying nothing more.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Lin Qian had prepared thoroughly, even sealing off the exit to prevent any of the Swift-Hidden Clan members from getting away.
The stone chamber was also protected by various formations, such as the one preventing them from flying within the chamber.
Due to these formations, the entire stone chamber was incredibly sturdy.
Although the formations were crudely set up and had weakened significantly over time, they were still formidable. Breaking through them wouldn't be easy.
If the Swift-Hidden Clan members wanted to escape, they could try to destroy the formations and break through to the surface.
But with Lin Qian and the others there, the Swift-Hidden Clan wouldn't succeed.
"Impossible. You're in this underground chamber, surrounded by the formations laid by our ancestors. How could you have detected our presence?" Bai Lingli shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed on Lin Qian. "It must be the inherited artifact sensing our arrival, causing it to react and alert you, right?"
As he spoke, Bai Lingli pointed towards the winged crystal sphere—the Swift-Hidden Clan's inherited artifact.
At that moment, the gentle breeze around the artifact intensified, and the green hue of the wind became richer. The wings on the crystal sphere flapped more vigorously, seemingly in response to Bai Lingli.
Bai Lingli's words made the others realize the situation and brought a hint of joy to their faces. The Swift-Hidden Clan's invisibility was indeed troublesome.
But now, with the inherited artifact acting as a guide, they could track their enemies wherever they went. Wasn't the artifact helping them?
"Do you think that with the inherited artifact, you can find us?" Bai Lingli sneered, his mocking laughter echoing in the chamber. "That's only because we were grouped together, making our aura too strong to hide."
"Disperse!"
With a wave of Bai Lingli's hand, Lin Qian clearly sensed the previously grouped Swift-Hidden Clan members scattering.
At the same time, the wings on the inherited artifact stopped flapping towards Bai Lingli and began to move erratically, just as they had before.
Seeing this change, the others' faces darkened, while Bai Lingli's smile grew smug.
"The area we're in now is likely not the entire small world, but just a region. And in the southernmost area, a group appeared about an hour ago." As Bai Lingli's smug smile spread, Lin Qian's voice cut through the chamber.
"The leader of that group is you—a Swift-Hidden Clan member in the Life and Death Realm, Mind Stage—and you brought 200 of your clan members, all of whom are now in this stone chamber."
"Along the way, your group encountered and killed 364 different soul beasts, 127 of which were slain by you. And among your group, two Swift-Hidden Clan members particularly caught my attention."
With that, Lin Qian suddenly pointed to his left. "These two must be twin brothers, who seem to have mastered a joint attack technique. They've killed a hundred soul beasts, which is quite impressive."
"But I have to say, there aren't many female members in your group—only fourteen."
Lin Qian's words left Bai Lingli in shock, fear spreading through his body as he stared at the human youth before him in disbelief.
How could this be?
How did the enemy know so much about their movements? How could they know exactly how many soul beasts they had killed along the way?
And how could they possibly know about the other clan members who hadn't revealed themselves?
At this moment, Bai Lingli even wondered if there was a spy in his group.
"And you're incredibly foolish for bringing all your people here without a second thought," Lin Qian laughed. "If I were you, I'd have left some people outside. Not only to stand guard but also to report back if nothing happened after a while."
"But even if you did that, my people would still slaughter them."
With that, Lin Qian turned and walked towards the inherited artifact, reaching out to grab it.
Seeing Lin Qian reach for their clan's treasured artifact, Bai Lingli couldn't help but sneer, assuming that his previous taunts had gone unnoticed.
As Lin Qian's hand drew near the artifact, a powerful ancient will suddenly surged from it, accompanied by a thunderous voice: "My descendants are here, yet a mere human dares to steal our clan's inheritance? Begone!"