They came upon the group; Chen Linjian noticed and immediately came before them. Turning to Nie Tai, he asked, "Are you okay? What was that?"
"I'm okay. I'm not sure; it's never happened before. How's the search going?" Replied Nie Tai, trying to ease the male's worries.
"Hmph, it seems that you are truly worried about your brother. I mean, it is understandable when considering how strong he is compared to the demon-beasts," commented Chu Yuan. His voice trembled from the effort of speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. The male stood on shaky legs and approached Nie Tai slowly.
Unconcerned by Huyan Lanruo's glare, he continued, "A Two-Star Bronze-Rank is nothing compared to a Five-Star Silver-Rank. I bet he is dead: smashed to bits by the Giant Blue-Armed Ape!"
Some of the crowd started murmuring; others ignored the spectacle by digging. Nie Tai smiled maliciously, instantly terrifying Chu Yuan, and said in a deceptively sweet voice, "How about we bet then? That is, if you can offer anything that I may want."
The male's eyebrow madly twitched, but he could not think of anything that he would be willing to bet with Nie Tai. Sighing, the redhead continued, "Well, I guess you really aren't that confident in your words. Who would've guessed that such a noble would be full of hot air."
Growling, Chu Yuan viciously summoned a bottle from his spacial ring. Waving it in front of Nie Tai, he said, "I bet these elixirs! They are the newest product—created by my family—from Purple Haze Grass!"
Gasps of shock rang among the group, even those digging were glancing over. Nie Tai's smile remained as she took out two bottles and said, "I've no need."
This small gesture shook Chu Yuan to his core. He was told that these pills were nearly six thousand demon-spirit coins apiece! How did she get two bottles?! He had to beg his father and brother to get one; even then, he had to work harder at cultivating!
Chen Linjian watched with an amazed gaze; he was constantly being surprised. The confident nobel quickly regained his composure as one of the diggers announced that he found something. Shaking her head with a smile on her face, Nie Tai said, "I guess that you have nothing else to offer. Well, I'm going to go greet my brother and Ye Ziyun. Keep your pathetic pills, Chu Yuan."
Nie Tai calmly strode over to the growing hole. There was a path down into the darkness; the stairs having long since turned to dirt. Chen Linjian happily greeted Nie Li and Ye Ziyun as he walked down into the pit. Nie Tai glanced at her brother and saw him grin: he got the demon-spirit. Nie Tai couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. The demon-spirit was a Shadow Devi: a very mysterious demon-spirit that had the most interesting of techniques. She knew of only seven in existence; however, she did not know where the other six were.
Nie Li walked up to his sister and whispered so that no one else could hear, "There are two."
The shock shown on her face for a split second, gaining the attention of Chen Linjian. She quickly recovered; slinging an arm over her twin's shoulder, Nie Tai said, "Xiao Li! You must tell me of your journey!"
Quickly, Nie Tai drug her twin away. Seeing the redheads walk away, Chen Linjian shook his head in confusion as he directed the group to quickly gather the treasure. Nie Li shouted to Chen Linjian, "This is all the treasure that we found! There are only traps and death waiting for you elsewhere!"
Biu Hao, who was staring at the piles of gold and gems, paled when he turned to the dark passage on the opposite side of the room. Walking out of the earth, the two passed by Huyan Lanruo, but the pinkette was too busy biting her nails in nervousness to even notice them. When they reached the edge of the forest, Nie Tai released him and seriously asked, "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," she could feel his uncertainty through the bond, "I found a casket with indecipherable writing. I copied it for you to read, but my copy turned to dust when I opened the casket. The page from the Temporal Demon-Spirit Book was the only thing within Emperor Kong Ming's casket..."
"The most mysterious person from the time of the Sacred Empire," muttered Nie Tai, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Her aquamarine eyes settled on her twin's, "Why was the bond created? And what do you mean that there are two?"
"I believe both to be the result of the pulse from the page. Now that I think of it, Ye Ziyun found several demon-spirits of the same species; maybe, just maybe, the Shadow Devil wasn't the only one affected. If the page acts as a mirror or gateway between our souls, it may do something similar to demon-spirits as a side effect."
"Let me see." Nie Tai requested, stepping closer to her brother. Complying, he summoned the Shadow Devil Lamp from his spatial ring and held it while Nie Tai observed it. Muttering, she said, "This should be impossible, but they are identical."
Turning her attention back to her brother, she asked while he put the Shadow Devil Lamp away, "We were the only humans affected?"
"As far as I can tell. Ye Ziyun couldn't even get close to the casket," he replied.
"We are only here because of the Temporal Demon-Spirit Book, so that might be why we were the only humans affected by the pulse. Well, that or our cultivation technique," muttered Nie Tai, who was staring at her brother's spatial ring.
"Hmm, let's head back to the group. I've some troubling news." Said Nie Li. His seriousness stifled Nie Tai's curiosity as the two walked back to the group.
Heya! Thank you so much for reading; I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Please, tell me what you think.
Have a nice day! :)