I asked you to go down the mountain and get married, not to shock the world!

Dragging along the Qingcheng Yufa Sect disciple, whose face was filled with grief and indignation yet who was powerless to resist, Ji Zhou and Ye Chuhan carefully made their way out through the winding passage.

With the destruction of the core crystal, the eerie aura that had lingered in the passage had completely dissipated, leaving only deathly silence.

When the two emerged from a narrow exit hidden by dense vines, the scene before them was completely different.

The trees grew taller and more vigorous, the spiritual energy became richer and wilder, and an ancient and dangerous scent permeated the air, with the occasional chilling roar of beasts echoing from afar.

They have indeed reached the core area.

Ye Chuhan couldn't help but sigh.

"Sigh, we finally managed to escape from the core area, and now we have to go back in."

He shook his head and Ji Zhou said, "Alright, enough talk. Let's quickly revert to our original identities. That will make it easier for Luo Yang and the others to find us."

Ye Chuhan pursed her lips, and after regaining her original appearance, she casually lifted the dejected hostage in her hand. "Hey, how do you usually communicate? Is there any specific signal or meeting point?"

The disciple stuck out his neck, looking stubbornly determined to say, "I'd rather die than tell."

Ye Chuhan wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and leaned closer to him, whispering, "You don't have to tell me. The monsters in this core area are incredibly powerful. If we run into them later, I'll throw you out as bait, and we'll run away. Guess what? Will they find you first, or will those monsters make you their snack?"

The disciple's face turned deathly pale instantly, his lips trembled, but he ultimately succumbed to the threat of reality and whispered.

"...We agreed that if we got separated, we could meet up at the edge of a rift valley to the northeast where we could hear the sound of water..."

"Why didn't you cooperate like this earlier?" Ye Chuhan nodded in satisfaction, exchanged a glance with Ji Zhou, and the two immediately headed northeast.

Sure enough, as Ye Chuhan approached the edge of the rift valley where the sound of flowing water could be heard and the vegetation was exceptionally lush, he keenly sensed several suppressed spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from within.

One of the techniques was particularly powerful and familiar; it belonged to Luo Yang!

In a secluded spot beneath the rift valley, Luo Yang's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

He and his remaining disciples searched for a long time, but not only did they fail to find any trace of Ji Zhou and Ye Chuhan, they also encountered several powerful monsters while crossing the core area.

Although the problem was solved, one disciple was lost, and the others were injured to varying degrees, resulting in low morale.

"Senior Brother Luo Yang, could they have already..." a disciple couldn't help but ask.

"Shut up!" Luo Yang interrupted irritably. "I want to see them alive or dead!"

Just then, a faint rustling sound of branches and leaves came from above.

"Who?!" Luo Yang suddenly looked up, a fierce glint in his eyes. All the disciples instantly went on alert, their spiritual energy surging.

Then they saw a familiar face, dragging their disheveled fellow disciples, nimbly sliding down the ravine!

"Ye Chuhan!!"

"Yo, Fellow Daoist Luo, how have you been?" Ye Chuhan chuckled, casually tossing the disciple to the ground. "Here you are, returned to its rightful owner... well, though he may have been a little frightened."

Jizhou also regained his original appearance and calmly looked at Luo Yang and the others who instantly entered a battle stance.

"It's you!" Luo Yang's pupils shrank sharply, both shocked and furious.

He never expected that these two people would not only not escape, but would instead come looking for him and capture his men!

"What do you want?!"

"Don't be nervous." Ji Zhou stepped forward, his tone calm, his gaze sweeping over Luo Yang and the disciples behind him who looked at him with surprise and resentment. "We're not here to fight, we're here to discuss cooperation."

"Cooperate?" Luo Yang sneered as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "You? Cooperate with our Qingcheng Yufa Sect? That's just wishful thinking!"

"Whether it's wishful thinking or not, you might as well listen to it first." Ji Zhou was not angry and cut straight to the point. "We just destroyed a strange crystal core that devoured spiritual power somewhere underground in this core area through a secret passage."

Upon hearing this, Luo Yang and the others' expressions all changed.

Although they did not directly encounter the black tentacles, the rumors within the sect about the existence of unknown ferocious creatures in the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts were not unfounded.

"You...you really destroyed that thing?" a disciple couldn't help but ask in a trembling voice.

Ye Chuhan crossed his arms smugly: "Otherwise what? How do you think we caught this unlucky guy? We rescued him from the cocoon formed by those tentacles! If it weren't for us, he would have been drained dry by now!"

The rescued disciple collapsed to the ground, bowing his head in shame, which was considered an admission of guilt.

Luo Yang's eyes flickered, his heart filled with shock.

If what Jizhou said is true, then the strength and methods of these two people are indeed far beyond his expectations.

But he remained defiant: "So what? Does it prove you're somewhat capable? But what does that have to do with our cooperation?"

“It has a lot to do with it.” Ji Zhou looked sharply at Luo Yang. “We suspect that the crystal is just the tip of the iceberg of the strange events in the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts. There are even more dangerous and powerful beings deeper inside.”

"With just the two of us, or even just you two, it would be difficult to handle. The final result might be the same as those missing teams before, disappearing without a trace."

He paused, then emphasized, "Think of your fallen comrades, think of the dangers of this core area."

"Should we continue to fight amongst ourselves here for orders from above, until we are all wiped out; or should we temporarily put aside our differences, join forces to investigate the truth, and at least... bring the intelligence back alive?"

The rift valley was completely silent, save for the gurgling water and heavy breathing.

Luo Yang's expression shifted constantly; Ji Zhou's words struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

He certainly wanted to complete the task assigned by the sect leader, but he knew even better that if they couldn't resolve the real crisis in the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts, they might all die here.

Which is more important, the mission or the lives of your fellow disciples?

The disciples behind him exchanged glances, many of them showing a mixture of excitement and fear.

After a long silence, Luo Yang finally took a deep breath and stared intently at Ji Zhou: "How do you want to cooperate?"

Jizhou knew he was tempted.

“It’s very simple,” Ji Zhou said in a deep voice. “Share information and explore the core area together. If danger arises, join forces to fight the enemy. Strike a truce for now until the truth is revealed and the crisis is resolved. As for what happens after we get out… it’s up to each of us to do our part.”

Luo Yang met Ji Zhou's sharp gaze, as if trying to see through his heart.

Jizhou looked back calmly, his eyes clear and firm.

Finally, Luo Yang slowly uttered a single word...

"it is good!"

A temporary and fragile alliance was thus formed on the edge of the perilous core area of ​​the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts.