Qian Ling instantly understood his meaning, her willow eyebrows knitting into a frown.
"You mean they have an ambush waiting for us outside?"
Though she had anticipated that the other party wouldn't give up easily, direct confrontation would be tantamount to declaring war on the Ling Luo Domain.
Therefore, Qian Ling had not considered this possibility until now.
Ye Yun shrugged his shoulders and said, "Based on my estimation, not only is there an ambush, but they must also be confident enough to capture all of us!"
Upon hearing this, Qian Ling's expression changed slightly.
"With our numbers, plus the reinforcements outside, to have such confidence in wiping us out completely would require at least the elite forces of the Qian Yuan Domain to be deployed, or for the Star Lord of Qian Yuan to come in person."
"That's hard to say."
Ye Yun spread his hands, gazing at the blue gate in the distance.
"In any case, my intuition tells me they won't give up so easily."
In this world, there were always some crazy individuals, and the Star Lord of Qian Yuan was likely one of them.
Thinking back, if they wanted to deal with the Ling Luo Domain, this secret realm exploration would be a prime opportunity.
However, he was also puzzled: would they truly dare to deploy all their elites? Or would the Star Lord of Qian Yuan himself appear?
"If what you say is true, then we are truly in danger..."
Qian Ling's delicate face turned as gloomy as water. She couldn't be sure what insane actions the Qian Yuan Domain might take.
At this moment, Ye Yun casually sat down, took out a recovery pill, and said calmly.
"In any case, let's recover our strength first. No matter what tricks they play, we can face them at our peak."
"Yes, that makes sense."
Qian Ling nodded, then looked back at the Ling Luo Domain members behind her.
"Everyone, you've all heard. Rest and recover here."
"Yes!"
In the previous battle, to trap that Minotaur, everyone's divine power had been greatly depleted.
Even with the help of pills, it would take some time to fully recover to their peak.
For a while, the secret realm fell silent, with only the faint sound of flowing divine power.
...
Outside the secret realm, Qian Kong and his group emerged.
The Qian Yuan Domain members guarding the entrance rushed forward with surprise and joy.
"Lord Qian Kong, you're finally out. How was it inside?"
Qian Kong, who was in a foul mood, ignored them and simply snorted.
"Stop the nonsense, everyone, we're withdrawing!"
With that, he directly led his team away.
The people outside were all bewildered, wondering what had provoked Lord Qian Kong.
But they still followed orders and left the area.
Only the Ling Luo Domain members remained, looking at the still-closed blue gate, filled with confusion.
"What's going on? Those guys are out, why is Princess Qian Ling and the others still not here?"
"Could something have happened?"
"Go away, you jinx! Princess Qian Ling has great fortune, how could she perish in a place like this?"
"Exactly, there must be something delaying them."
...
Elsewhere, after leading his team away, Qian Kong quickly arrived at another mountain valley.
As soon as he arrived, he heard a teasing female voice from not far away.
"Well, well, Lord Qian Kong, why the long face? Did you suffer a great loss?"
As the voice faded, a figure in a black robe emerged from the shadows, smiling at Qian Kong.
Seeing the black-robed woman, Qian Kong snorted.
"If it were you, you wouldn't be any better off."
He retorted, but the black-robed woman smiled faintly, unperturbed.
Then, she turned and asked with a smile, "Alright, tell me, when will the target emerge?"
She had traveled a long distance for this, primarily for the treasure, not to bicker with him.
Hearing this, Qian Kong turned to look in the direction of the distant secret realm and said calmly.
"Soon, I expect. The matter inside is concluded, and they could come out at any moment."
After speaking, he remembered something and added.
"By the way, there's a Star God level individual inside who is not simple. They possess a high-tier divine artifact that can unleash attacks comparable to a twenty-tier Celestial God. You and your people should be wary, lest you be ambushed."
For any other mission, he would certainly not reveal such information, opting instead to let the woman suffer a hidden loss.
But now, it concerned a large amount of treasure and the will of the Star Lord. It was a mission where no mistakes could be afforded, so he directly disclosed the intelligence.
The black-robed woman was momentarily stunned, and then her eyes revealed a greedy glint.
"High-tier divine artifact? Interesting, very interesting!"
Her smile gradually intensified, as if she had encountered something incredibly fortunate.
"It seems this trip was truly worthwhile. If I can obtain a high-tier divine artifact, it would truly be..."
If there was anything that could allow a divine-level expert to fight above their weight class, it would be the suppression provided by a divine artifact.
Therefore, the preciousness of high-tier divine artifacts was self-evident.
Qian Kong looked at her and frowned, asking.
"Speaking of which, have you finished preparing the formation your side was supposed to set up?"
Although the formation might not have much direct offensive power, it would be a good choice for support.
Otherwise, with only those below the twenty-tier Celestial God among them, they might not be able to completely deal with those people.
The black-robed woman's lips curved upwards, and she said confidently.
"Of course. To establish an absolute advantage, we've put in a great deal of effort to set up this vast net! Now, all we need is for them to step into it!"
Hearing this, Qian Kong nodded. Then, his gaze fixed on the distance, and killing intent appeared in his eyes.
"My esteemed guests from the Ling Luo Domain, the game has only just begun!"
...
Inside the secret realm gate.
Ye Yun and his group were unaware of the truly lavish 'gift' being prepared for them outside.
With their meditation and the aid of pills, Ye Yun's depleted divine power gradually recovered, and his eyes slowly opened.
"Star Lord Ye, we are all ready. Shall we charge out now?"
At this moment, Qian Ling stood up and looked at Ye Yun.
Ye Yun sighed and stood up as well.
"Alright, since we can't stay here forever. It's meaningless."
Looking around, it seemed that due to the prolonged stay, the once stable space was beginning to crack.
If nothing unexpected happened, this small world would collapse on its own before long, and they needed to leave as soon as possible.
Qian Ling nodded heavily, then looked at the other Ling Luo Domain members and shouted loudly.
"Everyone, follow me out and prepare for battle!"
"Yes!"
The group responded in unison.
At this point, they had come to understand: if the Qian Yuan Domain dared to attack them, they would make sure to take a piece of them, even if it meant death!