A little over ten minutes later,
Ye Feng and his companions arrived at a cave entrance, with a cliff platform ahead.
The mountain here contained some sort of special mineral, and the entire passage was illuminated by fluorescent gems, so Ye Feng and the others didn't need to use flashlights.
To the surprise of Ye Feng and his three companions, a rather bright yellow light emanated from the cliff platform ahead, and it wasn't the slightly murky fluorescence of countless gems.
"I didn't expect the arcane energy lighting system in this place to still be functional!"
"You two did well. Rest assured, Lord Ares will not mistreat you!"
"Thank you, Divine Servant, sir!"
"Thank you, Divine Servant, sir!"
As Ye Feng and his group walked, voices suddenly carried from the cliff platform ahead.
Upon hearing these voices, Wu Ye Lin, who had been following Ye Feng at a distance due to the stench, suddenly quickened her pace and moved to Ye Feng's side.
"What is it?"
Ye Feng opened his mouth and asked in a very low voice.
Wu Ye Lin did not reply. She made a shushing gesture to Ye Feng and lightly trod towards the cliff platform.
Ye Feng frowned slightly and followed.
...
Soon,
Ye Feng and his four companions reached the cliff platform and looked down.
Below, they saw a large cavern with three figures moving about.
"Hmm?"
Ye Feng's expression showed slight surprise.
His eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people, and coupled with the numerous old light bulbs in the cavern below the cliff platform, which provided decent illumination, Ye Feng could see two young men whose appearances were quite similar to that of Huang Heshan, even from a distance.
"People from the Huang family?"
Ye Feng furrowed his brow and shifted his gaze to a tall figure standing in front of the two young men.
The figure was clad in a large black cloak, and with their back to Ye Feng, their appearance could not be discerned.
"It really is Huang Yiyuan and Huang Qiaoyin!"
At this moment, Wu Ye Lin's voice, deliberately lowered, rang out.
"Huang Yiyuan and Huang Qiaoyin? Those two elder brothers of Huang Heshan?"
Ye Feng turned to look at Wu Ye Lin, who was observing with a monocular telescope. He recalled that she had mentioned them before.
"Yes!"
Wu Ye Lin nodded. "The one on the left with a jagged scar on his face is Huang Yiyuan, and the one on the right, Huang Qiaoyin, with a sharp and sour-looking countenance, like a woman. We hadn't heard from them before; I didn't expect them to have penetrated so deeply into the Giant Ruins..."
"Divine Servant, sir, am I... are we going in the right direction?"
"We've been walking in this pitch-black place for a long time!"
At this moment, Huang Qiaoyin's somewhat uncertain voice echoed.
"What, are you scared?"
The tall figure in the black cloak stopped abruptly, turned, and looked at Huang Qiaoyin.
"Big Brother, it's the Kobold Strongman!"
Almost simultaneously, a small exclamation reached Ye Feng's ears.
"It... it really is..."
Seeing the not-unfamiliar dog's head beneath the black cloak, Ye Feng was also quite surprised.
"No... no..."
"Divine... Divine Servant, sir, you've misunderstood. I... I just wanted to reach our destination faster!"
Stared at by the Kobold Strongman, Huang Qiaoyin's face turned pale with fright, and his speech became incoherent.
"Young man, it's normal to fear the dark..."
The Kobold Strongman gently pinched Huang Qiaoyin's cheek. Huang Qiaoyin's face turned even paler, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Don't worry, the direction is correct!"
The Kobold Strongman chuckled eerily and withdrew his right hand. Then, he lightly raised his left hand and gently shook a small vial he was holding.
Instantly, a wisp of black mist emerged from the mouth of the vial and drifted in a certain direction, precisely the direction the Kobold Strongman, Huang Yiyuan, and Huang Qiaoyin had been moving.
"Hoo!"
Seeing the Kobold Strongman turn and continue forward, Huang Qiaoyin couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief and hastily wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Beside Huang Qiaoyin, Huang Yiyuan, whose body had been tense, also relaxed. He shot Huang Qiaoyin an annoyed glance and quickly followed the Kobold Strongman's steps.
Huang Qiaoyin dared not fall too far behind and also hurried after them...
On the cliff platform,
"Niu, how did Huang Yiyuan and Huang Qiaoyin end up with the Kobold Strongman?"
Ye Feng asked Wu Ye Lin with considerable confusion.
"I'm not too sure either!"
Wu Ye Lin looked equally perplexed. She shook her head. "The information we had before was that Huang Heshan, Huang Yiyuan, and Huang Qiaoyin would all come to the Giant Ruins for training..."
"But later, for some reason, Huang Yiyuan and Huang Qiaoyin said they would arrive a few days later..."
"Now it seems they weren't arriving a few days later, but rather had reached some sort of deal with that... Kobold Strongman and had taken the lead in reaching these Giant Ruins..."
Wu Ye Lin looked in the direction Huang Yiyuan and Huang Qiaoyin had departed and answered quickly.
"Ye Feng, Huang Heshan was beaten to that extent, yet Huang Yiyuan and Huang Qiaoyin, who are known as the Iron Brothers alongside Huang Heshan, have never come to trouble you. This is likely because of this... They probably don't know that Huang Heshan was beaten by you..."
"And judging from the situation just now, it's unlikely that the Huang family sent their most outstanding three brothers here just for training in the Giant Ruins; they probably have some specific objective!"
She paused and added.
"The Huang family's three brothers are divided into two groups: Huang Heshan is with you, and Huang Yiyuan and Huang Qiaoyin are with the Kobold Strongman... This is likely a strategy of open and covert operations..."
Ye Feng frowned slightly and continued.
"This... Huang Heshan caused me quite a bit of trouble along the way... slowing down the entire team's progress!"
"I initially thought it was just his usual spoiled brat, scoundrel behavior. Now it seems..."
As Ye Feng said this, Wu Ye Lin recalled what had happened before and suddenly realized something was amiss.
Huang Heshan wasn't just causing trouble; he was deliberately delaying her arrival at the Giant Ruins. If Ye Feng hadn't inadvertently intervened... she would likely have arrived several days later...
"Ye Feng, their objective might also be the Divine Rune Stone. Let's hurry and chase after them!"
Unable to help herself, Wu Ye Lin urged Ye Feng somewhat anxiously.
"Ye Feng, the Divine Servant, meaning the Kobold Strongman you mentioned, his appearance here indicates that there is likely something related to the Main God here!"
"And the small vial the Divine Servant just took out to indicate direction was likely taken from the Hellhound skeleton we saw earlier!"
"My previous speculation that someone skilled in concealing their tracks arrived at the Giant Ruins before us... is most likely them!"
Qiao Ying explained her analysis.
"Mhm!"
Ye Feng nodded. "Let's go!"
Soon, Ye Feng and his three companions descended the cliff platform along the steep face. Despite the whistling wind in the cavern, Ye Feng and his companions moved with considerable stealth.
"Careful!"
As the four approached the cave entrance where the Kobold Strongman, Huang Yiyuan, and Huang Qiaoyin had entered, Ye Feng's expression changed slightly.
This was because dazzling runes suddenly erupted from the ground beneath his feet – it was a series of arcane talismans...