Su Luo knew very well that they couldn't escape.
Shang Xie Shaoqing and Chu Tianshu exchanged glances, understanding that the pill must not be taken.
Just as they hesitated whether to act, Su Luo stepped forward, picked up a pill, and said proudly, "We, the Eleven members of the Mischievous Devils, came to participate in the competition, originally for fun. Why would we fear these things?! We certainly wouldn't miss such an interesting event."
As soon as she finished speaking, she swallowed the pill in one gulp.
Chu Tianshu almost cried out when he saw Su Luo eat the pill without hesitation.
This was poison, how could she eat it!
Su Luo quickly glanced at the others, giving them a reassuring look, and said, "Don't worry, the City Lord wants our help, so he wouldn't harm us. Come, everyone take this medicine, and you'll know what kind of interesting mission it is."
"Good, you have courage! So you are the Eleven members of the Mischievous Devils..."
Sima Kun's face twitched slightly, but he still said with a smile, "This City Lord has heard of your reputations, and you are indeed extraordinary. I wonder about the others? And what are the titles of your esteemed masters or mentors?"
He had previously sent people to monitor them, but he never expected them to participate in the competition and deliver themselves to his doorstep.
Now, looking at them, they were just a bunch of brats!
He guessed that their elders or mentors were somewhat capable, having taught such arrogant, presumptuous, and ignorant juniors. But for him, it was precisely this kind of personality that was easier to control and manipulate; if used well, they would be excellent pawns.
"My other senior brothers and sisters are not interested in this and went to play elsewhere. My master, however, is renowned throughout the four seas. Although he is now in seclusion, City Lord must have heard of his venerable name. Emperor Haotian, he is our master!" Shang Xie Shaoqing said smugly.
Sima Kun's expression changed slightly: "What, Emperor Haotian?"
He certainly knew of this great figure, but he didn't believe it at all.
What kind of person was Emperor Haotian?
His reputation was illustrious and resounding, but the Emperor had disappeared for over fifty thousand years and had long since faded from public view. How could he still be alive? Even if he were alive, he wouldn't take a few unruly and out-of-touch brats as disciples.
It must be some shameless old demon who impersonated Emperor Haotian's name to trick them into becoming disciples.
"Heh heh, so you are disciples of the Great Emperor, my apologies, my apologies!"
Sima Kun lied with his eyes open, feigning surprise and saying, "No wonder your cultivation is so high and your techniques are so profound. It turns out you are highly accomplished disciples trained by the Great Emperor. If this City Lord can get your help, great things can be accomplished, but this medicine..."
Su Luo naturally understood his meaning and said indifferently, "The City Lord already knows of my master's reputation, would he still dare to harm us? Come, come, everyone, take this medicine first, it's nothing."
She held out four black pills and offered them to Chu Tianshu.
"Junior Sister, really..." Although Chu Tianshu guessed that Su Luo wouldn't harm him, he was still uncertain.
Would it really be okay after taking this poison?
"Second Senior Brother, don't you still trust me?" Su Luo blinked to hint at him.
In fact, she was already prepared.
The pills were definitely problematic, containing the eggs of black worms. Once the pill was taken, it would melt rapidly, and the worm eggs would hatch within fifteen minutes, burrowing into the brain to continue growing. Even if they were vomited out later, it would be too late.
But Su Luo had already sealed these five pills with the Fengshen Jue.
As long as the pills were vomited out within an hour, they would remain intact and cause no harm to the body.
Chu Tianshu naturally trusted Su Luo, so he picked up the pill and swallowed it.
Subsequently, Wen Daier, Lu Jixing, and Shang Xie Shaoqing all took the pills, and Sima Kun was completely relieved.
As a Beast Tamer with a Spirit King cultivation, his greatest expertise was controlling various poisonous insects. As long as the black worms burrowed into their brains, they would lose their senses, become dazed, and absolutely obedient.
They would live if he wanted them to live, and die if he wanted them to die, completely under his control, so he didn't have to worry about them ruining his plans.
"Good, since you are all willing to keep the secret, guards!"
With a command from Sima Kun, his confidantes brought out five more storage bags, each containing twenty million spirit coins.
Seeing Su Luo and the others accept the storage bags, Yin Laolao's expression became somewhat subtle, looking at them as if they were dead people. A few mere youngsters who had just come out for experience were actually disciples of a Great Emperor?
They must be bragging, thinking they could spit out the pills later like her?
How naive!
Suddenly, Yin Laolao's heart trembled, and she thought, "This is bad."
The pill she had been suppressing with spiritual energy, why had it melted? Bad, she had miscalculated!
As if not seeing Yin Laolao's changing expression, Sima Kun had everyone sit down before saying, "Now that we are all our own people, this City Lord will tell you about this special mission. A relic has recently appeared in the Dark Forest, said to contain treasures of the ancient Great Emperors. My master has instructed this City Lord to bring some capable subordinates to go there, so..."
"What, a relic in the Dark Forest?"
Yin Laolao's expression suddenly changed dramatically: "Is the City Lord referring to the relic that suddenly appeared three months ago? At that time, black clouds filled the sky, and divine dragons were vaguely visible. No one present could withstand it; they all died under that mysterious and powerful pressure!"
Sima Kun was moved and looked at Yin Laolao: "So you've heard of it too?"
Yin Laolao's breathing became heavy: "Yes, an acquaintance of this old woman personally witnessed the appearance of the relic. It was truly a scene of changing winds and clouds, shocking the heavens and terrifying the gods. If he hadn't been a bit far from the Dark Forest at the time, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it either."
After hearing about it, she had planned to explore it with her acquaintance, but then this acquaintance had an accident and died, so she had to give up.
She never expected to hear about it from Sima Kun today.
Su Luo and the others had been away from the Dark Demon Ridge area for a long time, so naturally, they were unaware of the changes in the Dark Forest.
"Could there really be some treasure?" she asked curiously.
"Whether there is or not, we'll know once we go and see,"
Sima Kun said with a smile, "Don't worry, not only will my master go, but the Demon Envoy will also personally lead people. Regardless of whether you gain anything in the relic, this City Lord can promise to give you fifty million spirit coins afterwards, plus a ninth-grade magical artifact, how about that?"
He was, of course, making a casual promise, as these people would never return alive anyway!
Su Luo's heart stirred: "Could the City Lord's master be Lord Baimu, and the Demon Envoy be the Demon Envoy Youmeng?"
These two were among the eight great envoys under Fanmoluo.
Sima Kun, as a subordinate of Lord Baimu, did not have much respect for Demon Envoy Youmeng and said faintly, "That's right, two of the master's envoys will go, along with other elites. There will be about several hundred people in total. Although there will be some risks, it is worth it."
Yin Laolao was tempted.
She had wanted to explore it before, and now with so many people, the opportunity had arrived. How could she bear to give it up?
In her excitement, she actually forgot about the pill she had taken.
Wen Daier chuckled indifferently, "I thought it was some kind of mission, but it's just exploring a relic. It's a piece of cake. Seventy million earned, and we've also gained experience, it's a win-win situation."
Lu Jixing also agreed, with an arrogant tone, "That's right, although we, the Eleven members of the Mischievous Devils, are on our first outing for experience, it is precisely such relics that are challenging. This Young Master doesn't care about the tens of millions the City Lord mentioned, but we must go and see."
"If we get any divine beasts, do they belong to us?" Shang Xie Shaoqing asked imposingly.
"The master will naturally reward contributions based on merit, rest assured," Sima Kun said with a forced smile.
Finally, Chu Tianshu agreed, "Okay, we accept this mission!"