His meaning was clear—why hadn't you given me the team members' information earlier?

Tang Ling blinked her sharp eyes and tilted her head. "You never asked. I thought you didn't care."

The loner chair killer clearly didn't feel the need for teammates.

Gu Jianlin pinched his forehead, visibly exasperated.

In fact, he had only just learned that he was the deputy team leader.

"Dawn is a Fifth Rank Pope, and a very rare hard support. Yes, the kind you're thinking of—the type that can take hits at the frontline with their physical body. Extremely uncommon, though he's a bit slow and... quite old."

Tang Ling hesitated for a moment, unusually choosing to explain: "The Poison Master is a Fifth Rank Medicine King. Although she seems unreliable, that's just a side effect of testing her drugs on herself. Her medicines are actually very effective, and she's skilled in both poisoning and detoxification. Nightmare is a Fifth Rank Prophet. Although I don't like Judgement Court people, he barely qualifies as an elite."

A Fourth Rank critiquing three Fifth Ranks.

Yet none of the three seemed particularly bothered by it.

It was most likely because this woman had fought her way to this position.

"Our side has no major issues. Even though they're all a bit... peculiar, they're all support types."

Tang Ling cleared her throat. "What about your side?"

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a moment, then turned to the members of the second tier.

"Codename Mountain Ghost, Divine Path, Fourth-Order Cloud Monarch."

A young man clad in a black trench coat spoke in a hoarse tone, his appearance cold and sinister, his body covered in tattoos.

"Codename Demon Blade, Ghost Slayer Path, Fourth-tier Shura."

This was a tall, voluptuous woman with wine-red wavy curls, a delicate and alluring face, dressed in tight leather that accentuated her figure, with seven long blades in scabbards strapped to her back.

"My codename is Blue Whale, Heavenly Master Path, Fourth Rank Feather Master."

A scholarly-looking young man adjusted his glasses, appearing to be the most normal of the group.

The next moment, everyone's eyes dropped to the last member—a troublemaker in their midst.

Ji Xiaoyu placed her hands on her hips, her expression changing slightly. "What are you looking at?"

"Most others are relatively normal. Even the poisons made by the Poison Master are proper combat toxins."

Tang Ling, standing loftily, spoke indifferently: "But the most abnormal person here... is you!"

Ji Xiaoyu braced herself like a foe awaiting battle. "You wicked woman, what are you trying to do?"

Clearly, these two were longtime enemies with old grudges to settle.

When their eyes met, sparks seemed to ignite in the air.

"Wicked woman! Don't assume I can't actually beat you!"

Ji Xiaoyu snarled, "My grandmother is the President!"

Tang Ling replied expressionlessly, "My master is the Silver King."

"My grandmother is the President!"

"My master is the Silver King."

"My grandmother is the President!"

It looked like this was about to escalate into a brawl.

"Relax. Her poison bag is already empty."

Gu Jianlin waved dismissively. "I have all her formulas. She won't be causing any significant trouble."

The group was momentarily stunned.

Especially the Poison Master, who stared at him with a fervent expression—as if she'd just discovered a priceless treasure.

Ji Xiaoyu bit her handkerchief in frustration, gnashing her teeth.

To be fair, the girl's face was quite delicate, with platinum-dyed short hair, making her look petite and adorable.

It was just that her expressions twisted too much.

Once upon a time, she was a queen. But now, like a tiger fallen from grace, she had to endure constant bullying.

Everyone sighed in relief.

The Little Princess's lethality came almost entirely from her poisons.

Without them, she was like a tiger without its fangs.

Her combat effectiveness instantly plummeted by ninety percent.

After all, no matter how unruly the Little Princess was, she wouldn't sabotage a mission or stab anyone in the back mid-operation.

But if she carried poison and got cornered in frustration, things could get... ugly.

She was practically a walking disaster.

"Hey, where's Instructor Wan?"

Someone suddenly noticed his absence.

Everyone turned their heads and saw a towering man sitting blankly under a tree. His face was both dazed and contorted, muttering under his breath: "Slaughter Domain, is this it? Slaughter Domain, is this it? Slaughter Domain, is this it? No way, this is impossible. How did it end like this? I can't accept it..."

In the next moment, a thought seemed to strike him, and he broke into an utterly deranged laugh.

He resembled a madman.

Gu Jianlin exchanged looks with the parrot, both feeling an ominous chill about this mission.

·

·

The ecosystem within the Qilin Immortal Palace was drastically different from the real world, though there were some similarities.

Here, one could breathe freely. Winds howled, and mist rose.

However, Gu Jianlin could only sense faint traces of the Ancient God's Breath—far less potent than what he'd experienced in the tomb, not even enough for him to initiate Ancient God Transformation.

He roughly guessed the reason.

In the distance, a resplendent golden hue spread across the horizon, subtly altering the rules of this realm.

Heavenly Person Realm!

Gu Jianlin's caution heightened.

Thankfully, he was adaptable.

If Ancient God Transformation wasn't an option, he could always rely on Breathing Technique.

He rubbed his fingers together—the air was heavy with humidity.

Mist enveloped the surroundings, and ahead lay an endless, murky forest. Crown-like ancient trees pierced the sky.

Though ostensibly a forest, it felt like a massive graveyard.

Dull and lifeless.

Beneath the oppressive silence, distant roars trembled from the heart of the woods.

"One of the top ten Omegas went missing in that graveyard," Tang Ling suddenly remarked.

Gu Jianlin squinted, scrutinizing the traces around him, lost in thought.

"We are currently in the Living Burial Area. Based on the current map, we've named it the Returning Burial Forest. It's about fifty kilometers from Dawn City, the headquarters of the Dawn Combat Sequence," Nightmare said as he produced a crystal ball, his body wrapped in a black wizard robe. His expression betrayed no emotion. "In other words, this territory is beyond the Ether Association's jurisdiction. It's highly likely we could encounter forces from hostile factions here. If we encounter trouble, timely rescue will be nearly impossible. If supplies run short, there will be no logistical support to rely on."

The Poison Master said softly, "Supplies can be my responsibility. The Qilin Immortal Palace is full of medicinal herbs. I can craft various secret medicines to replenish everyone's strength and spirituality—so long as I survive."

"Recon can be handled by Nightmare, and I'll manage the healing," Dawn assured. "So, no need to worry too much."

Their task this time was simply to find clues and rescue a missing person.

If a serious problem arose, there was always Instructor Wan.

Although the dimensional stability of the first layer of the Qilin Immortal Palace was currently insufficient, any surge of spirituality on par with or exceeding the Holy Land Level would result in being forcibly ejected.

But the Ether Association had means to stabilize the dimension forcefully.

The time might be short, but for someone of Instructor Wan's caliber, it would be enough.

Moreover, they carried specialized alchemy weapons capable of opening a wormhole.

In other words, reinforcements were an option.

Aside from the four people in the first tier, this was the first time any of the rest had ventured into the Ancient God Realm.

That explained their collective nervousness.

The only exception: Ji Xiaoyu.

She bounded around the dry wilderness like an unleashed husky—fearless and utterly at ease.

When asked, it turned out that this troublemaker had been to the Ancient God Realm at the age of seven.

And not just anywhere—she had roamed the notoriously dangerous Buzhou Mountain.

Wan Rentu, bearing thirteen weapons on his back, trailed behind the greenhorns with a variety of expressions.

At times sinister, at times apathetic, at times quietly sneering.

At this moment, Gu Jianlin inserted the storage card into his phone.

At the same time, he glanced at the string of stone beads on his wrist, imbuing them with a trace of spirituality.

In an instant, his gaze shifted toward the northwest.

Through the stone beads, he sensed a familiar spiritual fluctuation.

Moon Princess.

For some reason, he suddenly felt at ease.