The people from the Divine Blood Hall were completely unaware. Yan Ji and Xue Ji’s feeding frenzy lasted for nearly two hours, and their hands were practically smoking from the effort.

  But their results were impressive—they had devoured nearly two-thirds of the spirits.

  The mindless evil spirits finally showed signs of hesitation, as if receiving some kind of command, and began retreating toward the center of the array.

  Yan Ji and Xue Ji clearly saw a hunched, gray figure standing amidst the crowd of spirits. His blood-red, murderous eyes, filled with rage, made the two spirits feel uneasy.

  That hunched old man was undoubtedly the Ghost King of the Ghost Curse Array!

  At that moment, hurried footsteps approached.

  "What’s going on? The Ghost Curse Array just experienced a strong fluctuation!"

  "Did something go wrong?"

  "Hurry and check! This is a critical time—we can’t afford any mistakes!"

  Seeing that there was no more benefit to be gained, Yan Ji and Xue Ji immediately vanished without a trace.

  The people from the Divine Blood Hall came to inspect the array. Since they couldn’t see the spirits, they naturally couldn’t tell that anything was wrong. They only noticed that the array’s glow had dimmed slightly, but the array itself was still intact, seemingly unaffected.

  "Nothing’s wrong," one of the guards sighed in relief.

  "Good thing nothing happened. Let’s go, back to drinking."

  Nan Gong Huan was already holding back laughter. The massive Ghost Curse Array might look intact, but it had suffered serious "internal damage"!

  "Master, our spiritual power has increased significantly! We’re almost at the Fourth Spirit Realm level!" Yan Ji and Xue Ji had returned to the Di Ming Ring, both spirits looking radiant.

  "Great job. Let’s see how the Order Team handles this array. If we can devour that old man, your spiritual power will definitely grow even more," Nan Gong Huan mused, stroking her chin.

  She was really starting to consider the Ghost King as a target. As the Ghost King, his spiritual power must be immense!

  Yan Ji and Xue Ji exchanged smiles. Yan Ji said, "We’re already very satisfied with devouring so many spirits today. Master, please don’t put yourself in danger for our sake."

  Their main concern was still Nan Gong Huan’s safety. Their motivation to grow stronger was to protect her!

  "I’ll be careful," Nan Gong Huan smiled.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Dawn had arrived.

  The door to the chamber suddenly opened.

  "Here’s your food for today. Eat it or don’t!" a rough voice called out. It was one of the guards bringing breakfast.

  He carried a tray and placed it on the ground. On the tray were thirteen broken bowls, each containing a black, gooey paste that was still steaming, emitting a burnt smell.

  It truly looked like something even a dog wouldn’t eat. Whoever managed to make food this unappetizing must have some kind of talent.

  Even Jiang Huairou showed a look of disgust. If she had to eat something like this, she wouldn’t be able to stomach it either.

  "Screw this. I’d rather starve than eat this," one girl muttered in disgust. She was the one who had refused to eat earlier, named Dai Sisi.

  Especially after seeing the guard’s short, ugly appearance, even if the food smelled good, it would still be unappetizing.

  "What did you say? Say that again!" The guard, who was about to leave, turned back with a menacing glare. "Don’t think I won’t deal with you right here!"

  As he spoke, the guard stepped forward, about to undo his belt, when another guard hurriedly grabbed him.

  "Hey, don’t forget, the sacrifice requires virgins. If you ruin the sacrifice, your life won’t be enough to pay for it!"

  With that, the short, ugly guard snorted and left. The sacrifice was imminent, and they couldn’t afford any mistakes.

  With a loud bang, the chamber door closed again, leaving only the burnt smell lingering in the air.

  Nan Gong Huan, who was closest, immediately stored the food in her storage ring, tossing it into a corner. The burnt smell in the air finally dissipated a bit.

  "Nan Gong, let’s think of a way to escape," Jiang Huairou began to urge. Being here was truly boring, and she wanted something to do.

  "How can so many of us escape? We can’t even defeat one Second Spirit Realm person. Going out would be suicide," one girl said pessimistically.

  They were all alchemists with no combat skills. If they were spirit warriors, mages, or summoners, there might have been a chance to break out.

  "How about a round of intense Dou Dizhu first?" Nan Gong Huan looked around, noticing that all the girls’ eyes were on her, and pulled out a deck of cards.

  "...What kind of time is this to be playing games?" Jiang Huairou was truly at a loss with Nan Gong Huan, struggling to keep up with her train of thought.

  But some of the girls were genuinely interested in the cards she held.

  "What’s this? Something to play with? I’ve never seen it before," Dai Sisi leaned in, her curiosity piqued. She had always been playful and hadn’t seen anything new in a long time, so she was naturally drawn to it.

  So Nan Gong Huan taught her how to play, and another girl joined in, making it a table of three.

  The lively atmosphere quickly spread to the other girls, and some hesitantly gathered around to watch.

  Eventually, everyone crowded around, studying the rules of the game.

  "When I get rescued, I’m going to get a set of these cards too," Dai Sisi said with great interest. She picked up the game quickly and was thoroughly enjoying Dou Dizhu. "Are these custom-made? Which mechanic made them? Can you introduce me?"

  "My friend made them for me. What kind do you want? I can pass it on to him later," Nan Gong Huan smiled. Her relaxed tone made it seem like they weren’t in a dark, damp chamber but at a sunny afternoon tea party.

  "Great!" Dai Sisi happily agreed.

  Jiang Huairou couldn’t hold back anymore. "Shouldn’t we be focusing on getting out of here? How are we supposed to find someone to make these if we don’t escape?"

  She was starting to feel something was off. Nan Gong Huan had been acting completely unconcerned. Based on Jiang Huairou’s understanding of her, it was partly her personality—she rarely showed worry—but this was just too... leisurely!

  "Here, try this juice. It’s made from sweet oranges, a specialty of Jianglou City," Nan Gong Huan even brought out some freshly squeezed juice, as if they were on vacation.

  With delicious treats, the girls naturally didn’t refuse.

  "Wow, sweet oranges are this good?"

  "I’ll have my parents buy hundreds of pounds of these when I get back."

  In just one night, Nan Gong Huan had become close friends with all the girls, chatting about everything.

  Only Jiang Huairou felt out of place. No matter how much she tried to join the conversation, she just couldn’t seem to fit into their world.