In response to Li Yan's rebuttal, the voice of the four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bat immediately became furious.
For a moment, the atmosphere between the two sides became tense and hostile.
Li Yan's group of three also secretly gathered their Spirit Power, fearing the other side would suddenly attack recklessly.
Just then, Li Yan suddenly spoke again.
"If one person goes out of the exit, can they still communicate with the others here?"
"After this restricted exit is opened, th... those inside can see everything that happens outside, but those outside cannot see anything inside.
"This was originally an... an exit we used for... for one-way reconnaissance and sneak attacks on external enemies.
"However, Fellow Daoist Zhang can send a voice transmission out... out, and have the person on the other side perform corresponding actions based on your transmission... to respond. It can be considered a form of simple contact."
Meng Zhiyuan glanced at Li Yan and said in a weak voice. He also understood what Li Yan meant.
Li Yan and Xing Ming's group exchanged glances. They felt that the other party's proposal could indeed resolve their concerns.
As long as one person went out, they would be able to see that person and the scene outside, and then ask some questions about whether it was safe.
Then, by having the person on the other side make corresponding actions for yes or no, right or wrong, such as blinking or raising a hand, they could indeed communicate simply. Li Yan nodded.
"After the restricted passage is opened, we will let one person go out first. Once we confirm it's safe, another person will go out.
"Of course, the magical treasure we mentioned before must also be taken away. I will stay behind to confirm that they are both safe, and then I will release Fellow Daoist Meng. How about this arrangement?"
"Junior Brother, no!"
"Fellow Daoist Zhang..."
Upon hearing this, Xing Ming and the other man immediately tried to stop him in urgent voices, but Li Yan waved his hand.
"Senior Brother, you two go out first. Otherwise, if we all go out together, I imagine Fellow Daoist Meng won't be at ease. We can't just remain in a stalemate here."
At the same time, he secretly sent a voice transmission to Xing Ming.
"Senior Brother, rest assured. I have already planted a deadly poison in his body, which he will not discover. If the other party is reasonable, then everything will be fine.
"Otherwise, I will just reveal it then. What difference would there be between that situation and the current one?
"If we take this person out with us, he will only feel that he has lost his final means of holding us in check, and may not necessarily let us leave safely."
After hearing Li Yan's transmission, Xing Ming immediately sent a reply.
"Junior Brother, this whole trip was caused by my foolishness. Since you have planted a deadly poison in his body, why don't you give the antidote to me, and let me stay behind? You go out first with Fellow Daoist Feng..."
After some thought, Xing Ming also made a decision.
This actually surprised Li Yan a little. He hadn't expected this nominal senior brother to make such a decision at a life-and-death moment. He was truly quite sincere.
However, he was staying behind not just to protect the others, but also for other matters.
"Senior Brother, the situation here is very strange, and I haven't figured it out yet. I still need to ask the other party a few questions, and then I will come out."
Since Xing Ming had put it that way, Li Yan, after a little consideration, did not hide it from him anymore and also stated his own purpose.
Who left this cave residence? What were these ancient Demonic Beasts guarding here? What was the terrifying power in those three tunnels?
And asking these questions would also take some time. Li Yan couldn't follow them out immediately. After thinking about it, he decided to tell Xing Ming the truth.
Otherwise, if Xing Ming saw that he hadn't followed them out, he would either think something had happened to him, or he would be able to guess his intentions afterwards. It was better to just tell him directly.
As for the other person, Feng Moru, whether Xing Ming explained it or not, Li Yan had no intention of saying anything more.
"Junior Brother, this is too risky..."
"Let's leave it at that. It's fine, Senior Brother. I am confident I can control him!"
Li Yan did not want to continue the conversation, his tone becoming unquestionable.
The two exchanged voice transmissions extremely quickly. Seeing the other's insistence, Xing Ming could only sigh in his heart.
He now felt that Zhang Ming was becoming more and more important to the sect. This person, whether in his dealings with people or his attitude towards the sect, had an extremely meticulous mind. Even he himself was not his equal. He was an indispensable talent.
"Then Junior Brother, you must be careful!"
Xing Ming urged. Since Zhang Ming was insistent, he had no other choice. Besides, the Dark Spirit Demon Bats would not let them leave with a hostage completely unimpeded.
The four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bat with the female voice looked at Meng Zhiyuan. Meng Zhiyuan nodded slightly at her.
Just as Li Yan had said, neither side trusted the other. They couldn't just stay in a stalemate like this.
After that, she no longer hesitated and flew to a spot in the middle of the tunnel. In Li Yan's Divine Sense, nothing abnormal was visible there.
But she just hovered there. As her wings beat gently, a series of obscure and difficult-to-understand sounds came from her mouth.
In the originally dim tunnel, a point of light suddenly flashed. That point of light was precisely on the cave wall opposite the hovering four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bat.
The light that appeared on the cave wall was initially only the size of a small star, but in the blink of an eye, it filled everyone's vision.
In a flash, it turned into a white ball of light about two zhang high and wide, illuminating the entire tunnel.
The white ball of light only lasted for three or four breaths before it quickly dimmed. At this time, a slightly distorted image appeared on the cave wall.
After the image gradually became still, Li Yan finally saw the scene clearly, and the few of them immediately communicated via voice transmission.
"It's the underwater entrance!"
They had already recognized the scene in the image. Amidst the hazy scenery, there were rolling mountains. It was precisely the place where Jiang Baibi and his group had first broken the restriction to enter.
At this moment, Li Yan and the others felt a stir in their hearts and couldn't help but turn to look. At the end of this tunnel, a large group of Dark Spirit Demon Bats suddenly flew in again.
Two four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bats were flying swiftly and nimbly, arriving in front of Li Yan and the others in the blink of an eye.
Immediately, they stopped in mid-air without any warning.
As soon as they stopped, one of the four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bats spoke viciously.
"We're already here, why haven't you released Big Brother yet? You've gone back on your word!"
Li Yan glanced at the other party. In fact, these Dark Spirit Demon Bats, apart from the difference between two and four wings, could only be distinguished by their size and aura.
To be honest, he really couldn't tell the difference between them with his naked eye.
But he still recognized the identity of the other party from the Seven-Colored Glazed Lamp held in the claws of the other four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bat.
It should be the two four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bats and their subordinates who had besieged Jiang Baibi.
He did not answer the other party's question. He had no desire to explain things to everyone who came along.
So, the Spirit Power-bound Meng Zhiyuan had no choice but to whisper a few words to the two four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bats.
After listening to Meng Zhiyuan's words, it was still that four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bat that snorted heavily.
He was the Second Senior Brother to the others here, the Second Martial Uncle to that group of two-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bats. He was the most authoritative person besides Meng Zhiyuan.
He was also the one who most wanted to kill these cultivators right now.
"Very good! Old Fifth, give them the item. Hurry up and get Big Brother back!"
The other four-winged Dark Spirit Demon Bat that had flown over with him heard this, and with a flash of light from its claws, it tossed the item over.
Li Yan did not catch it. Xing Ming at his side slightly raised his hand, and with a flash of light, he caught the "Seven-Colored Glazed Lamp" in his hand. He then immediately sent his Divine Sense into it.
A moment later, he nodded slightly at Li Yan, a complex expression in his eyes.
This trip to kill Jiang Baibi and retrieve his master's magical treasure had been planned to be extremely well-rounded, even easy.
Who could have predicted that a powerful cultivator like Xuan Caijun would unexpectedly perish here?
If one were to speak of the dangers, their group had only met Jiang Baibi a few times, and they hadn't even fought once.
The twists and turns and the outcome of this trip had exceeded everyone's expectations.
So, now, seeing the "Seven-Colored Glazed Lamp" in his hand, intact and undamaged, Xing Ming felt an inexplicable complexity in his heart.
He also knew that Jiang Baibi had ultimately been forced into the final tunnel. There, let alone escaping with his Golden Core, even a Nascent Soul would perish upon entry.
He imagined that a powerful cultivator like Jiang Baibi probably just stood there foolishly in the end, letting the other party do as they pleased...
"Senior Brother, which of you will go out first to scout the path!"
Li Yan's words rang in his ears again.
"I'll go. You can just send me a voice transmission then. I'm already a cripple anyway, perfect for scouting out danger! And..."
At this, Feng Moru pushed away Xing Ming's supporting arm, his body already hovering in the air. He nodded at Li Yan and the other man.
This old Daoist was also quite loyal. He had come to help this time and had received benefits from them, but in the end, he had been saved by the two senior and junior brothers. He had to contribute something to make it right.
As Feng Moru spoke, he suddenly switched to voice transmission for the latter part of his words.
Listening to Feng Moru's voice transmission, Li Yan also secretly admired his shrewdness. He was truly worthy of being a sect leader.
The content of Feng Moru's transmission was to agree on some secret signals with the two of them, signals that only the three of them would know.
He was very thorough in his considerations, fearing that this opened passage might be some kind of illusion. After he entered, everything Li Yan and the others saw might not match reality.
And the actions he himself made might also be altered by the illusion.
So, he improvised a set of contact signals, and they were quite complex. It was clear at a glance that these were the methods of someone who had traveled the martial world for many years.
Even though Li Yan had never encountered them before, with a cultivator's superhuman memory, this was not a difficult task.
Ten breaths later, under the somewhat disdainful gazes of Meng Zhiyuan and the others, Feng Moru, his face an unnatural pale, walked into the slightly distorted image.
After stepping in, the image blurred for a moment, and soon his figure appeared at the underwater entrance.
He turned around and immediately made a gesture.
Immediately, Xing Ming began to send him a voice transmission.
A short while later, Feng Moru made another gesture, but this time Xing Ming did not immediately reply with a transmission. He just stood there quietly, watching the image.
In the silent image, Feng Moru's mind did not continue to receive transmissions.
He paused for three breaths, then continued to make six different gestures.
Only after the sixth gesture was completed did a glint flash in Xing Ming's eyes, and he continued to send another voice transmission.
But this time, after hearing it, Feng Moru did not make any more gestures and flew directly into the distance.
This caused the surrounding Dark Spirit Demon Bats to flicker with an ethereal light in their eyes.
Just like that, after a while, Feng Moru suddenly reappeared in the image, but this time he held a piece of red coral in his hand.
After placing the red coral on a reef, he then sat cross-legged on it.
Xing Ming's voice then sounded in Li Yan's mind.
"It should be correct. It's not an illusion formation. The restricted passage has really been opened."
"Alright, Senior Brother, you can go out too. But I will test it again according to some agreements."
Li Yan replied. He was still very cautious. When Xing Ming went out next, he would continue to test.