The other girls’ eyes also lit up with a glimmer of hope. They had always wanted to escape, but in this chamber surrounded by walls and guarded by many, the idea of escaping seemed like a pipe dream.

  Even the two girls who hadn’t eaten earlier stood up and took some food.

  She was right. Without eating, how could they have the strength to escape?

  "Nan Gong, do you have a plan? How are we going to get out of here?" Jiang Huairou asked with a hint of excitement. Gao Luo had been right—Nan Gong Huan was planning to escape.

  As long as they knew Nan Gong Huan’s plan, they could set up defenses in advance. There was no way they could escape!

  However, Nan Gong Huan just shrugged and said, "I don’t have any concrete ideas yet. What if someone comes to rescue us?"

  This statement was practically useless, and the girls’ eyes dimmed again. The hope was too slim. Some of them had been here for as long as two months, and no one had come to save them.

  "It’s okay, we’ll find a way eventually," Jiang Huairou said, trying to integrate herself into the group. She found a spot to sit down, joining the others.

  The air was damp, and Nan Gong Huan waved her hand, summoning a gentle breeze that instantly made the chamber feel drier.

  Nan Gong Huan walked to the door and peered through the three-centimeter-wide crack. Outside the chamber was a long corridor, and at the end of it was a spiral staircase leading upward.

  There were six guards stationed here, all at the Second Spirit Realm. While their strength wasn’t particularly high, these alchemist girls, who had no combat skills, couldn’t hope to defeat them.

  "Nan Gong, what are you looking at?" Jiang Huairou had been secretly watching Nan Gong Huan’s movements, worried she might do something unexpected.

  "Just checking out the scenery outside," Nan Gong Huan turned back and smiled at Jiang Huairou before sitting down again.

  "There’s nothing to see, just those ugly guards," one girl said, finally having the energy to complain after eating her fill.

  "Ugly? They stink too, like they haven’t bathed in a year. It’s disgusting."

  "Hey, are you from Jianglou City? We’re all from different cities of the Twelve Noble Cities," one girl asked, leaning closer to Nan Gong Huan.

  During their time in captivity, they had all pretty much shared their backgrounds. They had noticed some oddities but still couldn’t figure out what the Divine Blood Hall wanted with them.

  "Yes, I’m from Jianglou City," Nan Gong Huan nodded.

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  "What about you? The thirteenth one. Were our guesses wrong?" The girls turned their questions to Jiang Huairou.

  "I... I’m from the Imperial Capital," Jiang Huairou quickly thought of an excuse. "Before I was captured, I heard them talking about some kind of sacrifice. They’re probably planning to use alchemists from the Twelve Noble Cities and the Imperial Capital for some ritual."

  One girl chimed in, "When I was captured, I also overheard something about a sacrifice. They’re actually using live people for it? That’s despicable! But why only alchemists?"

  "Wah, I want to go home. I don’t want to die," a more fragile girl burst into tears. The tear stains on her dusty face showed she had cried many times before.

  "Maybe they’re targeting alchemists because we can handle magical ingredients, so our bodies are more attuned to spiritual energy," Nan Gong Huan said thoughtfully, though it was just her speculation.

  Her eyes were already scanning the area, observing the fluctuations of spiritual energy.

  Sure enough, she saw a massive Ghost Curse Array, hundreds of times larger than the one she had seen at the academy!

  It was densely packed with all kinds of evil spirits—some with eyeballs hanging from their faces, some with their mouths split down to their jaws, and others with half their heads missing, brains still oozing out.

  After being used to seeing beautiful ghosts like Yan Ji and Xue Ji, these evil spirits were truly stomach-churning.

  More importantly, they were crawling and surging toward her direction, but every time they were about to break free, the array would light up and suppress them.

  If the girls saw this, they’d probably be terrified out of their wits.

  Nan Gong Huan closed her eyes, seemingly resting, but her consciousness had already entered the Di Ming Ring.

  "Yan Ji, Xue Ji, wear these. They’ll let you pull the spirits out of the array. Eat as much as you can, and try to weaken their power. If anything goes wrong, run immediately," Nan Gong Huan took out two talismans and stuck them to their waists.

  The Array-Piercing Talismans allowed them to move freely through the array. It was something Elder Ling had taught her, and she hadn’t thought it would be useful until now.

  "Yes, Master!" the two spirits replied loudly.

  After giving them a few more instructions, Nan Gong Huan let them out.

  Just as she was about to leave, Elder Ling grabbed her, looking at her with a sullen expression.

  Nan Gong Huan immediately remembered that she had intercepted his roasted chicken and skewers earlier. She awkwardly scratched her nose.

  "Hmph, you’re staying here to cook!" Elder Ling pushed her in front of the grill, making her compensate for it.

  "Fine, fine," Nan Gong Huan reluctantly started grilling, sneaking a few bites here and there.

  Elder Ling watched eagerly from the side. As expected, her cooking skills were still the best. Although Yan Ji and Xue Ji were quick learners and not bad at cooking, they still couldn’t compare to Nan Gong Huan.

  "I want some too!" Bo Jing Rabbit looked at a skewer of grilled cabbage, drooling uncontrollably.

  Although Yan Ji and Xue Ji had fed him earlier, it was only a little and nowhere near enough. Most of the food had been taken out by Nan Gong Huan.

  "Arf arf!" Jiu Meng Long also rubbed his belly, which was still flat.

  The Wansheng Flower on Nan Gong Huan’s finger bloomed slightly, as if trying to absorb the aroma of the food.

  With so many mouths to feed, Nan Gong Huan worked as fast as she could, sprinkling some delicious potion on the food before serving it to Elder Ling.

  "So fragrant!" Elder Ling said while eating, waving his hand dismissively. "Alright, you can leave now."

  "..." This old man, using her and then throwing her away. Nan Gong Huan rolled her eyes and left the spatial realm.

  Back in the chamber, the girls had quieted down, and some had already fallen asleep after eating their fill.

  Nan Gong Huan observed the Ghost Curse Array and saw that Yan Ji and Xue Ji were already in a frenzy of devouring.

  They stood outside the array, grabbing one evil spirit with each hand, using their ghostly power to compress them into threads of soul energy before absorbing them.

  They weren’t moving too quickly, but safety was the priority. If they entered the array and the spirits tore off their talismans, it would be disastrous.