Just a few steps further, they suddenly heard the sound of machinery operating.

Chu Qing frowned slightly; his perception was strong, and he knew that the array had changed.

"Be careful, the path we just took has probably disappeared. This labyrinth... It’s still the work of the Celestial Secret Scholar, using mechanisms to aid the array. Once inside, you trigger the mechanism, altering the maze’s terrain and changing the original paths...

"Scents might also shift because of it."

Chu Qing reminded softly.

Gentle glanced at him:

"Follow me."

Ignoring these changes, Gentle led Chu Qing straight ahead.

Every so often, the ground beneath them would change.

It seemed as if the entire maze was set on a giant rotating disc, with everything controlled by mechanisms, adjusting as people ventured deeper into it.

But Gentle moved without hesitation, and even when there seemed to be no path ahead, when they reached the end of the corridor, the wall would naturally move aside, revealing a brand-new route.

They continued on this way, and Chu Qing had no idea where they ended up.

Suddenly, he gently tugged on Gentle’s hand:

"There’s someone here."

Gentle nodded:

"I can smell it, it’s my father."

Chu Qing was taken aback, then nodded:

"That makes sense."

Upon entering this Celestial Secret Maze Array, Chu Qing recalled the map given to him by the old beggar.

It depicted thirteen routes with clear paths.

Based on the two paths discovered so far, perhaps there was an array in each route.

This indicated that the person who had earlier connected with Ling Fei was from the Celestial Secret Valley.

Wen Fusheng and Wen Pingce had been monitoring the movements of Celestial Secret Valley all day, so any movement within the valley would not escape Wen Fusheng’s notice.

He chased them, ultimately getting caught in the array, which made sense.

From what he could hear, Wen Fusheng’s movements were slow, as if he was groping his way through the array.

Moreover, with his martial arts skills, causing such a commotion must have been intentional.

Gentle continued without stopping, and shortly after, as the corridor changed, the figure of Wen Fusheng appeared before Chu Qing and Gentle.

Upon seeing him, a myriad of stars seemed to sprout behind Wen Fusheng, converging at his finger in an instant. The finger wind condensed, causing the entire array to tremble.

Yet before he could strike, he was already full of astonishment:

"It’s you two?"

"...Manor Master Wen, what unexpected meetings in life?"

With a smile on his lips, Chu Qing said, "I didn’t expect to meet by chance here."

What do you mean by ’by chance’?

Wen Fusheng’s face darkened, but then he turned his gaze and saw Chu Qing holding Gentle’s wrist.

His face grew even darker:

"How did you two end up here?"

Chu Qing sensed a hint of resentment in his words and, following his gaze, suddenly realized and quickly let go:

"We set an ambush at night, caught someone, and followed their scent here."

After exchanging a few words, the two quickly understood the situation.

It turned out that Wen Fusheng had made a discovery and was chasing someone.

However, being well-versed in arrays, he wanted to unravel its mysteries. Yet, this array was not just an array; combined with mechanisms, it trapped him within.

He struggled for quite a while without finding a way out.

Later, he detected someone entering and thought it was that person returning, deliberately making noise to alert him and lead him into a trap, hoping to defeat him and help himself escape.

But unexpectedly, it was Chu Qing and Gentle who arrived, not the person he thought. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Wen Fusheng pulled Gentle to his side:

"There are truly people within the Celestial Secret Valley, and as you said, the one acting under the name Mirror of Sin is them... the Celestial Evil Cult?"

"Let’s leave the array first."

Chu Qing looked around:

"There’s nothing to say outside; we need to go deeper."

Gentle nodded and reached out to grab Chu Qing’s hand again.

But Wen Fusheng stopped her:

"Silly girl, why are you holding his hand? With his martial arts skills, he can’t possibly lag behind us."

Gentle looked expressionlessly at her father, turned around, and continued walking straight ahead.

Wen Fusheng turned back to glare fiercely at Chu Qing, you damned brat, acting all innocent with his daughter; now look at him taking liberties!

Chu Qing was speechless at his look; the arrays in this place were peculiar, and he had no understanding of them, so what was wrong with holding onto Gentle? Clearly, it’s you, old man, whose thoughts are tainted, and now you’re blaming me?

The two of them exchanged a silent battle of glances.

Meanwhile, Gentle confidently led the elder and the youngster out of the Celestial Secret Maze Array, arriving in a winding cave.

The three exchanged glances.

Chu Qing spoke first:

"Does Manor Master Wen plan to come with us or keep an eye out there?"

"I’ll go with you!"

Wen Fusheng didn’t hesitate.

He truly wanted to matchmake Chu Qing and Gentle before, and Chu Qing’s straightforward rejection made him give up on the idea temporarily.

Yet now, this rascal, pretending one way and behaving another.

To him, it was clear this was just taking advantage without wanting any responsibility.

So how could he let his daughter alone with this little fox?

His daughter was innocent and naïve, not worldly.

How could she stand against this cunning fox? If she ended up ruined and had to defend him later, how could it end well?

The thought of this possibility made Wen Fusheng’s scalp tingle, guarding against Chu Qing like a wolf.

Chu Qing found it baffling, yet said nothing more.

The person’s scent lingered, so naturally, they let Gentle continue to lead.

However, with Chu Qing and Wen Fusheng guarding from either side, the three moved boldly.

As they exited the winding cave, an open area appeared before them, and from there, they could see the gate of the Celestial Secret Valley in the distance.

Chu Qing searched with his eyes and quickly found the half-cliff where he had earlier talked with the old beggar.

But looking up from below, that half-cliff was unobtrusive, blending entirely into the surrounding scene. Without prior knowledge, it would easily be overlooked.

"No one outside the gate; that person came from over there."

Wen Fusheng pointed with his finger:

"Though I searched around there, I found nothing."

Chu Qing looked at Gentle.

Gentle nodded:

"The scent indeed came from that direction; let’s go take a look."

The three used their lightweight technique, crossing the open ground. From above, following Wen Fusheng’s orders, Wen Pingce continued his watch with a bewildered expression.

Why did his brother go alone, and three returned?

But he didn’t leave his post; his brother told him to watch, and without his brother’s command, he wouldn’t leave.

Under Gentle’s lead, Chu Qing and Wen Fusheng arrived in front of a mountain wall.

They followed the mountain wall and soon heard the sound of flowing water.

Soon after, a small waterfall appeared before them.

This waterfall was hidden, nestled within the woods.

Gentle looked at the waterfall and said:

"The scent is within the waterfall..."

Wen Fusheng nodded:

"Ah, there’s another hidden world!"

Chu Qing was puzzled. Did that person pass in and out through this waterfall without getting their clothes wet?

Or did they need to dry their clothes each time they passed, which seemed like a lot of effort...

The three didn’t deliberate further and carefully entered the waterfall.

Inside the waterfall, there was indeed a narrow gap that only one person could pass through, visible only upon close inspection. A slight misalignment and it would be undetectable.

Wen Fusheng volunteered, slipping in first.

Gentle was second, and Chu Qing brought up the rear.

Once through the narrow gap in the waterfall, they entered another cave.

The space inside the cave wasn’t vast, offering no path forward, with stone walls blocking every direction.

Gentle approached, sniffed, and pointed at a seemingly unremarkable stone wall:

"The scent disappears here; there might be a mechanism."

The three immediately began searching around the wall and soon, Chu Qing felt a protruding stone with his hand. It wobbled slightly, indicating it could be moved.

With a turn, they heard a click, and a stone wall suddenly slid back, revealing a...

Keyhole?