Elder Mao Cheng's eyes went wide, when he saw the ash slowly falling to the ground. He provided more than 500 rare plants to Ming Li yet it all turned to ash!
It was impossible for him to remain calm, 500 rare plants meant so much even for him. It could cost millions of soul ore, if not for the upcoming war, he would not dare to be rash and give Ming Li all of those 500.
However, when he was about to rage and grab Ming Li, he saw Ming Li's extremely disheartened expression as if his most important person died in front of him. This made Elder Mao Cheng to stop his movement and breath deeply. He suddenly remembered the previous poison spirits which Ming Li created and it made him feel a bit calmer.
Ming Li gripped his fist on the ground as he collected the ash of the failed poison spirit, and said with great disappointment "I failed. I actually failed."
When Elder Mao Cheng heard Ming Li's sorrowful words. He decided not to severely punish Ming Li, but instead, give him another chance. Even though they lost a lot, Ming Li showed great potential which could be useful later on, and the five poison spirit he actually created was something that could greatly help them in the war.
Elder Mao Cheng was strict but, he was not stupid to waste a talent like Ming Li. So he remained silent for a few breaths to completely calm himself before approaching Ming Li.
When he calmed down, he patted Ming Li's back and said. It's alright. Let's go out now since the war will begin in a few days.
Along with the three other guild members on the garden who created their own unique poison spirit, they went out of the Garden of Death with Ming Li and Elder Mao Cheng.
Passing through the same path, they arrived at the same room and directly went outside, where Ming Li saw a lot of guild members positioned in some sort of formation.
"So they are almost done preparing huh. I will leave you here, you are all free to do whatever you want until the war. You have contributed a lot for the guild and would be honored from today onward." Elder Mao Cheng said in a serious tone.
He then flew towards the east completely leaving Ming Li and the others behind. One by one, the seekers with Ming Li walked away in different directions. They did jot even glance or exchanged a word at each other. It was as if they were uninterested, and only cared about themselves and the guild.
After being left completely alone, Ming Li immediately went to a secluded spot and summoned Dippy, then he commended him yo meet with Gao Jie.
Being away for so long, Ming Li expects good news from Gao Jie. If he can find the body of the demon spider before the war, it would be the best result for him.
...
"Gao He! Where have you been!? I have been worried." Gao Jie ran towards Dippy with eyes filled with concern.
"I have just been busy on something, did you get any information about the thing I asked?"
While holding onto Dippy's arms, Gao Jie answered with confidence "Yes, I found the exact location through some close friends and by paying other people. The guild was a bit suspicious of me, however they ignored it since I am after all a member of the main clan and contributed a lot for the guild."
Then she passed a scroll to Dippy which contained all of the information. After which, she smiled brightly and kissed Dippy on the cheeks. Then shyly said, "That's not enough payment for that."
in the room, Ming Li was in a daze when he heard what Gao Jie said.
"What the hell is wrong with this woman! Dippy looks like a complete idiot, but she's head over heels for him."
He shook his head seemingly disappointed and said "Oh well, I got what I want, I'll let her have her fun with my puppet.
When Dippy and Gao Jie was about to head to Dippy's room, a voice suddenly came out from a hallway not far away.
"Gao He, you are still here. I thought you ran away to the Golden Phoenix Order. Hahaha!"
"Gao Duyi, stop bothering us. We have no time for you" Gao Jie responded furiously.
"Why are you defending this traitor? He obviously have connections with the Golden Phoenix Order, that's why he ran away because he can't go to war with his friends!"
When Gao Jie was about to defend Dippy, Dippy pulled Gao Jie's arm and eyed Gao Duyi with contempt, before turning his head away and dragging Gao Jie with him.
Gao Duyi's eye flashed with killing intent as he look at Dippy leaving along with Gao Jie.
The two went into Dippy's room as they shut themselves there for sometime, doing who knows what, that even Ming Li refuses to know.
Ming Li had a bright smile on his face as he got on his feet, and went out of his place to observe the preparations for war.
While walking around, he saw Pan Bo walking around not in any skill formation, It was as if he doesn't even care about the war.
"Why are you not included in the formation?" Ming Li asked while walking near Pan Bo.
"Oh, there you are Jin! Of course I won't be included in a silly formation. I am strong enough to be part of the people who will go on the front lines to battle. I am so cool right?" Pan Bo said while laughing proudly.
"Oh ok." Ming Li felt stupid for asking someone like Pan Bo as he tried to walk away.
"Where are you going? I heard you were brought in by the elders, so you are probably not included in the formation just like me. So come with me I'll show you something nice." Pan Bo then dragged Ming Li to an isolated place in the guild.
Even though Ming Li was't interested and threw out several reasons not to come, Pan Bo still managed to made him come.
In that place, Pan Bo and Ming Li slowly made their way, it was as if they were avoiding to be spotted by the guild members roaming around. Noticing the actions of Pan Bo, Ming Li became slightly interested on what he was about to see.
On a desolate part of the guild, Pan Bo pointed at an odd tree not far away, it arced towards another tree seemingly forming an entrance.
"That is a secret entrance into the guild, there are some other entrances like that, but most are guarded. This one seem to be meant to be used only by high ranking people in the guild and only known to them. I found it by chance, but I think it will serve its purpose well during the war!" Pan Bo told Ming Li with a smile.
Ming Li looked at the direction of the entrance, then pondered for a while before replying "Why are you telling me this? Also are you planning to run away?"
Pan Bo cleared his throat and said "Of course I wont run away. Also, I'm just sharing this to you since you seem like a nice guy. It would be bad if you died without even knowing where to escape." Then he laughed awkwardly.
Ming Li looked at him doubtfully "Alright, I am grateful for you trusting me on this, but I wont run away from the war. My loyalty to the guild remains unwavering."
"Haha, that's good to know! Let us live and die together for the guild!" Pan Bo said with a bit of hesitation then walked away along with Ming Li.
When they came back to the more populated area in the guild, Ming Li left Pan Bo alone while Pan Bo was busy boasting his strength to weaker guild members. Ming Li doesn't really like hanging around Pan Bo since Pan Bo seemed really easygoing and a bit stupid, but something about the man bothers Ming Li and he just can't tell what it is.
With a bit of hesitation, Ming Li connected his consciousness with Dippy. He was scared he might witness the same scene as before, so he was prepared to pull out his consciousness as fast as he could. Luckily, he saw Gao Jie already dressed laying beside Dippy asleep.
Ming Li made Dippy come out of the place and come to him. He wanted to check the place on the scroll immediately.
When he got the scroll, he felt excited and quickly made his way towards the path indicated on the scroll.
There weren't much people guarding the spot, but Ming Li knew that it would not be wise to push his luck this time.
Many spies were being caught while the preparation for war was ongoing. They were now being extremely strict on everyone to minimize the trouble during the war.
Those people who were wearing disguises or mask like Ming Li were forced to reveal their real faces to ensure safety of the guild.
However, Ming Li was an exemption, he was not forced to remove his mask since he was chosen by the three elders on the Mao Group. He held a position higher than most of the people of the guild. Doubting him would be like doubting the three Elders that chose him.
Days passed and many more spies were revealed. Ming Li felt a bit nervous, but he chose to remain calm in his residence.
A cube was also sent to him containing several soul ores from Elder Kang, It was a gift to help him increase his level for the war. Inside the cube were some natures dew and pills to increase his refinement ability for natural energy.
Ming Li grumbled "Those stupid old men gave me something useless. If they gave me some demon's grace, I would probably think about lessening their punishment."