What reward items? Upon hearing the Primordial Celestial Sovereign's question, the disciples all paused, then turned their attention uniformly to Tianxia Guihuo. The method of exiting the Forest of Movement was his own invention. According to the previous two通关 mechanisms, items (consumables) were awarded to those who demonstrated the greatest merit or met specific criteria—such as the Primordial Celestial Sovereign, who uncovered the killing patterns of the mist spiders, or Guan Ya, who exhibited the strongest life energy and no anemia. Therefore, it was logical that Tianxia Guihuo should receive the reward items. Facing the attentive glances from his teammates, Tianxia Guihuo furrowed his brows and said, "I only earned 10 points of credit and have not received any reward." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him, surveyed the group, and then raised his voice again, "Let me ask once more—whose possession are the reward items?" The official disciples exchanged puzzled glances and fell into a moment of silence. In her early thirties, with a notably "lighter-than-expected" demeanor, Yu Nü Wu Gu raised her hand and said, "I believe whoever receives the reward truly belongs to him—there's no need to dig deeper or question it further." Yu Nü Wu Gu felt that Yuan Shi Tian Zun's move was an effort to consolidate the rewards under his own authority and use them uniformly. However, the recipient of the item—Tian Xia Gui Hu—was unwilling to relinquish the reward he had earned through his own strength and performance. If this issue isn't resolved, significant conflict will arise within the team. The official Xing Ze present, mostly seasoned leaders with captain-level experience, quietly furrowed their brows, recognizing that Yuan Shi Tian Zun's actions might spark a power struggle, disrupting the team's harmony and leading to internal tensions. Although at the pre-raid online meeting the day before the raid, the Decade-Step Elder had urged everyone to center on Yuan Shi Tian Zun, follow his leadership, and support one another, once the raid began, organizational directives would only serve as reference—no one would truly be unconditionally obedient. Zhang Yuanqing nodded, looking at his teammates. "I promise not to request the return of any items. Everyone can bear witness. Now, then, who among you has received the reward item?" Still, no one spoke. Zhang Yuanqing said firmly, "You see, I've made my promise, yet still no one responds." Mu Dan Xianzi, Yu Nü Wu Gu, and others furrowed their brows, sensing something was amiss. "Master Yuan Shi, what would you like to say?" asked Mu Dan Xianzi. It seems, then, that the one who received the reward item is the traitor... Zhang Yuanqing said solemnly. "We are about to reach the summit. There are certain matters I need to be fully open with all of you." Pausing, he spoke slowly and clearly. "One of us has betrayed us. 'One traitor from the Night Rose.'" The group's faces immediately changed. Zhang Yuanqing continued: "To be honest, before entering the killing quest, the old monk of the Songhai branch told me something. The three evil organizations intend to eliminate me and Fu Qingyang, and the Night Rose also participates in this plan—she plans to use her spies embedded within the official forces. A few days ago, I ambushed the members of the evil faction near the exit of the misty zone, only to find they had anticipated my move and set a counter-ambush trap. Had it not been for my strong capabilities, I would have been unable to make it back." Upon hearing this, the official travelers realized the severity of the situation and exchanged glances, surprised. It was under such pressure that the Primordial Buddha had finally slain "human nature being inherently evil." Those who were attentive should have noticed the leaderboard: besides the three people I personally eliminated, no one from the evil faction died while crossing the misty spider territory. Moreover, they have now passed through the breeding forest, yet still no one has died—shouldn't that be normal? Zhang Yuanqing questioned, "If there weren't a traitor passing information about our exploration achievements to the evil faction, how could they have made such easy progress?" The official travelers, with grim expressions, opened the leaderboard and the map, only to find, as Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn had predicted, that the evil faction had once again cleared the Reproduction Forest without any damage. "That's why the evil faction has chosen this route—they know Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn excels at tackling dungeons and want to reap our rewards without effort." "Damn it! Who's the traitor? I'm going to peel their skin!" Not only was the Fire Specialist furious, but the other professions were equally agitated. Zhang Yuanqing said, "Anyone who claims the reward without speaking up is the traitor. Currently, there are two suspects: one is the 'Boy Who Sells Matches,' and the other is 'Heaven Under Fire.'" He then relayed the earlier remarks made by Heaven Under Fire to the group. Instantly, everyone gathered around Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn, isolating the two individuals. The little boy who sold matches stared at Tian Xia Gui Huo with fury: "You're the traitor, aren't you? You've accused me of it—do I really have a grudge against you?" After speaking, he turned to his companions and declared loudly: "The reward from Mobile Forest must be with Tian Xia Gui Huo. He refused to hand it over all along—now it's clear who the traitor is." Guan Ya asked: "What are you doing touching the trees?" The little boy furrowed his brow: "Of course, trying to communicate. Though the plants in the maze have seemed unresponsive throughout our journey, the task prompt doesn't explicitly state that communication has failed. The fact that the trees ahead couldn't communicate doesn't mean all the plants along the way are equally unresponsive. "I believe it's reasonable to persist in such efforts—never to give up." This explanation was well-articulated and logically sound, though not particularly persuasive. Still, it had no flaws. Yet, compared to the little boy, Tian Xia Gui Huo—someone who single-handedly solved the mystery of Mobile Forest—seemed even more suspect. The reward item was likely on his person, yet he had just refused to hand it over. Facing his teammates' doubts, Tian Xia Gui Shi took a deep breath, effectively calming his emotions and asked, "If I were the traitor, I would have handed over the item right then. Why go through such a self-exposing act?" "No!" Guan Ya exposed the flaw in his argument, saying, "The spy stationed within the Wu Xing Alliance, the Night Rose, has repeatedly evaded the comprehensive health checks. The divine-estate lie-detection tools and abilities are ineffective against you. Therefore, you know—no matter whether you hand over the item or not, we don't have concrete evidence pointing to you. Without such evidence, Yuan Shi cannot execute you. Of course, this also applies to the little boy who sold matches." Tian Xia Gui Shi chuckled coldly, "So what? Unless the traitor comes forward, you simply can't identify him. All this commotion has done, beyond dispersing the team's morale, is what?" Zhang Yuan Qing smiled, "It has done something!" "As long as we keep you two under control, the problem will be solved," he said, then produced the Mask of the Silent One. "I need to restrict your freedom and place you under observation. We'll all work together—resist, and you'll be the traitor." At that moment, whoever resisted would be revealed as the insider. White Tiger Wàn'Ài immediately replied, "I have a device that can immobilize." "I do too," added Niú Lánshān's Little Fairy. Their devices were a chain of iron and a wooden restraint. The iron chain limited both movement and mobility, while the wooden restraint only restricted the hands but could leave the subject weakened. The boy who sold matches took a deep breath, visibly frustrated, yet chose to comply: "Clear waters will always reveal themselves!" Tianxiā Guīhuǒ glanced at Yuanshǐ Tiānzūn and said, "Physical control is indeed a solid approach." Under Zhang Yuancheng's direction, the group tied the boy with the iron chain and sealed Tianxiā Guīhuǒ with the wooden restraint and the Mask of the Silent One. Then have Tianxia Guihuo carry the little boy, leading the group forward under everyone's watch. The party proceeds toward the summit, only about ten minutes' walk from the temple at the peak. Near the exit, Tianxia Guihuo said, "Look at the map. Observe the markers representing the evil faction—they have been advancing in an orderly manner, without any disorder or retreat. What does that indicate?" The others, including Mu Dan Xianzi, opened the map and confirmed it—each of them felt a sudden sense of alarm. Tianxia Guihuo said solemnly, "This shows that they already know the strategy for navigating through the Moving Forest. Yet since we've joined forces, everyone has remained together. If I were a traitor, how would I have communicated information to them?" Since our meeting, I've been closely observing their ears—no one has been wearing earpieces, and there has been no quiet, private conversation among them during this time. It seems they haven't had any opportunity to pass on information... Zhang Yuanqing pondered, and asked, "What would you like to say?" Tianxia Guihuo shook his head: "I don't know, but something feels off. I'll tell you once I figure it out." Yet even when they finally left the maze forest, Tianxia Guihuo hadn't figured it out. [叮! Congratulations for successfully traversing the maze forest! You've earned 30 points.] From entering the maze forest to exiting, passing through three stages, a total of 60 points were awarded. At this moment, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun remained at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 398 points. Ai ranked second with 190 points. The rest of the participants gained an additional 20 points each, with their rankings remaining largely unchanged. The point increments within the maze were fixed—each stage passed earned exactly 10 points. As they stepped out of the maze forest, the clear moonlight poured down in abundance. Before them stood a temple built of massive stones, though simple and rustic in style, it exuded a powerful and majestic presence. Outside the temple lay an open space, free of weeds and trees. Aside from a few flat stones laid out, it was spacious, clean, and serene. This open space should be where the monkey troop pays homage to the mountain deity. A simple, ancient temple stands quietly atop the mountain, bathed in moonlight, with a clear night sky and dense, layered tree canopies in the background. Zhang Yuanqing and the others quickened their pace, crossing the open space and ascending the rough stone steps to reach the temple. Inside, the temple is spacious yet rustic: six thick stone pillars support a domed ceiling composed of large, thin stone slabs, the pillars themselves built from stone mixed with mud. Though crude and unrefined, the monkey troop clearly has mastered fundamental principles of architectural design—demonstrating high intelligence. At the far end of the hall stands a high altar, upon which a stone statue stands—faintly resembling a woman, with blurred facial features and no garments, yet the monkeys have diligently emphasized her gender through physical characteristics—especially the prominent chest. The statue holds a staff woven from vine, with a green gemstone embedded at the top. Zhang Yuanqing led the group to the sculpture and reached out to touch the staff. A visible yet imperceptible barrier prevented his movement, and at the same time, a task prompt sounded in his ears: 【Ping! This item cannot be touched!】 Could background props not be utilized by the travelers of the spiritual realm? Yet the third side quest mentioned that the evil cultivators sent their agents to seize the mountain deity's staff... only the Shangui faction could take it? Zhang Yuanqing was still pondering this when suddenly Jiang Jingwei called out: "There's a painting here!" The group turned to follow the sound. Jiang Jingwei was holding a "torch," standing by the wall, pointing excitedly at the murals on the stone wall. The murals were faded and worn, mostly outlined in simple lines with lime stone, a few featuring color, with an extremely abstract style. After carefully examining them for a long time, the group half-guessed, half-speculated, before finally understanding the content of the paintings. It's about the battle between the mountain deity and the malevolent practitioner. The powerful practitioner has been wreaking havoc throughout the city, persuading the living inhabitants to gather together, after which the fire figures on the murals keep falling, each one bleeding—blood stained red by the juice of the red berries. The people's blood pools together, forming a vast pool of blood, within which two black eyes slowly open. As people continue to die, the mountain deity, holding a staff, descends and engages in fierce combat with the practitioner, ultimately defeating and killing her. Subsequently, the deity builds "high walls" around the city, severing its connection to the outside world. "Strange—the murals clearly show the practitioner has already been slain. Then, what is the deity's purpose in sealing off the city?" "Does the practitioner seem to be conducting some kind of ritual? Those eyes in the blood pool... Could it be that the deity is preventing the eyes from emerging?" "That makes sense. Therefore, our main objective is to reach the lost city. The group quietly discusses these points. At that moment, Asano Ryō shouted loudly, "The evil faction is arriving!" The official travelers unfolded the map and observed—members of the evil faction had already crossed the Forest of Movement and were now close to the exit of the Maze Forest. Zhang Yuanqing immediately said, "Go ahead and prepare for battle—though the other two teams haven't arrived yet, they're approaching the summit now." The progress of the other two teams was slightly slower, as neither of them had the Primordial Sovereign in their ranks. "I hope they arrive soon," sighed the Peony Immortal. Otherwise, their team would suffer heavy losses. Just then, someone exhaled, "Don't worry—your team won't have to face any battle. This stage is already secured by the Mountain Spirit faction." Everyone turned to look. The speaker was a person with poor hearing, standing by a stone pillar away from the crowd, with a cold expression, and pulled out a compact, palm-sized forest map. "Go back to the Forest of Movement!" As soon as the words fell, the forest sandtable dissolved into shimmering light particles, enveloping everyone present. The next moment, they vanished. He was the traitor, one of the Night Rose. After informing the evil faction of the hidden ambush plan against the Primordial Celestial Sovereign, the one with poor hearing had already considered that if the ambush against the Sovereign failed, the traitor's identity would inevitably be exposed. He needed to act. Thus, he secretly used the musicians' hypnotic power to influence the unsuspecting "little boy who sells matches," prompting him to make a series of odd behaviors before the Primordial Celestial Sovereign. The hypnotized person would remain unaware of any issues and would not realize he had been hypnotized. Yet, with the wisdom of the Primordial Celestial Sovereign, he would surely notice the boy's unusual conduct. If the Sovereign truly returned alive, the Primordial Celestial Sovereign would certainly inform him of this matter. Without the lie-detection device proving effective, the Sovereign would likely implement measures such as restricting the movements of the suspect individuals. Indeed, Yuan Shi Tian Zun had done exactly that. Yet the unfolding of events somewhat surprised the one with poor musical sense, who had originally simply intended to divert the crisis eastward. He had not anticipated the exceptional handling of the situation by the Heavenly Fire's forces, though fortunately, this development added one more suspect, allowing him to remain more detached and free from suspicion. The rewards from the Moving Forest also exceeded his expectations. After losing contact with the group, he recalled the method of using reference points for positioning—a common technique when navigating a maze—which he had never considered applying to escape the Moving Forest. Coincidentally, the location where he was moved was surprisingly close to the exit, enabling him to become the first to successfully emerge from the Moving Forest. Luck, after all, is illogical, and no matter how sharp Yuan Shi Tian Zun may be, he could never have predicted it. He certainly couldn't hand over the reward item. Once he received the item from the Moving Forest, he knew he had secured victory. He first shared his experience with the Shanggui faction, then folded up the item and returned to the Moving Forest to reunite with the official traveler. Though he ended up last, he wasn't questioned. As expected, although the Yuanshizhen Zhen didn't manage to uncover the traitor, he adopted the simplest, most direct, and most effective approach—control. Yet those two were merely cover acts. Glancing at the Mountain God's staff, he noted that the Mountain God faction couldn't reach it. Without hesitation, he turned and walked out of the Mountain God temple, standing at the entrance and silently waiting. Twenty minutes later, the evil faction, led by A-I and Bai Wu Jian Ji, passed through the maze forest and appeared on the open ground outside the Mountain God temple. Bai Wu Jian Ji immediately spotted the voiceless one at the temple entrance and smiled slightly, "Well done!" "The mute nodded slightly, 'The staff is inside. Go in and retrieve it.' The members of the evil faction, hearing the two's conversation, showed no surprise—they had attended the summit. They knew there were representatives from the official team among them, though they didn't know who exactly. 'So it was you,' said one. 'The Dark Rose was indeed cunning—she managed to sway even the top eight contenders before the arena match.' 'Hah! This time, the Prime Immortal is definitely going to meet his end.' As they spoke, the group swiftly crossed the open space and headed toward the Temple of the Mountain God. Suddenly, Ai-1's amber eyes caught a pair of finely crafted, vintage long boots standing beside a patch of green stone, woven from bright yellow silk and embroidered with delicate cloud patterns. 'How come there are boots here?' he stopped, speaking with quiet emphasis. The mute at the temple entrance paused, momentarily puzzled—he couldn't recall seeing such boots when he arrived. Just as he was wondering, a figure emerged clearly against the stone—none other than the Prime Immortal himself." He simply appeared out of nowhere, giving the group a mischievous glance. "Oh, this is mine! Sorry, I forgot to bring it back—I'll just fetch it." As soon as he finished speaking, another figure materialized, returning through the传送, clad in reed armor, arm guards, and leg guards, a tall, striking mixed-race woman.