Joel and Cecilia had spent the remainder of the night in silence, sitting cross-legged by the canyon's edge.
The morning's arrival didn't change the two rooting experts' stances, but their minds had long since grown messier. Despite only sensing faint echoes, they had felt the underground earthquakes, and worry had inevitably settled in their brains.
That wasn't only due to fear of the mission's failure. Joel and Cecilia had recruited far better disciples for that second exploration, and their lives weren't exactly inconsequential for the Sects.
Dead outer disciples weren't a big issue, but inner disciples were far more valuable. To make things worse, Joel had brought a seven-spiritual-roots genius and a nine-spiritual-roots walking miracle to the mission, and losing them could spell doom for him.
