The dust from the explosion gradually settled, leaving behind a charred crater dozens of meters wide where the evil cultivator had once stood. Faint wisps of blue smoke rose from the bottom, and the surrounding trees lay flattened in a radial pattern, the air thick with a pungent, burnt stench.
"Tsk, isn't this our 'One-Armed Hero'?" A tall, thin man in black robes kicked a charred, severed arm on the ground, his voice dripping with mockery. "He was heavily injured by some Qi Condensation brat and insisted on coming back for revenge. In the end, he couldn't even handle this. Truly an embarrassment to us all."
Another burly man with a face full of scars crouched down and picked up a fragment of bone, weighing it in his hand. "I told him the old fool would trip up sooner or later. He spent all day acting mysterious with that broken flute of his, treating the elders' words like passing wind."
"Didn't he?" The thin man sneered. "Last mission, we went on a wild goose chase because he insisted on acting alone. This time, he managed to get himself killed."
The burly man casually tossed the bone fragment into the crater and brushed the dust off his hands. "You think something was wrong with his head? He knew those brats had teleportation talismans, yet he insisted on standing on such a conspicuous rock."
"Showing off!" the thin man mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "'This old man alone is enough,' 'don't get in my way.' And the result? Not even ashes are left!"
The two looked at each other and burst into harsh laughter.
"If you ask me, we should have done what the elder said. If the three of us had attacked together, how could this have happened?"
"What's the point of saying that now?" The thin man kicked the scorched earth. "Let's go back and report. No one liked the old man anyway; it's better that he's dead."
"But then again," the burly man suddenly stopped smiling, "a Flame Pearl... that's a Water Moon Sect item. Ordinary inner sect disciples wouldn't have something like that."
The thin man curled his lip in disdain, and several blood-red ants crawled out of his sleeve. "Go, find a trail."
The ants scurried over the scorched earth for a moment before quickly returning.
"It seems the power of that Flame Pearl was even stronger than I thought. It completely erased their scent; my tracking gu can't find them."
"Should we pursue?" The thin man licked his lips.
"Pursue my foot!" The burly man slapped him on the back of the head. "Did you forget the business the elder entrusted to us? If you delay the mission for a dead man, do you want to end up as a roasted rat like him?"
The thin man muttered sheepishly, "I was just saying..."
"Let's go." The burly man cast one last glance at the crater, his voice full of contempt. "It's good the old man is dead. Saves us from having to look at that sour face all day. He really thought he was someone important."
The thin man looked toward the depths of the forest with lingering resentment, then suddenly sneered, "They're lucky." A purple light flew from his sleeve, blasting the crater another three feet deeper.
As the words fell, the two figures turned into black mist and vanished, leaving only a mess behind.
On the other side.
Li Nanzhu embedded the last stealth stone into a crevice in the rock. The cave entrance was instantly veiled in a hazy glow. She let out a long sigh of relief and turned to look inside the cave.
"With the boost from the stealth stones and the soundproofing array," she said softly, "we should at least be able to spend the next two days in safety."
The three others nodded slightly. Two days would be enough to recover most of their injuries, which would make their subsequent movements easier. For now, staying here was the safest option.
Suisui, seeing that none of the four were paying attention to it, slowly shuffled toward the cave entrance. For some reason, its bones suddenly began to tremble violently.
Seeing this, everyone immediately held their breath. If a demonic beast attacked now or if the evil cultivator's companions caught up, they didn't have a second Flame Pearl to throw.
Through the hazy glow, they saw a massive black shadow sweep across the distant canopy, its wingspan reaching over thirty meters.
"A Golden-Feathered Thunder Roc..." Liu Qingyang sucked in a breath of cold air. "An adult is at least at the middle stage of the Golden Core stage."
Duan Xianxing silently pulled his legs further into the cave. "Did we fall into a demonic beast's nest?"
Zhu Yinxi rubbed his brow. "I checked the surroundings before coming in. Based on the direction and distance of the teleportation talisman, we have likely entered the inner-middle region of the Forest of Demonic Beasts."
"The inner-middle region?" Duan Xianxing whispered in shock. "The beasts here are all at the Golden Core stage. Can we even get out alive?" After speaking, he wore a miserable expression and poked Suisui repeatedly.
"I've tried sending several more distress signals to the sect," Liu Qingyang said with a touch of melancholy, "but the inner-middle region of the Forest of Demonic Beasts has natural barriers. I don't know if the signals can be received."
"There's no point in discussing this now. The first priority is to heal," Zhu Yinxi said, closing his eyes to regulate his breath again. "The inner-middle region is not like the outskirts. Any beast here could take your lives. Even if I weren't injured, I couldn't guarantee your safe return."
"That's true." Liu Qingyang nodded. After taking some pills, his condition was much better than before, and the burns on his arm had already scabbed over.
Nearby, Duan Xianxing poked at the campfire out of boredom. He whispered to Liu Qingyang, "Your Water Moon Sect's Flame Pearls are so powerful, why didn't you bring more?"
Liu Qingyang was helpless. "My father gave that to me to save my life. I only had one. Once it's used, it's gone."
Duan Xianxing sighed. "What a shame. If we had a few more, we could have just blasted our way through this forest."
Liu Qingyang's mouth twitched. "...Are all you sword cultivators this reckless?"
Duan Xianxing replied righteously, "It's called efficiency!"
Liu Qingyang: "..."
Just as he spoke, Zhu Yinxi's finger moved slightly, and a wisp of spiritual energy accurately flicked Duan Xianxing's forehead. "Be quiet."
Duan Xianxing clutched his forehead and looked piteously at Li Nanzhu. "Little Junior Sister, Second Senior Brother hit me again."
Li Nanzhu was organizing the pills in her storage bag. Hearing this, she looked up and said with a smile, "Seventh Senior Brother, why don't you try Third Senior Brother's heart-calming pill? I guarantee you won't be bored at all."
Duan Xianxing's face stiffened, and he immediately sat up straight. "...I suddenly feel like staying like this is quite nice."
Liu Qingyang sat nearby, his shoulders shaking as he tried to stifle his laughter.
Seeing the pleasant atmosphere, Li Nanzhu took out several spirit fruits and began to slow-roast them over the campfire. Seeing this, Duan Xianxing stared with wide eyes, his throat bobbing. "Little Junior Sister, your roasting smells so good. It's a waste of your talent not to open a spirit fruit shop at the foot of the mountain."
Li Nanzhu raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Once we get back alive, you provide the capital, I'll roast the fruits, and we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."
Duan Xianxing immediately clutched his storage bag tight. "...I suddenly feel like I don't want to eat them that much."
Late at night.
"Wake up!" Li Nanzhu whispered to wake the others, who were still meditating.
At some point, a strange rustling sound had started coming from outside, like the scuttling of countless arthropods.
Li Nanzhu crept to the cave entrance and saw a hair-raising sight through the glow.
Countless scarlet ants were swarming from all directions, each the size of a thumb. Wherever they passed, the vegetation withered instantly. In the center of the swarm, a massive ant queen raised its head, its antennae twitching constantly.
"Spirit-siphoning fire ants..." Liu Qingyang's face turned pale. "What are they looking for?"
Zhu Yinxi pressed down on Duan Xianxing, who was trying to stand up. "Don't move. The stealth stones can block our scent, but they are very sensitive to spiritual energy fluctuations."
The ant swarm lingered near the cave entrance for a long time. The ant queen even crawled to the edge of the array, its antennae almost touching the glow. Suisui was so scared its bones rattled, but Li Nanzhu pulled it into her arms.
In this critical moment, an earth-shaking roar suddenly echoed from the distance.
The ant queen snapped its head around and immediately led the swarm away like a receding tide.
"It's the cry of the Golden-Feathered Thunder Roc." Liu Qingyang breathed a long sigh of relief. "The natural predator has arrived."
Duan Xianxing slumped to the ground. "This godforsaken place..."
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