Traces of the Shanhai

Su Yu and his party continued on their way. Meanwhile. When Du Yan met Blood Crocodile, he didn't bother mincing words and cut straight to the chase: "Ambush Su Yu and the others. Stir up chaos and separate them!" Back when Su Yu first entered the academy, Blood Crocodile had been the Blood Fire Cult powerhouse who organized the All-Races Cult attack on the prodigies from Beifeng City. Now, he had betrayed the Blood Fire Cult, rallied a group of followers, and was preparing to establish the Tianyi Cult. At this moment, Blood Crocodile's face was dark. He glanced at the Lingyun beside him, cursing the bastard in his heart for setting him up! Who could have guessed there was actually a Shanhai Realm expert backing him! "My lord..." Blood Crocodile forced a smile and said, "Ambushing Su Yu is certainly no problem! But right now, there are Shanhai Realm experts on their side. Among our people, hardly any are even above the Tengkong Realm. Attacking them is simply throwing our lives away. My lord, we couldn't possibly split them apart..." He had no desire to rush to his death! He was unlike the fools beneath him; he possessed insider information. Su Yu had so many powerhouses with him—why go out of his way to throw his life away? Du Yan's face turned icy. "Are you defying me?" "I wouldn't dare!" Blood Crocodile smiled. "My lord, I just don't think a frontal ambush will accomplish much. Aside from throwing away lives, it offers no benefit whatsoever." *The whole point is to send you to your deaths,* Du Yan grumbled internally. Su Yu had said to kill a few more to help him practice his technique and earn some money while they were at it. Who would have thought this fellow would see right through it? Quite a rare feat! Weren't members of the Blood Fire Cult supposed to be raving madmen? Usually, they were willing to march to their deaths with just a bit of coaxing. Why wasn't this fellow playing along? Seeing Du Yan frown, Blood Crocodile hurriedly added, "Of course, I understand your intention, my lord. You want to scatter that group and pick them off one by one, right?" Blood Crocodile explained rapidly, "A brute-force assault like that will never separate them. If you want to separate those Shanhai, you need to divide the students of the various races. The Shanhai are their Dao Protectors; only when the students scatter will the Shanhai be pulled apart." Du Yan said coldly, "What is your point?" "I observed them earlier. There are Cloud Tigers, Foxes, Barbarian Oxen... several races. Does my lord know of Heavenly Fox Saliva?" Du Yan's eyes flickered slightly. "I do!" Blood Crocodile smiled. "I happen to have some! It doesn't have much use for most of the myriad races, but for the Fox race, it holds tremendous allure. I've heard it can purify their bloodline and cause it to evolve. What's more, foxes are extraordinarily sensitive to it; they can pick up the scent even from dozens of li away..." Du Yan stared at him, his gaze gleaming. Blood Crocodile chuckled. "My lord, we take them one by one. First, lure out the Fox race! Suppose a Lingyun carries Heavenly Fox Saliva to attack Su Yu, senses danger from afar, and flees... Do you think that Fox powerhouse will give chase?" Du Yan frowned. "They know it's dangerous; they won't charge out rashly! Even if someone does give chase, it might not just be a single Shanhai Realm expert!" The idea was sound, but the main issue was that a Lingyun had already been killed earlier; they might not take the bait now. Had he known, he wouldn't have killed that Iron Wing Bird. That way, this really might have drawn out the Fox Shanhai. Regrettably, he hadn't known Blood Crocodile possessed such an item. Heavenly Fox Saliva had very niche applications, and under normal circumstances, humans hardly collected it. Where had this guy gotten his hands on it? "My lord, why not give it a try?" Blood Crocodile smiled. "We can send cannon fodder first to wear down their vigilance. After several skirmishes, they might not keep their guard up so high. Even if that Fox Shanhai can endure it, that little fox might not be able to resist!" Du Yan said coldly, "What if they don't leave the group, but urge the whole convoy to pursue together? Wouldn't that be handing it to them on a platter?" Blood Crocodile smiled. "Why not try? My lord, even if it fails, it's no big deal. Heavenly Fox Saliva has limited use anyway, only effective for foxes. Even if they take it, we don't lose anything." *Besides, it's mine! Why are you so anxious!* His sole objective was to avoid charging in to die. With multiple Shanhai over there, he was not about to commit suicide. Du Yan stayed silent for a moment, then nodded. "You go try. Carry the Heavenly Fox Saliva and give it a shot. Since you're afraid of death, that makes you perfect for luring them out!" Blood Crocodile cursed inwardly! Just as he was about to speak, Du Yan suddenly grabbed him. In the next moment, a thick beam of eerie light shot from his third eye and struck Blood Crocodile's body. "If you flee, unless you can withstand my Demon Pupil Fire, you will die no matter where you run, even to the ends of the earth!" Blood Crocodile cursed under his breath! *This beast better get killed here, or my future will be bleak.* …… The ambushes continued. As Su Yu drew closer to Tianshui City, several more attacks occurred along the way. Of course, the assailants were not powerful, at most at the Tengkong Realm. They were cultists from unaffiliated All-Races Cult sects who had no idea what was actually going on, perhaps not even knowing there were Shanhai Dao Protectors present. In fact, they certainly didn't know. Otherwise, they would never have had the guts to ambush Su Yu. However, as Su Yu slaughtered batch after batch, and none who attacked ever returned, the assaults gradually dwindled. Even the experts of those unaffiliated sects began to sense the danger. In the convoy, Bai Ce kept glancing back in one direction from time to time. He smelled it! The others sensed nothing, but as a member of the Fox race, he caught the scent: Heavenly Fox Saliva! Dozens of li away, someone was trailing them. The key was that this person was carrying Heavenly Fox Saliva. His bloodline stirred with restlessness. Was it a trap, or had someone unknowingly carried it, not daring to attack, simply tailing them from behind? The elder of his clan must have felt it as well! Whenever the convoy halted, the person trailing behind stopped too. They merely hung back in the distance, neither closing in nor catching up. That boiling sensation in his blood made Bai Ce deeply uncomfortable. Up ahead, Su Yu suddenly turned his head and asked, "Brother Bai, are you injured?" Bai Ce hurried to say, "No, just a bit worried that powerhouses might still be tailing us." "Don't worry," Su Yu chuckled. "At this stage, as long as we keep our heads and don't scatter, taking on six Shanhai Realm experts won't be that easy!" Su Yu gazed into the distance and said, "Two more hours and we can reach Tianshui City! We won't enter the city, so as not to bring trouble to Tianshui City. We'll take a detour around it, and in a few more hours, we'll arrive in Nanyuan!" Bai Ce said nothing. The boiling sensation in his bloodline was growing stronger! *Damn it! Heavenly Fox Saliva!* He wanted to obtain it, but right now, should he speak up? If he spoke, would Su Yu agree to cooperate and capture that trailing expert? Most likely not! This could very well be a trap! Bai Ce suppressed his boiling blood. *It's a trap. I can't be tempted, and Elder shouldn't be tempted either. It's definitely a trap.* Bai Ce comforted himself again and again: *Isn't it just Heavenly Fox Saliva? Though important, I don't care!* In the void. The Shanhai experts were not gathered together; they were scattered around the perimeter. At this moment, the Fox Shanhai had also long sensed the presence of the Heavenly Fox Saliva. He kept turning his head toward the rear, his expression shifting erratically. He, too, thought it was a trap! He could even sense that the pursuer was a Lingyun Realm expert who had been dogging them, seemingly plotting something yet afraid to get close—hanging far back and maintaining the distance without closing in. "A trap. I can't go!" Unless several Shanhai went together. The Fox Shanhai's eyes flickered for a moment, and he suddenly transmitted his voice to the others: "There is a Lingyun behind us trying to lure me out. He's carrying Heavenly Fox Saliva, and it's very likely those two Shanhai are lurking nearby. How about we strike together?" At these words, the other Shanhai exchanged glances. Strike? While they were still considering, the Barbarian Ox Shanhai quickly replied via voice transmission: "Fine, but once you get the Heavenly Fox Saliva, you must offer an equivalent reward!" Seeing that the old ox had agreed, the Pegasus Shanhai and the Mountain Gazelle Shanhai found it hard to refuse. In truth, they weren't very keen on agreeing! But with the old ox on board, turning it down would look bad. The Fox Shanhai didn't waste words and rapidly said, "The enemy might have two or three Shanhai lying in ambush. Let's leave two Shanhai behind here, and the rest of us will launch a swift raid on that fellow together. Those guys underestimate us! Though we aren't of the same race, we are all allies of the human race. Would I ever conceal this from you and plunge myself into danger?" The Fox Shanhai sneered inwardly. Did those enemies truly think his group was like the All-Races Cult? If nothing else, he was allied with the Barbarian Ox and Cloud Tiger races right now. How could he recklessly run off alone without notifying them? He wanted the Heavenly Fox Saliva, but he wanted his life just as much. Before long, two Shanhai and one Lingyun pounced swiftly toward that direction! The void trembled. Su Yu quickly glanced back, only seeing several silhouettes shooting outward. He frowned slightly. To think that Fox fellow didn't go alone. Oh well, he hadn't really expected much anyway. Blood Crocodile... wasn't that fellow good at running? Run around a bit more, then! Su Yu had heard of his reputation back when he was on his way to enter the academy. The man had led an attack on Beifeng City and managed to escape even after several elders of the Great Xia Civilization Academy pursued him for days. Farther away, Blood Crocodile sensed the movement of two Shanhai. Cursing under his breath, he spun around and fled! *Those other Shanhai actually helped him? Are they idiots! If he gets stronger, it does nothing for you! The plan failed—time to run!* Blood Crocodile transformed into a blood arrow, instantly piercing through the void and vanishing. Since he carried the Heavenly Fox Saliva, the Fox expert could still sense him, promptly chasing after him together with the old Mountain Gazelle! …… Su Yu frowned and called out, "Seniors, do not pursue too far! Beware of falling into a trap!" Even though he wished nothing more than for them to fall into a trap, he still had to put on the proper show. Then again, even falling into a trap wouldn't amount to much. With two Shanhai plus a Lingyun Ninth Layer, Du Yan and his partner couldn't swallow them whole. What a pity! Su Yu sighed inwardly. Oh well, if they managed to kill Blood Crocodile, that would be a good thing too. Back then, Blood Crocodile had organized the attack on the Nanyuan convoy, making him Su Yu's enemy as well. Though Su Yu had been fine, several Nanyuan students had died that day. The convoy paused again to rest. And right at this moment, a thunderous boom erupted nearby! Ju Shan's figure emerged! With an enraged roar, he swung his axe. Ahead, a blood moon rose. Ju Shan smashed the blood moon to pieces with his axe. Over here, the old Pegasus appeared. Just as he was about to rush to Ju Shan's aid, Su Yu yelled, "Don't go!" He couldn't leave! The old Pegasus halted, unable to hold back a curse: "Old Fox, get back here!" *Damn it!* The old Fox had taken the Mountain Gazelle Shanhai away. Right now, only he and the Barbarian Ox Shanhai were here, while the Cloud Tiger Shanhai was off in another direction! This was the base camp; they couldn't leave it open for someone else to breach, or the consequences would be dire. Those thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Over by Ju Shan, a plume of flame suddenly burst behind him! "Watch out..." the old Pegasus bellowed, launching a ranged strike across the distance. But by the time it arrived, its power was diminished. Ju Shan was entangled by Xue Yue, and in the next instant, that flame ignited across his body! At this moment, in the distance, both the Cloud Tiger Shanhai and the old Fox rushed back at full speed. The flame belonged to the Demon Pupil race. Having succeeded in their strike, Du Yan and Xue Yue fled immediately. "Do not pursue cornered foes!" Su Yu shouted again. "Don't chase! They're trying to scatter us! Stop running off!" With that, he hurriedly looked toward Ju Shan. At that moment, Ju Shan flew swiftly toward him, touching down and shrinking his form. His face was pale, and an unextinguished flame still burned on his body. "Caught by the Demon Pupil Fire..." Ju Shan muttered gruffly. "A bit troublesome. Unless he recalls the Demon Pupil Fire, I'll have to spend some time grinding it away, or my combat strength will be severely impaired!" The other Shanhai arrived one after another. Seeing the flame burning on him, all of them frowned. The old Fox put on an apologetic look. "Brother Ju Shan, my apologies. We..." He had led people off to hunt Blood Crocodile in order to seize the Heavenly Fox Saliva. In the end, the enemy hadn't been ambushing him at all, but ambushing Ju Shan instead. Now things were messy; with Demon Pupil Fire clinging to him, Ju Shan's strength would definitely plummet. Of course, he didn't care deep down. Ju Shan being injured was a good thing! Still, polite words had to be said! Su Yu frowned again and looked at Ju Shan. "Senior Ju Shan is injured... Do you still possess Shanhai combat strength right now?" "The fire will gradually seep in. I still have it for now, but probably not for long." "How long will it take to suppress it?" "This is Demon Pupil Fire, and he is stronger than me. It will take at least three days and three nights of full-out effort just to barely suppress it!" Su Yu furrowed his brows. "Three days and three nights... We can't wait. The longer this drags on, the more powerhouses the enemy gathers, and the wider the news spreads. Long delays bring many troubles, and now we're down another Shanhai Realm fighter..." At this point, Su Yu suddenly gritted his teeth. "Retreat! We have to retreat! The enemy is whittling down our strength. We can't remain sitting ducks. Senior Ju Shan's injury is too severe..." Ju Shan said nothing. Beside him, the old Pegasus didn't care either—if things went south, retreating was fine! However, the Fox, Barbarian Ox, and newly returned Cloud Tiger Shanhai could never agree to that. If they retreated, how could the plan continue? If they pulled back now, the Single Divine Character Faction would surely cause them trouble. The Cloud Tiger elder hurriedly said, "Demon Pupil Fire is troublesome, but if several of us join forces, we can help suppress it." Ju Shan muttered sullenly, "No. If you join forces to suppress it, the toll on you will be too heavy. The enemy might very well be aiming to wear us down. Recovering as a Shanhai Realm expert isn't easy, and with the sparse Yuan Qi here, recovery is even harder!" The Cloud Tiger elder smiled. "No matter. Joining forces will incur some consumption, but it won't be too severe. Brother Ju Shan, don't overthink it. We'll join hands to help you suppress it!" At this stage, they had to pull their weight, or Ju Shan's heavy injury would genuinely scare Su Yu into turning back. Even though, in their hearts, they wished this fellow had just been killed! Yet now was too early; Su Yu hadn't reached the ruin yet. Ju Shan looked toward Su Yu. Su Yu frowned and asked, "Seniors, if you step in to suppress it, will the drain be substantial?" "Not too great," the Cloud Tiger elder smiled. "A day at most to fully recover!" "Then... I must trouble you, Seniors!" They chuckled and didn't say more. Just as they were about to act, Su Yu spoke up: "We should still keep one or two Shanhai at full strength. Senior Pegasus and Senior Cloud Tiger, one holding down the fort and one scouting ahead, shouldn't exhaust too much. I'll trouble the other Seniors!" The old Pegasus was about to speak, but thought about it and decided that made sense—fine, he would hold down the fort! The Cloud Tiger elder glanced at Su Yu, thought it over, then looked at the Fox expert. The Fox Shanhai, seeing that the Cloud Tiger elder had also been dissuaded by Su Yu, considered it and smiled. That worked too! Su Yu probably didn't suspect anything, or else there would have been no need to exempt the Cloud Tiger elder from helping. "That works as well!" The three Shanhai from the Fox, Barbarian Ox, and Mountain Gazelle races said no more and moved swiftly, joining hands to help Ju Shan expel the Demon Pupil Fire! Everything went smoothly, and the Demon Pupil Fire was gradually suppressed! Though Du Yan was formidable, with four Shanhai—including Ju Shan—suppressing it, it posed no real problem. Watching the flames die down, the faces of the three helpers grew somewhat pale. Just as success was in sight, the fire suddenly flared violently! A thunderous boom erupted! Flames sprang from the void! A powerful burst of fire abruptly erupted again, instantly catching the weakest of them, the Barbarian Ox expert, ablaze! The others were alarmed and hurried to help suppress it! After quite a while, they finally withdrew their hands. Ju Shan's face was deathly pale now, and he couldn't help but curse furiously, "Bastard! Damn it! He was still lurking nearby just now and ignited my apertures..." His face was pale, his body drenched in blood, severely injured—though the Demon Pupil Fire was now completely extinguished. As for the unlucky Barbarian Ox expert, he was not lightly injured either. He wanted to curse someone out, but didn't even know who to blame! Damn it! His injuries were significant, all thanks to Ju Shan dragging him down. With Ju Shan's apertures ignited, the Demon Pupil Fire's power surged exponentially. Had several Shanhai not intervened, he would have been critically burned! Even so, the two experts from the Fox and Mountain Gazelle races had expended immense energy. Of course, the most heavily injured was still Ju Shan, so the ox couldn't say much. Ju Shan was truly unfortunate, having several apertures burned. He had suffered a massive loss and would likely need a long time to repair them later. Ju Shan said gloomily, "I'm fine. A few apertures burned, but without the Demon Pupil Fire suppressing me, I can still exert Shanhai Realm strength. I'll be fine once I recuperate for a while back home!" "My thanks to fellow Daoists!" Offering his thanks, Ju Shan vanished into hiding once more. Su Yu called out hurriedly, "Senior Ju Shan, let Senior Pegasus handle perimeter patrol instead. Moving around like that makes you vulnerable to ambushes. Everyone must be careful! Stay with the Seniors who expended their energy, so no one can take advantage of your weakened state!" Ju Shan's figure reappeared. The old Pegasus agreed, "I'll patrol the perimeter. Stay back—you're an easy target for attacks right now!" "Then... be careful, Fellow Daoist!" Looking somewhat helpless, Ju Shan turned to the Shanhai of the Fox and Barbarian Ox races. "Then I shall accompany you all. Forgive me for being a burden." "You jest, Fellow Daoist. It was our own carelessness!" The Fox elder clasped his hands and welcomed Ju Shan without hesitation. Ju Shan was heavily injured, so scouting the perimeter was indeed dangerous for him. Besides, the one patrolling now was the old Pegasus, not them. Only then did the Barbarian Ox expert ask, "Did you get the Heavenly Fox Saliva? That guy deliberately baited you out. If you didn't get it, we took a huge loss for nothing!" "I got it. That Lingyun dropped the Heavenly Fox Saliva." The Fox elder smiled. His luck was decent: he hadn't been injured, only consuming some Yuan Qi, yet had obtained Heavenly Fox Saliva—he had definitely profited. As for Ju Shan and the Barbarian Ox, they were just unlucky; nothing could be done about that. The enemy hadn't ambushed him. Who knew they would have the audacity to target Ju Shan instead? Ju Shan had been foolish too—if he had rushed over to the old Pegasus right away, the enemy's two Shanhai wouldn't have dared ambush him. Since he suffered no loss and actually made a gain, his mood was naturally quite pleasant. …… The convoy resumed its journey. At this moment, Su Yu had a peculiar glint in his eyes. None of these three great demons were simple! Some things he had arranged, but some he hadn't. For instance, ambushing Ju Shan had been their own idea, and he had simply gone along with the momentum. Because he knew the three were in league together, he could understand what was happening behind the scenes. Anyone who didn't know they were on the same side would never imagine the trio was putting on an act—and managing to heavily injure the Barbarian Ox in the process. Of course, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that Ju Shan had now successfully integrated into that inner circle. Before, he had patrolled the outer perimeter not because he wanted to, but because he didn't know the others and had no way to blend in; trying to do so would only provoke their wariness and exclusion. Now, he had joined their group naturally! He and the ox even shared a sense of mutual pity. And because the old Fox had run off to snatch the Heavenly Fox Saliva, he carried a slight sense of guilt toward them—even if he didn't care in his heart, he had to pretend to. Su Yu didn't dwell on them, merely smiling inwardly. Ju Shan... Since you insisted on mingling among those Shanhai, let's see what you can do. Besides, Ju Shan being injured would also lower the vigilance of the others. …… At the same time. In a mountain hollow. Du Yan glanced at Blood Crocodile, who had just scrambled back. Blood Crocodile offered a flattering smile. "My lord possesses divine foresight, heavily wounding a Shanhai! This lowly one bows in utmost admiration..." Du Yan didn't bother acknowledging him. After waiting a short while, Xue Yue appeared in the hollow. Blood Crocodile's face paled slightly, not daring to utter a peep. After another moment, three figures materialized simultaneously. Blood Rakshasa had arrived! "Xue Yue, Demon Pupil... you..." Blood Rakshasa was furious. These two bastards were far too audacious, daring to go ambush the convoy again! The next instant, his eyes caught sight of someone else, and he said coldly, "Blood Crocodile?" Terror seized Blood Crocodile's heart. *Damn it, Blood Rakshasa!* Not daring to say too much, he blurted out, "Cult Master, I am currently a branch hall master of the Demon Pupil Cult!" Blood Rakshasa's brow furrowed slightly. "Demon Pupil Cult..." Du Yan said nonchalantly, "I founded it. This guy is still somewhat useful, so I'm making use of him for now!" Dismissing the topic, he spoke up, "I am Du Yan. You're the Blood Rakshasa that Xue Yue talked about? A piece of trash!" He hurled an insult before speaking icily, "If you had been willing to cooperate, we could have killed one or even two Shanhai just now, captured Su Yu directly, and avoided all this trouble! As for cooperating with some Single Divine Character Faction... what a joke! If you want benefits, take them yourself—why count on outsiders? If the Single Divine Character Faction cooperates with the Xia family, whatever leverage you think you have is nothing but a joke, easily wiped clean. The Blood Fire Cult... truly full of idiots!" "You..." Du Yan ignored him and looked toward the two Shanhai behind him. "Which cults are you from? If you're from the Blood Fire Cult, there's no need to talk further. If not, we can discuss cooperation. Blood Rakshasa is useless. Do you really think relying on him will get you into the ruin?" The two Shanhai behind Blood Rakshasa exchanged glances. Soon, one chuckled and said, "Divine Dragon Cult, Yun Fei!" "Demonic Scorpion Cult, Hong Chen!" Blood Rakshasa watched them strike up a conversation, feeling thoroughly helpless. Even if he hadn't come, it would have changed nothing; those two had made such a commotion that they had already caught the attention of the two Shanhai behind him. Had he stayed away, those two would have sought them out on their own. At this moment, five Shanhai Realm powerhouses were gathered here. Xue Yue said bluntly, "Their Mountain Giant has been heavily injured. Five of us against six, our combined combat strength surpasses theirs. Blood Rakshasa is also a Shanhai Seventh Layer, giving us solid confidence in a frontal assault. They have to protect those students as well. In my view, we should launch a direct assault and capture Su Yu!" He paused, then added, "If we drag this out and people from the Xia family arrive, we're all dead meat! I have no desire to sit around waiting with an idiot. Waiting to die?" Hearing this, the other two Shanhai nodded. Prolonging this was indeed dangerous! For the All-Races Cult, striking fast and withdrawing immediately was best! Now the disturbance was growing larger. It hadn't been that long yet, but if it dragged out further and the Xia family showed up, they would be hunted down without mercy! Xue Yue continued, "Blood Rakshasa, you're the strongest. Earlier, you proposed cooperating, and I listened to you! But now, dragging this out is seeking death! We either strike immediately, or don't strike at all and gather those so-called Single Divine Character Faction experts of yours. If they're fooling you and don't even send anyone, what cooperation is there to speak of?" Xue Yue said coldly, "They must show up and rendezvous with us! We need to assess the balance of power between both sides. If they're too strong, they might turn on us and wipe us out. Right now, everything rests on your word alone—do you think you can take charge of this mission just like that?" "Indeed, Blood Rakshasa. Where are they? Maintaining contact only through a single channel with you shows zero sincerity!" The other two also began voicing doubts! Xue Yue and Du Yan both smiled imperceptibly. Gathering everyone in one place was the only way to catch them all in one fell swoop! Only by assembling everyone could they find out how many people were involved! Since they had infiltrated this far, it would be a waste not to play the role of shot-caller. Of course, their individual strength wasn't as high as Blood Rakshasa's. If they were stronger, they wouldn't have bothered with him at all. Blood Rakshasa wasn't entirely at ease himself. After some thought, he nodded. "I'll try. What you say isn't unreasonable; we indeed must beware of them turning on us!" With that, he took out a voice transmission talisman to send a message. After a while, he said, "Wait a bit. That fellow went to ask for instructions!" …… Meanwhile. Yu Hong picked up her voice transmission talisman, glanced at it, and frowned. "They want us to rendezvous and act together. Otherwise... the cooperation is off!" Old Zheng frowned. "Isn't that inappropriate? Elder Yu, what we're doing is already extremely risky. If we meet up... once discovered, we'll be dead without a doubt!" This was very risky! Kept separate, if caught, couldn't one claim they were just out for a stroll? If they met up and got caught, the trouble would be astronomical. Yu Hong fell silent for a moment, then said, "It doesn't matter. If we're discovered, we silence them, turn our coats, and slaughter those All-Races Cult powerhouses. It wouldn't be the first time an expert infiltrated the All-Races Cult to turn on them!" She added, "Plenty of people even start their own cult branches to act as informants for the human race. As long as we don't actually harm the Xia family's interests, it won't matter. We only need to strike and kill Su Yu at the critical moment, and by then, being seen with the All-Races Cult won't matter anymore!" Old Zheng was still somewhat worried. After a pause, he said in a low voice, "We'd best eliminate them afterward! Cut the weeds down to the roots! Otherwise, we leave behind far too much leverage!" "Mm!" Yu Hong agreed. That wouldn't be difficult; they had plenty of Shanhai on their side. Working in tandem with the Cloud Tigers and others afterward, wiping out those cultists wouldn't be very hard. Those fools in the All-Races Cult had no idea the Cloud Tigers and the others were secretly working with them. …… Half an hour later. Yu Hong and Old Zheng arrived, their facial features blurred into obscurity, revealing nothing. Du Yan snorted coldly, looking at the pair. "Just two?" "Not enough?" Yu Hong's voice was sinister. Her aura erupted—Shanhai Seventh Layer! Old Zheng's aura surged as well—Shanhai Sixth Layer! "Tsk, tsk, not weak at all, you two!" Xue Yue laughed darkly. "However, if there really are only two of you... it's truly not enough! With just you two, it's seven against six. Furthermore, the Great Xia Prefecture might have another Shanhai monitoring in secret. Seven against seven... that won't do! If that's the case, once we reach the ruin, it'll turn into a fight to the death. Capturing Su Yu right now to interrogate him for the ruin's location would be much safer!" Yu Hong said coldly, "There is one more person who hasn't arrived yet, but they will be here soon. Their side has no late-stage Shanhai. Both Blood Rakshasa and I are late-stage Shanhai—what danger could there be?" She then added, "You and that Demon Pupil fellow, stop causing chaos and messing things up for me!" Yu Hong was irritated as well. These two kept stirring up trouble; if they continued, how would Su Yu dare go to the ruin? Having two Shanhai show up was manageable, but if several more appeared, Su Yu would definitely lose his nerve and turn back. Part of their reason for coming was to keep Xue Yue and Demon Pupil in check. Xue Yue gave a sinister chuckle. "Fair enough. We won't cause trouble, but once the ruin is found, you two better not pull any tricks either! In addition, when the time comes to strike, unless you two kill a Shanhai, we won't dare trust you. The Xia family should have an overseer present. Our demands are modest: we'll handle the rest, but if you two can kill that one... only then will we dare trust you!" Hearing this, the several All-Races Cult Shanhai fell silent. Yes! You must kill someone from the Xia family! Otherwise, how could anyone trust you? Yu Hong's expression turned frigid. After a long pause, she said coldly, "Fine!" "Then everyone's satisfied!" Xue Yue cackled wickedly. "Since you put it that way, we'll trust you. Cooperation is fine; you two can take the lead if you want. Single Divine Character Faction... hehe, take good care of us in the future—we're all on the same side!" Yu Hong and Old Zheng ignored him, remaining silent. Du Yan also smiled. "Say no more, then. Shanhai experts will lie low and refrain from acting to avoid drawing attention! Let those idiots continue their harassment so that an unnatural silence doesn't make them feel even more endangered. It's just as well—we can use this opportunity to clean out the unaffiliated cult experts in the Great Xia Prefecture." None of them objected. The ones dying were the weaklings, the fools; if they died, so be it. …… At this moment, Su Yu and his party were less than an hour's journey away from Tianshui City. The ambushes grew sparse. Xue Yue and Du Yan no longer appeared. Su Yu didn't know much else, only that Xue Yue and his partner had met with two Shanhai Realm experts—one Seventh Layer, one Sixth Layer. He had already guessed the Seventh Layer. As for the Sixth Layer... the one from the Great Shang Prefecture? Audacious indeed! The Single Divine Character Faction... their guts truly pierced the heavens, daring to actually rendezvous with the cultists! *That should be just about everyone, right?* Yu Hong had said there was one more waiting, which was likely Elder Li. All three elders accounted for. On the All-Races Cult's side, excluding Xue Yue and his partner, there were also three Shanhai. That made six! The Cloud Tiger, Barbarian Ox, and Fox races made another three. Nine Shanhai! Of known enemies, there were already nine Shanhai powerhouses. Su Yu licked his lips. He needed to pick up the pace and not drag this out too long, lest it arouse their suspicions. Nine Shanhai... that was quite a massive number! Yu Hong and her accomplices certainly thought highly of him. *More than enough. If I kill nine Shanhai this time, my name will shake the world!* Assuming he stayed alive, that was! "Speed up!" Su Yu shouted, "Pick up the pace! Delays breed danger!" The Suanni surged with speed, and the Mountain-Boring Ox quickly followed behind carrying the others. At this moment, the sun blazed high in the sky. As Su Yu pressed forward, he called out, "We take a detour ahead! We're bypassing Tianshui City and heading straight for Nanyuan!" No one objected, following along in succession. Along this stretch of the road, the danger lessened as well. Astride the Mountain-Boring Ox, Xia Qing looked at Ji Xiaomeng and Li Minyu with a strange expression in her eyes. It was already this dangerous, yet these two still hadn't left? What on earth were they thinking!