The cultivators all rushed towards the valley, and when they arrived three burns of an incense later, they didn’t dare spread their auras out of concern they’d alert the red dragon. They all showed somber expressions while sneaking towards the valley like a bunch of thieves—the battle prowess of a true dragon wasn’t something anyone could look down on.

　　The full-mastery Golden Cores hid behind the clouds and looked into the valley below, where they did indeed see a red dragon rolling around in a muddy pond. They all felt a bit of excitement and fear; they were cultivators who’d arrived at the uppermost limit of the Golden Core Stage and their battle prowess was extraordinary, but faced with this red dragon, all three of them were worried and lacking confidence.

　　“We’re going to attack?”

　　“With the three of us together, we’ll be able to go for a fight, but the chances are not too great. How about this: first we form a formation in advance to trap this red dragon inside the valley, then we’ll wait until assistance from our clans arrives. We’ll need at least five full-mastery Golden Cores to ensure it doesn’t manage to escape, and we’ll need at least ten to easily capture it…” Elder Fangzheng of the Fengtian clan slowly spoke, analyzing the situation clearly and logically.

　　“What Elder Fangzheng said is indeed correct. Our current main purpose is toprotect Miss Magu; if all three of us were to attack the red dragon and fight it out, what would we then do to actually capture it? If anything were to happen, it’ll be too late to even feel regret!” The Baiyue clan’s Elder Linglong declared, placing specific emphasis on the word “protect” to clearly mean “keep a close eye on”.

　　“Indeed!” The Yushou clan’s Elder Xiong also agreed with the decision, and Elder Linglong took out a set of formation flags unique to the Baiyue clan before explaining how to use them. Elder Fangzheng took three flags, Elder Xiong took three others, and Elder Linglong took the remaining two flags for herself before they made their way to different sections around the valley.

　　“How did you the Yushou clan find this red dragon exactly?” Magu quietly asked one of the Yushou clan’s Exalts while standing lightly in mid-air.

　　The Exalt quickly answered, “Miss Xunlong, we came over after sensing the unique messaging tool of our clan, although the person who used the messaging tool wasn’t there when we arrived and their aura was nowhere to be found. I imagine they must have been discovered by the red dragon when they discovered it and they were attacked, resulting in misfortune. Fortunately, they were able to activate the messaging tool before their death….”

　　‘How could it be such a coincidence the red dragon was close by? Could this be a trap?’ Magu creased her brows and looked towards the Venerated Youth beside her before asking a few more questions in detail, but the answers left her even more confused. Based on the Exalt’s reply, they’d waited here for over an hour yet still did not find any traces of the red dragon’s owner. This dragon had instead become akin to a wild peril beast and had been playing in the valley below on its own all this time.

　　The Venerated Youth looked around, and although his expression remained blank, he was inwardly filled with alarm. ‘The great net has been cast and capturing that Xing-named kid is only a matter of time, but why did he reveal himself so soon? This red dragon actually appeared here; could Xing Fang have gone to the Rising Immortal’s Altar? Even if he didn’t, though, he must already know we’re after him after killing the Yushou clansmen, so why did he not flee together with the red dragon?’

　　The Venerated Youth truly hadn’t expected to capture them so soon. He knew the kid was cunning and calculating, and someone who was capable of destroying the entire Hentian clan on their own certainly wasn’t easy to go up against. He’d assumed that if this person learned everyone in the Guixu Ruins was after him, he’d definitely take the red dragon and hide in a location with very few people. Later on, he might decide to risk it or perhaps simply give up on the red dragon altogether in exchange for their cooperation and a chance to enter the depths of the Guixu Ruins.

　　No matter which choice this Xing Fang made, he’d still end up in the Venerated Youth’s hands and be controlled by him, yet the red dragon had appeared so easily today while Xing Fang had disappeared, causing the Venerated Youth some uncertainty. Although others might believe their objective was the red dragon, he and Magu both understood all too well that their true target was the dragon’s owner. If they couldn’t find him and get the bronze mirror in his possession, these plans would have been all for naught.

　　‘Where exactly did that brat go?’ The pair began to feel a bit agitated, and as the Venerated Youth thought on it, all manner of guesses started to pop into his mind. Although he had the bloodline of the ancient Foremost Perils’ Vermillion Bird and would be particularly powerful when fully matured, he was someone who preferred utilizing tactics. After being disadvantaged by Fang Xing twice, he wanted to capture Fang Xing more than anything; not only did he want to take the bronze mirror, he also wanted to vent all of his anger and was even more determined to find him.

　　Unfortunately, the more he thought on it, the more chaotic his thoughts became until he was no longer sure what Fang Xing’s purpose actually was anymore. Of course, he would probably never consider Fang Xing was approaching it from a completely different angle and wasn’t thinking of how to escape at all….

　　The Fengtian clan’s Fangzheng, Baiyue clan’s Linglong, and Yushou clan’s Xiong Hu all landed at three different locations surrounding the valley and started placing the formation flags at specific angles to quietly trap the red dragon inside. They’d have a better chance of facing the red dragon and keeping any accidents from occurring once the others from their clans arrived.

　　Their actions were very soft out of fear they might wake the red dragon napping below, but when five of the eight flags were set with the last three remaining, the dragon seemed to sense something and abruptly woke up. It raised its head on full alert, and two hot fumes blew from its nostrils as its murderous gaze fell right upon Fengtian’s Elder Fangzheng.

　　Elder Fangzheng was merely placing a formation flag into the crack of a stone when he suddenly felt a chill along his spine. He immediately turned in surprise and two pairs of eyes met, causing a thin layer of sweat to form on his forehead. He felt it might be nothing more than a coincidence and that the red dragon might not have truly seen him, but he soon heard a low roar and the dragon suddenly rushed towards him.

　　Swoosh .

　　A red shadow shot into the sky like a sharp arrow with its tip pointed directly at Elder Fangzheng….

　　“The red dragon has been alerted! Attack!” Elder Fangzheng shouted in shock before reflexively drawing his sword. He hadn’t even been given enough time to wonder how he’d managed to alert this dragon despite being so careful before he caused his blade to lightly quiver and sent a sword wave surging towards the valley below. After seeing the red dragon in such a state, he’d immediately decided to attack; given the great size of the Guixu Ruins, it would be extremely difficult to find this red dragon again if it managed to escape.

　　Boom !

　　The red dragon shot up and directly slammed head-first against the oncoming sword wave, only to break past and continue rushing towards Elder Fangzheng. When Elder Fangzheng saw how the sword wave was unable to protect him, he panicked and immediately activated Teleportation, causing his body to flash and relocate a hundred feet away. He did not dare to take this red dragon’s attack head-on so soon or he’d end up heavily wounded.

　　When Elder Linglong saw this, she let out a low sigh and glanced towards Elder Xiong Hu. “Let’s go!”

　　“Let’s go!” Xiong Hu loudly called out in response while forming his hands into seals. Four blurry shadows flew out from his storage sack and into the sky, where they began to grow larger and let out low growls filled with murderous intent. Once the shadows grew large enough, they were revealed to be a Four-Armed Peril Ape, a Red-Haired Giant Bear, a Silver-Tailed Blood Wolf, and a One-Horned Blue-Eyed Serpent.

　　Fourth-tier peril beasts!

　　Four fourth-tier peril beasts!