Three ninth-tier cultivators. This immediately halted any movements or ideas the Qing-Yun disciples may have had.

　　Most of the Qing-Yun disciples were in Spirit Stage’s middle tiers. Only Xiao Jianming and Xu Linyun were in the late stages of Spirit Stage, and Xu Linyun was only in tier eight. Put simply, the difference in total battle prowess was quite large, and even the sole person who’d shown themself to be at tier five—the little girl—had demonstrated abilities beyond an ordinary mid-tier Spirit Stage cultivator.

　　The three ninth-tier men did not even need to do anything, as the remaining men were more than enough to take out the Qing-Yun disciples. Faced with these unfriendly gazes, Xiao Jianming’s expression chilled as he took a step backwards, while Xu Linyun on the other hand slowly took a step forward. The pair stood in front of all the Qing-Yun disciples and looked sternly at the men. After jumping off his golden crow, Fang Xing also made his way over into joining the group and stuck his head out from the crowd of people.

　　Xiao Jianming inhaled a deep breath and asked, “Esteemed fellow Taoists, where did you all come from? What matters do you have here at the trial grounds of our Qing-Yun Sect?”

　　The lead youth in the embroidered gown ignored the question and instead asked, “Who was the one to control the beasts earlier?”

　　Xiao Jianming was surprised by the question, but he only creased his brows without answering.

　　The red-dressed girl smiled. “When Big Brother Zhaoyang is asking you a question, you’d best answer him quickly; his temper really isn’t good at all. He has to kill a few people every day!” She then quickly added onto the youth’s earlier words, “We’re here searching for something, and we only came here because we sensed the item just recently. You must have seen it!”

　　Xiao Jianming creased his brows even more. “We don’t have anyone here that can control beasts!” he slowly answered.

　　The embroidered-gown youth rolled his eyes. “Are you looking to die?” he coldly demanded.

　　The color drained out of Xiao Jianming’s face, his irritation growing. His cultivation level was the same as the youth’s, yet he was being spoken to in such a rude manner.

　　The red-dressed girl clapped her hands to grab everyone’s attention before speaking with a laugh, “You’d all better think your answers through. Our senses cannot be wrong, and there was definitely the scent of beast control being used here. We wouldn’t have come otherwise!”

　　Xiao Jianming still locked his brows and did not speak.

　　The Qing-Yun disciples were all beginning to grow worried. This was a group of highly skilled cultivators who had come from out of nowhere, and they were here asking such random things like this? Beast control? How would they know how to control beasts? But seeing how these cultivators were filled with killing intent, if they did not give satisfactory answers to these questions, there was a high possibility that the cultivators would actually begin a fight….

　　Xu Linyun seemed to remember something before looking towards Fang Xing. Fang Xing returned her gaze as well, knowing very well what she had remembered, and he quietly shook his head before moving his lips in a silent sentence: ‘It’s better to have one fewer problem than one more.’

　　Xu Linyun had recalled the time when the Qing-Yun disciples were assaulted by the waves of beasts near the lake, and how both she and Fang Xing had noticed that someone was purposefully controlling these beasts, which bore some similarities to the item these people were searching for. Of course, she would have never thought that the “person” who had been controlling the beasts was actually sneakily hiding behind Fang Xing….

　　What Fang Xing said also convinced Xu Linyun not to tell these people about it. Indeed, it was better to have one less problem than one more. So what if she did tell them about the waves of beast attacks? They might even take her as a prisoner to lead them to the location in order to find more clues. It was better to just pretend they knew nothing to get rid of them as soon as possible. Of course, judging by first impressions, it wouldn’t be an easy task to get rid of these people; they would have to play it by ear.

　　Just as the atmosphere was growing tense, Shuwen Valley’s lead disciple Pi Junzi suddenly spoke, “Um, every—everyone…. The scent that you speak of, is it… is it… is it this?” he stuttered out. He then walked behind where the lower half of the Blue Centipede was lying and shook the corpse with some force. A number of stench-covered items immediately dropped onto the ground, with beast bones and flesh that had yet to be digested. Within this bloody mess was a small cauldron that had been damaged by an explosion, and—upon closer inspect—it was even possible to see some spell marks still carved on it.

　　“Hm?” The embroidered-gown youth rotated his palm and the cauldron flew into his hands, seeming to not mind the mess and stench as he carefully inspected it. His expression showed disappointment before he threw it on the ground and coldly asked, “This is yours?”

　　Xiao Jianming glanced meaningfully towards Feng Qingwei, who was then forced to step forward. “That is correct. It’s a low-tier spirit tool. Once instilled with beast blood, a Catalyst Pellet, and a few other medicinal herb powders, the cauldron sends out a beast-luring scent while making sure the smell of blood doesn’t dissipate until traveling over a hundred miles….”

　　As Feng Qingwei spoke on, the expression of the embroidered-gown youth dropped. Suddenly, the youth turned towards an older man behind him who was wearing a black robe with a cultivation level at Spirit Stage tier eight. “Shankui, what do you say?”

　　The old man closed his eyes—as if trying to carefully sense something—and a layer of sweat formed on his forehead. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes and spoke with hesitation, “It seems the scent of the Bea—that cauldron is gone. I can only sense this low-tier spirit tool….”

　　A hint of anger quickly flashed across the youth’s face as he coldly questioned, “Did you not say you surely sensed its scent just before?”

　　The black-robed elder named Shankui was now filled with unease and embarrassment. “The distance back then was a little too great. Besides… besides, this spirit tool has a foundation similar to ours. Despite its poor make, its scent is somewhat similar….”

　　Shankui’s words confirmed he had made an incorrect judgment earlier.

　　The youth let out a long sigh, “Aiii….”  The expressions on these men’s faces also did not seem too impressed.

　　As for the Qing-Yun disciples, they all felt a sense of relief. It was thankfully all just a misunderstanding, and at the very least they wouldn’t need to fight these people head-on.

　　Among all these people, the happiest would perhaps be the golden crow that had been sneakily hiding at the back. It was like a dream to him, and his partner—the boy—seemed to possess remarkable abilities. Fang Xing had simply and casually handed him a mask that allowed him to change his scent, and the crow had indeed utilized the mask in such a way while his body—which was also changed by the mask—hid the cauldron inside.

　　The red-dressed girl giggled. “Big Brother Zhaoyang, I told you that thief headed south towards the Deserted Swamp. You said he planted a trap to misdirect us and had actually gone to Chufung, but this proves I was right, right? I say, how about we go back as soon as possible to chase after him towards the south?” She was different compared to the rest of the men and wasn’t afraid of this embroidered-gown youth at all.

　　The youth’s anger hadn’t yet dissipated, but he eventually nodded and accepted her suggestion without speaking a word.

　　The red-dressed girl laughed before turning to Xiao Jianming. “We’ll be leaving now, but I won’t return this beast core to you!”

　　Xiao Jianming felt his heart lighten as he politely replied, “It is nothing more than a single beast core—please do take it. It can be considered a bond between our Qing-Yun Sect and a young lady such as yourself. However, that shidi of mine… would you kindly let him go now?” He knew how to act appropriately according to the situation, and seeing how his side had no chance at taking the beast core back by force, he had decided to act as an intermediary.

　　Unexpectedly, before the girl had even answered, the youth opened his eyes and stabbed Xiao Jianming with his sword-like gaze. “You think you can form a bond between us with a mere beast core?”

　　Xiao Jianming was dumbstruck. He had only casually said that; who actually wanted to form bonds here? Even if Xiao Jianming didn’t want to let it go, would these people really give him back the beast core anyway? “What do you mean?” Xiao Jianming’s question held a trace of annoyance. Even though his battle prowess might not be on the same level, his anger had been lit; the youth’s strength couldn’t be that much higher than his own, after all, it was just that the youth had more help.

　　The youth released a cold laugh. “Very well, if you want to form a bond between us, hand over all your storage sacks!”

　　As this sentence was spoken, the expressions of all the Qing-Yun disciples dropped. The youth and his group, on the other hand, smiled. The red-dressed girl even clapped her hands as she said, “Big Brother Zhaoyang is venting on others again, but by taking others’ storage sacks! I like it!”

　　Xiao Jianming’s face had already greatly changed. The fires of anger within him were now truly ignited, and he felt he was unable to restrain himself any longer.

　　The embroidered-gown youth coldly smiled before giving the two men at his side a meaningful glance. Suddenly, both men released their ninth-tier cultivation levels and used them like a violent tidal wave to suppress Xiao Jianming. Xiao Jianming’s face dropped while the youth said, “If you’re not convinced, you can try to fight us. It’s not hard to get rid of a few corpses within this deserted mountain range….”

　　Xiao Jianming’s heart froze as he realized the three men in the ninth tier had already secretly locked onto his location in case he might try to escape. As a result, Xiao Jianming had also started to thoroughly consider the situation. Although their strength might seem extraordinary, Xiao Jianming was certain that—with his ability—taking down one of them would not be a problem. Taking on two of them at the same time, however, would be a bit difficult….

　　But if he were to fight all three of them at the same time, he would have no chance at all even to escape. No matter what, he—the eldest shixiong of the Qing-Yun Sect—was going to be robbed. This left him feeling rather sullen.

　　“How about this,” the girl smiled, as if trying to resolve this, “You’ve already given me the ninth-tier beast core, so we can say you’ve already given us a storage sack and you can keep yours. As for the others, uh-huh, they’ll have to give them to us. If you feel dissatisfied, well, we’ve got one of yours in our hands, so you can view this as a ransom to have him back.”

　　Xiao Jianming relaxed upon hearing this.

　　Fang Xing, on the other hand, was not happy. “Motherf*cker, that beast core was mine…” he muttered.