Seeing that there was indeed a familiar contact, the group of armored soldiers, who were about to act, finally put down their raised weapons.

"You all continue with your work. My friend has some business; I'll chat with him for a while." The black-faced man motioned to the group in dismissal, turned around, waved at Lao Changtai, and walked aside.

Once they were out of sight, Lao Changtai immediately pulled out a ticket and stuffed it into Lao Xi's hand. It was a Six Realms Universal Exchange Ticket with a face value of a thousand, expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, Brother Lao, for helping to resolve this."

The two got to know each other naturally because Shi Chun had introduced them before.

Seeing that Shi Chun was using a fake name here, he and Chu Jingtang also did not use their real names. He was now called Lao Yuanchu, and Chu Jingtang was called Chu Anxiong here.

Upon seeing the value of the ticket, Lao Xi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, but he quickly pushed it back with a refusal, "What are you doing? We're brothers; this was no trouble at all. Let's not be vulgar; there's a long journey ahead, a long journey ahead."

Lao Changtai pushed it back into his hand, "A transaction is a transaction; you have to grease the wheels, don't you?"

"Since Brother Lao says so, I would be impolite to refuse," Lao Xi said graciously, though his face lit up with joy. After glancing around, he quickly pocketed the ticket and leaned in to ask in a low voice, "What's going on? Does it have anything to do with you again?"

Lao Changtai did not tell the truth, "Related? I don't even know what's going on."

Hearing this, Lao Xi couldn't help but mutter internally. Clearly, you are in league with the Soul Stealers, and you just happened to show up at the crime scene? You say you don't know what's going on?

But then again, the money he just received was still warm, so he quickly changed his tone, "Right, you just got here."

Lao Changtai asked again, "How long is this search going to last?"

He had arranged to meet the Master in half a hour. If the troops kept causing trouble here, the Master's appearance would definitely be discovered.

Lao Xi patted the ticket in his pocket, "I'll invite them for a drink right away. Don't worry, they'll leave soon."

Lao Changtai was speechless, Am I saying that?

But it was fine; since the other party was so cooperative, he was truly reassured.

It wasn't their first day dealing with each other. Lao Changtai knew very well this guy's nature: he really dared to take money and really dared to get things done. As long as the money was right, anything he could do would be no problem.

Lao Xi told him to wait a moment and immediately went off to get things done after receiving the money.

The effect was immediate. In a short while, the group of armored soldiers retreated in a clattering mess.

Lao Changtai tightened the turban around his head and shook his head with a sigh. He then quietly retreated to the mountain to wait...

On the barren plain, a figure flashed by at an extremely fast speed, reaching the side of the Red-clothed Woman in the blink of an eye, it was Lan.

After saluting, Lan reported, "Madam, the Great Pharmacist has confirmed it; indeed, it's the Reversing Soul Tree. The whereabouts of those two who took the Reversing Soul Tree have also been tracked down, they're in Yao Mountain City, working as waiters in a hotel. After those two went to the inn, suspicious individuals left and they have been monitored. It seems they are heading towards Xun Gate for departure. The net has already been cast around the hotel; not a single suspicious person will escape."

"Tracked so easily..." the Red-clothed Woman murmured.

Lan was puzzled and tentatively asked, "Madam, isn't that a good thing?"

The Red-clothed Woman replied coldly, "I mean, why is it so easy to track others and so hard to track Shi Chun? If I hadn't personally intervened, you wouldn't even find a trace of him this time."

Thinking of the scenario where she gave the ring to Shi Chun, she couldn't help criticizing herself silently. It had been the result of her willingly sacrificing her appearance, not something she could proudly tell others. Thankfully, Fu Que was not someone who talked much.

Lan quickly said, "Demon Path is treacherous, wise of you, Madam."

"The Reversing Soul Tree..." the Red-clothed Woman murmured, her thoughts turning. She pondered, "The only use for the Reversing Soul Tree should be for refining the Death Refusing Incense. The Phoenix Clan rarely gets one, it's a rarity. How did he come by it?"

Lan said, "The Great Pharmacist asked the same. He mentioned it's almost extinct and asked where I got it from."

The Red-clothed Woman lightly stamped her foot, "We need to ask the ones underground. This guy's secrets are increasing..." She frowned, as she had thought of silencing people over intimate happenings but couldn't do that easily without getting to the bottom of things first.

The memory of Li Hongjiu flashed through her mind, someone who couldn't be allowed to live. She was still upset over being called 'sister-in-law'—what would happen if they met in some future occasion?

She had already decided that Li Hongjiu's death sentence would be when he left Dazhi City.

And as for Dongliang Ying without a master, it didn't matter. Masters can be replaced, people with legs abound, why worry about finding a master?

Having learned from Li Hongjiu, if Situ Gu were to come again, she planned to avoid him this time because Situ Gu was more troublesome and had been a guest at her place, they were acquainted.

The problem was not knowing when Situ Gu would come, and this could only be asked of Shi Chun.

"The ones underground?" Lan looked around the empty surroundings, realized something, and tentatively asked, "Is the target underground?"

The Red-clothed Woman said, "Hiding two hundred fathoms underground."

Lan was puzzled, "Hiding so deep, is there something underground?"

"Heaven knows." The Red-clothed Woman didn't disclose the Netherworld findings, as not everything should be readily revealed to those around her. With a sweep of her sleeves, she turned, "Let's go, to avoid being seen by any of their accomplices, let's keep watch from another location."

The two slipped away.

Underground, Wu Jinliang, who had been timing in secret, waited for a long while before speaking up, "Chun Tian, half a hour has passed."

Shi Chun, who was sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes and rose, while also activating his Right Eye Superpower again to survey the surroundings. By rights, it should be safe, but the situation of previously being surrounded on four sides by eight people had indeed left an unsettling shadow in his mind.

It would have been better not to observe, as with observation, his scalp went numb, his hairs stood on end, and he was surrounded again!

This time, it was five directions ten people, surrounding his location.

If the first time was a coincidence, then what about this time?

He wouldn't believe that these coincidences could happen again on this barren plain even if beaten to death.

But the problem was, how on earth were they tracked?

Based on tests, the Demon Skill he cultivated should shield against being tracked by the Demon Eye.

Moreover, considering the previous psychological shadow from being surrounded, he had specifically asked Xiao Sheng to remain on the final path he and Wu Jinliang traveled without withdrawing. Anyone passing by would ultimately be discovered one way or another, yet both of them had received no alerts from Xiao Sheng.

Under such circumstances, only two possibilities remained.

Either Xiao Sheng betrayed and sold them out.

Or they were directly located by some means.

Contemplating for a moment, he immediately ruled out the possibility of Xiao Sheng's betrayal, as Xiao Sheng didn't even know their current exact location. How could they happen to be surrounded again?

Which meant only one possibility was left.

Were they being tracked by some object?

This situation hadn't occurred before, so the issue must have arisen after their trip to Dazhi City this time.

The outsider they had engaged with this time was Li Hongjiu and his group. Was it Li Hongjiu?

Looking around again, the people surrounding him were demon cultivators. Demon cultivators?

He showed a look of bewilderment.

Noticing his unusual reaction, Wu Jinliang asked, "What's wrong?"

Shi Chun suddenly turned his hand, taking out a finely carved black ring, and stared at it gravely.

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