Recalling all the previous encounters, the most likely thing that could have left a trace on him is this ring.

Looking back at the scene where the Red-clothed Woman suddenly presented the token of affection, it does seem suspicious.

However, he had doubts before and had carefully inspected this ring, finding it was just a pure ring, with no hidden craftsmanship inside. If it truly serves as a tracker, how does it work?

Moreover, why did they locate him repeatedly without taking any further action?

Could it be that there was no malice?

Could it just be that woman's pure desire to control?

Or does she know his identity and wants to figure out his every move?

But all these are his imaginations, everything is out of his suspicion, and he can't even be sure if it's definitely this ring that's problematic.

So, overthinking is useless; the most urgent thing in the current situation is to determine if this ring is the problem.

If he cannot confirm this, he can't figure out who the opponent is, nor can he determine their intent.

He slowly slipped the ring back onto his index finger, pinched between his fingers.

The Right Eye Superpower once again scanned around, unsure of the significance of the opponent's arrangement nearby. He said nothing more and without hesitation pulled out the Boundless Banner, gesturing to Wu Jinliang, "Out, let's go!"

As for the connection with Lao Changtai in the Netherworld, it has to be temporarily paused. If anything happens, being in the Netherworld would be disastrous.

First, they had to survive this moment and ensure safety; then they could decide how to connect with Lao Changtai later.

The planned meeting was decisively abandoned by him.

Not getting an answer, Wu Jinliang immediately realized something was wrong. The two grew up together, and his partner's decisive reaction left him without further questions. He quickly cooperated and swiftly took out the Three-in-One Treasure, directly using the Earth Escape Technique to rise to the surface together.

Once above ground, the two immediately rode the Wind Riding Scale to soar away.

Shi Chun didn't forget to pack up those Earth Wolves.

The reason they dared to just leave despite being surrounded was the same as the reason they escaped before.

Furthermore, Shi Chun wanted to see if they would be allowed to leave again this time.

After flying away, he looked back to observe, results were the same as last time, no obstructions or pursuers appeared, letting them leave just like that.

Simultaneously, Lan, who was secretly observing, also received reports from those eight people stating that the target had left.

No need for reports, she, being on the scene, already knew, watching the Red-clothed Woman, waiting for her signal.

The Red-clothed Woman muttered to herself, "Chun Tian, half a period has passed, what now, Chun Tian, half a period has passed, what now..."

She pondered over these two sentences, which were what she probed during her domain expansion, the two sentences Wu Jinliang said to Shi Chun.

She was contemplating the true meaning of those two sentences.

Yet, isolated sentences like these were truly difficult to decipher, and in the end, her gaze turned to Shi Chun's previous hiding spot, then she flicked over swiftly to where the two had just emerged.

Lan quickly followed and, upon landing, her figure flickered and sank below.

The Red-clothed Woman also used the Earth Escape Technique to investigate underground.

As they descended a hundred or so fathoms, the two caught a faint etheric fragrance, growing stronger the deeper they went. This was Shi Chun's spellwork binding the consumption direction of the Death Refusing Incense's scent; otherwise, it would have been more fragrant.

Given the previous knowledge, the two exchanged looks and both suspected it related to the Death Refusing Incense.

Soon, they paused at the spot where Shi Chun and the others had stayed underground, even digging out the buried Earth Wolf corpse.

After personally inspecting, Lan exclaimed, "This Earth Wolf should have been dead for many days but shows no decay. It might have been preserved in a storage space after death."

The Red-clothed Woman, observing around, muttered, "They also took some live ones away."

Lan suspiciously asked, "Are they testing the Death Refusing Incense?"

"Humph." The Red-clothed Woman sneered, if they were merely testing the Death Refusing Incense, that would be the end of it; if she wanted the Death Refusing Incense, the Phoenix Clan's stockpile, no matter how precious, would have to be handed over obediently.

So she didn't care about those items; she cared about why her ring briefly appeared in the Netherworld.

At her level, whoever controlled the access had the voice, or rather, possessed the interests.

She was also gravely concerned: could it be that the Demon Path has secretly mastered the access to the Netherworld?

She could be certain, characters like Shi Chun are definitely not high-level within the Demon Path, and what Shi Chun knows is undoubtedly limited, one reason she hadn't acted against Shi Chun directly was out of fear of alerting the target and severing leads.

But concerning matters of Netherworld access, she wasn't even planning to disclose a word to Lan...

Standing guard at the mountain in the Netherworld, Lao Changtai occasionally took out the Ice Sheep to inhale some pure air, his gaze around rather eagerly waiting, a half period had long passed, yet the Master had not shown up. Even if appearing elsewhere, they should have sent a message by now.

Waiting and waiting, he gradually realized it, wouldn't break an appointment for no reason, perhaps something happened...

Yao Mountain City, Xiao Sheng who had landed outside the city quietly entered, observing the faces of passersby as he wandered through the streets.

He had received a message from Shi Chun, instructing him to find a person whose features closely resembled Shi Chun's.

Because of this, he was destined to have a restless night.

Throughout the night, there was no suitable result, until the next morning when, in the gradually bustling street, he bumped into a passerby who fit the bill. He stealthily followed, confirming the person's family background, and once he was confident, he contacted Shi Chun.

Then he went to meet the man, saying he was from a certain business in the Royal Capital, here in Yao Mountain City on business, looking for a runner or an agent, essentially telling the man he was interested in him and asked if he wanted to join the industry.

With payment promised, as long as the money was right, everything was negotiable, and so the man left with Xiao Sheng.

As they passed through the crowd on the street, Shi Chun brushed by and transferred a ring to Xiao Sheng.

Xiao Sheng then took the man to an inn that Shi Chun had previously selected, reserving two rooms.

After checking in, Xiao Sheng took out the ring and had the man wear it, "This is the token for the transaction with the merchant. When the merchant sees you wearing this ring, they will naturally understand that you are our business's agent. Remember, first inspect the goods during negotiations. The price I've given you is the lowest price; do not go below this. Once you've dealt, just come to the next room to find me. The reason I'm not personally attending this negotiation is to first test your ability. The merchant could arrive at any time; you might have to wait, but do not let them wait for you. I'll have food and drink sent to your room."

The man had no complaints, put on the ring, and promised to handle the matter well.

Only then did Xiao Sheng leave, making some noise in the next room before returning to knock on the door a few times, explaining that he was going out for a while, instructing the man to stay put indoors and not to leave.

As he closed the door and left, he couldn't help but sigh and shake his head, recalling his time at the Sect's Gathering Spirit Valley. While it wasn't a top-tier family, it was at least a reputable righteous school, and the tasks were generally honorable. Now, he seemed to only engage in sneaky, underhanded work.

Ironically, the more he did it, the more adept he became, and lying no longer stirred any emotions within him.

After leaving the inn, he sent a message to Shi Chun, saying the matter was settled.

Little did he know, Shi Chun was already lodged in an inn he passed by.

Shi Chun had no other intention but to select a suitable surveillance environment to confirm whether there was an issue with the ring.

Now, he had set the stage. If the same surveillance scenario as the previous two times reappeared, those monitoring would inevitably enter his planned environment, unable to escape his observation.

Unlike the open outdoors, the city's environment was complex, with many building obstructions. The monitors couldn't station themselves too far away; they would be forced near the designated point.

Wu Jinliang didn't enter the city because even disguised, he was conspicuous. Shi Chun had him honestly wait outside.

About a two-hour period later, Lan, wearing a hat veil, entered the city. She was there to scout the path first.

Her eight subordinates were still on the road because the Red-clothed Woman had raised the urgency of the matter, confirming the target was likely to linger here for a long time, prompting her to rush ahead.

The range of Yao Mountain City wasn't small. The Red-clothed Woman's remote sensing could only determine a general location, unable to see the scene's terrain. Just talking couldn't pinpoint the location.

In broad daylight, with the city full of people, it wasn't suitable to emerge abruptly.

Therefore, after locating an approximate position, Lan entered an inn and booked a room.

After moving in, she closed the door, selected the spacious part of the room, and used distant sound transmission to inform them she was prepared.

The Red-clothed Woman, behind the counter of Chao Yue Hall, immediately stood up. As the odd-job clerk, she directly instructed Dongliang Ying to hold on, then returned to her room.

Upon closing the door, she split the air and vanished, stepping instantly into Lan's room in Yao Mountain City.

This was also the reason for having Lan scout first, to avoid accidentally appearing in the wrong place and causing a disturbance.

Scanning the surroundings, she first sensed the general location of the ring, finding it not too far, and immediately expanded her perception.

Soon after, she abruptly opened her eyes, pacing back and forth with a cold expression.

Observing her expression, Lan cautiously asked, "Madam, what's wrong?"

The Red-clothed Woman stopped, giving her a cold, sidelong glance, "That's not Shi Chun. The ring has appeared in someone else's hand."

With her perceptive ability, disguising as a fake could not fool her; fluctuations in heartbeat, pulse, and cultivation instantly revealed whether it was the person himself.

"Ah?" Lan was surprised, "How could this be? Could something have happened, and it fell into someone else's hands?"

The Red-clothed Woman sneered repeatedly, "It'd be the first if his stuff fell into someone else's hands so easily. He's as sly as they come..."

As she spoke, she walked over to a window, opened it, and pointed to an inn with a higher floor diagonally ahead, "He's on that upstairs, and the ring is in another inn two streets away, in someone else's hand. It seems he's chosen the spot for ease of observation from above."

Lan was startled, "Has he detected an issue with the ring?"

The Red-clothed Woman gazed out of the window, "It's clear he's confirming right now."

Lan didn't understand, "How did he find out?"

"That's what's strange. It was fine before. It seems the problem might have arisen last night. Either I shouldn't have delved underground, or he has outside people who discovered our attempting to ambush and observe." The Red-clothed Woman murmured.

Lan: "Since he's still verifying, it means he hasn't confirmed yet. Shall I tell those eight not to come over?"

The Red-clothed Woman: "There's no use. Once someone's suspicions are aroused, with his cunning, it's practically exposed. If we can't continue to follow his tracks, it'll be naturally confirmed that the ring's compromised. You wouldn't expect him to have suspicions and still wear the ring around, would you?"

Reaching out and slowly closing the window, "Let those eight continue as per the original plan. Let him discover, let him confirm, let him think we don't know we're exposed. Losing a move doesn't necessarily mean we've lost."

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