Master Wu Jinliang always painted a tempting picture, yet his face quickly froze with a sinister half-smile as he recalled something, "Hang on, when did anyone with the last name Sun ever curse me? It was someone with the last name Bai who cursed me, Sun was just warning us."

It wasn't Shi Chun himself who was scolded, so he didn't remember the details clearly. He casually looked for an excuse and continued, "Both provoked us, both offended the leader and the second-in-command of East Nine Plain, so we simply can't let this go."

That comment sounded odd, and Wu Jinliang, sharp as he was, immediately grabbed Shi Chun's arm, unwilling to leave. "Listen, Chun Tian, tell me honestly, what are you really planning?"

Shi Chun: "Isn't it clear? I'm going to deal with Sun Shigang."

Wu Jinliang: "We've always been men who can adapt and bend, don't tell me you're considering a turnaround just because they scolded us. I won't believe that."

Shi Chun looked around, hooked his arm around Wu Jinliang's neck, pulled him close, and whispered in his ear, "Sun is in cahoots with Xiang Laner; that guy is also part of the Demon Path. They were putting on a show in front of us."

Wu Jinliang was perplexed, "How do you know?"

Shi Chun: "I saw it when I activated the 'Heavenly Eye' earlier. Both he and Xiang Laner have a mass of demonic flames inside them. It's somewhat understandable for ordinary people to be influenced by their desires, but for a Demon Path member not to restrain himself on a strictly controlled mystical mountain? Doesn't it seem odd to you; don't you feel it was all directed at us?"

Unbeknownst to him, they even held back before, acting low-key, forced to escalate by the unconventional behavior of the two.

Hearing this, Wu Jinliang recalled the situation, how low-key they had already been, and it still wasn't normal to end up bitten. He muttered, "Putting on a show, but what are they after us for?"

Shi Chun: "Look at their attitude, it certainly doesn't look good for us. They've been following us, and now they've disappeared. Xiang Laner mentioned the Demon Path was guarding them. There must be someone nearby keeping in touch. If it's that guy with the last name Sun, he wouldn't let us go. He must have been following us. Regardless of what they plan to do to us, you can't expect them to be fierce just to give us benefits."

Wu Jinliang got his point and nodded, "Let's eliminate the danger first, capture them and make them talk. Now the question is how to find them. It's the middle of the night, and visibility is bad. Can your 'Heavenly Eye' still function?"

"Alas." Mentioning this, Shi Chun couldn't help sighing heavily, some emotional issues were beyond his control and indeed required external stimuli.

Stimulation wasn't the only issue; timing was difficult to manage. Besides, his strength deteriorated when the power activated, especially when dealing with someone whose cultivation was far superior. He couldn't afford to be negligent.

Seeing his difficulty, Wu Jinliang mulled over, "If we need to find and ensure that scoundrel's malice doesn't threaten us, and if he truly is following us, we should use the old baiting method to lure him out."

Shi Chun chuckled, "Great minds think alike."

Having agreed, the two swiftly circled to the rear of their original team and then made their way back along the path they had come.

As Shi Chun expected, they hadn't gone far before stirring Moon Valley's folks.

Not alerting them was difficult; quietly cursing under their breath in the dead of night, the two of them were obviously not easy to overlook.

Since Sun Shigang's group wasn't hiding too far, just sufficient to avoid being spotted, they had settled down upon discovering Bai Shuchuan's group resting. They too took a break but left two people to watch Bai Shuchuan's group, looking for any night-time signals from their own party.

The sudden arrival of Shi Chun shocked Sun Shigang's group into scurrying into the gullies.

"It's all because Xiang Laner is too beautiful and seems weak and easy to bully."

"I've long noticed that Bai Shuchuan has ill-intentions towards Xiang Laner. I just didn't expect it to be so urgent, barely after entering."

"Alas, they dragged her away publicly and molested her."

"Various sects joined together, so brazen. But to blame, blame Xiang Laner's background from the brothel."

"Bian Weiyin and the others didn't stop it, we three are just fillers. They didn't give us a talisman, not caring about our life or death; who knows what else they might do to us behind the scenes."

"Disheartening, let's run, hide towards the exit. Just endure three months and it'll be fine…"

Muttering such nonsense, they shifted topics while circling around and making intermittent complaints.

Backed against the slope hiding, Sun Shigang was stunned upon hearing this scolding, "Did I hear that right? Xiang Laner was molested by that group?"

Confirming the identity of the individuals up close and seeing no one behind them, he couldn't contain himself. He waved his hand, and several figures darted out.

Several silhouettes swiftly moved, jumped up, and instantly surrounded Shi Chun and his companion.

With a grim expression, Sun Shigang himself emerged right in front of them.

What a move! This was quicker than expected, Wu Jinliang was somewhat surprised.

Shi Chun quickly glanced around and saw that all five people from Moon Valley had arrived, and immediately lost all worry, tilting his head and whispering, "Three for you, two for me."

In the past, he would have taken on three, leaving Wu Jinliang with two, but now Wu Jinliang's cultivation was higher.

"Hmph, we meet again, Xiang Laner…" Sun Shigang had just begun to speak when he suddenly paused, and then, with a shock, prepared to dart away.

However, the immobilization charm was truly unique, quite different from ordinary talismans; once seen, reacting became a bit too late, as a delaying force had already begun to manifest around them before the talisman even arrived.

It's the type that immobilizes you first, then the talisman paper follows.

Before he could finish speaking, two men who had been secretly holding their talismans ready seized the chance to launch a surprise attack while they were off guard.

Very soon, all five figures from Moon Valley, either dodging or attempting to attack, froze in place simultaneously.

Launching five immobilization charms at once—was this really leaving no room for even a single talisman to be prepared? Sun Shigang, eyes wide with shock, realized this was a trap.

What he didn't understand was, is this how one played the game? As soon as someone appeared, without discerning right from wrong, without listening to any explanations, they just threw five third-grade immobilization charms—wasn't that a bit too extravagant for disciples of Wukang Mountain?

He truly hadn't expected the two who were brought in to make up numbers from Wukang Mountain to be capable of such extravagance.

He truly believed the nonsense about them not even leaving room for a single talisman to be prepared, perhaps because they were not well-regarded at Wukang Mountain.

What he didn't understand was why the two immediately attacked to such an extent upon encountering each other.

Angry, he rallied all his cultivation to resist.

Shi Chun's gaze swiftly locked onto him, causing him a scare when he noticed that his figure was slightly trembling—could this be the strength of someone in the High Martial Upper Realm? This was a third-grade immobilization charm!

Swiftly, he pulled out a dagger, first stabbing it into a non-vital area to disrupt the normal operation of his cultivation technique, then he touched points on his body to impose restrictions, still not reassured, he quickly moved the dagger to sever the sinews of his limbs, acting cruelly and decisively without leaving any potential danger.

Wu Jinliang also quickly subdued the other four.

Fearing leaving a trail of blood along the way, Shi Chun treated Sun Shigang's wounds, then tore off the long coats of all five captives, twisted them into ropes, and bundled the five people together.

One benefit of advancing to High Martial was bearing heavier loads, Wu Jinliang alone easily shouldered all five, running even more effortlessly than before.

Instead of running towards the entrance, the two captured their prisoners and slid sideways, hurrying along, needing to cover as much distance as possible in a short time; otherwise, once Bai Shuchuan and his group noticed their absence, they might extensively search the surrounding area.

On their escape route, Shi Chun still held a talisman for alertness, both running with a group in tow.

The five captives were also somewhat confused about what exactly the two were doing—they clearly were moving farther and farther away from the group led by Bai Shuchuan. Could it be that they were too dumb to even get the direction right?

Sun Shigang was in agony—crippled in their initial encounter; why? Apart from the threats on that fairy mountain, he couldn't think of any other reason, so he truly regretted it...

Although it was still daytime at the training ground, not quite noon, many people had already started leaving. The arena for the West Pole was pitch black, and nothing clear was visible in the Heavenly Mirror's reflection; there was nothing interesting to see.

Moreover, as it was just the beginning, those attending from the West Pole hadn't managed any gains yet; with no conflicts of interest, there was also no danger.

On the pavilions and terraces atop the hill, the noble guests had almost all left, including the Miao Dingyi family of three.

Hidden within a cloak, Feng Chi had not left the arena; she knew the subsequent plans above, knew about the intention to harm Wu Jinliang but didn't know how it was proceeding.

The person who had left the seat beside her returned, sitting down next to her and whispering, "Found out, it was that Young Master Nan who oversees the betting who ordered it."

Feng Chi became curious, "Whom could he have chosen, why pick Shi Chun, how could he care about such an insignificant person?"

The person beside her: "We don't know yet, that Young Master Nan, as you know, isn't easy to approach."

Feng Chi: "Report it above, let them figure out how to pay more attention."

The stars in the West Pole's night sky were very clear and beautifully dazzling, occasionally a meteor-like blue light would streak across, immediately stirring a commotion amongst the crowd—it was the Insect Extreme Crystal, unknown where it might land.

Xiang Laner, seemingly watching, was actually lost in thought, pondering how to properly lure away Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang. Suddenly, footsteps approached; turning around, she saw Bai Shuchuan leading several people, one holding a Sandal Gold Illumination.

Beside her, Bian Weiyin immediately stood up, and before she could speak, she faced Bai Shuchuan's curt interrogation, "I just took people to check the surrounding outposts, 26 people, 24 accounted for, two missing—guess which sect's members are gone?"

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