Five days passed in relative peace.

We used the sanctuary token to move between safe zones, avoiding major conflicts while I trained the Serpent's Flow technique and the team consolidated their gains from the temple raid. The technique was incredible, combining fluid serpentine movements with explosive strikes that made my combat style even more unpredictable.

[SERPENT'S FLOW PROFICIENCY: 0% → 34%]

[INTEGRATION WITH INFINITE TIDE SCRIPTURE: SYNERGIZING]

[COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS: +47%]

[YOU'RE BECOMING SCARY]

But the peace felt wrong. Too quiet. Like the Wastes were holding their breath.

On the morning of day ten, Wei Long returned from a scouting mission with disturbing news.

"Found another sabotaged extraction point," he reported grimly. "Twelve kilometers southeast. Same pattern, disabled crystals, damaged formation lines. Professional work."

"How recent?" Chen Rou asked.

"Within the last two days. And there's more." Wei Long's expression darkened. "I found bodies. Azure Peak disciples. Team 8, based on their tokens. All ten members."

[TEAM 8: ELIMINATED]

[TOTAL CASUALTIES: 40+ DISCIPLES NOW]

[MORTALITY RATE: 40% AND CLIMBING]

The sanctuary fell silent. Team 8 had been experienced cultivators, average Stage 6, led by a Stage 8 senior. For them to be completely wiped out...

"How did they die?" Tang Bolin asked quietly.

"Not beasts. Not environmental hazards." Wei Long pulled out a damaged token. "Coordinated ambush. Multiple attackers, all cultivators. Stage 7 minimum based on the Qi residue."

"Rival sects?" Su Mei suggested.

"Maybe. But the killing was efficient. Clinical. Not the chaos of sect rivalry." Wei Long looked at Chen Rou. "Leader, I think we're dealing with organized hunters. People who are deliberately targeting disciples."

[CONSPIRACY THEORY: UPGRADED TO FACT]

[ORGANIZED HUNTERS IN THE WASTES]

[TARGETING DISCIPLES SYSTEMATICALLY]

[THIS IS VERY BAD]

Chen Rou absorbed this information with her usual calm. "Show me on the map. All sabotage locations and Team 8's position."

Wei Long spread out our crude map of the sector. He marked the two sabotaged extraction points and Team 8's bodies.

Zhao Fei studied the pattern. "They're creating a trap zone. Sabotage the extractions, funnel desperate teams toward the center, ambush them when they're exhausted and looking for escape routes."

"Smart," Chen Rou said grimly. "Evil, but smart. We need to warn the other teams."

"How?" Han Feng asked. "Communication talismans only work at short range."

"We find them. Sector by sector." Chen Rou's expression was determined. "We're two weeks in with eighty-three days remaining. Most teams will be running low on supplies and looking for extraction points soon. We need to warn them before they walk into the trap."

[MISSION OBJECTIVE: UPDATED]

[PRIMARY: SURVIVE]

[SECONDARY: WARN OTHER TEAMS]

[TERTIARY: IDENTIFY AND STOP HUNTERS]

[DIFFICULTY: EXTREME]

"What about our own safety?" Liu Yan asked nervously. "If we're actively searching for other teams, we expose ourselves."

"True," Chen Rou acknowledged. "But we're Team 7. We've beaten guardians, rescued wounded, and survived everything the Wastes threw at us. We're probably the strongest team still operating." She looked at each of us. "This is a volunteer mission. Anyone who wants to stay in sanctuaries and wait out the expedition can do so. No judgment."

[LEADERSHIP TEST]

[GIVING PEOPLE THE CHOICE]

[RESPECT]

No one moved. Not even Zhou Ming, who'd been terrified at the expedition's start.

"We're with you, Leader," I said, speaking for everyone.

Chen Rou smiled, a rare, genuine expression. "Then we hunt hunters. But carefully, strategically, and always with escape routes planned."

Our search began immediately. Using Wei Long's scouting expertise and the sanctuary token to move safely, we systematically explored our sector.

Day eleven: Found Team 3. Azure Peak disciples, seven survivors out of ten, holed up in a fortified ruin. They'd lost their leader and were considering abandoning the expedition entirely.

"Sabotaged extraction points?" Their acting leader, a Stage 6 woman named Jin Wei, looked horrified. "We were planning to head for the nearest one tomorrow."

"Don't," Chen Rou said firmly. "It's a trap. Hunters are ambushing desperate teams."

We shared what we knew. Team 3 decided to join us, safety in numbers. Seventeen cultivators now, a formidable force.

[ALLIANCE FORMED: TEAM 7 + TEAM 3]

[COMBINED STRENGTH: SIGNIFICANT]

[SAFETY: INCREASED]

Day twelve: Encountered Crimson Peak disciples—not hunters, just another struggling team. They'd heard rumors of the sabotage but dismissed them as Azure Peak lies.

"Believe what you want," Chen Rou told them coldly. "But when you find your extraction point destroyed and hunters waiting, don't say you weren't warned."

They scoffed and left. We didn't pursue.

[CAN'T SAVE EVERYONE]

[ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO BE SAVED]

Day thirteen: Found evidence of another ambush. Team 2, Verdant Valley Sect. All dead. Same efficient, clinical killing pattern.

Zhou Ming vomited at the sight. Even Han Feng looked shaken. These weren't corrupted beasts or accidental deaths, these were murders.

"Fifty disciples dead," Su Mei said quietly. "Half the expedition."

[CASUALTY COUNT: 50/100]

[MORTALITY RATE: 50%]

[WORSE THAN ANY PREVIOUS EXPEDITION]

[SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG]

That night, I practiced Serpent's Flow with unusual intensity, trying to burn off the sick feeling from seeing so many corpses. Yun Xia found me alone, moving through forms by moonlight.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

"Can't stop thinking about Team 2. Team 8. All those people who came here hoping to get stronger, get treasures, advance their cultivation." I struck at empty air. "Instead they just died. Murdered."

"We're going to stop them," Yun Xia said firmly. "The hunters. We're going to find them and make them pay."

[ROMANTIC INTEREST: BLOODTHIRSTY]

[ODDLY ATTRACTIVE]

[CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT]

"How? We don't even know who they are."

"We'll figure it out." She took my hand. "Together."

The word had become our mantra. Together. Through everything.

[RELATIONSHIP STRENGTH: MAXIMUM]

[BOND: UNBREAKABLE]

[THEY'RE ENDGAME MATERIAL]

Day fourteen brought our first real lead.

Wei Long discovered tracks, multiple cultivators moving in formation, headed toward one of the sabotaged extraction points. Not a random team, but an organized group with military-style discipline.

"Twelve individuals," Wei Long reported. "Stage 6 to 8 cultivation. Moving like they own the place."

"The hunters?" Chen Rou asked.

"Almost certainly."

Our combined force, Team 7 plus Team 3's survivors, followed at a distance. The hunters led us to a hidden camp in a ravine, well-fortified and clearly established for long-term occupation.

From our concealed vantage point, I counted fifteen cultivators total. They wore unmarked black robes, no sect affiliation visible. Their camp was organized, efficient, militaristic.

And in the center, directing operations, was someone I recognized.

[DETECTING: FAMILIAR QI SIGNATURE]

[IMPOSSIBLE]

[IT CAN'T BE—]

"That's Elder Shen," Jin Wei whispered, horrified. "From Crimson Peak Sect. He's supposed to be supervising their disciples, not..."

"Leading a murder squad," Chen Rou finished grimly.

Elder Shen, a Core Formation Stage 5 cultivator, stood at the camp's center, examining a map. Around him, the hunters moved with disciplined purpose. This wasn't random violence. This was organized, planned, systematic.

"Why would an elder hunt disciples?" Zhou Ming asked, confused.

"Resources," Zhao Fei said, his expression dark. "Dead disciples can't report. Their contribution points, treasures, discoveries, all unaccounted for. In the chaos of the Wastes, who would know?"

[MOTIVE: GREED]

[ELDER SHEN IS STEALING FROM DEAD DISCIPLES]

[SYSTEMATIC MURDER FOR PROFIT]

[THAT'S... ACTUALLY REALLY EVIL]

"We need proof," Chen Rou said. "If we accuse an elder without evidence, our sects will never believe us."

"I can get close enough to record with a memory jade," Wei Long offered. "If he discusses their operation openly..."

"Too dangerous," Chen Rou said. "If they detect you—"

"I'm the best scout here," Wei Long interrupted. "This is literally what I do."

Chen Rou considered, then nodded reluctantly. "Thirty minutes. If you're not back, we assume capture and retreat immediately."

[STEALTH MISSION: ACTIVE]

[RISK: EXTREME]

[REWARD: POTENTIALLY CASE-BREAKING]

Wei Long melted into the shadows, his Stage 6 cultivation and natural talent making him nearly invisible. We waited, tense, every second stretching into eternity.

Twenty-eight minutes later, he returned, moving fast.

"Got it," he said, breathless. "Memory jade recorded everything. Elder Shen discussed their entire operation, the sabotage, the ambushes, how they've been selling disciples' discoveries to rogue cultivators for massive profit."

"How many are involved?" Chen Rou asked.

"Just his group. Fifteen hunters total. He's acting independently, not on sect orders." Wei Long's expression was grim. "But he mentioned selling to someone else. Someone powerful. He called them 'the Patron.'"

[CONSPIRACY: DEEPER THAN EXPECTED]

[ELDER SHEN: WORKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE]

[THE PATRON: UNKNOWN BUT POWERFUL]

[THIS GOES HIGHER UP]

"We need to get this evidence back to our sects," Chen Rou decided. "This is beyond our ability to handle, we're talking about exposing an elder and possibly a larger conspiracy."

"The nearest working extraction point is fifteen kilometers northeast," Jin Wei said. "Team 3 knows its location. It's hidden, protected. Elder Shen probably doesn't know about it."

"Then that's our destination," Chen Rou said. "We extract, report, let the sect elders handle Elder Shen."

"What about the other teams still in the Wastes?" Su Mei asked. "If we leave, they're still in danger."

"We can send warning signals as we travel," Chen Rou said. "Emergency flares. Any team with functional talismans will detect them and know to be cautious."

[EXTRACTION PLAN: FORMED]

[OBJECTIVE: GET EVIDENCE TO SECT]

[OBSTACLE: FIFTEEN KILOMETERS THROUGH HOSTILE TERRITORY]

[DIFFICULTY: HIGH]

As we prepared to move, Elder Shen's camp suddenly erupted in activity. Alarms sounded. Hunters mobilized.

"They detected Wei Long's infiltration," Chen Rou said immediately. "Run. Now."

[STEALTH: COMPROMISED]

[CHASE SEQUENCE: INITIATED]

[SEVENTEEN DISCIPLES VS FIFTEEN HUNTERS]

[RUN OR FIGHT?]

We ran.

Through ravines, across corrupted fields, using every sanctuary shortcut and hidden path we knew. Behind us, Elder Shen's hunters pursued with terrifying efficiency.

"They're gaining!" Han Feng shouted.

"Keep moving!" Chen Rou commanded. "Reach the extraction point! That's all that matters!"

[DISTANCE TO EXTRACTION: 12 KILOMETERS]

[HUNTERS: 400 METERS BEHIND AND CLOSING]

[STAMINA: DROPPING]

[THIS IS GOING TO BE CLOSE]

My Qi reserves burned as I pushed Stage 6 cultivation to its limits. Serpent's Flow made my movements faster, more efficient, but even that wasn't enough.

The hunters were closing.

And Elder Shen, Core Formation Stage 5, was with them.

We couldn't outrun them forever.

Eventually, we'd have to fight.

[CHAPTER 28 SUMMARY:]

[CONSPIRACY: EXPOSED]

[ELDER SHEN: IDENTIFIED AS VILLAIN]

[EVIDENCE: ACQUIRED]

[TEAM ALLIANCE: FORMED (TEAM 7 + TEAM 3)]

[CURRENT SITUATION: BEING CHASED BY MURDERERS]

[DISTANCE TO SAFETY: 12 KILOMETERS]

[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 58%]

[THIS IS BAD]

[VERY BAD]

[NEXT CHAPTER: DESPERATE FLIGHT AND INEVITABLE CONFRONTATION]

The chase was on.

Seventeen disciples fleeing for their lives.

Fifteen hunters pursuing with murder in their hearts.

And somewhere ahead, an extraction point that represented salvation or death.

Twelve kilometers.

That was all that stood between us and safety.

Twelve kilometers through hell.

[GOOD LUCK, TEAM 7]

[YOU'RE GOING TO NEED IT]

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