Stop grinding, I'm really just a free spirit.

Chapter 68 Dead End

Duan Heisi stood by the pool, his face ashen, his imposing figure resembling an iron tower.

Of the several rogue cultivators who died, one was someone Duan Heisi had personally summoned to help him, yet he had now died innocently.

He rested the long sword on his side, staring intently at the disciples of the immortal sects opposite him who were chatting and laughing.

His jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles in his cheeks bulged out into two hard ridges.

"Xue Zhen".

Duan Heisi called him by his name directly, his voice low and hoarse, as if it had been ground from a stone mill.

Xue Zhen was bending down to pull out the last jade cone when he heard the sound and turned around, the smug smile on his face still lingering.

He sized Duan Heisi up and down, his gaze filled with undisguised contempt.

As if to say:

"A rogue cultivator, a peasant, dares to address him by his first name?"

Duan Heisi took a step forward and asked in a deep voice, "Those people—"

When they were sent ahead to scout, were they informed that they were actually being used as bait to lure the enemy out?

Xue Zhen patted the mud off his hands and slowly put the last jade cone into his pouch.

He then turned around, a slight smirk playing on his lips: "Scouting is scouting. If everything needs to be explained beforehand, what's the point of scouting?"

These words caused an uproar among the independent cultivators.

Behind Duan Heisi, Wu Liang finally couldn't hold back any longer and rushed forward two steps, only to be grabbed by Miao Wuniang.

He pointed at Xue Zhen and cursed, "Good, good, good... A disciple of the Immortal Sect, yet his methods are so filthy."

You truly live up to your title of "Skinny Xue"!

"..."

Xue Zhen's smile faded slightly, but his eyes grew increasingly cold.

He slung the leather bag over his waist, stood with his hands behind his back, and said with obvious impatience, "Have you said enough?"

His gaze swept over all the rogue cultivators present, finally settling on Duan Heisi's face. His voice was neither loud nor soft: "This 'Pulling Silk Jade Guiding Array' was bestowed upon me by Young Master Yao."

This is a top-grade first-level trapping formation; even at full power, it's more than enough to trap a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Without the power of this formation, could you possibly have killed that mid-stage Nascent Soul Water Python with your abilities alone?"

He sneered and pointed to the huge silk cocoon in the pool. "The array was bestowed by the young master, the water python was killed by the array, and your lives were also saved by the array."

Now, instead of thanking Young Master Yao, they're here barking and lamenting—

They really are ungrateful bastards.

He paused, then added, his tone becoming increasingly sarcastic: "Moreover, those rogue cultivators volunteered to be the vanguard, and they will be compensated with spirit stones after their deaths."

You peasants shouldn't be ungrateful.

These words were extremely malicious.

He Mo, who was standing to the side, clapped his hands and immediately chimed in, saying with a sarcastic smile, "Senior Brother Xue is right."

If it weren't for Senior Brother Yao bestowing the formation, let alone killing the demon beast, we probably wouldn't have been able to capture it even if we lost several more lives.

Fellow cultivators, expressing gratitude is the proper course of action.

Not to be outdone, Wei Ziyu waved a folding fan he pulled out from somewhere and sighed pretentiously, "It is a person's virtue to know his own limitations."

Scouting the way is part of the job, and casualties are inevitable.

Fellow Daoists, do not let small matters cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture and delay your journey.

"Bullshit!"

Duan Heisi finally exploded.

He kicked away a stone at his feet, his whole body circulated his internal energy, and his aura was as hot and scorching as a boiling furnace.

Seeing this, the several rogue cultivators beside him also drew their swords, and for a moment the mountain stream was filled with flashing swords, and the atmosphere was tense.

Upon seeing this, the outer disciples all stopped their playful banter, and several of them had already placed their hands on their sword hilts.

"Old Sun was called here by me! He only came for this job because he trusts me, Duan Heisi!"

Duan Heisi's voice was trembling, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Now that the person is gone, not even a bone is left, and you're still here talking about your duty?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Zhen merely raised an eyebrow, offering little in response.

His gaze drifted and landed on Chen Bai, who had been silent all along.

Chen Bai had been standing at the very back of the group of rogue cultivators, without saying a word, but Xue Zhen happened to look at him at that moment.

There was a hint of amusement and anticipation in that gaze, as if waiting for him to speak, to step forward, and for him to give him a legitimate reason to take action.

Chen Bai remained silent.

He placed his hand on the pouch at his waist, his fingers tightening slightly before slowly relaxing.

He certainly noticed Xue Zhen's gaze, and he knew exactly what Xue Zhen was waiting for.

And the disciples of the immortal sect.

Yao Ye remained seated comfortably on the back of the Ink Cloud Tiger.

He had heard the argument clearly, but he didn't even lift his eyelids. He casually combed the mane on the black tiger's neck with his fingers, his gaze fixed on the distant, misty mountains, as if he were admiring some scenery.

The casualties of a few rogue cultivators were nothing to him.

Or rather, they didn't take it to heart at all.

Until Xue Zhen bowed to him, He and Wei flattered him repeatedly.

He casually waved his hand, as if swatting away a few annoying flying insects, and calmly ordered, "Hurry up and gather the monster materials. The team should continue on its way."

Don't linger here too long; there's still a long way to go before dark.

He didn't mention a single casualty from beginning to end.

The life or death of rogue cultivators was of no concern to him, and naturally, they were not his concern.

Duan Heisi stared intently at the figure in brocade robes on the tiger's back, veins bulging on the back of his hand, and the blade trembling slightly.

He wanted nothing more than to rush up and chop that nonchalant face in half, but Miao Wuniang held tightly to Duan Heisi's sleeve.

Her face, weathered by years of wind and sun, was filled with anger, and her eyes burned with fury, but she was calmer than Duan Heisi.

She knew that such anger was worthless in front of the disciples of the immortal sect.

But she couldn't hold back in the end. She lowered her head and said through gritted teeth in a voice only Chen Bai could hear, "Fellow Daoist Chen, if there's a chance, I'll kill this bastard with you."

She was referring to Xue Zhen.

The voice was extremely low and steady, yet filled with murderous intent.

Upon hearing this, Chen Bai gave Xue Zhen a deep look.

Xue Zhen was directing several outer disciples to use daggers to cut materials from the demon beasts.

Chen Bai withdrew his gaze and slowly nodded.

He was just lucky before, as he and Duan Heisi were positioned at the back and were not pushed out to scout ahead in the first wave.

But Xue Zhen would not give up easily. If he failed today, he would look for another opportunity tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that. As long as he was still in the Shifang Mountains, Xue Zhen would have countless opportunities to kill Chen Bai.

Strike first and you'll have the upper hand; strike later and you'll suffer the consequences.

Chen Bai understood this principle better than anyone else.

The two are now locked in a life-or-death struggle. With Yao Ye backing Xue Zhen, whose power far surpasses his own, if this feud isn't resolved sooner or later, Xue Zhen will inevitably find an opportunity to turn on him.

only--

He must wait for the right opportunity.