Technically, she should have been quite brave, having resolved to kill Yuwen Shuo from the very beginning.
Perhaps it was this internal conflict that held her back. Despite her outstanding Talent and having almost no shackles on her Cultivation Skill, she still hadn’t broken through to the Gang Qi Realm.
"Master Tian, don’t worry too much about the unexpected. What we’re about to do is already like dancing on a knife’s edge."
Tian Yun gave a wry smile. "It’s not like we have a choice... Don’t tell me you used some trick to convince Yuwen Shuo there’s a good chance of finding another Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer deep within Qifeng Mountain?"
Zou Feng nodded decisively. "That’s right. But besides the Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer, there’s something deep within Qifeng Mountain that will attract Yuwen Shuo even more..."
Previously, their biggest worry had been that Yuwen Shuo would just hole up in the Government Office and refuse to leave with the Hunting Team.
Fortunately, that was no longer a concern.
However, among the current party, only Zou Feng knew that Yuwen Shuo would definitely get to see the Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer he so desperately coveted on this trip...
After a short rest, the party pressed onward.
As dusk began to fall, a stream about twenty feet wide appeared before them.
According to the old hunter guiding them, crossing this stream meant entering the depths of Qifeng Mountain—an unknown region where few had ever set foot.
Forget ordinary hunters; even the Hunting Teams from the various gangs had never dared to cross this boundary.
But the situation was different now. Their party numbered over a hundred strong, and nearly every one of them was a capable fighter.
With numerous Seventh Grade Martial Artists and two Gang Qi Realm experts, they were indeed equipped to explore it under normal circumstances.
Zou Feng gazed across the stream. ’Bian Yixia must have chosen to go into seclusion somewhere deep within Qifeng Mountain,’ he thought.
’If our later actions can attract Bian Yixia’s attention and draw her here, then killing Yuwen Shuo will be a certainty...’
After leaping across the stream, the entire group immediately went on high alert.
They hadn’t taken more than a few steps before a giant bear, over ten feet tall and covered in blood-red fur, charged out from nearby.
"A Demon Beast!"
Most of Zou Feng’s men were stunned by the sight of such a massive Demon Beast.
The Demon Bear, for its part, had clearly never seen so many humans at once and was just as startled.
Because of its high Spiritual Wisdom, even though the bear was the local hegemon, it didn’t dare to charge. Instead, it wisely chose to turn and flee.
Seeing this, Yuwen Shuo immediately barked an order, "Stop it! Don’t let it escape!"
Zou Feng had no choice but to wave his hand, signaling Shi Yangming to take some men and pursue it.
They continuously used various ranged attacks to harass the Demon Bear and slow its escape.
Meanwhile, another team led by Chen An of the Yidao Martial Arts Hall circled around to outflank the Demon Bear.
Once the arrangements were made, Zou Feng glanced back at Yuwen Shuo. As expected, neither the man’s personal guards nor the men sent by the Government Office to protect him had moved an inch. They were just standing there, watching the show.
But this didn’t surprise Zou Feng. These men were here specifically to protect Yuwen Shuo; it would have been strange if they had joined the fray.
Not far away, the Demon Bear was soon cornered. Shi Yangming and his men had formed an encirclement, continuously harassing it with ranged attacks as they closed in.
It looked like capturing this Demon Bear was only a matter of time.
And Zou Feng, ever the unqualified chef, was already contemplating how he should prepare the bear paws.
To ensure there were no casualties, Tian Yun had no intention of just watching. She was itching to jump in and help.
Zou Feng quickly stepped forward, caught her eye, and gave a slight shake of his head.
Tian Yun froze for a moment, then understood. She stopped trying to join the Demon Bear hunt.
Before long, just as the Demon Bear was becoming heavily wounded, another Demon Beast shot out from a different direction.
Whether the Hunting Team had struck gold or not was debatable, but this new Demon Beast was one that the former members of the Black Flood Dragon Gang, at least, were quite familiar with.
It was a Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer.
This Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer was clearly spooked. Its Evil Eye pulsed with a mesmerizing light as it darted about frantically, like a chicken with its head cut off.
"Don’t look at its eyes!"
Zou Feng shouted a warning, though he himself wasn’t surprised by the Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer’s appearance.
But the appearance of a second Demon Beast threw many of them into disarray. This gave the Demon Bear a sliver of hope. It roared wildly and began to fight back, trying to rally and carve a bloody path to freedom.
The scene instantly devolved into chaos.
The sight of the Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer, however, made Yuwen Shuo’s face twist with undisguised greed. He shot up from his mountain palanquin. "It’s real!?"
"Capture it! Capture it now!"
This command wasn’t just for the Hunting Team; he was shouting at his own guards.
The Gang Qi Realm guard knew how desperately his master coveted the beast. Without a moment’s hesitation, he took a step and shot forward like an arrow.
The speed of a Gang Qi Realm expert was, of course, incredible. But the panicked and frenzied Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer was also astonishingly fast, and the guard couldn’t catch it right away.
Yuwen Shuo grew incredibly anxious, looking as if he was about to rush out and corner the Cloud Pattern Deer himself.
"You lot, go too! Quickly! We absolutely cannot let this beast escape!"
In the end, Yuwen Shuo resorted to ordering Zou Feng’s men and Chief Xie, who was beside him.
Helpless, Zou Feng and the others had no choice but to join the chase to corner the Cloud Pattern Deer.
But just as they joined the chase, dozens of figures suddenly materialized behind Yuwen Shuo.
One figure, in particular, descended from the sky, plummeting straight toward Yuwen Shuo.
Clearly, the Ten Directions Sect had chosen this moment to strike.
Although the sky had darkened, Zou Feng’s Night Vision allowed him to instantly recognize the man descending from above. It was Fang Jingchuan, the Ten Directions Sect Guardian he had met once before.
Zou Feng had deliberately gone easy on Fang Jingchuan’s training over the past few days, precisely so he would be in peak condition for the assassination of Yuwen Shuo.
However, Fang Jingchuan wasn’t the only Gang Qi Realm expert among the assassins from the Ten Directions Sect.
Another one of them was also clearly wreathed in Gang Qi.
Just as Zou Feng had predicted, they had called in reinforcements to ensure they could kill Yuwen Shuo.
In the past, facing multiple Gang Qi Realm opponents popping up one after another, Zou Feng would have fled as far as he could without a second thought.
But today, no matter what, he was determined to wade into these muddy waters...
"Protect Young Master Yuwen!"
With a great shout, Zou Feng changed direction and shot toward Yuwen Shuo.
Understanding the signal, Tian Yun quickly followed Zou Feng, putting on the same appearance of being desperate to protect their charge.
As for the guard who had first given chase to the Cloud Pattern Deer, he was too far away. Even if he desperately tried to rush back, he wouldn’t make it in time.
With the sudden appearance of numerous assassins from the Ten Directions Sect in front of him and traitors like Zou Feng and Tian Yun behind him, it seemed Yuwen Shuo’s sins had finally caught up to him. There was no escape.
And yet, Yuwen Shuo’s face showed no trace of panic. Instead, he wore a sinister grin, as if everything was under his control.
The next moment, as Fang Jingchuan descended from the sky, he struck with the Great Compassion Hand. The awe-inspiring Ten Directions Divine King Dharma Aspect even materialized behind him.
Naturally, the power of this attack was incomparable to Zou Feng’s previous version of the Great Compassion Hand.
But Zou Feng had long since modified the Cultivation Skill into his Great Universal Hand, setting him on a different path.
CLANG—
As the descending Palm Skill’s Gang Qi Palm Force came within five feet of Yuwen Shuo, a translucent, golden, bell-shaped shield suddenly materialized.
The palm strike slammed into the shield with a tremendous, muffled BOOM, yet it failed to even shake it, let alone harm Yuwen Shuo in the slightest.
To so easily block an attack from a Gang Qi Realm expert... this was clearly not the effect of Yuwen Shuo’s own Cultivation Skill. He absolutely had an incredibly powerful Magical Artifact on him.
Fang Jingchuan was momentarily stunned by this, but not overly surprised. He simply continued to attack with his full power.
’I refuse to believe it,’ he thought. ’With me and another Guardian here, plus the traitors like Zou Feng attacking from all sides, how long can this Magical Artifact possibly hold out?’
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Fang Jingchuan made a horrifying discovery. Zou Feng and his people had rushed over, but... they didn’t look like they were about to attack Yuwen Shuo at all.
"Protect Young Master Yuwen! Kill the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect!"
Along with his shout, Zou Feng took the lead, striking at Fang Jingchuan with a Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seal.
Tian Yun, likewise, did not attack Yuwen Shuo. Instead, she charged toward the other Guardian from the Ten Directions Sect.