The next day.
The young cultivators of the Demon Slaying Alliance were mostly divided into teams, ready to set off.
“This demon elimination mission does not have a specific time limit,” an elder staying at the camp instructed. “Ten days to half a month is fine, but it’s best not to exceed a month. If there’s no message by then, we will send people into the mountains to search.”
These young Foundation Building cultivators are considered treasures by their respective sects, and naturally, their safety is of utmost importance.
However, as much as they are valued, if they are to shoulder the future of their sects, they cannot always live in safety.
They themselves understand this principle.
The Hundred Poison Mountain Range is vast, and searching for demon cultivators with just these people could take years to find even a few.
Fortunately, the demon elimination army that went ahead has cleared the way for the juniors, confirming the general whereabouts of the remaining demon cultivators.
“Which area should we go to?”
Liu Mei turned to ask her companion.
Their team was quite eye-catching within the Demon Slaying Alliance.
Shangguan Qing’er, Tang Xin, and herself were all notable figures, especially Tang Xin, the chief disciple of Xuanling Sect who had refused all invitations, joining the team was somewhat surprising.
“Let Tang Daoist friend decide.”
Shangguan Qing’er passed the map to the next person.
On the map, about seven or eight locations were circled, indicating the possible presence of remaining demon cultivators, with a brief introduction to the geographical environment next to them.
【Gale Valley: Contains natural fierce winds, with power equivalent to a full-strength strike from a Qi Refining cultivator.】
【Serpent’s Nest: Home to a large number of various poisonous snakes.】
【Spirit Beast Territory: Home to Foundation Building period spirit beasts, with possible existence of Golden Core period spirit beasts.】
Such places, it seems, are somewhat dangerous.
Tang Xin propped her chin, pondering carefully.
Putting myself in their shoes, if I were being hunted by both righteous and demonic factions, where would I hide?
One: An area with geographical advantages that allows for evading pursuers.
Two: An area with pre-set traps that can delay the enemy.
The latter can’t be found on a map, but the former, there seems to be one.
[Mysterious Swamp Zone: An area with poisonous insects, beasts, fog, and water. The poison is potent and hard to guard against, and it has not been thoroughly explored.]
This area meets two criteria: it is large enough and the environment is complex enough.
“Let’s choose the swamp zone.”
Tang Xin said.
Hearing her choice, her teammates showed expressions that seemed both unexpected and reasonable.
Indeed, choosing the most dangerous place fits her character!
“The swamp zone, huh,” Shangguan Qing’er said solemnly, “Although it looks very dangerous from the map’s description, with our abilities, we should be able to protect ourselves.”
“Then it’s decided, the swamp zone,” Liu Mei also nodded, “We just need to be extra cautious during the encirclement.”
After deciding on the area, they received basic items from the elders, including signal fireworks visible from miles away and common detoxification pills, among other things.
With their gear in hand, they followed the crowd, entering the legendary “poisonous everywhere” Hundred Poison Mountain Range.
Accompanying them was the little fox on Tang Xin’s shoulder.
…
After entering the mountain range, the days were much calmer than Tang Xin and the others had anticipated.
Since leaving the camp, they had been moving through the mountains for several days without encountering the ferocious demonic cultivators or fierce spiritual beasts they had expected. The most danger they faced was being surrounded by a few poisonous snakes and swarms of poisonous insects, which was nothing for Foundation Building cultivators.
They were not in a hurry, traveling by day, resting at night, and Zhou Yu took care of all the necessary tasks.
“I’ll do it.”
“Let me handle it.”
“You and Senior Sister Shangguan should rest for a bit.”
Honestly speaking, Zhou Yu’s appearance is above average, and her figure, while not perfect, doesn’t have the same regrets as a certain sword cultivator girl.
But her “aura” is the kind that doesn’t attract much attention.
She’s content being the supporting role, without any desire to stand out, only wishing to fulfill her duties.
Especially when there are beauties like Tang Xin, Shangguan Qing’er, and Liu Mei with different styles around her, it’s very easy for her to be overlooked.
Taking advantage of the others resting, Tang Xin took the initiative to approach her, trying to get a sense of her thoughts.
Imagine, if she could be warned about the betrayal before it happens, how would the story change? Would the “Heartless Fairy” still exist?
“Daoist Zhou…”
Tang Xin greeted her with a smile.
“No need to call me Daoist, just call me by my name,” Zhou Yu politely said, “or you can call me Junior Sister Zhou Yu.”
“Alright, Junior Sister Zhou Yu, that…”
【Generating options…】
【Option 1: Tell Zhou Yu “Your Senior Sister Shangguan is a big villain! You will be terribly betrayed by her!” to change the course of the “Qingxin Pavilion Chaos” storyline.】
【Success rate 1%, reward: one Resurrection Grass, failure leads to the “Strangers” storyline.】
【Option 2: Tell Zhou Yu “Zhou Yu, listen to your sister Tang’s advice, the relationships within the sect are illusory, too deep to grasp,” to change Zhou Yu’s inner thoughts.】
【Success rate 10%, reward: one Muscle Regeneration Grass, failure leads to the “Just a Bit Disdainful” storyline.】
【Option 3: Talk to Zhou Yu about Shangguan Qing’er.】
【Success rate 100%, reward: half a Mimosa.】
Speaking ill of Shangguan Qing’er directly? It’s like starting a card game with a trump card…
“I see you’re quite close to Shangguan Qing’er,” Tang Xin pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you like her a lot?”
“Cough cough cough…”
Zhou Yu’s face turned red at her question.
“No, it’s not like that. I just respect Senior Sister Shangguan a lot. She’s been very good to me…”
“Is that so,” Tang Xin thought for a moment, then said, “If someone else was good to you, would you like her?”
“Hm?” Zhou Yu seemed not to fully grasp her meaning. “I don’t quite understand… If someone is good to you, and you don’t like them, should you dislike them instead?”
“It’s hard to say,” she scratched her face. “Because not everyone who is good to you does so with selfless intentions…”
Before they could exchange a few more words, they were suddenly interrupted by Shangguan Qing’er’s somewhat anxious call.
“Come over here!”
Tang Xin and Zhou Yu hurried over, only to see her and Liu Mei frowning deeply, looking at a piece of metal debris on the ground.
The debris was dark gold, engraved with patterns, and looked quite new, with some blood on it.
“Can you tell whose it is?”
Shangguan Qing’er asked in a low voice.
“It’s from the Jinge Gate. I remember the disciple they sent was called Tie Qian,” Liu Mei said. “Even the identity token is broken. This person is probably…”
“We didn’t see any distress signals,” Tang Xin said. “This means that the opponent’s strength might be far above his…”
The group looked into the forest.
This place, it seems, was not as peaceful as they thought…
