Chapter 1039: Playing Hard to Get

About half a quarter of an hour later, a noisy group of people hurried along the mountain path.

At the front was Yu Kuohai of the Lingxiao Sect, followed a step behind by Elder Yang of Blazing Sun City and Valley Master Fu of Green Bamboo Valley, while the rest of the three factions trailed behind them.

"Hmph, if I ever run into that bastard who scraped the ground clean, I'll skin him alive and grind his bones to dust! In all my years, I've never met anyone so ruthless," Elder Yang fumed, still bristling with anger as he walked.

"Elder Yang, calm down. We all entered the secret realm together, and we searched according to the areas assigned by the Heavenly Water Sect and the Heaven Sword Sect. No one should have been able to get ahead of us," Yu Kuohai said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean... Are you saying those two sects are behind this?" Elder Yang was taken aback.

"With treasures at stake, hearts are unpredictable. Anything is possible. Perhaps while they were stopping us to lay down rules, they secretly sent people to collect the treasures," Valley Master Fu said in a low voice after a moment's thought.

As soon as he said this, the three of them began to have doubts. If the two major sects were indeed behind it, did they have the capital to confront them?

"If we continue deeper into the secret realm, we might be schemed against again. Do you have any countermeasures?" Yu Kuohai asked after a moment of silence.

Elder Yang and Valley Master Fu exchanged glances, but neither spoke.

"As the saying goes, a mighty dragon is no match for a native serpent. We are, after all, local sects here, yet we've been pushed around like this. It won't sound good if word gets out..." Yu Kuohai sighed.

"For now, we can only take it one step at a time. When we get there, we'll be more cautious. We'll fight for any opportunity we can, and if we can't, we'll at least avoid being used as pawns," Elder Yang shook his head and said.

"Indeed, we must stick together to have a chance," Valley Master Fu sighed.

As they were speaking, they suddenly heard a commotion from the forest ahead.

Then, dust and smoke rose within the woods, as if a wild beast was charging.

"What's going on..."

As Yu Kuohai wondered, a stout, burly middle-aged man with tattered clothes stumbled out of the forest in panic, chased by a golden metallic beast shaped like a wild boar.

The beast was over ten zhang tall, its golden fur bristling like steel needles, with two sharp golden tusks curving upward like protruding halberds.

The man ahead was fleeing for his life, while the metallic beast behind pursued with glee.

Seeing so many people ahead, the man immediately acted as if he had found a lifeline and shouted loudly:

"Fellow Daoist, save me! Fellow Daoist, help!"

Before the crowd could figure out the situation, the middle-aged man had already rushed over. As he approached, he leaped into the air, flew over their heads, and nearly crashed into an ancient tree that took three people to embrace before stopping.

The metallic beast, undeterred, charged straight at Yu Kuohai and the others.

The Lingxiao Sect members reacted first, drawing their treasures and attacking the massive boar-like metallic beast.

Those from Blazing Sun City and Green Bamboo Valley were a bit slower but also joined in.

It wasn't out of kindness or a willingness to help, but because this metallic beast was formed from pure metal-attribute spiritual energy in the world, and the beast core inside it would inevitably contain some metal-attribute law power, making it a decent treasure.

"Whoever delivers the fatal blow gets the beast core!" Yu Kuohai shouted loudly.

No one objected, and they all intensified their attacks on the metallic beast.

The beast's strength was not particularly great—at most comparable to a mid-stage Golden Immortal cultivator, even weaker than the two tiger-like metallic beasts Han Li had encountered earlier.

Under the combined assault, it didn't last long before Elder Yang sneaked around to its neck and struck with a Flame Blade, piercing its head. The beast core naturally fell into his sleeve.

Although the metallic beast's body lacked law power, it was still excellent refining material, so they smashed it and divided the pieces.

After everything settled, Yu Kuohai and the others turned to look at the man who had fled earlier, only to see a flash of escape light as he prepared to fly away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yu Kuohai shouted.

With a flick of his wrist, a black whip shot out like a snake's tongue, instantly wrapping around the middle-aged man. He yanked him back, sending him tumbling to the ground at his feet.

"This fellow looks unfamiliar. I don't recall seeing him among any of the sects before or after entering the secret realm," Valley Master Fu said, staring at the man for a long while.

"He does look unfamiliar. He doesn't seem to be from any major sect," Elder Yang nodded in agreement.

"That's easy. A soul search will tell us everything," Yu Kuohai said with a malicious grin.

"Fellow Daoist, let's talk this over, let's talk..." the middle-aged man quickly called out.

"Less nonsense! This bastard might just be that shameless grave robber!" another Lingxiao Sect member shouted.

"His origins are unclear; it's not impossible..." Elder Yang said after a moment's thought.

The others chimed in, calling for a soul search.

Yu Kuohai glanced at the man's unusually wide-set eyes and thought he looked somewhat dull, not like a cunning person. But to be safe, he still intended to perform a soul search.

This man was none other than Han Li, wearing a mask and having altered his appearance.

Earlier, sensing the group approaching, he had taken the opportunity to blend in and gather useful information. He had deliberately sought out the metallic beast and lured it to chase him here.

However, just as he was about to reach out, a golden light flashed on the man, and the black whip around him suddenly loosened and fell off. He flipped over and stood up.

"Fellow Daoists, no offense. I am Shi Mu, no villain," Han Li said with a foolish grin, cupping his hands.

Seeing him easily break free from Yu Kuohai's restraint, the others looked surprised and raised their weapons again, surrounding Han Li.

Han Li quickly formed a hand seal, casting a spell to break free, and explained:

"I'm not skilled in the great Dao; I only know these trivial tricks. Please don't mind. May I ask where this is?"

Yu Kuohai and the others were taken aback by his question.

"You don't know where this is?" Yu Kuohai asked, his eyes narrowing.

"To be honest, I was chasing a strange beast in the forest when I somehow fell into a strange mountain hollow. It seemed open all around, but I was trapped like in a ghost maze, unable to get out. Fortunately, I know some methods to break barriers and restrictions, and I finally broke through the maze and ended up here. Not long after, I encountered that metallic beast and was chased all the way here," Han Li explained, feigning terror.

"Words are empty. We can't trust you. There was a villain who plundered many of our treasures and spiritual herbs before us. We suspect you are that person. If you want to prove your innocence, hand over your storage device for us to inspect," Yu Kuohai said coldly.

"You're putting me in a difficult position. How can I show my storage device to just anyone..." Han Li seemed to shrink back instinctively, arguing.

"I'm afraid you have no choice," Elder Yang said coldly.

Han Li looked at the people closing in on him, his face shifting between hesitation and fear.

After a long while, he finally sighed and said helplessly, "Very well, very well. After you've inspected it, please let me go."

As he spoke, he took off a storage ring he had prepared earlier and handed it over.

Yu Kuohai took it, probed it with his divine sense for a moment, frowned slightly, and passed it to Elder Yang.

After inspecting it, Elder Yang also frowned and handed it to Valley Master Fu.

"You're a Golden Immortal, even if only at the early stage, how can you be so poor?" Valley Master Fu couldn't help asking.

"You flatter me... I'm just a wandering cultivator from the wilds, not like you who have the support of sects. It's hard to get cultivation resources, so how could I have any savings?" Han Li forced a bitter smile and sighed.

"Seems like he's really a wandering cultivator who stumbled in here by accident..." Valley Master Fu tossed the storage ring back.

Han Li caught it hastily, put it on with a foolish grin.

"Since you all have important matters to attend to, I won't delay you. I'll take my leave now," Han Li said, bowing as he backed away.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, wait..." Yu Kuohai suddenly spoke.

"Do you have any further instructions?" Han Li froze, feigning confusion.

"Earlier, Fellow Daoist Shi mentioned that you know some methods to break barriers and restrictions. Is that true?" Yu Kuohai asked with a smile.

Han Li immediately put on a proud expression and replied, "Not to boast, but although my cultivation is ordinary, I do have some skill in breaking restrictions and finding paths..."

"But compared to you all, it's naturally nothing, nothing..." He stopped mid-sentence, as if realizing he had misspoken, and quickly explained.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, what do you mean by asking this?" Elder Yang seemed to catch on and transmitted his voice.

"Since the Heavenly Water Sect and the Heaven Sword Sect want to use us as cannon fodder, why don't we find some cannon fodder to take the lead? This man has delivered himself to us and claims to be good at breaking restrictions. Isn't he perfect?" Yu Kuohai's expression remained unchanged as he replied via voice transmission.