Volume Three: Rising Fame - Chapter 72: Scouting the Path

"Come over here!"

Two voices rang out one after another. A group of people had burst in, looking somewhat panicked; upon seeing others, they let out a sigh of relief, only to be immediately startled by the spiritual domain of Ning Ankang. A clamor erupted within the crowd.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ning Ankang asked in a deep voice, his gaze fixed gloomily upon Li Yu.

The two had spoken back-to-back. Was the latter deliberately trying to defy him? Where did this unearned confidence come from?

"What do you mean, 'what is the meaning of this'?" Li Yu let out a scoff and gestured again to someone in the crowd. "Xiu'er, what are you doing? Why haven't you come over yet?"

Did he actually know someone here? Or was he just spouting nonsense?

Ning Ankang looked at the crowd with suspicion.

Xiu'er? Or perhaps embroidered?

Given the name, surely it wasn't some delicate, graceful woman, right?

"Brother Yu?!"

Someone in the crowd actually responded with surprise, and a woman stepped out from the throng.

"It really is a delicate woman!" Ning Ankang’s gaze swept over Xiong Xiu'er’s beautiful face, but as his eyes traveled downward, his mouth twitched.

Could this thing really be attached to a human being? It was, to say the least, somewhat jarring.

Xiong Xiu'er’s frame was burly and robust, more than twice the size of his own, yet looking at her face, she was clearly the image of a delicate beauty.

"Why are you here?" Li Yu called Xiong Xiu'er over and looked her up and down for a moment. Seeing she had no injuries, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Yu, there was a... strange beast. It kept chasing us. We only just managed to escape here," Xiong Xiu'er said, a flash of lingering fear in her eyes when she mentioned the beast.

Li Yu caught this keenly and looked surprised. "What kind of strange beast?"

"I don't know..." Xiong Xiu'er shook her head. "I've never seen one before. I suppose everyone who has seen it is dead."

The beast seemed to be toying with them, always acting from the shadows. Whenever it struck, it would drag someone into the darkness. No one knew what happened inside; only the terrifying wails and the sounds of chewing could be heard in the gloom.

Li Yu shook his head. He figured it was probably just a beast with unique hunting habits and didn't dwell on it. He spoke up, "Since it’s just a ragtag group anyway, why don't you just stay with me?"

Strictly speaking, Xiong Xiu'er’s group was a patchwork of three smaller groups, all comprised of people who had been tormented by the unknown beast and had huddled together for warmth and comfort.

"Alright." Thinking of her older brother’s instructions, Xiong Xiu'er did not refuse. Especially after so many incidents in the secret realm, she understood that numbers did not necessarily bring much of an advantage; only strength allowed one to thrive in this world governed by the law of the jungle.

She thought for a moment and said, "Brother Yu, can I call one more person over?"

Li Yu nodded. Even if Ning Ankang intended to send people to scout the path, they didn't need that many. Besides, at a glance, he had already spotted someone among the panicked crowd wearing the Xiong clan emblem.

"Xiu'er, take me with you! Please, take me!"

"I shared my food with you, remember? Take me out of here too!"

Seeing Xiong Xiu'er turn back, the group behind her immediately began to wail.

They were terrified. They had been tormented to the brink of a mental breakdown by the elusive beast in the dark, and after encountering people, they had been surrounded and watched. By the looks of it, it was clear that they were being forced to do something.

When they saw that one of their own seemed to know someone on the other side, they clutched at the opportunity like drowning men grabbing a straw, begging frantically.

Xiong Xiu'er felt a pang of reluctance, but she gritted her teeth and pointed at someone. "Wenhao, come out!"

The person she pointed to was indeed a member of the Xiong clan.

However, those surrounding them did not let them pass; they held their weapons, eyeing them like tigers stalking their prey.

"What's wrong? Can't I even ask for a person?" Li Yu asked lazily.

"One person isn't impossible. It doesn't take many to scout a path," Ning Ankang said grimly. "But you wouldn't be taking them one by one, would you? If you take everyone in the end, what are we supposed to get?"

Xiang Yadan and Tang Zhengqing also looked over.

Li Yu thought for a moment and reminded them, "Their points will go to you!"

"Don't go back on your word!" Ning Ankang waved a hand, and his men shifted, letting a burly young man step out.

The others erupted into an uproar when they saw someone else leave, but a surge of pressure from the spiritual domain silenced them instantly.

"Brother Yu, this is Xiong Wenhao of the Xiong clan. He was with me before," Xiong Xiu'er said. After briefly introducing her clansman, she asked with confusion, "What is everyone doing gathered here?"

"Look over there!" Li Yu pursed his lips, signaling her to look to the side.

"This is!" Xiong Xiu'er was dumbfounded. She stared at the strangely appearing Frost-Blowing Ghost Crystals that were exposed, her mouth agape.

Now she understood why so many people were surrounding the place. Wealth moves the heart; she feared that everyone gathered here was powerful and determined to obtain these Frost-Blowing Ghost Crystals!

"What exactly is Brother Yu's cultivation level?!" Xiong Xiu'er wondered to herself.

She had just scanned the area. Setting aside the fact that the beardless young man was at the Fifth Grade, she knew that Prince Ying Feiguang of the Great Ming Imperial Family was also at the Fifth Grade, and that girl surrounded like a star by the moon seemed to be at the Fifth Grade as well!

By that logic, did everyone capable of occupying a territory here have to be at the Fifth Grade?

Her eyes landed behind Li Yu. She didn't recognize Can Yishuang, and Wen Xiangxuan and the others were a mystery to her, but it was clear that they were all standing slightly behind him. Any discerning person could see at a glance that Brother Yu was the leader of this group. Did that mean Brother Yu was also at the Fifth Grade?

Xiong Xiu'er’s mouth opened slightly. Before entering the secret realm, Li Yu had always displayed a Sixth Grade cultivation level when sparring with her. She had assumed he only broke through after entering.

Li Yu watched as Ning Ankang threatened and intimidated those people, watching them walk tremblingly toward the small mountain.

"Go in one by one. You, go first!" Ning Ankang pointed at a man at random.

The man’s face turned deathly pale, but under the threat of swords, he could only grit his teeth and walk into the small mountain.

"Sigh..."

Li Yu sighed inwardly, feeling helpless about this behavior.

Anyone who stopped this now would become a public enemy to everyone else. Everyone had received the information, but who could be sure it was true? If they stopped these people from scouting, who would bet their own life on the accuracy of the information?

Perhaps this was what they called "die, friend, but don't die, me."

With the time taken to deal with Xiong Xiu'er’s group, the noon hour mentioned in the intelligence arrived. The mist outside the small mountain had indeed thinned significantly, and many areas were now perfectly clear.

The man who had been pointed out walked carefully inside. Suddenly, he let out a scream, and white vapor began to rise from his body. In just a moment, only a skeleton remained on the ground.

Everyone present felt a chill run through them.

"You, go in!" Ning Ankang pointed, and another man was selected.

"I won't go!" the man cried out in a panic.

The scene of the previous person's painful death still lingered in their minds. This bizarre and agonizing way to die had nearly scared him out of his wits; in such a situation, how could he be forced to go in?

*Swish!*

Ning Ankang’s curved blade flashed. The man who refused slumped to the ground, losing his life. Ning Ankang didn't care at all and pointed at someone else at random. "You, go in!"

The person pointed at looked at the twitching corpse on the ground, then at his companion who had turned into a skeleton. He gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

Staying put meant certain death, but heading toward the mountain seemed to offer a sliver of hope; the choice was easy.

He proceeded with extreme caution, following the path his deceased companion had taken. When he was about to reach the spot where the other had died, he gritted his teeth, turned in a new, unfamiliar direction, and began to grope his way forward.

"This one has a bit of a brain!" Ning Ankang muttered.

But before he could finish his words, the man he had praised let out a wail, dying in exactly the same way as the first.

"I didn't see anything. What on earth is happening?"

"This way of dying is too terrifying. How in the world are we supposed to get in!?"

With two people dying bizarrely in succession, the scene was in an uproar.

The fourth person was pointed out. She chose a new direction to enter.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on her.

"Why isn't she following the previous person's path?" Can Yishuang asked curiously. "Didn't the last person prove that a section of the path was safe?"

"Is it really safe?"

Li Yu shook his head. He stared at the girl’s feet and said, "We only know how they die, not the cause of death. Perhaps they were poisoned from the start, and it only took effect later?"

Beside them, Wen Xiangxuan pricked up her ears. Hearing this, she suddenly realized something and understood why the girl had changed paths.

Her gaze was also glued to the woman.

Not just her; everyone was watching. They were only a few hundred meters from the treasure mountain; who would be willing to miss out?

The Frost-Blowing Ghost Crystals were exposed on the ground, waiting to be picked up. How could one pass up such an opportunity?

"She's about to make it out!" Li Yu said softly.

The woman was less than ten meters from leaving the thin mist zone.

A smile of survival had just appeared on her face when suddenly, shock flashed in her eyes, followed by the overwhelming agony that washed over her like a tide.

"Damn it!" Ning Ankang slapped his thigh, looking frustrated.

Only ten meters away. They were clearly only ten meters away, yet under the eyes of everyone, she had abruptly wailed and turned into a skeleton!

Many people began to show signs of retreating.

It was too bizarre. With such an inexplicable way to die, even if a mountain of gold and silver were placed before them, it would be hard to feel any greed.

Li Yu’s eyes flickered. Seeing that Ning Ankang was still preparing to point at more people to test the path, he said, "Forget it, forget it. If we have the desire but lack the life to take it, let's go!"

He turned and left first. Although the people behind him were somewhat confused, they subconsciously followed him away.

With a group suddenly leaving, the people remaining stared at each other in bewilderment. Ning Ankang, in particular, felt a flash of regret.

He had been so blatant in using lives to pave the way; if it had succeeded, it would have been fine, as everyone who entered would have been pulled into his camp. But now that it hadn't succeeded, he had essentially brought trouble upon himself without gaining any benefit!