Chapter 50: Chapter 48: Hatred and Twistedness

This was a primeval forest, nearly devoid of undergrowth, filled only with ancient, thousand-year-old trees that towered into the clouds.

The branches of the trees intertwined, their lush, spreading canopies forming a sea of jade-green clouds that completely blotted out the sky.

A faint breeze rustled the leaves, the sound like the sigh of a dragon.

From the depths of the forest, the occasional roar of some unknown beast echoed out, causing the world to tremble slightly. In its wake, a million living things fell silent, not daring to move.

This was the border between the Void Sect and the Wolf Fang Sect, the very place where the Earth-level Spiritual Ore had been discovered.

"Is everything in place?"

Dozens of figures appeared out of nowhere, all clad in black with the emblem of a wolf’s head embroidered on their chests.

Their leader was a middle-aged man, nine feet tall, with a fierce and burly build. His arms alone were thicker than a grown man’s thigh, and he radiated an oppressive aura, like that of a great mountain.

His cold, glittering eyes scanned his surroundings with the vigilance of a predator about to devour its prey.

"Reporting to Steward Jin, the Array has been set up in secret. The people from the Void Sect haven’t noticed a thing."

Jin Quan nodded in satisfaction and sneered, "More than half of this Earth-level Spiritual Ore lies within Wolf Fang Sect territory. The Void Sect is only sitting on the tail end of it, yet they want to divide the shares through a competition? They’re dreaming!"

"Don’t worry, Steward Jin," a young man said with a smile. "The Void Sect won’t get through our Array without paying a steep price. By then, it’ll be a miracle if any of their disciples are still breathing, let alone able to continue with the competition."

"Excellent. By my calculations, the disciples from the Void Sect should be arriving soon. We’ll go keep those old geezers busy so they can’t rush to the rescue and ruin everything."

...

An immense Gray Eagle soared across the sky before diving into the embrace of the forest below.

On the Gray Eagle’s back sat about twenty people. It was Mo Qi and his party, who had hurried over from the Void Sect.

This Gray Eagle was a Third-level Demon Beast, its strength equivalent to a human Vajra Realm Cultivator. Although it could not speak, its intelligence was remarkably high.

"Master, the last Array Flag is complete." Liu Hui handed Mo Qi a palm-sized flag and let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Mo Qi patted Liu Hui’s shoulder and smiled. "You’ve worked hard. Go ahead and recover for a bit."

Liu Hui nodded, sat down cross-legged, and began to meditate, replenishing the nearly depleted True Essence in his Dantian.

Mo Qi was thrilled. Since his Nine Transformations into Spirit was still incomplete, he was unable to condense True Essence himself.

Therefore, to be able to set up an Array, he had asked Liu Ruyan to purchase a pile of Original Array Bases from the treasury.

He then had Liu Hui refine them according to his instructions.

This way, even without any True Essence of his own, he could borrow Liu Hui’s power to faintly commune with the Power of Heaven and Earth and deploy an Array.

’I wonder which unlucky soul will have the honor of being the first sacrifice for my Array.’

Mo Qi turned his head to look at a young man not far away.

’Could it be you?’

Ever since they first met, this man had harbored an intense animosity toward him, even a palpable killing intent.

And it was an intent he didn’t bother to conceal in the slightest.

Mo Qi was certain that if the two Elders weren’t present, the man would have already tried to kill him.

At first, Mo Qi had assumed this man was Wang Xinglong’s disciple, Diao Qing. However, before they set out, the real Diao Qing had proactively greeted him with a wide smile.

It was hard to imagine that the Diao Qing whom Yang Ming had described as twisted, cruel, and bloodthirsty could be this handsome, refined youth in a snow-white scholar’s robe, looking every bit the gentleman.

"Have I ever hit you?" Mo Qi asked, looking at the hostile young man.

The young man’s Cultivation was at the Refining God Ninth Heaven; logically, he shouldn’t have ever patronized the Uncle Niu’s Kitchen God restaurant.

The young man stared venomously at Mo Qi, snorted coldly, and shook his head.

"Did I beat up one of your martial brothers?" Mo Qi asked again.

The young man shook his head.

"Were you and Wang Hao like brothers? Are you trying to get revenge for him?"

The young man still shook his head.

"Then why in the world do you hate me so much?" Mo Qi genuinely couldn’t think of a reason.

"My name is Qi Tian," the young man said coldly.

’Qi Tian?’

Mo Qi froze. ’Why does that name sound so familiar?’

Soon, another name leaped into Mo Qi’s mind.

Qi Yun!

"You’re Qi Yun’s older brother?"

The young man remained silent, but the hatred in his gaze only deepened as he stared at Mo Qi.

Mo Qi suddenly understood. ’So that’s it,’ he thought. ’No wonder.’

"See this forest?" Qi Tian said, his expression savage as he pointed to the sea of green below. "This will be your grave!"

"None of that," Diao Qing interrupted from the side. "Don’t forget what my master ordered. We can’t kill him yet. We have to take him alive."

"Hmph." Qi Tian snorted and turned away from Diao Qing.

Diao Qing didn’t seem to mind. With a refined smile, looking as pleasant as a spring breeze, he turned apologetically to Mo Qi.

"I’m sorry, did he startle you? Don’t listen to his nonsense. We’re not going to kill you. We’re just going to cripple you."

Despite the cruelty of his words, Diao Qing delivered them in an exceedingly gentle, almost affectionate tone.

It was as if two old friends were just having a casual chat.

This sent a shiver down Mo Qi’s spine. Now he understood firsthand what it meant to have a twisted personality.

The wind howled at this altitude, and the other disciples, positioned farther away, didn’t overhear their conversation.

The two accompanying Elders, however, exchanged a glance. One of them stepped forward and sent a message via Divine Thought that echoed in everyone’s mind.

"We will reach our destination in less than fifteen minutes. Before we do, I want to remind all of you: no matter what conflicts or deep-seated grudges you have, put them aside for now. If any of you affect the outcome of the competition, don’t blame me for being merciless!"

The two accompanying Elders were twin brothers named Ye Lei and Ye Dian, both of whom were Late-stage Vajra Realm cultivators.

They had been adopted by a powerful ancestor of the Void Sect and had lived in the Secret Realm since childhood, indoctrinated with absolute loyalty to the sect.

Thus, they were just like Yun Xuzi, people who put the interests of the Void Sect above all else.

Therefore, they cared nothing for the rights and wrongs between Mo Qi, Qi Tian, and Diao Qing. Their only concern was the allocation of shares for the Spiritual Ore.

"Mo Qi, there are abnormal Energy fluctuations up ahead!" the Pig Emperor suddenly poked its head out of Mo Qi’s robes to warn him.

Mo Qi’s expression changed. "Do you know what it is?" he asked urgently. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The Pig Emperor shook its head. "You’ll run into it in less than twenty breaths."

Hearing this, Mo Qi quickly cried out to Ye Lei and Ye Dian, "Elders, there are abnormal Energy fluctuations not far ahead! I suspect we’re in danger!"

Startled, Ye Lei and Ye Dian immediately commanded the Gray Eagle to halt.

’An ambush by the Wolf Fang Sect?’

They sent out their Divine Sense, sweeping the area several times, but they detected no abnormalities, let alone any unusual Energy fluctuations.

The pair frowned at once, turning to look at Mo Qi with displeasure.

Seeing this, the many disciples who had been on high alert also showed strange expressions. ’There’s clearly nothing there,’ they thought.

"Hah! Just an attention-seeking clown, spouting nonsense!" Qi Tian sneered aloud.

Mo Qi knew the Pig Emperor wouldn’t lie to him. The fact that Ye Lei and Ye Dian couldn’t find anything could only mean that the danger ahead was even greater than he had anticipated.

"Continue onward!" Ye Lei commanded in a deep voice.

"Wait, Elder! There really is danger ahead. We should land and be caref—" Mo Qi tried to stop them.

"Enough!" Ye Lei cut Mo Qi off impatiently.