"That is also good."
Elder Long nodded in agreement. With traitors lurking in the shadows, every action they took was restrained, leaving them with good intentions but limited capabilities.
Perhaps leaving Jinling City temporarily would significantly improve the situation.
The traitors would surely try to stop them from reaching the Medicine King Valley. Once the traitors revealed themselves, they could be dealt with.
Afterward, they could return to handle the Yuwen family's affairs, which would then be much simpler...
The two of them finalized their plan and, without hesitation, made simple preparations for their journey. Then, they immediately drove their carriage out of Jinling City.
On the walls of Jinling City.
A figure watched the carriage departing into the distance, their gaze shifting.
"Are all these factions pigs?"
"They only know how to forcefully seize things. Don't they have any brains?"
"And those two unsophisticated brats from the Yuwen family, they didn't even suspect Ye Cangtian. What the hell is going on? Do they really trust Ye Cangtian's character that much?"
The old man's eyes turned sharp and furious.
In his eyes, he had orchestrated a brilliant game, but these pieces were too foolish, stubbornly ruining everything.
With that thought, the old man sighed. Using others as pawns to accomplish anything further was clearly unlikely.
After all, the target had already left Jinling City and was heading towards the western regions.
That area was incredibly dangerous, with very little human habitation. Few factions were willing to venture there.
"It seems I will have to take action personally in the end..."
...
Heading west.
Initially, Ye Cangtian and Elder Long could still travel by carriage.
However, as the forests grew denser, Ye Cangtian and Elder Long eventually had no choice but to proceed on foot.
As they ventured deeper, some ancient ferocious beasts began to appear in their sight.
Although these beasts were incredibly fierce, their combat strength was generally around the Profound or Earth level, posing no threat to Ye Cangtian and the elder.
However, these Earth-level fierce beasts bore fresh wounds, and these wounds were clearly caused by sharp weapons.
This caught the attention of Ye Cangtian and Elder Long.
This situation could only indicate one thing: these fierce beasts had encountered humans not long ago.
Indeed, as they continued, the two discovered traces of intense combat in the forest.
"Roar..."
On the seventh day, Ye Cangtian and Elder Long finally heard the roar of a fierce beast.
The two exchanged glances and then quietly crept forward.
What greeted their eyes was a black tiger with blood-red markings, a legendary ancient ferocious beast, the Shadow Blood Tiger.
Judging by the Shadow Blood Tiger's enormous size, it was undoubtedly an adult. According to relevant records, adult Shadow Blood Tigers possessed combat strength at or above the Earth level.
As Ye Cangtian's thoughts raced, his gaze swept across and he immediately saw a human figure in front of the Shadow Blood Tiger.
The person was relatively young, dressed in animal skin armor, but during the fierce battle, the armor was damaged everywhere, and blood continuously seeped out.
There was no doubt that the young man was seriously injured. If the fight continued, he would most likely become a meal for the Shadow Blood Tiger.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian charged forward without hesitation.
Regardless of the person's identity, he could not stand by and watch them be devoured by a tiger.
"Roar!"
Sensing Ye Cangtian's presence, the Shadow Blood Tiger immediately let out an angry roar at him, clearly furious at the interruption.
"Vile beast, cease your rampant aggression!"
Ye Cangtian also roared, drawing his Ice Crystal Dagger and charging forward.
The man and the tiger fought for more than ten rounds, blood splattering. The Shadow Blood Tiger, realizing it was outmatched, immediately withdrew from the battle and fled the scene.
Despite being a fierce beast, the Shadow Blood Tiger possessed a certain level of intelligence.
Ye Cangtian did not pursue and instead turned towards the man, tossing him a Great Return Pill.
After seeing the man swallow it, he then asked, "Who are you, and why are you here?"
The man quickly thanked Ye Cangtian and then hastily replied, "My lord, I am Hou Yin from the Imperial Dragon Villa. I was accompanying our captain for training..."
Imperial Dragon Villa?
Hearing these four words, Ye Cangtian's eyes widened.
He had never expected to encounter someone from the Imperial Dragon Villa here.
After all, the Imperial Dragon Villa was not located in the western region, and this should not be their operational area.
However, since they had met, as the young master of the Imperial Dragon Villa, he naturally had to inquire.
The next moment, he glanced at Hou Yin and asked, "What happened to you? Did you get separated from your captain?"
"No, no!"
"I came out to seek reinforcements..."
Answering Ye Cangtian's question, Hou Yin quickly explained the situation.
He had personally witnessed Ye Cangtian repelling the Shadow Blood Tiger, which proved that Ye Cangtian's strength was definitely at the Earth level or above, and perhaps he could help their team.
The situation was as follows: he and his team were training, and the journey had been smooth sailing until then.
However, upon arriving here, they accidentally entered a secret realm, and everything changed.
The secret realm contained extremely powerful malevolent spirits. The team members suffered heavy losses inside, and even their captain was captured.
As Hou Yin was responsible for guarding the entrance, he narrowly escaped and fled to find reinforcements, hoping to rescue his captain and the others.
Hmm?
Listening to Hou Yin's words, Ye Cangtian couldn't help but frown.
He had also entered many secret realms. Most of the powerful ancient existences harbored great hostility towards humans, and they were almost all eager to kill them.
This was the first time he had encountered a situation where someone was captured by ancient malevolent spirits.
Therefore, he was somewhat disbelieving and subconsciously glanced at Elder Long beside him, as Elder Long was a knowledgeable person.
Sensing Ye Cangtian's gaze, Elder Long pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "It is possible. The world is vast and full of wonders..."
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian's gaze shifted back to Hou Yin, and he asked, "What was the approximate strength of the enemies you encountered?"
"I'm not sure, but they were very strong, definitely above the Earth level, because our captain was a cultivator at the mid-to-late Earth level."
Hou Yin did not dare to hide anything and quickly replied.
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian looked at Elder Long, asking for his opinion.
But when he felt his gaze, Elder Long immediately turned his head away, ignoring him, as if to say, "It's your decision."
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian pondered for a moment and reluctantly said, "Take me to see the secret realm."
Ye Cangtian finally made his decision.
Let alone that he was the young master of the Imperial Dragon Villa, even if the other party had no relation to him, he would not stand idly by.
"Alright."
Hou Yin said no more and directly led Ye Cangtian towards the secret realm.
...
After walking for about half a day, the three finally saw a towering ancient tree.
Half of the ancient tree's roots were exposed, and between these roots, there was a hole in the ground.
Hou Yin quickly walked to the hole and pointed at it, saying, "This is the entrance to the ruins. Our captain is named Du Xingyu. You two go in, I'll wait here.
If you don't come out within two days, I will go to find more reinforcements..."
Hou Yin understood very well that with his strength, going inside would only be a burden to the two of them.
Therefore, it was better to wait here, at least he could still seek help.
Ye Cangtian nodded upon hearing this, then exchanged a glance with Elder Long, stepped forward, and jumped into the hole.