One-way transmission?
Ye Cangtian's face turned grim again. He had intended to retreat back to the portal, but it had vanished.
With no other choice, Ye Cangtian spread out his senses, searching the surrounding corrosive forest.
"So many spirit stones, doesn't Tianyuan Sect want to hoard them all for yourselves?"
After searching for an unknown amount of time, a voice reached him, and Ye Cangtian hurried towards it.
In the forest, the ground was littered with skeletons. Among them were several disciples of Tianyuan Sect, their backs to him. Facing them was a group from the Black Feather Gang.
"Black Feather Gang, what do you mean by this?"
"We lost so many disciples to defeat these skeletons, and now you want to snatch them?"
"Aren't you afraid of Misty Rain Tower causing trouble for you?"
As the voice carried over, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed slightly. The voice was very familiar; it was Yu Tao, whom he had met upon entering the forest.
Yu Tao's face was filled with indignation. His entire squad had suffered heavy casualties, with more than half of them falling to defeat the skeletons.
Fewer than ten remained, and all bore some injuries.
Their sacrifices had already been immense, yet the Black Feather Gang chose this moment to capitalize on their misfortune.
If they were to fight, they would surely be no match for them. But if they handed over the golden spirit stones, would their brothers' deaths be in vain?
"Afraid? Afraid of what nonsense!"
Zhou Hua, the leader of the Black Feather Gang, sneered dismissively. He continued, "Yu Tao, I advise you to be reasonable. Hand them over now, and you can keep your lives! Otherwise..."
As he spoke, Zhou Hua drew his weapon and led the charge towards Yu Tao and his men.
His intention was clear: if the other party refused to surrender the spirit stones, he would resort to force.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Seeing Zhou Hua approach with an evil grin, Yu Tao exploded with rage and charged towards him.
Even if he were to die, he would not let the other party so easily obtain the spirit stones.
"You seek death!"
Zhou Hua's eyes turned cold. After dodging Yu Tao's attack, he smoothly thrust his sword towards the latter's chest.
Seeing the swift approach of the sword, Yu Tao gasped. In normal circumstances, he could have dodged it, but he was too depleted now and truly couldn't evade.
*Clang!*
Just as Yu Tao believed he was doomed, a cold glint flashed past, deflecting Zhou Hua's sword.
"Damn it! Who is it!"
"Which idiot is tired of living and dares to interfere with the Black Feather Gang's affairs!"
His attack blocked, Zhou Hua was furious and looked around wildly.
The next moment, he spotted Ye Cangtian slowly approaching, his brows knitting together, and cold sweat trickling down his face.
If it were an ordinary grunt, he wouldn't have batted an eye. But this person was a Heaven-level expert, and with his current forces, they might not be a match for him.
Heh.
Ye Cangtian walked forward, looking at Zhou Hua with a playful expression, and asked with a smile, "You little insect, who are you saying is tired of living?"
I...
Zhou Hua's face turned even uglier than if he had eaten excrement. He hadn't expected it to be Ye Cangtian!
After a moment, he forced out an awkward smile and quickly cupped his hands, saying, "Lord Ye, I apologize for my disrespect just now!"
"Heh, not entirely foolish."
Ye Cangtian smiled slightly and then spoke, "You all broke the rules immediately upon entering the Mustard Seed Space. Tell me, do you think you'd accept it if I decided to eliminate you now?"
"Lord Ye, we know we were wrong. Please give us a chance!"
"We are willing to give you everything we've obtained!"
Upon hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Zhou Hua's body trembled, and he quickly spoke.
Since he was no match for Ye Cangtian now, he had no choice but to try and buy his way out. He could always settle the score with Ye Cangtian later when he regrouped with others.
Ye Cangtian smiled faintly at his words and said, "If I eliminate you, your treasures will naturally be mine. So, why should I keep you alive?"
This...
Zhou Hua's expression changed drastically. The way Ye Cangtian put it made it clear that there was no room for negotiation.
The next moment, Zhou Hua said grimly, "Ye Cangtian, I advise you not to push your luck. We dared to attack Tianyuan Sect not just because we are stronger than them!"
"Oh? So you have a backer?"
"Tell me about it!"
Ye Cangtian's interest was piqued, and he made a gesture of invitation.
He had been pressuring the other party precisely to find out who their backer was!
After all, they had ignored Misty Rain Tower's warning, so their backer must be extraordinary.
"Listen carefully, our backer is the Flying Cloud Pavilion!"
Having reached this point, Zhou Hua no longer concealed anything. He continued, "Ye Cangtian, if you know what's good for you, stay out of this. Otherwise, you might very well implicate the entire Hidden Squad!"
"So it's the Flying Cloud Pavilion!"
Ye Cangtian chuckled and continued, "If your backer wasn't the Flying Cloud Pavilion, perhaps I could have let you go. But now... you can only blame yourself for choosing the wrong side!"
As he spoke, Ye Cangtian's expression shifted, and he unleashed a barrage of punches.
In an instant, waves of spiritual energy fists shot out, sending Zhou Hua and his men flying one by one.
Ye Cangtian did not hold back but also did not take their lives. Instead, he crippled their cultivation.
First, the Black Feather Gang had been extorted by Chen Hantian and then by Zhou Hua, indicating that the Black Feather Gang itself was not a group of saints.
Secondly, the relationship between the Flying Cloud Pavilion and the Hidden Squad was extremely tense. Once they entered the Mustard Seed Space, they would undoubtedly seek opportunities to attack the Hidden Squad.
Under these circumstances, the Black Feather Gang was a pawn of the Flying Cloud Pavilion, which was why Ye Cangtian directly crippled their cultivation.
This way, even if the Black Feather Gang possessed enough Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, they would have difficulty posing a threat to the Hidden Squad before exiting the Mustard Seed Space.
Meanwhile, after spitting out several mouthfuls of blood, Zhou Hua's face was ashen. Before he could even rage about his cultivation being crippled, he saw Ye Cangtian approaching again.
He's here to silence us!
With this thought, Zhou Hua quickly spoke, "Wait, Ye Cangtian, we are allies!"
Huh?
Ye Cangtian was taken aback. He had intended to collect the Black Feather Gang's Qiankun bags, but he hadn't expected such a declaration.
Seeing Ye Cangtian's confusion, Zhou Hua quickly explained, "Ye Cangtian, I'm not lying. We are all members of the Dragon Riding Villa. Look if you don't believe me..."
As he spoke, Zhou Hua took out several sets of clothing from his Qiankun bag, on which the emblem of the Dragon Riding Villa was clearly embroidered.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian became even more bewildered. Apart from Yuan Hao, Hong Liu, and Chen Gong, he had left the other disciples of the Dragon Riding Villa at Misty Rain Tower.
But what was the deal with Zhou Hua and the others?
"I recall that the Dragon Riding Villa, including Death God, had only four participants in the Peak Competition!"
"I know all four of them. Where did you lot pop out from!"
Hearing Ye Cangtian's questioning, Zhou Hua breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that Ye Cangtian was questioning him meant there was a chance he could escape.
He quickly replied, "We are not part of Death God. The leader of our Black Feather Gang is none other than Changsun Lingxi of the Dragon Riding Villa..."
Changsun Lingxi?
Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed tightly. How long had it been since Changsun Lingxi was expelled from the Dragon Riding Villa by Lei Ming!
It was difficult enough to establish a faction in such a short period.
Yet, Changsun Lingxi had not only established the Black Feather Gang but also elevated it to a first-class power, which was truly astonishing!
No! The Black Feather Gang had existed for a long time; it wasn't a newly emerging force!
Ye Cangtian recalled some information about the Black Feather Gang and quickly asked, "I remember the Black Feather Gang having no relation to the Dragon Riding Villa. Why do you say the Black Feather Gang belongs to Changsun Lingxi?"
"There was no relation before!"
"But An Yi, who is by Changsun Lingxi's side, is brothers with the leader of the Black Feather Gang. Furthermore, An Yi is the sole esteemed elder of the Black Feather Gang and holds the leader's token!"
"Therefore, after the leader went missing, An Yi naturally took over the Black Feather Gang and simultaneously transferred the leadership to Changsun Lingxi..."
An Yi?
Hearing Zhou Hua's account, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed again.
An Yi was the right-hand man of Chen Yi, a traitor of the Hidden Squad. And another right-hand man of Chen Yi, coincidentally named Hei Yu, had the same name as the Black Feather Gang.
Could it be that this Hei Yu established the Black Feather Gang?
With this thought, Ye Cangtian looked at Zhou Hua and asked indifferently, "Was your missing leader named Hei Yu?"
"Mr. Ye, you've heard of him too?"
"Then do you know our leader's whereabouts? If so, please tell me..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Hua's eyes lit up. Wasn't this making their connection even stronger?
Not only could he save his life, but he might even find the missing leader!