"Hold on!"
Ye Cangtian directly stopped Yi Feipeng. As the latter halted and cast a questioning glance, he then spoke.
"I believe you only need to be vigilant about this matter and pretend to be unaware."
"Perhaps they will come to their senses before making a move."
"Besides, the operation is about to begin, and the Swift Wind Tower needs manpower..."
Ye Cangtian's voice trailed off, and Yi Feipeng's gaze shifted, finding merit in what the other said.
Without Shen Bingyang and Hu Lifeng, the Swift Wind Tower's team would lack mid to high-tier combat power.
Should they encounter a particularly difficult crisis, he would struggle to manage alone.
Beyond that, he also wished to give the two an opportunity, all for the sake of the Swift Wind Tower.
After all, if the two were truly beyond redemption, the Swift Wind Tower might face the risk of having no successors.
With this thought, Yi Feipeng nodded and said, "As you say, I'll keep an eye on them, hoping they can find their way back."
Ye Cangtian nodded in response and continued, "By the way, I have another piece of news to tell you."
En?
Yi Feipeng saw Ye Cangtian's expression turn solemn, and his brow furrowed in tandem. It went without saying that the news was unlikely to be good.
"I've just received word that people from the Flying Cloud Pavilion have disguised themselves and infiltrated various forces."
"The Swift Wind Tower may not be spared. So, in addition to being wary of Shen Bingyang and Hu Lifeng, you also need to be vigilant of your own people, especially those whose personalities have changed..."
Ye Cangtian's words caused Yi Feipeng's expression to darken abruptly.
If he had to be constantly on guard everywhere, the Swift Wind Tower would find it difficult to advance. Yet, he couldn't afford not to be cautious.
Thinking this, Yi Feipeng couldn't help but snort coldly and say, "These Flying Cloud Pavilion fellows are utterly despicable. Don't let me find those people, or I'll definitely teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian chuckled and said, "Their people aren't easy to catch. Just be careful with everything."
Yi Feipeng nodded in agreement and, after chatting with Ye Cangtian for a while, left the tent.
...
In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the dense forest, forming shafts of light.
Ye Cangtian had just gotten up and was about to have some breakfast when he saw Rose and the others sitting in the tent with somber expressions.
"What's wrong? You all woke up in a bad mood this early?"
Ye Cangtian walked over to them and sat down.
Rose replied with a cold expression, "Those forces, all speaking so grandly, but this morning, they've all vanished..."
Heh.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian immediately chuckled. "They all left last night. It's nothing."
With Ye Cangtian's keen spiritual sense, he could perceive when someone left the camp.
"Oh, dear!"
Yao Bao'er immediately scurried over upon hearing this and said, "Boss, what are you doing! If you knew they left, why aren't we moving!
Aren't you worried that that so-called ruby will fall into someone else's hands?"
In Yao Bao'er's opinion, it was always best to strike first.
Moreover, besides the ruby, there were other demonic beasts in the rainforest, and even potential secret realms.
Especially secret realms, where the treasures within were quite valuable. If others got there first, what would be left for them?
Ye Cangtian glanced at Yao Bao'er and said, "What's yours will always be yours, and what isn't yours, you can't force. Besides, letting them scout ahead isn't a bad thing..."
Heh.
Yao Bao'er chuckled at Ye Cangtian's explanation and helplessly closed her mouth.
It was already like this, and anything more she said would be useless. Besides, Ye Cangtian's thoughts were not easily changed.
Seeing Yao Bao'er quiet down, Ye Cangtian asked, "By the way, how many forces are still left in the camp?"
"None!"
Yao Bao'er gave Ye Cangtian a glare and said grumpily, "Even the people from Imperial Dragon Villa have entered the rainforest."
Uh...
Ye Cangtian was slightly taken aback by this and then showed a bitter smile.
It seemed Yuan Hao and the others also wanted to take the lead!
With that thought, Ye Cangtian said, "Alright, let's eat first, and then we'll set off..."
Rose, Yao Bao'er, and the others were somewhat resigned to Ye Cangtian's suggestion, but they still prepared breakfast.
Only after breakfast did Ye Cangtian officially lead the group into the rainforest.
As they ventured deeper, signs of fighting gradually appeared, with these traces becoming more numerous, yet not a single demonic beast corpse was left on the ground.
It truly felt like a scorched-earth policy.
Upon seeing this situation, Yao Bao'er's lips once again pouted.
The reason was simple: although the Hidden Group hadn't had many opportunities to act along the way, her harvest had been considerable.
She could always find some rare flowers and herbs.
But now, after entering the rainforest, for almost a whole day, she hadn't found a single medicinal herb, only some roots of medicinal plants.
It went without saying that these herbs had been taken by others first.
In response, Ye Cangtian could only helplessly take out snacks to ward off Yao Bao'er's resentful gaze.
"Help! Is anyone there to save me..."
After walking for an unknown duration, cries for help echoed.
Ye Cangtian and the others immediately looked in the direction of the sound, where they saw a man desperately weaving through the rainforest.
Behind the man were two burly figures.
What was strange was that the attire of these three was the same, suggesting they belonged to the same force.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian became certain that one of the parties involved must be from the Flying Cloud Pavilion.
Either the Flying Cloud Pavilion's infiltrators were discovered by the other party and were being pursued.
Or, the man had discovered something valuable, which had piqued the Flying Cloud Pavilion's greed and led them to want him dead.
With this thought, Ye Cangtian glanced at Rose and exchanged a look.
Sensing his gaze, Rose immediately understood and, without a word, dashed out.
Not long after, Rose brought all three of them back.
The strength of these individuals was only at the Earthly level, making them no match for Rose.
Looking at the three before him, Ye Cangtian glanced at the man who had been pursued earlier and asked, "Who are you? Why are those two chasing you!"
"Reporting to sir, I am Xu Xiaoshan from the Tianyuan Sect. These two are likely spies hidden within the Tianyuan Sect and suddenly attacked me..." the man quickly replied.
En?
Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed. If they were spies, why would they attack without reason? It must be for some specific benefit.
However, Xu Xiaoshan mentioned nothing of this, indicating there was a secret.
With this in mind, Ye Cangtian's gaze fell upon the other two, and he asked, "You two, tell me, why were you chasing him!"
As the words fell, one of them quickly replied, "My name is Yu Tao from the Tianyuan Sect. The situation is this: we were searching the rainforest in groups of three, and we discovered the red gem. He then snatched it away..."
The red gem?
As the voice came, Rose, Yao Bao'er, and the others' eyes lit up.
It was truly a case of finding something without looking!
Unexpectedly, it was so simple to obtain the red gem. Did this mean they could be the first to enter the Mustard Seed Space!
Perhaps all the treasures in the Mustard Seed Space would be theirs...
Ye Cangtian also mused inwardly. To find the red gem so quickly, it seemed these three were quite fortunate.
"Nonsense!"
"The red gem was clearly discovered by me, and then you two tried to snatch it, even chasing me!"
While Ye Cangtian was still pondering, Xu Xiaoshan on the other side roared.
Now that Yu Tao had revealed the matter of the red gem, Xu Xiaoshan no longer had any reason to hide and began to explain the situation, arguing with the other party.
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian glanced over and then said, "Xu Xiaoshan, you just said they were spies. Do you have any proof?"
"They admitted it themselves! They are from the Flying Cloud Pavilion!"
"And they even thanked me for finding the gem for them, saying as a reward, they would let me die painlessly..."
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed. The people from the Flying Cloud Pavilion had always been arrogant, and it wasn't strange for them to say such things.
What puzzled him, however, was how Xu Xiaoshan managed to escape being chased by two disciples of the Flying Cloud Pavilion.