You and Xue Que had originally planned to follow the five juniors all the way back to Snow City, but just after leaving the Desolate Wasteland region, you unexpectedly came upon quite a show.
Of the ten people who had previously fought Ye Chen's group of five, aside from the Immortal King Third Realm expert who arrived last, the other nine were all real, not fabricated by the "Thousand Illusions of Myriad Forms" secret art jointly cast by you and Xue Que.
While escorting the juniors, you and Xue Que had personally witnessed these nine people ambushing others halfway through their journey—and those they ambushed were disciples of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
One had to know that although the Spirit Treasure Pavilion was not one of the Eight Great Powers, it was still one of the five powerful first-rate forces, and its foundation lay right in the heart of Qinghe Heaven and Earth. These people had truly been bold, daring to operate within another's sphere of influence...
These nine had originally targeted Ye Chen and his group, but they quickly discovered the token Xue Qing carried, the proof of identity belonging to the Cold Palace.
Overlord forces differed from others. With Quasi-Emperors stationed within them, without another Quasi-Emperor providing protection, it was difficult to evade their deductions. Moreover, the Snow Emperor was among the stronger Quasi-Emperors. Everyone knew that not long ago, in the Mountain Sea Illusion Realm, the Snow Emperor had entered through sheer strength.
After hesitating time and again, the nine ultimately chose not to attack Ye Chen's group of five and instead changed targets...
If you and Xue Que had not followed them, the matter might have passed just like that. But since you were here, after marking Ye Chen's group of five, you continued tracking them.