The team blocking their path was an expedition from the Inner City's Three Sects and Six Clans. Most of its members belonged to the Crimson Rice Clan, one of the Six Clans.
On the way, they and the Qingfeng Temple team had discovered the Purple Crystal Ruins together. Afterward, the two teams had made different decisions.
Chen Sui, who led the Qingfeng Temple team, had decided to go in and explore. But the Crimson Rice Clan's leader was an old hand. He had chosen to avoid the risk and head elsewhere.
That old hand was named Chen Hushan. At first, he had assumed the Qingfeng Temple team was as good as dead and thought no more of them.
To his surprise, on the way back, just as they were nearing the main road to the exit, Chen Hushan spotted the Qingfeng Temple team again.
What was more, he sensed that their auras had grown far stronger. That unremarkable Chen Sui had actually broken through to the Inner Strength Realm, much to his surprise.
Then there were the purple crystals packed into large sacks. Though covered with ragged cloth, they had still caught his team's eye.
No need to guess. They had to be good stuff.
Now that their paths had crossed again, Chen Hushan made his decision. His team had found nothing, but they could simply take someone else's haul and make it their own.
He had returned empty-handed several times already. Though he had suffered few casualties, the whispers in the clan had grown louder, and its support and benefits for the expedition team had dwindled.
So if he could bring back something valuable this time...
As for Qingfeng Temple's reaction, he had heard that it was a decent force in a few Outer City towns, perhaps even somebody