Unexpected Complications

"Found it!"

Mao Ba opened his eyes, looking somewhat weary with a slightly withered complexion; it seemed that manipulating the Green Crane had taken a heavy toll on his spirit.

Wu Dao had been observing the entire process, and he gained a deeper understanding of the Immortal Cultivator.

Transcendent beings on this path seemed to possess spiritual cultivation far superior to that of the Martial Dao.

Because.

Even after a series of drains, Mao Ba, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, still possessed a level of vitality and spirit that was not inferior to the Divine Strength Realm.

It was easy to imagine.

How powerful his mental will must have been at his peak.

Hm!?

Just as Wu Dao's thoughts were churning, he suddenly frowned, turned his head abruptly toward the darkness at the end of the long street, and narrowed his eyes involuntarily.

His keen perception told him.

A powerful "predator" was approaching!

"Another expert?"

It wasn't just Wu Dao.

Zhao Wei, Yun Tianliu, Mao Ba, and the seven peak Internal Strengthening experts, who realized it a moment later, also sensed that dangerous aura and frowned, looking over in unison.

"Haha, gentlemen, how about including us?"

The booming, thunderous laughter approached from afar.

It sounded like a great bell, causing the faces of the Internal Strengthening cultivators present to flush red, feeling quite uncomfortable.

In the blink of an eye.

Two figures, one burly and one lean, flickered from the end of the darkness onto the wasteland in front of Chunxiang Garden.

An intense sense of oppression.

Caused everyone present to narrow their eyes.

Especially Wu Dao, the moment he saw the two black tokens hanging from their waists, engraved with the characters "Four Seas" and a wave pattern.

He involuntarily ground his teeth.

Seeking revenge?

Or seeking treasure?

The moment Wu Dao saw the tokens at their waists, his mind raced; he suppressed the urge to strike and remained extremely vigilant in the shadows.

These two.

Their strength was immense; their vitality and spirit were incomparable to the likes of Meng Qingshuang.

In particular, the skin-and-bones middle-aged man with eagle-claw-like hands and a deathly aura exerted tremendous pressure on Wu Dao!

It was possible...

No, he was definitely an expert in the Cocoon-Breaking Realm!

Currently, Wu Dao's strength was bolstered by fifty years of Tyrant Whale Fist, and his human potential was nearing the Heroic Domain.

To speak arrogantly.

Within the Divine Strength Realm, aside from those freaks who had reached Subtle Mastery.

He didn't care about anyone else; the only ones who could put pressure on him were Cocoon-Breaking cultivators above the Divine Strength Realm!

Fortunately.

Having lived two lives and tempered his heart in the mortal world.

Through countless brushes with death, Wu Dao's temperament had long been forged to be tougher than steel.

After a momentary surprise in his heart.

His expression returned to normal, no different from the others—curious yet wary, showing absolutely no signs of guilt or panic.

Back in the desert.

He had already digested the mark that Meng Qingshuang had left on him.

Since these two did not immediately attack him, it meant they lacked more advanced tracking methods and did not know that Wu Dao was the culprit who slaughtered the Red Fire Mine.

Under these circumstances.

If he were to act like a cornered beast and launch a surprise attack, he would be exposing himself.

If it were only the bald, burly man.

Wu Dao would have nothing to fear; overturning the table and exposing himself would pose no worries, but the difficulty lay with the gloomy, lean middle-aged man in the Cocoon-Breaking Realm.

Breaking the cocoon, breaking the cocoon!

Breaking the cocoon to become a butterfly.

Martial artists at this level have already undergone a rebirth, breaking their cocoons to shed their mortal bodies and replace their bones and blood!

Having opened their Qi Sea Dantian and condensed their Essence Blood, their physiques can now withstand qi, blood, and power far exceeding the limits of a mortal, and they have already mastered force!

Unified Force, Internal Force, and Transformative Force.

Three rebirths, three layers of heaven.

Even at this first layer, the Unified Force stage, one can already integrate the strength of their entire body's muscles and bones. When moving to strike, they can condense that power into a single point at will, allowing a flick of a finger to unleash the force of their entire body!

When fighting.

Their force strikes like heavy artillery, and their stamina flows like an endless, surging river.

Not to mention that cultivators at this stage already possess Copper Skin and Iron Bones; a mortal body simply cannot stand against them.

Aside from the gloomy middle-aged man.

The other man, a bald youth with a face that looked like he feared violence, was also no pushover. His limbs were like iron pillars, his muscles like coiled dragons, and his temples bulged high.

He clearly possessed a profound mastery of Hard Qigong.

His scorching, majestic aura was like a suppressed volcano; once it erupted, he would instantly transform into a steel war machine!

However.

Wu Dao did not feel much fear.

Stealing Heaven's Secret was his greatest trump card.

His strength right now had more than doubled compared to his time at the Red Fire Mine. If he wanted to leave, these two might not necessarily be able to stop him!

Since he hadn't been discovered.

There was no reason to run away in a panic. The enemy was in the light while he was in the dark; he would simply wait and watch.

As for giving up the Strange Treasure within Canyun Mountain.

That was absolutely impossible!

Although these two were strong, and there was even someone at the Cocoon-Breaking Realm.

The people present were not to be trifled with either.

A Sword Dao master!

Two Fist Dao masters!

Plus the mysterious and unpredictable Mao Ba!

None of them were simple Divine Strength Realm experts; it was a gathering of elites, and one could assume everyone had a trick or two up their sleeves.

If these two wanted to monopolize it.

If a real fight broke out.

The outcome would be anyone's guess.

As for why Wu Dao believed that if a conflict arose, Mao Ba and Yun Tianliu would stand with them against a common enemy.

That was a matter of stance.

The reputation of the Four Seas Gang in the martial arts world of Guangqing Prefecture was foul, truly stinking to high heaven. It was practically synonymous with being sinister, evil, and prone to committing all sorts of crimes.

Any cultivator with a sense of justice in their heart.

Disliked them intensely and wished nothing more than to see them eradicated.

A very clear example of this was.

The moment Yun Tianliu recognized that these two were from the Four Seas Gang, his sword had already unsheathed an inch, its edge exposed, his aura targeting them without the slightest concealment.

Even Mao Ba, who was "from the mountain."

Seemed to dislike the Four Seas Gang as well; his previously amiable and friendly expression turned icy in an instant.

As for the other four rogue cultivators.

They were people who lived by the blade and were prone to burning, killing, and looting themselves, so they didn't show much disgust. Instead, they seemed to find a sense of closeness, as if they had found their own kind.

But regardless of who they were.

Facing the burly bald youth's overly familiar tone, no one spoke, and for a moment, the atmosphere on the field grew stagnant.

Until...

"Heh, I wondered who it was. So it's Meng Qingshan, Third Brother Meng. What great airs you have."

Zhao Wei stepped forward, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His footsteps landed with a heavy thud, shattering the oppressive and stagnant atmosphere of the wasteland.

Third Brother Meng?

Wu Dao's heart stirred at these words.

Back at the Red Fire Mine, he had already gained a rough understanding of the Four Seas Gang's organizational structure.

The leader, Meng Huaishan.

The current Four Seas Gang Leader, nearly eighty years old, was an Innate Grandmaster who had undergone three rebirths, though exactly which stage he was at remained unclear.

The hall masters stationed across various regions, along with the trusted lackeys known as the Black Shark Five, were each experts in the Cocoon-Breaking Realm.

However, it was rumored that none of the five members of the Black Shark Hall were truly normal.

They were half-finished products and living dead, "artificially accelerated" by Meng Huaishan through special means, though the specific details remained largely unknown.

Presumably, the gloomy, deathly silent middle-aged man following Meng Qingshan belonged to the Black Shark Five as Yingsha; after all, his traits were quite distinct.

Wu Dao cast an unperturbed glance at the silent middle-aged man's pair of sharp eagle claws, which possessed a restrained metallic luster.

He had no doubt.

Even a man made of iron would be torn to shreds by those claws!

Beyond Meng Huaishan, the various hall masters, and the Black Shark Five, the strongest members of the Four Seas Gang were Meng Huaishan's four foster children.

The unfortunate soul in the Red Fire Mine, Meng Qingshuang, had been ranked fourth and possessed the lowest cultivation, having already been sent by Wu Dao to meet his ancestors.

As for the remaining ones, Third Brother Meng Qingshan, Second Brother Meng Qingyun, and the eldest sister Meng Qingyan.

Their cultivation levels were increasingly formidable.

It was said that the second brother and the eldest sister, Meng Qingyan, had already surpassed Foundation Establishment and entered the Cocoon-Breaking Realm years ago, gaining some reputation within Guangqing Prefecture.

However, given the Four Seas Gang's sinister style of coexisting with demons, the status of the Cocoon-Breaking Realm experts within the gang had to be questioned, as it was uncertain whether they were still human.

The above intelligence represented the Four Seas Gang's public power.

As for what they held in the shadows, Wu Dao was unsure; after all, since they colluded with demons, they certainly hid many unknown trump cards and reserves.

However, something that surprised Wu Dao was this.

There was no "demon qi" on the Third Brother Meng Qingshan and Yingsha currently standing before him.

Instead, they radiated a majestic, scorching blood energy and a restrained, frigid, sharp aura; the two of them clearly followed the path of humanity.

The so-called demon qi was a discovery Wu Dao had made while dealing with those non-human entities in the Red Fire Mine.

He didn't know if it was due to the influence of his Attribute Panel, but he could "smell" a unique scent carried by non-human anomalies.

This scent was indescribable and elusive.

Yet, it held a tremendous attraction for him, no less than Dragon Liver and Phoenix Marrow; upon smelling it, his muscle cells would become abnormally famished, desiring nothing but to feast upon it.

"Hehe, Brother Zhao, I trust you have been well?"

Meng Qingshan did not show anger in the face of Zhao Wei's sharp, barbed sarcasm, instead greeting him with a chuckle.

However, his gaze kept drifting toward the unfamiliar Wu Dao, his eyes narrowing as he nodded and rumbled:

"Not bad, really not bad. Brother Zhao, won't you provide an introduction?"