More than thirty people split into four groups and went their separate ways.
Hao Renjie gripped the Blazing Fire Divine Sword and led the way, with seven or eight people following behind him.
"Second Senior Brother, are we really going to find people to come back and ambush Lin Huang?"
"Descendants of Divine Blood, at the upper King-Sealing stage, and someone with a fully perfected Vajra Divine Body couldn't beat Lin Huang. Lin Huang is already invincible. No mortal strength can stand against him."
Hao Renjie gave a sinister smile and gestured for his junior fellow disciples to keep quiet. He watched Xue Linglong and the others disappear, sneaking glances around before lowering his voice. "I'm going back to report them. I'll expose their plot. Lin Huang will surely reward us."
"Wow. Second Senior Brother, you're going to be a traitor? Could the stories from our sect really be true? Did you really lead Lin Huang into the Twelve Secret Vaults and help him loot them?"
"Get lost. I'm just someone who knows that great undertakings don't get bogged down in trivialities. I can bend and stretch, and I know how to read the times."
Hao Renjie was so furious and embarrassed that he snapped.
"Hmph, the Master was right. You really do have treacherous bones. You want to report us."
Suddenly, someone stood up. Divine light drew in around him, and his face was furious. He was one of Xue Linglong's four attendants.
Hao Renjie's expression changed. "When did you sneak in?"
"Enough nonsense. The Master gave her orders: if you behave, fine. If you dare ruin her plans, you die!"
The attendant's manner was menacing, his killing intent surging.
Hao Renjie weighed the situation. He knew he and the attendant were evenly matched, and the man wouldn't be easy to deal with.
"Bastard. If you want to be a servant, that's your choice, but I won't. If you dare report us, we'll all join forces and kill you." Several more people stepped forward, glaring fiercely at Hao Renjie.
Seeing that everyone opposed him, Hao Renjie looked glum and waved a hand. "Fine. You don't know a good thing when you see it. Let's go, let's go. We'll do it the way we agreed."
With his plan to report them abandoned, Hao Renjie trudged along, listless and dejected.
They hadn't gone far when they spotted a Sun God Herb, its golden light swaying. More than ten people stood nearby, eyeing one another warily in a tense standoff.
When they saw Hao Renjie's group approaching in a grand procession, their expressions changed. "Don't come any closer! We found this Sun God Herb first."
"These people are too weak. Kill them and take their divine treasures and materials," one of Xue Linglong's attendants said coldly.
Hao Renjie raised his sword. "What the hell do you know? No matter how weak they are, they can still serve as cannon fodder. When we surround and kill Lin Huang, you can go first if you like."
The attendant's expression changed, and he flew into a rage. But when he saw everyone nodding in agreement, he could only withdraw his hand with a resentful look. "Fine. Let's see what you do."
Hao Renjie ignored him, straightened his clothes, and stepped forward. "Fellow Daoists, I'm Hao Renjie, the second disciple of the Zhongnan Dojo. Don't worry, we're not here to take this Sun God Herb."
"On the contrary, I'm here to offer you a fortune that could reach the heavens."
"Come, come, come. Fellow Daoists, let's talk this through."
"Fellow Daoist over there, please stay your step and hear me out."
Hao Renjie's tongue bloomed like a lotus as he spoke at length, but the group only sneered. They didn't believe a word.
Hao Renjie grew annoyed. He turned to Xue Linglong's attendant and said, "Forget it. Let's use your method. They won't listen to reason, so we might as well kill them."
The attendant sneered and waved his hand. Everyone rushed forward.
Hao Renjie shouted from behind, "Don't actually kill them! Just chop off an arm. Leave them their legs so they can walk, and one hand to gather herbs."
After browbeating and tempting the subdued geniuses, Hao Renjie watched them with a furrowed brow and a sweat-soaked face. "The road is long, and the burden is heavy. These people are nowhere near enough to challenge Lin Huang, that invincible Great Sage."
"Hey! Fellow Daoist over there, please stay your step and hear me out."
Hao Renjie's eyes lit up. He spotted a figure in the distance, shouted, and led his group charging forward in a grand procession.
While Hao Renjie's group proceeded in an orderly fashion, the people following Tunbao were on edge. Tunbao kept drooling at them.
"What tribe are you from? You look delicious."
Those words left the people following Tunbao in constant dread, tormented beyond measure.
They walked for hundreds of miles before they finally made out figures in the distance. Tunbao wiped the drool from her mouth and reassured them. "Relax. We're allies, after all. We share hardships and blessings. How could I eat you?"
"Look, there are people over there. Let's go eat them, eat them..."
"Master, someone's coming. I'll go grab them."
Ancient war chariots still dripped with blood, as if they had emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, steeped in endless slaughter and blood-forged proof of the Dao. A powerful prodigy stood beside the chariot. Seeing Tunbao and the others approach, he sneered.
The young man called Master was handsome and graceful, with the Sun Moon and Stars in his eyes, reflecting the heavens. He nodded indifferently. "Kill them. Then my sacrifice will be enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, the servant who looked invincible lunged at Tunbao. He struck with one hand, ruthless and merciless, aiming to seal her throat in a single blow.
Tunbao roared and opened her mouth wide, swallowing with all her might. She devoured the man's hand, then bit down hard and gulped it down whole. "What a nice person! Tunbao was hungry, and he came right to her door."
"Ah!" the man cried out. He severed his own arm and stepped forward, unleashing his formidable power. Divine light flashed, and he barely broke free of Tunbao's devouring pull, stumbling as he landed.
"Useless." The young man in the chariot gave a cold snort and rose to his feet. His silver hair stirred without a breeze, flames igniting through it. "You're nothing but a pureblood Taotie, yet you dare injure my servant. Fine. I'll capture you and make you my slave for a thousand years."
The moment the young man stood, he was like the Sun Moon hanging in the heavens. His cold, domineering aura was shocking.
"He's a Descendant of Divine Blood!"
Someone cried out. Tunbao's expression changed too. "This is bad. We've run into a tough one. Run!"
With that, Tunbao turned and fled. She was exceptionally powerful, but she still fell short of a Descendant of Divine Blood. She was no match for him.
The others fled at once as well, not daring to fight a Descendant of Divine Blood.
"Hmph, a bunch of ants. You injured my servant and still think you can escape? What a joke."
The young man sneered. With a thought, the war chariot soared through the air, bringing with it endless killing intent as it bore down on Tunbao and the others.
"If I let you ants escape, I'll write my name, Wu Kong, backwards!"
As she ran, Tunbao roared indignantly, "So what if you're a Descendant of Divine Blood? If you've got the guts, come catch me! Just see how you'll die!"
"Master, beware of a trap," the one-armed servant said in a low voice.
Wu Kong laughed aloud, arrogant and conceited. "I am a Descendant of the Martial God. I fight the heavens, the earth, and the gods. What trap could I possibly fear?"
"This Taotie clearly wants to lure me over. So what if it leads to a dragon's pool or a tiger's den? I'll fight! Fight! Fight!"
Hearing Wu Kong's arrogant declaration, Tunbao sneered. "Keep swaggering, keep acting proud. Just wait. I'll put a collar on you and turn your divine blood into a pet."
The more Tunbao thought about it, the more pleased she became. In the blink of an eye, she had run hundreds of miles. When she spotted Lin Huang in the distance, she hurriedly shouted, "Lin Huang! Lin Huang! I brought you a pet, a Descendant of Divine Blood. Take a look. Do you like him?"
Lin Huang slowly opened his eyes. His gaze shifted, and he spotted the war chariot in the distance.
"Lin Huang! Hmm? That Pseudo-Saint? So this is what you're relying on? You truly don't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. Well, I was going to seek him out anyway. I'll kill you both today."
Wu Kong nodded as he looked at Lin Huang, dismissive and indifferent.
Before you continue