Oh No!

After more than three days of travel, Cao Longyan and his group arrived near their destination.

Xuan Zi signaled for everyone to halt, selecting a vantage point with a wide field of view to hide. He gazed solemnly at the evil soul master camp in the center of the valley, beginning a meticulous reconnaissance.

Throughout these three days, aside from traveling and cultivating, a single question had been echoing in Cao Longyan's mind.

Why exactly was Sister Lexuan angry?

He had even approached his guardian spirits; Chi Wang and Sky Dream Ice Worm only felt a headache, unable to grasp the complexities of human emotions, while the other four all flashed him smiles he couldn't decipher.

What depressed him most was that even Xu Chu seemed to know the reason—that was even more agonizing than killing him!

However, fortunately, Zhang Lexuan's demeanor toward him hadn't changed since then, though he felt the way she looked at him had shifted, even if he couldn't put his finger on how.

"Su Qingyue, Zhao Rui, go around the camp and confirm the number and cultivation levels of the evil soul masters inside. Do not be careless."

Xuan Zi's voice was low, his gaze locked tightly on the valley camp through the gaps in the foliage.

The camp in the valley was small, with crude tents scattered about. Over a dozen evil soul masters in black robes, wreathed in cold, sinister soul power, were walking lazily through the camp. Some were wiping their weapons, others were chatting; they appeared completely unguarded.

"Understood, Elder Xuan."

The two bowed slightly to Xuan Zi before turning to conceal their tracks and heading toward the camp.

Before long, they returned with relaxed expressions.

"Elder Xuan, there are only fifteen evil soul masters in the camp. The highest cultivation is only a four-ring Soul Ancestor, and the rest are just two-ring or three-ring soul masters."

"There are no sentries around either. This bunch of soul master scum is very lax. It looks like an ordinary, small-scale evil soul master outpost; nothing to fear."

Hearing this, the group's tense nerves instantly relaxed.

Li Meng toyed with the heavy hammer in his hand and grinned.

"Just these dozen or so small fries? Looks like this mission will be a breeze. We'll finish them off in no time. How about we compete to see who can take down more?"

Wang Hao patted the storage soul tool on his back and laughed in agreement.

"Yeah, I even brought extra food, but it looks like I won't need it at all. I won't compete with you guys, though; I'm just a defense-type soul master. Once the mission is over and we're back in Shrek, I'll treat everyone to that new restaurant on the west side of Shrek City. Let me tell you, that place..."

Lin Xiaoran closed her eyes and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Great, we can finally have an easy one. I've been wanting to go back and have a comfortable soak; these back-to-back missions have worn me out."

Wen Wenxuan fanned himself with a folding fan, his tone gentle.

"Do not be careless. Even if the opponents are weak, we must finish this quickly to avoid any complications."

Chen Mo adjusted his glasses and nodded in agreement, tucking away the map in his hand; clearly, he also believed this was a battle without suspense.

A rare curve appeared on Su Qingyue's cold face.

Zhang Lexuan stood to the side, her gaze fixed on the valley, her expression remaining calm.

Xuan Zi watched the group's relaxed demeanor and offered no further warnings, merely nodding faintly.

"Prepare for battle. Maintain formation. We strike fast."

Just as the group finished their reconnaissance and began imagining the end of the mission, a warning from Sky Dream Ice Worm suddenly echoed in Cao Longyan's spiritual sea, his tone tinged with vigilance.

"Young Master, something is wrong. The fluctuations of soul power in the surroundings are very strange. I don't know why they are so faint, but they definitely aren't coming from those dozen or so evil soul masters."

Cao Longyan felt a chill in his heart. He immediately focused his mind, channeling the immense spiritual power contained within the Million-Year Spirit Head Bone of the Sky Dream Ice Worm to carefully sense the surrounding aura.

Yet, no matter how he probed, he could only perceive the soul power fluctuations of those fifteen evil soul masters; there was nothing else unusual.

Sky Dream Ice Worm's voice sounded again.

"Young Master, I can't put my finger on exactly what is wrong, but it's a gut feeling. It's as if something is watching us—it's very dangerous."

Cao Longyan frowned; he trusted Sky Dream Ice Worm's intuition.

However, the other guardian spirits mocked Sky Dream Ice Worm for being timid.

These dozen evil soul masters were too weak; compared to the lineup of the Shrek Inspectorate, they were utterly pathetic. Yet, the more he thought about it, the stronger his unease became.

To be safe, Cao Longyan didn't hesitate. He directly activated a spiritual detection skill from the Million-Year Spirit Head Bone. An invisible spiritual network instantly expanded, covering an area exactly the size of the valley camp below. Every minute fluctuation of energy was captured clearly by him.

At this moment, on another hidden mountain peak in the distance, a black-robed figure stood silently, wreathed in a thick, sinister aura. It was none other than the Holy Spirit Cult Master, Zhongli Wu.

He held a pitch-black soul tool in his hand—a concealment device specifically customized for him by the Sun Moon Empire, capable of perfectly masking the soul power fluctuations of him and his subordinates from external detection.

Behind him, five Soul Douluos in black robes stood silently, fifteen Soul Saints were lined up in formation, and several Soul Emperors were scattered throughout the forest, forming a massive encirclement that locked the entire valley down tight.

They had even taken care to avoid crossing paths with the Shrek group.

Zhongli Wu's lips curled into a cold, sinister smile. His gaze pierced through the gaps in the leaves, staring fixedly at the hidden Shrek group on the mountain, his voice low and icy.

"People of Shrek, since you've come, don't think about leaving... Today, I shall bury you all here!"

He looked at the red-haired youth in the group and frowned, but his expression smoothed out immediately.

Who is he? The intelligence didn't seem to mention him, but looking at that wet-behind-the-ears appearance, he poses no threat at all...

"Move out!"

At Xuan Zi's command, the group immediately followed their pre-arranged formation and charged toward the valley camp.

Su Qingyue and Zhao Rui walked at the very front of the group.

Li Meng followed closely behind, clutching his heavy hammer.

Wen Wenxuan, Lin Xiaoran, and Chen Mo walked in the middle.

Zhang Lexuan and Wang Hao flanked the sides.

Cao Longyan and Xuan Zi brought up the rear.

The group moved with incredible speed, without a hint of hesitation, charging into the valley encampment in the blink of an eye.

The evil soul masters, who had been lounging about, showed no signs of panic upon seeing them charge in. Instead, as if they had anticipated this all along, they immediately ceased their activities and retreated from the camp in an orderly, rhythmic fashion. Their movements were uniform, devoid of the chaos or disarray one would expect from a sudden ambush.

Yet at this moment, everyone except Cao Longyan was blinded by the thought of "completing the mission with ease," failing to notice this eerie scene entirely.

Li Meng let out a roar, brandishing his heavy hammer as he prepared to give chase to the retreating evil soul masters.

"Trying to run? Not a single one of you will get away!"

Zhao Rui and Su Qingyue also accelerated immediately, preparing to intercept them.

Just then, Cao Longyan's spiritual network suddenly captured a faint ripple of energy; the area ahead of the retreating evil soul masters had entered his detection range.

His heart tightened, and he immediately focused his mind to probe further. However, what he detected caused his entire body to stiffen, his heart to hammer wildly, and a chill to surge from the soles of his feet throughout his entire body.

At the valley exit where the evil soul masters were fleeing, tens of thousands of soul-guided bombs were buried in a dense formation. Each bomb was concealed in a specialized manner; had he not activated his spiritual network, an ordinary person would never have detected them.

The energy fluctuations of these soul-guided bombs were terrifying. Once detonated, the blast would be powerful enough to raze the entire valley to the ground, let alone wipe out their unsuspecting group!

If they continued to pursue like this, everyone except Xuan Zi would face total annihilation!

At this moment, Su Qingyue and Zhao Rui, leading the charge, were only ten steps away from the area where the soul-guided bombs were buried.

They remained completely oblivious, continuing to accelerate toward the fleeing evil soul masters, their eyes fixed only on the targets ahead.

Cao Longyan's pupils constricted. Looking at the blast zone within arm's reach and the defenseless backs of the two ahead, he let out a sharp, silent groan in his heart.

Damn it!