White Tiger Grotto

"This is..."

A moment later, those few islanders had arrived at the spot where Yang Chen had been. Looking at the Flying Tiger's corpse, now reduced to a pulp of flesh, their eyes were filled with shock.

One of them, who appeared to be the leader, stepped forward and poked at the Flying Tiger's remains. His expression darkened instantly.

"This is an S-rank spirit beast!"

The leader said in a low voice.

He spoke in Huaxia, though his accent was somewhat clumsy.

"S-rank!"

The other three men's faces changed drastically.

"It seems an S-rank powerhouse from Huaxia has been active here. We must speed up our operation; if we are discovered, none of us will make it out alive!"

The leader turned around, looking at his teammates with a grim expression.

Their cultivation levels were not weak; the leader had even reached the peak of A-rank, just one step away from entering the S-rank, while the remaining three were B-rank existences.

This force was enough to contend with an S-rank powerhouse to some extent.

However, this was, after all, Huaxia's territory. They were islanders, and there had been a deep-seated blood feud between Huaxia and the island nation since time immemorial.

It was a grudge that had persisted since the era before the spiritual energy recovery.

Even now, they still viewed each other as enemies!

Therefore, whenever islanders or Huaxia people entered the other's territory, they would keep their heads down. Huaxia people were generally better off, as Huaxia remained a top-tier nation with countless powerhouses.

But it was different for the islanders!

The island nation did not have as many powerhouses as Huaxia; even their Grandmaster-level experts were far fewer compared to the three top-tier nations.

Thus, if islanders did not enter Huaxia through official channels, they could only resort to underhanded, petty schemes.

After all, island nation ability users were strictly forbidden from entering Huaxia!

Take the incident with Blood Butcher's disciple, for example. It was unclear if that person had lost his mind or what, but he had simply lacked the brains and exposed himself directly.

And that was at the headquarters of Number 98.

Under the gaze of Elder Wang, a Grandmaster powerhouse.

The outcome had been quite miserable.

Therefore, these few islanders were well aware of their situation. They were on Huaxia soil, and this place was only a hundred kilometers from Jiangnan City. If they were discovered by a Huaxia Grandmaster, a hundred kilometers was nothing more than a half-hour journey.

"This spirit beast's inner core has already been taken, and judging by the state of the corpse, it seems to have fallen only recently. We must find the White Tiger Grotto quickly, or it will be bad if the people from Number 98 discover us!"

The leading islander said in a low voice.

The four of them exchanged glances, and one of them pulled an ancient-looking map from his robes. The map was covered in dense, intricate lines, but among those complex markings, there was a spot highlighted in vermilion ink.

"It shouldn't be far now. If the crust hasn't shifted, it's just ahead. Let's go!"

The leader gave a low shout, and then he and the other three shot forward instantly, like swords unsheathed.

Yang Chen's brows furrowed slightly. "White Tiger Grotto?"

His eyes rolled slightly, and Yang Chen prepared to follow them.

There were two reasons.

First, they were islanders. It was never a good situation for islanders to be in Huaxia, and if he could kill them, it would be a good deed.

Second, it was the White Tiger Grotto they mentioned.

This place was called White Tiger Mountain, and the White Tiger Grotto they spoke of was also here. This piqued Yang Chen's immense interest, giving him the urge to investigate.

He wondered if that White Tiger Grotto had some inextricable connection to this White Tiger Mountain!

"Follow them!"

Yang Chen manipulated the power of the gale, his entire body moving like a breeze as he swept toward the direction of the islanders.

Yang Chen discovered that this gale power was truly excellent. Not only could he fly, but his speed had also become faster than before. If his previous speed was one, then with the enhancement of the gale power, Yang Chen's speed could reach five!

Not bad at all!

Soon, the figures of the islanders appeared in Yang Chen's line of sight. Yang Chen did not alert them, simply following quietly behind the group.

After all, Yang Chen couldn't find the White Tiger Grotto on his own; he still needed these people to help!

He would spare their lives for now.

These four islanders still did not know that their lives had already been marked for an end. Once the White Tiger Grotto appeared, that would be the moment they kicked the bucket!

The terrain of White Tiger Mountain was quite complex. If these islanders didn't have a map in hand, it would likely be very difficult to find their way through such foggy terrain.

During the journey, several spirit beasts launched attacks at the islanders, but they were all small fry; the strongest among them wasn't even a C-rank spirit beast.

They were even weaker than the python that had ambushed Yang Chen earlier.

Under the thunderous onslaught of the islanders, those spirit beasts were turned into ghosts, and their inner cores were taken.

Yang Chen felt a bit envious, but he held back. In any case, once they reached the destination, everything would be his, so there was no rush!

Soon, as their speed continued to increase, the white mist surrounding them grew inexplicably thicker.

A faint, lingering pressure began to emerge in the air around them.

It was identical to the pressure Yang Chen had felt the moment he first entered White Tiger Mountain!

However, when he had first arrived, that pressure was still relatively weak, and Yang Chen had quickly grown accustomed to it. But as they ventured deeper, he was shocked to discover that the pressure had grown significantly stronger.

Fortunately, Yang Chen's cultivation had undergone a qualitative leap, successfully advancing to S-rank. Although the pressure was formidable, it was not enough to shake his strength.

The group of islanders, however, were a different story. The A-rank leader was holding up well, but the three B-rank islanders had already begun to pant heavily.

The consumption of spiritual energy, combined with the crushing weight of the pressure, had left them feeling exhausted.

Yet, just as they pushed deeper into White Tiger Mountain, surrounded by the dense fog, an ancient grotto became vaguely visible standing before them.

The back of the grotto was flush against the mountainside; the entire structure appeared to be embedded directly into the mountain itself!

Yang Chen could clearly sense that the source of that pressure was emanating from within the grotto.

"We've arrived!"

The lead islander came to a halt, a burning intensity appearing in his eyes as he muttered something under his breath.

He stared at the blurred grotto ahead.

"White Tiger Grotto!"

To be continued!