Lu Chen swept his gaze over the others.
Meng Tingxue, Xue Ping, and the others were all in the Bone-Forging Realm. If they stayed on the outskirts of Scarlet Cloud Mountain, they would certainly be a formidable force.
But Lu Chen wanted to venture into the deep mountains, where the Scarlet Tide was thickest.
There, he might encounter Demon Wraiths and mutant beasts at the Organ-Nourishing Realm, and he would also have to beware of experts from the Ning family of Green Prefecture and the Qi Mountain Meng family. Once a fight broke out, Lu Chen would struggle to spare any attention to protect them.
To Lu Chen, traveling with them would offer no help. Instead, they would become burdens that tied his hands.
Besides, the opportunities they could find were limited.
The more people traveled together, the more troublesome dividing the spoils would become. Better to act alone, free to advance or retreat, without having to share anything he found.
At that thought, Lu Chen shook his head.
"No."
"I plan to head deeper in. The places I'm going might be rather dangerous, so traveling together wouldn't be suitable."
Meng Tingxue froze for a moment.
Naturally, she understood what Lu Chen meant.
It was not that Lu Chen was unwilling to travel with them. Rather, their current strength could no longer keep pace with him.
A little disappointment welled up inside her, but she did not insist.
"All right."
"Then be extra careful out there!"
Lu Chen turned and looked deeper into Scarlet Cloud Mountain.
The crimson glow there was so dense it seemed almost solid, with mountain peaks looming in and out of the mist. Low beast roars occasionally echoed from the depths of the forest, startling flocks of birds into flight, only for the churning crimson mist