First Come, First Served

A pungent stench filled the nest.

Jiang Lu immediately sealed off her senses, her Divine Sense continuously sweeping the surroundings. The cave had been inhabited by the Magic Beast for years, leaving behind a considerable amount of Demonic Qi.

She wrapped herself in a barrier to avoid contact with the Demonic Qi.

Once Demonic Qi entered the body, it would clog the meridians and make cultivation difficult.

Purging Demonic Qi was no simple matter.

As she ventured deeper, the aura within the nest grew increasingly chaotic. Numerous demon beast corpses and pelts lay scattered everywhere.

The stench of blood permeated the area, making Jiang Lu nauseous.

Following the stone wall inward, the Magic Beast's aura weakened somewhat. She quickened her pace, and at the turn, she finally spotted several glimmers of light.

Joy flashed across her face. The Treasure-Seeking Mouse poked out its head and squeaked a few times. It seemed this was the place.

Chi Li immediately translated for Jiang Lu.

"Master, the Treasure-Seeking Mouse says this is the place. There are also crystals inside that can strengthen us."

After speaking, Chi Li stared at the pile of treasures before them with reddened eyes. This was why it was so important to follow the right master!

Spirit plants, magic artifacts, spirit stones, demon beast crystal cores...

Looking at the heap piled before her, she could not help but be astonished.

As expected of a fifth-tier Magic Beast—its family fortune was truly abundant.

Jiang Lu merely swept her gaze over it before storing everything in her space. She had no time to pick through things slowly. Who knew when that group of cultivators outside would come rushing over?

Fortunately, she had already cultivated Divine Sense, and its range was steadily expanding. She no longer had to store things away bit by bit as she had before.

As the saying went, these were all ownerless items. Whoever took them owned them. Rather than leave them for others, she might as well keep them herself.

As for the items contaminated by Demonic Qi, she would leave them for those cultivators to deal with when they arrived.

She had to leave something behind, after all. Otherwise, how would she explain it?

They should be thanking her. Hehe.

Chi Li: It knew it!! Its master had a spatial magic artifact!

Treasure-Seeking Mouse: ?? Where had all its treasures gone?

After clearing away her own aura, Jiang Lu headed in the direction Liu Qingqing and the others had left.

However, she discovered that everyone's auras had long since vanished. Further ahead lay the deeper reaches of the Illusory Forest.

She stopped, crouching atop a tree trunk, and sighed. She could not trail after them and pick up scraps anymore!

Then she reconsidered. She had already obtained quite a few fortuitous opportunities on this trip. When water became too full, it overflowed; she should not be overly greedy.

Magic Beast: You've already snatched everything, and now you know not to be greedy!

She immediately headed for the outskirts of the Illusory Forest. The middle region was not somewhere someone of her strength should be.

If she had not been following behind Fu Yao and her group, how would she have dared set foot in the middle region?

Besides, leaving now seemed like the better choice...

As she departed, waves of demon beast roars came from not far away.

She frowned slightly and extended her Divine Sense in that direction.

The demon beasts of the inner region had begun to stir restlessly, as though they were on the verge of erupting into chaos.

There was only one possibility: that Magic Beast had already been subdued. With no stronger demon beast left to suppress the others in this area, they had begun to grow restless.

They wanted to contend for the position of territorial overlord.

In that case, once those elders had dealt with the Magic Beast, they would likely head for its nest very soon.

Jiang Lu quickened her pace even more. She did not know what attitude those cultivators held toward her, but she knew that regardless of whether they knew she had taken the treasures—

They would suspect her.

She swiftly ran toward the outskirts. The Treasure-Seeking Mouse and Chi Li curled into balls inside the cloth pouch, not daring to make a sound.

Only when she could no longer hear the restless roars of the demon beasts did she finally stop.

Finding a concealed spot, her figure flashed, and she entered her space.

Before long, several figures appeared where she had been.

They were Elder An and his group, with Fu Yao and the others following behind them.

The white fox in Elder An's hand sniffed the air, squeaked several times, circled around on his palm, then let its tail droop.

"The aura has completely vanished!"

Elder An said in a low voice.

After subduing the Magic Beast, they had immediately sent word to Ren Haotian, Fu Yao, and the others, then headed together for the Magic Beast's nest.

They had found only heavenly treasures and earthly herbs contaminated by Demonic Qi inside.

They could not use those items, so they had burned them all clean with a single blaze.

Yet based on their experience, it was impossible for a fifth-tier Magic Beast to have nothing at all.

Either the demon beast had consumed everything itself.

Or someone had beaten them to it!

They were more inclined toward the latter, but they truly did not know who would dare cause trouble right under their noses.

Elder An thought of the figure that had been following behind them, and his eyes darkened.

"Fu Yao, are you certain that cultivator left while following behind you?"

Another elder asked in a deep voice, his expression somewhat unsightly. They had paid such a great price yet gained nothing. No one would be pleased by that.

Fu Yao nodded, her tone certain.

"Elder Sun, I am sure that cultivator was following behind us. I just do not know when she left our group."

"She had been following you ever since she entered. Then she suddenly left. I refuse to believe there is no trickery involved."

Elder An tightly gripped his staff. His face was still pale, while the white fox in his hand rolled its eyes as it watched the surroundings.

"But how could a mere Qi Refinement cultivator run so fast?"

Ren Haotian was somewhat puzzled.

"Qi Refinement? She concealed her cultivation. Who knows whether she was truly at Qi Refinement? I even suspect she never revealed her true face."

"You mean she may be at Foundation Establishment or even higher?"

"Only that would explain how she tangled with the Magic Beast for so long, then silently left you and acted alone, would it not?"

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Now she was in the shadows while they stood in the light. Things had become complicated, especially considering the identity they suspected she had...

Although Jiang Lu had erased her aura from the Magic Beast's nest, the white fox in his hand was no ordinary creature. Even the faintest trace could be tracked.

Though they did not know why the aura was growing weaker and weaker, it indirectly proved that this matter was far from simple.

"You few, stay here and keep watch for several days. If she is hiding in the shadows, I refuse to believe she will not show herself."

"Yes, we obey."

Fu Yao and the others nodded.

Elder An and the others continued sweeping the surroundings with their Divine Sense. Seeing no trace of her, they left the area.

"Senior Sister, are we really going to wait here?"

A disciple asked. He felt it would be pointless to wait here. That cultivator might have fled long ago; otherwise, how could she have vanished into thin air?

Moreover, all those treasures from a fifth-tier demon beast were not something a little Qi Refinement cultivator could take away in such a short time.

"What else would we do?"

Fu Yao shot him a glance and walked to the side to begin meditating.

She did not believe it either. In fact, she was certain that cultivator was merely at the Qi Refinement stage.

She sighed inwardly and began meditating. It was only a few days; it was not as though she could not afford to wait.

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