The two headed west all the way. Human cultivators gradually grew scarcer along their route, while the Undead slowly grew more numerous.
Neither chose to circle around behind them; that would have been rather unnecessary. Cultivators could not rely solely on sneaking about. They depended more on skills tempered through a thousand hammerings, and both were confident in that regard.
Hou Niao, in particular, was curious about how a cultivator from the sea would make a concealed advance through a desert environment.
Xunfeng Valley lay in front of the forest belt along the Tea-Horse Road. This was also a stretch under the Daoist Sect's responsibility. When the forest belt first began taking shape near Ancient Loulan, they had quickly followed suit and planted trees here. This was a visibly beneficial environment and a human undertaking. Differences in traditions were one thing, but they did not mean the Daoist Sect lacked sense or did not understand how to maximize its own interests.
Demonic Sect forces such as Shanmen Quanzhen had already claimed the distinction of championing the protective forest. That was an established fact, and nothing could be done about it. For the Daoist Sect forces, which always strove to outdo others and would never bow their heads before those unorthodox traditions, there was no possibility of handing over the next moment in the limelight as well.
They had been waiting for just such an opportunity. Only when the anomalous sandstorms began appearing frequently did they find an opening. This was why, as Yu Zhengxing had said, large numbers of Daoist Sect scouts were being committed tirelessly in the direction of Xunfeng Valley.
The Daoist Sect had vast holdings and ample manpower. They did not care about a few losses at all, so two years of failures had done nothing to