Chapter 223

Liu Zichang flicked his hand and sneered, "If you insist on believing her, then so be it. I don't plan to continue traveling with you, to avoid wasting your time."

"No, Brother Liu, everyone has witnessed your strength. If you leave, our team's cohesion will definitely suffer greatly," someone anxiously advised.

"Yes, it's rare for us to get together like this, let's not part ways now."

Liu Zichang's arrogance grew, "Well, I don't care, but if you insist on going to the mountainous area, I definitely won't go."

Xu Jintang pursed her lips, looked up at him, and asked, "Where are you planning to go?"

Liu Zichang paused for a moment, then casually pointed in the opposite direction, "Go over there."

Xu Jintang frowned.

The map shows there's nothing there; the only treasure location is a thousand miles away.

If they really follow this person, they'll probably lose everything on their entire trip to the Spirit Realm.

"I still insist on going to the mountainous area," Xu Jintang insisted.

Liu Zichang also became stubborn, "I think you're just deliberately trying to go against me."

The other members of the team also began to feel conflicted.

The team leader raised his hand to interrupt the two, "How about this, if it really doesn't work out, we'll split into two groups. Those who want to go to the mountains can continue, and those who want to follow this brother can form another group and set off."

Upon hearing this, several people immediately raised their hands in agreement, "We'll follow Brother Liu."

Even the team leader nodded in agreement, "Yes, I also plan to go with Brother Liu."

In the end, only two people remained. After hesitating for a while, they looked at Xu Jintang.

"Shall we continue walking into the mountains with you?"

Xu Jintang nodded, "Okay."

Although it was a bit dangerous for the three of them to go to the treasure site in the mountains, it wasn't a big problem.

Liu Zichang glanced coldly at Xu Jintang, his expression saying, "You'd better watch yourselves." "Fine, let's go then."

After saying that, he turned around and led the team in the opposite direction.

The others in the group gave Xu Jintang apologetic looks, then quickly turned and followed Liu Zichang without saying anything more.

Xu Jintang withdrew his gaze and looked at the two who remained. "Let's set off too."

The other two nodded quickly.

The three continued their journey into the mountains.

They had walked less than a kilometer when Xu Jintang and his group were ambushed by a monster.

Fortunately, there weren't many monsters, and they were all dealt with in no time.

Xu Jintang didn't stop this time; she dealt with 80% of the demonic beasts.

Only then did the other two realize what was happening.

One of the boys stared at Xu Jintang in disbelief, "Sis, you... you've been hiding your strength all this time?"

Xu Jintang withdrew his gaze. "Not really, it's just not the right time for me to make a move yet."

Another boy also swallowed hard in shock.

The two boys exchanged a glance, and at that moment they both realized they had chosen the right person to follow.

Based on Xu Jintang's strength just now, it is definitely far superior to Liu Zichang's.

Having defeated all the monsters, Xu Jintang continued leading the team on their journey.

Everything was peaceful on the way back, and the three of them arrived at the edge of the mountains without any trouble.

As they got closer to the treasure location, the surrounding environment became increasingly quiet.

Xu Jintang slowed his pace and raised his hand to signal the two people behind him to be on their guard.

Just then, a rustling sound of footsteps came from the side, and then a group of people came into view.

"The treasure-hunting needle should be around here." A girl with two braids walked over, carrying a diamond-shaped plate.

Xu Jintang immediately stopped and looked up to scan the area.

The girl was followed by a group of men and women, all armed with sharp weapons; they seemed to be a force to be reckoned with.

"Who are you?" The girl looked over warily, her body in a defensive posture.

Xu Jintang raised his hand and gestured, "We're also here looking for treasure locations, want to come together?"

The girl frowned slightly and looked Xu Jintang up and down. "You also have treasure-finding needles?" she asked, her tone tinged with doubt.

"No, we just had a feeling there might be a treasure spot here," Xu Jintang explained.

Feng Qianyue put away the treasure-hunting needle in her hand. "Your premonition was quite accurate; there really is a large treasure site here."

Xu Jintang looked curiously at the treasure-hunting needle in her hand, "Can this thing of yours automatically search for treasure locations?"

Feng Qianyue nodded. "Yes, I obtained it by chance when I first entered the Spirit Realm. The treasure-hunting needle indicates that this treasure spot is huge, probably the largest in the entire Spirit Realm. It's safer with more people, so let's go together."

Xu Jintang checked the map.

This treasure location is indeed large, but it's not the biggest.

The larger location is in a more remote spot and is unlikely to be discovered anytime soon.

She turned to her two teammates behind her, "Shall we go with them?"

The two teammates naturally had no objections and nodded in agreement.

Feng Qianyue's team had eight people in total. With the addition of Xu Jintang and his group, the team size jumped to eleven, making the team even larger.

"My name is Feng Qianyue, you can just call me Qianyue." Feng Qianyue was very enthusiastic. After confirming that Xu Jintang and the other two had joined the group, she immediately began to introduce herself.

Xu Jintang then introduced himself, "Xu Jintang, just call me Jintang."

After everyone introduced themselves to each other, they had a basic understanding of each other.

"Alright, if there are no problems, let's continue." Feng Qianyue continued leading the team forward.

As the group grew larger, everyone relaxed and began to chat as they walked.

"Everyone should still be careful, because once we enter the Spirit Realm, I'm definitely not the only one who got the Treasure-Detecting Needle. There are likely other teams nearby, and if we encounter them, there could be a situation where they try to steal it," Feng Qianyue continued to remind everyone.

Xu Jintang took a moment to check the map of the Spirit Realm. Indeed, several groups of people were heading this way. However, the treasure point here was large enough, and the resources inside were more than enough for all of them to share, so the competition shouldn't be too fierce.

She kept her head down in silence and continued walking with the group.

After walking for about half an hour, the treasure-hunting needle in Feng Qianyue's hand began to buzz.

"This is it." She stopped and raised the treasure-hunting needle in her hand.

"Are you here looking for the treasure location too?" a voice asked from behind.

Feng Qianyue and the others immediately turned to look.

On the other side was another group of people, about a dozen in total, with the man at the head of the group holding a similar treasure-hunting needle.

"Yes, you also came here with the treasure-hunting needle, right?" Feng Qianyue took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

The man opposite him looked somewhat reserved, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded, "Mm."

"It's alright, everyone has the same chance of getting the treasure anyway. Once the treasure point officially opens, we'll just have to rely on our own abilities," Feng Qianyue quickly said.

The man opposite and his teammates exchanged glances.

There's really no need for everyone to start fighting before the treasure points are even open.

"Alright, let's activate the treasure points together first."

After reaching a consensus, everyone split up and began searching for the location to unlock the treasure.

Xu Jintang actually already knew how to activate the treasure point, but with so many people around, she couldn't show it too obviously, so she could only pretend that she didn't know anything and start searching around with everyone else.

Less than two minutes later, another group of footsteps approached.

"There are quite a few people here, that's unusual." A familiar voice came from behind.

Xu Jintang recognized the voice and turned to look. He saw Liu Zichang, who had recently parted ways with them, leading his team toward them.

The two teammates behind Xu Jintang were also stunned for a moment.

"He wasn't going that way, so why is he coming back?" The two people behind him began to whisper.

"Have no idea."

Those who chose to follow Liu Zichang looked somewhat embarrassed when they saw Xu Jintang and his two companions again.

"What a coincidence, we meet again." One of them took the initiative to greet Xu Jintang.

Xu Jintang remained relatively calm, replying only with, "Hmm, quite a coincidence."

Liu Zichang, perhaps feeling a little guilty, cleared his throat and explained to Xu Jintang, "We ran into a group of people on the way here. They had treasure-hunting needles and said there really was a treasure spot around here, so we came together."

"Looks like my hunch was a bit more accurate than yours." Xu Jintang glanced at her casually, her tone tinged with a hint of teasing.

Chapter 223

Liu Zichang's expression immediately froze.

He could certainly hear the mockery in Xu Jintang's tone, but he was powerless to refute it.

Finally, he could only manage a forced smile and say, "Indeed."

The others were also somewhat embarrassed, their gazes towards Xu Jintang filled with awkwardness.

A silence fell over the room.

Feng Qianyue walked over and looked at Xu Jintang with a questioning gaze, "What's going on?"

Xu Jintang, naturally, wouldn't suffer in vain. He recounted the events in detail. "It's nothing serious. He and I had a disagreement before. He felt there were no treasure spots in the mountains, so he led the others in another direction. I didn't expect to run into him here."

Feng Qianyue frowned and glanced at Liu Zichang. "There are people like that."

These words made no attempt to hide her dislike for Liu Zichang.

The already awkward atmosphere became even more tense.

The other two teams also heard what Xu Jintang said.

The way everyone looked at Liu Zichang began to turn strange.

Liu Zichang and his teammates behind him instantly became the focus of the entire arena.

Although no one said anything openly, their gazes toward Liu Zichang were clearly filled with contempt.

"We've found something here!" someone suddenly shouted.