A Lawless Land, Tails Behind Them

"Good!"

Seeing Kong Wenxuan shatter his Water Moon Saber Law Technique with a single sword strike, his elder brother Kong Wenzhang instead cried out in delight. He stepped back, ceased his attack, and said, "That's enough."

"If we keep testing, I'll have to use a Law Artifact, and you still have two divine swords you haven't used. We already have a rough idea of your strength. Better save your strength for the dangers beyond the pass."

Kong Wenxuan nodded, recalled the three divine swords into his Dantian to nurture them, and said to Kong Wenzhang with a nod, "Thank you for your guidance, elder brother."

Kong Wenzhang smiled and waved a hand. "I wouldn't presume to call it guidance. I reckon you're about as strong as I am, and you may even be deadlier. If we fought in earnest, it's hard to say who would win."

As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and asked, "By the way, Cousin Wenxuan, have you cultivated the lineage's illusion techniques?"

"No." Kong Wenxuan shook his head at once. "Over the past few years, I've spent almost all my time and effort on these three Five Elements Divine Swords. I haven't had time to cultivate any other techniques."

Kong Wenzhang nodded. "In that case, stay close to me once we're beyond the pass. I'll use illusions to conceal you."

"You should know that in the complicated environment beyond the pass, fighting and killing are always a last resort. Once a fight makes too much noise, it draws attention, and there's no telling how many Demon Beasts, enemies, and the like it might attract."

"So when we operate out there, we always put concealment first. It's best to avoid any enemy we can. If we really can't avoid one, we need to end the fight as quickly as possible."

Kong Wenxuan listened to his account of operating beyond the pass and nodded. "Understood. Thank you for looking after me, elder brother."

Kong Wenzhang smiled and waved a hand. "We're just looking after each other. If we do run into enemies, we may well need your Five Elements Divine Swords to finish the fight quickly."

After testing Kong Wenxuan's techniques and learning his strength, the group packed up and prepared to leave the Demon-Suppressing Pass, heading beyond it to join Fifth Uncle and the others guarding the vermilion fruit tree.

Though it was already afternoon and nightfall was not far off, Eldest Uncle and the others had no intention of lingering at the Demon-Suppressing Pass, much less spending the night.

The patriarch's analysis the previous night had already left them worried about the situation beyond the pass and about Fifth Uncle and the others. Had they not needed to pay their respects to Du Zhimin, who guarded the Demon-Suppressing Pass, that morning, they would probably have set out then.

But although they were leaving the Demon-Suppressing Pass, there was a particular way to go about it.

Eldest Uncle divided the party into three groups. Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo and Third Aunt Kong Yuyin formed one group and went through the pass first to scout the situation outside. Kong Wenxuan and his elder brother Kong Wenzhang formed another and would leave a quarter of an hour after Eldest Uncle and Third Aunt.

Finally, Ninth Uncle Kong Yuchui stayed behind to watch what happened in their wake, checking whether anyone inside the Demon-Suppressing Pass followed them or asked about them.

After their brief acquaintance of a day, Kong Wenxuan had found that Ninth Uncle Kong Yuchui was exceptionally good at concealing himself. His face, build, and bearing were all ordinary. He was quiet and taciturn, drawing no attention whatsoever, and Kong Wenxuan often overlooked his presence.

Kong Wenxuan did not know whether Ninth Uncle was born that way or had cultivated some special technique, but there was no doubt that he was well suited to blending into a crowd to keep watch and gather information.

So Eldest Uncle had left him until last, responsible for guarding their rear.

Even with such meticulous arrangements, Kong Wenxuan and his elder brother Kong Wenzhang had put on special disguises to conceal their identities before passing through the pass. Eldest Uncle and Third Aunt had done the same.

"Cousin Wenxuan, do you find it strange that we went to so much trouble just to leave the Demon-Suppressing Pass?"

Once they were beyond the pass, his elder brother Kong Wenzhang looked at Kong Wenxuan and asked with a smile.

Kong Wenxuan nodded, then shook his head. "I've only just arrived and don't know the situation at the Demon-Suppressing Pass or beyond it. But I know that behind every one of Eldest Uncle's seemingly troublesome, tedious arrangements, there must be a bloody lesson left by those who came before us."

Hearing this, his elder brother Kong Wenzhang's gaze shifted slightly. He nodded with deep feeling. "Cousin Wenxuan, you're doing much better than I did when I first arrived. Perhaps you'll take quite well to the Demon-Suppressing Pass and the land beyond it."

After that remark, his elder brother led the way. "Come on. Let's meet up with Eldest Uncle and the others first. I'll explain why we made those arrangements on the way."

"You should know that at the Demon-Suppressing Pass and in the lands beyond it, Demon Beasts aren't our only enemies. You could even say they're the simplest enemies, the ones we need to worry about least. More often than not, Demon Beasts are merely our prey."

"The enemies we truly need to worry about and guard against are bloodline cultivators, other bloodline lineages."

"Inside the Demon-Suppressing Pass, within the territory controlled by Cuckoo County, we're all servant cultivator lineages of the Cuckoo Du Household. With the Du Household keeping everyone in check from above, we all have to act within the rules and maintain order. So even when we have grudges or conflicting interests, we show a fair amount of restraint."

"But beyond the Demon-Suppressing Pass, outside Cuckoo County's control and without the Du Household holding everyone down, the mountains are a lawless land of chaos."

"Those with grudges take revenge, and even those without grudges seize resources and benefits by force."

"You could say that over the years, everyone has robbed everyone else. There can be no one clean or innocent; pretty much everyone has enemies everywhere."

"That's why every party leaving the pass is exceptionally careful. They use all sorts of methods and arrangements to eliminate, as far as possible, the chance of being followed or ambushed, and keep others from learning about their party or its whereabouts."

Kong Wenxuan nodded. His elder brother Kong Wenzhang's account did not surprise him. In fact, as he listened to Eldest Uncle and the others describe the Demon-Suppressing Pass and the situation beyond it at the previous night's banquet, he had already anticipated as much.

He knew very well what kind of chaos and disaster a place would fall into once it had neither rules nor order.

Before long, the two reached the agreed meeting place beyond the pass and joined Eldest Uncle and Third Aunt, who had gone ahead. The two had already scouted the surroundings to make sure no traps or ambushes awaited them there.

Scouting the road ahead and watching the rear, taking every step with care and sparing no trouble-that was the way to stay alive at the Demon-Suppressing Pass.

The four waited another quarter of an hour or so before Ninth Uncle Kong Yuchui arrived and joined them.

"How was it?" Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo immediately looked at him and asked, "Were there any tails asking about us or following us?"

"There were no tails behind you and Third Sister, but Wenxuan and Wenzhang had some following them." Ninth Uncle Kong Yuchui looked at the two of them. "I'm afraid that since Wenxuan has only just arrived at the Demon-Suppressing Pass, some hyenas noticed something."

Kong Wenxuan fell into thought. Although he had done his utmost to be cautious and careful, and had acted and disguised himself according to Eldest Uncle and the others' instructions, he was still a greenhorn who had only just arrived at the Demon-Suppressing Pass. Some of the impression, bearing, and feeling he gave off were probably indeed different from those of old hands like Eldest Uncle and his elder brother, who had spent years frequenting the Demon-Suppressing Pass.

Those with truly sharp eyes and keen senses might really be able to spot the difference.

Eldest Uncle and the others were clearly unsurprised as well and asked directly, "Which ones were they?"

"The ones I spotted were the Shrike Lao Household, the Forest Owl Lin Household, and the Hummingbird Feng Household. As for whether there were any I missed, I can't say for certain," Ninth Uncle Kong Yuchui said. Although he had some confidence in his ability to conceal himself and keep watch, he dared not claim he could never miss anything. After all, beyond every mountain was another mountain, and beyond every person was someone better.

In the lawless chaos beyond the Demon-Suppressing Pass, allowing for the worst when judging one's enemies was the way to stay alive.