Gathering Allies, Plotting an Ambush!

The first one found was Lei Huan.

The badger was nestled in an underground river in the southeast of the secret realm, munching on a spirit fish of unknown species, its mouth dripping with oil.

The badger rolled its eyes when it saw the Lord Rat emerge from the mud.

What's the matter?

"Found a fat sheep, but it's a bit tricky; needs a companion."

The Lord Rat scurried up to him, lowered its voice, and recounted Xiao An's situation in detail. "The chief of the Heavenly Sword School possesses at least a Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi."

"This kid is being hunted down by all sides; even his own fellow disciples want to kill him."

"Just the two of us?" Lei Huan chewed up the fish tail and swallowed it. "Are you kidding me? That's False Core level combatant."

That's why I came looking for help!

The Lord Rat said urgently, "We have quite a few brothers scattered throughout this secret realm. Gathering six or seven Foundation Establishment level demons to surround and kill a wounded sword cultivator shouldn't be a problem."

Upon hearing this, Lei Huan understood.

"It's not impossible for us to attack together, but once we obtain the Heaven and Earth Qi, how will we divide it?"

"Do you have any use for the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi?" the Lord Rat retorted.

"It's not needed."

"That settles it then. We'll take the Heaven and Earth Qi back and hand it over to the Ancestor for disposal. As for the other treasures he has, we'll divide them equally."

"Guess how many good things are in the Storage Bag of the chief disciple of the Heavenly Sword School!"

Upon hearing this, Lei Huan's eyes lit up.

"Okay, let's do it!"

Over the next two days, Lord Rat continued his relentless pursuit, successively finding the three bear demons: Xiong Shan, Lei Nu, and Shuang Yu...

Xiong Shan has been doing well lately. He hunted several native Demon Beast in the dense forest in the southwest of the secret realm. He's full of Blood Qi and just wanted to vent his anger.

Upon hearing that there was a war, he agreed without hesitation.

Lei Nu had just emerged from the Thunder Swamp, and the lightning around him was much more condensed than before, his aura becoming increasingly profound, indicating that he had reached the Foundation Establishment Perfection.

In terms of cultivation, he can be considered the strongest among Shi Jian's subordinates!

The time to Core Formation is not far off; the only thing lacking is the Heaven and Earth Qi. Without the assistance of the Heaven and Earth Qi, it will be difficult to pass the three stages of Core Formation.

He wasn't particularly interested in the disciples of the Heavenly Sword School Sect.

But since the ancestor had instructed that the interests of the Demon Race should come first, Lei Nu agreed, if he could truly seize the Heaven and Earth Qi.

That strand must be refined by Shi Pan.

At that time, Shi Pan will be qualified to break through to the Core Formation, becoming the second Golden Core Demon General of his Bear Race, and his Bear lineage will become even stronger!

As the head of the Lightning Bear Line, he cares less about the gains and losses of a bear.

Clearly, the interests of the ethnic group come above all else!

Shuang Yu was the easiest to talk to. This Icefield Bear was calm and composed, and he would agree to whatever the Lord Rat said. He didn't have much of his own opinion.

The only request is to allocate more resources to him.

The request wasn't unreasonable, so the Lord Rat readily agreed.

Finally, there are Bi Luo and Bai Ling.

Bi Luo's condition is better than it was two months ago, but it is still far from its peak. The backlash from the bloodline Divine Ability power cannot be recovered in the short term, and it currently only has about 60% to 70% of its strength.

The Lord Rat ensured Bi Luo's safety and prevented him from being the main attacker.

In return, any Spirit Plant seeds or wood-based spiritual materials that Xiao An possesses will belong entirely to Bi Luo as a reward for his assistance.

As for Bai Ling, it's even simpler.

The White Fox Clan is skilled in illusion and deception, which is extremely useful in siege battles. The Lord Rat and she hit it off immediately, without even discussing the price.

I only ask that, in the future, Lord Rat, you would say a few good words for the White Fox Clan to Shi Jian.

At this point--

In just a few days, the Lord Rat managed to win over six Foundation Establishment demons to take action.

The Lord Rat squatted on a rock, surveying the six strangely shaped Demon Beast, its sharp snout stretching to the back of its ears.

With such a force, how could we not defeat Xiao An!

Northeast of the secret realm, Strewn Stone Ridge.

Xiao An continued fleeing day and night to remote areas...

In the past few days, he has repelled three groups of pursuers, one of whom were from the Vast Righteousness School of the Liang Kingdom, and the other two were Rogue Cultivator of unknown origin.

He killed six people, seriously injured four others, and lost a significant portion of his savings.

But what truly kept him awake at night was the aura emanating from behind him.

Qi Wenyuan.

His good senior brother, the top genius of the Heavenly Sword School in this generation!

When the core area was vying for the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi, Xiao An and Qi Wenyuan were both competing for it.

He was faster, drawing the Heaven and Earth Qi into his dantian first. However, Qi Wenyuan did not give up. Instead, he secretly spread the news during his retreat, revealing Xiao An's location to various forces.

Using this as a pretext to kill someone.

Once Xiao An is exhausted from the pursuit, Qi Wenyuan will come and finish him off.

"My dear senior brother, you're so wonderful!"

Xiao An leaned against a boulder, channeling his Spiritual Qi and true essence to gradually repair and heal his physical injuries...

Some of the wounds, however, were tainted by poison or perhaps by the influence of Daoist principles.

This prevents it from healing quickly and only depletes his strength.

He knew Qi Wenyuan too well.

That guy has been plotting to take his place for ten years, failing several times, but this time he's finally found an opportunity.

In the secret realm, no one is in charge; killing a fellow disciple will leave no evidence.

Once back, all you need to do is say that Junior Brother Xiao was ambushed and tragically died, and everything will be fine, washing your hands of all the problems.

Even if this performance is utter nonsense.

But if he were truly dead, no one would abolish the career of another genius just to honor the death of one...

The higher-ups of the Heavenly Sword School Sect will not pursue the matter.

After all, geniuses are rare, but they do exist, not to mention the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi. If they fall into Qi Wenyuan's hands...

For the sect, it can also cultivate a Golden Core cultivator.

The outcome remains the same; it doesn't matter who dies.

They might even think that the one who survives will have a better temperament, and thus allocate more resources to them. That's how messed up the cultivation world is.

Those who survive are the ones who exemplify justice!

The saying goes, "When you achieve success and fame, great scholars will naturally come to debate with you." That's roughly the idea. The world will keep turning even if someone is missing.

For the sect, it's simply a matter of who Core Formation...