Once the news about the lifting of martial law was announced, the merchants and the people living in the city rejoiced.

The officials announced that the thieves who had infiltrated the Thousand Treasure Pavilion vault had already been apprehended and were currently being interrogated to uncover who was behind them.

The people who had suffered losses and missed business opportunities during the past few days naturally cursed the "thieves" and all nine generations of their families.

At the safe house, Monkey observed the crowd outside through the window while using his spiritual sense to monitor the surroundings. Then... he finally relaxed.

"It seems the martial law has truly been lifted, just as my ears within the Thousand Treasure Pavilion reported... See? Didn’t I tell you? That girl Mo Xingyao can’t stand losing money," Monkey said with a smile.

Snake sneered. "Heh... what a fool. Because of a little profit, she gave up the once in a lifetime chance to catch us."

Ox let out a sigh. "Don’t jinx it like that. Isn’t it a good thing that she values profit more than catching us? If it were the other way around, we might already be in trouble."

"Heh... as expected of an ox. Always peaceful, always avoiding trouble," Snake quipped.

"Enough... we need to change clothes, leave this place, and report back to our meeting point as soon as possible," Monkey interrupted, stopping Snake from spouting more poison.

The three then used artifacts to disguise themselves as ordinary merchants before walking out of the hideout. After gathering supplies for travel, they boarded a public flying ark transport so they would not attract the authorities’ attention, as their identities now appeared to be nothing more than wandering merchants.

The flying ark took off from the public port before activating its space-shortening array after traveling deep into the wilderness.

The flying ark stopped at many ports along the way, exchanging passengers and goods, before finally arriving at a remote port surrounded by only small towns and villages.

This place lay near the intersection of the borders of three provinces. It was the ideal location for a smuggler headquarters or an outpost, since it sat near all three provincial borders at once.

And reality matched that assumption. The villages were mostly populated by people involved in the smuggling trade, whether it be goods, people, or contraband. They were very open about their business in this place.

Even though their operations were conducted openly, the authorities, especially those connected to the Thousand Treasure Pavilion, did not care to arrest them.

And honestly, that was how it should be. Who would want to arrest the very people who increased the variety of goods flowing into their city?

This place at the intersection of the three borders was located a bit further south, still within the territory of the Demonic Path of the Azure River Province. Thus, it still stood under the influence of Thousand Treasure City and the protection of the Sky-Severing Demon Valley.

That was why the righteous sects did not need to pretend to uphold justice by sending people to stage fake "outlaw eradication" campaigns here.

Under the guise of respecting territorial boundaries, the righteous path sects also did not need to worry too much about maintaining their image. If they felt that Thousand Treasure City was too open and awkward for them to purchase shady goods, they could simply come here instead and buy whatever they wanted.

That was why it was not uncommon to see groups of righteous path disciples, and even elders, walking around openly while making deals, securing shipments for their sects, or sometimes for themselves.

The group of three, disguised as wandering merchants, played their roles naturally. They sold goods, haggled with locals over trivial prices, and argued like ordinary grassroots merchants trying to make a living.

After they felt they had blended in enough, they continued deeper into the maze-like alleys. Eventually, they entered Black Alley, one of the many slum alleys cluttering the area.

They stepped into an inconspicuous hovel and greeted the keeper, who acted like a normal commoner before opening a hidden passage leading underground.

Beyond the passage was a vast underground hall containing a teleportation array.

The contrast between the shabby hovel above and the sophisticated teleportation hall below was so extreme that no one would ever imagine such a place existed beneath it.

As the three stood upon the platform, the teleportation array roared to life. Spiritual power surged through the formation as it began drawing energy from the spirit crystals slotted into fuel-cell-like compartments along the nearby wall.

Vrooom!

With a loud hum of spiritual energy and the activation of the array’s mechanisms, the teleportation array flared brightly, and the three vanished in a blinding blue light.

The next moment, they appeared within a dilapidated courtyard, the same place where they usually met.

The three removed their disguises and revealed the identities they commonly used.

Snake, Monkey, and Ox.

They walked toward the stone platform where they normally met with Zodiac.

After taking their usual positions, dark mist slowly gathered before them, and the silhouette of a man gradually formed from within the swirling darkness.

"Where is the Primordial Divine Metal?" Zodiac asked, raising his hand expectantly for the item.

"What a heartfelt welcome. We barely escaped alive, and the first thing you ask about is that damn thing?" Snake spat out with her usual sarcasm.

"Do you have it or not?" Zodiac ignored Snake’s antics.

"We didn’t find it. An expert discovered us first, and we escaped immediately," Monkey said in a solemn tone. "And as we agreed, this will be the last time I cooperate with you."

With that declaration, the atmosphere immediately became tense and cold.

"This is not what we agreed on, Monkey. What we agreed on was that you would succeed in this job, and then you would earn your freedom. Have you forgotten the soul contract we made when you first joined us?" Zodiac argued.

"No... you’re the one who forgot, Zodiac." Monkey shook his head.

"Our soul contract clearly stated that you would help me find news of my niece, the flesh and blood of the woman I loved, so that I could finally protect her and fulfill my promise to Empress Long. And you did nothing, not even pretending to search for her, until she appeared on Young Master Wei’s spirit screen!" He paused, staring deeply at where Zodiac’s eyes should have been.

"You didn’t even fulfill your side of the bargain, Zodiac. So me working this last damn job for you was already the bare minimum respect I was willing to give you and your organization!"

Monkey slammed his hand onto the stone platform, cracking it as spiritual qi leaked unintentionally from his body.

Zodiac stared back at Monkey as the atmosphere grew heavier and harder to breathe in. Neither side was willing to back down.

"No... you are the one who doesn’t understand. This matter is already beyond me. The client for this mission...." He then turned toward Snake.

"Your brother wants it. It will secure him an official position as a squad leader within the Underworld Palace!" Zodiac declared.

At that moment, Zodiac suddenly turned toward his right flank, as if sensing something.

Crack.....

Space itself split open, and the person who stepped out from the crack was Wei Chen.

"Surprise, motherf*cker!?" he swore while flashing his iconic punchable smirk.

"You!? How are you here?" Zodiac visibly shuddered at Wei Chen’s sudden appearance.

But that was not the worst part.

The second person who stepped out from the spatial crack while holding a bag of french fries was none other than Yan Rongjun. The spatial crack then healed behind them.

She casually waved her right hand while holding a french fry like a magical wand.

Boom!

The surrounding space around the entire courtyard immediately locked shut.

Afterward, she popped the french fry into her mouth and continued munching casually. She looked around at everyone present before smiling.

"If you hadn’t told me to let them go so they could lead us back to their main base, I would’ve captured all of them there and finished this already." She looked at Wei Chen with a wide grin.

"You’re surprisingly smart, Chenchen. I didn’t know you had it in you."

Wei Chen: .....

Hearing this, Zodiac felt as if he had fallen into a cavern of eternal ice. The chilling pressure and suffocating unease made it difficult for him to even breathe properly.

His movement technique was extraordinary. He could transform into mist and move like a ghost. But in front of a spatial lock cast by an expert who might even be in the Immortal Realm?

Escape was nothing more than wishful thinking.

But... Zodiac looked toward Wei Chen, deep in thought.

If it was only Wei Chen alone, they might still have room to negotiate. From the information he had gathered, Wei Chen was supposedly just some branch family young master leading a minor faction within a Hidden Ancient Clan.

He then glanced meaningfully toward Snake.

If he could borrow the power of Snake’s brother and force her to let him descend into her body, they might be able to stall that Immortal Realm expert long enough to capture Wei Chen and use him as a hostage to escape this situation.