Deep within the mountains and ancient forest, lush green leaves stretched like a vast canopy, while massive tree trunks rose from the earth in a tangled web. A gentle breeze drifted through, setting the shadows swaying as strands of sunlight filtered down through the gaps.

Lin Zheyu's speed was astonishing. With a light tap of his toes, he could dart more than three hundred meters in an instant. His physique had grown incredibly powerful after repeated transformations, and with sheer physical strength alone, he could already reach speeds comparable to the speed of sound. With the addition of true origin to break through air resistance, he could easily push himself to nearly twice the speed of sound.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Lin Zheyu moved with effortless grace, turning into a fleeting shadow as he sped through the forest. The scenery within a radius of more than two thousand meters flashed through his mind as he advanced at high speed. Suddenly, his brow twitched, and he came to a stop atop a large tree.

Why are they here? Lin Zheyu thought in surprise.

Within his Perception Domain, several familiar auras appeared in his awareness. They were the same suspicious group he had noticed earlier at Tranquil Waters Restaurant. After his probing had been discovered, he had avoided the place entirely. He did not expect to run into them here. Back then, there had been six of them. Now, he could only detect three within his Perception Domain.

Could it just be a coincidence?

His Perception Domain rapidly contracted, avoiding those people. Among them was the one who had discovered his probing earlier. That person's strength remained unknown, which made Lin Zheyu wary. He had no intention of clashing with them recklessly. With a shift of his body, he quickly moved away.

***

Elsewhere, Qian Baiyan, Tu Xihao, and Jing Xinyue all wore grim expressions. Moving at high speed, they used their escape techniques to weave swiftly through the forest.

"Fellow Daoist Tu, are we safe yet?" Jing Xinyue transmitted. After fleeing continuously, her spirit power was heavily depleted, and she was struggling to keep going.

"The sense of danger is still there. Keep moving. Head straight for the nearest Linjiang City. Once we're inside, with the Heaven-Monitoring Formation in place, they won't dare follow," Tu Xihao replied through transmission.

His expression was equally grim. A strand of black demonic energy surged wildly within his body, and his forehead had darkened. This expedition into the ruins had cost them dearly. Those barbarians had no sense of honor. They had struck first before the group could act.

Hearing this, Jing Xinyue clenched her teeth and took out a Divine Power Crystal from her storage pouch.

This was her last one. Crushing the Divine Power Crystal in her left hand, a surge of powerful energy poured into her body. Her body, on the verge of collapse, revived slightly under its nourishment, like withered wood receiving long-awaited rain. The demonic energy that was eroding her body and soul could not be completely expelled, but under the crystal's effect, its spread slowed rapidly.

"Not good!" Tu Xihao's expression suddenly changed as he quickly transmitted to the other two. "That hidden observer we detected before has appeared again!"

Tu Xihao's words caused Qian Baiyan and Jing Xinyue's expressions to change drastically. They knew exactly what this meant. Back then, they had suspected that the hidden observer was waiting to strike as the one who profits in the end. Now that person had appeared here, proving their suspicion true.

"Fellow Daoist Tu, we're relying on you now," Qian Baiyan said solemnly.

He looked at Tu Xihao, awaiting his guidance. Tu Xihao's intuition was exceptionally strong, almost as if he could foresee danger before it arrived. It was precisely because of this ability that they had managed to enter the ruins and come out alive. Unfortunately, the barbarians had turned hostile first this time, costing them the initiative. Caught off guard, Mu Feng and Hu Manqiong had been severely injured and forced to flee using life-saving methods. Whether they would survive remained uncertain.

"Fellow Daoist Qian, do you still have concealment talismans, invisibility talismans, and Minor Myriad Void talismans?" Tu Xihao transmitted.

"Yes!" At this point, Qian Baiyan no longer held anything back.

"Good. I have a plan, but I'll need your cooperation. That hidden observer seems to be using some special method. I suspect they're relying on a secret technique or treasure to see through the Minor Myriad Void Locking Formation. If we use multiple concealment methods at the same time, I'm fairly confident we can deceive them. When the time comes, we'll do this... and this..." Tu Xihao transmitted.

A trace of hesitation appeared in both Qian Baiyan and Jing Xinyue's eyes, but it did not last long. They quickly gritted their teeth and nodded.

"Let's go all in! Let them tear each other apart while we reap the benefits," Qian Baiyan said, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

With a slap to his storage pouch, several talismans flew out and landed in the hands of the other two. As the talismans were activated, the three figures vanished instantly into the forest.

A few breaths later, two burly men clad in beast hides appeared in the forest. Strange patterns were painted across their faces, resembling either intricate markings or the forms of exotic beasts. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Hmph, resorting to tricks again. They’re nothing but petty techniques," the burly man on the left sneered, his lips curling with disdain.

There was no aura of escape techniques about them. With each step, a faint glow flickered across their bodies, and they seemed to shrink the ground beneath their feet, reappearing hundreds of meters away.

***

Lin Zheyu changed directions several times, his mind taut as he pushed his Perception Domain to its limit. After a long while, those people's auras did not reappear within his Perception Domain, allowing him to relax slightly. But soon after, his brow furrowed again.

"What is going on? Even the barbarians are here?"

Two powerful auras appeared within his Perception Domain. Lin Zheyu was very familiar with them. They were the auras of barbarians. The barbarians focused on cultivating the physique, and their techniques were of great interest to him, potentially offering valuable insights. Unfortunately, when he killed one before, he had found no related techniques in that barbarian's storage pouch.

"Strange. Why are those two heading this way?" Lin Zheyu's expression turned serious.

He fully circulated his cultivation technique, suppressing his aura to the lowest possible level. His entire body became like withered wood, devoid of any trace of life. Lin Zheyu had some basic understanding of the barbarians. Back in the demon god barrier, he had gleaned quite a bit about them through indirect probing of Lei Yunshu.

The barbarian cultivation system was mainly divided into two paths. One was the barbarian warriors, and the other was the shamans. Shamans resembled heretical priests who could communicate with the legendary Barbarian God and wield its divine arts, making their abilities particularly strange. Barbarian warriors, on the other hand, focused on refining the physical body and followed a totem system. It was said that different totems granted different abilities, some of which endowed warriors with remarkable powers.

These two barbarians... Are they coming for me? Lin Zheyu froze for a moment.

Within his Perception Domain, the two barbarian experts were closing in at an astonishing speed. Lin Zheyu moved at once, fleeing rapidly into the distance. He changed direction multiple times, yet the two barbarians behind him seemed able to track him regardless, staying firmly on his trail.

So they really are after me. Strange. When did I offend barbarian experts?

Lin Zheyu was filled with confusion.

He had no idea what method they were using. No matter how he changed direction, they remained close behind. He stopped, and the Colorful Star Sword appeared in his hand. His expression grew grave as he looked toward the two barbarians. Suddenly, something shifted in his expression, and his face turned cold.

"Who is it? Get out here!" Lin Zheyu shouted coldly.

His Perception Domain covered an impressive range of over two thousand five hundred meters. The closer something was to him, the stronger his perception became. Within a hundred meters, in some aspects, it was no weaker than spiritual sense. Just now, he had sensed a strange disturbance in the surrounding space. Though he could not detect any enemy aura, he was certain such energy fluctuations did not appear without reason. His instincts told him someone had slipped past his perception and was lurking nearby.

"We'll hold them off for a moment. Fellow Daoist He, go!"

Suddenly, three figures emerged out of thin air. At the same time, Tu Xihao hurled a storage pouch toward Lin Zheyu and shouted loudly. Faced with the pouch flying toward him, Lin Zheyu remained unmoved. He quickly retreated, the phrase 'to divert the calamity onto someone else' flashing through his mind.

"These people are trying to shift the calamity onto me!" Lin Zheyu's gaze turned icy as he withdrew rapidly.

At that moment, he understood why the two barbarian experts had been trailing him. Clearly, they were pursuing these three, and these three had been following behind him. By some unknown method, they had evaded his perception, leading to this misunderstanding.