Dashing Student-Chapter 1320: Waiting for Prey

The swift and decisive nature of Chen Nan and his team greatly pleased the Island Master, as the demon cultivators always lingering around had put the entire city on edge.

Under the Island Master’s guidance, the group headed towards the city outskirts while he introduced them to the city’s situation.

Various mineral veins were located outside the city, but the extracted ores, spirit stones, and other resources were stored in warehouses within the city, with the Righteous Alliance periodically coming to collect them.

Chen Nan glanced at the towering city walls. While they were crafted from special materials comparable in hardness to a spiritual artifact, for cultivators of the Golden Core Realm, the walls were little more than ornamentation.

"Island Master, what would you do if demon cultivators attacked?" he suddenly inquired.

The Island Master chuckled and pointed at the walls, saying, "Our city has a grand formation set up; even if a First-Layer Nascent Soul expert attacks, it can hold them off for a while."

Chen Nan nodded in sudden understanding. If so, the city was indeed very secure.

As they passed a general store, Chen Nan paused, quickly separated from the group, went inside briefly, and then caught up with the others.

They soon exited the city, arriving at the site where the miners had been killed. Despite the presence of demon cultivators, the miners continued working anxiously.

Even with many more patrols added, they couldn’t alleviate the miners’ deep-seated fears.

The site of attack still bore traces of blood, darkened now, yet it was clear how brutal the encounter had once been.

"The demon cultivators have launched numerous attacks, resulting in hundreds of cultivator casualties, with attacks occurring every few days and from unpredictable directions, hence why we haven’t caught them yet."

The Island Master sighed deeply from the side; those fallen cultivators had been painstakingly trained by him, and each lost life was a painful blow.

After surveying the area, Zheng Yunzhou frowned, shook his head, and sighed, "Currently, there’s no better strategy than to lie in wait."

The Island Master sighed slightly upon hearing this, knowing it was the least efficient method, having expected the Righteous Alliance to send more experts.

Yet not only had they sent just five people, but the most advanced cultivation level among them was only the Sixth-Layer Golden Core Realm, leaving him rather disappointed.

Despite his disappointment, he didn’t show it on his face and instead eagerly asked, "Is there anything I can assist you with?"

Zheng Yunzhou shook his head, briefly dismissed Xin Zi with a few words, and then the five began to discuss in earnest.

"With a hundred dead and frequent demon cultivator attacks, the Island Master continuing the mining operations shows that he’s either a Demon Sect mole or unscrupulous."

Chen Nan spoke in a low voice, pulling out a map he had purchased earlier in the city’s general store.

The map clearly marked not only the city and positions of villages but also resource locations like mineral veins and spirit plant gardens.

"What a fool, these locations are all marked here; no wonder demon cultivators hit their targets so accurately, they simply follow the map instructions." Deng Yunhe cursed.

Chen Nan didn’t reply, simply tracing his finger over the mineral veins until it stopped at the location of the Gold Essence Ore.

"From what the Island Master said, it’s evident the demon cultivators are moving with a plan, attacking from south to north, one resource point at a time."

"If that’s correct, the next few days should see an attack on the Gold Essence Ore."

The group looked over quickly, considering the demon cultivators’ prior attack timings as described by the Island Master, easily deducing the demons’ course of action.

"How could the Island Master not see this?" Zheng Yunzhou’s suspicion towards the Island Master deepened.

"Either a fool or on purpose," Chen Nan sneered.

Daoist Cui murmured mystically, "Looks like we are lambs entering a tiger’s den; could it be that Yi Mingzi and Xin Zi are in cahoots?"

"I’ll take him out right now!" Deng Yunhe suddenly stood up, full of fighting spirit.

Since stepping on his younger brother and rebuking his own father, he’d become increasingly arrogant, ready to fight at any moment.

Chen Nan shook his head and slowly said, "Without evidence, killing him would only land us in trouble, so let’s stick to Brother Zheng’s suggestion and lie in wait."

"But we can’t all wait in one place. If I’m wrong, it would be a disaster, so we must also keep guard over the several mineral veins around the Gold Essence Ore."

Ning Yu asked worriedly, "Wouldn’t that be too dangerous? What if the demon cultivators are strong?"

"If you encounter demon cultivators, release a signal and I’ll hurry over," Chen Nan assured.

Zheng Yunzhou and the others had no choice but to pin their hopes on Chen Nan.

Chen Nan retrieved quite a few talismans from his cloak, distributing several to each person for protection, most being Fire Smoke Talismans.

Upon activation, a Fire Smoke Talisman could release a massive cloud of flames, quite powerful, visible within a hundred miles if unleashed into the sky.

The distance between Gold Essence Ore and the surrounding veins was around a hundred miles anyway.

"If encountering demon cultivators, immediately activate the Fire Smoke Talisman; if the situation is dire, release two."

Each individual carefully stored their talismans and then set off, each to oversee a different vein.

Chen Nan remained outside the Gold Essence Ore, not alerting anyone, silently blending into the darkness, merging with the tree’s shadow.

Whether by naked eye or divine sense, his presence was undetectable, unless by a cultivator above the Nascent Soul Realm.

The five were each ambushed, as if vanished from the island altogether, with no movement; even the Island Master couldn’t find them, leaving anxiously.

In a flash, three days passed, and hidden away, Chen Nan doubted his guesses, wondering if the demon cultivators had fled, or if there was some other hidden story.

That night, while debating a change of plans, a crimson light suddenly soared into the sky, dozens of miles away.

Fire Smoke Talisman!

Chen Nan’s expression shifted; though the demon cultivators didn’t appear at the Gold Essence Ore as he had guessed, they still emerged.

Just as he prepared to head towards the Fire Smoke Talisman’s direction, he abruptly paused his steps.

"Just one Fire Smoke Talisman, I trust the others will rush over as well, I’ll wait a bit longer!"

Suddenly sensing something, he continued to conceal himself in the dark, without much hope, but soon after, several figures appeared outside the Gold Essence Ore.

Each bore a large object, resembling a door panel in shape, but with anomalous thickness.

"Those fools must already be lured away, just a simple trick makes the Righteous Alliance fools spin in circles."