Soon, he saw a campfire burning some distance away. He sped up and quickly arrived in front of the Thunder Cloud Sect disciples.
“Senior Brothers!” He bowed in respect after seeing them.
There were a total of three Thunder Cloud Sect disciples sitting there. One of them was eating meat, another was drinking wine, while the last one was on the lookout for enemies.
“Hmm? Who are you?” one of them looked at Yao Shuo indifferently and asked.
Yao Shuo raised an eyebrow. Even if he was not as famous as the top disciples of the Divine Grade Sects, he was still a renowned genius of an Imperial Grade Power.
“Senior Brother, I’m Yao Shuo from Golden Orchid Palace.” He respectfully said, while he inwardly felt irritated at their dismissive attitude.
“Ah, Yao Shuo. I have heard about you. A promising genius indeed. Tell me, why have you come looking for us?” the wine-drinking disciple put down his jug and asked.
Yao Shuo exhaled a sigh and resolutely said, “I know of a location with a King Grade Treasure. It is outside my ability to acquire, so I would like to give it to you.”
The eyes of all three of them lit up. They stood and looked at Yao Shuo, “A King Grade Treasure?? Quickly tell us where it is!” the meat eater asked eagerly.
Yao Shuo quickly nodded and revealed the location, “Haha! If we can really acquire a King Grade Treasure from you, then our Thunder Cloud Sect will owe you a favor.”
The last one among them spoke boisterously, while the other two nodded in agreement.
Yao Shuo looked at them in confusion; he expected them to owe him a favor, not the Thunder Cloud Sect. But this was good for him as well. Whether they lived or died wouldn’t matter to him anymore.
“Then I bid you farewell. Hope you can achieve success there.” He cupped his fist and turned around to leave.
“Hold it.” However, the meat-eating disciple didn’t let him leave so soon. “Lead the way. We could easily get lost here, so it will be better to have a guide.”
The other two grinned and nodded.
Yao Shuo felt his heart skip a beat, but he couldn’t refuse at this point. Otherwise, they might kill him right here.
…
Shen Yuan calmly inspected the ruin in front of him. Massive broken pillars lay scattered around, partially submerged in soil stained crimson and brown from the passage of countless years. There were signs of cultiavtors passing by this place as well.
The aura of treasures lingered subtly all around him, confirming that Yao Shuo’s information wasn’t false.
He scanned the surroundings, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “It’s time to prepare a suitable welcome for my honored guests,” he said to himself, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips.
[You’re really getting into this, aren’t you?]
Yue Lan teased gently, clearly amused.
He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “They deserve a lesson. Better to finish this thoroughly, lest they continue bothering me endlessly.”
Without further delay, Shen Yuan began laying down an intricate trap. His comprehension of arrays and formations had improved greatly from the Wall of Comprehension, and now was the perfect time to apply it practically.
He moved swiftly, his hands flickering expertly through intricate hand seals as he laid down various small arrays around the ruins. Wind blades, thunder spikes, and water runes materialized one after another, hidden subtly beneath the dust and debris.
These were all very basic arrays, but he had infused his own Qi into them, making them equal to Dao Core Forming Realm arrays.
After setting down the killing arrays, he took out several spirit stones, embedding them into the ground at precise locations, their glow quickly concealed by layers of dirt.
But Shen Yuan wasn’t satisfied yet. He added another hidden layer with his Spatial Qi—a subtle spatial distortion that would prevent them from escaping once they stepped inside. It was a refined application of his Spatial Camouflage Veil.
[Yuan’er, isn’t this a bit excessive?]
Yue Lan asked jokingly, sensing his enthusiasm for the elaborate setup.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. But better safe than sorry. If I’m not wrong, then the remaining two disciples from the Thunder Cloud Sect will arrive. And I need to prepare all I can for them.” Shen Yuan calmly responded, carefully adjusting each array and formation to perfection.
“With this, even peak Dao Core Forming Realm cultivators won’t find it easy to escape.”
After several minutes of careful arrangement, he finally took a step back and examined his masterpiece with satisfaction.
“This should be enough.” Shen Yuan smiled faintly, dusting off his hands as he gracefully jumped onto a nearby broken pillar, casually sitting cross-legged atop it.
He leisurely took out a spirit fruit from his storage ring, taking a slow bite as he waited patiently for his prey to arrive.
…
Soon enough, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the barren land.
Shen Yuan calmly glanced ahead, spotting Yao Shuo nervously leading three Thunder Cloud Sect disciples toward the ruins. His expression was filled with hidden trepidation.
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow, “Huh? Who are those three? I don’t remember them being with the Thunder Cloud Sect disciples outside. Did they send extra disciples through their vassal sects?” he wondered.
Now he felt that he had over-prepared. The disciples he was waiting for didn’t even arrive. Instead, Yao Shuo led small fries here instead.
“Hurry up! How much longer until we get there?” one of the Thunder Cloud Sect disciples growled impatiently, clearly losing his patience.
“Almost there! The ruins are right ahead,” Yao Shuo quickly reassured them, pointing toward the dilapidated structures.
The disciples’ eyes lit up greedily upon spotting the ruins. They quickened their pace, completely ignoring their surroundings in anticipation of the King Grade Treasure.
At that moment, Yao Shuo discreetly slowed down, subtly retreating to the side as the three Thunder Cloud Sect disciples eagerly rushed ahead, quickly stepping into the trap laid by Shen Yuan.
The moment their feet touched the ground inside the array’s boundary, the air trembled violently.
“Hmm?”
“What’s going on!?”
Before they could comprehend the situation, layers of shimmering barriers emerged, swiftly sealing off the area completely.
Shen Yuan calmly jumped down from the pillar, smiling gently at the trapped disciples. “Welcome, dear friends from Thunder Cloud Sect. I’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”
Inside the shimmering barriers, the three disciples quickly turned around in shock. Upon seeing Shen Yuan’s calm and indifferent expression, their faces twisted in anger and fear.
“Shen Yuan!” one disciple snarled venomously, eyes filled with chilling malice. “You’ve plotted against us!”
Shen Yuan smiled faintly, twirling his scythe leisurely in his hands. “And what if I did? Thunder Cloud Sect should have known better than to target my sect.”
To Shen Yuan’s surprise, rather than immediately launching the expected lightning-infused attacks typical of Thunder Cloud Sect disciples, these three suddenly released a sinister, blood-red aura.
The dark crimson Qi surged from their bodies like a sinister tide, filling the air with an eerie, oppressive atmosphere.
“Hmm?” Shen Yuan’s brows furrowed slightly as he sensed something unusual.
A disciple laughed coldly, licking his lips as his eyes became suffused with a demonic crimson light. “Thunder Cloud Sect? Such pathetic fools. To mistake us, disciples of the Blood Demon Sect, for those hypocrites? You’re really blind.”