Chapter 232: Red Scorched Circle – They’re Back

“Strange. Why does it feel like the Demonic Creatures around here are getting more and more sinister?”

Shen Wuxie and two disciples from the Clear Thought Sect made their way through the canyon. A chill wind howled around them, making their whole bodies shiver.

“Senior Brother Shen… I mean, Senior Brother Shen, could we have taken the wrong path?”

“This place doesn’t quite match the marker on the map.”

Shen Wuxie turned and glared at them. “Are you two clinging to this on purpose?”

They knew full well he had just lost the position of Chief Disciple, yet they still brought it up, clearly trying to provoke him.

“No, Shen… Senior Brother Shen, I really just misspoke!”

Shen Wuxie let out a cold snort. “Don’t ever mention the words ‘Chief Disciple’ in front of me again. Tang Wuxun must be blind. I clearly beat Baili Yu in the selection trial, but just because I refused to follow his orders, he handed the Chief Disciple talisman cultivator title to that loser. What a fool.”

The two disciples didn’t dare say a word.

Shen Wuxie had already driven off their team leader earlier. Now only the three of them remained. If they split up again, it would be even more dangerous with fewer people.

The two of them couldn’t handle Demonic Creatures on their own. Shen Wuxie, at least, had once been the Chief Disciple. No matter what, he was still stronger than the two of them.

“Why so quiet? Don’t tell me you also think Baili Yu is stronger than me?”

The two disciples quickly shook their heads. “No, we just… it’s hard to say. After all, we didn’t see your match with him ourselves.”

Shen Wuxie said, “During the Chief Disciple selection trial, he clearly lost. Hundreds of eyes saw it. He was a step slower in his move. Baili Yu is just a sore loser. He acted all calm on the surface but went behind my back to complain about me to my uncle. If my uncle hadn’t been too lazy to get involved in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition, that bastard might’ve actually succeeded.”

“He’s just a petty coward. It pisses me off.” The more Shen Wuxie thought about it, the angrier he got. He kicked a nearby rock to vent. “If I run into him again, I’ll beat him like a dog.”

The two disciples exchanged glances and fell silent once more.

“Senior Brother Shen…”

“Don’t bother me. I need a moment to cool off.”

“Uh… Senior Brother Shen, someone’s coming.”

Shen Wuxie snapped, “So what if someone’s coming? Am I supposed to serve them tea and welcome them?”

“Senior Brother Shen, just look up.”

Annoyed to his limit, Shen Wuxie finally looked up—and was startled by the sight of Lian Mu’s grinning face.

“Who are you cursing at so furiously?” Lian Mu said from above, looking down at him.

Shen Wuxie took two steps back. “You… what do you want? Don’t even think about robbing me. I don’t have anything left.”

He didn’t dare mess with Lian Mu anymore. Ever since she threw the Flying Swan sword and got him slashed in the throat by Ying You, he’d learned his lesson.

Who knew what she’d pull next?

Right now, Shen Wuxie only wanted to compete properly, surpass Shen Wusang, and claim the title of heir to the Shen family. That was what he should be focusing on.

Ye Minghe looked confused. “Junior Sister, he seems really scared of you.”

Lian Mu said, “I’m not here to rob you. I’m here to protect you.”

Shen Wuxie almost thought he’d misheard. “Lian Mu, are you messing with me again? I’m not falling for it this time.”

“Elder Mei Chengyu sent us to fetch you. You’re Sect Master Shen’s nephew. Of course we can’t just leave you here.” Lian Mu said, “At least you were smart enough to use a concealment talisman in advance. But once the Demonic Creatures swarm in, you won’t be able to hide for long. So, are you coming with us or not?”

Shen Wuxie asked, “My aunt? She’s from Crimson Sky Sect. Why would she send you to find me?”

Baili Que’s gaze deepened. “Elder Mei is your aunt?”

No wonder he was always so arrogant. He had powerful backing.

“She and my uncle are like siblings. Of course she counts as my aunt,” Shen Wuxie said.

Lian Mu replied, “Believe it or not, our elder is right here. Do you really think I’d harm you? If you don’t want to come, fine.”

Ye Minghe whispered, “Junior Sister, didn’t you say…” We had to bring him back?

Before he could finish, Shen Wuxie changed his tune. “Wait. We’ll go with you, but you have to guarantee our safety.”

Lian Mu said, “Relax. I won’t let you become Demonic Creature food halfway there.”

Shen Wuxie hesitated, then looked at the two trembling disciples behind him and finally agreed. “Take them with us too.”

Lian Mu said, “Didn’t expect you to be so responsible.”

Shen Wuxie rolled his eyes. “Obviously. They’re my teammates. The team leader ran off. Who else is gonna look after them if not me?”

Baili Que added with a smirk, “Your team leader ran off again? Let me guess, you pissed him off?”

Shen Wuxie snapped, “Mind your own business!”

Ye Minghe raised a hand. “Alright, enough. Let’s get moving. There are other disciples waiting for us.”

This area was relatively safe, with few Demonic Creatures. But other places weren’t so lucky.

Shen Wuxie’s team had an artifact refiner who brought a silver kite, so they didn’t need to take up sword space.

Lian Mu tied a rope to Shen Wuxie’s wrist and held the other end herself. “This way we won’t lose you.”

Shen Wuxie grumbled, “Are you walking us like dogs?”

Lian Mu replied sweetly, “Young Master Shen, you’ve misunderstood.”

She was only walking him like a dog, not the others.

Shen Wuxie tugged at the red rope. It was only tied to one wrist, not too tight. He could break free if he really wanted.

“For my aunt’s sake, I’ll trust you this once.”

Lian Mu knew he was just putting on a front. In truth, he had no other choice. She’d taken the chance earlier to check—he didn’t have a single talisman left on him. The concealment talisman he used was a type typically refined by Hidden Heart faction talisman cultivators. For someone from the Bright Heart faction to have lasted this long, and even protected two others, he was already running on fumes.

“Hold on tight, Young Master Shen.” Lian Mu stepped back onto Ye Minghe’s sword and they took off again.

She gave Ye Minghe’s sleeve a subtle tug, signaling him to speed up.

Ye Minghe didn’t quite understand, but followed her lead. He controlled the speed well—fast, but not so fast that they’d crash into Demonic Creatures.

Shen Wuxie and the others were practically dragged along. Their artifact refiner wasn’t strong enough to keep up with Ye Minghe’s pace. From a distance, it looked like they were flying kites.

Once things stabilized, Baili Que sent out a talisman that shattered Shen Wuxie’s concealment barrier, exposing his aura.

Shen Wuxie: “???”

Shen Wuxie shouted, “Baili Que, what the hell are you doing?!”

Baili Que replied, “You looked too idle. Time for you to contribute something.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Demonic Creatures began to swarm in, drawn by the scent. The ones on the ground chased after Shen Wuxie’s silver kite, while the flying ones in the sky gathered to pursue him.

In no time, a massive horde had formed. Shen Wuxie looked down and saw a dense mass of Demonic Creatures beneath him. His scalp went numb.

Seeing that the Demonic Creatures had gathered, Ye Minghe summoned his Sword Intent and began to strike.

Fighting them all at once was much smoother than taking them on individually. Each sword strike cut down a whole group, making things much easier.

Only then did Shen Wuxie realize he wasn’t just a decoy—he was bait meant to lure Demonic Creatures.

Shen Wuxie said, “Lian Mu, I knew you were up to no good.”

Lian Mu gave him a smile. “Isn’t this a chance for you to show off? Maybe if one of the elders outside sees your demon-slaying performance, they’ll bump up your ranking a few spots.”

That hit the mark. Shen Wuxie grumbled a few times but reluctantly let it go. “Fine, whatever.”

After all, they wouldn’t really let him die. The wrath of the Shen Family wasn’t something the Returning Immortal Sect could afford to provoke.

Still, he couldn’t resist cursing at Baili Que. “You really are just as devious as your cousin.”

Baili Que replied, “Birds of a feather flock together.”

Shen Wuxie snorted. “Heh, so you actually like him, huh? Then I hope all your brothers, sisters, friends, and relatives turn out just like him.”

Baili Que: “…Shut up.”

Seeing that the Demonic Creatures behind them had all been cut down by Ye Minghe and there was no immediate threat, Lian Mu pulled out a map to check on the next team.

As soon as the map opened, a blue marker at the top caught her eye.

Blue was the Crimson Sky Sect’s marker.

The map showed that one of Crimson Sky Sect’s teams had already lit up an exploration point inside the Red Scorched Circle.

Among the four circles, the closer to the center, the fewer bell points there were. However, each bell point in the Red Scorched Circle covered a much larger area—sometimes more than a dozen from the outer circles. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Lian Mu fell silent.

At a time like this, someone actually entered the Red Scorched Circle? Were they trying to get themselves killed?

She had a good guess which team it was—most likely the one with Lu Feishuang. That team didn’t just have Lu Feishuang, but also Shen Wusang, an alchemy cultivator, and a very powerful body cultivator as the team leader. It was practically a perfect lineup.

Lian Mu quietly crossed that team off her list. Since they’d already gone into the Red Scorched Circle, trying to get help from them would be far too dangerous.

She instinctively looked for Ji Mingyue’s team, tracking their location based on the newly lit markers.

Ji Mingyue’s team had been aggressively claiming exploration zones. Altogether, they were already catching up to the Azure Profound Sect.

The green marker stopped near a crevice in the Flat Earth Circle. They had probably paused there.

Lian Mu felt a bit more at ease. For Ji Mingyue’s team, the Flat Earth Circle was at least relatively safe.

She was about to check on other teams when suddenly, another green marker lit up.

Lian Mu frowned.

This marker was inside the Red Scorched Circle!

“This is bad. One of our sect’s teams has entered the Red Scorched Circle,” Lian Mu said.

At her words, everyone turned to look at her, even Elder Lu.

“Which team is that reckless? Doesn’t the team leader know how dangerous the Black Tide is?”

Elder Lu immediately pulled out a sound-transmission jade and tried to contact the patrol elders within the Red Scorched Circle. But after a moment of activation, all that came through was a hoarse, pained groan.

Elder Lu said, “Where are you? One of our sect’s disciples has entered the Red Scorched Circle. Can you find them?”

The jade buzzed with chaotic noise. Faintly, one could hear the sound of flesh being torn apart.

Lian Mu listened to the noise and felt a growing sense of dread.

Elder Lu asked again, “Where is everyone? Why aren’t you answering?”

After a long pause, a weak voice finally came through the jade: “Don’t… don’t come in… head to the outer circle… they… they’re back…”

The spiritual light within the jade completely faded.