Duncan stood still in midair. His face showed fierce struggle.
Greed and caution warred within him. He knew that it was dangerous to go back. Who knew when this Envoy Ming would arrive? If he got delayed searching for this object, then it would be like inviting disaster himself.
However, danger and opportunities always coexisted. He knew that some treasure could be used to heavily shorten the cultivation journey. Some treasures were even miraculous that they aid in breakthroughs. He was currently holding back on a breakthrough. If the object could help in obtaining breakthrough…
Just when it looked like Duncan would turn back and search for the object, he took a deep breath and looked into the distance. He could feel numerous auras, one stronger than the other, clashing with each other in the distance.
It gave him a severe foreboding. His instincts were screaming at him to get out of this region. It had been just like this before the beast tide erupted in the grasslands. Now that he was a cultivator, the feeling was several times stronger. Something felt incredibly wrong with this incident.
The moment that thought appeared, Duncan's pupils shrank. When has Greenwood Forest become this popular among cultivators? Duncan was someone who had spent some time in this forest.
While the inner region of this forest was something cultivators frequented, that was only low-level cultivators. The forest didn't have anything that was attractive to people who are at the Violet Palace realm. Even the beasts here were only able to contend with Qi Gathering realm cultivators barely.
But, looking at the auras clashing in the distance, the cultivators who are fighting are definitely above the Violet Palace realm. How can this small forest contain something worth fighting for to those people? Something about this seemed very fishy to Duncan.
During incredibly rare circumstances, something very valuable might appear in such low-level places. When they appear, they would easily fall into the hands of the destined people. This phenomenon was something commonly known in the cultivation world. They called it fortunate encounters.
Looking at it that way, this might be one of those fortunate encounters.
However, there has never been such a high-level struggle for things appearing in these low-level regions. The way of heaven would never do something like that. Duncan's face hardened as he realized that something was indeed not right with this whole situation.
He had dashed into the Greenwood Forest because it was a low-level region and it wouldn't have dangerous creatures. When one enters seclusion, one must be certain about the area around the place they would seclude themselves in. Even in his haste, Duncan hadn't forgotten such basic things. He chose Greenwood Forest for that exact reason.
If this was not a fortunate encounter that somehow suddenly became out of control, then it must mean that it was something that was done deliberately. In that case, there must be some conspiracy behind it.
Suddenly, Duncan thought of the vague atmosphere in the sect. His mind immediately jumped to the Grotto Heaven that appeared inexplicably. The next moment it jumped to the beast tide. Duncan vaguely felt that some invisible hand was guiding things.
The moment that thought rose, Duncan's instincts stirred once more. His eyes widened. He couldn't believe his guess. He had no proof, but it was only a vague feeling. But, something within him told him that he had guessed right. Then, it would mean that this would be the next step in that big game.
Duncan felt as if someone had doused him with a bucket of cold water. He shivered uncontrollably. He didn't want his guess to be true. But, he wasn't confident enough to think it wasn't either.
Duncan's body stiffened. The next moment, the indecision in his heart vanished. A firm expression appeared in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, Duncan vanished from the spot without even turning back to look at the direction he had come from.
"No matter what, I don't want that object. I better get out of here soon," Duncan muttered as he raced away from the forest.
*****
"Vice-Sect Master, I really didn't think your plan would come to fruition. I can't believe all those experts haven't figured out that something fishy was happening," Feng Feixuan said a little disbelievingly as she looked at Liang Tianye.
"No, you are wrong," Liang Tianye said calmly.
"What do you mean?" Feng Feixuan asked curiously.
"They know something is fishy. But, even if they know something is fishy, they still fall into my trap because they can't resist the lure of the treasure I have provided," Liang Tianye said simply as if he was speaking about something trivial.
Feng Feixuan's eyes narrowed.
"Indeed, if I haven't known about the lethal trap hidden behind the incident, even I might have been tempted to join in the fun," Feng Feixuan sighed and spoke in a strange tone. "Who could resist something that could help them achieve a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm? Even I am not immune."
Liang Tianye shot her a mocking look.
"You speak as if you haven't already broken through to Nascent Soul realm?" Liang Tianye asked nonchalantly.
Hearing his words, Feng Feixuan's eyes shrank in shock. She looked at Liang Tianye with an unconcealed look of worry. She didn't think anyone apart from the Sect Master and Grand Elders would be able to tell that she had broken through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Most elders in the sect were at the Nascent Soul realm. Only the Grand Elders and the Sect Lord have stepped into the next realm. The concealment art practiced by the higher-ups of the Heavenly Demon Sect was top-notch.
Since most of the elders and promising disciples of the sect often hid their cultivation to lull their enemies, the concealment art required to accomplish this had always been one of the top-notch techniques in this entire world. Even the sects in the Central Continent will not be able to crack the technique.
Feng Feixuan knew that she hadn't made any mistakes when it comes to practicing the technique. That meant, there weren't any issues with the technique she practiced. Then the only reason Liang Tianye knew about her cultivation level would be because of the only weakness of the technique.
The concealment technique the Heavenly Demon Sect practiced had one major weakness. It was impossible to conceal the true cultivation level from anyone who was one major realm above the person who used the concealment technique.
So, as a Nascent Soul level cultivator, it was only possible for Spirit Severance level cultivators to ascertain her cultivation level. For a moment, Feng Feixuan thought that Liang Tianye had already entered the Spirit Severance level. That was why she was shocked.
However, she immediately regained composure and thought of another possibility. Considering the relationship between the Sect Master and Liang Tianye, it was most likely that he had spilled the beans to Liang Tianye.
Gritting her teeth, Feng Feixuan only smiled a little strainedly. She knew that there was no use covering it up. So, she didn't bother much about it. The First Grand Elder had been very worried about the progress of her mission. She couldn't get distracted right now.
"Looks like your relationship with the Sect Master is still strong," Feng Feixuan smiled coyly and looked at Liang Tianye. "I thought he was angry with you regarding the incident at the Grotto Heaven."
"Hmph, the Sect Master is indeed disappointed with my actions," Liang Tianye snorted throwing a piercing look at Feng Feixuan. "However, he only wants results. Since a mistake was made during the closure of the Grotto Heaven, I will compensate for it in other ways."
"So, this ham-fisted attempt at inciting violence between the sects was your way of making things up?" Feng Feixuan asked curiously.
A strange emotion passed through Feng Feixuan's eyes. She didn't think the Sect Master would be glad with such an obvious ploy. This reeked of desperation. This wasn't Liang Tianye's composed style. Maybe, it wasn't just displeasure as Liang Tianye stated. It was most likely that the Sect Master was furious and Liang Tianye was scrambling to make things right.
In that case… maybe she can use this to her advantage…
"Ha, you think that is all there is to my scheme?" Liang Tianye asked scornfully causing Feng Feixuan to become a little confused.
"If you are talking about the poisoning of the treasure so that whoever becomes a Nascent Soul cultivator will become your puppet, I already knew it. Didn't I say that I already know of the trap," Feng Feixuan snorted in return.
"If that is the only trap I have sprung," Liang Tianye smiled meaningfully.
Feng Feixuan's heart started beating rapidly the moment she saw Liang Tianye's smile. That smile had a lot of deviousness in it. It made her loins itch. She wanted to go another round with Liang Tianye. But, she still kept her sanity and focused on her task.
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
"Like I said, the time for you to choose your stance is nearing. You just need to follow my instructions. Do not think too much," Liang Tianye smiled mysteriously.
"Haven't I already chosen?" Feng Feixuan said a little dissatisfiedly.
"Have you?" Liang Tianye asked meaningfully causing Feng Feixuan's heart to stop beating for a moment.
