That night, the trio eagerly discussed what kind of expert could have left behind such a domineering formation, and more importantly what kind of treasure or inheritance he had left behind.
“Do you think that there are treasures?” Wang Xiaoyun asked with her one eye gleaming and Xue Wei pondered. “I am sure that there were treasures at the beginning, but I don’t know if there are any left. This formation is very old, and it has been trespassed by many experts. It is likely that the treasures have already been taken” Hei Gou said while Xue Wei pondered.
“That is true, but something has to be left in there,” Xue Wei said after thinking for a bit. “Formations cannot sustain themselves, they need some sort of energy to sustain them. The age-restricting formation is still active, so something has to be left behind by the expert. We just have to search for it.”
Although Hei Gou doubted there was anything left, Xue Wei’s argument about the formation requiring a source of power to sustain itself eventually convinced him.
After that, Hei Gou started feeling the same kind of excitement as the other two. Soon after, they seemed to even have forgotten their differences, causing Xue Wei to smile slightly as he saw the two animatedly discussing the possibility of becoming rich from this trip.
"It seems that they are more alike than I thought," Xue Wei muttered to himself when the discussion reached money and riches.
"They are both very eager to get rich, but while Gou is bad at saving money, Xiaoyun is bad at using them."
Reaching this conclusion, Xue Wei could not help but smile gently as he saw how the two that never spoke more than ten words to each other ended up discussing what to spend their money on after the mission.
The following morning, the sun broke through the sky and cast its rays down through the dense forest, waking up the trio that had fallen asleep at some point in the middle of their discussion.
They ate the rabbits that Xue Wei had smoked the previous night before setting out to explore the formation space again.
The day before, an awkward atmosphere had covered them, but that was now fully dissolved after last night’s long discussion. Neither of them were making jabs at one another or ignoring the other.
"We had to follow the barrier because of the Seven Star Nightflower last time, but now that we are aiming for the stuff left behind by the supreme expert, I will assume that it is better for us to enter the middle of the formation," Xue Wei said, sharing his thoughts.
"I don't know if it is like this, but I somewhat expect that the very middle of this formation is where we will find the stuff he left behind," Xue Wei continued.
"Since the formation is this stable, maybe it is cast around this old monster’s old abode or whatever it is that has been left behind."
Wang Xiaoyun nodded her head while Hei Gou just shrugged his shoulders. Neither of them had any better guess at where the stash could be located, and they might as well start searching in accordance with Xue Wei's assumptions instead of just wandering around aimlessly.
When they made it deeper into the forest inside the formation, Xue Wei started to frown. He had spread out his spiritual energy and could feel that despite the Fierce Beasts fleeing as was custom, some unknown variables had started appearing within his reach.
"Let us avoid the others," he said after careful consideration. If they were here, then they could not be weak, and they were likely also looking for some sort of treasure. It would break out in a fight if they encountered each other, and although Xue Wei was not afraid of a fight, he did not wish to fight too many at once.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Although he was very careful and constantly picked a direction with no people, he was eventually caught in their net.
"We will most likely encounter at least one group if we wish to leave here." Xue Wei sighed. "I don't know if they are humans or Primordial Beasts," he continued while looking at Wang Xiaoyun with worry for a second, "but right now, we cannot engage in battle unless absolutely necessary. If we do, we will draw the others towards us as well. Should that happen, we will be in dire straits."
"They are scattered around in groups of five, each group outnumbering us by two. However, their experts aren’t that strong despite their numerical advantage. The strongest they have seems to be a ninth layer Sky Warrior in each group, so overwhelming them should be possible if it comes to this."
Wang Xiaoyun bit her lip slightly and looked at Xue Wei with widened eyes. Although one of them was dim and clearly blind, she still channeled a lot of emotion through it.
"Okay, if they are here for the treasure, then we will kill them," Xue Wei decided after careful consideration. "It doesn’t matter if they’re human or beast. I am not willing to share the treasure with anyone else than the two of you."
Wang Xiaoyun paled slightly. She could imagine it, but seeing that Xue Wei had no qualms killing humans for herself was something else. However, after considering what she had seen so far of his behavior ever since their reunion, she realized that it was actually not too shocking.
"I cannot kill humans," Wang Xiaoyun said with a slightly trembling voice. Xue Wei gave her a long glance before sighing. "Then you stay back. I will deal with them together with Gou. Humans and beasts are the same to us anyway."
Wang Xiaoyun nodded her head. She was not eager to see humans being killed in front of her, but she would not do anything to stop Xue Wei either. She understood that if they did not kill their enemies, then they could come back to bite them in the rear later on.
They continued onward, knowing full well that they would encounter a group of either Primordial Beasts in human shape, or humans, very soon.
"Since we are going to kill them, we might as well lay down an ambush," Hei Gou muttered when they were just about to meet them. Xue Wei nodded his head. It was indeed best to kill them once and for all in an ambush to avoid leaving behind loose ends.
Xue Wei, Hei Gou, and Wang Xiaoyun hid behind a large fallen log and observed the trail they had been walking on previously.
A few minutes later, five experts walked out from the same trail, in the opposite direction of where the trio had been walking.
Xue Wei strained his ears to hear what was being said by this group; all information could be good information.
"The elders have sent us here on a life-and-death trial, but honestly is it not too easy? But are we really in danger in this godforsaken place? Elder Wan said that there would be an unknown variable, someone who would cause big problems for us, but I don't see anyone?"
Xue Wei's eyes narrowed when he heard these words. When he heard the name ‘Elder Wan’, his thoughts instantly went to Wan Qiang, but the thought was instantly dismissed again.
Although Wan Qiang was indeed an Elder, he should not be involved with these experts.
"Primordial Beasts," Wang Xiaoyun muttered just loud enough for Hei Gou and Xue Wei to hear before she reached into her sleeve and pulled out her fan.
She fought with a green fan decorated with yellow and golden flowers. It seemed refined and beautiful, and it made her seem like a dancer when she fought, gracefully moving like an artist, but the graceful movements she performed should not be underestimated as they were as deadly as the claws of a pouncing tiger.
The group came closer and closer towards them. Xue Wei wanted to use Bai Tianyi to fight, but the sword spirit was still in deep slumber. Using the sword might interrupt it, and he could vaguely sense some serious changes in his soul, so he dared not do this.
Inner Might!
A sword created from inner might appeared in Xue Wei’s hand, gripped lightly. Although he preferred using Bai Tianyi to fight, he was not unfamiliar with the Inner Might sword, and it was not that much inferior to the current Bai Tianyi either.
Inner Might was a true profound martial art. It was magnificent when used properly, and he had used it for so long that his performance was near perfect.
Hei Gou also took out his claws from God knows where and equipped them on his hands.
The trio remained behind cover while in position, their entire bodies tense and ready to spring to action.
Finally, the Primordial Beasts reached the log, and Xue Wei gestured for the attack.
Forbidden Rush!
Windwolf Sword Slash!
Xue Wei rushed forward with the Forbidden Rush movement technique, making his speed reach heights that Wang Xiaoyun and Hei Gou could not follow.
As a result, he was the first to reach the group of Primordial Beasts. He had not hesitated to execute a Windwolf Sword Slash that he had only recently perfected.
The Windwolf Sword Slash landed on an unknowing third layer Sky Warrior. He did not even have the time to react before his life ended, staring with confusion at the stranger in front of him as he slumped to the ground.
Kick of Forgotten Kings!
Making a flip, Xue Wei unleashed his second attack, a Kick of Forgotten Kings, which was another profound martial art that he had spent a very long time perfecting.
The kick landed on the waist of a fifth layer Sky Warrior. It was so powerful that it instantly shattered the man’s lower spine and sent him flying like a kite without a string.
Blood sprayed from his mouth after he crashed into a tree behind him. While he did not die straight away, the broken waist made him look like a ragdoll post-impact as he laid unconscious on the forest floor.
At this point, Wang Xiaoyun and Hei Gou had reached Xue Wei. Both of them were as ferocious as Xue Wei. Wang Xiaoyun unleashed gales of Qi with her fan, ready to fight head-on with the Primordial Beasts.
The beasts panicked at the sudden ambush, but they were quick to realize the severity of the situation. Two of their members had already died or been incapacitated; the remaining three quickly shifted back into their original shapes to fight back against the trio of ambushers.
None of them asked any questions. Their eyes were blood red, and their killing intent was climbing, but the only result this rising killing intent had was provoke Xue Wei's own killing intent, which started to ooze out of his body.
The collective killing intent of the three Primordial Beasts was like a leaf compared to a tree when compared to Xue Wei's.
When they felt this killing intent, their bodies started to tremble, and their minds became clouded with fear. It was an instinctive fear that they could not control, a fear that they had seen before in the eyes of humans who witnessed them taking on their original shape. It was the fear of someone that stood way above them.
"Who... Who are you?!" one of them finally exclaimed. His voice was filled with fear and unwillingness, but Xue Wei just looked at him with disdain.
"Do I really need to tell a dead man my name?" he asked with a haughty smile on his face. He felt how the killing intent was taking over, how he was becoming what he feared. But right now he did not care.
Xue Wei seemed to vanish, turning into a flash. He utilized the wind to move like a shadow as per the mysteries of his movement technique, swiftly reappearing in front of the one who had spoken.
Azure Light's Finger!
Shattering Mountain Palm!
Two attacks were shot out simultaneously, one with each hand. The expert who previously asked the question had taken the shape of a large three-headed serpent, but it did not change the outcome. The Azure Light's Finger and the Shattering Mountain Palm, blasted away the three-headed snake, and caused him to vomit blood. Bits of its intestines were vomited out together with the blood.
"Flee!" The three-headed snake screamed, but it was given no time to regain its bearing. Xue Wei had rushed towards him once more with his Forbidden Rush movement technique, and this time his eyes glistened with a cold and ruthless light.
Arcane Fist!
Thousands of palm imprints appeared in the air, and all of them descended onto the three-headed snake.
Its entire body was ripped to shreds, dicing what was once a whole reptilian form into bits of meat that flew every which way. It was a miserable, brutal way to die.