Chapter 55: The Price of Schemes

Su Yun swiftly set up her firearms around them, preparing to shatter all of Deng Wenqing’s defenses in a single, decisive strike. She could not afford to give him another chance.

To ensure no traces were left behind, Su Yun opted for spirit energy firearms. These weapons fired energy blasts instead of bullets, boasting immense power capable of bypassing ordinary tree cover. Though each could only unleash a single shot at a time, it would be more than enough.

Fan Yang had been following Su Yun’s instructions without question. Lei Yan had already explained the true reason behind their mission to eliminate Deng Wenqing. Such a clandestine operation demanded complete transparency; Fan Yang would never have dared to act recklessly with Su Yun otherwise.

Once the ambush was meticulously prepared, Su Yun ascended to a vantage point with her spirit energy sniper rifle. Meanwhile, she tasked Fan Yang with acting as an observer, relaying Deng Wenqing’s distance from her.

Standing nearby, Fan Yang kept his gaze fixed on the tracking compass in his hand, occasionally peering into the distance through his binoculars.

“Little Junior Sister, Deng Wenqing is still two thousand meters away from us,” Fan Yang reported.

Su Yun intently focused on her scope. Their position was atop a rather tall tree, the highest point they could find without being too far away.

Meanwhile, Lin Shuang and Lin Xue transformed into streaks of azure light, flashing past Deng Wenqing and his group at a distance of about a dozen meters. Given their close proximity, they were undoubtedly spotted by the Foundation Establishment cultivators from Blazing Flame Peak.

“It’s Lin Shuang and Lin Xue! Damn it, I have a terrible feeling they’re deliberately herding the beast horde towards us!” The Foundation Establishment cultivator’s face twisted in anger.

They had summoned the beast horde to kill Lin Shuang and Lin Xue, yet now the tables had turned, and the problem was squarely on their own shoulders.

“Forget about that for now! We’ve entered the beast horde’s scent range. We can’t fight them like this. We have to split up and run, then call for help to buy time until our elders arrive for rescue!” The other cultivators dared not continue resisting.

Numerous demonic birds circled overhead, locking onto every cultivator in the area. They dared not expose themselves or stop, for even if they called for aid now, they would be crushed by the demonic beasts before their elders could arrive if they didn’t escape the pursuit first.

Without another word, the others, disregarding what anyone else thought, immediately activated their trump cards to accelerate, striving to separate from their companions.

By splitting up, the demonic beasts’ attention would also be divided, significantly reducing the number of beasts pursuing each of them.

“Then let’s each shake off the demonic beasts first. Wenqing, we’ll help you draw away some of them.” The Blazing Flame Peak leader announced before unleashing his power, transforming into a streak of light, and fleeing in another direction.

The remaining individuals, with the exception of Deng Wenqing, also scattered. The demonic beasts behind them immediately split into six different pursuit paths.

These Deng family disciples truly treated Deng Wenqing well, diverting a large number of demonic beasts for him. However, at least a dozen demonic beasts, including two Foundation Establishment-level ones, were still hot on his heels.

As for Lin Shuang and Lin Xue, with the demonic beasts’ target shifted, they were now safe.

They were currently stealthily lurking around Deng Wenqing, secretly reporting his precise location to Su Yun.

They couldn’t let Deng Wenqing escape.

Deng Wenqing, though extremely unwilling, found his plan completely disrupted. Or rather, he had a persistent feeling that his scheme had been somehow discovered.

‘Damn it, what exactly is going on? Why has my plan been ruined again? Could it be that my plan was leaked? Impossible, only my Deng family members knew about it!’ Deng Wenqing suddenly grew uneasy.

He pondered for a moment, glancing at the fierce, bloodthirsty demonic beasts behind him. The sight sent a shiver down his spine.

‘Forget it, forget it. If this plan fails, there’s always next time. Lin Shuang, Lin Xue, do you two have some powerful protector, or what?’ Deng Wenqing was utterly exasperated.

With that, he prepared to send out a distress signal, summoning higher-ups for rescue.

However, just as he retrieved his token, something utterly unexpected occurred. A streak of light shot from the distance, effortlessly striking the token in his hand, shattering it instantly.

Being a consumable rescue treasure, it naturally wasn’t designed for durability.

Upon witnessing this, Deng Wenqing’s pupils constricted sharply.

The shot had come from a spirit energy rifle positioned to Deng Wenqing’s right. These spirit energy firearms didn’t require manual aiming; as long as they were connected to Su Yun’s divine sense, and Su Yun could see Deng Wenqing, then the firearms could also ‘see’ him.

‘My distress token? Who? Who is trying to harm me?’ Deng Wenqing glanced at the direction the attack had come from, but just like last time, he couldn’t see any enemy.

Deng Wenqing was once again gripped by fear. Now, he had pursuers behind him and an unseen enemy lurking in the shadows, someone intent on killing him. His phobia had resurfaced.

However, this was a classic case of reaping what one sowed.

“I want to see how many more life-saving tricks you have up your sleeve,” Su Yun, from a distance, activated another attack.

One energy ray after another struck Deng Wenqing’s body. Sure enough, his protective magic artifact was activated again.

It activated repeatedly, in an instant, the amulet around Deng Wenqing’s neck failed.

‘It’s that unknown assassin again? No, don’t kill me, I don’t want to die!’ Seeing his amulet shatter, Deng Wenqing immediately conjured a defensive magic artifact—a shield-like item that split into four, guarding him from all sides.

Su Yun had initially intended to finish him off with her spirit energy sniper rifle, but she seemed to notice something. Instead, she merely fired a shot at Deng Wenqing’s leg. The power of this shot was far beyond what a Foundation Establishment-level artifact could withstand.

Deng Wenqing’s defensive shields were instantly penetrated, and his right leg was pierced through by the spirit energy bullet.

Deng Wenqing plummeted from the tree, crashing to the ground.

‘My leg!’ After landing, Deng Wenqing immediately glanced at his pierced right leg. He fearfully scanned his surroundings, but alas, there were no enemies within the range of his divine sense.

Just as Deng Wenqing attempted to get up and continue fleeing, low growls and spine-chilling footsteps echoed from behind him. Deng Wenqing suddenly realized why his assailant had targeted his leg instead of killing him outright. He painfully turned to look behind him, and his face turned ashen. Two massive Foundation Establishment demonic beasts, leading a pack of first-tier demonic beasts, stared at him with bloodthirsty eyes.

“Help me! Great-grandpa, save me! Someone, save me!” Deng Wenqing shrieked repeatedly.

He never imagined he would die by the very schemes he had orchestrated.

Deng Wenqing’s intentions were good, but the problem was that a pair of eyes had been watching him the entire time, relaying all his schemes to Lin Shuang and Lin Xue.

It was as if he believed himself to be the orchestrator, when in reality, he was merely a pawn in a larger game—a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.

Amidst Deng Wenqing’s terrified screams, the demonic beasts swarmed him. Driven to a frenzy by the allure of the Demonic Attracting Incense, these beasts knew nothing but slaughter.

Lin Shuang and Lin Xue were right beside Deng Wenqing, watching him torn apart and devoured by the demonic beasts. To be honest, a hint of unbearable expression crossed their faces.

It wasn’t that they believed Deng Wenqing didn’t deserve to die, but rather that his demise seemed excessively gruesome.

On the other side, Su Yun, having confirmed Deng Wenqing’s demise in the maw of the beasts, slowly stood up.

“You reap what you sow. May you be buried by your own schemes,” Su Yun murmured.

Fan Yang was also observing the situation through his binoculars. Deng Wenqing was utterly annihilated, his bones scattered. The demonic beasts, unable to find any human targets, dispersed on their own.

However, Deng Wenqing was not the only one to perish by the demonic beasts’ fangs that day. Two other members of the Deng family also failed to receive rescue in time.

Due to the beast tide, the inner region was in utter chaos, with distress signals flaring everywhere. Jiang Shengming and the others had already arrived in the areas where these signals originated, rescuing the disciples.

These teams of disciples were completely scattered, utterly routed.

Yet, they couldn’t be blamed. The sheer number of demonic beasts was overwhelming; no single team could possibly withstand them.

“Vile creatures, begone!” Jiang Shengming and the others bellowed, their voices authoritative and deep, at the demonic beasts pursuing the Spirit Sword Mountain disciples.

As soon as the sound resonated, the maddened demonic beasts’ eyes cleared considerably. Upon regaining their senses and detecting the aura of Golden Core cultivators overhead, they scattered and fled in a panic.

“What in the world is going on? How did such a massive beast tide suddenly erupt?” Ning Chong and the others were bewildered.

This was likely the first large-scale beast tide to occur during Spirit Sword Mountain’s Beast Hunt Trial in its entire history.

“Someone must have secretly used Demonic Attracting Incense or something similar to attract the demonic beasts. It looks like at least a second-tier Demonic Attracting Incense was used. Who has such audacity, daring to risk their lives? And where did they even get such a thing?” The Third Elder questioned, his face full of doubt.

If used skillfully, Demonic Attracting Incense could indeed help a team quickly eliminate demonic beasts, saving them from having to chase them all over. However, if misused, it led to the current situation. The crucial point was that someone actually dared to use a second-tier Demonic Attracting Incense.

In their view, this was simply courting death, even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was an act of suicide.