Chapter 56: The Aftermath of Greed

Killing Deng Wenqing didn’t signify the end of their troubles; in fact, even greater complications might very well be on the horizon.

Surely Deng Taiyan wouldn’t let this slight pass unpunished? And the Deng family certainly wouldn’t give up so easily, would they?

“Senior Brother, let’s go. Help me retrieve the magic artifacts we set up around us. Our mission is complete,” Su Yun said, rising to her feet as she addressed Fan Yang.

Fan Yang lowered his telescope, a look of sudden understanding dawning on his face as he spoke.

“I truly don’t understand where the Deng family gets their audacity. To covet our Spirit Sword Mountain, when their current standing was essentially granted by us. It’s laughable for an affiliated force to try and usurp their hosts.”

Su Yun let out a soft chuckle.

“Such is human nature. What can be done? If greed is left unchecked, it becomes the very force that propels one towards destruction.”

With those words, the two of them departed on their flying swords, swiftly collecting all the psionic firearms they had deployed.

****

Meanwhile, Lin Shuang and Lin Xue also received messages from Su Yun.

“Husband, thank you,” Lin Xue expressed her gratitude.

Without Su Yun’s assistance, dealing with Deng Wenqing would have been incredibly difficult for the two of them alone.

However, even without Su Yun, Lin Xue and her sister would have been safe. They had been secretly protected by someone all along, a fact unknown to others.

Acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, the group began to rendezvous with the others.

Zhou Bo and his companions had been searching for Su Yun and Fan Yang for quite some time before finally locating them.

“Hey, Junior Sister, and Senior Brother, where did you two go? Didn’t you tell us to investigate the situation? Why weren’t you waiting for us? We had such a hard time finding you!” the four members of Zhou Bo’s group complained.

Fan Yang immediately raised his hand and smacked Zhou Bo on the head.

“Zhou the Second, are you dense? With so many demonic beasts rampaging, how could we dare to stay put? In that situation, if I hadn’t taken Junior Sister to a safe hiding spot, we would have likely become targets for the beasts as well!” Fan Yang chastised.

Zhou Bo rolled his eyes, rubbing his head.

“You hit me again! Fan the Eldest, you only joined a few years before me. Can’t you show me some respect? You’re hitting me in front of Junior Sister; I have my pride, you know!” Zhou Bo grumbled.

The others burst into laughter, a clear indication of the strong camaraderie among the elder disciples of Artifact Forging Peak.

As for Lin Shuang and Lin Xue, they went off to find Zhou Xueqi and the others. Currently, numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators were soaring through the sky, searching for and rescuing other disciples, while the flying beasts had long since fled far away, daring not to approach the area.

“I declare the Beast Hunt Trial temporarily suspended. All disciples are to evacuate Lingyuan Mountain,” Jiang Shengming announced, releasing his spiritual power to convey this decision to all disciples after a moment of contemplation.

The current situation was entirely unsuitable for continuing the trial. At the very least, they needed to wait until the beast tide on Lingyuan Mountain had completely subsided.

“Roar…” Just then, terrifying roars of demonic beasts echoed from several directions within Lingyuan Mountain. As soon as these sounds erupted, the first and second-tier demonic beasts retreated as if obeying a demon king’s command.

“Jiang Shengming, this beast tide has nothing to do with my demon race. Your disciples were simply too greedy, releasing an alluring scent that incited the demonic beasts within Lingyuan Mountain. Go find the true culprit yourselves,” a black tiger, previously slumbering in a valley deep within Lingyuan Mountain, spoke in human tongue.

This black tiger, whose body seemed to be engulfed in flames and covered in golden patterns, was the Demon King of Lingyuan Mountain, the Netherworld Evil Tiger, a peak third-tier demonic beast. Shackles were clearly visible on its body, indicating it was sealed within this valley.

Jiang Shengming naturally understood that the demonic beasts of Lingyuan Mountain were not to blame.

Soon, the disciples who had participated in the trial emerged from Lingyuan Mountain one after another. Upon exiting, their immediate priority was to quickly check the numbers of their respective teams.

“Damn it, who was it? Who the hell lit the Demon Lure Incense in Lingyuan Mountain? Are they suicidal? I almost didn’t make it out alive!” Some of the older disciples with short tempers immediately began cursing.

Many looked disheveled and covered in dust, especially the Foundation Establishment disciples. They couldn’t ask for help without losing face, so they had mostly hidden and evaded, all while undertaking the task of rescuing their junior brothers and sisters. As a result, they bore the brunt of the beast’s attacks.

“Exactly! Look at me; I was almost burned to death by a second-tier demonic beast, a Blazing Fire Beast!” an exasperated female disciple with singed hair exclaimed.

These were the fortunate ones. Soon after, a leading disciple from a Cold Spirit Peak team discovered that one of their members was missing.

“Hey, where’s Junior Sister He? Has anyone seen Junior Sister He Jun from my Cold Spirit Peak?”

“My junior brother from Purple Haze Peak is also missing.”

These leading disciples grew anxious. They were assigned to lead teams precisely to protect their junior brothers and sisters. Any casualties would inevitably lead to severe punishment for them.

Even though they had tried their best to draw away more demonic beasts with their auras in that chaotic situation, the danger had not been entirely averted. Whether they escaped or not depended on their own abilities.

This Beast Hunt Trial, it seemed, would incur significant casualties.

Looking at the Deng family’s team, only three individuals had managed to regroup, and they too appeared utterly disheveled.

“Where are Wenqing, Wenya, and Wenzheng?” Deng Tingxin from the Deng family asked, his voice laced with urgency.

“We haven’t seen them. This… no way, Uncle Tingxin, they couldn’t have met with an accident, could they?” The faces of the other two Deng family disciples paled.

Other deaths were regrettable, but if Deng Wenqing had perished, not only would they fail to report back to Deng Taiyan, but they would also face severe repercussions upon returning to the Deng family.

“Damn it, that’s impossible. I specifically checked earlier. With Wenqing’s abilities, he should have been able to escape, right?” Deng Tingxin’s expression turned grim.

Their eyes immediately darted to Lin Shuang and Lin Xue, as the two women had clearly led the demonic beasts towards their group. This made them suspect that Lin Shuang and Lin Xue had done it on purpose.

However, as the instigators of the incident, they dared not speak recklessly at this moment.

With the last surviving disciple from Lingyuan Mountain safely escorted out by Jiang Shengming and his team, all disciples had now been evacuated.

Once everyone was out, Jiang Shengming began to count the numbers.

Deng Taiyan immediately surveyed the scene. He saw that Lin Xue and Lin Shuang were alive and well, but three members of their Deng family team were missing, including Deng Wenqing.

“What? What happened? Where are Wenqing and the other two?” Deng Taiyan immediately approached Deng Tingxin.

Deng Tingxin trembled as Deng Taiyan’s imposing presence bore down on him.

“Third Grandfather, I… I… Wenqing and the others are gone,” Deng Tingxin stammered, his face filled with fear.

Deng Taiyan’s pupils contracted upon hearing this. There were definitely no living souls left in Lingyuan Mountain. If they weren’t here, they must have been devoured by demonic beasts.

“What exactly happened?” Deng Taiyan pressed for answers.

The three recounted everything they could to Deng Taiyan.

Jiang Shengming’s gaze rested on Deng Taiyan’s back, his eyes sharp and piercing.

“Everyone, quickly tally how many disciples have yet to emerge,” Jiang Shengming ordered.

The elders of each peak immediately summoned their respective disciples and began a headcount.

Ultimately, it was confirmed that every faction had suffered casualties: Heavenly Sword Peak lost 2 Qi Refining disciples, Thunderbolt Peak lost 3, Blazing Flame Peak lost 5, Cold Spirit Peak lost 2, Azure Cloud Peak lost 1, Purple Haze Peak lost 3, and Azure Wave Peak lost 2. In total, 18 individuals had perished in Lingyuan Mountain.

This was no minor matter.

Su Yun and the others listened to the casualty reports from each peak, their faces etched with chilling intent.

‘We should have eliminated this scourge within the sect earlier. Their selfishness has harmed so many fellow disciples. This Deng family truly deserves to die,’ Su Yun thought to herself.

Jiang Shengming immediately instructed the disciples of each peak to bring everyone back to the sect. They needed to investigate who had used the Demon Lure Incense this time, as accountability was certainly required.

Upon their return, Su Yun and Fan Yang were immediately taken back by Lei Yan, who only kept the two of them.

“You two handled it very cleanly. Don’t worry, they won’t find anything. I just didn’t expect the Deng family to be so brazen. They’ve harmed so many disciples at once,” Lei Yan said, frowning.

Su Yun found herself unable to comprehend.

“Master, since the sect knows the Deng family is behind this, why do they keep ignoring it? This time, over a dozen fellow disciples were lost. If the Deng family isn’t punished, I fear they will act again,” Su Yun stated.

She believed the root of the problem lay with the Deng family, and the death of Deng Wenqing didn’t signify the end of the matter.

“Heh, don’t worry. The Deng family will soon learn what happens when one overextends their reach,” Lei Yan sneered.

Meanwhile, at Blazing Flame Peak, Deng Taiyan appeared significantly older. Kneeling before him were three individuals: Deng Tingxin and his two companions.

“Third Grandfather, this definitely has something to do with Heavenly Sword Peak. At the time, Lin Shuang and Lin Xue seemed to know our exact location, leading the demonic beasts straight towards us. We had no choice but to split up and run, otherwise, we might all have been devoured by the beasts,” Deng Tingxin explained helplessly.

However, Deng Taiyan was no longer concerned with that issue. His mind was now consumed by how they would handle the upcoming investigation.