"Want to snatch the prey from the tiger's mouth? That depends on whether the blades in our hands agree." Sasha stepped forward, glaring at Big Forehead Freak and his gang.

  Having been ambushed by them once before and nearly losing his life, Soren was already burning with hatred. "Exactly! We've still got one more person than they do. If it comes to a fight, we might not necessarily lose to you scoundrels."

  Iris and the others gripped their weapons, faces stern, poised for battle. Each had expended considerable energy, but if they didn't band together now, they'd die even faster. Besides, aside from Big Forehead Freak at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, their group only had two at the fifth layer. Overall, their cultivation was lower than the team's—victory wasn't out of reach.

  "Well then, it seems a fight is unavoidable. Big Forehead, what's there to hesitate about? The Silver-winged Centipede is dead, and there might still be insect eggs in its lair. Let's kill these clueless fools first, then search the centipede cave." The brocade-clad burly man behind Big Forehead Freak cackled, brandishing a spiked club while patting the spirit beast pouch at his waist. Amidst white mist, a black giant ape nearly three meters tall emerged, excitedly thumping its thick chest with massive palms.

  "Exactly! These people have been in the mountains for over a month—their storage pouches must be stuffed with spiritual materials." The others chimed in.

  Big Forehead Freak laughed heartily, fixing his gaze on Kai. "In that case, let the killing begin! Blood Hand Daoist, it seems today we finally settle this."

  "This is outrageous!" Even Iris, a woman, could no longer contain her fury. She engaged the brocade-clad, spiked-club-wielding man and his black ape in combat, holding her own against two opponents.

  Skyler, Soren, and the others also found their adversaries.

  Sasha and Zen charged towards a pair of twin brothers with cyan birthmarks on their faces. But just as Sasha's sword swung towards one, Zen suddenly twisted his features into a vicious sneer. His spirit blade stabbed straight for Sasha's back.

  Sasha sensed the sharp aura closing in, but it was too close, too fast. There was no time to dodge. Hastily, he tried to cast an Earthen Armor Technique.

  The armor was far from formed when Zen's blade was already grazing Sasha's skin.

  "Fool! The ones with fewer numbers are you. Meet your end!" Zen's aura suddenly exploded outward—he was actually at the sixth layer of Qi Refining! All this time, he had concealed his true cultivation.

  "Brother Sasha!" Soren and Pax cried out in alarm.

  "Brother!" Morana's face drained of color; she was frozen in terror.

  But no one noticed that Leo had somehow vanished.

  Swoosh! A figure suddenly burst from the ground—Leo, who had disappeared moments ago.

  A cold smirk hung on Leo's face. Before Zen could even react, Leo's short sword swept through the air. Zen, having overextended his attack, had no time to dodge. He twisted his body slightly, barely avoiding a fatal strike.

  "My arm!" With a shriek, Zen's sword-wielding arm—still clutching the blade—flew into the air, trailing a spray of blood.

  Zen stumbled back several meters, frantically pulling out a bottle of healing pills and swallowing one. His face was twisted in disbelief and venomous hatred as he stared at Leo. "How did you see through me?"

  Big Forehead Freak and his crew had also halted their attacks, staring at Leo in stunned confusion. They had used the same tactic to ambush two other adventuring teams, yet Leo had seen right through it.

  "Back in Moonwatch Immortal City, I already sensed something off. A fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator like you, not particularly advanced, yet you possessed not only the Essence Energy Pill recipe but also information about the Silver-winged Centipede. You navigated these mountain paths as if you'd traveled them a hundred times. That's not something a mere fourth-layer cultivator should be capable of. But back then, it was just suspicion."

  "Later, when we were attacked by the Azure Bamboo Bees, I had my doubts, but there are too many ill-intentioned teams in the Moonwatch Mountain Range. I couldn't pin it on you. But here, when the same Big Forehead Freak team showed up, I couldn't ignore it any longer. I imagine if more of us had been stung by those bees back then, you would have made your move right there."

  "It's just that Big Forehead Freak saw only one of us injured and our strength not severely diminished. He didn't want a mutually destructive fight. So you changed the plan—let us exhaust ourselves battling the Silver-winged Centipede, then swoop in to reap the rewards and kill us for our loot. Am I wrong?"

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Leo's voice was icy. He normally wouldn't waste so many words, but Sasha, Iris, and the others were already drained. With Zen exposed as a traitor, morale was shattered. His first priority was to steady the remaining team members; otherwise, their spirits would scatter, and there would be no fight—only flight.

  "I should have killed that traitor the moment I saw him!" Soren swung his spirit blade in frustration.

  Sasha's expression was grave. "Brother Leo, I owe you my life."

  "You had me scared for a moment there—I thought this mountain expedition was all for nothing. Turns out Fellow Daoist Leo had everything under control."

  Iris chuckled softly. Although they had lost Zen, Leo's calm steadied them.

  "You've talked plenty. Now you've lost another man. Zen may be missing an arm—it hinders combat somewhat, but he's stopped the bleeding. It's not a decisive blow." The brocade-clad burly man twirled his spiked club, his tone sinister.

  "Is that so?"

  Leo sneered. A mortal warrior, wounded like that, would be crippled in combat. For a cultivator, the impact was less severe. Zen had been hiding his true cultivation—sixth layer. Even just casting spells from the sidelines, he could match either Morana or Skyler and hold the upper hand. The odds were still against them. But did he have no other cards to play?

  "Ahhh!" Zen, having just stemmed the bleeding with a spirit pill, suddenly felt a searing pain erupt in his chest. His entire face turned cyan-green.

  "Poison... the blade was poisoned! You despicable bastard!"

  Zen's face contorted hideously. His eyes, fixed on Leo, blazed with murderous fury. If looks could kill, Leo would have been slain a thousand times. After the initial rage, Zen frantically rummaged through his storage pouch, shoving every antidote pill he had into his mouth. It was useless. Leo had coated his blade with several potent toxins. Within moments, Zen's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing in agony.

  "He wanted us all dead. We're not allowed to fight back?" Skyler spun his iron rod, grinning. "Well done, Fellow Daoist Leo. I, Skyler, salute you."

  "Big Forehead, that young man is a highly skilled alchemist. He's loaded with Qi Gathering Pills. He's been trading them for spirit herbs and stones—he's the wealthiest one in the team. I estimate his spirit stones, herbs, and pills are worth at least two hundred spirit stones."

  Zen, consumed by spite, uttered words that would prove devastating for Leo. As expected, the brocade-clad burly man and the others now stared at Leo with undisguised, ravenous greed.

  Big Forehead Freak nodded, taking two steps forward. His tone was ominous. "Now our numbers are even. Not bad, young man. But you think I can't see you're just stalling for time? Seems you haven't yet witnessed my true capabilities."

  Leo's face darkened. He should have just finished Zen off with that one strike. He had kept him alive only to use his injury and their exchange to buy Sasha and the others a little time to recover their energy. A miscalculation that backfired spectacularly.

  Big Forehead Freak slapped the black gourd at his waist. A deafening buzz erupted as a swarm of green flying ants poured out—over a hundred of them. At such close range, the surging tide of tiny green ants felt like an overwhelming deluge.

  "Shadow Ants!" Iris and the others cried out in shock, their faces turning ashen. Even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator would need to tread carefully facing such a swarm. Insect cultivators almost always held the advantage against cultivators of the same rank.

  "Heh heh, you recognize them." Big Forehead Freak cackled, directing the Shadow Ants into several squads. Each squad of about ten ants was led by one noticeably larger ant.

  Big Forehead Freak seemed able to control only seven squads; the remaining dozens of ants flew chaotically like locusts.

  Leo hadn't expected to encounter a fellow Shadow Ant handler. But Big Forehead Freak's control over the ants was clearly superior to his own. Seven squads, approaching from multiple directions, flanking him. Leo cast a Fireball Technique; the lead ant of one squad blocked it. The ant screeched, wobbling in the air, injured—but it didn't die. Meanwhile, the other squads closed in from other angles.

  After a brief flash of shock, Leo sneered inwardly. The lethality of Shadow Ants was secondary; their true danger lay in their bites. A few stings could disrupt the flow of spiritual energy—a fatal disadvantage in combat. Shadow Ants might be a grave threat to others, but to him, they were merely a slightly larger nuisance.

  Leo drew his spirit sword while palming an antidote pill, ready to take it. But then something unexpected happened.

  Kai—the team leader, their main combatant—abandoned them and fled.

  Kai's desertion was not impulsive. He had clashed with Big Forehead Freak before and never gained the upper hand. He knew how formidable the man was. Now, with several of his spirit artifacts destroyed and his elixir field less than thirty percent full, he was no match. Leo might be cunning, but he was young—could he really outfight Big Forehead Freak? Even if he could barely hold his own, their chances of victory were less than half.

  More importantly, he had finally collected the last second-grade demon core required by the Savage Beast Sect. Once he returned to Moonwatch Immortal City, he could join the sect. He no longer needed to risk life and limb in these mountains.

  "Despicable!" Leo, Sasha, and the others cursed in unison. Already at a disadvantage, losing Kai—their main combatant—was the straw that broke the camel's back.

  "We were already severely weakened. Now we've lost two men. We can't win this. I'm pulling out!"

  Iris had initially been willing to fight. But with the situation deteriorating so rapidly, she weighed her options. The odds of victory were nearly zero. She made her decision swiftly. Parrying the brocade-clad burly man's strike, she slapped a Wood Escape Talisman onto herself, leaped towards a large tree, and vanished from sight. In the blink of an eye, she reappeared near another tree, then disappeared into the undergrowth.

  Moments later, Skyler, his expression shifting rapidly, cast Wind Riding Technique and bounded away into the distance.

  "Where do you think you're going?" An elderly man from the opposing side, dual swords in hand, gave chase with surprising speed.

  "Brother Leo, what do we do?" Soren and Sasha's faces were etched with anxiety. The situation had deteriorated beyond measure. The few who remained were those who trusted Leo. Those like Iris and Skyler, who were already calculating their odds, had long since fled.

  "We're down to just a few. What can we do? Each of us flee—may fate decide who lives and who dies."

  Leo's voice was cold. He turned and ran. He wasn't heartless; within his capabilities, he would have helped Sasha and the others.

  But after Kai and Iris fled, Big Forehead Freak and his men had all set their sights on him. All because of Zen's dying words: an alchemist, rich in spirit stones and pills. He could barely save himself now—he couldn't afford to worry about others.

  "Heh heh. Fellow Daoist Zoth and I will pursue this Leo brat. The rest of you: two guard the Silver-winged Centipede corpse, and continue hunting down the others!"

  Big Forehead Freak's mind raced. Zen had already succumbed to the poison, collapsed and unconscious—whether dead or alive was unknown. No one had time to care about him now. The Silver-winged Centipede was already a cooked duck that wouldn't fly away. But Leo, an alchemist, was likely worth as much as the centipede's body and its forging materials.

  If he pursued alone, firstly, given Leo's apparent cunning, he might have unforeseen tricks up his sleeve. Secondly, other team members might resent missing out on the spoils. By bringing Zoth —the brocade-clad burly man, second only to him in strength—they could split the haul between just the two of them, far better than dividing it seven or eight ways. The others might grumble, but they'd have to swallow their discontent.

  "Haha, excellent! Let's join forces and take down this brat—avenge Zen!" Zoth was more than satisfied with this arrangement. The two of them, one after the other, gave chase.

  Sasha, Soren, and the others exchanged helpless glances, then fled in different directions. At this point, it wasn't just about coming away empty-handed—they'd be lucky to escape with their lives.

  "You there, little lady! Don't run—stay and entertain us!" A slovenly, unshaven monk and a green-robed youth pursued the Sasha siblings. Soren and Pax each had their own tails as well. In an instant, what was once a team had fractured and scattered.