371: Chapter 371 Uninvited Guests: A Group of Hypocritical Treasure Hunters

The faint light of early morning barely pierced through the thick haze at the core of the Forbidden Zone of Life.

The campfire was reduced to just a few glowing red embers.

Xu Chen did not wake the sleeping Tuoba You; his deep gaze pierced through the mist, coldly locking onto the dilapidated stone forest on the outskirts of the ruins.

Under the gaze of his Heavenly Dao Divine Pupils, five Saint-level auras, wrapped in Advanced concealment Talismans, were cautiously approaching the edge of the deep pit.

Ji Qingyun also sensed something amiss; her cold, clear brows furrowed slightly, and her jade-like hand unconsciously gripped her skirt.

Xu Chen gave her a reassuring look, signaling her to wait and see what happened.

Before long, those five figures withdrew their concealment Formation and swaggered out from behind the stone forest.

All five of them were dressed in moon-white robes with cloud patterns and wore jade crowns, looking as if they possessed an ethereal, immortal demeanor.

If not for their appearance in this Forbidden Zone of Life, where danger lurked at every step, others would surely have mistaken them for learned scholars traveling from some prestigious, righteous sect.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar leading them was named Mo Wuhen.

In his hand, he held an ancient Dragon-seeking compass, originally following the guidance of the Formation's fluctuations to find the entrance to the ancient palace.

When he raised his head and his gaze crossed the edge of the deep pit, he was struck as if by lightning, his feet nailed firmly to the spot.

Before him lay a headless corpse, vast as a black mountain.

It was a quasi-emperor level Ancient Corpse-Beast! Yet, at this moment, it lay slumped on the scorched earth like a pile of mud, with shattered bone fragments scattered everywhere.

Mo Wuhen and his four companions all gasped in unison.

The scene of destruction left by such pure violence made them, these Saint-level powerhouses who prided themselves on being elite treasure hunters, feel their scalps tingle.

Immediately after, Mo Wuhen's gaze shifted to Tuoba You beside the campfire.

The little girl happened to be sitting up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

She was wrapped in rough animal hides, her fair little face still stained with grease from last night's roasted meat, and her eyes, clear as a young deer's, were filled with innocence and bewilderment.

Most crucially, her slender fingers were still stained with the black, filthy blood unique to the Ancient Corpse-Beast.

Mo Wuhen was an old fox who had spent years wandering through various dangerous imperial tombs; his mind was incredibly sharp.

He saw through the aura on the girl in animal hides at a glance—it was the same source as the Forbidden Zone of Life.

Combined with the quasi-emperor corpse that had been brutally destroyed, a wild guess formed in his mind.

This girl was definitely a humanoid weapon born from the Forbidden Zone of Life! That quasi-emperor monster had been beaten to death by her bare hands!

What excited him even more was that the girl's eyes were clear as crystal; she was clearly just a child whose mind had not yet fully developed.

The ancient palace ruins ahead contained an Emperor's Legacy, but they were also filled with world-shaking killing Formations that would instantly reduce even a Saint King to ash upon entry.

Although their team was proficient in deciphering Formation runes, they lacked a meat shield capable of withstanding the first wave of killing intent and treading through the mines ahead.

If they could use some means to coax a child, tricking this simple-minded girl with super strength into scouting the path...

Wouldn't the extreme dao imperial weapon and immortality medicine in that ancient palace be within their grasp?

Greed instantly overcame fear.

As for the man and woman sitting beside the girl, Mo Wuhen ignored them completely.

He simply assumed Xu Chen and Ji Qingyun were two young Loose Cultivators who had good luck and had run in to pick up scraps, not worth worrying about.

Mo Wuhen quickly put away his compass, adjusted his facial expression, and put on the face of a compassionate and kind elder.

He led his four subordinates and, with an elegant gait, walked to a spot ten steps away from the campfire.

"Little sister, how could you be all alone in this dangerous place?" Mo Wuhen feigned a look of heartbreak, his tone dripping with gentleness.

Tuoba You was taken aback for a moment, turning her head to look at this stranger with a face full of smiles.

Seeing that she didn't get angry immediately, Mo Wuhen was overjoyed and, striking while the iron was hot, pulled a few things out of his Storage Ring.

A fairy dress shimmering with five-colored light, a few round and plump high-grade spirit fruits exuding a sweet fragrance, and a top-quality moonstone that could emit a soft glow.

"Little sister, look at this animal hide you are wearing; it is so rough." Mo Wuhen pushed the gorgeous items forward, his eyes full of temptation. "At such a cute age, you should be wearing this fairy dress and eating the sweetest spirit fruits. Since we have met, it is fate. How about Uncle takes you away from this miserable place? In the palace ahead, there are even more fun, glowing stones, and Uncle will give them all to you as toys."

It must be said that if these words were used to trick ordinary mortal orphans, it would definitely work every time.

This hypocritical packaging of a prestigious sect, combined with the offensive of sugar-coated bullets, was highly deceptive.

Looking at those beautiful and brightly colored items, a trace of curiosity did indeed flash in Tuoba You's pure, large eyes.

She had grown up in piles of dead human bones; where would she have seen such colorful objects?

However, she did not reach out to take them.

In her heart, although these glowing stones and beautiful dresses were pretty, the smell on this smiling uncle made her feel very uncomfortable.

That deliberately feigned kindness was just like the poisonous weeds with bright patterns in the Forbidden Zone of Life; they looked beautiful, but in reality, taking a bite would rot your intestines.

By comparison, the open and domineering aura on Big Brother Xu Chen smelled the most comforting.

Furthermore, Big Brother had already promised her last night that he would build her two new palaces and buy her countless beautiful little flowers.

Tuoba You withdrew her gaze and shrank back a little, looking somewhat disgusted.

She turned around, directly ignoring the smiling Mo Wuhen, and reached out her little hand to tightly clutch Xu Chen's sleeve.

"Big Brother, this person is so strange." Tuoba You tilted her exquisite doll-like face up, her voice ringing out crisply at the edge of the deep pit. "The stones he took out are not as pretty as yours. He smiles just like those ghost-head mushrooms that want to trick me into going over so they can eat me. Youyou doesn't like him. Does Youyou want to hit him?"

These naive and crisp childish words were like a loud slap, fiercely striking Mo Wuhen's hypocritical face.

He had worked so hard acting for half a day and brought out a bunch of good things, only to have this little girl call him a man-eating ghost-head mushroom!

What he couldn't accept most was that this monster of strength, capable of sweeping through the Forbidden Zone of Life, was so reliant on that young man who had been sitting on the side without saying a word!

That "Big Brother" made a chill run down Mo Wuhen's spine.

The kind smile on his face instantly stiffened.

His disguise had been ruthlessly torn off in front of him, and the greed and anger suppressed in his heart finally erupted uncontrollably.

"You ungrateful brat who refuses a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" A Disciple of the academy behind Mo Wuhen could no longer hold back and sternly scolded, "My Junior Martial Uncle took pity on you and wanted to take you in, yet you dare to be ungrateful! If you don't obediently go ahead and break the Formation to scout the path for us, today we will make you turn into the dry bones on this ground!"

The ruse was up.

Once the mask of hypocrisy was torn off, what was revealed were the ugliest fangs.

Xu Chen looked at this group of clowns, and the anger in his heart erupted like a volcano.

What a prestigious sect, what a group of sanctimonious elite treasure hunters.

Unable to defeat a quasi-emperor, they wanted to rely on deception and lies to make a girl whose mind was like a blank sheet of paper go and tread on mines to die for them.

When the deception failed, they resorted directly to verbal abuse and intimidation.

Xu Chen slowly stood up.

He raised his hand and naturally rubbed Tuoba You's head twice, soothing the little girl's emotions.

"Youyou is right; these people really do look even more disgusting than ghost-head mushrooms. Big Brother will teach them a lesson for you."

Xu Chen turned his head, and in those deep eyes, there was no longer the gentleness from before.

Replacing it was the endless majesty belonging to a Great Saint-level powerhouse, as well as the cold, murderous intent of the Young Master of the Imperial Clan that brooked no provocation.

"You want to make my, Xu Chen's, little sister go and tread on mines and break Formations for you?" A cruel, cold smile curled at the corners of Xu Chen's mouth, and his voice was like ten-thousand-year-old ice. "I think you are tired of living and want to find a good burial ground outside this ancient palace for a mass grave!"