30: Trade blows to break the deadlock!

The appearance of Chen Jian and his two companions instantly froze the joyful atmosphere from the recent harvest of starlight moss.

Zhao Iron Pillar clenched his fists and glared at them. "Chen Jian! What do you want? Trying to rob us?"

Wang Wu and the others were also tense, their Spiritual Qi gathering secretly as the "Inner Network" connection with Wen Youyi tightened like five taut strings.

Chen Jian sneered, his gaze locking onto Wen Youyi like a venomous snake. "Rob? What an ugly word. Treasure hunting in the Ancient Ruins depends on one's own means. You killed the guardian beast, and we just happened to pass by; it's only reasonable to share the spoils." He paused, his tone turning cold. "Of course, if you don't know what's good for you, I don't mind helping you 'shoulder' all your gains, including... your lives!"

A blatant threat! In these Ancient Ruins where rules were non-existent, killing for treasure was all too common.

Wen Youyi calculated rapidly in his mind. Chen Jian was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, and the other two were at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer; their overall strength far exceeded his own side's. In a head-on fight, the chances of winning were extremely low. However, the opponents had also been exploring the Ancient Ruins, so their condition was far from perfect, and... they were certainly wary of his team's "strange" coordination.

He couldn't win by force; he had to use wit, or... scare them off!

"Senior Brother Chen is right; treasure hunting in the Ancient Ruins depends on one's own means." Wen Youyi suddenly smiled, a smile that carried an inscrutable meaning. "However, Senior Brother Chen should have witnessed a thing or two of our means during the Outer Sect Competition. In these Ancient Ruins where Spiritual Qi is chaotic, some things might have... even more unexpected effects."

His words were vague, but he intentionally mentioned the "Outer Sect Competition" and the "Ancient Ruins environment," aiming to amplify Chen Jian's wariness of their "unconventional" coordination. Simultaneously, he secretly sent a very brief command to Zhao Iron Pillar and the others through the "Inner Network"—prepare "that."

"That" was a crude device Wen Youyi had temporarily devised, similar to a mix of a smoke bomb and a flashbang. He used several fire-element Talismans with mismatched attributes—stolen from Yan Feng of the Blazing Sun Sect—combined with some unstable Materials. It was originally intended to distract enemies for an escape in a crisis; it was highly unstable, and its effects were unknown.

As expected, Wen Youyi's words stirred up unpleasant memories for Chen Jian, making his gaze even more sinister. He was indeed wary of the group's elusive coordination, especially in this bizarre environment.

"Bluffing!" Chen Jian snorted coldly. He didn't want to delay any longer to avoid further complications. "Do it! End this quickly!"

The two Qi Refining Fourth Layer Disciples behind him immediately performed hand seals. One condensed several ice spikes, while the other summoned vines, attacking The core five people in a coordinated strike!

"Scatter! Distract!" Wen Youyi shouted.

The five dispersed instantly like exploding fireworks. Instead of retreating in a straight line, they used the rocks for cover, weaving and circling. Wang Wu and Senior Brother Li constantly released the lowest-tier Quagmire and Breeze spells, not seeking to harm the enemy but only to disrupt their casting rhythm and line of sight.

Chen Jian frowned; this slippery fighting style annoyed him. He pointed his fingers like a sword, and a sharp green Sword Qi shot through the air, heading straight for the seemingly most "clumsy" one, Zhao Iron Pillar! He planned to disable one first!

"Iron Pillar, take it on your left shoulder and dive to the right!" Wen Youyi's voice instantly entered Zhao Iron Pillar's mind via the "Inner Network."

Zhao Iron Pillar's trust in Wen Youyi was absolute. Hearing this, he actually didn't dodge. He simply tilted his body slightly, meeting the Sword Qi with his left shoulder while lunging forward to the right!

Squelch!

The Sword Qi sliced through, and Zhao Iron Pillar's left shoulder was instantly torn open, dripping with blood! But using that momentum, he dove behind a giant boulder in a disheveled but swift manner, avoiding any potential follow-up attacks.

"Iron Pillar!" Wang Wu cried out.

"Don't worry about me! Stick to the plan!" Zhao Iron Pillar shouted hoarsely from behind the rock. He was grimacing in pain but still remembered Wen Youyi's instructions.

Chen Jian hadn't expected the opponent to be so fearless, using such a method of trading injury for positioning to evade his strike, and he froze for a moment.

In that split second of hesitation!

"Now!" A cold light flashed in Wen Youyi's eyes. He slammed the modified Blazing Sun Sect fire Talisman he had been holding onto the ground between Chen Jian's trio! Simultaneously, he used the "Inner Network" to guide the other four to inject a sliver of their own Spiritual Qi into the Talisman from a distance—this was an extremely risky move, as different attributes of Spiritual Qi could easily cause the Talisman to lose control and explode on the spot!

Boom—Bang!!

The Talisman didn't release smoke and light stably as intended. Instead, under the crude injection of multiple types of Spiritual Qi, a violent and unstable explosion occurred! It didn't have much killing power, but it erupted with an extremely blinding white light and thick black smoke smelling of pungent sulfur, instantly swallowing Chen Jian's trio!

"Ah! My eyes!"

"Cough, cough! What the hell is this!"

Chen Jian and his two companions were caught off guard by the sudden flash and thick smoke. Their vision was blocked, their breathing was labored, and even their Spiritual Qi circulation became slightly disordered.

"Retreat!" Wen Youyi growled, not lingering for the fight.

Wang Wu and Senior Brother Li immediately rushed toward Zhao Iron Pillar to support him. Wen Youyi and Senior Brother Zhang brought up the rear. Maintaining their "Inner Network" connection and using the smoke as cover, the group fled for their lives into the depths of the complex terrain like startled rabbits, never looking back!

They didn't dare look back at the results, putting all their strength into the escape.

By the time Chen Jian's trio finally dispersed the smoke and regained their vision, Wen Youyi and the others were long gone, leaving only a few spots of blood and the scorched remains of the explosion on the ground.

"Bastard!!" Chen Jian was fuming with rage, slashing his sword against a nearby rock and leaving a deep gash. He hadn't expected that even with him personally taking action, those slippery loaches would still escape! And they had made him look so pathetic!

"Senior Brother, should we pursue?" one Disciple asked.

Looking at the intricate and peril-filled terrain ahead, Chen Jian's face was livid. Pursue? Chasing a group with such bizarre means and seamless coordination in a place like this was too risky.

"Hmph! Consider them lucky!" Chen Jian gritted his teeth. "The next time we meet, I will definitely take their dog lives! Let's go!"

Filled with rage and resentment, he chose to give up the pursuit.

On the other side, Wen Youyi's group ran wildly until they were certain they were completely safe. Only then did they collapse onto the ground, gasping for air.

The wound on Zhao Iron Pillar's left shoulder looked gruesome, but fortunately, it hadn't damaged the bone or tendons. After applying medicine, with a Cultivator's Physique, he would be fine after a few days of rest.

"Scared the life out of me..." Zhao Iron Pillar said with lingering fear. "Little Wen, that thing of yours made way too much noise."

Wen Youyi was also shaken, giving a bitter smile. "There was no other way. It was just something thrown together; as long as it scared them, it worked. We were lucky this time."

He checked their items; the starlight moss was intact. Although the process was terrifying and Zhao Iron Pillar had been injured, they had ultimately secured their most important harvest and escaped from a powerful enemy once again.

After this battle, they realized the cruelty of the Ancient Ruins more clearly, and the urgency of improving their strength became even more apparent.

"Let's find a place for Brother Iron Pillar to recover first. We also need to digest this harvest..." Wen Youyi looked at the jade box containing the starlight moss, his gaze determined.

Crisis always comes with the opportunity for growth.

(End of Chapter)