296: Chapter 296 The Two Races' Patrol Team, Resembling Puppets

Quasi-Sage Black Tiger concealed his presence all the way, continuously tearing through the Void Realm. In a mere ten years, he arrived at the strategic fortress area where the armies of the Fox Clan and the Ape Clan were encamped and intersecting.

Below, mountain ranges were stacked upon one another, and military camps stretched on endlessly.

Coincidentally, a squad of Fox Clan patrol guards and a squad of elite Ape Clan warriors crossed paths in a narrow valley pass.

Both sides were currently in their honeymoon period and were extremely familiar with each other, smiling, nodding, and greeting one another.

After looking around and repeatedly confirming that there were no other commanding officers or scouts patrolling nearby, this group of patrol soldiers, whose nerves were usually tightly strung, instantly relaxed.

They skillfully sat in a circle within the shade of a boulder and shamelessly began to slack off.

Some produced rare spiritual fruits and air-dried beast meat they had prepared long ago, while others smashed open the mud seals of jars to pull out fine wine that had been brewed over many years, heartily exchanging cups and drinking to their hearts' content.

"Fox Clan brothers, drink!"

"Good!" The Fox Clan squad leader said happily, "You drink too!"

A strong wind swept through the valley, carrying the fragrance of wine and carefree laughter.

However, in the shadows above the Nine Heavens, Quasi-Sage Black Tiger looked down condescendingly at this scene, a pair of tiger eyes suddenly flashing with an extremely grim and bone-chilling blood-red light!

Ultimate jealousy instantly filled his brain.

"Why?!"

"Why is it that my Tiger Clan is currently facing annihilation with countless compatriots dying in battle, and even our Old Ancestor has fallen within the tribulation, leaving the entire clan panicked and walking on thin ice?"

"Yet you two clans have patrol soldiers who can still so peacefully slack off, joke around, and comfortably enjoy themselves here?!"

"Why... can you be so peaceful? Fine, I will use you as the catalyst to divert this disaster eastward!"

The corners of Quasi-Sage Black Tiger's mouth curled into a cruel and vicious arc.

The next moment, he slammed his large hand forward, and the Void Realm was forcefully ripped apart like fragile paper by his immense magical power, creating a distorted spatial rift!

Rumble!

A spatial hurricane that devoured all things howled outward, and its immense suction instantly enveloped the boulder below.

The two clans' patrol soldiers below didn't even have time to draw their Spirit Treasures.

"Ahhhh!"

"What is going on? Why did spatial turbulence suddenly surge forth?"

Accompanied by waves of terrified screams and calls for help, a full two squads of people were instantly and completely swallowed by this out-of-nowhere spatial rift, disappearing from the spot.

Seeing that he had succeeded, Quasi-Sage Black Tiger waved his black robe, flickered his figure, and closely followed them into the spatial rift.

...

The violent spatial storm raged in their ears. After an unknown amount of time, accompanied by a dizzying spin, the two patrol squads were thrown down in a disheveled state onto a desolate and remote ridge.

Covered in dirt, everyone climbed up, frantically observing their surroundings and hurriedly checking their companions' injuries.

After counting the headcount and discovering that there were no fatalities, a Fox Clan squad leader patted the dust off his body and cursed inwardly, still shaken:

"Bad Luck! Looking at this... it must be that the killing Qi of this Realm is too heavy, causing the space to be extremely unstable, which triggered a random spatial rift!"

The other Ape Clan squad leader also nodded with lingering fear:

"This place is too remote, bizarre, and extremely dangerous, and we don't know where we've arrived. Let's not stay long; figuring out the route and returning to our clan's territory is paramount!"

Little did they know, above the layered clouds, Quasi-Sage Black Tiger had been coldly watching their every move all along.

Afterwards, following the spatial coordinates given by Que Liusun and four other Chan Teaching Immortals, Quasi-Sage Black Tiger's figure turned into a shadow, shuttling toward the territory of the Black Panther Clan.

...

Within the Black Panther Clan's territory, peace reigned among the verdant trees.

Jie Teaching's Outer Sect Great Master Senior Brother Zhao Gongming wore a spacious Dao robe, sitting leisurely on a tall tree trunk, playfully teasing an adorable little black panther at his feet with great interest.

"Little Black, go, fetch it back!"

With a flick of his finger, one of the twenty-four sea-suppressing pearls suddenly emitted a soft, light blue halo, flying out slowly like a shooting star and hovering in mid-air.

"Awooo—"

The little black panther cried out, leaped up joyfully, carefully held the divine pearl in its small mouth, ran happily back to Zhao Gongming's feet, and wagged its tail in respectful offering.

Zhao Gongming laughed heartily and was just about to reach out to take it when his brows suddenly twitched. Instantly, his Primordial Spirit swept violently through the surrounding Void Realm!

"Who?!"

Swish—!

The Primordial Spirit scanned a circle, but apart from the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves in the mountain forest, everything remained calm and normal without any abnormalities.

Zhao Gongming was slightly stunned, withdrew his Primordial Spirit, touched his forehead with some confusion, and muttered:

"Strange... Could it be that the tribulation Qi has intensified, affecting even my Primordial Spirit?"

At this very moment, Quasi-Sage Black Tiger, who was hiding desperately in the extremely deep spatial crevice, gasped for breath with lingering fear.

"That was close... I almost got discovered! As expected of an elite of Jie Teaching, this perceptual ability is truly terrifying!"

Quasi-Sage Black Tiger wiped away the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead.

After confirming that Zhao Gongming was truly and undeniably guarding the Black Panther Clan, he didn't dare to stay long and quietly retreated from the Black Panther territory.

On his return journey, Quasi-Sage Black Tiger swept his Primordial Spirit and casually grabbed two Profound Immortal-rank Black Panther Cultivators who had just gone out to forage and were preparing to return to their clan's territory out of mid-air.

A flash of sinister intent crossed Quasi-Sage Black Tiger's eyes. Exerting force with his palm, he directly wiped away the spiritual intelligence of these two black panthers.

Like throwing a dead dog, he precisely tossed these two dazed black panthers onto the inevitable return path that the previously mentioned Fox Clan and Ape Clan patrol squads were groping their way back on!

The two Profound Immortal black panthers, with vacant eyes and entirely devoid of spiritual intelligence, stumbled out of the forest and directly blocked the path in front of the two clans' patrol squads.

The Ape Clan squad leader was already full of anger for being inexplicably sucked into a spatial rift. Seeing this at the moment, his expression suddenly sank, and he cursed viciously:

"What kind of beast is this, daring to block this old man's path? You're courting death!"

Before his voice fell, with extreme disdain, he slapped out casually with one palm. Violent magical power spewed forth, instantly reducing those two black panthers, who had no power to resist, into pools of blood mist and minced meat all over the ground!

However, at the exact same moment the two black panthers fell.

Deep within the Black Panther territory, Zhao Gongming, who had originally been smiling and teasing the little black panther, suddenly stiffened, stood up instantly, his expression changing drastically as his gaze locked firmly onto the direction where the two black panthers had fallen.

"What is going on? Why did the two Elders suddenly fall?!"

The Black Panther Clan had a shallow foundation, and the strongest person within the clan was only at the Golden Immortal Realm. Therefore, some clansmen at the Profound Immortal Realm already held key Elder positions.

Coincidentally, the two Profound Immortal black panthers that Quasi-Sage Black Tiger had casually snatched away just moments ago happened to be Elders of the Black Panther Clan!

Zhao Gongming was garrisoning the Black Panther Clan to protect it through two tribulations, so naturally, he had left a mark on every clansman who maintained the Black Panther Clan's Luck.

Whenever anyone was injured or fell, he could sense it at the very first moment.