Chapter 25: Who is the Sparrow in the End?

The white-haired elder was a master from Tianwu Sect, his energy as sharp as an unsheathed blade, causing ordinary disciples to feel pain in their eyes just by making eye contact with him.

His strength was unfathomably deep.

Indeed, he was the one leading this mission, and except for the grey-robed Elder of Holy Demon Sect who seemed somewhat displeased, no one else had any objections.

"This is the rescue token, each sect gets one, if you encounter danger, call for help immediately, and nearby teams will rush over."

The rescue token of Immortal Feather Sect was entrusted to Feng Wuxie.

Aside from that, Elder Sun also distributed the disciple tokens of Holy Demon Sect to the top ten disciples of the competition.

It was given by the Elder of Holy Demon Sect during the meeting, and with this token, one could go directly to the Holy Demon Sect.

The token was completely black, with the big characters for "Holy Demon Sect" on the front and the words "probationary disciple" on the back, clearly indicating that this token was specially made and not for true members of the Holy Demon Sect.

"It's getting late, let's set off at once. Divine Beast Mountain Range is extremely dangerous, with Golden Core Stage demonic beasts roaming everywhere, and even Nascent Soul Stage ones are not nonexistent. Everyone must be extra careful."

The white-robed elder led his disciples and was the first to leave.

"A bunch of hypocrites, so feigned on the surface, but isn't it all just to let the smaller sects scout and become cannon fodder?"

"I know there are quite a few people here who want to cling to the big tree that is Tianwu Sect, but don't blame me for not warning you, cooperating with Tianwu Sect is like seeking skin from a tiger, beware you end up with no corpse to bury."

The grey-robed elder snorted coldly and led his team away as well.

The remaining sect forces exchanged glances and quickly followed; although the words of the Holy Demon Sect elder were frightening, there were still many who wanted to use this opportunity to get closer to Tianwu Sect.

Although Holy Demon Sect and Tianwu Sect were of equal reputation, the requirements for recruiting disciples were too stringent, resulting in few members; out of a thousand disciples participating in the entry examination, having dozens of them pass was already considered good.

In contrast, Tianwu Sect's requirements for recruiting disciples were much more lenient. Those who didn't make it into the Inner Sect could try for the Outer Sect, and failing that, they could become menial workers.

In short, as long as you could mix into a prestigious sect, even as a menial worker you were considered better than others, and who knew, someone might catch the eye of a high-level master and rise to great heights.

This rare opportunity to get close to the Tianwu Sect masters was naturally something all the major forces wanted to seize.

"Little junior brother, do you want to go with your senior sister to play in the mountain range later?" Su Yunbing said.

"No, no, Elder Sun told me to stay put on the periphery, so I won't join the commotion," Li Xiaobai said, shrinking his neck and waving his hands. He was joking; these people had just pulled their animosity to the max, and following them would probably mean risking his life within a few steps. He would rather focus on accumulating Attribute Points.

"That's a pity. Li Shejin just sent a message that there's a treasure deep in the mountain range. Whoever gets it will benefit immensely," Ye Wushuang said.

"I'd rather not stir up excitement with my slight proficiency," the junior brother replied.

...

Divine Beast Mountain Range,

This was one of the large mountain ranges in the Northern Region, filled with demonic beasts. It was said that there were Nascent Soul Stage great demonic beasts inside, but no one had ever seen one.

Disciples from the various sect forces liked to use this place as a proving ground, to slay demonic beasts, hone themselves, and the materials obtained from the demonic beasts could be exchanged for Spirit Stones, a gain on multiple fronts.

Following the team, Li Xiaobai entered the mountain range. The number of demonic beasts on the periphery were not many, and their strength was quite average. With more monks than porridge, the disciples naturally split into groups of three or five and began to hunt separately.

Seeing the cultivators teaming up around him, Li Xiaobai was slightly confused. He hadn't seen these people being particularly close before, so how did they form teams so quickly?

When he looked back, Piao Miaofeng and the other senior brothers and sisters had already disappeared without a trace, probably sneaking off into the inner areas to snatch treasures as soon as they entered the mountain range.

Beside him, Feng Wuxie and the other two looked at Li Xiaobai's lone figure with a cold glint in their eyes.

Having waited so long, the opportunity had finally come. In this territory, killing for treasure was common, and even if Li Xiaobai's corpse were found afterward, at most there would be a few moments of remembrance; no one would waste time on a dead person.

"Let's go, follow him!"

In the jungle,

Li Xiaobai searched around for signs of living demonic beasts. After walking for half the day, he found many corpses of demonic beasts, but no living ones.

The disciples from the various sects were too quick to act.

After searching the bodies for a while, all the valuable parts had been taken.

He continued to walk forward for a while.

[Attribute Points +1...]

[Attribute Points +1...]

Here it comes!

Li Xiaobai's eyes lit up, as he was finally attacked. However, the increase in attribute points was too meager. Surrounding him, there were still no demonic beasts to be seen, just a layer of hazy poison fog enshrouding him as he sustained continuous damage to his body.

He hadn't walked much farther when the ground started to tremble with a rumbling sound.

Up ahead, dust billowed as a large group of demonic beasts suddenly charged in Li Xiaobai's direction, led by two figures.

"Junior Brother, hurry, save us!"

Li Xiaobai squinted and realized it was Lin Mang and Hao Jian. These two had entered the forest for less than a few minutes and had already encountered so many demonic beasts. What luck.

He quickly stepped forward to meet them.

"Senior Brother, don't panic. Your Junior Brother is here to help you!"

"Heh heh, thanks, Junior Brother!"

Lin Mang's eyes flashed with a cold glint. With a sudden sinking of his body, he executed a sweeping leg kick that threw Li Xiaobai off balance. Meanwhile, Hao Jian swiftly waved his palms, and a surge of robust spiritual power erupted, pushing Li Xiaobai towards the onrushing army of demonic beasts.

"I..."

Li Xiaobai cursed in his heart. He'd been in the mountain range for only a few minutes and had already been betrayed—and by his own people at that.

"Junior Brother, when you're out and about, you need to be more careful. Today, Senior Brother will teach you a lesson. It's just a pity that you won't have a chance to verify it, hahaha!"

Hao Jian felt relieved, watching as the army of demonic beasts halted their assault to swallow Li Xiaobai whole.

These were all demonic beasts at the Foundation Establishment Stage, with two having just reached the Golden Core. Trapped among them, not even gods could save him.

Finally, he felt a weight lifted off his chest.

The demonic beasts had indeed been lured by them. It was their strategy. Feng Wuxie had promised each of them a Breakthrough Pill which could help them quickly advance to the Golden Core Stage, on the condition that the two of them take action and lead a large number of demonic beasts towards Li Xiaobai.

The demonic beasts were packed together, wriggling incessantly, evidently feasting on Li Xiaobai's body.

"Hehe, you've done well. This is for you."

Feng Wuxie emerged from the shadows with a smile on his face.

He handed the two men a small box. He hadn't expected that getting rid of Li Xiaobai would be so easy.

He had prepared a series of follow-up plans, but now it seemed they were unnecessary.

"Heh heh, thanks a lot. Killing Li Xiaobai was made easy thanks to Big Senior Brother's strategy."

"Right now, heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know, and no one else knows."

Lin Mang took the box with a grin. Just as he opened it, he was shocked to find his hair standing on end as dozens of poison needles burst out, targeting both of them.

His pupils dilated rapidly as Lin Mang managed to dodge the poison needles.

Hao Jian was too slow to react, and dozens of poison needles shot into his body.

"Splitting Sky Palm!"

Feng Wuxie channeled his cultivation technique, striking from mid-air, causing Lin Mang's chest to cave in as he coughed up blood.

Grabbing the wrists of the two men, he exerted force in his hands and threw them directly into the midst of the demonic beast army.

"No!"

"Feng Wuxie..."

"You won't die well..."