Dead Qi drifted above the Forest of Death. They looked like wisps of green smoke that blotted out the winter's sun.

The forest was deep and dark. Xue Xuanle had a graceful look and was dressed in red, making her look like the most gorgeous red flower in summer. Nonetheless, she furrowed her eyebrows and looked impatient and worried. As the young lady followed behind Xue Boren to quickly run forward, she stepped on dried branches from time to time, hence cracks were heard.

Xue Boren turned to look. He moved like the wind as he looked up at Xue Xuanle. "Xuanle, you're distracted."

"Yes." Xue Xuanle's eyes reddened.

The elder sighed and said, "Younger Brother Tianrui's matter is urgent, so let me help you with my spiritual power!"

Xue Xuanle pondered for a moment before she nodded in agreement. When she recalled the good-looking face that was worth a second look, she looked absent-minded for a bit.

As Xue Boren waved his sleeve, his spiritual power as an Advanced Spiritualist stirred up a finger wind that helped Xue Xuanle move forward.

※※※※

Due to the case where the Xue family was being eliminated by the Teng family, the Wu family had been strictly guarded such that guards were posted closely to each other.

They were located at a great spot that was abundant in spiritual Qi, had towering pavilions, and were surrounded by bamboo trees. As such, they were considered a first-class aristocratic family in Huixun City.

Inside a pavilion that was elegantly decorated with vintage elements, a fragrant purple smoke rose and carried a lingering charm.

Xue Yan and Wu Xiaohuang sat opposite each other with grave looks in their eyes and momentums that were ready to burst out. They were exchanging moves with black and white pieces in a chess game.

The former sat upright and placed pieces as though he was assisted by god. He claimed the center spot of the board with his ingenious skills and carried a killing intent while having a comprehensive plan. It made him seem like a talented expert.

Even so, Wu Xiaohuang did not panic at all. He resolved the problems cleverly by taking unconventional winning moves when he attacked with notable killing intent as well. He also put up a tight defense and was as stable as a mountain. After tens of turns, he formed a big dragon on the board such that Xue Yan no longer had the chance to resist anymore.

Xue Yan returned the black piece in his hand into the chess basket. He took a sip of fragrant tea with squinted eyes and did not look like he was in a hurry at all.

Seeing as the outcome was set, Wu Xiaohuang, who was on the cusp of victory, immediately urged Xue Yan, "Brother Xue, quickly place your piece. It's not a good tactic to delay time now. In any case, you're going to lose."

Xue Yan glared at Wu Xiaohuang with strong momentum and responded coldly, "Why are you in such a hurry? I've never once lost a chess game, and this won't be an exception—I'll achieve this with 2 excellent moves. You'll have to be careful next." He even waved 2 fingers in front of Wu Xiaohuang.

Wu Xiaohuang stared at him then glanced at the chessboard. He pondered hard about what those 2 brilliant moves could be but only saw dead-ends everywhere; he could not see how the tables could be turned. He asked shyly, "Which 2 wonderful moves are they? Please guide me, Brother Xue!"

Xue Yan took his time and breathed out some cold air. Frost flowers interlaced in front of him.

His eyes shone as cunningly as a fox, but the look only lasted for a fleeting moment. He chuckled and answered, "First, don't play chess against someone with better skills than me! This is a very important point. It's my golden rule, where I won't lose as long as I avoid that. Whoever it is, he can be the strong player that he is. In any case, he can't defeat me." He picked up his teacup again and leisurely took a sip from it.

Wu Xiaohuang twitched his mouth and looked at the endgame on the chessboard. He smiled bitterly and responded, "No wonder you've always found excuses and rejected my invitations whenever I invited you for chess. It turns out that this is the reason. Well, I'm afraid that you made a mistake this time. Since you're already playing against me, you're not going to be undefeated anymore."

Xue Yan waved his sleeve forward and stirred up some purple smoke that was drifting in the air. He was not flustered at all as he replied to Wu Xiaohuang, "You haven't won yet, have you!" Before his voice was gone, he instantly shouted, and his face was covered with beads of sweat. The elder's complexion seemed to have been drawn from him as he looked pale and seemed to be in immense pain.

Wu Xiaohuang's face changed. He leaped forward and asked worriedly, "Brother Xue, what's wrong?" A ruthless look could be seen in his eyes as he thought, 'If the Teng family did this, I'll make them pay even if I'll have to risk the Wu family's properties. I won't raze their ancestral graves to the ground, but I'll at least make them pay their debt of blood in blood.'

The thought surfaced in Wu Xiaohuang's mind but as soon as he placed his right hand on Xue Yan's shoulder, his face looked strange, and his eyebrows even turned black. The Xue family's patriarch, who was also his close friend, had abundant Qi and blood and strong vitality. 'How is he injured at all? This is probably his second trick. It's indeed an ingenious trick to delay the game; he won't be defeated if he doesn't place his piece.'

Sure enough, Xue Yan, who could be considered one of the best powerhouses in Huixun City, shuddered while he asked in a weak voice, "Brother Wu, I'm not feeling very well today. Why don't we continue our game another day?"

In actuality, this was Xue Yan's first time using this trick. He only acted shamelessly in front of Wu Xiaohuang because they were like brothers that would live or die together. If not, based on his character, he would have used the first trick to not play chess against someone more skillful than him.

Wu Xiaohuang smiled bitterly. Just as he was about to disagree with Xue Yan, a hurried knock was heard on the door. Xue Boren shouted, "Patriarch, something happened to Brother Tianrui, and we must quickly rescue him!"

The faces of Wu Xiaohuang and Xue Yan darkened at the same time. In particular, Xue Yan's Qi momentum became smooth, and his eyes were slightly red as his killing intent burst out.

After Xue Boren's test, Xue Yan was certain that Ou Yangming definitely had an astounding inheritance. As long as they got involved with him, the Xue family would rise again and might even advance further. Now that Ou Yangming got into an accident, the patriarch was furious because the young fellow was precious to him!

A cold aura was released from Xue Yan's body as he waved his sleeve and uttered in a deep voice, "Let's go! Brief me along the way!" His voice echoed in the pavilion, but he had leaped several meters away and unleashed his cultivation base as a top-grade Spiritualist.

Wu Xiaohuang did the same. He acted before the voice was gone, by which he grabbed Xue Xuanle along with his sleeve and followed Xue Yan swiftly.

The streets were bustling, but Wu Xiaohuang had a grim look in his eyes. After pondering for some time, he lowered his voice and asked, "You're saying that an ancient tree suddenly opened up deep inside the dense forest and revealed a dark hole, which released an irresistible suction force that sucked Younger Brother Tianrui into it?"

"That's right!" Xue Boren nodded hard and swore that he was telling the truth.

A killing intent was lingering around Xue Yan. He exchanged glances with Wu Xiaohuang and noticed how fearful each other was.

Even though the Forest of Death was similar to a massive graveyard that had countless hidden secrets, and despite being well-informed, it was their first time hearing about something as absurd as this. Anything unknown would mean danger. They became more anxious than before, and they increased their speed to the maximum as they left in a hurry.

They slowed down after they entered the Forest of Death.

Nevertheless, they were faster than when Xue Boren returned with Xue Xuanle. After all, Xue Yan and Wu Xiaohuang were top-grade Spiritualists, thus they could not be mentioned on equal terms.

"How much further?" Xue Yan questioned with a dark face.

Xue Boren cupped his hands and answered, "It's just right ahead. Earlier on, 2 top-grade ferocious beasts had an intense fight. While stirring up nothingness, they also turned many things into powder." Having said that, he soon broke out in a cold sweat and was frightened.

The patriarch was restless, but he still asked patiently, "What is it?"

"T-the ferocious beasts… There were previously 2 dead ferocious beasts here, but they're gone now!" Xue Boren lifted his hand and pointed ahead. He stammered when he spoke.

Xue Xuanle's mind went blank. The fact that the mountainous vicious beasts vanished so fast was enough to give anyone chills.

As for Xue Yan and Wu Xiaohuang, they also looked at each other and were terrified. Cold airs were being released from their pores as they quivered and had the urge to flee.

Xue Yan touched his interspatial bag and suppressed his fear. "Let's not worry about this for now and go take a look first. Given the cultivation bases of mine and Brother Wu, we'll be fine as long as we don't encounter more than 3 top-grade savage beasts." After hearing what he said, Xue Xuanle and Xue Boren were finally at ease.

Gravel, broken branches, and blood were all over the place. The intense fight between the aggressive beasts had clearly caused havoc here, where everything seemed to have been destroyed.

Xue Yan was deeply shocked. Judging from the post-fight environment, even top-grade Spiritualists would have trouble dealing with the beasts,

All of a sudden, Xue Boren looked dejected. He picked up a burnt piece of wood and was in disbelief. His pupils shrunk inward as if he had just seen the most unbelievable thing, and his throat moved, but he could not make a sound at all.

Upon seeing how Xue Boren was acting, Xue Yan's mind thudded, and he had a bad feeling about this. He asked coldly, "Why are you cowering? What does that make you? Tell us if you have something to say!"

Xue Boren's throat was dry. While looking at the mess around him, he responded, "There was an ancient tree here, but it's gone now." He kept looking around but could not find any clue.

The faces of Xue Yan and Wu Xiaohuang changed. They released their mental powers at the same time but did not find anything other than the gravel and broken branches around them.

"Quick—find it!" Before the voice was gone, they dashed out like white bolts of lightning.

After half an hour, the 4 of them gathered again but did not have the mood to say anything at all. Especially for Xue Xuanle, she even had a shrill look on her face.

The area that was destroyed by the 2 top-grade beasts was only very few kilometers even if it was exaggerated. Given the cultivation bases of everyone present, they did not need to take a long time to search the area at all. However, they could not believe that even the ancient tree's hold disappeared, so they searched several times back and forth before they stopped.

"Let's go…" Xue Yan sighed. He turned around and walked forward with a rather dispirited back view.

He sighed and thought, 'Our disaster could be handled more easily if we have Brother Tianrui's help. Ah, why did this happen at this time? It'll be troublesome if this spreads back to "that place". After all, disciples from influential sects aren't reasonable.'

Wu Xiaohuang leaped tens of meters away to stand next to Xue Yan. He lamented, "Brother Xue, this is one's life, fate, and luck. They can't be controlled."

The hair on Xue Yan's temples was white. He smiled bitterly as he replied to his friend, "I know. Let's clean up this place first. There's quite a mess here, so we should clean it up."