The gorge was calm and peaceful again.

As soon as Teng Donglin gave an order, all of the open and covert guards scattered into their positions. Although they still could not stop a powerhouse of the black-clothed man's level, they would be more than enough to alert the rest if anything happened.

Teng Xingwen's eyes flickered as he asked, "Who… Was that?"

"Who else?" Teng Donglin sneered. "Apart from the Wang family and the Li family, who would go through all the trouble?"

"Oh, those clans…" Teng Xingwen's face changed. The 2 clans had a Venerable One each, hence they could not be compared by the Teng family.

Teng Donglin uttered coldly, "They probably couldn't find out about his background but wants to go against him, so they're taking the long way by asking us to do the job instead."

Teng Xingwen's face twitched. He hesitated for a while before he asked, "What should we do?"

Back then, he would have acted right away by getting rid of Yu Tianrui, who was not a well-known figure, first. Nonetheless, given that the Wang family and the Li family were afraid and dared not attack the young fellow, how could he be a nobody?

Teng Xingwen was fierce, courageous, and ruthless, but he was not a fool.

He naturally saw through the scheme where some people were trying to use them for murder.

Even so, Teng Donglin looked helpless. He mumbled, "But at this point, do we even… Get to choose?"

Teng Xingwen was stunned. When he noticed the flickering light in Teng Donglin's eyes, he suddenly understood why he looked slightly regretful earlier.

※※※※

The door to Ou Yangming's courtyard opened as he walked out slowly.

He did not cultivate for long this time, but it was extremely important for him.

Not only did he obtain a new weapon, but he also truly integrated what he gained from before, which improved his strength significantly.

Similarly, the majestic and enormous snow mountain in his sea of consciousness grew taller, so much so that he felt that it was going to grow out of his mind. Now, the young fellow was only waiting for a suitable time. Once the Big Avalanche burst out, it would be time for him to break through his shackles.

Not long after Ou Yangming left his courtyard, 2 figures appeared a distance away.

Ou Yangming did not need to turn to know that they were Xue Xuanle and Wu Xuning. They were starting to follow him around more lately.

"Big Brother Yu," Xue Xuanle called out to him. She felt cheerful every time she saw him.

"Miss Xue, what a coincidence." Ou Yangming grinned. He turned his head halfway and nodded at Wu Xuning. "Brother Wu, you're here too."

"Yes, Big Brother Yu." Wu Xuning was excited. "You finally came out of isolated cultivation."

Seeing as the young master seemed to be relieved, Ou Yangming was taken aback. "Brother Wu, did something happen?"

Wu Xuning laughed and explained while he made gestures with his hands, "Big Brother Yu, what you did at the Su family's Chamber of Commerce was so shocking that people have been visiting every day. Our residence's gate is almost going to break as a result."

He sounded like he was complaining but it was clear from his bright smile that he was overjoyed.

The Wu family had been in Huixun City for many years. Even though they were not bullied because they had a top-grade Spiritualist in their clan, such an impressive situation was unprecedented.

When Ou Yangming intercepted to bid for the Heavenly Fire Ore, it seemed like he offended the Wang family and the Li family. Nevertheless, it was a fair trade, which was also endorsed by the Su family's Chamber of Commerce and the Beyond Heaven Pavilion. No matter what, the Wang family and the Li family could not blame the Wu family.

If they were to attack the Wu family because of this, all of the aristocratic families of rogue cultivators in Huixun City would probably leave the city.

Ou Yangming waved his hand and said, "I won't be staying here for long so it's fine if they don't get to meet me."

Wu Xuning responded to him, but he was surprised.

It was great that Ou Yangming was not interested in the other aristocratic families, but what did he mean that he would not be staying in Huixun City for long? Wu Xuning wanted to ask him about this, but he was more afraid of infuriating the young fellow, thus he decided to keep quiet.

On the other hand, Xue Xuanle was not so mindful about this. Her face changed as she asked, "Big Brother Yu, are you leaving soon?"

Ou Yangming chuckled and answered, "I only stopped by here during my adventure to increase my knowledge. Since there's nothing else here, I should leave/"

The smile on Xue Xuanle's face faded away. She wanted to leave with Ou Yangming regardless of all costs but the Xue family was facing a crisis at the moment, and she could not stay out of it.

In actuality, Ou Yangming's real purpose in Zhangzhou was the Big Ruins, but he kept it to himself as he could not tell anyone else.

Wu Xuning wondered and asked, "Big Brother Yu, are you going to gather more rare materials?"

Ou Yangming was slightly dumbfounded. "Do you have any good news?"

He had finished refining his spear but being a formidable blacksmith, his yearn for rare materials was endless. Perhaps the young fellow would not use those materials at the moment but the more he had, the more beneficial it would be for him in the future.

Wu Xuning nodded hard. "Big Brother Yu, the Forest of Death isn't very peaceful lately as 2 top-grade ferocious beasts appeared at the periphery and injured many Spiritualists that entered the forest." He paused for a while and looked eagerly at Ou Yangming before he continued, "The Beyond Heaven Pavilion has issued rewards where anyone that slaughtered those beasts and retrieved their blood crystals can exchange them for rare materials."

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What are the rare materials?"

"Pavilion Elder Xu said that he's willing to open the depot for people to pick what they want." Wu Xuning's eyes were gleaming, which was evident that he was immersed in his imagination of the benefits that one might receive.

Ou Yangming was moved as well. After all, one would naturally be excited at the thought of the Beyond Heaven Pavilion's depot.

Moreover, the Beyond Heaven Pavilion did not limit the type of material, which was what truly attracted Ou Yangming's attention. This was because even he did not know what wonderful items he would find in the pavilion's depot.

In actual fact, Ou Yangming would not be too interested if the blood crystals could only be exchanged for finished pieces of equipment or Blood Amber Pills. Since they could be exchanged for materials instead, it was exactly to his liking.

Struck with a thought, Ou Yangming asked, "Brother Wu, since the Beyond Heaven Pavilion made such an offer, didn't any top-grade Spiritualist enter the Forest of Death?"

A top-grade savage beast might be powerful, but it did not have wisdom. It could resist an equal-ranked human powerhouse by meeting force with force, but human powerhouses would always scheme against vicious beasts. Unless one became an idiot, one would not go head-on against a fierce beast.

Therefore, if a top-grade Spiritualist were to enter the Forest of Death and came across an equal-ranked ferocious beast, one would likely be able to slaughter it.

Despite that, Wu Xuning smiled bitterly. He pondered for a brief moment before he answered, "Big Brother Yu, you have no idea. There are actually Venerable-One-level ferocious beasts deep inside the Forest of Death."

"Venerable-One-level?" Ou Yangming was struck dumb. He questioned in shock, "How could those beasts without wisdom become Venerable Ones?"

"There are all sorts of peculiarities in nature, and nobody can understand everything." Wu Xuning sighed and shook his head. "Those vicious beasts did not have wisdom before they were Venerable Ones but once they somehow manage to mutate and overcome the Heavenly Thunderbolts, they'll advance into Venerable Ones and possess the greatest wisdom," he explained seriously, "I heard that the Venerable-One-level beasts deep inside the forest have agreed on certain rules with the Humans. Human Venerable Ones aren't allowed to enter the forest while human top-grade Spiritualists can't go on a killing spree inside the forest or…"

He looked unnatural and fearful.

Ou Yangming immediately knew what he was going to say. "Beast tide."

"That's right." Wu Xuning nodded. "This is why after knowing that top-grade savage beasts have appeared, even the Beyond Heaven Pavilion could only offer rewards to lure people into the forest. They dare not try to slaughter the beasts openly."

Ou Yangming nodded. Perhaps other people would find it difficult to understand the mightiness of a beast tide.

However, Ou Yangming experienced it in the lower realm. It was an incredibly frightening and despairing event.

If Wu Xuning was true about Venerable-One-level fierce beasts keeping watch in the boundless Forest of Death and that the beasts could trigger a beast tide, the seemingly strong city of rogue cultivators was merely impressive-looking yet useless. After all, it could easily be pushed over.

Xue Xuanle blinked and expressed with a smile, "Big Brother Yu, this is a great opportunity."

She had followed Ou Yangming deep into the Forest of Death and witnessed him kill top-grade ferocious beasts. As such, she understood how much he could benefit from using formation maps and his great mental power to go against such beasts without wisdom.

For other Advanced Spiritualists, it would be opportunistic and dangerous for them to kill top-grade beasts no matter how well-prepared they were.

As for Ou Yangming, who could use formation maps, even if he could not defeat a fierce beast, he could escape without a problem.

Ou Yangming beamed. "Yes, it's a great opportunity indeed." He touched his interspatial bag subconsciously and added to himself, 'It'll also be the perfect chance for me to test my spear.

Xue Xuanle and Wu Xuning looked at each other. They were thrilled.

Who knew, Ou Yangming suddenly extended his hand and noted, "This time, I'd like to enter the Forest of Death on my own."

"What?" Xue Xuanle and Wu Xuning shrieked at the same time because Ou Yangming's decision was out of their expectations.

Ou Yangming explained sternly, "I'd like to go deeper into the forest this time so…"

Xue Xuanle and Wu Xuning understood him at once. They were very disappointed, but they no longer pestered him.

Going deep inside the Forest of Death was beyond their capabilities.

If they insisted on following Ou Yangming, not only would they not be of any help to him, but they would also be burdens to him.

That said, they could not help but feel dejected. Why was there such a huge disparity between them?