"With Xue Zhou and the two Gao siblings staying near the east wall and ten sages here..." By chance, with another batch of participants arriving, Bai Qi found the identity of the missing sage. Su Yawen, a 3rd level Sage rumored to be one of the best spear users in the last generation of the Shou clan guards.

Bai Qi could not understand the reason behind Su Yawen being targeted. She was a simple guard of the Shou clan, with no blood relation like the cultivators attacked during the previous opening. And she was a woman, so the reason could not come from the rumors spread to attract the attackers this time.

Having no way to know, Bai Qi could attribute her demise only to some kind of conflict with Mao Xun. After all, who except a rumored genius could have killed another rumored genius? Especially with her being the 3rd or 4th strongest Sage from the ones participating?

Regretfully, he could do anything except keep an eye on the others and try to catch the attacker, Mao Xun or not, with bloody hands.

To do so, now that he was freed from any possible Earth realm observers, Bai Qi placed an individual tracking spell on each of the Sages. Paired with a life-sign one. Now, he would know as soon as they suffered any wound, allowing him to intercept, hopefully, the attacker.

***

A couple of hours passed, and outside the formation, the time was nearing midnight. As for inside, the almost natural light that had initially surprised Bai Qi remained with no changes. "No wonder that time talismans are considered a must, with nothing to base on, is pretty easy to lose track of the time" Bai Qi thought while observing the youngsters on the lakeshore.

He did not feel himself part of their group, and it wasn't because they were inexperienced or weaker. No, he simply did not see any reason to interact with them. As for the people he felt at least some kind of connection to, none of them had arrived at this 'Clearmind' lake camp.

"Chang Kun seemed to have his goals set up, and so probably will spend a couple of days overexerting himself before even thinking of rest. Tang Lei also had something on his mind, and I guess it is related to the wood element natural energies I have been sensing. But where is Zhuan Min?" Bai Qi was feeling a bit worried about the latter. She was neither strong nor experienced, and her character was too open. Obviously, most participants would not harm her, but what about whoever killed Su Yawen?

Taking into account that she also had a lot of friends or at least acquaintances amongst the participants, it was strange for her to not arrive at this first night camp. But Bai Qi had not considered any of the three in danger previously, and so had not placed any trackers on them.

Now the situation had changed, as Su Yawen's demise meant that someone could be slain just for the sake of slaying.

"Brother Chen?" Hearing his name, Bai Qi slightly turned towards the caller.

"If I am not mistaken, Hu Mu, right?" He feigned a bit of effort to recall the name of the latter. Inwardly asking why did this guy come to him.

"Ah yes, that's me" Nodding without any sign of any emotion to Bai Qi's lack of memory, Hu Mu approached and sat down nearby.

"Can I help you with anything?" Bai Qi asked.

"Oh no, I just came to ask if you saw the people that you were searching for" Hu Mu asked while inclining his head to the side.

"Regretfully no, and they haven't arrived here either" Bai Qi responded with a shrug.

"I recall that you asked me if I had seen anyone previously, but I was not able to help. Still, maybe I can now? Who are you looking for?" Hu Mu goofily smiled while motioning towards the five or so dozens that were setting up their camp, talking or simply meditating.

"You mean you saw someone other than the ones present? That's good, you see, I am looking for two people. One is a girl called Zhuan Min, her father asked me to look after her" Bai Qi decided to ask first about Zhuan Min. She wasn't a possible target of any attack or grudge anyway, and most of the cultivators in the zone should know her. He also wondered "Why does he seem more interested than common courtesy dictates?".

"Mmm, Zhuan Min? Sorry, can't say that I have heard her name before. Can you describe her?" Hu Mu looked up pensively before answering.

"If you saw her, she would have definitively introduced herself" Bai Qi smiled at his joke and quickly changed track, asking about Su Yawen.

"Su Yawen? I met her right before coming here, and if I am not mistaken she wasn't planning to come here, at least from what she told me" This time Hu Mu's expression slightly wavered and Bai Qi's became alert.

His instinct indicated that something was wrong since the start, and even though he could not think of any reason to suspect Hu Mu of anything, he still asked about Su Yawen. She was definitively dead for at least four hours already. Thus, how could he have met her just recently?

"Oh, that's regretful. I hoped to speak with her. Maybe even agree to move together" Bai Qi sheepishly smiled, hinting that he had some kind of feelings for her.

"Oh! Then it is a shame indeed" Hu Mu answered with a discreet laugh.

"Well, maybe it is for the best. Tell me, brother Hu, where did you meet? Did you see the direction she left in?" Bai Qi continued his act, even reaching for Hu Mu's shoulder while asking with an impatient tone.

"Well, I met her near the place where you approached me" Hu Mu was definitively lying and Bai Qi's suspicions grew stronger, but he did not show any reaction. In place, he motioned for the former to continue speaking in an almost desperate manner.

And Hu Mu did while hanging his head down as if he failed Bai Qi

"It was just an hour or so ago, and she was looking towards the east. But I can not say that she went there, I was the first to leave. Sorry"

"East from the place we met, huh? Don't apologize, you have helped me greatly! I will go and try my luck searching for her. After all, this 'Underground Forest' isn't so big as to never find her!" Bai Qi exclaimed in quick succession and before Hu Mu could react, quickly stood up and began walking.

He bet that if Hu Mu was simply lying then he definitively would not follow him and if questioned later will just say that he was mistaken.

But if he had some reason to lie about seeing Su Yawen, then it meant he had something to do with her demise as well, and so will definitively follow.

And the latter was happening now, as Bai Qi's senses caught Hu Mu's following after him. Not showing that he suspected anything, Bai Qi simply left the rest area.

***

The place where Hu Mu and Bai Qi had met was just a mile and a half from the lake, so it took a brief time to reach it. "He is still following but has not tried anything. Now the question is, how exactly is he related to this matter?" Bai Qi inwardly wondered.

He had no doubts now about Hu Mu's involvement, but his role was still under question. After all, the latter's cultivation was just at the 8th level of the Soul realm and felt even weaker than it. He definitively had no way to defeat Su Yawen in open combat, while from the rumors she was pretty experienced, which meant that even a surprise attack or concealed weapon would have not worked.

"Brother Hu? Did you decide to help me search for her?" Bai Qi walked for a bit more before turning around and asking while scanning the surroundings. There was not a single cultivator in over a mile of distance, and so, it was the perfect spot to probe Hu Mu.

"Ahh, yes! I decided to accompany you in your search" Hu Mu answered without a worry on his face. And then, with feigned cowardice and raised hands added "I am not planning to intervene in your talks at all, don't worry! As soon as she is found, I will disappear like mist!"

"Hah, as I would worry for something like that!" Bai Qi shrugged with bravado and deliberately turned his back to Hu Mu. After a few breaths, feeling that the latter was not planning to act now, Bai Qi asked "So you said she went East?"

"Yes" An answer followed almost immediately.

"Hmm, strange, I can not find any traces" Bai Qi shook his head.

"Oh, she probably was concealing herself. I didn't notice her before she appeared either" An this time an explanation followed right away.

"I see, then East I go" Bai Qi simply and began walking again. "Well, he has an answer and explanation to everything it seems. Now I wonder, what does await me to the east?" He thought while preparing himself for combat.

***

In truth, Hu Mu was simply making enough distance for no one to notice a fight. Initially, he had no intention of killing anyone but four people. Four people whose blood would serve to improve his cultivation technique, 'Blood Manipulation of Heavenly Talents'. A path that absorbed any inherited talents from a cultivator, be it bloodline or innate.

And a path that was long ago banned from the Great Forest region, with the Divine Blood Clan that cultivated it being hunted down. At least supposedly, as a part of the Clan had escaped and reestablished itself in the Demon Worshippers lands several decades ago.

But the Demon Region was a region where only the strong could hope to survive. And the current Blood Clan was far from being strong. With no other choice, the Clan had decided to start hunting for cultivators in other regions, and Hu Mu along with his master had come to Shuomen City.

His master, being a Pill Refining Grandmaster quickly found employment and a backer. Still, they could not hunt in the city, less they were discovered. With the result of the latter happening obvious.

But the 'Underground Land of the River' previous opening incident gave them the opportunity. When it happened again, who would even suspect a weak 8th level Soul realm of being able to kill people like Chang Kun, Tang Lei, or Zhen Zexi? Each of them with higher cultivation, genius-tier prowess, and a special bloodline?

Hu Mu had no luck yet finding any of those three, but his fourth target, Geng Xinya's soul-strengthening bloodline had been already consumed by him. But digesting even a weak bloodline required time, as well as the use of a ritual known as the 'Holy Lines of Blood Fusion'. A ritual that would make all the tattoos of his clan emerge on his skin, that required him to be naked, and that required him to unseal his true cultivation.

When he was just about to start the ritual, he was interrupted by this Chen Guang. Thankfully he left right away without noticing anything, and so Hu Mu felt at ease.

To prevent any other incidents, Hu Mu traveled two miles from the previous spot. Then he made sure to be alone and activated an illusion to hide from any passing cultivator, but... Su Yawen had to come exactly at the moment when the ritual was next to finishing!

Not a moment before, when Hu Mu could still conceal it, or after when there would be no tracks. No, she had to barge into the range of the illusion talisman at the moment when Hu Mu could not do anything.

And she wasn't dumb at all, she immediately recognized the ritual as something related to blood cultivation. And so Hu Mu had to kill her. Kill her and be done, at least that was the plan. But then he heard how Chen Guang was asking around about one of his prey.

And what's worse, when he approached to confirm what he heard, it turned out that he was looking for Su Yawen as well!

So there was no other option, Chen Guang had to die now. Before he found out anything. Otherwise, Hu Mu would be at risk of being discovered. And even his true cultivation would not help him if all the remaining sages band on him.

***

Turning one's back to an enemy was not the best idea, but that was only if you did not expect to be attacked. And Bai Qi did. Not only that, all of his senses had concentrated in a circle around him since the moment the Hu Mu suddenly grew quiet.

And so, as soon as he a strange increasing aura from behind, Bai Qi activated his prepared movement technique and disappeared from the spot. Moving over five hundred feet to the side.

*BOOM*

And he did wise, as the spot where he had been standing was ravaged with a scarlet-colored qi explosion. Everything in the 'Underground Forest' was protected by the main formation, and so the destruction was very small. Still, Bai Qi was sure that the strength behind that attack was enough to wound him.

"So you show your true colors?" Turning his face to look at Hu Mu, Bai Qi first noticed that the latter's face was now covered with a metallic mask.

But that was not important at all, the aura around Hu Mu was. Because it wasn't one of an 8th level Soul realm cultivator, no, it was now one of...

"A 5th level Sage?!" Bai Qi exclaimed in surprise. The strength wasn't an issue, but being able to conceal himself in front of Bai Qi, and even the dozens of Earth realm cultivators outside!