Chapter 540

"In debt?" Cang Li hissed, raised his hand to rub his chin, and said, "Then I'll definitely charge you interest."

Xiao Zhufeng was about to ask how the "interest" was calculated, but Xiao Lingwei cut him off.

"Be serious."

After a glare from his own Second Senior Sister, Cang Li coughed, "I won't charge anyone interest. As for these interest‑reducing pills, if you have spirit stones, give me spirit stones; if not, give some alchemy materials; if you have nothing, just owe them now and repay me later."

Saying that, Cang Li took the interest‑reducing pills from storage and handed them out one by one.

Yuan Yao took the pill and added, "Third senior brother, we also need disguise pills."

Cang Li's mouth twitched beneath his mask; he gritted his teeth, "I'll give them to you."

He felt such pain it was as if blood would drip out.

"Hehe, thanks, third senior brother," Yuan Yao winked at him.

"No need to thank me, because you'll give me spirit stones," Cang Li inhaled deeply.

"Just give them to you!" Dong Jiao said heartily.

Except for Xiao Zhufeng, they all settled with Cang Li on the spot.

Xiao Zhufeng was truly penniless, unable to produce even a single spirit herb.

Zhai Qingye looked at them and asked, "Should we start with the demon race or the monster race?"

"Demon race," Yuan Yao, Ying Wuji, and Qian Yunzhou answered almost in unison.

Yuan Yao's expression froze, and she lifted her eyes to meet theirs.

Yuan Yao analyzed, "This generation of demon‑race Heavenly Prides is overall stronger than our human and monster races. So the stronger they are, the more they have the capital to turn ruthless; once they notice the monster race making minor moves, they'll strike the monster race."

"Xiao Liu is right," Qian Yunzhou said with a smile.

Xiao Lingwei said, "So we need to disguise ourselves as monster‑race Heavenly Prides?"

"Right," Yuan Yao nodded.

Ying Wuji said, "Ordinary disguises are easily seen through; only by mimicking the appearance, stature, and techniques of monster‑race Heavenly Prides can we truly pass as real."

Dong Jiao frowned, "But the problem is, we've never seen monster‑race Heavenly Prides."

Yuan Yao said, "Then we'll go find a monster‑race squad and observe them from the shadows for a while."

At that moment, Ying Wuji glanced anxiously at the other side of the cliff.

When Ying Wuji withdrew his gaze, he met Yuan Yao's eyes.

Their eyes met, and they seemed to understand each other's thoughts.

Yuan Yao lifted her gaze and said firmly, "Before we go find a monster‑race squad, I want to pre‑place some formation barriers at the edge of the Abyss Line."

Xue Jin asked, "How long will it take?"

Yuan Yao: "About six hours."

Dong Jiao asked, a bit puzzled, "Yuan Yao, you've been setting up formation barriers the whole way; what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Prevent danger," Yuan Yao replied in four words.

"Six hours…" Ling Huya thought, "I also don't know if Ying Wuji's group can hold out."

Qian Yunzhou said, "They're not that weak; they should have a way to protect themselves."

Ling Huya, hearing that, also thought it not unreasonable.

After their discussion, Yuan Yao removed the sound‑proof barrier.

Immediately, she began setting up formation barriers at the edge of the Abyss Line.

The dozen or so human‑race Heavenly Prides had been watching their every move from the shadows; when they saw Yuan Yao actually setting up formation barriers, they exchanged glances.

Just as they were about to discuss quietly, Cang Li had already stepped in front of them.

Cang Li clasped his hands and said calmly, "Patrons, what are your plans from now on?"

"Huh? We…" one Heavenly Pride stammered, then said haltingly, "We plan to rest here for a while."

"I understand," Cang Li nodded.

Saying that, Cang Li turned and spoke to Song Yan and the others.

Yuan Yao walked along the edge of the Abyss Line, continuously setting up formation barriers.

And Cang Li and the others kept following her.

The human‑race Heavenly Prides, seeing them walk farther away, were somewhat surprised; after exchanging glances, they discussed:

"Are they leaving?"

"Should we follow them?"

"Are they really the Abyss‑Clearing Squad sent by the Buddha Venerable?"

"Why does this Abyss‑Clearing Squad seem a bit odd to me?"

"Don't you think they really look like Qian Shan Liuzi, Qian Yunzhou, Dong Jiao, and the others?"

"You say, could it be that the Buddha Venerable and other Immortal Venerables revoked Yuan Yao's right to enter Tian Jiaocheng not because of the half‑demon issue, but secretly gave her a covert mission, then had her lead Qian Shan Liuzi, Qian Yunzhou, Dong Jiao, etc., into the Abyss to form an Abyss‑Clearing Squad to carry out an unspeakable task!" the young man squinted and analyzed.

Hearing this, the other Heavenly Prides fell silent.

The young woman said, "We can't rule that out."

A Heavenly Pride, very curious, asked, "What secret mission are they actually supposed to carry out?"

"Get up quickly!" the young woman sprang up, urging, "We'll keep pace with them!"

"That's not so good, right?"

"What's wrong with that? We're all badly wounded; if we encounter the demon or monster Heavenly Prides or Abyss Beasts, we'd surely die. By staying at a distance behind them, if we run into danger they can intervene in time," the young woman said.

The dozen or so Heavenly Prides, upon hearing that, immediately stood up.

"Let's go!"

Their party followed Yuan Yao and the others at a moderate distance.

Yuan Yao and the others had long noticed their sneaky behavior of following behind.

Dong Jiao put her hands on her hips, "They've been following us; should we beat them up?"

Song Yan quickly said, "They're following us only to seek protection; there's no need to beat them."

Dong Jiao: "All right."

Song Yan let out a sigh of relief.

As time passed, Yuan Yao had already set up numerous spell formations; her internal spiritual power was nearly exhausted.

"Let's rest a while," Xiao Lingwei said to her.

Yuan Yao nodded.

She sat cross-legged and quickly regulated her internal breath.

Time trickled by; after she adjusted her condition, she continued to set up spell formations along the "Abyssal Line".

"The end is ahead," Ying Wuji looked up, and what came into view was a towering mountain that pierced the clouds, and the mountain blocked that bottomless "Abyssal Line".

"Hmm..." Cang Li raised an eyebrow, "Can we pass through this mountain to reach the core region on the other side?"

"Yes," Ying Wuji glanced sideways at Cang Li, "but the precondition is whether you can withstand the strongly acidic corrosive aura inside the mountain."

"Strongly acidic? Corrosive aura?" Cang Li blinked, "How do you know that?"

Ying Wuji's expression froze slightly, "My master said so."

Cang Li scratched his head in doubt, "Did your master say that?"

At that moment, a sound came from afar.

Ying Wuji immediately raised his hand, making a silencing gesture.

At the same time, Yuan Yao also finished setting up the final spell formation.

The eleven exchanged glances, just about to find a place to hide, when they realized that over ten human heaven-chosen prodigies were still nearby.