Chapter 44: Praying Mantis Captures the Cicada

Seeing the face full of excitement, they were eagerly telling themselves about the imminent hunt for the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger.

And, what benefits could be reaped from it.

Li Mu only listened on the side and did not voice many opinions.

He only placed more attention on Shao Wenqiang's six-person squad nearby.

If judged only from the surface, Shao Wenqiang seems cheerful and very easy to approach.

But Li Mu always feels that, between his brows, there is heavy scheming.

Moreover, he is clear about Qian Wenyi's strength.

He has only just reached the Seventh Grade Qi Refinement Realm, and such cultivation makes him appear so inconspicuous within Shao Wenqiang's squad.

In the battle against the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger, he is completely a dispensable presence.

Moreover, Shao Wenqiang's squad is entirely composed of disciples of Little Heavenly Peak, yet he still chose to pull Qian Wenyi into the squad.

If there were no other scheming involved, I wouldn't even believe that Li Mu could be killed!

Thinking of that…

Li Mu's gaze lingered for a moment on Qian Wenyi's golden, dazzling, luxurious spirit-artifact gear, and he thought pensively for a while.

"If I'm not mistaken!"

"What Shao Wenqiang is after is probably the premium spirit-artifact set on that chubby kid's body."

As if confirming Li Mu's suspicion, the Heavenly Dao Treasure Scroll hidden in his sea of consciousness showed a new development at this moment.

Li Mu's mind shifted, and he looked at the Heavenly Dao Treasure Scroll within his sea of consciousness, slowly turning to a new page.

Sure enough, the page began to slowly reveal the names of Shao Wenqiang and the other six!

Watching Shao Wenqiang and the six, already logged by the Heavenly Dao Treasure Scroll, and also seeing Qian Wenyi, whose face was excited as he chattered nonstop into his ear.

In the end, Li Mu helplessly sighed and followed along.

After all, Qian Wenyi is Yao Mengzhen's younger cousin, and Yao Mengzhen's help to her is indeed far too much.

Moreover, Qian Wenyi is, after all, the first junior disciple he has taken in.

He can't just watch this guy meet a tragic death here with his eyes open.

As for Shao Wenqiang and the others…

Li Mu then fixed his gaze on Shao Wenqiang's six-person squad, with golden flames flickering in his eyes.

"If we take down the sixth-place team from the Wind and Cloud Ranking, and devour them all…"

"I suppose I'm not far from the Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection now, right?"

"…"

This temporary squad marched through the jungle for about a quarter of an hour and soon arrived near the cave where Li Mu was last time.

Leading the squad, Shao Wenqiang pointed ahead, exclaiming excitedly, "Our luck this time is really great!"

"We haven't encountered any monster beasts along the way?"

"Indeed!"

Another young disciple of Little Heavenly Peak, with a lingering fear on his face, sighed, "When I was first teleported here, I was surrounded by monster beasts the moment I landed!"

"If it weren't for good luck and being teleported together with Brother Shao, I might have been devoured the moment I touched ground."

"We are all from the same sect; helping each other is only natural."

"First, find a foothold in the Yunshan Secret Realm, then consider the next plan."

Shao Wenqiang shook his hand, muttered a sentence, and then fixed his gaze on Li Mu and Qian Wenyi, his face solemn as he said.

"This valley is the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger's territory; if all of us gather together, we still don't know when we could find the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger."

"Therefore we must split up and, before the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger recovers, quickly locate those beasts!"

"Next!"

"We will pair up, forming three small squads to begin exploring the entire valley."

After announcing the operation plan, Shao Wenqiang then fixed his gaze on Li Mu and Qian Wenyi.

"Li Mu, you and Qian Wenyi are both disciples of Longtan Feng; you two should team up to explore this cave."

"The remaining areas are left to us!"

"If you discover anything, inform us immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Wenyi didn't wait for Li Mu to speak, and slapped his own chest with a thumping sound: "Don't worry, I've got it covered!"

Li Mu said nothing, only shook his head at Qian Wenyi.

Qian Wenyi, like his cousin Yao Mengzhen, is a young master from a great family, accustomed to a life of pampered luxury.

Compared with Li Mu, an old veteran of two lifetimes, he is still too immature.

However, considering the cunning deceit of Shao Wenqiang's six-person squad,

When Qian Wenyi, surrounded by spirit artifacts, meets them, his Seventh Grade Qi Refinement Realm cultivation makes escape impossible.

That is why he didn't strike down immediately!

Presumably, they are still bound by the first rule of the Four Peaks Grand Tournament: in principle, one may not harm a fellow sect member's life.

Thus, Shao Wenqiang's six need to devise a "reasonable" death scene for Qian Wenyi.

For example…

Dying tragically in the tiger's jaws during the fight with the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger?

That would be a good choice!

Afterwards, even if superiors send investigators, we would have ample excuse to exonerate ourselves.

And the only thing Qian Wenyi can do is to feign ignorance.

Pretending not to know, he follows behind Shao Wenqiang and the others, waiting for a chance to escape.

But doing so has a drawback.

That is, if the acting is unconvincing and Shao Wenqiang and the others spot the clue, they'll probably tear off the façade on the spot and strike down.

Looking at it this way…

This little fat guy is also a fool blessed with luck, having met his match.

Otherwise, today would have been an inescapable disaster.

At this moment, Qian Wenyi was already forging ahead at the front, while Li Mu followed silently behind him.

The two of them entered this cave together.

But soon, the silence was broken.

"Da—"

"Brother!"

"It's a Heavenly Treasure!"

"We're getting rich!"

Qian Wenyi pointed toward the depths of the cave, trembling with excitement as he shouted.

Following the direction of Qian Wenyi's finger, not far away there was a plant emitting red mist, the red‑cloud purple herb!

Compared with the excited Qian Wenyi, who seemed at a loss for words, Li Mu remained noticeably calmer; he merely glanced toward the cave entrance behind him.

Sure enough, faint silhouettes lingered at the cave entrance, evidently watching every move in secret.

"……"

Guarding the cave was none other than the Little Sky Peak Six‑Man Squad led by Shao Wenqiang.

From start to finish, they had no intention of exploring the valley.

They kept watch, constantly monitoring the actions of Li Mu and Qian Wenyi inside the cave.

Seeing that they had discovered the red‑cloud purple herb, Shao Wenqiang curled his lips and lifted his chin toward a young man standing beside him.

"Huang Yiheng, go block the cave."

"Also, use the Communication Token to summon the brothers scattered outside."

"For this operation, I will ensure it is flawless!"

Huang Yiheng scratched his head, asking in doubt, "Brother, is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?"

"Qian Wenyi is a useless person; the only tricky one is Li Mu."

"But with your half‑step Concentration Realm cultivation, Brother, killing him would be no trouble."

"Moreover, we have an absolute numerical advantage…"

Shao Wenqiang gave a cold glance.

Only now his face no longer showed the false smile he wore when he was with Li Mu and Qian Wenyi.

"Right…"

"Sorry, brother!"

Sensing Shao Wenqiang's hostile gaze, Huang Yiheng immediately lowered his head and apologized repeatedly.

"Stupid!"

Shao Wenqiang sneered with a cold snort.

"The Crimson Flame Giant Tiger is only wounded, not dead!"

"If we take care of Li Mu now, the pressure of hunting the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger will fall entirely on us."

"But…"

Saying that, Shao Wenqiang spread his mouth, revealing a vicious smile.

"But when I came here last time, I specifically confirmed that the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger is currently inside this cave."

"Li Mu isn't that strong in combat, is he?"

"Since he's so capable, let him help us stab the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger a few more times before he dies!"

"That way, when it's our turn to kill that beast, we'll save a lot of effort, won't we?"

"Brother, you're brilliant!"

After hearing Shao Wenqiang's whole plan, Huang Yiheng immediately praised sincerely.

The interior of the cave is a tangled maze; no one knows where the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger is recuperating.

But if we block the cave, it will not only cut off Li Mu and Qian Wenyi's retreat.

At the same time, the act of sealing the cave will inevitably alarm the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger inside.

By then, Li Mu and Qian Wenyi will have a fierce tiger ahead and no way out behind.

Their fate can be easily imagined!

If they're lucky, Li Mu might, in his death throes, strike back and end up both badly wounded with the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger, allowing us to loot.

Moreover, Qian Wenyi's high‑grade spiritual equipment and the space jade pendant artifact at his waist are quite valuable.

If we take them to the outside auction, that would bring in a huge profit!

Now that's a truly lucrative deal!

Shao Wenqiang's mouth curled upward, his smug smile no longer able to be suppressed.

"After sealing the entrance, watch the interior carefully!"

"When the fight ends, we'll rush in at once!"

"Alright, brother!"

After Huang Yiheng's brief reply, he immediately ordered the squad members to start sealing the entrance.

"……"

Qian Wenyi looked at the red‑cloud purple herb before him, so excited that he was about to dash forward to pick it.

But after running forward only a couple of steps, he looked at Li Mu beside him, his chubby face showing a hint of nervousness and unease, and said, "Big brother!"

"I heard that next to a Heavenly Treasure, there is usually a very powerful demonic beast guarding it!"

"For example, that Crimson Flame Giant Tiger?"

"You say, the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger wouldn't be around here, right?"

"Who knows!"

Li Mu's reply was as brief and decisive as always.

Although Li Mu knew what would happen next.

But if he actually said it, Qian Wenyi would probably be scared stiff.

At that point, he would have to deal with the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger while also protecting the entire dead weight.

What a hassle!

"In that case..."

Qian Wenyi paused, about to say something.

At that moment.

"Rumble—"

Accompanied by a massive roar, the cave entrance collapsed in an instant, dust billowing, countless stones falling and sealing the entrance tightly.

"Hm?"

"Ah?"

"Aaaah!"

Qian Wenyi hurriedly turned his head to look back.

But he saw that the entrance was completely blocked.

The cave, already pitch‑dark with almost zero visibility, became even more impenetrable, a dead silence that was suffocating!

Just as Qian Wenyi was still plunged into great panic and helplessness.

"Roar!"

A burst of beastly roar suddenly rang out!

Only then,

Deep within the dark cave, two scarlet eyes suddenly lit up, staring directly at Li Mu and Qian Wenyi.

Crimson Flame Giant Tiger!

It's here!