Chapter 1496: Hunting Martial Cultivators

Ye Liuyun has also led troops in battle, so he immediately saw that these soldiers were defending inside, not outside.

When he said so, Guo Da also saw it.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I really wouldn't have noticed! I was just wondering how these people got in so smoothly! Could the soldiers have deliberately let them in, then sealed them inside?" Guo Da was a bit puzzled, asking what the purpose of doing this was.

"We retreat! Something's off here!" Ye Liuyun didn't know what was happening either, but just felt something was wrong, so he decided to lead everyone away first.

After they withdrew from the Sunset Mountains, Ye Liuyun finally had Guo Da set up defenses and a hidden Formation, and then he discussed matters with the group.

"I have a bad feeling!" Meng Zhangxing said.

"What is it?" Ye Liuyun asked.

"Have you heard of hunting Martial Cultivators?" Meng Zhangxing asked the group.

"You mean hunting living people?" Luo Yun asked in surprise.

Meng Zhangxing nodded solemnly.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Guo Da suddenly said, "Do you remember what that soldier said when we were first intercepted by a Flying Boat?"

"What?"

"Which sentence?"

The others were a bit confused, wondering what Guo Da wanted to ask.

He said, "I'm doing this for your own good, so you won't be taken as prey." Guo Da remembered it clearly.

Upon hearing that, everyone suddenly understood.

"Luo Tianming wants to hunt these Martial Cultivators?" Luo Yun opened her mouth wide, finding it hard to believe.

"That's probably it!" Ye Liuyun agreed: "They deliberately leaked the information, letting those Martial Cultivators in. Then they surrounded them within a certain area, waiting for Luo Tianming to bring men to hunt them."

"They can kill beasts, go on expeditions! Why must they kill people?" A Ya asked, puzzled.

Guo Da thought for a moment and said, "As a prince, he certainly wouldn't take risks. The outer beasts have already been mostly slain. If he doesn't hunt Martial Cultivators, he'd find it boring!"

"Exactly! That brat even tried to shoot me dead back then!" Meng Zhangxing added.

The others recalled Luo Tianming's previous actions and no longer doubted.

"What should we do?" Luo Yun asked.

"I really want to beat that bastard up!" Meng Zhangxing slammed his fist onto the ground, saying angrily.

"Either kill him or stay away from him!" Ye Liuyun said calmly: "Before we only thought he was somewhat arrogant and overbearing. Now it seems he's truly ruthless. Removing him would be a service to the people."

"But the kind of punishment you mentioned is simply unworkable! He will definitely take revenge!"

"Mm!" Guo Da nodded, fully endorsing Ye Liuyun's view.

But he also said, "After killing him, we'll still need to find a way to break through the seal and retreat cleanly, leaving no trace!"

"I think we should rescue those innocent Martial Cultivators, at least give them a heads‑up," A Ya said.

"It's useless! Not to mention they won't believe us. Even if they did, they're already sealed inside and can't get out!" Guo Da explained to A Ya.

Ye Liuyun replied, "There's no need to consider those Martial Cultivators. They're greedy and reckless. They wouldn't even doubt whether it's a trap!"

Meng Zhangxing thought for a while, then finally let Ye Liuyun make the decision.

He wanted to eliminate Luo Tianming. But he feared the others would suspect him of using public matters for personal gain.

Ye Liuyun understood his thinking, smiled, and voiced his own idea.

"Luo Tianming is a juicy piece of meat! He and his companions surely carry plenty of resources. Let's treat him as our first resource upon arriving at the Sunset Mountains. We'll kill him, and whatever Martial Cultivators we can rescue that counts!"

Ye Liuyun was only after the ready‑made resources on Luo Tianming. As for eliminating him or rescuing other Martial Cultivators, that didn't matter.

"Alright!" Everyone agreed unanimously.

Although their motivations differed, the outcome was largely the same.

Meng Zhangxing reminded Ye Liuyun: "As a prince, he likely has personal guards hidden in the shadows. Their strength could be far greater than the servants we've seen!"

"No problem, leave it to me!" Ye Liuyun took charge.

"So should we wait here until tomorrow to go in?" Luo Yun asked Ye Liuyun.

"No. We must first create a breach in the seal circle to leave a safe retreat path." Ye Liuyun said.

Immediately, he ordered everyone to stay put while he began searching along the soldiers' seal circle.

He put on the Sky‑Walking Boots, draped the Invisibility Cloak, moving swiftly and remaining hard to detect.

It wasn't until two hours later that he found the soldiers' seal line and turned toward the interior of the Sunset Mountains.

After walking further inside, he came upon a vast natural swamp, where the soldiers' seal line finally broke off.

Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense and Golden Pupil swept over the swamp, revealing a giant crocodile of Sixth Layer, a Celestial Sovereign, with many smaller crocs lounging there.

After confirming, he retraced his steps back.

"Can we poison all those crocs without the soldiers noticing?" Ye Liuyun asked Luo Yun after returning.

"No problem! It just takes a little time for the effect to kick in," Luo Yun said confidently.

"Then it's not urgent; we can go in at night tomorrow. Prepare the pills. We'll set out now and try to pour the poison into the swamp tonight."

Ye Liuyun immediately led the group toward the swamp.

To speed their travel, Ye Liuyun released his Black Panther, letting everyone ride on it.

The Black Panther was extremely fast, bringing everyone to an uninhabited spot at the swamp's edge before dawn.

Luo Yun took out some pills, tossed them into the swamp, then told Ye Liuyun: "All set; by tonight it'll be fine."

"Are you sure? We'll be passing over the swamp tonight!" Ye Liuyun confirmed.

"I'm sure; these medicines are enough to put all the crocs here to sleep for half a month!"

"Sleep‑inducing medicine? Not poison?" Ye Liuyun asked in surprise.

Yeah! Otherwise, if those crocodiles died, wouldn't they all float to the swamp's surface and be discovered?" Luo Yun explained: "Besides, those crocodiles aren't stupid either. If one died from poison, wouldn't the others run away?"

Ye Liuyun thought about it and agreed; when it comes to poisoning people, Luo Yun is still more skilled.

All right, we'll withdraw a bit farther and come back after dark!

Ye Liuyun immediately led the group, hid far away, and waited for nightfall.