Chapter 158: Each Harboring Ulterior Motives

Several days later, Mu Lizi saw Su Fan again and said with a smile, "It seems Fellow Daoist Su has considered it carefully; I trust you will not disappoint this old man." Su Fan glanced at him; seeing the man's confident expression, he felt displeased, yet he did not reveal the slightest emotion, saying calmly, "Indeed, I am in urgent need of Ningyuan Grass, so I agree."

"Haha! Fellow Daoist Su, your decision is absolutely the right one."

"Let us sign the Soul Contract!"

Su Fan did not want to waste words with him.

Upon hearing this, Mu Lizi seemed to have been prepared, taking out a Contract Talisman. Su Fan swept it with his Divine Sense and saw the Soul Contract on it; both parties agreed to head out together in three months to explore that cave dwelling.

Before then, Su Fan could go to investigate it alone, but he was not allowed to selfishly probe the cave dwelling; once the Soul Contract was violated, one would suffer a soul backlash.

Su Fan knew that this kind of contract still held significant deterrence for Qi Refining cultivators.

Once it was truly violated, the consequences would be very serious, especially for a cultivator in the midst of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, as it would cause a backlash.

Therefore, ordinary cultivators rarely signed Soul Contracts.

After the two carved their Divine Soul imprints onto it, the former became even more delighted.

Su Fan also sneered in his heart; after some insincere pleasantries with each harboring ulterior motives, Mu Lizi took his leave.

Su Fan watched the man leave, his expression growing increasingly cold.

"Hmph!"

Looking at him indifferently, as if looking at a dead man, Su Fan only returned to his cave dwelling after a long while, took out a Communication Talisman, pondered for a moment, and sent a message.

On the other side, after leaving Su Fan's cave dwelling, Mu Lizi arrived at a cave dwelling in Dong Qu. There were already three people inside, and upon seeing Mu Lizi, the three hurriedly asked.

"Did it work?"

"Haha! It worked; now we just wait for this brat to take the bait."

Mu Lizi revealed a treacherous smile.

"Haha! Brother Mu is indeed capable; you caught him so easily."

"Hehe! Not at all!" Mu Lizi shook his head with a smile. He did not feel he was capable, but rather lamented that the other party was a complete novice, likely having only just stepped into the Immortal World, which was why he was easily deceived. Although he had been wary during the process, he had not used it in the right places.

"Haha! Brother Mu is being modest. By the way, what do we do next?"

"Naturally, we wait. I placed Traction Incense on this person; as soon as he leaves, I will know immediately. So let us wait and see if he truly falls for it. If he does, that is naturally for the best, and if not..."

"Then we wait until three months later and strike ourselves."

"With at least a First-Grade High-Tier Alchemist in our hands, our status within the organization will also increase greatly."

"Haha! True, Brother Mu is indeed meticulous to have discovered such a talent from obscurity."

The few were also very happy.

Several days later, Mu Lizi's eyes lit up.

"Haha! It worked, the brat couldn't help himself."

Mu Lizi found the others and said with a smile on his face.

"As expected." The other three were overjoyed upon hearing this.

"Haha! Truly a rookie."

The group was ecstatic; as long as they captured this kid and had a First-Grade High-Tier Alchemist in hand, their status within the organization would increase significantly.

The value of an extremely young First-Grade High-Tier Alchemist was incredibly high; if they sold him to certain powers, they might even be able to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The group felt a burning desire.

After discussing it, they slowly left the market.

"Indeed, they have ill intentions."

Su Fan walked out of Taihe Market and headed in the direction of the cave dwelling Mu Lizi had given him. Halfway there, his Divine Sense stirred, and he immediately discovered several sneaky figures behind him.

The Divine Sense range of an ordinary ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator is about a hundred zhang; Foundation Establishment cultivators far exceed ninth-layer Qi Refining, and a Foundation Establishment First Layer cultivator has double the Divine Sense range of a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.

And Su Fan's Divine Sense was not something an ordinary Foundation Establishment First Layer cultivator could compare to; his Divine Sense could sweep across a radius of one kilometer.

Although those people behind him were seven or eight hundred meters away, they were still discovered by him.

On this Huangyuan with dense shrubbery, a cultivator relying solely on their Fleshly Body would at most see about a hundred meters.

Most rely on Divine Sense.

Those people thought he was just an ordinary eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivator whose Divine Sense range was no more than one or two hundred meters, so they trailed him from afar, naturally thinking there would be no issues.

Unfortunately, they underestimated Su Fan.

Moreover, Su Fan's martial arts senses were even more powerful.

A cold sneer appeared on his face.

Then he continued toward the cave dwelling Mu Lizi had mentioned. Regardless of what Mu Lizi and his group were planning, he still hoped in his heart that the cave dwelling was real. Not to mention the Alchemist's Inheritance, Su Fan hoped that even the Ningyuan Grass was not fake.

The Huangyuan was difficult to traverse; not only were there no paths, but one also had to be careful of poisonous insects in the shrubs. Fortunately, Su Fan released a layer of Magic Power Shield, so he was not afraid.

It took about eight days for Su Fan to finally find the hill where the cave dwelling Mu Lizi mentioned was located.

"It seems this is the place; I hope it does not disappoint me."

Looking at the mountain that towered into the clouds, shrouded in mist all year round, a look of gravity appeared on Su Fan's face; this mist was poisonous.

Sensing the Spirit Energy in the mountain, he frowned; there was a Spirit Vein here, which also meant there were demonic beasts. Mu Lizi had not mentioned this point.

However, thinking of this, Su Fan did not retreat but instead walked into the thick fog with increasing caution.

Fortunately, although the thick fog was poisonous, it did not suppress his Divine Sense; with his Divine Sense released, he could see everything around him clearly.

The few little mice behind him also followed quickly.

"It seems I should deal with them first before I can go and check out that cave dwelling with peace of mind."

Su Fan thought for a moment, and murderous intent rose in his heart.

"Fellow Daoist Mu, that kid has entered the mountain; let's make our move too!"

"If we move further inside, we might disturb the demonic beasts within."

The elderly man surnamed Qi with a goat beard suggested.

"Very well, we shall proceed according to Qi Daoyou's plan."

Upon hearing this, Muli Zi did not refuse and nodded.

After the few of them exchanged glances, they quickly walked toward the clouds and mist.

Being inside the mist, the four of them became cautious.

However, just at this moment, a sudden soft sound startled the four of them, right as they were on guard.

"Watch out!"

Muli Zi and the others suddenly cried out in horror, which left the old man surnamed Qi somewhat confused; yet, in an instant, he felt an extremely cold sharp edge behind his forehead, and just as he was about to manifest his magic power to protect his body, he felt a pain in his forehead and then plunged into darkness.

"Who goes there?"

Muli Zi and the others watched with their own eyes as a crystalline, translucent cold light pierced through Qi Daoyou's head, bringing out a trail of blood, and the latter collapsed to the ground with a boom.

A chill ran through their hearts, and at the same time, the remaining rogue cultivators all manifested their own magical artifacts.

Muli Zi pressed his palm down, and a golden-bronze Copper Bell appeared in his hand; the small Copper Bell quickly released a golden light barrier, covering Muli Zi entirely.

As for the other two, one manifested a Defense Talisman, while the other cast a Wind Shield Magic Technique.

At the same time, the three of them frantically scanned their surroundings with their Divine Sense.