Chapter 175

"You brought this on yourself." Chen Fan couldn't help but sneer as he listened to the screams behind him come to an abrupt end.

Those who kill others must be prepared to be killed themselves!

Besides, he hadn't done anything; he had merely dodged the other party's attack.

The few people charging in front only had time for a hurried glance after hearing the screams behind them before choosing to continue their desperate dash for survival.

Yuan Shuo's death actually eased the pressure on the group; taking advantage of the time the wolf pack spent tearing apart the corpse, everyone had already rushed into the mountain forest.

"We're really unlucky this time, running into a wolf pack as soon as we got in." Chen Xiwen panted heavily, feeling a lingering fear.

Xiao Shan leaned against a giant tree to steady his breathing.

Meanwhile, Gao Qiang and Lin Qingfeng were whispering to each other on the side.

Furthermore, the two of them kept glancing at Chen Fan with unfriendly expressions.

Chen Fan didn't care in the slightest; whether it was the second-tier peak Gao Qiang or the third-tier mid-stage Lin Qingfeng, they were nothing more than clowns to him.

After resting for a few minutes, Xiao Shan called out to everyone:

"Let's go quickly. This forest is frequently haunted by Spirit Shadow Leopards and is very dangerous. Since we've rested, let's get back on the road."

Xiao Shan was extremely familiar with the local terrain and strange beasts, clearly having frequented this place for years.

With him leading the way, the group soon passed through this stretch of forest.

After walking for another half hour, the group finally arrived at the edge of Luanzang Valley, the place where the Purple Flame Two-Tailed Foxes appeared.

This valley was filled with strange rocks; if any strange beasts were hiding there, it would be very difficult to discover them.

Xiao Shan looked at the group and said, "We are one person short now, so the risk of being targeted by those Purple Flame Two-Tailed Foxes has increased! I suggest we proceed in a 2-1-2 formation!"

"What do you mean?" Everyone turned their gaze toward him.

Xiao Shan looked at Lin Qingfeng and said, "Brother Lin, among us, your strength is the greatest. You and Gao Qiang take the lead. Chen and I will walk at the back to guard against sneak attacks from behind. Brother Xiao Fan's strength is a bit weaker, so he should walk in the middle; it's relatively safer."

"Hm?" Chen Fan was somewhat surprised; his favorable impression of Xiao Shan increased quite a bit.

"Mm, I have no problem with that," Chen Xiwen stated first.

However, Lin Qingfeng and Gao Qiang were somewhat unwilling; in their eyes, Chen Fan was a complete burden.

Not only could he not help, but they also had to waste their energy protecting him.

But out of respect for Xiao Shan, the two didn't say anything.

Besides, if they really let Chen Fan bring up the rear, they feared that even if the Purple Flame Two-Tailed Foxes snuck up behind them, he wouldn't even notice, which might be even more dangerous.

The group slowly entered Luanzang Valley. Everything was deathly silent, with only the rustling sound of footsteps on the ground echoing in the valley.

The group was extremely cautious, their mental power highly concentrated, constantly guarding against the Purple Flame Two-Tailed Foxes that might rush out at any moment.

However, as Chen Fan walked in the middle of the team, he frowned slightly.

Strange beasts generally do not conceal their aura. With the strength of his mental power, if there were truly Purple Flame Two-Tailed Foxes in this valley, he should have sensed them long ago. Yet, he didn't feel any strange beast aura at all!

Moreover, the valley was deathly silent; apart from the Gobi gravel, there wasn't even a single tree, which seemed to differ greatly from the habitat of the Purple Flame Two-Tailed Foxes recorded in textbooks.

"Not right! Where is the problem?!" Chen Fan muttered to himself.

He felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what the problem was.

Just as he was frowning and thinking, suddenly, an energy fluctuation came from behind him.

"Hm?" Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and turned his head rapidly.

He saw that Xiao Shan and Chen Xiwen had actually activated their abilities!

Xiao Shan had transformed into his Black Iron Body, while flames appeared on Chen Xiwen's palms.

"What are these two trying to do?" Just as Chen Fan was astonished, the two bypassed him and headed straight for Lin Qingfeng and Gao Qiang in front.

Xiao Shan's black fist smashed into Lin Qingfeng's back, while Chen Xiwen's flaming palm struck Gao Qiang's back.

The two in front were hit as if by thunder, instantly vomiting blood and flying backward.

"You! You guys!" Lin Qingfeng and Gao Qiang turned their heads, feeling both incredulous and incredibly furious.

"Why did you sneak attack us?!"

"Hahaha, today's college students are really easy to fool. I made up a lie, and you believed it so easily." Xiao Shan changed from his originally righteous appearance, becoming extremely ferocious.

Chen Xiwen on the side also changed her face.

"Fourth Brother, how was my performance as a shill? Our coordination is getting better and better. This is already the third group we've tricked into coming here."

"Not bad, worth rewarding!" Just as the two were laughing heartily, several more men walked out from behind the giant rocks nearby.

"Fourth, Seventh Sister, well done."

The group surrounded the three in the middle, looking extremely happy.

After the banter, a one-eyed man looked at Chen Fan and the other two, grinned, and said, "Come on, let me see if there's anything valuable on this batch of goods."

"Fifth, that guy's sword is pretty good. It's D-grade quality; it should be worth eight or ten million," Xiao Shan reminded him.

"Oh? Then I'll have to take a good look." The one-eyed man was pleasantly surprised and hurriedly picked up the long sword that Lin Qingfeng had dropped on the ground.

After admiring it, he tucked it into his waistband.

Immediately after, he kicked Lin Qingfeng in the face and said viciously, "Kid, take out everything valuable on you. Take out your phone too. Tell us all the unlock passwords and bank transfer passwords."

Lin Qingfeng had been somewhat tough initially, but after a brutal beating, he could only comply obediently.

Chen Fan had been watching coldly from the sidelines. By now, how could he not see that he and the people from Jindong Martial University had been set up by a group of mercenaries?

"I should have realized it sooner. Xiao Shan is so familiar with the terrain and strange beasts here; he must have been entering and exiting other-dimensional spaces for years. How could such a person not have his own squad, and how could he possibly be picking up people to form a team on the fly?" Chen Fan smiled bitterly, admitting that his social experience was still too lacking.

But he was not afraid in the slightest, because the strength of this group was too weak for him.

Even the leader's strength was only at the third-tier late stage.

"Fine, this is fate. Since you dared to scam me, I can only say sorry in a moment."

Not long after, Lin Qingfeng and Gao Qiang had handed over all their belongings. The two collapsed on the ground, wailing loudly; they knew very well that they wouldn't survive today.

At this moment, the one-eyed man walked toward Chen Fan, the smile on his face extremely chilling.

"Kid, you're calm and collected, you've got guts. Now it's your turn."

He snorted coldly, and the mace in his hand swung toward Chen Fan.

"You're courting death!" Chen Fan snorted coldly and kicked out violently. He didn't hold back his strength, and this heavy kick sent the one-eyed man flying more than twenty meters away.

This man's internal organs were shattered by Chen Fan's kick, and he died on the spot.

"Fifth!" The group of mercenaries on the side was startled by this scene and rushed to kill Chen Fan one after another.