Volume Three: Rising Fame - Chapter Ninety: Enthusiastic Compatriots Sitting Side by Side

A fifth-rank cultivator running a few steps and complaining of fatigue?!

The group twitched the corners of their mouths, yet said nothing more.

"Is it because of the previous battle or the injuries?"

Wen Xiangxuan and Xing Chengping, who had entered the cavern, felt somewhat puzzled. However, assuming they had guessed the truth, they proactively invited everyone to land and rest.

Li Yu offered no further explanation. Instead, he beckoned Can Yishuang over and said, "Absorb this!"

"Ah?"

Can Yishuang looked at the Snow-Blowing Ghost Crystal handed to her, letting out a puzzled response. At the very beginning, the Snow-Blowing Ghost Crystals she and Li Yu had acquired together were all given to the latter, as she had no particular use for them.

After all, as for spiritual energy, the effect of meditating in a place rich in spiritual energy was the same for her. However, ever since entering that underground cavern filled with Snow-Blowing Ghost Crystals, Li Yu had been constantly urging her to absorb them.

"Take it. There is a small surprise waiting for you!" Li Yu directly placed the Snow-Blowing Ghost Crystal into her hand and looked into the distance. "We have guests arriving. Wen Xiangxuan, Xing Chengping, let's go welcome them."

'Guests?!'

What kind of guests could we possibly have? Weren't we entirely unrelated before entering the secret realm?

He didn't even come to the banquet when invited!

Wen Xiangxuan was somewhat perplexed, but she still followed Li Yu as he flew toward the rear.

Leading the two fifth-rank cultivators, Li Yu flew backward and soon hovered above a mountain valley.

A stream cut right across, dividing the small valley into two nearly symmetrical regions—one side overgrown with weeds, the other dense with trees.

"Where are you all going?!"

Above the valley, Li Yu called out in a loud voice.

'There are people here?!'

Wen Xiangxuan and Xing Chengping exchanged glances in secret astonishment. Had they not trusted that Li Yu was not one to joke around, they would have thought this was a prank of his.

"Stop hiding. We've seen you for a while. Aren't you tired of following us all this way?" Li Yu hovered above the stream, speaking in a calm tone.

"Two in the trees, one in the water, one in the grass. Aren't you going to come out yet?"

Following his words, several figures wrapped completely in black robes suddenly materialized from the empty valley.

"There really are people... Which clan do they belong to?" Xing Chengping stared at these figures who had evaded his detection, a look of shock on his face.

Had these people not stepped out on their own, he would never have noticed that so many individuals were hiding here. When they had passed by this place just moments ago, it had looked to him like an utterly ordinary mountain valley!

"Are they demons?"

Wen Xiangxuan softly murmured.

Compared to Xing Chengping, she knew a bit more, having previously learned about the attire and appearance of demons from Li Yu.

Although these people did not currently give her a feeling of "repulsion," she had already jumped to a conclusion in her heart.

"How did he discover us?" the black-robed young man emerging from the water thought with hidden alarm. He understood the local language fairly well—at least, ordinary speech was intelligible to him.

Regarding the young man they had tailed all this way, he now realized with a start that they had severely underestimated the latter's abilities.

Being able to easily detect their presence meant that he was already much more troublesome to deal with than the average native.

"Not sure. Be careful. Eldest Brother might have been..." another black-robed, robed-wrapped woman muttered in a low voice, "He clearly looked just a bit stronger than ordinary fifth-rank cultivators, but now he seems unfathomably deep. Strange!"

'They really are demons!'

Listening to the conversation among these people, Wen Xiangxuan's heart sank. She had never heard such a language before. However, seeing Li Yu's calm demeanor eased her anxiety quite a bit.

After all, the predecessor of Da Ming was the unified Da Qin Empire. Although later overthrown by demons, the Da Qin Empire, having once ruled extensively, still left behind many traces of its civilization.

Take language, for instance: during the period of imperial unification, human speech had long since established a unified standard.

A language like this, completely incomprehensible to Wen Xiangxuan, could only exist if it belonged to uncultivated people who had retained their own tribal tongue since the early days of the Da Qin Empire's establishment.

Li Yu was also sizing up the people before him.

Ever since his spiritual power had been enhanced, he had discovered these little tails trailing behind them not long after leaving the bizarre mountain.

Yet, with the growth of his current strength, he no longer felt much apprehension toward these Blue Star cultivators. Moreover, in his perception, the strongest among these people was still a notch below that black-robed youth he had encountered earlier.

In his eyes now, these individuals were nothing more than mediocre trash.

"What's our current plan?"

One of the Blue Star cultivators asked.

"That ginseng has been following him closely, so we naturally can't let it go. Perhaps he only acquired some strange fortune that allowed him to discover our tracks."

"No matter what, we still need to be careful. We clearly lured them into that strange mountain, yet who would have thought they would all make it out? They probably still possess some tricks up their sleeves."

'So it really was these people pulling strings in the dark!'

Watching these individuals converse freely among themselves, Li Yu finally understood.

These Blue Star cultivators would never have dreamed that while they were speaking without restraint—assuming the other side couldn't understand a single word—a compatriot had quietly slipped into their midst and was now casually eavesdropping on all their intelligence.

'There really is a sense of superiority... Well, makes sense, considering it was these people's factions that battered an empire until it fractured!'

Li Yu nodded. Unaware of his true identity, they assumed three capable of flight meant three fifth-rank cultivators, yet these people showed not a shred of regard for them.

He refused to believe that these individuals alone could shatter the peak of an empire, but behind them must exist seniors of even more profound cultivation. Otherwise, back in the Da Qin Empire era, there had been plenty of first-rank cultivators!

'That's true. I've never heard of anyone in this other world capable of shattering the void to travel to other worlds, but Blue Star is different. They can organize manpower to plunder other realms; the difference in technological capability is clear at a glance!'

Just as Li Yu was listening with great relish, the group opposite had reached the end of their discussion.

"The sect went out of their way to secure our assignment here, so we must exert ourselves as well. At the very least, we must try our best to bring that ginseng back to the sect."

"Indeed, there's still some time before the handover date. Let's put Senior Brother's matter aside for now; bringing the ginseng back is our top priority!"

With those words spoken, all four of them struck simultaneously, launching an aggressive assault toward the three figures in the air.

"In other words, these are the only four left in the secret realm?"

Facing the fierce onslaught of the four, Li Yu remained unhurried. With a sideways step, he effortlessly dodged an incoming flash of sword qi.

"Boom!"

Throwing a punch with blinding speed, Li Yu struck the black-robed woman, sending her flying backward with a shriek.

"Junior Sister!" The companion who had charged alongside her turned his head to watch the black-robed woman crash into the water, while a low voice sounded right beside his ear.

"Please show some respect. We're still fighting here!"

Before he could turn his head in horror, a tremendous force swept through his entire body, and he plunged into the exact same spot where his worried junior sister had landed.

"So fast?!"

"Too strong, let's run!"

Among the four Blue Star cultivators, two had teamed up to attack Li Yu, while the other two had respectively targeted Wen Xiangxuan and Xing Chengping.

Those two had just barely managed to suppress their respective opponents when they heard the commotion. Turning their heads, they saw that in the blink of an eye, both of their comrades had fallen into the water.

Being decisive individuals, the two exchanged glances and immediately prepared to retreat.

"Where do you think you're going? Come down and sit with us!" Li Yu shouted. A surge of thunder power swept outward, transforming into a sturdy rope that bound the two of them securely.

Under his control, the pair plunged into the water in the exact same posture.

"Splash!"

Both entered the water, producing only a single heavy impact sound.

"So strong!"

Wen Xiangxuan and Xing Chengping exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with profound shock. But reflecting on how Li Yu had fought the Soul-Devouring Tree Spirit single-handedly and emerged victorious, dealing with a few demons effortlessly was completely normal, right?

Weren't those two demons who had previously suppressed them simply subdued by Li Yu in a single strike? Perfectly logical!

They were about to land when they heard Li Yu's calm voice: "You two head back first and protect our teammates."

Teammates?

Xiong Xiur'er and the others?

They wanted to point out that they were just nearby and nothing could possibly happen!

But thinking better of it, this was clearly Li Yu's way of sending them away. Thus, both nodded in acknowledgment and departed.

Once the valley fell silent, Li Yu slowly descended. He sat casually on a stone by the stream, his expression calm as he gazed at the flowing water.

"Which sect do you belong to! Do you realize you've violated the alliance?"

A head popped out of the water—it was the man Li Yu had punched down earlier. Staring at Li Yu, he demanded with a furious expression.

"Junior Brother, what are you rambling about?"

The other three who had fallen into the water also poked their heads out, looking at the junior brother who had just spoken, wondering what had gotten into him to make him start babbling nonsense.

A smile curved the corner of Li Yu's mouth. When he had whispered into the other's ear just now, he had spoken in the language of Blue Star.

However, because his voice was very low and they were in the heat of battle, the other two naturally remained unaware. As for the black-robed woman, she had been knocked out of the fight right at the start and had no way of knowing either.

"He spoke to me in Huaxia speech just now!"

"What?"

The other three were utterly astonished, fixing their gazes on Li Yu's face.

"I've never seen anyone from the younger generation look like this... Could it be facial disguise or some bizarre transformation technique?" Several of them felt a lingering doubt.

"Alright, stop whispering to each other," Li Yu clapped his hands, drawing all their attention toward him. He smiled and said, "Everyone come sit over here. I have a few things I'd like to share with you all from the bottom of my heart!"

It really was authentic Huaxia speech!

All four felt their hearts contract sharply. Then, they examined Li Yu's attire. Although there was no obvious clan crest on it, it was clear that this compatriot had already successfully infiltrated the enemy's interior.

"Come on, sit in a row!"

Li Yu smiled genially, warmly gesturing for the four of them to cross their legs and sit before him.

Looking at that warm and friendly expression, no one would ever guess that it was precisely this person who had just knocked them all into the water like drowned rats!