Hari Liu’s sharp gaze fixed on Ajit Wan.
Realizing it was someone from his own sect, he relaxed his grip on his weapon and frowned.
"Ajit Wan, what are you doing here?"
Ajit Wan paused, stopping in his tracks, "Senior Brother Liu, didn’t you see my distress signal and come to find me?"
Hari Liu shook his head, "No, I didn’t see your distress signal. I just noticed something unusual here and came over. Weren’t you on a mission assigned by the sect?"
"I did send a distress signal!"
Ajit Wan was confused, but if Senior Brother Liu hadn’t seen it, that explained why he hadn’t come sooner.
Hari Liu looked up at the sky, "It might be due to the terrain here. Your distress signal probably ended up in my blind spot."
Ajit Wan’s face alternated between pale and flushed.
He had barely managed to send out a signal, only for such a mishap to occur.
Luckily, he had survived.
"What happened? Where are the other junior brothers?" Hari Liu asked.
"They’re all dead. This is the mission that the Elder had assigned to me, but..."
Ajit Wan explained how they were ambushed by demonic beasts and the cultivators from the Green Lotus Sect.
"Senior Brother Liu, do you know a disciple of the Green Lotus Sect named Tangy Taffy?"
"Tangy Taffy? It’s a strange name, but I’ve never heard of him," Hari Liu replied coldly and arrogantly, "If he’s not a prodigy, he won’t catch my attention."
"This Tangy Taffy seems to be an ordinary disciple of the Green Lotus Sect. He likely perished in the battle between Erod and the Black Crested Gorilla," Ajit Wan sighed in relief.
Hari Liu walked to the spiritual vein, staring into the pit with a dark expression, "Let’s not talk about that for now. It seems the spiritual vein has already been taken."
They hadn’t considered that someone could absorb an entire spiritual vein in such a short time, believing it impossible.
What they didn’t realize was that Kenny Lin wasn’t cultivating but using the spiritual vein to repair his Yin-Yang Pearl, which was much faster than cultivation.
"Do you think those devils have this capability?" Ajit Wan asked immediately.
"Why are you so sure it was those devils who did it?" Hari Liu countered.
Ajit Wan quickly responded, "If the Black Crested Gorilla had won, it couldn’t have moved the spiritual vein. This ravine was originally occupied by the Black Star Beast. With the Black Star Beast dead, the Black Crested Gorilla would have claimed it. The sudden disappearance of the spiritual vein can only be due to man-made interference."
Hari Liu nodded, "You’re right. It seems those devils likely have a method to take the spiritual vein."
Ajit Wan became anxious, "Senior Brother Liu, if the devils have taken the spiritual vein, it will be very difficult for us to retrieve it. The Double Cavern Secret Realm is so vast. How will we find them?"
Hari Liu smirked coldly, "Then we’ll let all the human cultivators and demonic beasts in the secret realm know that the spiritual vein is in the hands of those devils. Someone will help us find them."
Ajit Wan hesitated, "But if more people get involved in the fight for it, that won’t be good for us either."
"With me here, what is there to worry about?" Hari Liu looked at him coldly.
Ajit Wan immediately bent his back in joy, flattering him excessively, "Senior Brother Liu is right. With you around, no one else stands a chance."
Hari Liu wore a proud and arrogant expression, accepting Ajit Wan’s flattery without hesitation.
"By the way, Senior Brother Liu, where is Junior Brother Deng? Why haven’t I seen him?" Ajit Wan suddenly asked.
There were five people from their Artifact Refining Valley who entered the Double Cavern Secret Realm, splitting into two groups upon arrival.
Hari Liu and Junior Brother Deng were in one group.
"I rushed over here after noticing something unusual. He should be behind me and will arrive soon," Hari Liu said, "With all this commotion, others must have noticed too. It’s best not to confront the devils directly right now. Let’s focus on finding resources in the Double Cavern Secret Realm first. Let others fight the devils, and we’ll reap the benefits in the end."
Ajit Wan, delighted, said, "Senior Brother Liu, you’re so clever. Let others battle the devils to the death. By the time we intervene, even if they’re not injured, they won’t be at their peak. That’s a brilliant strategy."
Hari Liu grew increasingly pleased with himself from the flattery.
After meeting up with Junior Brother Deng and leaving the ravine, a group of Devils that were passing through the area detected the presence of their fellow devils.
"That’s Erod’s aura."
"Erod is actually dead."
The devils noticed a strong scent of blood in the air, among them which was the distinctive smell of their kind.
For the devil’s scent to be noticeable amidst such a strong scent of blood, it meant Erod was seriously injured at the time.
A few devils descended from the sky and soon found a bloodstain that was covered by rubble.
"These bloodstains are still fresh; it seems the blood was shed not too long ago."
"With so much blood loss, it looks likely that Erod has encountered trouble."
Several devils analyzed the situation.
One of the devils looked at their leader and teased, "Nith, I remember Erod always said he wanted to challenge you. Before entering the Double Cavern Secret Realm, he even said he wanted to compete with you to see who could kill more human cultivators."
The devil named Nith was exceptionally tall, with deep-set features and bulging muscle lines exposed on his body, giving him an explosive appearance.
Hearing his companion’s words, Nith didn’t react much.
"If he’s dead, he’s dead. He only has himself to blame for his lack of strength."
"You can’t say that. Erod was considered quite strong among the young devils; he was a genius. Not to mention he was accompanied by four others. Such combat strength shouldn’t have been defeated so quickly. Since it’s still early in the secret realm, the one who killed him must be very powerful, they likely at the level of a prodigy."