Chapter 523: Clouds of Suspicion

Qing Lian stared blankly at the corpse of the Red-Maned Tiger lying on the ground. Then, she turned to Ye Chen as if looking at a monster. “You’re a real freak.”

‘Did this guy really just kill a Red-Maned Tiger with his bare hands, without using any Spiritual Power?’

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Ye Chen shrugged and shifted his gaze to Zhao Tiankuo, asking in a low voice, “What exactly happened? Where are the rest of your people?”

“We were ambushed…”

Zhao Tiankuo struggled to stand, but his legs immediately gave out. He let out a pained grunt and collapsed again.

Qing Lian hurried forward, took out a Healing Elixir, and gave it to Zhao Tiankuo.

Only then did Ye Chen realize that Zhao Tiankuo was seriously injured.

With the Red-Maned Tiger watching him menacingly, it was already a remarkable feat for the severely wounded Zhao Tiankuo to have survived this long.

“What do you mean, you were ambushed?”

Ye Chen asked once Zhao Tiankuo’s condition had stabilized.

“It was the Luo Race!!!!”

Zhao Tiankuo gritted his teeth, a deep hatred flashing in his eyes. “The Luo Race ambushed us!”

“The Luo Race?”

At his words, Qing Lian’s expression changed.

“That’s right.”

Zhao Tiankuo nodded and said in a low voice, “The Luo Race had clearly been eyeing this mineral vein for a long time. The moment they discovered our people, they attacked and began hunting us down!”

“They live near Jade Crane Mountain, so they know the terrain and routes like the back of their hands. Plus, they’re far stronger than us. We couldn’t hold them off at all!”

“Are the Luo Race that unreasonable?” Ye Chen frowned.

“Actually, it’s also because of the White Tiger Tribe.”

Zhao Tiankuo glanced at Qing Lian before continuing, “The reason they’re hunting us is to try and get information about the White Tiger Tribe from us.”

“They also want to use us as hostages to threaten the White Tiger Tribe.”

“Those damn bastards!” Qing Lian’s face contorted with rage. “They’ve gone too far!”

Ye Chen furrowed his brows as well.

‘He never would have thought that he and the people of the Vermilion Bird Tribe would get dragged into the feud between the Luo Race and the White Tiger Tribe.’

‘Apparently, the Luo Race was well aware of the relationship between the White Tiger Tribe and the Vermilion Bird Tribe.’

‘Now that the Liuyue Sect has been wiped out, the White Tiger Tribe has lost its protection.’

‘The Luo Race no longer has anything to fear, so they’re starting to use all sorts of methods to deal with the White Tiger Tribe.’

‘And that’s why the Vermilion Bird Tribe has met with this disaster.’

‘The Luo Race dared to attack the Vermilion Bird Tribe because they were certain the Celestial Mountain Sect could no longer offer them protection.’

‘The incidents with the Liuyue Sect and the Celestial Mountain Sect led to both the White Tiger Tribe and the Vermilion Bird Tribe falling into peril.’

‘Is there really no connection between all this?’

Ye Chen’s eyes flickered, his mind a turbulent sea of thoughts.

He carefully replayed the course of events in his mind and found that many things were actually interconnected.

‘If the Celestial Mountain Sect hadn’t run into trouble, they wouldn’t have sent people from the Vermilion Bird Tribe to Jade Crane Mountain.’

‘After the Vermilion Bird Tribe arrived at Jade Crane Mountain, they were hunted by the Luo Race because of their connection to the White Tiger Tribe.’

‘And the Luo Race obviously knew the Celestial Mountain Sect was too preoccupied to intervene, so they had no reservations about dealing with the Vermilion Bird Tribe.’

‘In the end, who exactly did the Liuyue Sect provoke to be so tragically annihilated?’

‘And for what reason did the Celestial Mountain Sect seal its gates?’

‘According to Li Hong, powerful experts from the Yu family had apparently descended upon the Celestial Mountain Sect.’

‘But why would a top-tier power from the Black Triangle Region like the Yu family suddenly send people to visit the Celestial Mountain Sect?’

‘Could there be some unknown secret behind all this?’

For a moment, Ye Chen’s mind was a tangled mess.

Countless doubts and questions surfaced in his mind, a chaotic jumble of thoughts weaving together into an inseparable knot.

‘It’s still because I’m too weak right now.’

‘If I could return to my Peak state, why would I need to care what those great powers are thinking?’

‘If there’s really some conspiracy, I could just crush it with brute force!’

Ye Chen took a deep breath and forced himself to stop overthinking.

‘The most pressing matter is to get my hands on the White Tiger Tribe’s Fire Seed first.’

‘Once that happens, my combat power will recover again, and I’ll be able to face even stronger enemies with much more confidence.’

“So, does that mean all the other members of your tribe were taken away by the Luo Race’s Cultivators?”

Qing Lian asked, her expression grave.

“That’s right!”

Zhao Tiankuo clenched his fists, his voice trembling slightly with rage. “All the people of our tribe were taken away, and those bastards slaughtered everyone from the Cyan Cloud Pavilion! They didn’t leave a single person alive!”

“The only reason I’m still breathing is because that Red-Maned Tiger showed up earlier and scared all of them off.”

“Otherwise, my fate wouldn’t have been any better!”

“Why didn’t that Red-Maned Tiger attack you?” Qing Lian couldn’t help but find it strange.

“Because of this!”

Zhao Tiankuo took a smooth, round, white bead from his sleeve.

The bead looked unremarkable, emitting a faint glow. At first glance, it looked like a child’s toy.

“This is a Mind-Settling Pearl. It has the power to repel demonic beasts and protect its wielder!”

“The reason that Red-Maned Tiger was just watching me menacingly from the side without daring to approach was precisely because it feared this item!”

Zhao Tiankuo explained the origin of the white bead.

“A Mind-Settling Pearl?”

“You actually have such a Spiritual Object?” Qing Lian said in surprise.

“An expert from the Celestial Mountain Sect lent it to us.”

Zhao Tiankuo shook his head. “Great Demons run rampant on Jade Crane Mountain. The Celestial Mountain Sect knew it would be too dangerous for people of our ability to rush in, so they lent this to us.”

“The Cyan Cloud Pavilion also had an item to repel demonic beasts, but it has most likely fallen into the hands of the Luo Race by now.”

“Where is that mineral vein located?” Ye Chen asked, glancing around.

“It’s at the very end of this cave.” Zhao Tiankuo had clearly recovered some of his strength. “It’s a low-grade spirit mine, but it’s quite large. It should be able to produce a good number of low-grade Spirit Stones.”

“Is that so?”

“If there’s such a large-scale spirit mine, the Luo Race won’t give it up so easily. A single Red-Maned Tiger isn’t enough to stop them,” Qing Lian said.

Hearing this, Zhao Tiankuo’s expression changed instantly. “Miss, you’re right! That’s why I was telling you to leave quickly before!”

“Once those guys gather enough people, they could come back at any moment! We have to get out of here as soon as possible!”

Qing Lian now also realized the gravity of the situation.

She nodded and said, “We shouldn’t stay here. Let’s leave right away.”