In a place filled with rubble, Zhuo Fan and Li Jingtian sat glumly on a big stone. Four were howling in the background, completing the picture with the odd twist and turn as pain stabbed through them!

Zhuo Fan sighed at the sky and stood, “I need to go give the imp another ingredient! If this keeps up, I’ll lose everything…”

“Steward Zhuo, can’t we just flee? Why must we suffer at his hands?” Li Jingtian frowned.

Zhuo Fan shook his head, “Flee? I am not giving up. I already lost six 7th-grade ingredients, but still can’t find that brat’s weakness. If I leave now, all of that will go to waste. Humph, I’ve never once suffered so much in a deal!”

Li Jingtian understood him. Now was time to go all out against this Invincible Scamp Gu Santong. Zhuo Fan refused to believe he couldn’t subdue him, not after wasting so many ingredients on the prick.

So Li Jingtian only shook his head, unable to figure out what Gu Santong’s trick is to leave even the cunning Zhuo Fan out of options!

But just then, creepy laughter resounded.

Zhuo Fan looked back in reflex to see the four demons wrecked with pain yet slipping a sneer among the tortured faces.

It was an odd sound for sure, the combination of groans and jeers coming out of those twisted faces didn’t seem natural. You couldn’t tell if it was crying or laughing.

But their eyes spoke enough for Zhuo Fan to pick on their naked mockery!

“What are you laughing at?” Zhuo Fan snapped, “You know, don’t you?”

The creepy laughter grounded to a halt, and the four turned around and wailed in pain once again. Zhuo Fan tightened his fists.

This was silent protest. Zhuo Fan could bet his ingredients that the four knew something!

“Speak, and your mistakes shall be crossed out. Or I can promise you will go through such pain you can’t even begin to imagine!” Zhuo Fan squinted and spoke with bloodthirst.

Wimp Demon shuddered, but Violent Demon’s glare stopped him from saying anything, “Damn fourth bro, did you forget how he played us? If you say one word, I will… ah!”

Violent Demon couldn’t finish as Zhuo Fan’s hand sign ramped up the pain. He could only flop around from agony.

The other demons were startled and Wimp Demon was downright shaking, “Steward Zhuo, Gu Santong’s nose is very sharp. It doesn’t matter what you do to the ingredient, he’ll always find out!”

“Nose?”

His eyes widening, Zhuo Fan turned to Li Jingtian. Then his sign changed and Wimp Demon’s pain up and vanished.

Wimp Demon moved around in joy.

Zhuo Fan spoke, “Wimp Demon, tell me all you know!”

Wimp Demon held Zhuo Fan in fear and nodded, “Gu Santong isn’t only outrageously powerful, his nose is more so, godlike even. The last time we gave him an ingredient, we laced it with poison, but he sniffed it out instantly and beat us to a pulp. Then we thought of fleeing, but he could easily sniff us out in a thousand miles, giving us another beating. Then… there is no then. We searched seriously knowing we can’t escape his evil clutches and looked for ingredients for him…”

Zhuo Fan’s eyes twitched, but he believed him!

He was amazing enough to sniff out the poison out of an ingredient. But to track them down in a thousand mile radius, that was godlike.

Even Radiant Stage’s Discerning Field paled in comparison!

Now the pair knew why Gu Santong let them go about searching for ingredients without minding them. No matter where they went, he’d find them!

“He can smell the Bloodworm and its eggs? Is that it?” Zhuo Fan was incredulous, “Such an insanely sharp nose. Is he perhaps looking down on Discerning Field?”

Li Jingtian’s face was grave as well, “Steward Zhuo, does that mean escaping is impossible?”

“Uh, I urge you not to flee, or you’ll only suffer instead!” Wimp Demon warned.

Zhuo Fan took a deep breath and nodded. Gu Santong was even more amazing then he thought. Now not only striking back at him was impossible, even fleeing was out.

Zhuo Fan was glum.

But he showed a smile to Wimp Demon, patting him, “Wimp Demon, you’re a nice guy. Far better than those idiots. You’ve been tousled by the Bloodworm enough, go take a rest.”

“What?!”

Wimp Demon whooped in joy while the other three demons cried in dissent, “No way! Didn’t you say demonic cultivators don’t stick to their word?”

Grinning, Zhuo Fan mocked, “It’s no promise, but a reward!”

Then he ignored the three. The only thing on their mind was regret, [How could I be so stupid to miss this chance?]

Wimp Demon puffed his chest, strutting among the three demons crying out in agony. The three demons glared at him with envy and hatred!

Li Jingtian was speechless, and held Zhuo Fan’s methods in even more admiration.

These four little shits were immune to soft and hard methods, even their thinking was screwed up. The only way to get them in line was with the carrot and the stick!

Li Jingtian sighed, “Steward Zhuo, these four little shits had dragged us into a swamp that’s hard to get out of!”

“But I don’t think it’s such a miserable encounter. At least we now know Gu Santong’s ace!” Zhuo Fan grinned, his eyes flashing as he watched the peak Gu Santong stayed on, “In this world, what we fear the most is the unknown. Now that we know what his trick is, we just gotta think hard of how to counter it. No one is invincible, even monsters! “

Li Jingtian’s heart shuddered and looked at Zhuo Fan with hope.

[That’s how a true man of ambition is. He can remain calm even in the face of Tianyu’s strongest! A pity such a talent is not a Clan Head…]

Rumble!

With a sudden loud noise, the sky dimmed.

Zhuo Fan sighed, “It’s about to rain. I’ll hand the ingredient over to the kid then think of a way to deal with his skill. I must have him under me!”

“If Steward Zhuo said it, then it’s as good as done!” Li Jingtian caressed his beard. He now had blind faith in Zhuo Fan.

Zhuo Fan shook his head and set off. From the peak came Gu Santong’s angry voice, “Damn heaven, what lightning? Tone down the noise!”

Zhuo Fan was startled, then frowned in thought.

He heard a howl as a visible sound wave came from the peak and shot at the sky. In a blink, the thunderclouds scattered and the sky brightened.

There was no cloud seen for thousands of miles!

Li Jingtian was shocked, “Gu Santong is amazing! With a mere shout, he unleashed an even stronger ripple than I do with Necro Dragon’s Screech!”

Zhuo Fan scowled, his eyes spacing out in thought, “The kid had always been calm around us, not showing even a bit of anger…”

“He-he-he, guess we weren’t worthy to make him angry!” Li Jingtian grinned.

“But, why was he raging at the thunderclouds?”

Li Jingtian shook his head, “Maybe he hates lightning?”

“Or is it fear?” Zhuo Fan squinted.

Li Jingtian shuddered, “Steward Zhuo, you mean…”

“Perhaps his weakness is lightning!”

Zhuo Fan made a hand sign and the demons’ torture stopped, letting them catch their breath.

Zhuo Fan said, “Get ready, we’re going to Thunder Swarm Mountain?”

“But we’re still in the kid’s palm. Whatever for are we going to that damnable place?”Violent Demon shouted.

Zhuo Fan glared and his finger moved, “My word is law, so cut the crap. Or else…”

“Fine fine, we’ll listen to Steward Zhuo. We won’t complain again!” Violent Demon lifted his hands in defeat.

Zhuo Fan nodded. He flew to Gu Santong and was soon back again, “Let’s go!”

“Uh, what if Gu Santong comes after us?” Violent Demon hesitated.

“I told the kid we’ll be going a bit further for his ingredients and that there’s an 8th-grade ingredient there but we’ll be needing three days. He instantly agreed! By the time he figures out he’d been had, our trap will be ready!” Zhuo Fan snickered evilly.

Four Scheming Demons asked in unison, “Trap?”

“We will lure Tianyu’s strongest, Invincible Scamp Gu Santong into a trap!” Zhuo Fan grinned, his eyes burning with resolve…