Chu Xiu had been gone for less than half an hour.

Above the ancient forest, flying boats quickly gathered.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~

Figures leapt down from the flying boats, spreading out in all directions.

"What happened with Chen Mufan?"

A man in a blue cultivator's robe, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, stepped forward, frowning as he asked.

"You actually let Chu Xiu escape?"

"Senior Brother Yan, please calm down."

The eyes of over two hundred people around them turned unfriendly, as if ready to draw their swords and kill their teammates at the slightest disagreement.

The intense killing intent made Chen Mufan's teammates turn pale.

Chen Mufan smiled apologetically, "Everyone, please calm down and listen to my explanation."

"Just an hour ago, we encountered Chu Xiu here."

"That guy was too alert and ran off immediately."

"His movement technique was extremely fast, and we couldn't catch up to him."

Senior Brother Yan, at the peak of the Divine Bridge Realm, was dissatisfied, "Then why did you call us here?"

Chen Mufan's expression turned serious as he took out a beast skin scroll from his pocket, "Chu Xiu dropped this item when he fled."

"What is it?"

Curious eyes turned towards him.

Chen Mufan said, "It's related to a Heaven-and-Earth Rare Treasure, the Infant Soul Demon Fruit."

Hiss~

As soon as he said this, a gasp of surprise echoed around them.

"A Heaven-and-Earth Rare Treasure? It's actually an Immortal Grade Infant Soul Demon Fruit..."

Greedy eyes were cast on the scroll in Chen Mufan's hand, eager to snatch it away immediately.

Senior Brother Yan looked surprised, "Chen Mufan, why didn't you go pick the Infant Soul Demon Fruit yourself if you got this?"

"I don't believe you're so kind-hearted. What are you really up to?"

Chen Mufan looked helpless as he tossed the scroll to Senior Brother Yan, "Take a look."

Senior Brother Yan caught it and unfolded it to reveal a map. After seeing the annotations, he understood.

"That place is called Yin Demon Mountain, extremely dangerous. If just the five of us go, the chances of falling are too high. Otherwise, we wouldn't have called you all here," Chen Mufan said with a very helpless tone.

"The value of a Heaven-and-Earth Rare Treasure is something everyone must understand. A mature Infant Soul Demon Fruit is of Immortal Grade, and a mid-stage Dao Palace Realm cultivator who consumes one has a high chance of directly comprehending a Divine Ability and entering the Divine Ability Realm. Even if sold, it could fetch tens of thousands of Divine Essence Stones."

"Let's be clear, if we obtain the Infant Soul Demon Fruit, the five of us want an extra ten percent, or else we'll suffer a huge loss," Chen Mufan said with a pained expression.

Seeing this, the disciples laughed, agreeing verbally but sneering inwardly.

There are so many of us here.

You want an extra ten percent? Dream on.

"Senior Brother Yan, let's set off. This map was obtained from Chu Xiu. What if that guy gets there first?" a female disciple in red said urgently.

Others quickly agreed.

In truth, they weren't worried that Chu Xiu could reach Yin Demon Mountain alone.

He was just in the Wheel Sea Realm; how could he possibly manage that?

The main issue was that not all their people had arrived yet.

One less person meant one less share of the spoils.

That's why they were so eager.

Senior Brother Yan, naturally understanding the reasoning, thought for a moment and nodded, "Let's go."

The group, faces full of excitement, boarded the flying boats and headed towards Yin Demon Mountain as marked on the map.

Chen Mufan and his four companions exchanged glances and also boarded a flying boat to follow the main group.

Hidden in the shadows, Chu Xiu's lips curled into a smile.

Greed truly moves people!

Old Demon Chu followed them with a sinister grin.

A few hours later.

Senior Brother Yan and his group of two hundred thirty-one arrived at Yin Demon Mountain.

Gazing at the mountain shrouded in gray mist, everyone's expressions turned serious.

But fortunately, their numbers gave them courage.

Without observing for long, they began to climb the mountain.

"This gray mist blocks Divine Sense, everyone, don't spread out too much," Senior Brother Yan instructed loudly.

"Alright..."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother."

They began their ascent.

An hour later, the group reached halfway up the mountain.

A pretty female disciple laughed, "Yin Demon Mountain isn't that dangerous after all!"

"We haven't encountered many Yin Demons or zombies along the way."

"Junior Sister Wang, don't be careless," Senior Brother Yan reprimanded, "Be careful not to fall into a trap."

"Alright~" Junior Sister Wang stuck out her tongue, looking relaxed.

The others also felt it wasn't much of a threat.

Along the way to the halfway point, they only encountered about ten Wheel Sea Realm Yin Demons and two Divine Bridge Realm zombies.

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Not enough for each of the over two hundred people to even attack once.

They continued onward.

As they got closer to the summit, it grew colder, and the gray mist thickened.

The number of Yin Demons also increased.

Fortunately, it was still within an acceptable range for the group.

As they neared the summit.

Chen Mufan and his four companions quietly slipped away from the main group, taking advantage of the mist to escape down the mountain.

Chu Xiu had gone to such lengths to lure them here.

If there wasn't a trap, they wouldn't believe it themselves.

Yin Demon Mountain wasn't a place to linger; it was time to slip away...

As for whether betraying their teammates would weigh on their conscience?

Heh, their own lives were the most important; everyone else could go to hell.

Senior Brother Yan and his group soon reached the summit.

At a glance, they saw, a thousand meters away, a peculiar plant growing in a crack in a black rock.

The plant looked like both a tree and a spiritual herb, about two meters tall.

Its branches were pale, resembling human bones, very eerie.

On its only branch hung a fist-sized, pale red fruit resembling an infant, occasionally emitting a baby's laughter, sending chills down their spines.

Seeing this, instead of feeling fear, everyone's eyes lit up, trembling with excitement.

"The Infant Soul Demon Fruit, it really is the Infant Soul Demon Fruit."

Someone exclaimed in delight.

"We're rich, we're rich!"

"Hahaha, we're rich!"

Immediately, someone couldn't resist rushing forward.

Senior Brother Yan followed, frowning, "Everyone, don't rush. The color of this Infant Soul Demon Fruit is off; it's not mature yet."

"I've seen illustrations of mature Yin Soul Demon Fruits in ancient texts. A mature Infant Soul Demon Fruit should be blood-red and emit a sacred aura."

"If you consume an immature Infant Soul Demon Fruit, not only will it not benefit you, but it will also devour your mind with Yin energy, leading to death."

"So what should we do?"

"Our time in the Desolate Demon Secret Realm is limited; we can't wait for it to mature naturally."

Shouldn't we just pick it first?

The group gathered around the eerie fruit tree, whispering.

Boom, boom~

Just as they hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Four red pillar-like light beams shot into the sky, enveloping everyone.

A dreamy, beautiful glow descended.

Senior Brother Yan looked up, his expression changing dramatically, exclaiming, "No, this is a trapping formation."

"Run~"

He moved swiftly, not caring about the others, turning into a shadow, trying to rush down the mountain.

Bang.

A dull thud.

The next moment, his body was flung back even faster.

At the edge of the glow, it seemed there was an invisible wall, completely isolating them from the outside.

The formation closed.

Red mist surged from the ground.

The group, weapons in hand, just prepared to attack the formation when the red mist seemed to come alive, entering their bodies through their mouths and noses.

Their once bright eyes turned confused, gradually becoming blood-red.

"It's an illusory formation..." a female disciple screamed.

Splat~

A disciple slashed off the head of the female disciple beside him, his face twisted, laughing madly, "Killed you, you beast, you're the one who killed my mother... Kill, kill, kill..."

"The Infant Soul Demon Fruit is mine, kill, kill, kill..."

"That's my Heaven-and-Earth Rare Treasure. You don't deserve it!! Kill."

Splat~ Splat~

Heads flew.

Blood sprayed like a fountain.

Within the formation, the sound of killing shook the heavens. The disciples caught in the illusion slaughtered each other, turning the summit of Yin Demon Mountain into a hellish purgatory, blood-soaked and horrific.

"No..." Senior Brother Yan, with a trace of clarity left, turned his head, looking around in terror.

His face was full of disbelief.

"No, stop, everyone stop..."

But unfortunately, those trapped in the illusion could no longer hear any other sound.