Chan Master Yiming's voice transmission only said to act according to the situation. If he saw the white-robed middle-aged man arrive with Sun Jiuhe's group, it would mean the white-robed middle-aged man was not confident in their chances of a successful sneak attack and had chosen a more stable method.
From this, it was clear that Chan Master Yiming was also worried. He couldn't be sure if joining forces with him, or even with the addition of his junior brother, would be successful. As for the two female cultivators from the Blue Sea Sect, if they saw that young man, they would definitely not attack. They were extremely wary of the person who had heavily injured the Rhino-Horned Green Python.
The cultivator surnamed Xu didn't even count these two women in his plans. Instead, he planned to send them away shortly. In any case, he had already left a divine sense marker on them and could easily find them at any time.
Just as the cultivator surnamed Xu was hesitating, the three over there had already killed the "Flying Locust Beast" and were flying towards him.
"Senior Brother, this demonic beast was really tough to deal with, but we still managed to get some bone materials this time," the white-robed young man said with a chuckle, dragging a demonic beast as he came to a stop before the cultivator surnamed Xu.
"Oh, then put it away. You still need to continue cultivating diligently."
The cultivator surnamed Xu said faintly, completely ignoring the feelings of the two female cultivators from the Blue Sea Sect, as if it were only natural that all the materials from this demonic beast's body belonged to him. At the same time, he was still troubled about when to notify Sun Jiuhe and now had no interest in even looking at the two women.
After hearing this, the white-robed young man hesitated for a moment. He glanced at the two women from the corner of his eye. Although he felt bad about it, after the experiences of the past ten-plus days, he knew his senior brother's word was law. Otherwise, if he voiced any dissent, he would inevitably be reprimanded behind his back.
So, the white-robed young man pretended not to see the dim look in the two women's eyes and smoothly put the "Flying Locust Beast" into his storage pouch.
The two female cultivators from the Blue Sea Sect stood to the side, secretly hating themselves for believing the cultivator surnamed Xu's words back then and not politely refusing to join their team.
Filled with indignation, the two women exchanged a glance, both seeing the resolution in the other's eyes. The two decided they really had to leave. They just didn't know what reason to give for a moment.
Earlier, because the two women were inexperienced, when they met the cultivator surnamed Xu and his junior brother, their itinerary and purpose had been wheedled out of them by Xu. To bring up leaving now with some excuse would make their wariness of the two men too obvious, and they feared angering him. Now, they could only find a suitable time and reason.
At this moment, a fiery light shot through the sky from the distance like a meteor. In the blink of an eye, it reached the white-robed cultivator surnamed Xu, who caught it in his hand, crushed it, and a clipped, urgent voice came out.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, on the first level, you said you would also enter the palace under Red Maple Pool. Have you entered now? Do you know about the book-boy matter?"
It was a man's voice, full of authority, and it didn't sound very polite towards the cultivator surnamed Xu. The matter mentioned in his words was also ambiguous.
Another Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman. The cultivator surnamed Xu felt like he was going crazy today. These long-distance voice transmission talismans were very expensive. Normally, Foundation Establishment cultivators would not be willing to use them unless it was an emergency.
"Book-boy? What does that mean? A cultivator, or a puppet?" The cultivator surnamed Xu was momentarily confused.
Back then, their group of five had arrived at Red Maple Pool rather late, and Sun Jiuhe and the others hadn't mentioned Bu Luo and the green-robed scholar, so he naturally didn't know.
But he was an experienced person and immediately judged that the friend who had sent the transmission was looking for him for an urgent matter, but it wasn't something like needing him to save his life.
He pondered for a moment and figured out his friend's intention. Without hesitation, he took out a dark gold voice transmission talisman, whispered a few words into it, and threw it out. The voice transmission talisman flashed and disappeared over the horizon.
The voice from the talisman just now had been isolated by Xu with his spirit power, so the other three didn't know what it had said. They only saw him crush the talisman and then immediately take out his own and throw it away.
The moment they saw the dark gold voice transmission talisman, a look of surprise flashed in the eyes of the two female cultivators from the Blue Sea Sect. They also knew how expensive that talisman was and naturally guessed that something major must have happened. But they dared not ask.
Next came a long period of silence. Even the white-robed young man, who had wanted to ask about the situation, chose to keep his mouth shut after seeing that his senior brother had no intention of speaking.
After half a cup of tea's time had passed, the two female cultivators from the Blue Sea Sect looked at each other. The taller, fair-skinned girl among them was about to summon her courage to ask Xu for permission to leave.
But before she could move, another streak of fiery light flashed from the distant horizon and arrived in front of Xu. He once again caught it, waved his sleeve to isolate the outside world again, and then crushed the talisman.
The authoritative voice from before sounded again.
"Since Fellow Daoist Xu doesn't know about the book-boy, that's fine. Hehe, hurry to the Flame Palace. If you can intercept a book-boy carrying a bamboo basket, there will be a huge benefit. He not only obtained a silver page that several Pseudo-Core cultivators were fighting for here, but his bamboo basket also contains several top-tier magical treasures, at least top-tier among first-rank magical artifact refinements. This brat is being chased with nowhere to hide and is now desperately fleeing towards the Flame Palace. Your location is less than two thousand li from the Flame Palace. Right now, this book-boy has at least twenty cultivators chasing him. If Brother Xu can intercept this person, then I will arrive shortly after. But if Fellow Daoist Xu is quick and kills the book-boy, I still want a thirty percent share of the treasures. This piece of news alone should be worth that price."
After hearing the voice transmission talisman, the cultivator surnamed Xu couldn't help but feel his face twitch. He cursed the other party for being cunning, willing to spend two expensive Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talismans just to confirm if he had already received the relevant news and his location.
But from this, it seemed that the book-boy with the bamboo basket truly had great treasures on him. Otherwise, the person who sent him the transmission wouldn't have thrown out Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talismans so casually. It was obvious he couldn't handle it all himself and needed a helper to snatch it.
However, the cultivator surnamed Xu himself was no easy person to deal with. He had previously transmitted that he was still hunting the "Mud Beast Soul" and then casually reported a location, all as an excuse to probe the other's intentions. If the other party had something he didn't want to participate in, he could use that as an excuse to refuse. In reality, he was only about a thousand li away from the Flame Palace.
"A book-boy carrying a bamboo basket? Interesting. But this is quite a coincidence. The young man Sun Jiuhe is looking for is also waiting for something outside the Flame Palace. If I take this opportunity..."
A smile slowly appeared on the cultivator surnamed Xu's face, but a sinister killing intent flashed through it.
"I'll have to notify Yiming in advance so he can be prepared. As for Sun Jiuhe, he's a bit of a problem. I wonder if he has also received news about the book-boy. If he also rushes to the Flame Palace and sees that young man, then the promised benefit will be void."
Thinking of this, the cultivator surnamed Xu took out a pitch-black voice transmission talisman, one that Sun Jiuhe had given to him and Yiming. But he was going to use it now. He whispered into the talisman.
"Fellow Daoist Sun, where are you now? I may have news you need here, but I need to further confirm the other party's identity. If you are close to me, be prepared to come over."
After speaking, he retracted the spirit power shield around him and threw the black voice transmission talisman into the distance.
In just this short while, the cultivator surnamed Xu had sent and received various voice transmission talismans, leaving the three beside him utterly bewildered. They saw his expression change from happy to gloomy to grave. Even the tall, fair-skinned girl dared not interrupt him immediately.
After waiting for another quarter of an hour, a black voice transmission talisman shot through the sky from the distance, as fast as lightning. After it reached him, he once again caught it, activated his spirit power shield, and crushed the talisman, all in one smooth motion.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, you're not being clear. Have you really found a trace of that brat? Tell me quickly, where are you now? I'll head over right away. Fellow Daoist Zhu, Fellow Daoist Qiu, and I are near the 'Sand Silkworm Palace'. If it's too far from you, no matter what, Fellow Daoist Xu must help me keep a close watch on that brat. The reward I promised you before will definitely be given."
After hearing Sun Jiuhe's surprised voice from the talisman, the cultivator surnamed Xu couldn't help but smile. He knew of the "Sand Silkworm Palace." It was a palace complex in the far south, filled with a large number of Sand Silkworms. These insects were highly poisonous and a favorite place for poison cultivators.
After hearing the name of the place, Xu understood why Sun Jiuhe's group was there. Sun Jiuhe had said the other party was a poison cultivator, but he and Yiming had clearly seen that the young man was a body cultivator. Yet, they had not told Sun Jiuhe this.
In the eyes of Xu and Yiming, that person was definitely a body cultivator. As for being a poison cultivator, perhaps it was possible. But there were too many poisonous magical treasures in this world. If the other party used a highly sophisticated magical treasure, it would naturally be difficult to see the method of poisoning.
"Those three think that young man went to find cultivation materials for poison cultivators. But that's good too. It will take them at least half a day to reach the Flame Palace."
Thinking of this, the cultivator surnamed Xu finally felt at ease. He did not immediately send another transmission to Sun Jiuhe. He was now going to use the pretext of chasing the book-boy to go to the Flame Palace. When the time came, he would seize the opportunity to join forces with Yiming and kill the young man. As for whether someone else would pass the news of seeing the young man near the Flame Palace to Sun Jiuhe, he no longer cared.
What he wanted first were the treasures on the young man. As long as he killed the young man and got the treasures, it wouldn't matter if he was the one who notified Sun Jiuhe or not. They were the ones who killed him. They could just say time was tight and they had to act early. Would they fear that Sun Jiuhe would go back on his word?
What's more, on this trip, there was also the matter of the book-boy. He hadn't expected things to be so coincidental, giving him a chance to make an extra fortune.
After several rounds of thought, the cultivator surnamed Xu finally made a decision. Although he had been delayed for nearly half an incense stick's time, it was all worth it.
Seeing the smile on Xu's face, a bad feeling rose in the hearts of the two women from the Blue Sea Sect.