Chapter 858: Encounter
Ou Yangming suddenly had a grave look in his eyes. The aura that he sensed was not particularly strong and was even inferior to that of Xue Boren, who was next to him. Nonetheless, the aura was filled with a valiant feeling as though it did not come from a human but an ancient ferocious beast.
Due to the fierce element in it, even Ou Yangming could not help but pay attention to it.
This was the Forest of Death, after all, hence nobody knew if anything dangerous would approach. If one was careless and ended up suffering a loss here, it would be embarrassing.
Ou Yangming shook his wrist and let a formation board slide down to his hand without a sound. He was highly-spirited as he stared in a certain direction.
Xue Boren and Xue Xuanle were stunned. Ou Yangming had been at ease throughout their journey, where it seemed like he was not in the dangerous Forest of Death but strolling in a garden in his backyard. Although he might seem too casual, it was greatly beneficial to them.
At the very least, they would not make mistakes due to their nervousness.
Who knew, Ou Yangming suddenly became careful. Even when he was faced with the spirit beasts in the forest earlier, he did not look as grim as this.
Without any hesitation, Xue Boren and Xue Xuanle also became alert and went closer to Ou Yangming. They naturally got into a triangle formation.
“Big Brother Yu, what did you find?” Xue Xuanle scanned her surroundings with her beautiful eyes as she wanted to find what alarmed Ou Yangming.
Xue Boren did not say a word, but he was even more vigilant than her. He shook his wrists and even retrieved his sabers.
At this point, his trust in Ou Yangming had reached an unprecedented high. Since the young fellow was being attentive, he believed that something must be happening.
After a brief moment, a low roar was heard coming from that direction. It was not loud, but it could make one shudder with fear.
“Roar…”
Xue Boren’s face changed. “Oh no, that’s a Devil Ape’s roar!”
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows and immediately thought about a person.
‘It can’t be—are we going to meet?’
It was worth noting that the Forest of Death was boundless. Even though they were at the periphery, unless there was a chance encounter, it would simply be impossible to find someone else even if one looked on purpose.
Xue Xuanle turned around and suggested softly, “Big Brother Yu, let’s… Leave!”
Judging from her expression, Ou Yangming knew she was thinking about the same person.
“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” he said with a grin and looked at them. “No matter who it is, I don’t have the habit of running away.”
Xue Boren and Xue Xuanle looked at each other but had different thoughts. An unexplainable luster flickered deep inside the young lady’s eyes as she admired and was moved by Ou Yangming’s decision.
On the contrary, Xue Boren cried internally. He had heard from Xue Yan that Ou Yangming was definitely a core disciple from an influential sect, so the young fellow would naturally not fear anymore. Not to mention a Venerable One’s grandson, even the Venerable Ones that founded Huixun City would not dare to do anything to Ou Yangming.
However, the Xue family could not do the same.
Putting aside the fact that the Xue family had fallen and was being eyed by the Teng family at the moment, even when they flourished, they would not have been bold enough to challenge forces with Venerable Ones.
The only thing was that when he saw how confident Ou Yangming was, he could not bring himself to express his wish to avoid the incoming encounter for the time being.
Ou Yangming stood with his hands behind his back as he waited quietly.
The 2 people from the Xue family feared the sound, but the young fellow was not bothered at all.
Advanced Spiritualists were the highest-ranked powerhouses that could participate in the Hunting Meet. Besides, Multi-armed King Kong was hiding somewhere in the forest.
Ou Yangming only wanted to find out if the master of the source of this sound was the person that he had in mind. Moreover, if it was really that person, the young fellow wanted to know if he tracked them or if this was purely coincidental.
After a brief moment, the sound was heard again, but it sounded more violent than before.
It was evident that the beast had noticed Ou Yangming and his companions, which was why it became more savage.
“Pow…”
Branches were broken as a Devil Ape squeezed through 2 big trees. It was not as humongous as Multi-armed King Kong in the past, but it would also be difficult for it to move nimbly in the forest.
Nevertheless, the beast had its way, by which it relied on its thick skin and forceful power to push through the trees and walk out from between them.
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows. The moment he saw the beast, he knew his guess was right.
This was because the beast was followed by some people behind it. Among them, one was being surrounded like stars bending toward the moon. The person was Li Tianyu, who was Li Shaoyuan’s only grandson.
The eyes of Ou Yangming and Li Tianyu met in mid-air by chance.
Li Tianyu’s eyes lit up, and he was surprised yet overjoyed. He instantly laughed proudly and said, “It’s you, and you… Haha, I’m too lucky today!”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. He initially wanted to ask Li Tianyu if he and his people were secretly following them, but he gave up the thought right away after seeing the man’s expression.
This was because it was certainly a chance encounter.
Judging from Li Tianyu’s character, he could not have hidden anything in this situation.
Li Tianyu suddenly waved his hand and ordered, “Take them down!”
He did not bother saying anything else. Perhaps to him, other than a selected few people, the other people were as insignificant as ants and could be trampled on.
“Yes.”
3 men came out from behind him, and they were all Rudimentary Spiritualists. Furthermore, they did not seem like they were on guard at all when they approached Ou Yangming and his companions.
Ou Yangming was slightly dumbfounded. He and his friends were Spiritualists too. In fact, Xue Boren was an Advanced Spiritualist. ‘Is he out of his mind? He actually sent 3 Rudimentary Spiritualists, who even acted like they can seize us easily.’
Just as he was confused, the 3 men stopped. The leader among them sneered and asked, “Which clan in the city are you from? Heh, show us your abilities now if you have any. If Young Master Li becomes furious, we guarantee that you’ll regret it.”
Ou Yangming was moved. When he turned to look, he noticed that Xue Boren had an ashen look on his face.
He understood at once that the man earlier meant that if they had any backing in the city, they should quickly say it and let Young Master Li weigh it. If they did not have any backing, they would have to be captured. As for how they would be handled after that, it would be up to the young master’s mood.
At this moment, even Ou Yangming could not help but praise the young master internally, ‘This Young Master Li’s quite smart indeed.
‘Putting myself aside, the Xue family alone won’t be regarded as important at all.’
Sure enough, Xue Boren opened his mouth and closed it again. Not to mention the Xue family, which had fallen and was seeking shelter with someone else, even the Wu family, which had settled down in Huixun City, might not be enough to make Li Tianyu afraid. Since that was the case, there would be no need for him to ask for an insult.
Li Tianyu smiled scornfully as he was too familiar with his scene.
As long as people knew his background and identity, very few people in Huixun City would have the guts to tell him their names.
After all, other than the very few clans that were formidable forces, the rest would not be able to resist a Venerable One. If anyone were to offend Li Tianyu, they could only seek his forgiveness or would be killed and had nothing left of them.
Li Tianyu was completely at ease when he saw the same expression on Xiao Boren’s face.
He waved his hand and shouted, “Why are you still standing there? Aren’t you going to move?”
Being urged by their masters, the faces of the 3 men changed. One of them pointed at Xiao Boren and yelled, “You—aren’t you going to surrender now? If you dare to resist, Master will make sure that your whole clan will be killed!”
He was a Rudimentary Spiritualist, but he actually dared to threaten an Advanced Spiritualist. He even spoke so reasonably and fiercely.
Xue Boren was enraged. He clenched his fists, causing a series of “cracks” to be heard. A strong momentum gushed out from his body and restrained those 3 men.
An Advanced Spiritualist’s momentum could not be resisted by ordinary Rudimentary Spiritualists—especially since the 3 men did not expect Xue Boren to attack them after knowing Young Master Li’s identity. Being caught off guard, they staggered backward, where the man with the worst cultivation base almost fell to the ground.
Li Tianyu, who was smiling proudly, was struck dumb, and his face quickly darkened.
He fixed his sinister gaze on Xue Boren. Perhaps ordinary people would be afraid of an Advanced Spiritualist but from the young master’s perspective, such a cultivator was better kept under the table.
Li Tianyu was embarrassed because his followers were careless and were frightened by an Advanced Spiritualist.
“How dare you!” Li Tianyu slapped the Devil Ape hard and ordered, “Kill them!” Despite that, he looked at Xue Xuanle’s delicate face and added, “Keep her alive!”
The 2 Advanced Spiritualists that were following closely behind him looked at each other. One of them leaped forward and flashed like he was fluttering in the wind, then he disappeared from everyone’s sight.