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Chapter 380: To Be the Tiger’s Pawns

Chapter 380 To Be the Tiger’s Pawns

In front of the Demon-Locking Tower.

“How’s the situation? Was that flying vessel shot down?”

Blood Amber Mountain Lord sat cross-legged at the entrance, a machete resting across his knees. Surrounding him were freshly carved spears thrust into the ground. Each spear was entwined with wailing vengeful spirits, black energy swirling around them—these were the same kind thrown at the flying vessel moments ago.

There were still seventeen of those spears left.

“Reporting to My Lord, the flying vessel has already been shot down. The spear you threw played a critical role.”

A tiger demon knelt before the Tiger King, speaking respectfully.

“If it weren’t for the spears thrown by the brothers as cover, I probably wouldn’t have succeeded so easily either.”

The grim look on Blood Amber Mountain Lord’s face eased slightly. He asked again, “And those brothers?”

Even though he had already anticipated this outcome, the Tiger King still looked a bit saddened. He remained silent for a moment before waving his hand.

“Well, since the flying vessel’s destroyed, our opportunity has come. Has there been any result from the observation I asked you to carry out?”

“There is.” The tiger demon took out a red, oval-shaped stone, faint light and shadows visibly flowing within it.

He presented the stone to the Tiger King with both hands, speaking solemnly: “Among the Ascenders, there's one at the peak of Foundation Establishment who's shown unusual respect—even the Golden Core stage Ascenders treat him with reverence. There's also a mid-stage Golden Core Ascender with a Yang Soul Out-of-Body who's constantly protecting him. This little one believes that person is the key figure in their group.”

Blood Amber Mountain Lord infused the Image Stone with demon qi and quickly saw the person the tiger demon had described.

To his surprise, he recognized the man.

This person was from the Exorcist Division—someone he had once spied on.

Just the mention of the Exorcist Division triggered fragmented memories in his mind.

He remembered cowering inside a rusted iron cage. Outside the cage, a blade guard from the Demon Suppression Division in flying fish robes tossed him a piece of rotting meat with a twisted grin.

On a nearby table, several of his sons had been skinned and gutted, their meat placed on a roasting rack.

The chunk of rotten meat thrown in front of him had come from his wife—long since devoured by those guards.

He had many memories like this, as if he had lived through countless cycles.

Yet no matter what, the ending was always about the same.

He believed these memories were real, but for some reason, the Demon Suppression Division had become the Exorcist Division and never changed back.

Not that it mattered. With names so similar, the Exorcist Division was probably no different.

He had cultivated hard to grow stronger, first sending his wife and youngest son far away from Qinling, leaving only himself and a few older sons to guard the Demon-Locking Tower. If all those memories were true, then in this life, he would see if he could finally break free of fate’s shackles.

“To catch the thief, catch the leader first”—an old human saying.

Monsters could use it too.

Maybe he wouldn’t be a match for all those Ascenders, but if he could capture and kill the key figure, he wouldn’t be at a loss.

“That person isn’t the strongest among the Ascenders—likely the most well-connected or the most gifted.”

Blood Amber Mountain Lord narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint flashing within, and said to the tiger demon,

“Tell the brothers to get ready!

Snatch that man. Before we die, let’s have a hearty meal!”

…

“Senior, rest assured—nothing will go wrong this time!

My plan is thorough, and the defenses are airtight!”

Chen Huaian glanced left and right, looking at Wang Shouyi with a twitch of his lips. “You sure?”

He had thought Wang Shouyi's plan would be something elaborate and well thought out.

Turns out it was just surrounding him with several Golden Core Ascenders as bodyguards.

He had to admit—the protection was solid.

But… didn’t it make him a bit too much of a target?

Like the emperor riding a battle chariot in the middle of the army.

Without any disguise, wouldn’t he be the enemy’s prime focus?

This Wang Shouyi…

Could he be using him as bait?

But then again, with that dopey look on Wang Shouyi’s face, that didn’t seem right.

If the kid really had that much cunning, he wouldn’t have survived hanging around him this long.

“Maybe I’m just overthinking it.” Chen Huaian sighed.

And that wasn’t the only thing bothering him.

Now, with people all around him, he had zero personal space. He couldn’t even fully enjoy the feeling of holding Li Qingran’s soft little hand. If only he could take this chance to savor his disciple’s soft little fingers, he’d probably be a lot cheerier.

Meanwhile, Li Qingran kept her head lowered, silent.

Her face flushed all the way to the tips of her ears, yet she made no attempt to pull her hand away from her Master’s grasp.

She wasn’t sure why, but even though she was in Yang Soul Out-of-Body state, she could suddenly touch her Master’s hand.

What was even weirder—she was a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, a major figure back in the sect. Yet somehow, she tripped while walking on flat ground?

If Master hadn’t reacted quickly, she’d have face-planted like a dog.

And then naturally, Master held her hand and didn’t let go—afraid she’d fall again.

Of course, from her perspective, she didn’t want him to let go either.

“Absolutely sure!” Wang Shouyi patted his chest and smiled confidently. “Just watch, Senior! With this tight formation and airtight defense—if something still goes wrong, I’ll eat three pounds of sh*t raw!”

Chen Huaian: “……”

Yeah, with protection like this, it was unlikely anything would go wrong.

But that only applied to him. What about those Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Ascenders?

Were they all cannon fodder?

Only he and a few others with exceptional talent and strength were protected at the center—did that mean they were the only “real” people?

He had a mouthful of complaints stuck in his throat with no idea how to let them out.

Chen Huaian just felt sorry for those Ascenders.

But then he remembered how they all scrambled for ascension, basking in unearned glory—and suddenly, he didn’t feel that sorry anymore.

You get what you pay for.

It was all their own choice…

Just as Wang Shouyi predicted, they encountered monsters along the way. Though the monsters attacked in waves, none could last a single round against the elite Ascenders.

The formation Wang had arranged secretly mirrored ancient military formations. Simple on the surface, it held deeper mystery. Even the outermost circle, made up of the weakest Ascenders, could hold their own.

He thought they could just charge ahead like this straight to the Demon-Locking Tower.

Not just him—Chen Huaian, Li Qingran, and the other Ascenders all thought so.

But unsurprisingly, the unexpected happened.

Just as the team crossed the first hill and could clearly see the towering Demon-Locking Tower in the distance—

A violent black wind swept across their heads.

The inner circle of Ascenders fared better, but those on the outer ring were instantly blown into chaos.

By the time they regained their footing—

All they could see across the mountains was a dense swarm of ferocious, ghastly spirits.

“To be the tiger’s pawns.”

Wang Shouyi sucked in a cold breath.

He had known the Mountain Lord would be tough to deal with.

He had even expected that a demon beast at the Demon Core stage wouldn’t be easy.

But he hadn’t expected that the enemy could control such an overwhelming number of ghostly pawns!

…

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