Chapter 882: Someone Ahead of Time

"Does Teacher Zhang have a plan?"Hu Yaoyao and the others exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up simultaneously.

While Profound Heavy Water was very attractive to the Saber-toothed Spirit Tiger, it paled in comparison to the soon-to-be-ripe Red Glow Fruit. Although they had devised a plan, they knew the chances of success were slim. If the young man before them had a method, that would naturally be ideal.

"Of course!" Zhang Xuan nodded."That's excellent!"Recalling how this young man could even tame a Purple Sun Beast and, in just an hour, tame over four hundred spirit beasts, all four of them were filled with excitement.

"Here!"Dong Xin and the others each flicked their wrists, producing a jade bottle.It seemed that, for fairness, each of them had bought a bottle and combined them upon arrival.Taking the jade bottle, Zhang Xuan gently pulled out the stopper. He immediately felt the abundant water-attributed energy within, causing his physical body to involuntarily throb as if it wanted to cultivate the third stage of the Five Grand Stellar Gold Body.

"Just wait and see. I'll figure out a way to lure these two out!"Knowing it wasn't the time to cultivate, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and stored the jade bottle in his storage ring.Such a valuable item as Profound Heavy Water would be too wasteful to use just to attract Saber-toothed Spirit Tigers. Anyway, even without it, he had other methods to draw them out.In fact, he didn't even need to lure them out; with his Vicious Soul, he could simply take the entire plant.Since there was no need to waste it, it was better for him to keep it for more significant uses.As for its value, he could simply compile his insights on breaking through to Half-Saint and give them a copy, ensuring all four of them could achieve the breakthrough.Even if they obtained the Red Glow Fruit, whether they could break through was uncertain. Helping them achieve a 100% breakthrough, he thought, was definitely a huge gain for them!

"By the way, do you have any other plans? You might as well tell me so we can discuss their feasibility!"After putting away the Profound Heavy Water, Zhang Xuan continued to ask.

"We just planned to lure these two out, trap them with a formation, then collect the Red Glow Fruits and leave. We haven't prepared anything else..."Dong Xin replied.

"Formations? To trap Saber-toothed Spirit Tigers at the peak of the Chrysalis realm, you'd need at least a Level 6 formation, and it would have to be activated quickly... Do you have such formation plates?"Zhang Xuan looked at them, puzzled.

"Yes! To prevent any mishaps, each of us prepared one: a confinement formation, an illusion formation, a disorienting formation, and a killing formation!"Since they were working together, there was nothing to hide.

"While Level 6 formation plates can trap or even kill the target, they require spiritual energy to sustain. Once the spiritual energy disperses, they become useless... Their effect isn't very significant!"Zhang Xuan shook his head.Though convenient to use, even for those unfamiliar with formations, formation plates had a drawback: they required spiritual energy to operate. No matter how profound a cultivator's accumulation, their spiritual energy would eventually deplete. Therefore, formation plates were suitable for short-term emergencies but difficult to maintain long-term.The Saber-toothed Spirit Tigers were powerful, making it very difficult for them to kill. Simply relying on trapping them to get the Red Glow Fruit would be more troublesome than they imagined.No wonder they sought him out; for them, even with their best methods, the success rate was probably less than twenty percent.

Everyone's faces flushed.They were also aware of this situation.

"Teacher Zhang, if you can help us obtain the Red Glow Fruits, each of us will only take one, and the rest will be yours..."After a moment of hesitation, Hu Yaoyao gritted her teeth and said.The other three also nodded simultaneously.Since their own chances of success were so low, they felt too embarrassed to take more.Anyway, their goal was to break through to Half-Saint; as long as they succeeded, one or two fruits would have the same effect.

"Let's talk about it once we have them..."Zhang Xuan shook his head.Planning the distribution before even obtaining the items was unrealistic, like deciding how to eat a wild goose before it had been shot down.The others understood this logic and nodded simultaneously. The five of them continued forward.

"Around this bend is where the Red Glow Fruits are located. Let's be careful..."After examining the terrain, Dong Xin couldn't help but remind them.Everyone acknowledged this, each holding their breath.Although Zhu Xiuhua had given a warning, and the Saber-toothed Spirit Tigers might already know someone had entered, as long as their strength didn't exceed the tigers', they wouldn't be too wary. As long as they remained well-hidden and waited for an opportunity to strike, the success rate would still be quite high.

"Wait!"After taking a few steps forward and just about to round the narrow passage of the canyon, Zhang Xuan suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?"Seeing him stop, the others dared not move forward.

Without answering their question, Zhang Xuan took a step forward, walked behind a rock, and squatted down."Look..."Hu Yaoyao and the others looked down and saw a small pile of fresh soil behind the rock. It appeared to have been brought in from outside and looked out of place against the current ground.

"This is..." Everyone was taken aback.

"This valley has abundant spiritual energy and a dry climate; it's clear there hasn't been rain for a long time. Yet this soil is fresh and moist... If I'm not mistaken, someone entered before us!"Zhang Xuan said.His Eye of Insight could analyze the essence of things. While others saw nothing special in the soil, he could easily discern its origin.

"Someone entered?" Their expressions changed.The main reason they were so keen on this Red Glow Fruit was that the information was exclusive and unknown to others. Once outsiders found out, it would likely be much harder to obtain.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Judging by the freshness of the soil, they must have entered less than ten minutes ago. Also... there are likely two of them, and the stronger one has already reached the Half-Saint level!"

"Their strength... you can tell that too?"Everyone was stunned.The moist soil allowed him to deduce the entry time, but how could he tell their strength? Just from this bit of soil?

"We didn't see any traces on our way here, which means they must have flown in. Since they flew, they must have released spiritual energy! They stopped here, leaving traces on the ground, which allowed me to deduce their strength!"Zhang Xuan said calmly.Half-Saints could barely fly, but without their Soaring Aperture activated, even if they flew, it would be unstable, and their spiritual energy would easily leak out.If the other party hadn't stopped here, perhaps nothing could have been discerned. But since they did, it was quite simple to deduce their strength.

"Amazing..."Everyone was filled with admiration.They were all master teachers, but in terms of detailed observation, they were far inferior to the young man before them.

"A Half-Saint came... they wouldn't destroy the medicine, would they?" Xue Zhenyang's expression changed.If a Half-Saint expert flew directly in, the Saber-toothed Spirit Tigers would certainly be alarmed, and if the medicine were destroyed, their trip would be for nothing.

"Don't worry about whether it's destroyed or not; let's first see who those people ahead are. If they get the item, it's no different from it being destroyed for us..."Hu Yaoyao shook her head.She was speaking the truth.If the Red Glow Fruit was obtained by the people ahead, could they really try to snatch it?As master teachers, if their identities were exposed while snatching treasures, their careers would be over.

Everyone nodded and quietly moved forward, rounding a winding passage until an open area appeared before them.It spanned thousands of square meters, as if someone had forcibly excavated it with great power. At the end of the steep rock wall was a massive cave, where the Red Glow Fruit was likely located.Under the illumination of his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan could see a rich spiritual energy intermittently surging out from within.

"There really is someone!"Dong Xin's delicate brows furrowed.Following her gaze, they indeed saw two figures standing behind a rock outside the cave entrance, seemingly doing something.

"One Half-Saint, and another whose strength is similar to ours, at the peak of the Chrysalis realm!"Long Cangyue identified their strength, then looked back at Zhang Xuan, utterly impressed.Their strengths were exactly as he had deduced.

"Their robes... are those master teacher robes too? Why do they look different from ours?"Xue Zhenyang frowned.

Only then did everyone notice the two individuals' attire. They were entirely grayish-blue, unlike the usual loose and flowing master teacher robes, appearing shorter and more form-fitting. The master teacher emblems on their chests were too far away to see clearly, but unlike the usual gentle, ocean-like emblems, these had a sharp aura, as if looking at them for too long would pierce one's eyes.

"Even if they're different, the unique imprint of master teacher emblems can still be sensed. They are also master teachers... but they shouldn't be from Hongyuan Empire. I've met and know all the experts of this caliber from the academy and the Master Teacher Pavilion!"Long Cangyue stated.

"Yes!" Xue Zhenyang and the others nodded.They were elites of the Master Teacher Academy; if these two were from Hongyuan Empire, they would certainly recognize them. Since they had never seen them before, they must be from elsewhere.This mountain range was already outside the Hongyuan Empire, so it was normal for master teachers from other regions to be present.

"As fellow master teachers, there aren't too many disputes; whoever obtains the treasure first claims it. However, once it's in hand, snatching is not allowed. Even if one wishes to contend for it, it must be done according to the unique rules of master teachers..."Dong Xin explained.When different master teachers encounter the same treasure, regardless of the method, whoever obtains it first possesses it!Killing to seize treasure is forbidden.Otherwise, how could esteemed master teachers, who kill indiscriminately over an item, have the face to teach and educate others?Of course, if one doesn't obtain it but still desires it, they can use master teacher methods to negotiate with the other party, either by purchasing it or through a competition... However, if the other party disagrees, there's nothing that can be done.

"We must obtain the Red Glow Fruit first to have the initiative; otherwise, if they get it, we'll be pretty much out of luck..."Hu Yaoyao's expression was grave. Just as she was about to continue speaking, she suddenly frowned. "What are they doing?"

Hearing her words, everyone looked and saw that the two individuals were not rushing into the cave. Instead, from behind the rock, they took out something resembling a long incense stick, quietly lit it, and used spiritual energy to blow the smoke into the cave.

"If I'm not mistaken, that should be... Soul-Stirring Incense!" Dong Xin recognized it and said.

"Soul-Stirring Incense?"Hu Yaoyao and the others frowned.

"It's a drug that can make the soul fall into a hallucinatory state. Once inhaled, one becomes trapped in illusions and can't break free. They're likely trying to use this to disorient the Saber-toothed Spirit Tigers and then seize the Red Glow Fruits!"After explaining, Dong Xin's eyebrows knitted into a knot, her eyes full of confusion. "But... this stuff affects everyone indiscriminately. Both humans and beasts will experience hallucinations if they smell it. Are they not afraid of being affected themselves by lighting it directly?"