The entrance of the Devil Fall Valley which previously was bustling with people was now deathly silent.
A lone figure stood in front of the valley, dressed from head to toe in a black garment, the only exposed feature was his dark, soulless eyes.
At the moment he stood completely still, without making the slightest movement, someone just passing by may even assume the man was dead if it was not for the fact he stood tall, exuding a robust vitality.
Suddenly, the tranquil atmosphere of the empty valley was disrupted by a group of individuals rapidly approaching in the distance.
At the lead of the group was a ferocious looking middle-aged man whom at the instant cut a sorry figure. The previous luxurious clothing which decorated the man lavishly was now torn in various places, and he didn't escape unscathed either with him also being riddled in injuries.
Even though most of the injuries, despite the appearance were only minor wounds, it still made the middle-aged man appear in a miserable state.
Behind him stood a giant of a man who looked a bit dishevelled however, his condition was still a far better one than the man stood in front of him.
Blood Hand Luo had a gloomy expression as he approached the figure who stood motionlessly ahead of him. Thinking back to how he was caught unprepared by Brother Li's determination and suicidal move made him feel even more angered at the departed Brother Li.
If Brother Li remained alive he would have ensured he brought upon him the most agonising death possible in revenge for the embarassment and life-threatening danger he caused him. However, his target of resentment was long dead, with not even a sliver of his soul remaining leaving Blood Hand Luo without a target for his frustration.
Without anything to vent on, he could only momentarily bury his current thoughts, as he approached the dark figure.
Black Bear followed noiselessly with a ferocious glint in his eyes as the three master-ranked experts from the ambush had now gathered outside of the Devil Fall Valley.
Shadow Crane's coldly stared at the two as he said, "The target has entered the Valley not too long ago, I waited for you as it wouldn't have made to much of a difference if I left in chase. And as you both know it is almost impossible to communicate in that place, so this is a quick debriefing. We have two days at most before Yueguang Cities reinforcements have arrived, by then you better hope that the target is either captured, or you have at least obtained evidence of his demise."
Blood Hand Luo frustratingly retorted in response, "What, you looking down on me all of a sudden is that it? You think just because your under his direct service that you can look down on me? It wasn't me who let the kid get away..."
Before he could even finish, Shadow Crane soundlessly closed the distance, as he effortlessly held a blade to Blood Hand Luo's throat.
Blood Hand Luo gulped as he felt the cold blade pressed against his throat, as it cut into his neck slightly, it indicated how easily it could take his life.
"You better remember your place, Mage. If it wasn't for Master you would have long been killed by the Wang Clan, so be a good dog and follow orders obediently. We have not spared your life for you to dare refute or have an opinion, you are just a slightly strong pawn who is easily disposable. Don't give me a reason to end your service prematurely." Shadow Crane said threateningly.
Blood Hand Luo could do nothing apart from a nod compliantly, withholding the fury deep in his heart as he knew at the moment that he was not Shadow Crane's match. He also knew of the figure who was behind him, making him even more apprehensive than offending him, so he knew that he could only continue to remain under his control.
On the other hand, Black Bear didn't have much to say on the matter anyway, after all, he was the typical muscle head without many brains, so he couldn't be bothered to waste his time debating with Shadow Crane. He wanted to head into the Valley right away so he could storm his way through the beasts in the hunt for his target, to Black Bear as a battle maniac entering into the renowned Devil Fall Valley was something he looked forward to. It fulfiled his bloodthirst and itch for battle perfectly.
So without further talk, the trio entered within the Valley in search for Wang Jian and Li Fen, leaving behind one of the stronger members of their group who barely kept up with their slowed pace, he was left behind to rendezvous with the rest of the men who were left behind. Then, the majority would be sent into the Valley to aid in the hunt, whereas a few were left to guard outside the entrance, leaving the target with no option to escape even if they somehow made it past the search party making it to the entrance.
Meanwhile, Li Fen and Wang Jian were currently sprinting with all of their might for their lives, well Wang Jian was anyways. Li Fen had to move at a moderate pace, otherwise, she would have long left him behind.
Even though Wang Jian could be viewed as not allowing her to show her true capabilities, as a result of her having to hold herself back, he still wasn't completely useless in the current situation.
Clutched tightly in his arms was a treasure provided to him by his father, it was capable of easily warding Journey-man ranked beasts for some time, and can launch a lethal strike to a Master ranked opponent, though this would drain the treasure completely rendering it useless.
There were plenty of such treasures available around the Kingdom despite their expense, being forged by refiners through expensive and rare materials, including a Master Ranked Beast core. The only limit of these treasures was that they were exhaustible, and would eventually run out of essence to power the artefact, leaving it unusable.
Although despite this weakness and expensive value, it was still fairly popular among wealthy nobles.
The treasure could also last quite a while if used sparingly, and against beasts which were lower than Master Ranked, which gave Brother Yan the confidence that Wang Jian can use it to withhold capture by hiding within the outskirts of Devil Fall Valley.
Trotting hurriedly, the duo noisily made their way through the Vally in their rush, which quickly captured the attention of the first beast that they encountered.
However, this beast was doomed to end pitifully, the hopeful beast who thought that it discovered some easy pickings for a good meal, was crushed by the power of Wang Jian's artefact before it could even let out the slightest whimper.
It was not the first, as more and more beasts blocked their way, each all having the same thoughts at the first, joyfully thinking that they found a bunch of seemingly weak prey, but each met a similar tragic end.
After all, these beasts were purely cannon fodder at the Apprentice rank who didn't even extend much of the artefacts essence to dispose of, and by no means a threat to the duo under the protection of the treasure.
Panting for breath, Wang Jian promptly stopped for air as he voiced, "Ah Big Sis, I think we should be ok for a while, I think I need a bit of a rest..."
Knowing she had to knock sense at the young boy for still not realising the gravity of the situation they were under, Li Fen glared at Wang Jian with seriousness, and said, "Listen, we have to keep moving. Those people your attendants sacrificed their lives to protect you from are bad men and will stop at nothing to take you in alive. They want to use you to threaten your Father, do you want to be a tool used to burden your Father?"
Greatly alerted by the words of Li Fen, Wang Jian voiced in his mind, 'Do I want to be a weapon used against my Father?'
If that was the case, wouldn't make him a disappointment and dishonour his Mother?
In a powerful noble household, his father was married to his Mother and multiple consorts. Although his Mother was favoured, he would bring a great deal of pressure and suffering to his Mother if he was used in some way to threaten his Father.
'I cannot allow that to happen!' He voiced determinedly.
Knowing her effort paid off, a beaming smile appeared on her face as Wang Jian once again picked up his pace and they resumed their sprint to enter deeper within the Valley.
Soon enough they eventually began to come across stronger beasts, with them eventually reaching the Journey Man Rank.
These beasts were not so easily handled and would deplete a noticeable amount of essence from the artefact, luckily they only needed to repel the beasts a few times before they would retreat.
Even the artefact would use a fair amount of essence to slay a Journey Man ranked beast, so to preserve a limited amount of essence contained they chose not to deal with these beasts. These Journey Ranked beast possessed a fair amount of intelligence, and after sensing the power displayed by the artefact concluded it was not worth the risk of injury and death for the small amount of meat available.
To these beasts, they would not attack something they wern't sure of being able to defeat, this was the basic instinct of beasts, which was to evaluate the award versus the risk of their prey. Li Fen and Wang Jian appeared to be a high risk, low reward in their eyes, so they quickly got the hint and did not bother them further after noticing that they appeared formidable.
However, there was always going to be the more territorial, stubborn beasts who remained hostile to them even after the repeated warnings, leading to Wang Jian having to use the artefacts power to end their lives, using up some of the artefacts essence reserves.
Eventually, they reached a well-concealed cave, which to them appeared to be a perfect area to lay low.
Both of them knew that they couldn't hed much further into Devil Falls Valley, as it would lead greatly increase the proportion of Journey Man Ranked Beasts and even Master Ranked Beasts which was something outside of their capabilities of dealing with.
Shooting each a quick look of confirmation that this was the place they would stop to hide, the duo head towards the cave, wearily scanning their surroundings for potential threats.
Finding that the place seemed clear, they both approached the cave silently.
"I guess this is as good of a place than any to lay low." Said Li Fen.
"Hmm. I think so too, we were lucky to even find this place in the first place, let alone outsides." Wang Jian murmured, as he didn't even spot the cave until Li Fen pointed it out to him.
"Alright, I guess we should make our way inside, keep your eyes open, it is a bit strange that there are no sightings of beasts in the surroundings, there may be something threatening in the cave." Voiced Li Fen.
"It should be fine! I'm confident of the treasure my Father gave me, as long as the beast isn't above the master ranked, our safety is assured!" Wang Jian said full of assurance.
"Mmm." Li Fen murmured in response, not sharing his sentiment.
Walking towards the cave, the duo slowly made their way inside, the cave was brightly lit up by glowing mushrooms which illuminated the dark cave.
Wang Jian felt fascinated at the sight before him, even as a young noble heir he has never seen an area similar to the one before him. He didn't even know the identity of whatever mushroom littered the walls of the cave, as he had never even read about such a spirit herb before.
Li Fen on the other hand just stared silently, calmly taking space of the cave.
Wang Jian eyes glowed with enthusiasm at the moment, as he began to search the room completely distracted, leaving him not even paying the slightest attention to the surroundings.
Unknowingly when Wang Jian turned his back, a pair of deep red eyes stared at him from an unlit area in the cave, and at this moment he was slowly approaching the unknown creature hidden in the darkness, waiting to strike.