"Is this the place?" Li Xue muttered while looking around. She had gone to the place Hao Yu had talked about.
It appeared to be a dense forest. Her range of vision was quite limited as the surroundings had been covered with bushes and tall trees. Even if she had to jump, it was most likely that no one could see the bottom.
If they wanted to chase after her, their only choice would be jumping from one branch to another.
At the same time, this place would be perfect for hiding, considering there was no one who could see her in this place.
"I don't think anyone from the city can see me here…" Li Xue muttered while squinting her eyes, looking at every corner to make sure that she didn't get tailed. "I'm already quite deep into the forest as well, so I don't think I would find anyone here. Hao Yu said that they will isolate me…"
Li Xue fell silent for a moment. After recounting what she encountered inside the forest, she realized that no matter how they isolated her, the soldiers wouldn't be able to see her.
In other words, they could only calculate her location and inform the cultivator to go straight into it. It meant no one knew what would happen next.
"I see. After meeting him for a while, I can understand what he is planning." Li Xue contemplated for a moment. "This forest doesn't have any Spiritual Beasts, which means I can't employ them to fight. However, these tall trees and thick bushes are enough to play hide and seek. If I'm familiar with the forest, I can somehow trick them. After wearing them out, I will eliminate them."
Li Xue was confident, believing this was the case. The trees could become a hiding spot, so it would be hard to find her. In addition, by taking advantage of the bushes, she could make them think she was there, creating a gap in their movement.
If she took advantage of it carefully, there was a chance that she could defeat her enemies. Obviously, this kind of thought would never occur in her head if she had never met Hao Yu.
"Is Hao Yu really a mortal? I was once a mortal before getting accepted into the sect, and it was never occurred to me or anyone around me. He must be someone special." Li Xue nodded, holding Hao Yu in high regard. "But the problem is that… I have to be familiar with this dense forest. I don't know if the time will be enough."
Li Xue thought she would need at least a few days to a week to know the forest better. But she would never be able to break through to 8-Star because of that.
"Xiao Jun is a 9-Star Expert. It's said that he is already close to 10-Star. And after Li Guang and the others died, I don't think he will come here alone. However, Xiao Jun is a prideful man. If he is going to come with people, he will come with someone whose strength is lower than him. After all, he is not going to be looked down by other 9-Star Experts in the sect."
Li Xue looked down. She had killed everyone under him. However, she believed that Xiao Jun could bring a few 8-Star and 7-Star with him, which made this battle harder.
Fortunately, she could reach 8-Star with all these resources.
"I guess I will have to be quick. I will explore the forest today and return to this spot to cultivate. This is for my survival. I can't just rely on Hao Yu for everything." Li Xue clenched her fists, determined.
She immediately walked toward the bush in front of her, but because she didn't want to change her clothes, she tried to open the push away the bush to make a gap for her to walk through.
That was probably the best thing she did because right before she stepped forth, she noticed something hiding underneath the bush.
"Eh?" Li Xue instantly dropped her jaw to the ground. What was hiding underneath the bush was actually wire as well as a circle-shaped metal with sharp pointed tips on all sides. "This is…"
Li Xue bent her knees, checking the metal. "This metal is quite sharp, but it seems to be a bit rusty. Still, it should be enough to penetrate my skin. And does this wire is the one connected to this metal object?"
Li Xue carefully closed the gap while lowering her head to see the wire within the bush, following it.
To her surprise, the wire was connected to something above the tree, which she couldn't see from this position. It had been hidden by using vines hanging down the branches.
It turned out she had been mistaken. Understand Hao Yu? How could she even claim that?
Hao Yu was actually using booby traps to ensnare his prey. While it was a cheap trap, it should work for Qi Gathering Experts.
Li Xue couldn't help but recall their conversation regarding the cultivators.
"Don't tell me… The reason why he wanted to know about our strength was for this?" Li Xue had just realized that Hao Yu used the knowledge to protect a safe house for her. This way, even if she continued to cultivate, she would be fine.
Though, there was one question lingering in her head. She was oblivious to the trap, so why would she not fall for it?
She couldn't help but recount what Hao Yu told her before.
"Remember. You will run away through the South Gate and head to this forest. Once you reach that spot, I want you to focus on cultivating. I will do the rest."
"Focus on cultivating, do the rest…" Li Xue muttered what she thought to be the key. She couldn't help but glance at the direction she came earlier. "It appears that the only safe path to this place is from the South Gate… the other directions should have been filled with traps."
Li Xue lost all her confidence again, realizing that she was too far from even understanding Hao Yu.
"I should follow him, I guess." Li Xue made a wry smile while rubbing her cheek. Since there was nothing she could do, it was better to cultivate.
Ultimately, Li Xue sat down on the ground and began meditating, using all the resources to break through to 8-Star.
…
Meanwhile, the so-called Xiao Jun had been fuming in anger.
"What's wrong with all of you? You all are useless. Why can't you even capture a single woman?" Xiao Jun roared in anger, but this time, his room was completely empty as all his subordinates had died at Li Xue's hands.
"Fine. I will do it myself. Li Xue, just you wait. I will capture you, get all the inheritances you've got, and make you can't live without me." Xiao Jun clenched his fists as he stepped forward. It had been a week since Li Guang sent his last message, confirming that he had been killed.
Hence, Xiao Jun had no choice other than to do it himself.