"Kh." Xiao Jun gnashed his teeth, frustration and anger mixed in his heart. He never thought that he would suffer this much just by entering the forest. The other cultivators couldn't help but regroup with him.
"Senior Brother. We can't do this anymore."
"This trap is so weird."
"That's right. These traps feel like they know our weakness and kill us through it. It's as if the one who plants them knows what we're capable of."
The remaining three people voiced their concerns. They wouldn't be able to continue if these traps remained.
Xiao Jun obviously didn't want to stop here. The woman he desired was right before him. At the same time, there was a chance that Li Xue had gotten an inheritance. If he could capture Li Xue, he could get both of them.
However, the other three cultivators were too scared of the traps. After all, the next trap might take their lives.
"Do you think I'm scared? You are just weaklings. To be afraid of this trap, I don't know whether to call you a coward or an idiot." Xiao Jun shouted in anger, trying to put some pressure on them.
Unfortunately, the threat of the traps was just too much. The three cultivators had the same thought.
"Senior Brother. I'm just a coward. You may call me that; I don't mind."
"That's right. It's better to be safe than sorry."
"I don't really want to die."
Xiao Jun pointed at them. "Do you think you will still have your life once we return to the sect?"
In that instant, the three cultivators tensed up. On one hand, the traps were scary and they might lose their lives next. On the other hand, even if they retreated, Xiao Jun would make their lives horrible. He even had the backing of an outer elder.
If they still rejected him, Xiao Jun would remember everything. They all knew Xiao Jun's strength as a 9-Star and his connections, after all. It was unlikely for Xiao Jun to lose to Li Xue.
"…" The three exchanged looks. They didn't want to participate in this, but the reward had once excited their greed, and Xiao Jun's identity pressured them.
Now that things had gone like this, they had no other choice but to comply.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, one of them had an idea. "Senior Brother, I think we should involve those mortals. They can become the cannon fodder to disarm all the traps. We don't need to worry about the lives of the mortals anyway."
The other two instantly agreed.
"That's right. We can just sacrifice those mortals to trigger all the traps."
"We can just blame them that everything that is happening right now is due to their negligence. If they don't shelter the criminal, this would never happen."
The three cultivators thought it was easier to have the mortals save them.
Xiao Jun thought it was also a good option given their current situation. At the same time, his pride was deeply hurt because he had to rely on mortals, the people he looked down upon.
However, the more he pressured these three, the more they would cause trouble. So, there might be no other way.
Xiao Jun said, "Do you have no pride as a cultivator? To think that you are lowering your head to mortals."
"We…" The trio couldn't say anything, but their intention didn't flicker. They wanted the mortals to take care of this matter as they were afraid to die.
"Even if you don't want to request their help, we can become the volunteers, Senior Brother." This was the solution they could think of.
Xiao Jun clenched his fists. "Fine, you can go. However, this might be the only place with traps. If your actions cause the mortals to look down on us… just get ready for suffering once we return to the sect."
The trio's bodies shook. However, they hurriedly exited the forest to get some help from the soldiers.
Unfortunately, the East District Administrator had returned to his office after bringing them here. So, they only met with normal soldiers and some captains who took care of the commands.
The soldiers were angry because they were being used this way. After all, who wanted to die? Sadly, they were in no position to reject.
If they didn't do it, the Iron Mountain Sect would definitely not let this go.
Hence, they sent out a total of thirty soldiers. Some of them had a degree of expertise in traps, so they walked to the front.
"Xiao Jun, we've brought some people to help us with the traps," the trio reported with a lot of soldiers behind them.
Xiao Jun glanced at them with a cold gaze, treating them as if they were ants.
The soldiers wanted to release their anger. Despite asking for their help, they were treated like this. This injustice had been planted deep in their minds ever since they became soldiers.
A cultivator was a far higher existence than common people. They always knew that fact, but it didn't diminish their anger.
To avoid even more problems, the trio immediately said to the soldiers, "Take care of the traps in this area, and we'll advance forward. Make sure you don't leave a single trap behind." The trio might have looked better at first, but they were still too arrogant to request it politely. They even used a commanding tone to get the job done.
Sadly, the soldiers had no choice but to comply and begin exploring the area.
"There is a trap here," one of the soldiers raised his hand.
It didn't take too long for them to find the trap. Whether it was due to their number or their skill, it was clear that not a single trap could escape their eyes.
They showed how easy it was to find traps. They even disarmed the traps in rapid succession.
In just fifteen minutes, they had found a total of three traps. But when they expanded their explorations, there was no other trap in sight.
During the whole exploration, Xiao Jun's expression remained dark. He glared at them sinisterly, as if his pride had been hurt by a couple of mortals. After all, the mortals managed to discover the traps and disarm them without a single casualty, while two people in his group died from two traps.
It indirectly showed the lack of ability that the cultivators had.