"Brother, look at my cultivation, you think I can survive if I encounter something that can do that?" pointing towards the massive mark left by his blade, Wu Xiaotian lies completely naturally, his reply completely free of loopholes.
Hearing his replies, the hopeful young man was disappointed as he realizes that the guy in front of him was correct. Not to mention this young man, even he will definitely not survive if he were to take that wave of energy that just emerged from the hill.
"My bad, I was just a bit excited as I thought that it's a sign of a treasure emerging." The young man said cupping his fist before holding his hand out as he introduces himself.
"My name is Huang Xie, and this group here is a gathering of my friends, along with some of their friends" the young man points out the group behind him, a relatively large group with over thirty people in it, over third of them being women.
From his experience from his past life, he had met a lot of people from all walks of life due to his job, and based on that experience, he quickly come into a conclusion that the man in front of him is a total hypocrite, whatever he wants for him to act like this though is something completely obscure for him now.
Despite feeling unpleasant interacting with this kind of people, he still acts normal, after all, he knows the concept of not punching those who are smiling at him, and if he deals with this people, he will definitely attract attention, something that he doesn't want yet currently.
Reaching out the young man's hand and shaking it, he replies with a neutral, not too friendly tone, "My name is Su Tian, I'm running alone for now as I have yet to encounter my friends"
Hearing this, a cunning light flashed Huang Xie's eyes, as he spoke again to invite the guy, "I see, then how about brother Su travels with us for now, after all, it's so much safer to travel together than to travel along" he said as if to convince the guy, thinking that his reasoning is foolproof.
Seeing the light in his eyes, Wu Xiaotian couldn't help but laugh in his mind as he thought of the reason why this hypocrite is being this nice to him.
'So, he thought I got whatever treasure he thinks there in in that cave huh' he said to himself as he looks towards Huang Xie seemingly entertained, as if a jester appears in front of him just when things are getting boring.
'Whatever, I'll just deal with him if he dares to bare his fangs' he thought while replying to the young man, pretending to be thankful for the invitation.
Guiding him to the group, Huang Xie introduces him to the people and let him roam around so that he can familiarize himself to the others in the camp. Exploring around, he doesn't find someone worth interacting with, so he just finds an unpopulated place to rest in.
Meanwhile, another young man approaches the now alone Huang Xie. Looking at the indifferent Wu Xiaotian, the young man frowns as he observes the 'newbie' acting indifferent. Doubting Huang Xie's decision, he couldn't help but ask him.
"Brother Huang, why would you even ask that kid to come with us, look at him, with his level of strength, it will be highly unlikely for him to be of use, even if we were to place him as a cannon fodder" he said with disdain towards Wu Xiaotian, thinking that this guy might be just some woman's little white face, given how young and weak he is to be qualified to enter here.
"Ah Gong, you think I want another mouth to feed huh? Think about it, that bastard came out of that cave, where a massive release of energy enough to destroy the hill the cave is hidden in, even if he denies the fact that he saw something, do you really think he will come out empty handed when something like that can happen in that cave?" Huang Xie answered as if proud of his deduction, amazing the young man as he starts to bootlick.
"Ah, you're right Brother Huang, I have never thought about that, but why risk offending the one backing that kid when we can just go in the cave again to loot it" the young man called Ah Gong inquired in confusion as he thinks that a spatial ring can only carry so much.
"Why should we risk going inside? You're not afraid of the source of that energy wave? Instead of trying to risk our lives diving inside an uncertain area, why don't we just reap the benefits from someone who go there?" Huang Xie lectured as if an elder of the other young man, before pointing out another thing.
"Besides, we won't even dare touch him, we'll only pick up the remains of people who were killed by wild beast" he maliciously added before smiling cunningly, the two of them laughing as if they can't wait to enact their plan, completely oblivious that person in their scheme was hearing them loud and clear.
In another part of the encampment, underneath a lush green tree, Wu Xiaotian is sitting near the tree's roots with his eyes close, the passing people thinking that the newbie fell asleep unaware that he is completely conscious, his senses spread all around the encampment trying to gather information about the secret realm.
Spying on multiple conversations, it was bound to be a tiresome task, so much that he can only do it for ten minutes max every hour, however, this little bit of time is enough for him to gather tidbits of information to gradually understand the situation within the secret realm.
'I heard from Ling Feng that cultivators of the Pedestal Establishment level couldn't even spread out their sense within ten meters of them, but forget about ten meters, my senses can already spread across more than a kilometer if I run it at full power, only, the duration is too short that it only lasts for thirty seconds' he thought to himself before looking at his status panel, particularly towards his soul talent, 'Perhaps it is because of the Extreme Origin Transcendent Soul'.
Just the basic stats his talents granted is already monstrous enough, not to mention the special effects each of them possesses, the doubling of bodily strength his physique grants, the monstrous and eerie devouring property along with the amplification ability of his qi, and even the aura his soul passively emits that allows him to withstand the aura of those who have far higher cultivations than him, not to mention its increase in his learning capability and the fact that he gains absolute immunity towards all mental and deception type attack.
'I wonder how much more they can improve' he wonders as he remembers the note in the information about the three talents, how they can improve with the increase in his comprehension of them. Controlling his anticipation, he decided to stand up from where he is, as he sensed multiple presences approaching the hill from different direction.
Stretching for a bit as if to prepare for whatever's going to happen, Wu Xiaotian approaches Huang Xie, telling him that a lot of people are approaching, after all, despite his disdain towards the guy, he's still the leader that takes responsibility for the group, and this also serves as a show of his ability to deter him from trying anything funny.