They all looked so murderous that it was hard to associate them with the righteous sects.
"Senior brother, there are other people here!"
Someone observed their surroundings, only to find they were completely blocked by mountains and rocks, with no way to retreat.
So, they stopped chasing that person, their gaze falling upon Baili An with hostility.
The leader looked sharply at Baili, and upon recognizing the clothes he wore, his stern expression softened slightly.
He even bowed politely to Baili An, "So it turns out you're a disciple of the Lihe Sect. I am Mu Qizheng of the Holy Beast Palace. May I know your esteemed name, senior brother?"
At that moment, Baili An was wearing the clothes of Disciple Li Jiujiu from the Lihe Sect, so it was understandable that this man thought he was a disciple of the Lihe Sect.
However, Baili An had been asleep for a full two hundred years and knew very little about both the Lihe Sect and the Holy Beast Palace.
Now, as a corpse demon, if his identity were exposed, he would surely be hunted down by these righteous sect cultivators.
Instinctively not wanting to reveal his real name, he replied fluently and naturally, "Lihe Sect, Si Chen."
"Si Chen..." The man repeated the name softly.
In his memory, Lihe Sect didn't seem to have a notable figure named Si Chen.
He thought that there were thousands of disciples in Lihe Sect, and this one must be quite ordinary.
But in this world where countless small and large immortal sects coexisted, the Lihe Sect still had considerable influence. Even if their cultivation had declined, they still held a high position among the immortal sects, above his Holy Beast Palace.
Thus, Mu Qizheng had to maintain a courteous demeanor, not rushing to kill the man he had been chasing here.
He seemed to explain to Baili An, "Brother Si Chen may not know, but this man practiced the Demon Sect's cultivation technique in the Demon Cave, lost control, and became extremely violent. One of my junior brothers was killed by him. We have chased him all the way here. The demon path is wicked, and such beings must be eliminated by all! I urge Brother Si Chen to uphold justice and help us capture this man!"
Baili An frowned slightly; he was naturally averse to killing, and indeed, this man seemed to exude deep malevolence.
But he couldn't simply define him as a murderer based on just a few words from Mu Qizheng.
This matter was none of his business; he was not the type to seek trouble, so he chose to remain silent.
Mu Qizheng originally thought that exterminating demonic evil was an unquestionable duty for a righteous person.
Seeing the young man frown slightly, clearly reluctant to act, his inner displeasure grew.
Suppressing his irritation, his polite façade faded somewhat as he said, "Since Brother Si Chen is unwilling to act, I will not force you."
Then, his eyes suddenly turned cold, and with a murderous look, he blasted towards the man who had fallen and was struggling to rise, shouting, "Demon scum! Return my junior brother's life!"
The man sneered, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Shameless! If it weren't for my critical phase of life-and-death meditation, would I have let your rat pack succeed? Your junior brother deserved his death!"
Baili An's gaze shifted slightly, observing the kneeling man.
His features were young, but his face was obscured by blood and his clothes tattered as if struck by lightning, showing a rough state.
His cultivation flared wildly, making it unclear what realm he was in.
However, the sword in his hand emitted an extraordinary aura, unscathed but visibly of far superior quality to the Autumnwater Sword given to him by girl Jiujiu.
Seeing the greedy gaze of the five young disciples from the Holy Beast Palace landing on the sword, he immediately understood.
Claims of practicing Demonic Techniques leading to murder, and demonic beings needing to be eradicated.
It was just an excuse.
Clearly, they were motivated by greed and wanted to kill for treasure.
Baili An even suspected that these five young disciples from the immortal sect might not even be sure if the man was truly from the Demon Sect.
Just as those five were about to act, a younger disciple quietly tugged at Mu Qizheng's robe, a gesture that was subtle yet caught by Baili An.
Mu Qizheng turned to look at him, only to see the disciple gesturing with his eyes towards a glowing silver tree in the cold pond.
He whispered softly, "Brother, I've seen this tree in the 'Catalogue of Heavenly Medicinals.' It's called the Spirit Treasure Tree. Its trunk and leaves are silver-white. It bears fruit once every five hundred years, always a pair called Spirit Marvel Fruits. These fruits contain extraordinary inherent spiritual energy, a rare treasure indeed. Eating it can improve one's Spirit Root quality and enhance one's cultivation by a whole century."
The young man's eyes became more fervent as he spoke, full of greed.
Mu Qizheng was slightly stunned, his eyes immediately sparkling as he looked towards the Spirit Treasure Tree, thinking that today was really a day of double fortune.
After scanning the area, his gaze rapidly darkened, his voice turning icy, "Why don't I see any fruits? Could it be that they aren't ripe yet?"
"No, brother, that tree is brimming with spiritual energy, clearly having reached five hundred years. Before we arrived, someone was here..." The young man's gaze turned perilously towards Baili An.
Mu Qizheng's expression shifted, his eyes quickly glancing at Baili An, he hurriedly lowered his voice, "Are you mad! That's a disciple from the Lihe Sect, and his aura suggests a cultivation level of the third grade of the Seeking Path realm."
"Brother, look at that guy, something about his complexion is off, pale like a dead man, plus, look at his neck, that deep wound obviously from severe injury. When we entered the cave, there was a corpse demon outside, and signs of a great battle. Clearly, he had just fought a fierce battle with the corpse demon, and his energy must be drained now, look..."
Mu Qizheng's eyes flickered, undecided.
The other disciples clearly began to get restless and seized the moment, "Brother, there are only a few of us in this cave. Even if he's from the Lihe Sect, as long as we handle this cleanly, it won't be a problem."
"Right, brother, since that fellow is unwilling to cooperate, why should he alone gain such precious treasure? He deserves to die!"
"Yes, brother, look at the deer beside him, brimming with spiritual energy, all white, obviously a spirit beast that has opened its spiritual awareness. If we capture it alive and train it as a mount, wouldn't it be impressive? Isn't our palace skilled in this?"
Mu Qizheng's eyes suddenly brightened, no longer hesitating, his gaze fiercely locking onto Baili An.
He thought that since murdering for treasure was to be done, doing it once or twice didn't matter—why not do it thoroughly and resolutely.
Only small characters waver indecisively.
"Brother Si Chen, as a person of the righteous path, you choose to stand by instead of eliminating evil, I must doubt your true identity.
By avoiding conflict, could it be that you are in collusion with this man? If that's the case, I wouldn't be blamed for punishing evil and upholding righteousness!"