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The cultivators behind him quickly followed suit.
Wang Yi’an glanced at the jungle.
He released his Spiritual Sense, carefully scanning the area, but detected no unusual movements.
Only then did he catch up with the elder.
But just as he and the elder were about to fly into the jungle, it felt as though a bolt of lightning had suddenly flashed through his mind!
"Something’s not right!"
"It shouldn’t be this quiet here!"
Almost instantly, he started retreating while shouting in a low voice,
"There’s an ambush ahead!"
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
"You know nothing!"
Meanwhile, a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators outside also jumped at the sound of Wang Yi’an’s shout, but quickly cursing, they took a look around and saw no changes.
Muttering curses, they dived into the jungle.
The elder with a pockmarked face and a long beard showed hesitation and looked at Wang Yi’an:
"Do you have any evidence?"
Wang Yi’an quickly pointed toward the woods,
"Didn’t you notice there’s not even a sound of birds chirping in such a big forest?"
"And the birds in the sky have been circling overhead without landing."
Hearing Wang Yi’an’s reasoning, the pockmarked, bearded elder was initially shocked, then couldn’t help but laugh at himself with self-deprecation:
"I actually believed you."
With that, he also headed into the jungle.
Wang Yi’an was completely astonished,
"Doesn’t this indicate that there are enemies inside?"
The elder with a pockmarked face and a long beard hesitated for a moment but still shook his head,
"How could Master Duan, having adventured for many years, not notice something that even you could see?"
"Don’t be too clever for your own good. Causing annoyance is the least of it; if you meddle in important matters, you might even risk your life!"
With that, he quickly disappeared from Wang Yi’an’s sight.
Wang Yi’an’s face involuntarily stiffened,
"Am I really being too clever for my own good?"
In his heart, a sense of dejection and being knocked down lingered.
Since childhood, within his sect, he had been praised repeatedly by his parents and relatives for his cleverness.
Even among his playmates who had grown up with him, he often took on the leading role.
Although he never boasted, he truly took pride in it.
Yet, he didn’t expect that on his first trip out of the sect for training, he would hear the critique of ’being too clever for your own good’ from a Rogue Cultivator, which sincerely upset him.
However, he quickly suppressed this emotion.
He knew it was not the time to wallow in self-pity, so he quickly gathered himself and followed into the jungle as well.
Before long, he saw the back of the elder with a pockmarked face and a long beard.
But before he could feel relieved,
from the end of the jungle suddenly came Master Duan’s astonished and angry shout,
"There’s an ambush outside!"
Wang Yi’an’s heart skipped a beat!
In his hand, he subconsciously grasped a Class III upper-grade magic sword, while his other hand, hidden in his sleeve, tightly clutched a Spirit Beast Bag.
He looked nervously ahead.
Despite his exceptional vision, his view was obstructed by the jungle and he could only see cultivators desperately retreating.
The first to retreat was the elder with the pockmarked face and a long beard.
He had been at the back and as soon as he heard trouble, he ran for it.
Upon seeing Wang Yi’an, he was about to greet him.
However, upon seeing the magic sword in Wang Yi’an’s hand, he paused in surprise and then urgently said,
"Run! What are you waiting for?"
With a swoosh, he passed by Wang Yi’an.
Wang Yi’an didn’t know what had happened up ahead, only hearing a series of booming noises.
Hearing the elder’s words, he dared not delay and immediately called forth a Class III Flying Artifact and flew away following the elder.
But within a few blinks, he had already left the elder far behind.
"Wait for me!"
The elder upon seeing the Class III Flying Artifact under Wang Yi’an’s feet, looked astonished and then called out loudly.
As Wang Yi’an scanned behind with his Spiritual Sense, he detected a few unfamiliar Golden Core Cultivator auras battling with Master Duan, and also noticed several stiff-moving and peculiarly-auraed Golden Core Cultivators flying towards them!
Grinding his teeth, he abruptly turned the Flying Artifact beneath him and sped towards the elder.
"Get on!"
The elder didn’t hesitate and immediately jumped on.
Wang Yi’an directly spurred the Flying Artifact and flew away rapidly.
However, in less than two breaths, both Wang Yi’an and the elder couldn’t help but have their expressions darken.
From all directions, they didn’t know when, but each had been approached by Golden Core Late-stage Cultivators clad in black robes with nearly identical auras!
And as Wang Yi’an’s gaze swept over the faces of these Golden Core Cultivators, he was momentarily stunned.
These cultivators all looked exactly alike!
"It’s puppets!"
"There must be Dao Shengzhou Cultivators nearby!"
Within his heart, Wang Yi’an almost instantly formed this conjecture.
His trip to West Sea Country wasn’t a spur of the moment decision, but rather he had done his homework well in advance.
Yet, his heart also suddenly felt heavy in that moment.
A lone Daoist Cultivator from Shengzhou wasn’t terrifying; supposedly, they were not much different from Tubizhou Cultivators.
What was troublesome, however, was that once a Daoist Cultivator from Shengzhou had sufficient time to prepare, unless one’s strength far surpassed their own, or if by chance one found the Daoist Cultivator’s hiding spot, there were almost no alternatives – one would inevitably be surrounded and killed by the countless puppets at their command.
And at that moment, as his Spiritual Sense gave a slight stir, Wang Yi’an immediately realized that Master Duan, along with others, had been forced back by the earlier appearing puppet cultivators.
The entire group had fallen into the encirclement of a Dao Shengzhou Cultivator!
The elder with a pockmarked face and long beard beside him saw this scene and realized the danger, his face turning pale instantly.
"It’s puppet cultivators! How could our luck be this poor!"
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