"Brother Yuan is truly cautious," Wu Lu stood still and silent until Yuan Ming took the medicine before he spoke.

"I'm afraid you might use that beautiful knife strike again," Yuan Ming said sarcastically.

"Heh, Yuan Ming is really humorous. I struck you previously to gain Kun Tu's trust and find an opportunity to kill him. Now that Kun Tu is dead, there's no reason for us to continue fighting," Wu Lu chuckled, spreading his hands and stepping back.

"Hu Huo, Hu Zha, Kun Tu are all dead. How will we explain this when we return to the sect?" Yuan Ming said slowly.

"The deaths of Hu Huo and Hu Zha were not my doing, and I didn't see who did it," Wu Lu said with a wider smile.

Yuan Ming looked at Wu Lu, who met his gaze calmly, and after a short while, both men suddenly burst into loud laughter at the same time.

Both had attacked their sect brothers today, each holding leverage over the other, like grasshoppers on the same string. As they didn't have any irreconcilable grudges, there was indeed no need to continue their struggle.

"Brother Wu Lu truly is a friend whom I've known since our days as Fur Beast Slaves," Yuan Ming said, looking at Wu Lu.

"Of course. From today onwards, we are brothers in life and death," Wu Lu sighed with relief to himself.

Yuan Ming, though seriously injured, was truly frightened and in awe of that terrible purple-black vine. He had an intuition that Yuan Ming had more than that one trick up his sleeve, with Kun Tu's magic artifact suddenly backfiring, and the invisible, traceless knife strike was beyond his expectations. Now he needed to win Yuan Ming over.

"We can now discuss how to deal with their belongings," said Wu Lu, glancing at Kun Tu's corpse nearby.

Yuan Ming was about to speak when his speech suddenly slowed, then continued. "I want to choose one item from Kun Tu's belongings first, then we'll split the rest evenly. All of Hu Huo's possessions will go to me."

"Fair enough. It's a deal," Wu Lu agreed without hesitation.

Yuan Ming nodded, and with a thought, the purple-black vines beside Wu Lu retracted into the ground, vanishing from sight.

He approached Hu Huo's corpse not far away, while Wu Lu stood still.

Yuan Ming picked up the crimson triangular flag. This item could unleash golden flame attacks, quite powerful inside its class among Low Grade Magical Artifacts, although not as strong as the Yin Ghost Flag. Yuan Ming pocketed the flag and continued to search Hu Huo's body, soon finding a small purple bag.

He had seen Hu Huo's storage magic tool before and channeled mana into it. The space inside the bag was limited and quite full, containing seven or eight spiritual materials, five spirit stones, a black jade box, and a bone scroll.

These spiritual materials were precious items from the Ten Thousand Mountains and would be saved for future opportunities to sell. The five spirit stones were all reddish, indicating they were Fire Attribute spirit stones.

He took out the black jade box and carefully opened it to find a fist-sized solid that looked like stone and jade, white in color.

"What is this?" Yuan Ming picked up the white stone, examining it closely but discovering nothing. It wasn't recorded in the Record of Strange Stones, so he put the stone back and stored it in his Storage Bag.

This item, treasured carefully by Hu Huo, must be valuable; he would figure it out slowly in the future.

Yuan Ming then took the last item, the bone scroll, and pressed it to his forehead to examine its contents, a slight look of joy appearing on his face.

The Bone Scroll outlined a spell called "Wind Swift Skill," which could make the body lighter and leap like flying, an essential spell for cultivators traveling on the road.

Yuan Ming had previously been interested in this technique at the Gui Cang Pavilion, but at that time, his funds were limited, so he didn't dare to covet it. Unexpectedly, he obtained it from Hu Huo today.

Yuan Ming didn't have time to think further, as Wu Lu was waiting nearby.

He stood up and approached the decapitated body of Kun Tu, while Wu Lu followed, bending down and throwing a storage ring directly towards Yuan Ming, saying, "If Brother Yuan doesn't need the Yin Ghost Flag, could you leave it for me? I don't need the other items in the storage ring."

"Sure," Yuan Ming caught the ring and agreed casually.

Even though the Yin Ghost Flag was a Mid-grade Magical Artifact with great power, much stronger than his red hammer, and the wooden hairpin artifact he had just snatched from the One-eyed Woman, it wasn't suitable for his use.

He scanned the contents of the Storage Ring with his Divine Sense, and couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and disappointment.

Kun Tu's possessions were far less than Hu Huo's, containing just a few spirit stones and common spiritual materials, along with an ordinary-looking, fist-sized white jade box. It seemed Wu Lu was indeed a shrewd man among the Southern Border People.

But Yuan Ming didn't make much of it; after all, the wealth was unexpected, and a Storage Ring was worth a fair amount of money anyway.

He took out the white jade box and held it in his palm when suddenly he heard the silver cat's voice in his mind: "I want this."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming placed the box into his Storage Bag and then tossed the Yin Ghost Flag to Wu Lu.

"Thank you, Brother Yuan," Wu Lu thanked him as he put the Yin Ghost Flag away and asked, "If I may be so bold, why did Brother Yuan kill Hu Zha, Hu Huo, and the others?"

"I killed Hu Zha for their sake. I promised Hagon I would protect the safety of his wife and child. Hu Zha was determined to kill the two to take their souls, so I had no choice but to kill him. You've already questioned Tuya and her mother, so you should know that this is the reason," Yuan Ming glanced at the unconscious Tuya and her mother and said.

"Brother Yuan is truly noble," Wu Lu said while inwardly being skeptical.

Yuan Ming fell silent. When he had attacked Hu Zha previously, because the situation was urgent, he didn't think too much about it. And afterwards, he found it unbelievable.

For two women he had never met, he had killed a fellow sect member, knowing if this ever came to light, he would face certain death.

Upon reflection, it might have been because he had promised Hagon and just happened upon the situation that he couldn't ignore it; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to live with himself.

He had previously read in a lesser-known classic from the sect that in cultivation, in addition to one's natural talent, sometimes one also needs to immerse oneself in contemplation. If a heart knot disturbed one's Dao heart, it could have a significant impact on future cultivation.

However, this matter had also served as a warning to him, to consider only what was within his capabilities. His first priority must be to ensure his own safety and not make promises lightly, nor speak in absolutes.

"As for Hu Huo and the others, I have long had enmity with them," Yuan Ming thought to himself as he spoke out loud.

"I see," Wulu nodded but whether he completely believed him or not, only heaven knows.

"What about you, Brother Wulu? Why did you kill Kun Tu?" Yuan Ming asked in return.

"You and I are both from Beast Slave origins; I believe you should understand the purpose behind my actions. I suffered humiliation to barely become his servant; he has shamed me repeatedly, and I have always wanted to find an opportunity to act," Wulu said.

"But Kun Tu was after all an Inner Sect Disciple, and even the direct disciple of Elder Mengshan. Aren't you afraid that Elder Mengshan will look into it?" Yuan Ming asked again.

"Brother Yuan Ming, you may not know, but Elder Mengshan doesn't mind losing a Kun Tu. I've heard that he has lost quite a few direct disciples before; becoming his disciple is the worst of luck," Wulu laughed heartily.

"I see. Then, Brother Wulu, you should put more effort in the future. I wish you achieve your heart's desire and ascend to a high position soon," Yuan Ming nodded and said, though he felt that Wulu must have other motives—he just didn't bother to inquire further since Wulu did not elaborate.

"Thank you for your auspicious words, Brother Yuan," Wulu laughed.

"Brother Wulu, Tuya and her daughter are pitiable, having lost their husband and father, without relatives and friends. I will take proper care of them and will not divulge today's events," Yuan Ming said, looking at Tuya and her daughter.

"Since Brother Yuan has said so, let's do as you suggest," Wulu pondered briefly and replied.

"Then, let us part ways here, and hopefully, we will meet again in the future," Yuan Ming thanked him and turned to leave.

"What do you mean by this, Brother Yuan Ming? Don't you plan on returning to Biluo Cave?" Wulu asked in surprise, then understood.

"Hu Huo and the others died at my hands; even if I destroyed the corpses and all traces, suspicion will inevitably arise. With the means of Biluo Cave, the truth will eventually come out. Naturally, the sooner I leave, the safer it will be. It seems Brother Wulu is not planning to leave; I hope you can camouflage it well," Yuan Ming said.

"So, Brother Yuan Ming is worried about this. There is no need to fret; I have a way to dissociate us from the deaths of Hu Huo, Kun Tu, and the others," Wulu pondered a moment before saying this.

"Oh? There is such a method?" Yuan Ming was very surprised.

He still had requests from Biluo Cave, and if there was a way to hide the truth, he did not want to leave at this moment.

Wulu smiled confidently, drew closer to Yuan Ming, and began to whisper.

Yuan Ming listened with a surprised expression on his face, then fell silent, contemplating for a long time before shaking his head slowly, seemingly unconvinced by Wulu's words.

"We'll do as he says; his cultivation technique is not from Biluo Cave. He even deliberately suppressed his cultivation level," the silver cat suddenly communicated.

"All right, then let's do it your way," Yuan Ming said.

Wulu was overjoyed, cleaned up the battlefield, took the bodies of Hu Huo and Kun Tu, and left.

Once he had gone a short distance, he looked back in the direction of Yuan Ming, and suddenly raised one hand, releasing a small bird from his sleeve that silently flew towards a certain direction.

...

Half a day later, Yuan Ming got up, having mostly recovered. Holding Tuya and her mother, he ran towards Miao Hua Village, his actions unimpeded.

The trio soon reached the main road outside Miao Hua Village. Yuan Ming channeled his mana and patted both Tuya and her mother a few times, infusing them each with a thread of mana.

Tuya's body trembled lightly, emitting a murmuring sound.

Yuan Ming let out a surprised "hmm." Tuya was just a child and was waking up even faster than her mother.

He placed his hand on Tuya's forehead, and a stream of mana poured into it, swiftly circulating through her body.

"Indeed, she possesses a Spirit Root, and it seems to be the three spirit roots of Water, Gold, and Wood. No wonder her reaction to my mana is so acute," Yuan Ming thought to himself.

Having completed the transformation of his Divine Soul, he began the cultivation of the second layer of the Moonlight Technique. His Divine Soul was growing stronger daily. He no longer needed the assistance of a magic artifact to sense others' Spirit Root conditions.

"Where is this…" Tuya slowly opened her eyes, looking around blankly, seemingly not yet fully awake.

At the same time, Tuya's mother also woke up faintly.

Seeing they were back on the main road and Wulu was no longer in sight, Tuya's mother was both shocked and overjoyed.

"There's no need to worry, everything is over, and you are both safe now," Yuan Ming said.

"Thank you, my lord, for the rescue," Tuya's mother got up and bowed in thanks.

"Since I had promised Hagon, I naturally had to ensure that you and your daughter were kept safe. Do not thank me," Yuan Ming said, his palm gently raised to support the woman with a hidden strength.

"My lord, after Hagon left, we, as widows and the orphan, could barely get by day to day, but now our home is destroyed, and I am momentarily at a loss. I wonder if you could guide us on a clear path," Tuya's mother pleaded with Yuan Ming.

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