The Hunter's Trap

Yi River City.

This was a brand-new city, built only after the tribe 'Water Clan' had gradually grown strong. The current chieftain of the Water Clan was a Zifu Disciple named 'Shui Tianyi'.

"Hm."

Ji Ning stood atop the clouds high in the sky, looking down. His divine sense enveloped the entire city below. Now, Ji Ning possessed the strength to completely annihilate the city below. However, as a cultivator... Ji Ning did not dare to casually slaughter mortals. Killing mortals was a taboo for cultivators, a grave karmic sin! Of course, if a mortal were to dare to offend him, he could naturally strike out in punishment. But if one were to go on a killing spree and slaughter too many, karmic sin would entangle them... just like Beizi Shan, who had been hunted down by the Yinglong Guard!

"Judging by appearances, over ten of these people could be the Water Clan chieftain." As Ji Ning's divine sense swept across, he paid special attention to those with relatively powerful souls and imposing auras.

However, he couldn't determine their exact strength just from their surface appearance.

After observing for only about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"It's him." Ji Ning quickly identified the chieftain of the Water tribe.

"Chieftain."

"Patriarch."

As Shui Tianyi walked along the stone-paved road, other tribesmen were all extremely respectful, for he was the only Zifu Disciple currently stationed within their tribe! Of course, there was also a more powerful one, 'Shui Yi', but he was far away in the incredibly powerful Dong Clan.

These people did not know that it was precisely their respectful shouts of 'Chieftain' that allowed Ji Ning, high in the sky, to determine who the chieftain was.

"Hm." Dressed in a green robe, Shui Tianyi had a flowing beard and carried himself with a certain bearing.

Soon, he arrived at his usual quiet cultivation chamber. No servants or tribesmen dared to approach. To those tribesmen and servants, a cultivator's quiet cultivation was something very mysterious, and no one dared to disturb it.

Inside the quiet chamber.

Shui Tianyi sat cross-legged, his eyelids drooping. "My Water tribe is flourishing more and more. The 'Primordial Liquid' that Lord Yi sent last time allowed three more of our tribesmen to reach Xiantian perfection. If even one of these Xiantian perfections could break through to the Zifu stage, that would be wonderful. Our Water Clan still has too few Zifu Disciples!"

As the chieftain of a tribe, Shui Tianyi desperately longed for his tribe to become stronger.

The Water Clan's position was too awkward.

Were they weak?

They also had a Zifu Disciple!

Were they strong?

They didn't even control a single major city of the Grand Xia! This awkward position caused Shui Tianyi and 'Lord Yi', the two Zifu Disciples, to think of every way to make their tribe stronger.

"Endure." Shui Tianyi still remembered the words 'Lord Shui Yi' had told him. "Tianyi, don't be impatient. We must take it slow, step by step. Our tribe's foundation is too weak... if we are too hasty, I'm afraid we will draw the enmity of other powerful forces here in Yanghe Bay, and we could even face the calamity of annihilation. We'll take it slow. Since I am in the Dong Clan... the other forces in Yanghe Bay won't start a war with us either. Wait until our tribe has more Zifu Disciples, and I will naturally bring some good friends from the Dong Clan back here to establish a true foundation for our Water Clan!"

"Lord Yi has sacrificed too much for our tribe." Shui Tianyi sighed to himself.

It was precisely because Shui Yi was willing to enter the Dong Clan and become a servant that he was gradually able to help the Water Clan.

"Oh?"

Shui Tianyi suddenly felt a powerful impact, directly crashing into his soul.

BOOM!

Shui Tianyi was instantly dazed.

A streak of sword-light flashed, directly piercing through the roof of the quiet chamber. A figure also entered the quiet chamber along with the sword-light. Ji Ning appeared in the quiet chamber, and a milky-white sack appeared in his hand.

"Take!" Ji Ning opened the large sack, and it immediately produced a powerful, cyclone-like suction.

Whoooosh~~~

The suction force caused the bowls, chopsticks, and plates around him to fly up. Shui Tianyi, who was still dizzy and completely helpless, was also sucked in, flying towards the sack. This sack was called the 'One-Breath Bag', and it was only a Human-ranked treasure. The bag had a suction force inside that could absorb foreign objects. The bag appeared small, but inside it was actually several zhang in size.

This bag couldn't be used for active attacks.

It could only absorb enemies when they were completely helpless. Simply put, it was used for capturing people! Inside the 'One-Breath Bag', one couldn't breathe. If an ordinary Houtian mortal was put inside, they would suffocate to death. But Xiantian lifeforms and cultivators could go without breathing just fine.

"Hmph." Ji Ning immediately tightened the drawstring, closing the bag. He then waved his hand, and the immense power of his Fiendgod Body Refining caused a powerful gust of wind pressure that shattered the tables and wooden furnishings around him, leaving a scene of chaos.

"Time to go." Ji Ning hefted the large bag onto his shoulder, transformed into a streak of light, and directly shot up through the hole he had just created in the roof, disappearing into the sky in an instant.

The rumbling sounds from the quiet chamber were, of course, heard outside.

"What happened?"

"It looked like a streak of light shot up into the sky."

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Some Xiantian lifeforms of the Water Clan immediately transformed into blurs as they rushed over. Many of them had seen a streak of light shooting into the sky. The speed of that light was too fast... they could only vaguely determine it was a human figure.

"Moving so fast, it must be a cultivator."

"A cultivator flew out from the chieftain's quiet chamber?"

"Something's wrong."

Everyone panicked.

"Look, there's a big hole in the roof of the quiet chamber." Among the rapidly approaching Xiantian lifeforms, some of them jumped high enough to see the large hole in the quiet chamber's roof.

"Let's go in. Hurry."

"Quickly."

One by one, they leaped up and flew in through the hole.

This was also because the Water Clan was too weak. The strongest person in the entire tribe, 'Shui Yi', was merely a servant in the Dong Clan. So even the chieftain's quiet chamber was only built with slightly better materials. Generally, Xiantian lifeforms couldn't break through it, but a Zifu Disciple usually could force their way in.

Compare this to the cultivation chambers used by formal disciples of the Black-White College, which even Loose Immortals couldn't force open.

"Where is the chieftain?"

"The inside is a mess."

"The table is shattered, the roof is pierced, and the chieftain has vanished."

The entire Water Clan tribe immediately fell into chaos. Their first move was to go to the ancestral hall to check the chieftain's life tablet.

After checking, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"The chieftain's life tablet hasn't shattered. The chieftain isn't dead yet."

"But how did the chieftain just disappear?"

"Who was that cultivator who attacked?"

The Water Clan remained in a state of fear and unease. With their strongest member, the chieftain, missing, how could they be at ease? At this time, they thought of the tribe's strongest figure—Lord Yi, the 'Shui Yi' who was a servant in the Dong Clan.

"Quickly, invite Lord Yi back."

"Hurry and invite Lord Yi back."

High in the clouds, Ji Ning stood with the One-Breath Bag slung over his shoulder, his divine sense enveloping the area below.

"As expected, they're going to invite that Shui Yi back." Ji Ning grinned. "But it's very far from here to the Dong Clan's Snowcloud Wilds. At the slowest, it'll take one or two months. At the fastest, a little over half a month."

Ji Ning glanced at the One-Breath Bag on his shoulder. "This fellow is a Zifu Disciple. Being trapped inside for a month or two won't kill him."

Time passed.

The Water Clan had directly crushed a messaging talisman, causing the distant 'Shui Yi' in the Dong Clan to be greatly alarmed. He knew that his tribe must have encountered a major incident; otherwise, they wouldn't have crushed the talisman.

"Return immediately."

Shui Yi quickly requested leave from the high-level members of the Dong Clan. As a Zifu Perfect cultivator, he was naturally not an ordinary servant and had a certain status. Asking for leave to return to his hometown was a minor matter, and the high-level members of the Dong Clan naturally agreed without any issue.

That very day, Shui Yi set off on his journey home.

Half a month later.

In a desolate mountain forest only a hundred li away from Yi River City, there was a beautiful and exquisite cave manor. It was Mu Northson's puppet cave manor, and the surrounding area had been set up with formations. Even if mortals or Xiantian lifeforms arrived here, they wouldn't be able to detect it.

Ji Ning and the others were temporarily living here.

"Master, that Shui Yi isn't going to not come back, is he?" Qingqing said worriedly.

"This is his tribe, and he is the strongest person in it. How could he not come back?" Ji Ning shook his head. Except for those few who had been bullied by their tribe, most people who grew up in a tribe would have a strong sense of belonging. This was also determined by the law of survival in this desolate wilderness.

To live well, the entire tribe had to band together and be extremely united.

This had been passed down through generations...

Fighting for the tribe had long become the belief of countless tribesmen. Even if he wasn't fanatical about the tribe, if the tribe was in trouble, he would generally still come back.

"Oh?" A faint glimmer of sword-light suddenly appeared in Ji Ning's eyes.

The white-robed Uncle White beside him also looked at Ji Ning. "He's here?"

"He's here." Ji Ning nodded.

"Let's go." Uncle White couldn't hold back either.

"Yeah." Ji Ning nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ji Ning and Uncle White shot into the sky together, quickly moving to meet the 'Shui Yi' who was traveling along the road and about to arrive at Yi River City.

"We're going too." Mu Northson and Qingqing also transformed into streaks of light, following behind.

High in the sky.

A leaf-shaped magic treasure was flying through the air, with a grey-robed Daoist standing on it.

On Shui Yi's face was a black mole, and he always had a smile on his face, making him look somewhat comical. Yet this comical-looking person... had managed to climb to a high position in the massive Dong Clan, becoming a Zifu Perfect cultivator despite being a servant.

In truth, apart from those with truly powerful backing, those who climbed up from the bottom and managed to become cultivators were not to be underestimated!

"Just what happened that made them crush the signal talisman and call me back? Even Tianyi's strength wasn't enough to suppress it?" Even now, Shui Yi still didn't know what had happened.

"I'm here."

Shui Yi could already see Yi River City in the distance.

The name 'Yi River City'... was given to honor his, 'Shui Yi's', contributions to the entire tribe.

"Swoosh." Just as Shui Yi was about to guide his leaf treasure down from the clouds...

Whoosh! A streak of light flew towards him from the distance.

"Oh?" Shui Yi's expression changed. Just as he was about to arrive at Yi River City, another cultivator came to meet him. This made Shui Yi smell 'danger'.

Looking carefully, in the distance, standing in mid-air, were a beast-pelt-clad youth and a white-robed man. The white-robed man followed behind the beast-pelt youth like a servant or steward. The beast-pelt youth stood there in the air, looking coldly at Shui Yi with a gaze full of ice. "Are you Shui Yi?"