Xuefeng was already far from the location of their battle when he suddenly paused, looking down at his Elemental Bracelet.
"Is something wrong?" Tianshi asked, the whole group stopping their flight to look at him.
"I'm not sure," Xuefeng replied, his brows furrowing. "I thought I felt the bracelet vibrate as if the Elemental Stone was close, but it quickly went silent. Maybe that old man teleported to check the results of our fight before returning to his hideout."
"I'm guessing he must have tasked the Behemoth with killing us," Tianshi pointed out, her eyes narrowing. "If that's the case, we should expect company when we leave this forest as well. I'll let you know if I sense something."
Xuefeng acknowledged her with a nod just before Drakos lamented out loud. "Seriously, you guys are overestimating our opponents way too much. No matter how many of them we face, we can easily run them down. You saw what just happened; that turtle didn't stand a chance."
"The power of Gates is still unknown to us. That beast was basically unkillable unless we destroyed his whole body at the same time," Xuefeng replied after reflecting on the fight. "I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been able to take him down without Mona. Even my Elemental Bracelet would only restrain him until he ran out of life force. What if we were to face multiple of them simultaneously?"
"Well, that's you. I could easily kill him with a single punch if you'd only let me fight," Drakos boasted, his chest puffing out.
"Don't worry, you won't need to wait long to test your strength," Tianshi replied, her gaze directed at the horizon. "Five groups of around a hundred people have set up an ambush in the valley leading out of this area. We can either fight them directly or avoid them, but the second option will lead to being chased and attacked from both sides by their reinforcements."
Everyone grew excited at the prospect of fighting, but Xuefeng found the situation suspicious. "Can you predict the result of the battle? What kind of reinforcements will they have? Are there Constellations involved?"
Tianshi raised her eyebrows. "There are too many possible outcomes when a lot of people are involved, but we shouldn't have a problem dealing with them. As for reinforcements, that part is still too cloudy to say," she replied, surprised. "Why would the Constellations be involved?"
"I was just thinking. What if that old man is not trying to lure us into the trap and instead wants to bait us into making enemies?" Xuefeng wondered out loud, his mind racing. "By the time we reached the Godly Arena, we would have killed thousands, many of them with opened Gates. Some Constellations probably wouldn't care if they died, but some might come to investigate."
"Why would he do that if he wants the Elemental Bracelet for himself? It would just get stolen from him," Drakos pointed out, confused. "My guess is that he wants to weaken us before the final battle."
"That's exactly what I initially thought too, but the speed at which those forces gathered is beyond suspicious," Xuefeng countered, crossing his arms. "It wasn't even an hour since we arrived in the God Realm, and they're already here with an ambush set up. If he really informed everyone about our arrival the moment we came, it would have been impossible to mobilize so fast after more than a month's time. They must have been preparing this whole time."
"I see what you mean," Wuying finally spoke, her eyes squinting. "If they planned to weaken us, it wouldn't make sense to spread out their forces. It would be better to create a massive trap around the tree to kill us as soon as we arrived instead. The current scenario only makes sense if he wanted us to win."
"What if he wants to use the help of the Constellations to kill us, then curry their favor by gifting his Elemental Stones to them?" Xuefeng proposed, his eyes glinting. "Every person who desires the Elemental Bracelet has their own personal agenda. Whatever the old man's goal is, he doesn't think I can help him with it. What's impossible for me to do?"
He paused, trying to think of a good reason, but there were too many to just pick one. A Constellation was almost always a better choice, no matter what he wanted.
"Wuying, can you scout the ambush?" Xuefeng asked as he came to a stop. "I want you to find out how long they've been waiting for us and what the relations between those groups are."
Wuying didn't even question him and simply nodded, suddenly vanishing into thin air. Although she had transitioned her fighting style into Blood Arts, working in the shadows was in her blood. It only took her twenty minutes to gather the intel and come back with good news.
"It seems like Xuefeng might be right. They've been waiting for at least three weeks already. Each group was paid individually, and whoever kills you will be paid the most. They are expecting three men to arrive soon, so at least we know we weren't watched," Wuying reported.
"It might be hard to refrain from killing, but we don't have any other choice. It's better to take necessary precautions than face a Constellation in the worst-case scenario," Xuefeng decided, his expression turning calmer.
"What do you want to do with them then?" Wuying asked. "We can't take them with us, and leaving them alive will only cause more problems."
Xuefeng only pursed his lips into an evil smile. "We'll leave them with some fun activity. By the time they're done, they won't be a threat anymore."
***
"They're coming," the scout reported, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "There are around a dozen women accompanying our targets. They're flying toward the valley."
"I can't believe they would just walk into our trap like this," the leader of the ambush laughed, clapping his hands. "I was worried we'd be discovered after waiting for so long, but it seems the information was correct. They're just a bunch of nobodies. It'll be an easy heist."
"What about other groups? We should be careful in case they plan to sabotage us," the scout warned, his expression serious.
"Don't worry; there are only ten men who've opened Gates, and none of them have completed their second refining. Even if they try anything funny, we can take them down once we've finished our mission," the leader reassured. "The reward will be shared among the survivors, so it's to be expected."
"Incoming," the scout whispered, his body tensing up.
"Alright, everyone, remember the plan. We'll let them pass and attack them from behind. Don't let anyone escape," the leader ordered, his men nodding in confirmation. "It's showtime."
The group hid themselves and waited patiently, not moving an inch. They saw the group fly toward them casually before suddenly stopping mid-air just before reaching the set-up formation.
"What are they doing?" the scout asked after a while, his voice barely audible. "Why aren't they moving?"
"I don't know. Maybe we were discovered," the leader replied, his brows furrowed. "We should attack them now while they're still unaware. There's no point in waiting."
The leader was about to order a full-scale attack when the air around them thickened. He realized what was happening and launched himself into the sky, escaping just before the whole area was enveloped in an instant domain.
Along with him, another twenty cultivators with high awareness managed to escape and watched the scene below in horror.
"Everyone! This is a robbery! Ladies to the left! Gentlemen to the right!" a young man's voice sounded from below. "You have ten seconds to decide whether you want to die or not."
None of the trapped cultivators seemed interested in surrendering to their targets; they only scoffed as they withdrew their weapons. All were the best of the best, having reached the peak of Cultivation, so they weren't afraid of an Elemental Domain—at least until they realized it wasn't just a single Domain.
"Wait, I can't use my Spirit Qi," someone exclaimed in shock, his weapon failing to activate its full potential.
"I can't set up my Fire Domain!"
"My Water Arts failed too!"
Everyone was surprised to find their abilities sealed, and they could only rely on their physical strength. Unfortunately, even that was taken away as their bodies suddenly froze in the air, unable to move an inch.
"None of them seem to have a blessing, so there's no need to keep them alive, right?" a blonde beauty questioned casually, her gaze sweeping across the eighty people of various races. "Ten seconds have already passed."
It seemed she was asking, but before anyone could reply, all the captured men suddenly collapsed at the same time, their eyes rolling back lifelessly.
"Well, I did warn them," the young man shrugged and sighed at the escaped men. "You should've committed to escaping. It's going to be a rough night for you."