As they neared the section of the forest where the explosion occurred, Lord Kai released his spiritual sense around the area.

"So there are three cultivators hiding in this part of the forest. Two of them are in the Spirit Waking realm while the other..." Lord Kai's eyes narrowed.

"Is something wrong Lord Kai? Have you identified the intruders?" One of the Spirit Manifestation cultivators asked.

Lord Kai did not respond to the cultivators question. This was because he was in deep thought. While two Spirit Waking cultivators were irrelevant, the fact he couldn't sense the power of the last one troubled him.

"There are three cultivators around this area. One of them is a three aspect Spirit Waking cultivator, while the other only has a single aspect."

The four Spirit Manifestation cultivators let out sighs of relief when they heard this.

"In that case, they must be relying on a treasure that allows them to conceal their presence. You mentioned three cultivators right? Who is the third?"

"That is the problem. I can't pinpoint the exact power of the last cultivator. With that being the case, there is a high chance that the third cultivator might be a peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator like myself."

The faces of the four Spirit Manifestation cultivators turned ugly.

"Peak Spirit Manifestation! Impossible! What is an expert such as that doing here?"

"This is more serious then we thought. Could they be scouts sent by the Yan Clan?"

Lord Kai exhaled deeply.

"It is a very likely possibility. If these three really are a scouting party from the Yan Clan, we need to eliminate them quickly so they can't report back to their leaders."

Woosh~

Suddenly, a jet of pressurized air shot out from the forest towards one of the early Spirit Manifestation cultivators.

The Spirit Manifestation cultivator it was aimed against let out a cold snort. He stuck his palm out to meet the oncoming attack and dispersed it effortlessly.

"Hmph... A mere Spirit Waking cultivator dares to attack me? You are simply overestimating your capabilities!"

Looking towards the direction the blast of pressurized air came from, the Spirit Manifestation cultivator saw a handsome young boy of around fifteen years of age coldly smiling at him.

"Giving away your position like that. Your arrogance has cost you your life!" The Spirit Manifestation flew after the handsome youth who attempted to attack him.

However, before he could even get within a hundred meters of the boy, an illusory image of a giant palm emerged from the forest and grabbed the Spirit Manifestation cultivator mid-flight. He tried to break free, but the palms grip was too strong. The grip tightened and the Spirit Manifestation cultivator exploded into a pile of flesh and blood.

"No way! That brat is merely a Spirit Waking cultivator! How could Brother Luo be killed so easily?! Was it the peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator?"

The faces of the remaining early Spirit Manifestation cultivators were filled with fear at the sight of one of their own being killed so easily.

Lord Kai's expression darkened.

"Fellow daoist, our leader is the overseer of an outpost under the jurisdiction of the Tang Clan. We are wondering why you have trespassed through our territory without authorization. If your answer is satisfactory we will trouble you no further."

There was no response. Instead, an illusory palm even bigger than the one before shot out of the forest towards Lord Kai.

Lord Kai furrowed his brows and two thin beams of light shot out of his eyes. The beams collided with the palm and both dispersed, leaving behind a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, a young girl stood before Lord Kai and the remaining early Spirit Manifestation cultivators.

"Was that a satisfactory answer? Indeed, I did not come to your outpost with authorization. That is because I don't need permission if I want to trample it under my feet."

Lord Kai frowned.

"Unfortunate. If you were an ally, I feel like you and I would have gotten along quite well. A beauty such as yourself is a rarity in these parts. Alas, you are an enemy. Therefore I'm afraid I will have to put you down." Lord Kai tensed his body and released his full cultivation base.

Su Jia let out a cold laugh.

"Haha... You're the overseer's right hand man right? You don't seem to have your bag of holding with you. Without any armaments or treasures, you don't stand a chance against me. Once I finish dealing with you, taking the rest of the outpost is going to be that much easier."

The Spirit Manifestation cultivators beside Lord Kai gasped as Su Jia released her cultivation. The aura that radiated off her body was the exact same as Lord Kai's!

"Peak Spirit Manifestation! This girl is actually a peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator!"

"She's so young too! I'm certain she is only in her early twenties at most!"

A peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator at Su Jia's age was an extreme rarity within the Tang Province. Even in the Tang Clan, there were very few geniuses who would be able to match her talent.

The three Spirit Manifestation cultivators accompanying Lord Kai were all in their late thirties. Reaching early Spirit Manifestation at this age with decent backing meant that they possessed average talent at best.

Unfortunately, being blessed with talent wasn't always a good thing. If one did not have the right backing, an aspiring genius could find themselves cut down by an overly paranoid sect or clan.

Lord Kai signalled to the three Spirit Manifestation cultivators behind him.

"I'll deal with this girl myself. Her companions should not be far away. With your cultivations, you should be able to finish them quickly. Return to me afterwards."

"Yes Lord Kai!" The three shouted in unison. They spread out in different directions and used their spiritual sense to search the area for Yin Hui and Yu Zhuwa.

"You dare?" Su Jia released her oppressive might to restrain the three cultivators. However, her attempt was negated by Lord Kai, who countered by unleashing his own spiritual pressure.

"I am your opponent and you don't have time to worry about your friends."

"A middle aged man like you who's spent half his life to reach the peak of Spirit Manifestation? What makes you think you are my equal?" Su Jia sneered.

Lord Kai kept a calm face and did not play into Su Jia's taunt.

"Don't get too conceited girl. You may be more talented than me, but our cultivations are the same. In this situation, I am at the advantage due to having more years of experience."

"Experience your mother! Instead of using such frivolous words, how about you show me this experience of yours in a fight!"

Shaking his head, Lord Kai let out a small sigh.

"Such a vulgar mouth for a girl. If you had a bit more tact and restraint you would've become a notable figure in the Tang Province someday. Very well! If it's a fight you want then it's a fight you will get!"

------------------

Down in the forest, Yin Hui made no attempts to hide his presence as the spiritual sense of the three Spirit Manifestation cultivators locked onto him.

A few moments later, the three cultivators descended upon Yin Hui. They surrounded him and began to pace around in a circle with scorn and contempt in their eyes.

"How foolish. A third aspect Spirit Waking cultivator dares to challenge us? I'll have you know boy that the difference between Spirit Waking and Spirit Manifestation is equivalent to the difference between Heaven and Earth."

"He didn't even try to hide his presence from us. I bet he has already accepted death in his heart."

"Three moves should be enough to take care of this brat. According to Lord Kai, the second Spirit Waking cultivator is even weaker than this one. Once their dealt with, we can return to the lord and assist him against that girl!"

Together, the three Spirit Manifestation cultivators shot orbs of fire at Yin Hui. Not to mention three, but just one of these blasts alone had the strength to incinerate him.

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Yin Hui smirked and a bright flash of light emitted from his body. He had not been sitting idly the entire time he was being tracked. While waiting for his opponents to arrive, Yin Hui spent all his time condensing solar energy for the Blinding Light spell.

"Gah! What is this spell? I can't see!" One of the Spirit Manifestation cultivators shouted.

"Xiao Yu now!"

While the three cultivators were disoriented, a blast of pressurized air came out from the shadows and smashed into one of the Spirit Manifestation cultivators.

It was Yu Zhuwa. He had been hiding inside a tree shadow and was charging the Wind Bullet the entire time. After firing, he leapt into the shadow of another tree before anyone could notice.

While Yu Zhuwa's Wind Bullet wasn't even close to being powerful enough to injure an early Spirit Manifestation cultivator, it still had the strength to send his target flying. Borrowing the momentum of the attack, Yin Hui took out his broadsword and swung at the spiralling cultivator.

Unfortunately, the cultivator still had his spiritual sense and saw the attack coming. He dodged at the last second and at the cost of his left arm, managed to escape a fatal blow.

The cultivator's face turned red with anger at the loss of his left arm.

"So the other was hiding nearby! You both will pay dearly for taking away my arm! We were originally going to give you two quick and painless deaths, but now that plan has changed!" He turned to his other two companions who had already recovered from Yin Hui's spell.

"Don't hold back! These two juniors are crafty! Sever their limbs and take them back to the outpost! I want to take my time torturing these brats before they die!"

Yu Zhuwa snuck into the shadow of a tree directly behind Yin Hui.

"What do we do now brother Yin Hui? I don't think the same trick is going to work twice." Yu Zhuwa whispered.

There was no trace of panic on Yin Hui's face. Instead it seemed as if he was hesitating about something.

"I didn't want to reveal my trump card so soon, but I guess if all of them die before they can tell anyone it won't matter."