204: Chapter 204 Disguise

Several groups of people walked out one after another onto the gravel path at the mouth of the valley.

This time, those coming out were no longer the stragglers from the Iron Sword Sect, the Zhao Family, or the Li Family, but their own people wearing the uniforms of the Qixia Sect Disciples.

A few Disciples from Bixia Peak hurried past carrying a stretcher; the wounded man on it gritted his teeth, not making a sound.

Walking at the end was Peak Master Gu Yunshen of Moxia Peak, who was walking slowly while carrying the still-weak Sect Leader Zhao Tiejian on his back. Seeing Lin Tian guarding the valley entrance, he gave a slight nod.

Lin Tian stepped aside to let them pass, not stopping them—he was guarding this spot to intercept members of the Demon Cult, not his own fellow Disciples.

The battle inside should have already ended.

When the Zhao siblings came out of the valley entrance, Lin Tian was squatting by the side of the road, organizing the mountain of Spirit Medicine.

Zhao Mingyang had a new, still-bleeding scar on his face, but he was in incredibly high spirits. As he walked, the bundle on his back bobbed with his steps, clearly containing quite a few good things.

Zhao Mingyue followed behind her brother, a bulging deerskin pouch hanging from her waist, her light purple robes stained with a few spots of blood splattered during the melee.

The siblings were both taken aback when they saw Lin Tian squatting by the roadside.

Zhao Mingyang subconsciously weighed the bundle on his back—inside was a top-tier Yellow Rank saber manual snatched from the Library Pavilion of the Situ Family, plus twenty stalks of wild Spirit Medicine neatly wrapped in oil paper.

Zhao Mingyue's deerskin pouch also contained a martial arts manual and ten stalks of Spirit Medicine.

These gains could be considered quite substantial for any Disciple who had participated in the frontal assault.

And what about Lin Tian? He was squatting alone by the roadside, followed only by a few timid young Disciples who hadn't dared to enter the valley, and there wasn't even a decent-looking bundle at his feet.

A sneer curled slowly onto the corner of Zhao Mingyang's mouth, undisguised.

This brat had been guarding the gate for so long; he probably didn't even know which way the door to the Situ Family's storehouse opened.

He said nothing, merely gave a soft snort through his nose, and strode past with the gait of a victor.

Zhao Mingyue also shook her head, whispered "Coward," and followed her brother.

Lin Tian didn't even look at them.

He stuffed the last bundle of Heart-Piercing Grass into his pack, stood up, brushed the dirt off his hands, and walked toward the depths of the valley.

Zhao Mingyang looked back, saw his actions, laughed, and said to Zhao Mingyue, "Only now thinking of going in? The battle is over, and the loot has already been divided up by the various families and our Qixia Sect. Going in now, you won't even get a sip of soup."

Zhao Mingyue replied, "Serves him right. Who told him to be such a coward? He didn't dare to go in and fight, so naturally, he won't get any spoils of war."

The few young Disciples who had been following Lin Tian heard this, and the expressions on their faces became increasingly strange.

Won't get any spoils of war? What a joke.

They had watched with their own eyes how Lin Tian had confiscated the bundles from those Iron Sword Sect people, and later watched with their own eyes as Lin Tian, with a single palm strike and a sword swing, beat that Fifth-Rank Middle Stage Elder of the Chen Family until he begged for mercy and admitted defeat.

From that single encounter alone, he had squeezed over forty stalks of wild Spirit Medicine and three martial arts manuals from Chen Yuankui.

Adding in what he had intercepted earlier from the Iron Sword Sect and other stragglers, the Spirit Medicine in those large bundles at Lin Tian's feet already numbered well over a hundred stalks, along with at least ten martial arts Secret Manuals, over thirty thousand taels of silver notes, and several night-luminescent pearls.

This is called not getting any treasure?

These two siblings were truly too foolish. Thinking of this, the people around all shook their heads.

Lin Tian ignored these discussions.

He walked into the valley; the scene before him was far more tragic than he had anticipated.

Vicious Beast corpses were piled up in disarray all over the ground. Several thick-skinned One-Horned Rhinoceroses lay in pools of blood; the moment their Blood Pact was broken, the last faint red glow in their eyes had completely extinguished.

Over half of the Situ Family members were dead or injured. Those who hadn't died were being held by the Disciples of the allied forces and forced to kneel in front of the ancestral hall.

Several corpses of the Demon Cult Martial Artists also lay there, all wearing identical black robes and bronze masks.

He squatted down one by one, lifting the masks to carefully identify every face, then his brows furrowed tighter and tighter—the Black-Clad Woman was not among them.

He stood in the midst of the corpses, his brows locked in a frown.

Peak Master Su Hanyan walked over from the direction of the main hall with a few deacon Disciples. Seeing him standing there in a daze, she approached and sighed softly: "What are you dazed for? The battle is already over.

If you had come earlier, with your strength, you could have charged in and fought, and the spoils of war you could have claimed would not have been less than anyone else's."

Speaking of this, Su Hanyan felt quite regretful. After all, Lin Tian was from their Zixia Peak. If Lin Tian obtained spoils of war, his strength would grow increasingly stronger, and the strength of their Zixia Peak would also grow stronger. But unfortunately, Lin Tian was only responsible for guarding the outside, and it was estimated that he wouldn't be able to obtain any good things.

Lin Tian looked up, not picking up on her topic: "Peak Master, which ones are the Demon Cult Martial Artists?"

Su Hanyan was slightly taken aback and pointed to the few black-robed corpses lying together not far away: "Over there. The leader is a poison expert named Demon Scorpion, who was personally killed by Peak Master Gu Yunshen."

Lin Tian walked over and squatted down, checking Demon Scorpion's pale, gaunt face, and then inspected the few corpses beside him one by one. Then, he stood up, his voice dropping a few degrees: "Peak Master, did you see a Black-Clad Woman? Her figure is slender, her expression is cold and stern, there is a bloodstain on her left cheek, and her Sea of Consciousness has suffered an injury from a Mental Energy shock."

Su Hanyan recalled carefully, then slowly shook her head: "No.

When I led people charging in, only Patriarch Situ Lie and this group with Demon Scorpion were resisting in the main hall. From start to finish, I didn't see the Black-Clad Woman you mentioned."

Lin Tian's heart sank. She wasn't here?

He had injured that woman's Sea of Consciousness with the Wanling Seal outside the dense forest; the injury was extremely severe, and in that state, it was impossible for her to participate in frontal combat. Given her caution and cunning, she would never stay in the main hall waiting for death. The only explanation was—she had escaped.

He immediately went over all the exits of the valley today in his mind.

He had personally guarded the front valley entrance. Every person coming out of the valley entrance, he had not only stopped and checked their bundles, but also probed their Qi with the Wanling Seal.

Demon Cult Martial Artists all have Blood Evil Qi on them, and that Black-Clad Woman's Mental Energy had been heavily damaged by him, with traces of the Wanling Seal remaining in her Sea of Consciousness. If he had encountered her at the valley entrance, he definitely would have recognized her. There shouldn't be a problem on his side.

The small path at the back of the mountain was guarded by Elder Li and his men—if the Black-Clad Woman hadn't come through his side, then she could only have escaped from the back of the mountain.

He prepared to go over there to take a look; after all, he didn't want to let that Black-Clad Woman go. If he could find the other party, he absolutely had to eliminate her.

"Peak Master, the back mountain exit is guarded by Elder Li. I'll go over there to check." Lin Tian cupped his fists toward Su Hanyan, and without waiting for her reply, he turned and dashed toward the back of the valley.

Su Hanyan watched his back disappear among the ruined walls, and her brows also furrowed slightly—why was this brat's reaction today more concerned with the Demon Cult members than with the spoils of war?