Chapter 31: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

Facing Zhao Yu’s statement, Tie Shi instinctively wanted to refute it. To his shock, however, the corpse-wolf’s body—which remained on the ground while its head was still fixed on Zhao Yu—truly ceased all movement.

Zhao Yu sighed again, "It's a pity I forgot to bring my wicker basket."

Without the basket, he would have to carry this thing the whole way. He made a mental note to always carry a basket whenever he went out, lest he catch something good and find himself at a loss for how to transport it.

Twitching at the corner of his mouth, Tie Shi suggested, "There is no shortage of baskets in the tribe. What kind does Brother Zhao need? Shall I have them brought to you?"

"No need," Zhao Yu immediately refused.

Everything in this tribe was flimsy; it didn't look sturdy enough to hold anything. If he used one of their broken baskets and the wolf he had worked so hard to catch took the chance to escape, what then?

After a moment of thought, Zhao Yu’s lips curled upward. He rummaged through his robes, produced a rope, and tied the wolf's head to his waist.

There, that was perfect.

Zhao Yu then turned his green-eyed gaze toward the tiger that had been reduced to half a body. Although he didn't know who had eaten the other half, it shouldn't go to waste.

Seeing Zhao Yu’s look, Tie Shi pragmatically approached the tiger and cast a spell. Without further ado, a tiger head was added to the bundle at Zhao Yu’s waist.

Zhao Yu scanned the surroundings again, but his expression soon turned to disappointment.

What were these remaining things? Either a mass of black mist or rotting filth. The only thing that looked remotely edible was that fellow with nine eyes... but he didn't eat people, and neither did his family.

However, when the other monsters noticed Zhao Yu eyeing them again, they no longer cared about anything else. They transformed into wisps of black smoke and fled.

It was too damn terrifying. There was someone here who could actually control evil spirits; looking at that man's eyes, he was clearly planning to eat them! It had always been evil spirits devouring humans—since when did humans eat evil spirits?

Within a few breaths, there were no more evil spirits left in the Youxiong Tribe. They had all run off completely.

"Why did they run away?" Zhao Yu could not help but feel disappointed. He had been hoping to see if there were any stragglers he could barely manage as reserve rations.

Tie Shi, however, was overjoyed and shouted, "Repair the formation immediately!"

As long as the formation remained broken, the place was defenseless against evil spirits. If the formation were restored, even if the Bear God had encountered trouble, the Youxiong Tribe would not be left waiting for death.

A group of cultivators nodded slightly and rushed toward the edge of the tribe with various treasures.

The High Priest approached, his voice heavy, "Chieftain, how was the formation broken so suddenly?"

"I... don't know." The joy vanished from Tie Shi’s face, replaced by a grim expression.

He truly did not know. He only knew that he and the others had been holding back the evil spirits when, for reasons unknown, the formation was suddenly breached, allowing a massive horde of spirits to swarm into the tribe.

The High Priest fell silent for a moment before whispering, "So many evil spirits gathered, and they seemed to have a division of labor."

Tie Hu stepped forward, his head bowed in self-reproach, "I apologize. If not for me being controlled by the Heart-Bewitching Ghost..."

Tie Shi glanced at Tie Hu without answering, his voice deep, "After the Heart-Bewitching Ghost’s sneak attack, the other spirits swarmed in instantly... their movements were disciplined, not like a disorganized mob. The spirits outside were being controlled by some entity that hasn't appeared yet, and the one who broke the formation was likely that very entity!"

The group nodded slightly; they felt this must be the case.

The High Priest was silent for a while before slowly exhaling, "If nothing else, it must be... that paper figure."

They had only ever seen one truly heaven-defying evil spirit: the strange paper figure that appeared earlier, which seemed to be made of clay and gold-iron. It had suppressed the Bear God at the height of its power, and it was hard for them to forget.

Tie Shi’s gaze darkened, but it soon relaxed—Zhao Yu was here, after all.

No wonder the formation had been broken earlier, yet that terrifying paper figure never appeared; it was clearly wary of Zhao Yu.

Once he realized this, Tie Shi understood immediately. No wonder Zhao Yu hadn't stepped in to suppress the spirits directly at first. It turned out Zhao Yu had also been on guard against the hidden paper figure, only exerting force to suppress the other spirits because the Youxiong Tribe could no longer hold them back.

At this thought, everyone looked at Zhao Yu with a touch of awe. They wondered just how powerful Zhao Yu’s cultivation truly was.

And Zhao Yu... seeing the shift in the gazes around him, he said nothing.

In his heart, he was secretly looking forward to bringing the wolf and the tiger back home. His younger brother and sister-in-law would surely jump for joy, right? The more he thought about it, the more excited he became; he wanted to go home immediately.

No, he had to hurry back. He wanted his family to nourish their bodies right now. He couldn't wait to stew the wolf and the tiger to taste them—to taste them with his family.

He was just about to bid Tie Shi farewell when he glanced at the sky and gave up on the idea. He would wait until dawn. It was a long road in the dark, especially with so many black winds lately... it was pitch black, and he couldn't see the winds, which wasn't suitable for traveling.

...

Ten miles outside the tribe, the paper figure, which seemed to be made of clay and gold-iron, stood in the grass, staring fixedly at the tribe.

Behind the paper figure followed a large group of evil spirits, including the nine-eyed one that Zhao Yu thought had good eyes, and the seemingly harmless, pitiful-looking little girl who was the Heart-Bewitching Ghost... all of them were the spirits that had attacked the Youxiong Tribe.

The many spirits trembled behind the paper figure. The paper figure looked toward the tribe, its face full of anger and unwillingness.

The evil spirits here instinctively prostrated themselves on the ground, shivering.

Soon, the Heart-Bewitching Ghost said with a trembling voice, "If you take action yourself, you will surely be able to kill all those humans."

The paper figure turned its head, its eyes filled with even greater rage. If it weren't for Zhao Yu being there, it would have appeared long ago to kill them, taking advantage of the Bear God’s predicament to wantonly harvest fear and then feast to its heart's content!

But now that Zhao Yu was in the tribe... the paper figure stared fixedly at the tribe again, not moving.

The nine-eyed spirit mustered its courage, "This tribe is not easy to deal with. I know there is another human settlement over there. With your strength, you could easily wipe them out." It pointed toward the distance.

After all, they were just looking for a meal; why struggle to the death with someone so troublesome?

The paper figure, which had been silent, finally spoke, "They... are not worthy... they... must all die..."

Its voice was raspy.

The spirits looked at each other, not understanding what this eerie paper figure meant.

...

Elsewhere, seven or eight men in black stood in the shadows, all of them possessing profound cultivation.

In their midst sat a serene idol. A faint divine light permeated the area, enveloping them all.

The group looked at the winds of despair on all sides, then turned their gaze toward the "earthen wall turtle shell."

One person spoke, "According to intelligence, that should be the Youxiong Tribe, right? This tribe has actually started to migrate?"

The leader in black sneered, "Even under the protection of their god, they were besieged by a large number of evil spirits. It is clear they were targeted by a powerful entity, leaving them no choice but to migrate."

They looked at each other, showing a trace of pity.

Since the Youxiong Tribe hadn't managed to wipe out all the evil spirits, it meant that the tribe would sooner or later be exterminated by them.