Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Chapter 297: Falling into Someone’s Scheme

Xu Ping’an looked at Li Xuanqing and Qin Yu with surprise, and they too were a bit taken aback upon seeing Xu Ping’an.

"Aren’t you... what’s it called?" Qin Yu walked over, staring at Xu Ping’an with a reminiscent expression.

"Brother Xu, we meet again." Li Xuanqing also looked at Xu Ping’an with a smile, his expression still scholarly and gentle.

Instantly, everyone turned their gaze to Xu Ping’an.

"You know them?" Li Shuangshuang asked Xu Ping’an.

"We’ve met briefly once before, I was in danger and these two rescued me," Xu Ping’an said with a smile.

The crowd suddenly realized upon hearing this.

They couldn’t help but size up the two again.

They appeared so young, the man looked to be only about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, and the woman just over twenty-one or twenty-two.

Do they really have the strength of the Sixth or Seventh Rank?

Xu Ping’an was actually somewhat surprised as well.

At this moment, Li Qingxuan’s cultivation had reached the Fourth Layer Realm of the Seventh Rank, while Qin Yu’s cultivation was not low either, having already reached the peak of the Sixth Rank.

Such strength was unparalleled within the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty.

"Right, I remember you. You were only Third Rank back then. You’re called Xu...," Qin Yu was still struggling to remember.

"My name is Xu Feng!" Xu Ping’an said smilingly.

"Xu Feng? Right, that’s it, Xu Feng. I remember you," Qin Yu declared confidently.

On one side, Li Xuanqing gave Xu Ping’an a meaningful glance, seemingly understanding Xu Ping’an’s intention.

Xu Ping’an, seeing Qin Yu’s confidently sure manner, had a mix of laughter and tears in his heart.

Are you sure you actually remember?

"It’s truly a good thing that you all know each other. Are you two sure you want to join us in moving forward?" Li Xuan said with a smile.

"Yes, I’ll move with you. If you encounter trouble you can’t resolve, I’ll lend a hand. As for the Heavenly Dragon Marrow you mentioned, I don’t want it. I have other goals for this journey," Li Xuanqing said indifferently.

Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with continuous surprise.

Heavenly Dragon Marrow, not wanted?

Is this for real?

Xu Ping’an, upon hearing these words, did not doubt them. However, he was curious what Li Qingxuan and the others’ goals were.

It seemed their journey was not as simple as he had thought.

"Well then, let’s set off," Zhang Yu said.

Everyone nodded and without further delay, left Heavenly Fire City and headed towards the Heavenly Star Wasteland.

The Heavenly Star Wasteland was an area abundant with grass and hills.

Most of the vegetation there comprised ancient forests that had grown for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

The area of the Heavenly Star Wasteland was vast, almost comparable to half of the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty in size.

And within it, there were numerous Demon Beasts, and even within the core area, creatures of the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Rank were countless.

Thus, the Heavenly Star Wasteland had always been listed as a forbidden death zone, where human trespassers were extremely likely to meet a gruesome end.

Apart from these Demon Beasts, there were also other treacherous terrains, such as poisonous fog swamps and precipitous cliffs, where one misstep could mean death.

Xu Ping’an and his group of eight had now entered the outskirts of the Heavenly Star Wasteland.

"The location I discovered the Heavenly Dragon Marrow is in the central eastern part of the Heavenly Star Wasteland, surrounded by extremely steep mountains, guarded by powerful Demon Beasts, making it a region few set foot in," Li Xuan said.

"The central region? High-Rank Demon Beasts roam once you get to the central area. If the place you mentioned is rarely visited, it’s likely because of powerful High-Rank Demon Beasts," Li Qingxuan noted.

The others instantly grew solemn upon hearing this.

High-Rank Demon Beasts were those of the Seventh Rank and above.

Such creatures typically possessed high intelligence and could even speak human language.

Therefore, such Demon Beasts were usually avoided by even the most powerful of human combatants.

"I don’t know if there are High-Rank Demon Beasts. I had passed by there by chance before and didn’t encounter any strong beasts, but I saw quite a few Sixth Rank beasts of the Dragon Race," Li Xuan shared.

"Sixth Rank Demon Beasts of the Dragon Race? Dragons tend to be gregarious, with a strong awareness of hierarchy. If you’ve seen many Sixth Rank Dragon Race beasts, then there must be a Seventh Rank beast serving as their leader," Qin Yu pointed out.

Everyone nodded their heads.

The Dragon Race truly has a strict hierarchy among the Demon Races, and if there are a large number of Sixth Rank Dragon Race Demon Beasts, then there must necessarily be a Seventh Rank Dragon Race Demon Beast leader.

Furthermore, the bloodline of the Dragon Race is extremely powerful, so for them to acquire treasures is definitely not an easy task.

Xu Ping’an, however, did not pay too much attention to this, as he had already considered these issues before.

It was inevitable that there would be Seventh Rank Dragon Race Demon Beasts because the Tianlong Marrow is produced by the long-term nurturing of something known as the Heavenly Dragon Stone.

And the Heavenly Dragon Stone is formed by the long-term fusion of the blood of High Rank Dragon Race Demon Beasts with something known as the Blood Dragon Stone.

Since there are bodies of High Rank Dragon Race Demon Beasts, it is very likely that there are other High Rank Dragon Race Demon Beasts present.

After all, if a member of the Dragon Race absorbs the Heavenly Dragon Marrow, it is highly probable that Seventh Rank or higher Dragon Race Demon Beasts will be born.

"It seems that our journey here is quite dangerous," Li Shuangshuang said worriedly.

"What’s there to fear? Just do it, and if things go south, we’ll retreat," Niu Yuan said fearlessly.

Li Shuangshuang just gave Niu Yuan a white look, silently cursed him for being so reckless, and didn’t bother to argue.

"This trip is indeed dangerous; everyone still needs to be careful," Zhang Yu said.

Everyone nodded and continued on their way without any further conversation.

Xu Ping’an, however, glanced at Zhang Yu and then at the dense forest in the distance, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Brother Xu, have you noticed it?" At that moment, a voice rang out in Xu Ping’an’s mind.

"Indeed, Brother Li has noticed it too," Xu Ping’an communicated back with his voice focused into a thread.

"Just some petty tricks, tricking some people into coming here and then hunting them for their possessions. Zhang Yu’s cover is quite good, but unfortunately, he still gave himself away," Li Qingxuan said with a laugh.

Xu Ping’an smiled faintly.

Just now, he also noticed that whenever Zhang Yu spoke, he would intentionally or unintentionally glance towards the dense forest in the distance.

And within the dense forest, about a kilometer away, there was a slight disturbance.

These disturbances were very subtle and almost imperceptible without careful investigation.

However, Xu Ping’an did not need to actively perceive them, as ever since entering the dense forest, the symbol for danger in his mind had been throbbing continuously.

This indicated there was always danger, and the fact that he could feel this danger implied that the hidden adversary was at least of Seventh Rank Cultivation.

Furthermore, with the looks from Zhang Yu, it was not difficult for Xu Ping’an to guess their intentions.

If he was not mistaken, then Li Xuan, Zhang Yu, and Niu Yuan were all in cahoots.

Their goal was likely to lure some people into this place and then hunt them down.

Their main targets should be Sister Song Yan and Brother Li Qingxuan.

After all, they were the big fish. Xu Ping’an himself was probably just an incidental small shrimp.

"Brother Xu, if we encounter danger later, you can hide behind me. However, I’m not sure how many of them there are or how strong they might be, but I will try my best to protect you," Li Qingxuan transmitted.

"Thank you, Brother Li," Xu Ping’an replied, his voice focused into a thread.

He neither rejected the offer nor told Li Qingxuan about his true strength.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Li Qingxuan; rather, it was unnecessary.

If they were to really encounter danger, he would still make a move.

Xu Ping’an took a glance at Sister Song Yan and decided after some thought not to tell her.

If they really got killed, it would only be their own bad luck to blame.

With this thought in mind, Xu Ping’an turned to look at Li Xuan.

At that moment, Li Xuan was eagerly chatting with Li Shuangshuang, apparently very interested in her, while Li Shuangshuang looked quite proud of herself.

When Li Xuan saw Xu Ping’an looking over, he gave him a brilliant smile.

Xu Ping’an responded with a smile on the surface, but inside he sneered.

Did they really think he was a naive youngster just starting out?

Did they really want to try to plot against him?

Afraid they might be lifting a rock only to drop it on their own feet?