Chapter 241 - Opening of the Exclusion Zone (2/2)

“Big Brother Ye Chen, those two are so weird. They don’t seem human,” Little Wingsy lifted his head and said to Ye Chen after they had walked a fair distance away.

“Hm.” Ye Chen nodded. He glanced toward the two Human Puppets far away. What sort of organization was the Tribunal Council and what secrets were they hiding?

Little Tanuki stood frowning beside Ye Chen, seemingly deep in thought.

“Since we’ve arrived at the Exclusion Zone, let’s deal with the people of Nanman Kingdom first!” said Ye Chen. He would not worry about these things for now.

Under Ye Chen’s direction, they were split into two groups. They quickly pushed inward toward the jungle, looking for the tracks of the Nanman Kingdom fighters.

At the same time, on the other side of the Exclusion Zone, Tuoba Yan was also leading the Nanman Kingdom fighters into the Exclusion Zone. They were advancing northward.

“Duke, I wonder what kind of fighters the Xiwu Empire sent,” a peculiar-looking middle-aged man said smiling. His skin was a charcoal black and he had a small frame. When he smiled, the corner of his triangular-shaped eyes had formed wrinkles. His name was Zuoqiu Gongye. His cultivation base was Heavenly Venerable Rank, one of Tuoba Hongye’s trusted captains.

Tuoba Hongye had seven Heavenly Venerable Rank fighters under his command. Two of them had passed away. This time, he had sent Zuoqiu Gongye and Zuoqiu Mingye to assist Tuoba Yan to accomplish the task.

Zuoqiu Gongye and Zuoqiu Mingye were siblings and they had nearly identical appearances. Zuoqiu Gongye was the elder sibling. He was shorter while Zuoqiu Mingye was taller. The cultivation systems that they had practiced were ice and fire, complementing and making up for each other’s weakness. In addition, having battled together for many years, they had excellent chemistry between them. Their combined strength could rival an early Mystique Venerable Rank fighter.

“Xiwu Empire is just a small kingdom, their empire is already weak enough as is. I don’t expect them to send any powerful fighters. If not for Dongmen Yingyang and Sikou Fengyan perishing in the Xiwu Empire region, I wouldn’t need to come myself.” Tuoba Yan snorted. “Since I’m here, what’s there to worry about?”

“The Duke makes a good point.” Zuoqiu Gongye chuckled.

Zuoqiu Mingye who stood beside was someone who kept to himself. He stayed behind Zuoqiu Gongye, not saying anything.

Despite what Tuoba Yan had said, Zuoqiu Mingye narrowed his eyes and had a calculating look upon his face. He had been in the prestigious Central Empire for a long time and he understood the principles of ever being vigilant and not underestimating his opponents. In the Central Empire, many were struck down because they had underestimated their opponents. The ones who had managed to survive this long in the Central Empire were all men that were as cunning as a fox.

Tuoba Yan lifted his head and surveyed the layout of the mountainous forest around them. The hills had irregular patterns and the forest grew lush and thick. A glimpse of chilling light glimpsed across his eyes as he announced, “Let’s stop here for a while. Wait for me to set up an array.”

“Duke knows how to mark arrays?” Zuoqiu Gongye asked, surprised. The art of arrays was extremely complex. In the entire Nanman Kingdom, there was not a single person who had been able to learn the art of arrays. It was said that the Oracle Sect of the Central Empire was extremely proficient in it while the other sects could barely scratch the surface of the art. They definitely would not be able to spontaneously make use of the terrain around them to set up an array.

“I know a little.” Tuoba Yan smiled. When he was young, he had assassinated a disciple of the Oracle Sect and obtained a catalog of arrays. The catalog was incredibly intricate with a total of three arrays detailed in it. He had only managed to learn one of them. By using the mountainous terrain, he could set up an array.

Tuoba Yan leaped over to a boulder about four to five meters tall. He wrapped his arms around the boulder. With a huff, he had lifted the gigantic boulder and hurled it five to six meters away. It landed on flat ground with a large bang. He surveyed around him for a while, then, using his palm, he fell several large trees.

Observing Tuoba Yan’s work, Zuoqiu Mingye whispered in Zuoqiu Gongye’s ear, “Brother, the old man says that we don’t have to worry if he’s here. It seems to be that he’s more afraid than any of us here.”

Zuoqiu Gongye grinned and said, “To be able to establish the position that he has in the Central Empire is no easy task. Him being so cautious does not do us any harm and only helps us anyway. The manner of Dongmen Yingyang and Sikou Fengyan’s deaths was too bizarre. It was said that when Dongmen Yingyang died, his body was scorched like charcoal after being burned by a special kind of flame. Sikou Fengyan, on the other hand, died an even more horrifying death. His body was destroyed where not a single piece of his body was left intact. This could only be done by some near Mystique Venerable Rank. It could be reinforcements sent by Mingwu. It wouldn’t hurt to be more careful.”

Zuoqiu Mingye nodded slightly. No matter what, he was always one step behind Zuoqiu Gongye.

The other Earthly Venerable Rank fighters observed from afar.

Tuoba Yan worked on it for some time and he had nearly finished his work.

The Zuoqiu siblings looked ahead. Many boulders and trees had been moved around. Some adjustment was made to the terrain as well.

However, it was still difficult to see if there was something special behind all of it.