They crouched behind the twisted roots of an ancient cedar, its trunk so wide that five men couldn't have wrapped their arms around it. From here, the inheritance ground was clear—at least to Tian Jue's sharpened senses.
A semi-transparent dome of golden light covered the site like a protective shell. But the glow was sickly now, streaked with black veins that pulsed faintly, as if the barrier itself were being corrupted.
Beyond it, through layers of shimmering illusion, he caught glimpses of a crumbling courtyard. Stone pavilions half-swallowed by moss. Statues of long-forgotten sages, their faces eroded by time. At the center stood a solitary bronze gate, its surface covered in spiraling runes that shifted like living ink.
And pacing outside the barrier—two masked figures in the uniform of the demonic sect. Each wore a short blade at the hip, their black robes stitched with crimson thread patterns that marked them as Blood Condensation Disciples. Their movements were slow, deliberate, like wolves guarding a carcass they weren't ready to eat yet.
Tian Jue's gaze swept over the scene, analyzing routes, possible formations, escape paths. Beside him, Huan Tao didn't analyze—she stared. His golden-brown eyes, now cold and unblinking, locked on the two masked disciples. It wasn't just killing intent—it was hunger.
Tian Jue's lips twitched.
It was absurd—back at the sect, Huan Tao couldn't even keep a straight face during morning drills. She tripped over his own boots, forgot to tie his hair properly, and once got lost for three hours looking for the dining hall. But here… in this suffocating forest, among traps and demonic energy… she transformed into something terrifying.
And oddly enough, Tian Jue liked it.
It wasn't just that Huan Tao was reliable in a fight. There was something almost cute about watching him go from clueless and gullible to razor-sharp and dominating in a blink. Like seeing a housecat suddenly turn into a tiger, yet still somehow remain the same creature.
Huan Tao didn't notice Tian Jue watching him. His focus was entirely on the enemy. "We'll circle north," she murmured, voice low and edged with steel. "There's less warding there, but they've hidden a secondary alarm array. I can dismantle it faster than you."
"Confident," Tian Jue whispered back.
Huan Tao smirked faintly. "Always."
Tian Jue glanced once more at the inheritance ground. The runes on that bronze gate almost seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat. Whatever was inside… the demonic sect wanted it badly enough to corrupt the barrier itself. That meant it was dangerous. And valuable.
But before they could move, the masked figures stiffened, turning their heads sharply toward the forest.
Tian Jue's senses flared—something unseen had entered the barrier's outer perimeter.
And it wasn't them.
The golden dome flickered—just once—but it was enough to draw every gaze.
From the mist at the forest's edge, three figures emerged. Their movements were unhurried, but there was a weight to them, like boulders rolling downhill. Each wore deep blue robes embroidered with silver clouds that shimmered faintly under the dappled light.
Tian Jue narrowed his eyes. No insignia he recognized from the Shenxian Sect.
The lead figure was tall, broad-shouldered, and carried a long glaive strapped across his back. His hair was bound in a high tail, and even from this distance, Tian Jue could see the faint ripple of spiritual energy dancing along his forearms. The two behind him—a slender woman with eyes like still water and a smaller man whose steps barely disturbed the grass—moved in perfect formation.
They didn't bother to hide their presence.
The masked demonic sect disciples immediately stiffened, hands inching toward their blades.
"Who are they?" Huan Tao murmured.
Tian Jue tilted his head slightly, watching the faint aura signatures leaking off them. "Not ours… but they're not demonic either."
The woman in blue stopped a few paces from the barrier, her gaze sweeping over the corrupted golden dome with mild curiosity. Then she spoke—her voice carrying easily, yet without shouting.
"Disciples of the Blood Condensation Sect," she said evenly, "you have strayed beyond your allotted territory."
The taller masked figure's grip tightened on his sword hilt. "And you, strangers, have no business here. Leave."
The broad-shouldered glaive-bearer smiled faintly—not warmly, but with the casual amusement of someone holding all the cards. "This inheritance ground lies within the influence of the Canglan Province. We of the Azure Cloud Sect have come to secure it. If you believe otherwise…" He tilted his head, just enough to let the threat hang in the air.
Tian Jue's mind ticked rapidly. The Azure Cloud Sect—he'd heard the name only in passing. A powerful provincial sect, far larger than Shenxian, but distant enough that their disciples rarely crossed paths. For them to appear here meant one thing—this inheritance wasn't just a random relic. It was something big enough to draw forces from beyond their borders.
Beside him, Huan Tao's fingers flexed around the hilt of his claws. His dominating forest persona was in full force now, eyes sharp as a hawk's, but Tian Jue caught the slight curve at the corner of his lips—an almost childlike excitement at the thought of more competition.
Tian Jue exhaled slowly. This was going to get complicated.
The demonic sect disciples stepped forward as if to block the newcomers—but the woman from Azure Cloud Sect simply raised her palm. A pale blue ripple of energy rolled from her like a tide, pushing the masked pair back half a step.
Not a casual shove—an announcement.
"Looks like we're not the only ones hunting for trouble," Huan Tao murmured with a grin.
Tian Jue's gaze lingered on the bronze gate within the barrier. "No. But if we want to claim what's inside, we'll need to move before either side gets the upper hand."
The air around the inheritance ground thickened, as if the forest itself were holding its breath. The golden dome flickered again, this time with a faint cracking sound—hairline fractures spreading like spiderwebs across its surface.
Tian Jue's eyes darted between the two opposing groups—the masked demonic sect disciples to the left, the Azure Cloud Sect trio to the right. Neither side moved to attack yet, but the tension was like a drawn bowstring ready to snap.
Without a word, Tian Jue slipped two dark-green pills from his sleeve and flicked one toward Huan Tao.
Huan Tao caught it in midair, raising a brow. "What's this?"
"Transformation pill," Tian Jue said under his breath. "Half an hour of altered features, altered aura signature. We won't be tied to Shenxian Sect if we act."
Huan Tao grinned. "You think ahead in scary ways, you know that?"
"Better than being recognized and dragged into sect politics."
They swallowed the pills, and within seconds, a cool wave spread over their skin. Tian Jue's sharp features softened, his hair darkening to a plain brown, while Huan Tao's domineering gaze shifted to a more neutral, unreadable look. Even their qi signatures warped—anyone probing would sense wandering rogue cultivators, not sect disciples.
The three groups now stood in a rough triangle, each waiting for the first move.
The Azure Cloud Sect woman's gaze lingered on the demonic sect members. "You're already injured. If you persist, you'll lose more than your pride."
The masked man's voice was cold. "You talk too much. Let's see whose blood will feed this ground first."
A faint hum rose from the golden dome, the fractures widening until faint streams of golden mist seeped out. The smell was faintly metallic, almost intoxicating—pure spiritual essence leaking from the seal.
Tian Jue's mind worked quickly. Once that barrier collapses, they'll go for each other first. That's when we slip in.
Huan Tao, however, clenched his fists with that forest-born aggression radiating off him. "Or," she murmured with a dangerous smirk, "we stir the pot so they both bleed before the gate even opens."
Tian Jue gave him a sidelong glance. "You really like chaos, don't you?"
"Cute chaos," Huan Tao corrected with a wink, and Tian Jue found himself suppressing a laugh despite the situation.
The golden dome gave another loud crack. The standoff snapped—one of the demonic sect disciples lunged at the Azure Cloud Sect's glaive-bearer, spiritual light flaring. Steel met steel in an echoing clash.
"Now," Tian Jue said sharply.
The two of them moved like shadows, skirting the edges of the battlefield. Between the clashing auras, the golden mist, and the roar of weapons, no one noticed two "rogue cultivators" slipping ever closer to the weakening barrier.