After retrieving the Heart-Bewitching Gu, Li Ye casually cast two Rejuvenation Spells, restoring the wounds on the chests of the two Ma Clan members.
He then stopped paying them any further attention and turned to leave.
"The Ma Clan has indeed sent people no less than that mid-stage Foundation Establishment patriarch himself. But they don't seem to have a clear target yet. They're still secretly scouting the area, likely searching for the exact location and entrance to the Lava palace…"
"Looks like even though Ma Ying left behind some information about the lava palace for the clan, he didn't include any of the details he discovered over the year of exploration with Xu Pingyang afterward…"
"In that case, I have a bit of room to maneuver."
Li Ye mulled this over silently as he arrived at the prison entrance.
A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was not someone he could confront head-on not with his current strength.
He had two options: either find a way to lure that elder into the protective grand formation of Pingyang Mountain and kill him in a trap…
Or, take advantage of the elder's lack of information, play along for now, and bide his time for a more advantageous moment.
"Alliance Leader…"
Wen Chu, who had been waiting outside, stepped forward and instinctively glanced toward the prison.
"Take those two out of the cell and move them to regular quarters. Keep them under surveillance, and call for me once they wake."
Li Ye gave his orders in a calm voice.
"Understood! I will carry out your instructions with utmost care,"
Wen Chu replied with a firm nod.
....
Two days later.
"Just a mere steward of some backwater force dares lead men to capture us? Once that Alliance Leader Li stepped in, didn't he end up apologizing and sending us off respectfully?"
One of the Ma Clan members boasted smugly as they left Pingyang Mountain.
"Those people below really have no sense of propriety!"
The other nodded proudly.
"Even that Li Alliance Leader a proper Foundation Establishment cultivator treated us with the utmost courtesy once he realized we were from the Ma Clan. And yet that steward dared to treat us like that…"
"When the opportunity arises, we'll be sure to make him pay!"
The two soared through the skies, venting their frustrations the entire way. Only upon reaching Sanhui Market did they begin to restrain themselves a little.
Without pause, they made their way straight to a high-grade spiritual courtyard within the market. But before they could even report their return, a senior cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining rushed up to stop them.
"Ma Xu, Ma Chen the Patriarch summons you!"
The two exchanged a glance and immediately followed.
"Patriarch, this is the invitation that Alliance Leader Li had us bring back... He's unaware that you've personally come yourself and only instructed us to present it to the clan. It seems he intends to build friendly relations with our family!"
The two recounted their experiences at Pingyang Mountain in detail carefully omitting the part where they met Li Ye in the prison.
Even the purpose behind the invitation was something they took the initiative to explain.
Ma Xu took out a jade slip marked with a spiritual imprint from his storage pouch and respectfully presented it with both hands to the stern elder cloaked in a faint earthen-yellow spiritual glow.
The Ma Clan Patriarch gazed deeply at the two of them. After a pause, he finally reached out, drawing the jade slip to his hand with a surge of spiritual power.
From their appearance, the two seemed fine no signs of tricks or lingering spells so he decided to see what that Li brat had to say.
With just a light sweep of his divine sense, he effortlessly broke through the spiritual lock on the jade slip.
It was merely a token defense, meant to prevent lower-level cultivators from peeking not something that could deter a cultivator of his level.
But after reading the contents, his expression shifted slightly his eyes grew colder, and a sneer crept onto his face.
"Bold indeed… daring to invite me for a direct negotiation…"
"Does this brat think that just because he holds a bit of information on the secret realm, I'll simply forget that a Ma Clan Foundation Establishment cultivator was killed by his hands?"
Still, he didn't voice anything about the secret realm out loud.
After all, very few within the Ma Clan were even aware of the secret realm buried beneath the Chidi Mountains only a select group of core members.
"Patriarch… is something wrong?"
Ma Chen and Ma Xu, noticing the patriarch's change in expression, grew uneasy.
Could it be that Li Ye had dared to provoke the Ma Clan again?
"This no longer concerns you two. Do not engage with Pingyang Mountain any further. Spread out and continue scouting the various underground fire caves but do so quietly and avoid drawing attention from other local forces."
The Ma Clan Patriarch gave his instructions in a low voice, then waved his hand to dismiss everyone present.
Only one elder remained a peak Qi Refining cultivator who, despite his age, didn't look much younger than the patriarch.
"Uncle, could it be that Li Ye has already guessed our intentions?"
"Hmph! More than just guessed!"
The patriarch let out a cold snort.
"That brat had the gall to outright propose cooperation and invited me to visit him for a discussion!"
The elder furrowed his brow in thought.
"Could it be he hasn't obtained the full information either?"
"Or… is this all a trap? A ploy to lure you in under pretenses?"
He glanced at the patriarch cautiously and offered a reminder.
"From what we've gathered, Li Ye is quite accomplished in formations he's already reached second-tier proficiency. Both Xu Pingyang and Ma Ying fell into their traps because of this…"
"And yet, this brat says plainly that unless he has the protection of a grand formation, he wouldn't dare meet with someone of your cultivation level… Only if a formal contract is signed would he consider cooperation safe."
The patriarch's expression grew darker.
"If I could trick him into leaving the formation, I'd capture him in one stroke and end this once and for all. Why go through all this trouble otherwise?"
"So… what do you plan to do?" the elder asked.
"What else?"
The patriarch's eyes narrowed.
"Naturally, I'll go and see what kind of scheme this Li brat is playing at!"
"Ma Ying only left behind scraps of information. Rather than offering the secret realm's treasures to the clan, it's more like he deliberately lured me here just so I could avenge him…"
"For such a grand opportunity, he dared to keep it secret and venture here alone. His selfishness cost him his life and dragged down the clan's strength with him. That alone is a grave offense! I certainly won't let vengeance for him outweigh the clan's interests!"
"And with just the limited info he left, our only real chance at finding the secret realm is to blindly search every single fire cave or wait until the realm reveals itself. That could take ages."
"Rather than letting it come to that, it's better to play along with this Li brat for now. Get the benefits first, then find a chance to take him out and claim the site for ourselves. The Ma Clan can then gradually develop it."
"If we can seize it, our clan might very well rise to become a Golden Core-level power!"
"But that formation…"
The elder was tempted but still held a hint of caution.
"No need to worry!"
The patriarch waved his hand.
"I understand your concern, Ma Shan…"
"But Li Ye only recently entered Foundation Establishment a few months ago. Even if he's taken over the Chidi Mountains, he's had little time to prepare or refine high-level combat techniques."
"I, on the other hand, am already mid-stage Foundation Establishment and I have a second-tier Forbidden-Breaking Talisman in my possession!"
"If that brat dares make a move against me…"
"Hmph! Then I'll simply shatter his grand formation with the talisman, capture him, and personally extract the secret realm's information from his storage bag!"
Seeing how confident the patriarch was, the elder thought it over and found the logic hard to refute. He gave a respectful bow.
"Then I shall await your triumphant return, Uncle."
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