Chapter 313: Fellowship Alliance
Chapter 313: Fellowship Alliance
A large group of Treasure Hunters concealed themselves around a canyon, patiently waiting for their prey.
As professional Treasure Hunters, they were all skilled in the art of camouflage and stealth.
Now, each of them lay hidden among the treetops, grass, and scattered rocks, concentrating and remaining motionless.
Unless one approached them closely and carefully scanned with Divine Sense, it would be extremely difficult to detect them.
At first, they felt a sense of pride in their stealth skills.
However, maintaining this stealthy state was quite taxing, and as time slowly passed, these Treasure Hunters grew increasingly restless while holding their positions.
Nevertheless, they continued to wait silently for two days, but not a single soul appeared.
"Daoist Qiao! Why haven't any of your people returned? Could they have all been slain?" A young leader among the Treasure Hunters couldn't hold back and approached the red-faced Qiao Clan Cultivator to inquire.
"I don't know either. I even sent two trusted subordinates to supervise and maintain communication, but there has been no word from them," replied the Qiao Clan Cultivator, his expression growing uneasy.
At the same time, Wang Hong and his group had already slain the team of Treasure Hunters, leaving only two survivors.They handed them over to Luo Zhongjie for interrogation. These two were not exactly loyal and tight-lipped individuals.
Luo Zhongjie believed he had plenty of powerful methods left to employ. As a result, both of them confessed quickly, and it felt as if he had struck a fist into cotton.
Meanwhile, Liu Changsheng and a few others remained hidden, observing and relaying messages.
They had captured two other cultivators on nearby hilltops who had been monitoring Wang Hong's side. However, these two had signed Blood Contracts as slaves, making it impossible to extract much information from them, so they were killed outright.
Wang Hong received reports from both sides and had a rough understanding of the situation.
It appeared that they couldn't return to the Mountain Valley base in the short term. Wang Hong didn't want these Treasure Hunters to discover their connection to the Mountain Valley base, as it would only complicate matters further.
Since there was a formidable force out to get them, he needed to come up with a counterplan.
Their numbers were ten times greater, so a direct confrontation was out of the question; they needed to use their wits.
The reason the opposing force of hundreds of people was gathered and peaceful was primarily because of Wang Hong and his group.
After devising a plan of action, the Flying Boat boldly set off toward Azure Void City and entered it smoothly.
A dozen days later, the rumors of the Flying Boat that had been circulating among them suddenly disappeared.
This brought a sigh of relief to the Treasure Hunters in the area, and they could resume their activities freely.
Fu Li, originally an elder in a cultivation clan, had ten Foundation Building cultivators within his clan.
Not long ago, eight of the clan's Foundation Building cultivators were forcefully conscripted, leaving only him and another elder to defend the clan.
However, after just five or six days, a group of Treasure Hunters launched a night raid on their clan. The elder who stood guard alongside Fu Li was killed on the spot, while Fu Li managed to escape with his life.
After wandering for a few days, he began to feel increasingly unsafe alone. Eventually, he made a tough decision and joined a group of Treasure Hunters.The Treasure Hunters' groups weren't easy to join, especially when they had enough members. Killing newcomers seemed more profitable at first glance.
Fu Li had joined a group of only six or seven people, with the condition that he had to be at the forefront during battles. Moreover, when it came to distributing loot, he would only receive what was left after everyone else had their share. Essentially, he was just cheap cannon fodder, a status that would only change when new recruits arrived, and he became a veteran.
Fortunately, Fu Li's luck was on his side. Within a few days, the size of their group had grown to over twenty people, and he quickly shed his cannon fodder status. With his mid-level Foundation Building strength, he earned a certain position in this treasure-hunting team.
After a period of pillaging and killing, he had accumulated substantial wealth. Although his clan had been destroyed, this was a significant opportunity for his personal growth.
As for his deceased clan members, he vowed to avenge them once he had the power.
Just when he thought he was about to reach the pinnacle of his life, a Flying Boat appeared in the region. This Flying Boat was notorious among Treasure Hunters, known as the "Treasure-Hunting Flying Boat." It was considered a scourge in the treasure-hunting world.
The reason was that this Flying Boat never dared to rob influential clans and instead targeted Treasure Hunters exclusively, making it a blight on their industry.
This had seriously affected their chances of getting rich, and every time they discussed the Treasure-Hunting Flying Boat, their teeth would grind in frustration.
Eventually, more than a dozen treasure-hunting teams set aside their differences and formed a united front, creating an alliance of Treasure Hunters.
They convened a grand meeting of Treasure Hunters to plan an attack on the Treasure-Hunting Flying Boat, aiming to eliminate a major threat, though they were primarily motivated by fear.
Of course, they couldn't call their alliance a "Treasure-Hunting Alliance" directly; it wouldn't be suitable to bring it out in the open. Instead, they chose the name "Fellowship Alliance," with the main goal of supporting the weak and working together in solidarity.
However, after waiting for two days and nights in ambush, they received no sign of the Treasure-Hunting Flying Boat. They later learned that the Flying Boat had killed the bait they had set and had entered Azure Void City, never to reappear.
Since the formidable enemy had gone into hiding, the Fellowship Alliance resumed its treasure-hunting activities. With more people, conflicts naturally arose, especially when it came to dividing the spoils.
Almost every time, heated arguments erupted over the distribution of loot, sometimes even leading to physical fights.
As for their everyday dealings, there were schemes, ambushes, and covert actions against one another. If a member of the alliance suddenly disappeared, everyone pretended not to know what had happened.
During this period, Fu Li quietly disposed of several rivals through cunning schemes. Even some of the higher-ranking members in his original team ended up dead by his hand. Apart from accumulating vast wealth, his primary gain was the newfound authority within this team.
Now, he had set his sights on other treasure-hunting teams. If he could eliminate a few more individuals, he would have the opportunity to control a group of several hundred people.
However, others were not fools either; they all had similar ambitions, each aiming to swallow up the rest and be the one calling the shots. Consequently, during this period, friction between the teams within the alliance was constant, often resulting from minor disputes.
In battles, they frequently sabotaged each other, making it a daily occurrence.
Once, two leaders of different treasure-hunting teams jointly attacked a sect cultivator. However, during the fight, they turned on each other, leaving the sect cultivator confused about whether to assist one side or simply watch the spectacle.
Similar incidents occurred frequently, and it had now reached a point where no one had the energy or motivation to continue their treasure-hunting and killing activities.
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