Chapter Sixty-One: The Treasure-Hunting Squad

Chapter Sixty-One: The Treasure-Seizing Squad

Chu Jie was taken aback; he had never encountered such a situation before. In the Abyss of Gods and Demons, whenever people met, it was always a matter of mutual slaughter—how was it that this time, they were actually being invited over?

“Chu Jie, let’s go over and see. I don’t feel any malice from these people,” Duan Kun suggested.

They had been here for quite some time, and had barely interacted with other martial artists. There were many things they didn’t understand, such as what exactly had happened in the Abyss of Gods and Demons.

“Alright, let’s go have a look,” Chu Jie replied.

When they approached, most of the group had already finished eating. Chu Jie noticed their food: some were rare delicacies from the Abyss of Gods and Demons, some seemed to be provisions they’d brought themselves, and astonishingly, some of it was Wind Serpent meat. He wondered how they’d managed to take down such a beast.

The leader was a burly man named Du Xuan, dressed in a blue martial robe, with a cultivation of Fifth Level Spirit Convergence. The others were all at least at the Third Level.

“Hello, and welcome,” Du Xuan greeted them politely.

Chu Jie returned the courtesy, “May I ask what your purpose was in calling us over?”

Du Xuan smiled. “None of us originally belonged to the same faction; we just banded together temporarily. I heard there’s a ruthless killer running rampant in the abyss. With more people, we stand a better chance at safety. I wanted to know if you’d be willing to join us in searching for the ultimate treasure of the Abyss of Gods and Demons.”

Chu Jie and Duan Kun fell silent for a while. Indeed, this was a group of strong individuals, all at the Spirit Convergence stage. If anything happened, they could look out for one another.

But for Chu Jie and Duan Kun, the question remained whether they should join or not. They had done well enough on their own, but for some reason, Chu Jie felt it might be better to join this squad.

Just then, a thin, pale man stepped out from the group, looking as strange as one could imagine. His name was Zhou Jie, and he was among the stronger members.

Pointing at Chu Jie, Zhou Jie said, “Captain, I have no problem with him joining, but the other one is only at the Fourth Level. We already have enough dead weight in the team; why add more?”

Du Xuan frowned. He was the one inviting people in—why was Zhou Jie meddling?

Chu Jie stared coldly at Zhou Jie. “We must stay together. If we can’t both join, then forget it. Honestly, we’re fine exploring this place on our own.”

Chu Jie’s purpose in interacting was mainly to exchange information. If it was going to be troublesome, it was better not to bother at all.

Du Xuan’s expression chilled; he turned helplessly to Zhou Jie, “This matter is between me and them—you needn’t concern yourself.”

Zhou Jie snorted, “Then I’ll leave it all to the captain.” With that, he withdrew, though he kept shooting furtive glances at Chu Jie and Duan Kun.

Once Zhou Jie had backed off, Du Xuan apologized to Chu Jie, “I’m sorry for that display. The squad is temporary, so of course there are issues, but having more people has its advantages.”

Chu Jie nodded. “There’s merit in numbers, but people like him seem a bit much.”

Zhou Jie’s words left him uneasy. Information was valuable, but he didn’t want to be at anyone else’s mercy. Besides, he and Duan Kun probably didn’t need to get too involved with these people.

Zhou Jie still eyed them with disdain, as if allowing Chu Jie to join was a magnanimous favor.

Du Xuan tried to smooth things over, “Zhou Jie is just like that—bad-tempered. Most people in the team avoid speaking to him.”

Zhou Jie glanced at Du Xuan but said nothing, making it clear he was hardly liked within the group.

Chu Jie felt this was more normal.

“Duan Kun, what do you think?” Chu Jie looked to his companion. Whether or not to join depended on Duan Kun’s opinion. After all, if they always traveled as a pair, they might be mistaken for the notorious killer again and attacked by others.

Duan Kun said, “I agree we should travel with them for a while—it might benefit us.”

Chu Jie thought this was sensible. Walking with them for a time might seem like a waste, but in terms of sharing information, there was much to gain.

He was also curious to see how capable the Spirit Convergence cultivators here truly were. His own advancement had been rapid and needed consolidation. If someone could help him stabilize his power, all the better.

With so many experts gathered, he found it promising.

Of course, Chu Jie wondered how these people had managed to escape the deadly killer’s pursuit.

“We can join, but I have a question—how did you all evade the notorious killer?” Chu Jie asked.

Based on their position, these people should have encountered the killer first, yet it seemed they’d never crossed paths.

“Ah, do you mean the one who’s been slaughtering people in the abyss? Or one of the other two?” Du Xuan asked.

Chu Jie was startled—so there were three such killers? Were the other two meant to be him and Duan Kun?

“Yes, those are the ones. How did you escape their pursuit?” Chu Jie was truly curious how this squad had survived.

Du Xuan replied, “It’s actually simple. We’ve always taken the small, winding paths—dangerous, and rarely traveled. The chance of running into them is much smaller.”

Chu Jie understood at last. When the killer was hunting, there were always places that went unnoticed, and these people had survived by sticking to those treacherous routes. Quite impressive.

“Why waste time talking to them? Neither of them are worth much. I could take them both myself,” Zhou Jie sneered again from the side.

Chu Jie was speechless. He hadn’t even done anything to offend the man, so why the persistent animosity?

Moreover, Zhou Jie’s claim that he could defeat them both was infuriating.

“You’re not afraid of getting your teeth knocked out by the wind, are you?” Chu Jie retorted, feeling thoroughly annoyed. At this point, he almost wished the killer would wipe these people out—keeping them around was just more trouble.

Zhou Jie jumped to his feet, “What? Not convinced? Want to duel?”

Du Xuan quickly tried to mediate, “Brother Zhou, calm down. Inviting them is in our best interest. The more we have, the greater the benefit—don’t be so picky.”

Zhou Jie shot back, “I don’t mind more people, but they have to be worth something. Look at our team—hardly any real experts, and you want to bring in a mere Fourth Level? That’s just asking for trouble.”

He was referring to Duan Kun, as Chu Jie had already reached the Fifth Level.

Du Xuan managed to talk Zhou Jie down again, though inwardly he was frustrated. He wanted to recruit Chu Jie not just for strength, but to sound out his true abilities. Zhou Jie’s interference was growing tiresome.

“My apologies. Our team is full of issues. I’m almost too embarrassed to invite you to join,” Du Xuan said.

Chu Jie replied, “It’s alright. If the team seems worthwhile, we don’t mind joining—a single Zhou Jie won’t change our minds.”

He’d been observing the whole squad: Zhou Jie was always alone, rarely interacting with anyone, quite isolated. The others were more sociable, and some regarded Chu Jie with curiosity.

But suddenly Zhou Jie stepped out again, glaring at Chu Jie, “I just don’t like you. What, want to fight?”

Zhou Jie himself was at the Fifth Level, as was Chu Jie. Where his confidence stemmed from, Chu Jie had no idea.

Chu Jie met his gaze coldly, “That’s not a good idea. We have no real enmity, and if someone dies, it would be unfortunate.”

He was no longer polite. He and Duan Kun had hoped to join the team and gather information, but Zhou Jie’s constant obstruction was pushing him to the limit.

Zhou Jie raised an eyebrow, “Heh, you think you could kill me? Don’t make me laugh. Maybe someone will die, but it won’t be me. You’re just a frog in a well—you don’t know what a true expert is.”

Du Xuan stepped between them, “Brother Zhou, let’s talk this out. We’re not enemies; there’s no need for this.”

Zhou Jie replied, “I only respect the strong. People like them are trash. If they weren’t so insistent on joining, I wouldn’t even bother speaking to them.”

The most frustrated of all was Duan Kun, whose cultivation was lower, but whose actual combat power was formidable—beating Zhou Jie would be no problem.

Now, both Chu Jie and Duan Kun were bristling with anger, itching to turn Zhou Jie into ashes on the spot.