The disciples were all pumped full of adrenaline. At first, they held back, but they gradually got carried away, and their attacks became increasingly ruthless.

But everyone still remembered Song Qingyun’s instructions: do not go deep into the mountains, and absolutely do not pursue any demon beasts that fled.

Everything seemed to be proceeding as usual.

Song Qingyun felt uneasy and kept a constant watch on his surroundings. Because of this, he couldn’t fully concentrate while fighting the demon beasts and ended up with some minor injuries.

Just then, a strong fluctuation of Spiritual Power suddenly came from deep within the mountains.

"On guard!"

Song Qingyun shouted immediately. The disciples tensed and instantly moved toward the center.

Even when demon beasts blocked their path, they rushed back to the center without a second thought, quickly gathering together and raising their guard.

The elders also assembled quickly, forming a protective circle around the disciples.

Just as they got into position, the ground began to shake violently.

They looked up to see countless demon beasts surging toward them. They were a dense, churning tide, like an endless, crashing wave.

The demon beasts looked frenzied, and something was clearly wrong with them.

In the crowd, Song Yue’er’s expression changed slightly. "Song Yuanlang, so many demon beasts..."

Her heart tightened as she recalled the Clan Leader’s repeated warnings.

"Something’s not right with these demon beasts. It looks like someone is deliberately targeting us!"

Song Yuanlang, who she had addressed, remained calm, as if he had anticipated this all along.

He cast a subtle glance at a figure beside him, a cryptic light flashing in his eyes.

At this very moment, the person Song Yuanlang was staring at was sweating nervously.

This person’s name was Song Yunfeng. He was a generation older than Song Yuanlang and currently had a Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivation, just a step away from advancing to the Golden Core Stage.

But Song Yunfeng had been injured a few years ago during a trip, damaging his Dantian and leaving him with very serious after-effects.

At the thought of his past, a vicious glint flashed in Song Yunfeng’s eyes as he crushed a fragrant pill in his hand.

The already frenzied demon beasts abruptly skidded to a halt. Then, as if drawn by some irresistible lure, they charged toward the crowd with even greater madness.

The stampede of countless demon beasts made the earth shake and the mountains sway. The vibrations were enough to make one’s heart go numb with fear.

Closer.

Less than ten meters away.

A corner of Song Yunfeng’s mouth curled into a subtle smirk as killing intent flashed in his eyes.

Back when his Dantian was damaged, he had gone to plead with the Clan Leader, hoping for a divine medicine to repair it.

’After all, the Eldest Miss is an Alchemy Grandmaster,’ he’d reasoned. ’The clan must have a medicine like that.’

But the Clan Leader had refused him.

He had even used the excuse that the Song Family didn’t possess such Elixir Pills, effectively severing his future prospects. Hatred festered in Song Yunfeng’s heart, and the thought of revenge took root.

Coupled with the fact that "that person" later tempted him with Elixir Pills, he felt he had no other choice.

’This is all the Song Family deserves!’

’Go die!’

’All of you, just go and die!’

Song Yunfeng’s expression was crazed, the flesh on his face trembling with excitement.

But before his malice could recede, he was stunned to find that the demon beasts had suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Due to inertia, the demon beasts in the rear couldn’t stop in time and crashed into the ones in front, sending them flying.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

’What’s going on?’

Song Yunfeng’s expression froze, his face filled with surprise and panic.

Just then, Song Yuanlang suddenly spoke to him, "Song Yunfeng, are you surprised?"

’Song Yunfeng, the traitor of the Song Family.’

This time, he used no honorific.

"What are you talking about?" Song Yunfeng, his guilty conscience making him jump, blurted out.

"I just find it strange."

He tried to smile to ease his guilt, but the resulting smile looked worse than a grimace.

The other disciples watched them, confused. ’At a critical moment like this, how can they be in the mood for a chat?’

’But it’s really strange, why did the demon beasts stop?’

’They’re still milling about, as if looking for something?’

Suddenly, a furious roar came from the sky, "Song Yunfeng, do you admit your guilt?"

Song Qingyun descended from mid-air. A powerful pressure fell, and Song Yunfeng was forced to his knees.

Already feeling guilty, Song Yunfeng’s body instantly went weak.

’The Clan Leader knows everything?’

’How could he know?’

’I was so secretive about it, I even held off on using the fragrant pill until today...’

Song Yunfeng shivered violently and looked up at Song Qingyun’s raised hand.

’It’s over.’

’The plot was exposed long ago.’

’But I don’t understand.’

’I was so careful. I didn’t even make contact with that person when I went to get the fragrant pill.’

’How was I exposed?’

But his countless regrets lasted only a moment. Staring at the large palm about to crash down on his head, his eyes turned vicious. In the next instant, he detonated his own Divine Soul and collapsed, lifeless.

"Song Yunfeng!"

"!!"

’Song Yunfeng is dead?’

The disciples were stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Song Qingyun let out a humorless, angry laugh.

He had intended to perform a Soul Search on Song Yunfeng directly, but he never expected the man to detonate his own Divine Soul... all to protect his backer!

’Just how much did Song Yunfeng hate the Song Family?’

’As a disciple of the Song Family, Song Yunfeng enjoyed so many of its resources, only to turn around and betray them. Just brilliant!’

The mere thought of the three hundred young disciples the Song Family had already lost made him want to flay the man’s skin and drink his blood.

Song Yuanlang, at the side, also hadn’t expected Song Yunfeng to be so decisive. He looked down at Song Yunfeng’s corpse, his eyes filled with cold indifference.

Back then, when he was passing by the entrance of First-class Fragrance, he had seen a furtive-looking Song Yunfeng.

After Song Yunfeng left, another figure, trying to conceal their identity, also left.

Song Yuanlang couldn’t make out the person’s face, but the extreme caution both of them displayed aroused his suspicion.

So for the next few days, he secretly tailed Song Yunfeng, and sure enough, he saw him go to First-class Fragrance again.

Although it was only Song Yunfeng this time, he still felt something was wrong.

Later, when they arrived at the camp, Song Yunfeng seemed on edge, and his behavior was unnatural.

The more Song Yuanlang thought about it, the more worried he became. But since he hadn’t figured out what was going on, he kept hesitating about whether to tell the Clan Leader.

After all, he had no proof, and Song Yunfeng had always been "honest," so the Clan Leader wouldn’t necessarily believe his side of the story.

Until Song Wanning returned.

’At the time, he had thought that if the Eldest Miss didn’t believe him either, he would just drop it. Perhaps he really was overthinking things.’

But to his surprise, the Eldest Miss believed him instantly. She immediately notified the Clan Leader, and they began to prepare for the worst.

Through analysis and speculation, the Clan Leader and the Eldest Miss both concluded that the enemy must be planning to use something like Beast Attracting Powder.

Some powders and pills are laced with substances that attract demon beasts and can incite them into a stampede.

The mastermind first assigned the Song Family a supposedly safe area, then arranged for Song Yunfeng to trigger a demon beast stampede...

Caught off guard and underestimating the danger, the Song Family members would surely have met with disaster...

With just a single Elixir Pill, they could destroy so many members of the Song Family. It was truly a low-risk, high-reward scheme.

Fortunately, the Clan Leader and the Eldest Miss discovered the plot in time. The Eldest Miss had even prepared several types of pills specifically to counteract the Beast Attracting Powder, ensuring they were fully prepared.

And now, those preparations had clearly paid off.