Approximately half an hour later, a noisy group of people hurried along the mountain path.

Leading the pack was Yu Kuohai of the Lingxiao Sect, followed closely by Elder Yang of Lieyang City and Valley Master Fu of Qing Suo Valley. The rest of the three factions trailed behind.

"Hmph, if I ever run into that grave-robbing bastard, I'll skin him alive, tear him to pieces, and scatter his ashes! I haven't encountered anyone so ruthless in all my years," Elder Yang fumed, his beard bristling as he walked.

"Elder Yang, calm down. We entered the mystic realm together when it opened, and we searched according to the areas allocated by the Tianshui Sect and Tongtian Sword Sect. It's unlikely someone could have beaten us to it," Yu Kuohai said thoughtfully.

"What are you implying... are you saying those two sects are behind this?" Elder Yang asked, startled.

"With treasures at stake, people's hearts are unpredictable. Anything could have happened. Maybe they secretly sent someone to collect the treasures while they were stopping us to establish rules," Valley Master Fu said softly after a moment of contemplation.

His words caused all three to murmur amongst themselves. If the two major sects were truly responsible, did they really have the leverage to challenge them?

"If we're going deeper into the mystic realm, we might be schemed against again. Do you have any countermeasures?" Yu Kuohai asked after a moment of silence.

Elder Yang and Valley Master Fu exchanged glances, neither of them speaking.

"As the saying goes, even a mighty dragon can't suppress a local snake. We're considered local sects here, yet we're being squeezed like this. It'll be embarrassing if word gets out..." Yu Kuohai sighed.

"For now, we can only take things one step at a time. We should be more careful when we get there. If we can seize an opportunity, we will. If not, we should try not to be used as pawns," Elder Yang said, shaking his head.

"Indeed, we can only compete if we stick together," Valley Master Fu said with a sigh.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a commotion coming from the forest ahead.

Immediately after, dust billowed from the woods, as if wild beasts were stampeding.

"What's going on..."

As Yu Kuohai wondered, he saw a short, stout middle-aged man with torn clothes, running out of the forest in a disheveled state. Trailing behind him was a metallic beast shaped like a wild boar, but with a golden body.

The beast was over ten zhang tall, its golden fur standing on end like steel needles. Two sharp, golden tusks curved upwards from its mouth, resembling outward-protruding flying halberds.

The man in front was running for his life, while the metallic beast was chasing with enthusiasm.

Seeing so many people ahead, the man immediately grasped at them as if they were a lifeline and shouted loudly:

"Fellow Daoists, save me! Save me..."

Before the crowd could figure out what was happening, the middle-aged man had already rushed over. As he approached, he leaped over everyone's heads, almost crashing into an ancient tree that took three people to encircle before stopping.

The metallic beast, upon catching up, naturally charged towards Yu Kuohai and the others without hesitation.

The Lingxiao Sect members were the first to react, drawing their magical treasures and attacking the giant metallic beast that resembled a wild boar.

The people from Lieguang City and Qing Suo Valley were slightly slower, but they also rushed forward.

It wasn't that they were kind-hearted and willing to help, but rather that the metallic beast was formed from pure gold-elemental energy in the world. The beast core within its body contained some gold-elemental laws, making it a valuable treasure.

"The one who delivers the final blow to this beast shall receive the beast core," Yu Kuohai shouted.

No one objected, and everyone intensified their attacks on the metallic beast.

The beast's strength was not particularly high to begin with, at most equivalent to a mid-stage Golden Immortal cultivator. It was even inferior to one of the two giant tiger-like metallic beasts that Han Li had encountered earlier.

Under the combined attack of the crowd, it didn't last long before Elder Yang quietly circled behind it and stabbed through its head with a fire blade, claiming the beast core for himself.

Although the metallic beast's body lacked the power of laws, it was still a good material for refining artifacts, and it was smashed and divided among the crowd.

Once everything settled down, Yu Kuohai and the others turned to look at the man who had fled earlier, only to see that he was about to fly away with a flash of light.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yu Kuohai shouted.

With a flick of his wrist, a section of black whip extended like a serpent striking, immediately wrapping around the middle-aged man and pulling him back, causing him to fall at his feet.

"This guy looks unfamiliar. I don't think I've seen him in any of the sects, either before or after entering the mystic realm," Valley Master Fu said hesitantly, staring at the middle-aged man for a long time.

"He looks unfamiliar to me too. He definitely doesn't seem to be from any of the major sects," Elder Yang nodded in agreement.

"This is easy. After searching his soul, we'll know everything," Yu Kuohai said with a sinister smile.

"Fellow Daoists, let's talk things out, let's talk things out..." the middle-aged man hurriedly said.

"Stop talking nonsense. Maybe this guy is that shameless grave robber!" another member of the Lingxiao Sect shouted.

"It's possible, given this person's unknown origins..." Elder Yang said after a moment of contemplation.

Upon hearing this, the crowd echoed in agreement, clamoring for a soul search.

Yu Kuohai glanced at the man's slightly wide brow spacing and thought that his expression was a little dull, not like that of a cunning person. However, to be on the safe side, he still planned to search his soul as a precaution.

The man with this appearance was none other than Han Li, who had worn a mask and altered his appearance.

Earlier, he had sensed this group approaching and had a sudden idea to mingle among them to gather useful information. Therefore, he had specifically sought out the metallic beast, luring it to chase him here.

However, just as he was about to reach out, the man suddenly emitted a golden light, and the black whip wrapped around him suddenly loosened and fell off on its own. He had already flipped over and stood up.

"Fellow Daoists, don't misunderstand. My name is Shi Mu, and I'm not a villain," Han Li said with a cupped fist and a naive smile.

Seeing him easily break free from Yu Kuohai's restraints, everyone's expressions were surprised, and they all raised their weapons, surrounding Han Li.

Seeing this, Han Li quickly made a hand seal and cast a liberation spell, explaining:

"My Great Dao is not refined, and I only know these minor unorthodox tricks. I hope you won't be offended. May I ask where this is?"

Yu Kuohai and the others were a little stunned by his question.

"You don't know where this is?" Yu Kuohai asked with a slightly dark expression.

"To be honest, I was chasing an exotic beast in the mountains when I somehow fell into a strange mountain depression. The surroundings seemed open, but it was as if I was trapped in a ghost wall. No matter how I circled around, I couldn't get out. Fortunately, I knew some methods to break barriers and dispel restrictions, and I finally broke through the illusions. As a result, I arrived here. I hadn't walked for long when I encountered that metallic beast and was chased here," Han Li explained, feigning a look of panic.

"Empty words are not proof, and we cannot believe you. Earlier, a villain robbed us of many treasures and spiritual herbs. We suspect you are that person. If you want to prove your innocence, hand over your storage artifacts for us to inspect," Yu Kuohai said with a sneer.

"Fellow Daoists, aren't you making things difficult for me? Storage artifacts cannot be casually shown to others..." Han Li said, seemingly shrinking back instinctively.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Fellow Daoist," Elder Yang said coldly.

Han Li looked at the approaching crowd, his face shifting between hesitation and fear.

After a long time, he finally sighed and said with some helplessness, "Very well, please let me leave after you have inspected them."

As he spoke, he took off a storage ring that he had already prepared and handed it over.

Yu Kuohai took it into his hand and examined it with his divine sense for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly. He then handed it over to Elder Yang.

After examining it, the latter also frowned slightly and handed it to Valley Master Fu.

"You're also a Golden Immortal, albeit only in the early stage, how can you be so poor?" Valley Master Fu couldn't help but say.

"I'm sorry to make you laugh... I'm just a wild rogue cultivator, naturally not comparable to you who are sheltered by sects. It's really not easy to obtain cultivation resources, so how can I save up a family fortune?" Han Li squeezed out a bitter smile and sighed.

"It seems that he really is a muddle-headed rogue cultivator who stumbled in here..." Valley Master Fu said, tossing the storage ring back.

Han Li hurriedly caught it and wore it on his hand with a naive smile.

"Since you Fellow Daoists still have important matters to attend to, I won't delay you. I'll take my leave now," Han Li said, bowing and retreating backwards.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, please wait..." Yu Kuohai suddenly said.

"What other instructions do you have, Fellow Daoist?" Han Li immediately paused, feigning confusion.

"Earlier, Fellow Daoist Shi said that you know some spells to break barriers and dispel restrictions. Is that true?" Yu Kuohai asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Han Li immediately put on a smug look and replied, "It's not that I'm bragging, but although my cultivation realm is average, I do have some skills in breaking restrictions, dispelling illusions, and finding paths..."

"But compared to you, it's naturally not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning..." Halfway through his sentence, he seemed to realize that he had misspoke and quickly explained.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, what is the purpose of asking about this at this time?" Elder Yang noticed something and asked through voice transmission.

"Since the Tianshui Sect and Tongtian Sword Sect want to use us as cannon fodder, why don't we also find some cannon fodder to take the lead? This person has come to our door and claims to be good at breaking restrictions, wouldn't that be perfect?" Yu Kuohai said, his expression unchanged, but he also replied through voice transmission.