Mu Chen escaped the encirclement, but he didn't run away. Instead, he hid himself under the cover of trees. These cultivators were too reliant on their divine sense and failed to detect him. Once everyone left, he was planning to search for Fengying, however, the leader's words grabbed his attention.

Mu Chen first reached out with his hand and removed the leader's spatial ring. He searched through the ring but didn't find anything identifying. Disappointed, he began to ransack through the guy's clothing.

"Huh?" Mu Chen frowned as his gaze fell on the unconscious leader's face while he was fiddling with his scruff. Close as he was, he noticed a small and weird incision on the chin.

Mu Chen pinched the leader's cheek and pulled lightly. A skin mask thin like a cicada's wing came off.

"What the—'' Under Mu Chen's shocked gaze, the young leader's face transformed from one in his twenties to a middle-aged person.

"Didn't they say only those under thirty years of age were allowed entry?" Mu Chen frowned.

The entrance to the secret realm was guarded by several Supreme Elders. By all means, it should be impossible to trick their eyes. Yet, the fact that was laid bare in front of him was undeniable.

"Could it be…" Mu Chen recalled the so-called Fourth Prince. "Someone higher up in the Ming Dynasty is involved?"

But what did this have to do with the Liu Clan? Mu Chen grimaced as he looked at the unconscious team leader. He needed more information and right now, this guy was his best bet.

Mu Chen took out a beast tendon from his ring and tied the hands and legs of the team leader. Then he took out a strange-looking fruit and squeezed its juice down the throat of the leader. After he was satisfied with his preparations, he kicked the fellow awake.

"Aaah!" The leader woke up with a moan. He was a bit dazed, but when he saw Mu Chen, he was startled. He tried to stand up only to discover his hands and legs were tied. Unable to break through the tendons with brute strength, he circulated his spiritual qi. The moment he did, his meridians were shocked and he ended up coughing blood.

"Pfft!" The leader glared at Mu Chen who was the cause of everything.

"How is it? Pretty good, huh?" Mu Chen grinned. "I learned it from the barbarians. The juice I fed you comes from a fruit that's very favorite among monster beasts. It's very rich in monster qi."

Monster qi and spiritual qi were incompatible like fire and water. If the two collided, it would only bring harm and destruction.

The leader breathed a heavy sigh and fell silent, knowing his efforts to escape were futile.

"Aren't you going to talk?"

"Talk?" the leader looked at Mu Chen with a helpless expression. "What's there to talk about?"

"A lot," Mu Chen snorted. "Let's start with why you tried to kill me."

"That's because you attacked a member of the Liu Clan," the man said.

"Wow, you are really persistent in selling that bullshit," Mu Chen scoffed as he dangled the skin mask in front of the man. "Too bad, I already know you are not from the Liu Clan."

Seeing the skin mask, the leader's eyes widened in shock. If he wasn't tied up, he would've probably reached out with his hand to touch his face.

"I'm curious." Mu Chen crouched next to the middle-aged man. "Who are you? How did someone like you sneak past the scrutiny of the elders?"

The middle-aged man fell silent for a while before sneering, "Just kill me."

Gone was his helpless expression, only to be replaced by a stern one that said he was prepared to die.

"So you are not going to speak?" Mu Chen frowned. If he couldn't make this guy talk, things would become very troublesome. He was worried about Fengying, but he couldn't just rush in blindly—that might just add one more person to the rescue.

From the guy's stubborn expression, Mu Chen knew ordinary threats and torture would never work. However, it didn't mean he was out of luck. Fortunately, he already had a few clues.

Mu Chen heightened his hearing to its limits. He could now hear even the slightest rustle of a blade of grass in the wind. In his ears, his own breathing and heartbeat became sonorous like beating drums. Mu Chen pulled his attention from himself and the surroundings and instead focused on the guy in front.

"Although you aren't willing to speak, I can still guess a few things. Hmm, let's see," Mu Chen said, carefully mincing his words. "You must be… a soldier from the Ming Dynasty."

The middle-aged man's eyes widened slightly and his heartbeat sped up a bit but they soon returned to normal.

Mu Chen chuckled as he knew he hit a bullseye. After all, only an organized force would waste time on practicing battle formations.

"Judging from how you let that guy die—you must not be on the same side," Mu Chen added to the leader's surprise. "He said he was under the Fourth Prince… you must not serve the Fourth. Maybe the First? Or the Second… " The leader's heartbeats fluctuated a bit. "I see it's the Second."

The leader's expression froze. He involuntarily gulped and looked at Mu Chen with an incredulous look.

Mu Chen grinned at the leader's anxious expression. "Since you have exposed your faction, you should know what it means."

Hearing Mu Chen's words, the leader's face turned pale. Since his real face was exposed, it was given he would be punished to death by his superior. He had already resolved to die. However, he also ended up revealing the faction behind him. This was a crime far worse. The punishment wouldn't be just him dying.

Mu Chen saw the man's ashen expression. "What are the Second and Fourth princes planning? Why are they targeting the Liu Clan?"

Hearing Mu Chen's inquiry, the man took a deep breath before lowering his head despondently. "I am a soldier," he said. "I would rather die than betray."

"You will be dying either way," Mu Chen shook his head. "Rather than dying in vain, wouldn't it be better to use your death to its fullest?"

The soldier sat upright. "W-what do you mean?"

"You teamed up for some common goal, but you are guarded against each other, right?" Mu Chen said. "Once you have achieved your purpose, everyone will probably turn against each other. Wouldn't it be better to take the initiative and strike first? I can help with that."

The soldier fell silent as if in deep thought.

"You would go that far?" the man said. "You don't even know what we are after."

"I've seen enough to know that where there's smoke, there's fire," Mu Chen chuckled. "Since it's something that involves two princes, it must be something big. And since it's something big—I want in."

As he spoke, Mu Chen's eyes seemed to  sparkle as if he was someone so blinded by greed, he wouldn't be afraid of going against the princes.

"How about it? Tell me about everyone involved and the specific strength of each group. In exchange, I can let you die quietly."

The team leader was lost in thought for a long time. Finally, he began to speak.

"You are mistaken," the man said. "It's not just the Second and Fourth princes who are involved… "

Mu Chen was inwardly shocked but pretended to be calm. The man saw Mu Chen wasn't fazed hearing him and resumed speaking.

"Currently, our preparations are still incomplete," the soldier sighed. "The First and Third princes have yet to arrive. We are waiting for them to arrive. Once they arrive we will…" the guy paused, apparently still hesitant.

"You will what?"

"We will… grab the treasure," the man said.

"What kind of treasure did you discover?" Mu Chen said. "Does it require cooperation from several Princes?"

"I'm not clear on the details," the man said. "But I know for sure that once we obtain the treasure, there will be a big fight amongst the Princes to… decide the owner."

"I see," Mu Chen nodded. "How Many people are there? What about their cultivation levels?"

"To ensure fairness, it was decided that every faction will send an equal number of troops with similar cultivation levels," the man said. "Two squads from each faction, all at spirit condensation realms. Besides the soldiers, we also recruited talents who came to seek opportunities in the secret realm. That guy who got killed was one such guy. However, unlike the troops, there's no limit to their number."

"Hmm," Mu Chen frowned. A squad consisted of a minimum of eight members. Assuming there were four princes, that meant he would have to face at least sixty-four spirit condensation cultivators. This did not include talents recruited by the princes or their bodyguards. Facing these many cultivators, Mu Chen didn't have any confidence.

"What? Scared?" The man saw Mu Chen's troubled expression and sniggered.

"Of course not," Mu Chen said. "I was just wondering what kind of treasure would require such a large force."

"You will know if you manage to survive," the man sneered.

"You don't have to worry about me," Mu Chen said.

"I'm just worried you will die before dealing with other factions," the soldier said. "Kid, you may be smart but you still lack experience. You don't know how the army operates. When on a mission, every squad leader must report his situation every fifteen minutes. It has already been quite some time since I made my last report."

The man began to laugh. Since he didn't make a report for quite some time, his superior would send people to find him. The best place to start would be the leader's last known location. Mu Chen didn't change his location to interrogate the leader, so he was bound to encounter other soldiers.

Mu Chen frowned a bit but then smiled. "Hey, I will only be in trouble if I get caught. I have this, after all." He waved the skin mask in front of the soldier.

The leader was stunned for a moment but then chuckled. "Like I said, you are still inexperienced."

Mu Chen shook his head. "I know what you are thinking. You guys must be familiar with each other and even have your secret code of communication. So you believe I will be exposed as soon as I pretend to be you. However," he paused as a sly smile spread across his lips, "this should be only limited to your faction."

"You—" the soldier gasped as a look of horror covered his face. "What are you planning?"

"The dead don't need to know," Mu Chen snorted with a cold look.

The next moment, the leader's head flew into the air as a fountain of blood spurted from the stump of a headless body.

Mu Chen looked at the lifeless body without any pity.

Was there a treasure? Mu Chen doubted it. He only pretended to be a little greedy for treasures and the soldier fabricated a story around it.

He knew Fengying very well. She wouldn't involve herself or her clan in pursuit of some treasure when everyone's lives were at stake.

Till the end, the soldier was just trying to get him killed.

As for how the Liu Clan and Fengying were involved in all this mess, he still didn't have a clear idea. The good news was that since the princes were still cooperating, they had yet to achieve their goal. It meant Fengying was likely safe.

His biggest concern relieved, Mu Chen relaxed a little. However, the situation was complicated and he had very little time, so he needed to act fast.

Mu Chen stripped the dead leader of the Liu Clan's robes. They were stained with some blood, but since they were originally red, it was barely discernible.

Mu Chen replaced his robes with the Liu Clan's. Then he dragged the headless body and a head to the base of a tree. The haphazard growth of the roots had formed a nice pocket, big enough for someone to hide. Mu Chen stuffed the dead body under the tree roots and covered it with leaves and branches.

"This should buy me some time." Mu Chen examined his handiwork. He took out the skin mask he had removed from the soldier. Although he pretended to be confident in front of the soldier, he wasn't certain of success.

To use this mask, one had to use spiritual qi. The amount required was minuscule, but Mu Chen lacked even that tiny amount. But for him to blend in, the mask was essential.

Mu Chen didn't have any spiritual qi, so he poured his internal qi into the mask.

Zzzzzz!

The mask seemed to come to life and its edges wriggled and danced around.

"It works!" Mu Chen was overjoyed, but at the same time, his face was filled with disgust.

This mask was carved out of the face of a person—it was made from real flesh. It was the only reason why it reacted to his internal qi.

To sneak in the troops, the princes from the several factions must have each sacrificed dozens of people from the younger generation. If word of this were to leak out, it would severely damage the Ming Dynasty's reputation.

Of course, Mu Chen had no intention of being a whistleblower and provoking a behemoth like the Ming Dynasty. He only hoped that Ming Ren wasn't involved in any of this.

After making sure that he had worn the mask perfectly, Mu Chen put away his sword. With his heightened senses, he had already noticed several enemies approaching his location.

Mu Chen recalled the leader's mannerisms and did his best to imitate them. He picked a pair of approaching enemies that were nearest and set off.