Chapter Sixty: Alliance

Guo Jian had just breathed a sigh of relief after slaying the stone demon, thinking he could finally turn his attention to the situation with Li Sibai. To his surprise, although the stone demon was sprawled out on the ground, it suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar. With a furious bellow, its entire body erupted with sharp spikes, which scattered like a torrential rain in all directions.

Thud, thud, thud!

A series of crisp sounds rang out. Yan Jie, who was closest, was the first to be struck by the spikes. Despite having activated his aura shield, more than a dozen spikes pierced through, breaking it in several places. Left with no choice, Yan Jie could only protect his vital areas, leaving his arms, shoulders, and other parts vulnerable. Soon, blood and flesh were mangled, and crimson splattered everywhere.

Guo Jian and He Tianshu, being farther away, were unexpectedly lucky. Both threw themselves to the ground with no concern for their dignity, watching the spikes whistle over their heads, cold sweat pouring down their backs.

As expected, this stone demon had kept a trump card in reserve.

When the barrage of spikes finally ceased, the two climbed to their feet, each secretly thankful they hadn't tried to behead the demon. Guo Jian assumed He Tianshu knew about this and had deliberately set them up, but He Tianshu himself was unaware—he simply didn't want to exhaust himself for Guo Jian's benefit and hoped to buy more time for Li Sibai.

Looking at Yan Jie lying there, the loss of blood had rendered his arm immobile.

Guo Jian cursed his luck. If only he'd brought more men! Now both his subordinates were injured by the stone demon. Although his rank was considerably higher than He Tianshu's, another group was on its way to snatch the Ice Spirit Grass. And at present, he was effectively alone, forced to guard against both He Tianshu and Li Sibai making off with the prize.

The situation had suddenly become far more complicated!

Thinking of this, he forced a broad smile and said to He Tianshu, "Brother He, we are of the same sect. Most of our men are injured now—why not join forces against our enemies, ensuring the Ice Spirit Grass goes to one of us? Wouldn't that be best?"

"As for the reward, I only want the fourth-rank spellbook. The rest of the Xuantian Jade Essence Pills can be yours."

Guo Jian, eager to achieve his goal, began enticing He Tianshu to join him. After all, only the two of them were still able to fight; Li Sibai was beneath his notice.

He Tianshu frowned, calculating inwardly, but gave no answer.

It wasn't that Guo Jian's terms were lacking, but He Tianshu was weighing whether he could trust him. This man had just been ruthless to his own companion; no matter how good the offer, he wasn't worth trusting. If he did, he'd likely end up betrayed.

For example, if they seized the Ice Spirit Grass together, what if Guo Jian reneged? He Tianshu couldn't defeat him, and would be left empty-handed.

Guo Jian saw He Tianshu's hesitation and assumed the terms weren't satisfactory.

Without another word, he pulled out a storage wristband from his robes and tossed it to He Tianshu.

"There are two hundred Xuantian Jade Essence Pills in here—the most I have. Take them now. Help me secure the Ice Spirit Grass, and if we win, the other five hundred reward pills are yours as well. If not, you needn't return these two hundred. That should be fair enough, right?"

He Tianshu accepted the wristband. Though not extraordinary, it was excellent for storing items. He glanced inside; sure enough, there were roughly two hundred pills. Clearly, Guo Jian was willing to pay dearly for the Ice Spirit Grass.

In fact, He Tianshu and Guo Jian had received their commission from the same person—a discreet individual keen to keep their identity hidden. But since this person hailed from within the Xuantian Sword Sect, both He Tianshu and Guo Jian understood, though they couldn't disclose this to outsiders.

Now that Guo Jian had proactively paid part of the reward, He Tianshu was tempted. With only himself and Li Sibai left, facing the five adversaries alone—plus needing to watch Guo Jian—there was no chance of victory.

With this clear, he nodded to Guo Jian, and the two hurried over to Li Sibai.

Li Sibai had been in a standoff with the woman in green. Oddly, she hadn't attacked, but kept smiling, watching events unfold. Li Sibai was alone, so he could only defend, and nothing had happened until Guo Jian and He Tianshu arrived.

Guo Jian chuckled and addressed the woman in green, "We are disciples of the Xuantian Sword Sect, here to hunt the stone demon. May I ask which sect you belong to, and what brings you here?"

The woman in green smiled gently. "How amusing, sir. You're here to hunt the stone demon? Then I'm here for the Ice Spirit Grass. Why not let me have it?"

Guo Jian's face darkened. He hadn't wanted to reveal his true purpose, but these people were indeed after the Ice Spirit Grass, and so forthright about it. There was no room for compromise now, but he still hoped to make her retreat.

"Since the Ice Spirit Grass was guarded by the stone demon, and we've just defeated it at great cost, it stands to reason that the grass should belong to us. Wouldn't you agree?"

The woman in green burst out laughing this time, and Guo Jian frowned.

"What’s so funny? Did I say something wrong?"

"Sir, you must be joking. I saw the stone demon injure two of your men, while the rest were wounded by infighting. You couldn't even agree among yourselves on how to divide the spoils, so I have every right to snatch it myself."

Guo Jian and He Tianshu were secretly alarmed. These people had apparently arrived long ago, simply waiting for them to wear each other out—yet they hadn't noticed their presence. This meant the group was exceedingly cunning; truly, they were the fisherman profiting while the clam and the crane struggled.

Guo Jian deeply regretted his miscalculation.

But there was no point in regret now. The only hope was to grit his teeth and fight for it.

"In that case, let’s settle this," he said, glancing at He Tianshu—signaling that since He Tianshu had taken his reward, he should go first and test the opponents' strength.

He Tianshu scratched his head, reluctant to make the first move without knowing the enemy’s capabilities. He looked to Li Sibai and gave him a meaningful glance.

Li Sibai understood; the two sides had clearly reached an accord. He stepped forward.

"Allow me to test your skills!"

The woman in green saw Li Sibai step up and drew her Emei needle.

"Very well, allow me to learn from you!"