THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

Chapter Sixty-One — The Frenzied Escape

“Split the Diamond Quicksand first.”

As the Flowing Gold Silk Net finally rose completely from the magma current, Zhuo Fan stared at the massive weight of glittering golden sand with burning eyes.

Escape could wait.

Loot came first.

Xie Tianyang and Xue Ningxiang exchanged helpless looks before smiling bitterly.

Ever since meeting Zhuo Fan, the two of them had basically been dragged around entirely at his pace.

Every decision.

Every plan.

Every insane scheme.

Zhuo Fan never explained anything properly beforehand.

Capturing the Burrowing Mountain Rat.

Building the formation.

Stealing the Diamond Quicksand.

Everything had been the same.

And somehow—

Every single time—

He succeeded.

Perfectly.

At this point, although neither of them understood his thinking fully, they had unconsciously begun trusting him anyway.

Especially Xie Tianyang.

If this were anyone else, he would have already drawn his sword and walked away long ago.

But with Zhuo Fan?

He simply stopped asking questions.

The moment the final strands of the Flowing Gold Silk Net emerged from the magma—

Golden sand cascaded downward like a waterfall.

Glittering endlessly beneath the sunlight.

Within seconds, the massive iron barrel they brought was already filled completely.

Yet—

That still accounted for less than one-third of the total haul.

The three immediately began pulling every container possible from their spatial rings.

Barrels.

Boxes.

Pots.

Metal cases.

Anything capable of holding the sand.

Soon afterward, more than a dozen containers stood filled with enough Diamond Quicksand to drive countless cultivators across the continent insane with greed.

Xie Tianyang could barely stop laughing anymore.

Originally, he had only hoped to secretly steal a small portion using the Burrowing Mountain Rat.

But after meeting Zhuo Fan—

They had stolen everything.

Every grain.

According to conventional refinement standards, even adding a tiny handful of Diamond Quicksand during fifth-grade spirit weapon forging would dramatically strengthen the final product.

That alone already counted as priceless.

But now?

They possessed literal tons of the material.

Forget handfuls.

Xie Tianyang could practically dump Diamond Quicksand into furnaces by the bucket.

At this point, even forging an entire fifth-grade spirit weapon entirely out of Diamond Quicksand no longer sounded impossible.

“Hahahahaha!”

His laughter echoed endlessly through the forest.

As Sword Marquis Manor’s direct heir, Xie Tianyang had never considered himself poor before.

Now?

He suddenly realized how unbelievably poor he actually used to be.

Zhuo Fan watched him coldly from the side.

Then silently rolled his eyes.

A Seven House heir reduced to this over some treasure.

Absolutely embarrassing.

Finally, Zhuo Fan waved one hand and calmly collected exactly half the Diamond Quicksand into his spatial ring.

“I’m taking my share.”

“The rest belongs to you.”

Xie Tianyang blinked.

Then immediately nodded enthusiastically.

“No problem!”

“You can even take more if you want!”

Even after splitting it evenly, Xie Tianyang still retained several tons of Diamond Quicksand.

Their harvest this time had truly become monstrous.

Meanwhile, Xue Ningxiang took none of it.

Not because Zhuo Fan or Xie Tianyang excluded her—

But because she genuinely did not care.

Compared to wealth—

She only wanted freedom.

Zhuo Fan noticed this clearly.

And secretly nodded slightly.

At least this girl understood something most cultivators never did:

Treasure without life meant nothing.

After finishing the division, Xie Tianyang finally looked toward Zhuo Fan seriously.

“Now…”

“…tell us how we’re escaping.”

Flash.

A small porcelain bottle suddenly appeared in Zhuo Fan’s hand.

He poured out three crimson pills calmly.

Without hesitation, he swallowed one himself before tossing the other two toward Xie Tianyang and Xue Ningxiang.

“First-grade pills.”

“Breath Concealment Pills.”

“For one full day, our aura disappears completely.”

“As long as we avoid direct contact…”

“…most spirit beasts won’t detect us.”

Xie Tianyang froze immediately.

Then stared at the pill in his hand in disbelief.

“A first-grade pill?”

“With this kind of effect?”

“Where did you get something like this?”

His shock made perfect sense.

The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range had tempted cultivators for centuries.

If a pill capable of concealing aura from spirit beasts truly existed publicly—

Countless experts would flood these mountains endlessly.

Yet Xie Tianyang had never heard of such a thing before.

Not even inside Sword Marquis Manor.

Xue Ningxiang also stared at Zhuo Fan curiously.

Zhuo Fan scratched his nose casually.

“I refined them myself.”

“Exclusive product.”

“No competitors.”

Silence.

Then suddenly—

“YOU KNOW ALCHEMY TOO?!”

Xie Tianyang nearly screamed.

His composure shattered completely this time.

Cultivation monster.

Formation master.

And now alchemist too?

What exactly was this freak?

Zhuo Fan shrugged casually.

“Extra skills never hurt.”

Xie Tianyang stood frozen for a very long time afterward.

Then finally—

He slapped his own face hard.

At this point, he genuinely no longer wanted calling himself a genius ever again.

Not while standing beside Zhuo Fan.

The difference between them felt absolutely humiliating.

Without another word, Xie Tianyang swallowed the Breath Concealment Pill immediately and turned toward the river crossing.

“Let’s move.”

His tone had become strangely quiet now.

Zhuo Fan and Xue Ningxiang exchanged puzzled glances.

Neither understood why Xie Tianyang suddenly looked emotionally devastated.

Naturally—

Neither realized he had just suffered the greatest confidence collapse of his entire life.

Half an hour later—

A gray figure suddenly descended beside the magma river like a falling meteor.

Nether Valley’s Seventh Elder.

The moment he saw the still-smoking magma and emptied riverbed—

His face twisted violently.

“Knew it…”

“…someone redirected the eruption here.”

His eagle-like eyes swept across the area sharply.

The Diamond Quicksand was gone.

Every grain.

Not a single trace remained.

Several deep breaths later, the elder slowly calmed himself.

Unfortunately—

The calmer he became—

The more terrifying his expression grew.

Cold.

Utterly cold.

He turned slowly toward the distant forest ahead.

Beyond the river—

The second region of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range began.

“Hmph.”

“You think a simple diversion trick can fool me?”

Without hesitation, he rose directly into the air and flew toward the second region.

Meanwhile—

More than a hundred miles away—

Zhuo Fan’s group sprinted rapidly through the forest.

Suddenly—

Countless black crows exploded upward into the sky behind them in panic.

The sound echoed like an ominous warning.

Zhuo Fan stopped instantly.

His face darkened.

Xie Tianyang and Xue Ningxiang halted immediately as well.

“What happened?” Xie Tianyang asked sharply.

Zhuo Fan frowned deeply.

“That old bastard…”

“…he came directly into the second region.”

Xie Tianyang’s face changed instantly.

“How is that possible?”

“With his speed, he’ll catch us soon!”

Zhuo Fan’s expression grew increasingly grim.

Originally, his calculations had been flawless.

The elder should have searched the first region carefully first for safety reasons.

And because the second region was far more dangerous, he should not have immediately assumed the thieves fled deeper into the mountains.

That hesitation should have bought Zhuo Fan at least three extra hours.

By then, they would already reach the third region.

At that point, even the Heaven Profound elder would not dare continue chasing recklessly.

Because inside the third region—

Even Heaven Profound experts became prey.

But now—

Everything changed.

The elder skipped directly into the second region immediately.

Which meant their lead shrank to barely half an hour.

At this rate—

They would be caught long before reaching the third region.

“Brother Zhuo…”

Xie Tianyang suddenly spoke quietly.

“Do you know who that elder is exactly?”

Zhuo Fan glanced sideways.

“I only know Nether Valley stationed a Heaven Profound elder here.”

“Nothing else.”

Xie Tianyang sighed heavily.

“No wonder your calculations failed.”

“That man…”

“…is Nether Valley’s Seventh Elder.”

“Ghost Seven.”

Zhuo Fan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Xie Tianyang’s expression became unusually serious.

“His cultivation isn’t what makes him terrifying.”

“It’s his mind.”

“Scheming.”

“Manipulation.”

“Deception.”

“He’s famous even among the Seven Houses.”

“Countless elders from our families have suffered under him before.”

“Even Hidden Dragon Pavilion’s Ninth Elder lost his Purple Lightning Golden Eyes because of Ghost Seven’s schemes.”

“People hate him…”

“…but they fear him even more.”

Understanding flashed through Zhuo Fan’s eyes instantly.

No wonder.

Against someone like this—

Ordinary predictive thinking would never work consistently.

Ghost Seven specialized in anticipating others.

Which meant Zhuo Fan’s initial assumptions naturally failed.

At this point—

Only improvisation remained.

“Brother Zhuo.”

Xie Tianyang suddenly looked toward Xue Ningxiang coldly.

“There’s only one option now.”

“We abandon her.”

Xue Ningxiang’s body stiffened instantly.

Her hands unconsciously grabbed Zhuo Fan’s sleeve tightly.

Fear filled her eyes.

“If it’s just you and me…”

“…we still might escape.”

“But bringing her slows us down too much.”

“She can delay Ghost Seven.”

“Then we survive.”

His logic was perfectly rational.

Cold.

But rational.

Xue Ningxiang’s face turned pale immediately.

She looked desperately toward Zhuo Fan.

“Big Brother Zhuo…”

“You promised you’d take me out safely…”

Zhuo Fan remained silent briefly.

Then suddenly glanced toward Xie Tianyang with a faint smile.

“If I didn’t have the Breath Concealment Pills…”

“…would you abandon me too?”

Xie Tianyang froze slightly.

Then said nothing.

Because the answer was obvious.

“Yes,” Zhuo Fan answered for him calmly.

“If I became useless…”

“…you’d abandon me immediately.”

Xie Tianyang clenched his jaw tightly.

But did not deny it.

Because this was reality.

Yet the next second—

Zhuo Fan suddenly waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m not abandoning anyone.”

His eyes sharpened instantly.

“And that old bastard…”

“…I already have a way to deal with him.”

Xie Tianyang blinked.

“What?”

Zhuo Fan slowly turned toward the surrounding forest.

Then a strange smile spread across his lips.

“We stop here.”

“I’m setting another formation.”

“This time…”

“…we kill him.”

Xie Tianyang stared at him silently for several long seconds.

Then finally—

He nodded slowly.

After everything he had already witnessed from Zhuo Fan…

Impossible no longer felt impossible.

Meanwhile, Xue Ningxiang’s face brightened with joy instantly.

She clung tightly to Zhuo Fan’s arm happily.

Neither of them noticed—

The strange smile lingering faintly at the corner of Zhuo Fan’s mouth.

Cold.

Calculating.

Almost sinister.

Like someone preparing a trap far more dangerous than either of them realized.

[End of Chapter Sixty-One]

Chapter Sixty-Two — The Wind, Thunder, and Inferno Formation

Whoosh!

A gray figure tore through the darkness of the forest like a ghost.

Behind him—

Several spirit beasts suddenly lunged from the undergrowth with greedy eyes.

But before even a second passed—

Shrill screams echoed through the woods as the beasts were blasted backward violently.

When their corpses finally crashed into the ground, fist-sized holes gaped through their chests.

Ghost Seven never even slowed down.

His expression remained dark and murderous as he raced deeper into the second region.

Just as Zhuo Fan predicted earlier, even he did not dare fly openly through this territory. Doing so would make him far too visible and attract unnecessary trouble.

Even so—

Third-grade spirit beasts still attacked him constantly along the way.

Thankfully, no fourth-grade beasts had appeared yet.

Otherwise, even a Heaven Profound expert like him would suffer greatly.

Suddenly—

He stopped.

A small clearing opened ahead.

Ghost Seven slowly crouched beside the ground, examining the faint traces left behind in silence.

Then—

A cold smile spread across his face.

“Heh…”

“Three little rats…”

“…why did you stop running?”

His eyes swept slowly across the forest.

Sharp.

Predatory.

“Come out yourselves…”

“…or force this old man to drag you out.”

His voice carried dense killing intent that immediately frightened nearby spirit beasts into fleeing the area.

Then—

Laughter echoed through the clearing.

“As expected of Nether Valley’s Ghost Seven…”

“…the man called the Sevenfold Ghost Mind.”

“Just from our footprints, you already determined how many people we have.”

“Impressive.”

Ghost Seven’s eyelids twitched slightly.

His ears shifted carefully toward the sound.

Then he suddenly sneered.

“You just broke through sixth-layer Qi Gathering, didn’t you?”

Hidden within the forest shadows, Zhuo Fan’s pupils contracted instantly.

Sharp hearing.

Far sharper than expected.

This old monster truly was difficult to deal with.

Still—

His expression remained calm.

“Elder Seven has chased us a long way.”

“And fighting here risks attracting fourth-grade spirit beasts.”

“How about we negotiate instead?”

Ghost Seven laughed coldly.

“What exactly do you think you’re qualified to negotiate?”

“The Diamond Quicksand.”

Zhuo Fan answered calmly.

“You want the treasure.”

“We want our lives.”

“If we return part of the Diamond Quicksand…”

“…will you let us leave?”

Ghost Seven burst into savage laughter.

“Ridiculous!”

“That treasure already belongs to this old man.”

“You steal from me…”

“…then dare negotiate afterward?”

His aura exploded outward violently.

“Today…”

“…I’ll reclaim the Diamond Quicksand.”

“And your lives.”

Boom!

Without warning, Ghost Seven shot forward instantly.

Every tree blocking his path exploded apart beneath his palm strikes.

And finally—

The forest shattered open completely.

Revealing Zhuo Fan sitting calmly atop a massive stone platform behind it.

Ghost Seven grinned viciously.

“You stupid brat…”

“You already knew this old man’s hearing was excellent.”

“And yet you still exposed your location?”

“You’re asking to die!”

Boom!

He arrived before Zhuo Fan almost instantly and slammed one palm downward mercilessly.

Yet Zhuo Fan showed no fear whatsoever.

Instead—

He smiled.

“Since I exposed myself…”

“…why would I fear being found?”

The instant those words fell—

Zhuo Fan’s hand seals shifted violently.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted behind him.

Towering flames over thirty meters high exploded skyward instantly.

And within those flames—

A gigantic Fire Phoenix emerged shrieking into the heavens.

Its blazing wings spread outward magnificently.

Then—

With one violent flap—

Two enormous pillars of fire erupted toward Ghost Seven directly.

Ghost Seven’s eyes widened instantly.

“A formation?!”

He never expected a mere Qi Gathering junior to deploy a formation this powerful.

Judging from the aura alone—

This formation already reached fifth-grade rank.

And fifth-grade formations could threaten even Heaven Profound experts directly.

Ghost Seven no longer dared underestimate Zhuo Fan even slightly.

Both palms slammed forward immediately.

BOOM!

The fire pillars exploded violently against him.

Even Ghost Seven was blasted backward several steps from the impact.

The skin on his palms turned charred black instantly.

For the first time—

A trace of seriousness finally appeared in his eyes.

“Looks like…”

“…this old man truly underestimated you.”

Ghost Seven slowly narrowed his eyes.

“A sixth-layer Qi Gathering brat…”

“…who’s also a fifth-grade formation master.”

“Unfortunately…”

“…with your cultivation…”

“…you still aren’t qualified to defeat me.”

Boom!

Ghost Seven rose directly into the air.

Dark spiritual energy exploded around him violently.

Hand seals shifted.

And behind him—

A massive demonic ghost face slowly emerged from the darkness.

Black mist swirled endlessly around it while horrifying wails echoed across the forest.

The temperature itself dropped sharply.

Even the surrounding flames dimmed slightly beneath the sinister aura.

Zhuo Fan’s expression finally turned serious.

“A demonic cultivation art this vicious…”

“Is this one of Nether Valley’s inherited techniques?”

Ghost Seven sneered.

“You’re about to die.”

“What’s the point in knowing?”

His fingers thrust forward instantly.

The giant ghost face shrieked and charged directly toward Zhuo Fan.

Zhuo Fan’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Hand seals changed again.

The Fire Phoenix screamed skyward before unleashing another pillar of flame.

BOOM!

The flames collided directly against the ghost face—

Yet strangely—

No explosion occurred.

Instead, the flames rapidly weakened as though freezing beneath invisible ice.

Ghost Seven grinned triumphantly.

But Zhuo Fan suddenly roared:

“Ning’er!”

At once—

A soft feminine cry echoed from another section of the forest.

Then—

Howling winds exploded outward violently.

Entire sections of forest were ripped skyward instantly beneath the hurricane force.

Revealing Xue Ningxiang seated atop another stone platform.

Remembering Zhuo Fan’s earlier instructions, she hurriedly formed hand seals.

Instantly—

Razor-sharp wind currents fused directly into the Fire Phoenix’s flames.

And at that exact moment—

The flames expanded over tenfold.

Wind fed the fire instantly.

The weakened blaze exploded back to life violently and began forcing the ghost face backward.

Ghost Seven’s expression changed immediately.

He hurriedly reinforced the demonic technique desperately.

Yet even then—

He slowly began losing ground.

Cold sweat formed on his forehead.

He never imagined another person was secretly helping control the formation.

But before he could devise another response—

“Tianyang!”

Zhuo Fan roared again.

“Hahaha!”

A wild laugh exploded through the forest.

“I’ve been waiting for this!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions echoed continuously.

The forest opposite Xue Ningxiang suddenly detonated apart beneath violent thunder.

And there—

Xie Tianyang sat grinning atop a third stone platform.

His hand seals slammed together instantly.

A massive Lightning Dragon over thirty meters long materialized behind him.

It roared furiously.

Then transformed into a bolt of lightning charging directly toward the ghost face.

BOOM!

Thunder fused into flame.

Flame amplified thunder.

Wind amplified both.

And instantly—

The combined force exploded over ten times stronger than before.

The ghost face collapsed completely in less than a breath.

Ghost Seven’s body trembled violently.

Then—

PUFF!

He spat blood directly from his mouth.

For the first time in countless years—

He had actually been injured by juniors.

And not just injured.

Suppressed.

Humiliated.

But the attack did not stop there.

The combined storm of wind, thunder, and inferno continued roaring toward him like heavenly destruction itself.

If struck directly—

Even a Heaven Profound expert would suffer catastrophic injury.

Ghost Seven gritted his teeth violently.

Then—

Flash!

A black chain-like whip suddenly appeared in his hand.

A demonic artifact.

BOOM!

The whip slammed directly into the combined elemental attack.

A massive explosion erupted instantly.

Fire scattered everywhere.

Lightning shattered across the sky.

Ghost Seven staggered backward several steps through the air.

Meanwhile—

All three stone platforms trembled violently.

Zhuo Fan, Xie Tianyang, and Xue Ningxiang all felt blood surge upward into their throats simultaneously.

Both sides had effectively reached a stalemate.

Zhuo Fan stared sharply toward the black whip.

“A fourth-grade demonic artifact…”

Ghost Seven panted heavily while glaring toward the three hidden formation controllers.

“Good…”

“Very good…”

“I never imagined…”

“…three little brats would push this old man this far.”

Then slowly—

His expression calmed.

“I admit your strength.”

“If this continues…”

“…both sides will only suffer together.”

“So let’s return to your earlier proposal.”

“Hand over part of the Diamond Quicksand…”

“…and this old man will stop pursuing you.”

This time, even Xie Tianyang and Xue Ningxiang hesitated slightly.

Neither truly wanted becoming mortal enemies with Nether Valley forever.

Both instinctively looked toward Zhuo Fan.

Zhuo Fan remained silent briefly.

Then—

He smiled warmly.

“Fine.”

“Let’s settle this peacefully.”

Ghost Seven finally exhaled slowly.

At last.

These brats finally understood reality.

Zhuo Fan stepped down from his platform calmly while Ghost Seven slowly descended from the sky as well.

The distance between them shortened gradually.

Ten meters.

Nine.

Eight.

And at that exact instant—

Killing intent exploded simultaneously in both their eyes.

“DIE!”

“KILL HIM!”

Both shouted together at the exact same moment.

Boom!

Ghost Seven instantly lashed the demonic whip toward Zhuo Fan’s throat.

But Zhuo Fan had already activated the formation again beforehand.

Flames erupted instantly.

The whip collided directly against them once more.

Xie Tianyang and Xue Ningxiang froze briefly.

Then both reacted instantly and launched thunder and wind support attacks again.

BOOM!

Ghost Seven was blasted backward through the air once more.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Fan sneered coldly.

Ghost Seven’s face twisted furiously.

“You little bastard…”

“This old man should never have trusted you!”

Zhuo Fan laughed disdainfully.

“We’re Demon Path cultivators.”

“Trust?”

“What a joke.”

Silence.

Xie Tianyang and Xue Ningxiang stared blankly between them.

Both suddenly realized the same horrifying truth.

From beginning to end—

Neither Ghost Seven nor Zhuo Fan ever intended making peace at all.

Both had been preparing sneak attacks the entire time.

These two monsters genuinely shared zero concept of trust whatsoever.

And the worst part?

If either side actually believed the other sincerely—

They would already be dead.

Xie Tianyang suddenly inhaled deeply.

For the first time, he fully understood something terrifying.

Compared to Zhuo Fan and Ghost Seven—

He and Xue Ningxiang still thought far too normally.

And in the Demon Path…

Normal people died first.

[End of Chapter Sixty-Two]