Starting as a prodigy wanting milk? A world-destroying deception in the opposite direction.

Ye Zhi Qiu looked at him, frowned, and said:

"This barbarian is utterly rebellious..."

Zhao Huaijin simply scoffed, "Serves you right!"

Shen Zhen glanced at Agutuo, then looked outside.

Bringing another person would be riskier, but Agutto was more familiar with the tribe's inner workings and might be useful. Without hesitation, he swung his ruler and cleaved open Agutto's cell door.

Agutuo scrambled out and immediately knelt down before Shen Zhen, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Thank you so much, sir! Thank you for giving me a second life! I will certainly..."

"Shut up, or I'll leave you here," Shen Zhen said coldly.

Agutuo shrank back, swallowing the rest of his words, not daring to utter a single word. He simply stood obediently to the side with his head down, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The group quickly left the dungeon.

As darkness fell, Shen Zhen and Chen Xi led the way, deliberately choosing to walk in the shadows.

After narrowly avoiding several patrols, they found themselves hiding behind a dilapidated mud house filled with miscellaneous items.

"Brother Shen, what are you doing here? After the Black Sandstorm, you..." Ye Zhi Qiu asked impatiently.

Shen Zhen had already prepared her explanation:

"The sandstorm swept us to an abandoned ruin, but we were lucky enough to find a way out and eventually made our way here..."

He briefly recounted his and Chen Xi's experiences, deliberately omitting the parts about the underwater palace, the green lamp, the fragments, and the forbidden gate, only referring to it as an ancient desert site.

Chen Xi chimed in, helping to cover for them.

Zhao Huaijin, unsuspecting, punched the earthen wall:

"Damn it! That black sandstorm is really weird! We just got away from it, and before we could even look for you, we were surrounded by a group of barbarians lying in ambush. It's like they knew our route all along."

Ye Zhiqiu added:

"They were strong, and we were outnumbered and weakened by the sandstorm, which is why we were captured." He looked at Boss Hu.

"Boss Hu took several heavy blows while protecting us."

Old Hu's face was pale, and the wound in his chest was still throbbing, but he still waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.

"Where are Hu Sandao and his peddlers? Did you see them after you came in?" Chen Xi asked hurriedly.

Ye Zhi Qiu shook his head:

"After we were locked up, we didn't see anyone else."

However, overhearing the guards chatting, it seems a batch of offerings was taken away beforehand, possibly referring to the peddler.

"Sacrificial offerings..." Shen Zhen's eyes turned cold as she recalled the information she had received from the green lamp.

"They might need human sacrifices. I just heard them mention the sacrificial site; it must be that place."

His gaze swept across everyone's faces.

"We must find the peddlers as soon as possible and stop this human sacrifice."

At this moment, Agutuo approached and said ingratiatingly:

"My lord, I know where the sacrificial ground is. It's where we, Wolf Batu, hold our sacrifices. The peddler and the others who were captured are likely being held there, waiting to be used in the sacrifice!"

"Lead the way," Shen Zhen said without hesitation.

"But sir..." Agutto looked troubled and lowered his voice.

"The sacrificial site is a forbidden area of ​​the tribe, and it is guarded ten times more heavily than the dungeon."

Moreover... and the shaman and high priest are probably preparing sacrificial rites over there. They are both truly powerful, especially the high priest, who is said to be able to communicate with the 'God of Bones' and obtain divine power..."

Communicating with the god of bones?

Shen Zhen sneered inwardly. He thought that the tribe probably wanted to communicate with the evil power behind the "forbidden gate" but could not. If they really had that ability, how could the tribe have fallen to this state?

"We're not going to force our way in," Shen Zhen said, looking at the group.

"First, find out the situation and the exact location where the person is being held, then seize the opportunity to rescue them."

Agutto, just lead us to the outer safe zone and point out the route and guard positions.

Agutuo breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly, "Understood, understood!"

As night deepened, the Wolf Batu tribe was not completely asleep.

In some areas, the firelight was even brighter, and strange chanting and drumming could be faintly heard.

Guided by Agutto, the group moved like ghosts through the earthen houses and alleyways, sneaking towards the area deep within the tribe where the firelight shone brightest.

The closer you get, the clearer the cold, chaotic, and unsettling sense of oppression becomes.

Chen Xi, Ye Zhi Qiu, and Zhao Huai Jin looked grave. Boss Hu was breathing heavily, his eyes filled with fear.

Shen Zhen gripped the Mind Ruler tightly, while his other hand casually touched the still-silent skull fragment in his arms.

The sacrificial site is just ahead.

A strange smell of grease and some kind of burning herbs filled the air.

There were no more mud houses ahead; instead, there was an open space enclosed by rough stone walls. Torches stuck on the top of the walls crackled and cast indistinct shadows of people moving inside.

That was the sacrificial site, surrounded by guards along the stone walls.

Aguto led the group to hide behind a half-collapsed mud house, pointing to the only entrance in the stone wall, the door inlaid with ferocious beast bones, his voice trembling slightly:

"It's...it's right there."

Normally only the high priest, shamans, and a few guards are allowed inside; now that the sacrifice is imminent, there will certainly be even more guards.

Shen Zhen stared intently at it.

Eight barbarian soldiers stood at the entrance, twice the number in the dungeon. Each of them was exceptionally burly, with fierce eyes, and the totem tattoos painted on their bodies seemed to flow faintly in the firelight. Clearly, they were not ordinary henchmen.

What's more troublesome is...

On the stone walls on both sides of the gate, there seem to be some crooked dark red symbols engraved, emitting faint energy fluctuations, like some kind of warning or reinforcement runes.

"We can't force our way in," Ye Zhi Qiu said in a low voice.

"Those guards are quite powerful; their combat strength is probably close to the late stage of the first tier. And if we alert those inside..."

Zhao Huaijin clenched his fist in frustration: "Are we just going to stand by and watch?"

Shen Zhen closed his eyes and focused his mind, carefully extending his mental perception in that direction.

He has now broken through to the early stage of the second tier, and his perception is much stronger than that of the late stage of the first tier. His mental power is like a gentle stream of water, avoiding the sensitive areas of the guards and the runes on the wall, and probing the situation inside the wall.

However, as soon as the senses touched the stone wall, a strong sense of repulsion and confusion returned, causing severe interference.

The moment the senses were disturbed, the skull fragment in his arms trembled slightly, as if resisting those cold auras, yet also carrying a subtle resonance.

But he still managed to glean some fragmented information:

The space inside the walls was very large, and there seemed to be a high platform in the center;

Many chaotic and faint auras gathered in one place, like people who were imprisoned;

There were also several exceptionally powerful, cold, and oppressive auras moving about, which should be the strong members of the barbarian tribe.

He opened his eyes, his brows furrowed.

"The inside is heavily guarded, and our senses are being interfered with, so going in directly to rescue people is too risky."

Ye Zhi Qiu's eyes narrowed, and his tone was somewhat surprised:

"Early stage of Tier 2? Brother Shen, when did you break through?"

"No way, Shen Zhen! Early stage of the second tier? Your breakthrough speed is too outrageous!" Zhao Huaijin exclaimed in surprise, his previous arrogant demeanor completely gone, leaving only an incredulous look on his face.

Agutuo immediately stepped forward to flatter and fawn over him:

"My lord, you are truly a genius! Such talent is rare even in the entire western frontier. You are indeed my savior!"

Shen Zhen waved his hand, casually changing the subject to brush it off:

"It was just a lucky break, a chance encounter in the ruins." He turned to Chen Xi, deliberately changing the subject.

"By the way, Chen Xi has also broken through to the late stage of the first tier." Clearly, he didn't want to dwell on this matter any longer.

Chen Xi glanced down at Shen Zhen's clothes, where he was carrying the skull fragments, and when she looked up, her expression remained calm. She then turned her gaze to Agutuo, tacitly working together to smooth things over.

Everyone was surprised to hear this, and even Boss Hu raised his eyes and looked at Chen Xi with more admiration.

The combat power of a late-stage Tier 1 fighter is undoubtedly a significant asset in the current situation.

Chen Xi nodded slightly, her expression calm, as if the breakthrough to the late stage of the first tier was a natural progression. She spoke softly, steer the conversation back on track:

"The situation is critical now, let's try to rescue the peddler and his companions first."

"Chen Xi is right, now is not the time to talk about these things," Shen Zhen chimed in, turning her gaze to Agutuo and pressing him for an answer.

"Besides the main entrance, are there any other ways to get in? Like an underpass or something?"