Although Xue Wei was not too keen on following Lan's suggestion after what happened with the Monarch Piranha Flower, he also knew that they had no other option.
They needed to find the army, and they could not fight them alone, so teaming up with someone would be the best solution. While Lan was very mischievous, he had never lied to them before, so when he had said who was gathering, they did not doubt him.
So, instead of resting, the group hurried towards the direction that Lan had pointed out. They were solemn and alert. Things had taken a strange turn, and they did not know what they could expect any longer.
But their trip was surprisingly easy. They did not encounter any soldiers along the way; neither did they come across many villages, and those they did cross were either avoided or quickly left behind.
During the rush towards the other members of the Demon Phoenix Continent's army, they did not rest at all, and the trip which would have taken them quite some time to travel if they had been relaxed was finished in three days when they rushed.
"They are around here," Lan said with a smile, and Xue Wei could not help but curse. Right, they were around here, but where exactly?
Also, would they believe in them being soldiers from the Demon Phoenix Continent when they arrived? Would they even be able to join them, or would the experts of this group think that they were spies and eliminate them right away?
Xue Wei had not considered it much before because Lan was the one who told them where these people were, but after thinking about it for some time, he realized that it was not actually so easy to join the other Demon Phoenix Continent's soldiers.
And it soon turned out that he was correct. They had just arrived at a big meadow where the lush grass was swaying gently in the breeze, but a horrendous killing intent locked onto Xue Wei and his friends as they entered the tall grass.
"Here they come," Xue Wei muttered while preparing himself for a futile battle, but the killing intent vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and Xue Wei looked up to see a familiar face.
The person who walked towards them was the Ghost Sword Lin Xuan, the primordial beast that Xue Wei had helped mutate in the palace's inner chambers.
Seeing that one of the King ranked experts present was actually him, Xue Wei was quite surprised. He had not thought that Lin Xuan would have such a swift breakthrough, but he was even more astonished that this was the guard that had been sent to guard the meadow.
With him present, they would be safe, so he heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
"General Lin," Xue Wei greeted him respectfully and nodded his head. Seeing the respect that Xue Wei gave him made Lin Xuan feel very comfortable about himself, and he could not help but laugh happily.
"I did not expect to see you here," he admitted generously, but Xue Wei just smiled, not willing to tell how he had found them.
While Lan had not directly said that he wanted to be unknown, Xue Wei knew that he would be annoyed if everyone knew of his strength. They might even try and pressure him into solving the problem at hand, which in turn would end up with the soldiers of the Demon Phoenix Continent dying a gruesome death, as Lan was not someone that others could coerce into working for them.
Lin Xuan guessed that they had something that could not be said, but as long as it was no threat to the rest of the soldiers in the army, he did not want to pressure them too much. Xue Wei was after all his benefactor, and he had seen how even the Emperor treated him with respect.
"Follow me, and I will take you to see the other members we have gathered here," Lin Xuan said and led them through the meadow, towards a small ravine located in a mountain behind the lush grass.
At first glance, this ravine seemed inconspicuous, but upon closer look, it was much deeper than one would expect.
In this deep ravine, multiple tents and shelters had been set up, and thousands of experts were gathered in teams, sparring and conversing. Clearly, this was the biggest camp from the Demon Phoenix Continent's army.
Xue Wei looked around, but it was not only him who looked at it, but everyone in the ravine also stopped and looked at Xue Wei and his entourage as they entered.
They were all members of the Demon Phoenix Army, and they were all curious whenever new people appeared in their location. Usually, the Emperor, or the King ranked experts were the one that would have fetched the soldiers from around the Xiyang Continent, but now it seemed that these soldiers had arrived on their own.
What was even more puzzling was how a King ranked expert was so humble in front of a group of Saints. Although these Saints were more in numbers, they were on a completely different level than the King ranked experts, and thus the observers were confused.
The other Kings and the Emperor ranked expert also noticed the arrival of Ghost Sword Lin Xuan, and they were surprised to see him return with a group of experts.
"Hey, old man Lin, who have you brought back with you?" One of the people who came forth was a young boy. He did not seem much more than ten years old, but his eyes sparkled with the vicissitudes of life.