In a room belonging to an inn located in a fairly affluent part of Stonehold city, four individuals could be seen discussing something.
From the tone of their voices, it seemed that it was a very important matter. Of course, they were no amateurs; various concealment and soundproofing arrays had already been laid out within the room.
This was the group that had received the mission regarding Adrian. They had already gotten to work and had started combing through the city when they received the startling news about the presence of Vyre.
Immediately, all investigations ceased, and they, who had been working independently before, had to reconvene here.
The leader of this assassin group could be seen sitting in a chair in a corner of the room, sipping some unknown liquid, seemingly unbothered by all the recent commotion.
Meanwhile, another member could be seen pacing back and forth while clutching his fists.
" You should really calm down, Wraith No. 2".
A dainty figure that was lounging on the bed said lazily. Even though she was wearing a mask, her beauty radiated through her breathtaking figure.
Even the members of her group couldn't help taking sneaky glances at her from time to time.
"We've spent the past week looking for clues on someone who may or may not even be in this city, yet, when we're finally making some progress, those fucking Vyre's show up and ruin everything.
What the hell are they even doing in this city in the first place? Don't they have some poison to concoct or something?"
The one referred to as Wraith No. 2 rambled on in annoyance.
The last member of the team, a tall and lanky man in a mask, could be seen sitting quietly at a desk.
He had been quiet all this time, so his sudden comment brought all the attention to him.
"Do you think they're here for us?"
He said in a calm voice as if he weren't part of the individuals in question.
"I mean, we have been quite active in this city in recent times. Perhaps someone picked up on it, and they were sent here to investigate."
He continued in the same measured tone. His voice betrayed no hint of panic as he laid out his thoughts.
"Hmm, I doubt that. While the timing might be suspicious, they are most likely here because of the situation in the Misty Mountains.
The city has been in a bit of chaos in recent times. That's how we were able to work so smoothly to begin with."
Now it was the leader who responded. He knew a bit more than the rest of his group, so he was able to infer some things that they couldn't.
His words brought the group back into silence again until the serene voice of the lady on the bed broke it again.
"I wonder where this cutie is. I can't wait to find him. Perhaps this one will last longer than the others, hehe."
The woman named Wraith No. 3 said while staring at a portrait of Adrian. The others, upon hearing her words, silently lamented Adrian's fate.
Hopefully for his sake, one of them would get to him first instead of her.
Meanwhile, back in the Misty Mountains, Adrian has made great progress while following the team from the War Machine sect.
Even though most of the valuable items were snatched by them, he was still able to make some worthwhile harvests.
He was the only Foundation Establishment realm cultivator to have gotten this far in the Misty Mountains.
All the other would have either lost their lives or would have turned around and left. Of course, the journey hadn't been without its dangers.
He had faced multiple beasts in the initial stage of the third rank. Once, he even encountered a beast in the middle stage of the third rank and had to run for his life.
This detour caused him to lose the trail of those he had been tailing for a while. Luckily for him, he was able to find them after searching for a whole day.
This was because they were engaged in battle with a beast in the fourth rank. This time, it took their combined efforts before the leader finally took it down after much difficulty.
Adrian watched all this from afar, inwardly marvelling at the might displayed by these individuals.
He was also somewhat skeptical about their intentions. He had been following them for days now, and he was fairly certain that they were heading somewhere.
From their movements, it didn't seem like they were moving around indiscriminately. They seemed to have a clear goal in mind and were actively moving towards it.
He observed from afar as the leader of the group brought out a parchment made of beast skin and checked it repeatedly.
He couldn't learn much since he was too far away, but it seemed like he was trying to follow a general direction.
"It seems this trip is about to finally get interesting."
Adrian muttered to himself, as if his previous harrowing experiences could be considered boring.
He continued to follow them for two more days before a surprising situation occurred. The group he was tailing ran into another group of cultivators.
From their attire, they were most likely rogue cultivators who grouped up in order to enhance their safety in the Misty Mountains.
Such groups were not uncommon and were all over the place. The only reason they hadn't encountered such groups was that they were much deeper into the Misty Mountains than other cultivators.
At this depth, only teams made up of Golden core formation realm cultivators could survive here. Even then, they couldn't afford to be careless here.
Of course, Adrian was an anomaly. Only being at the foundation establishment realm, yet entering into the deeper regions. Whether bravery or foolishness, only time will tell.
When the group of rogue cultivators discovered the team from the War Machine sect. They became rather apprehensive of them. They were all aware of the War Machine sect's terrible reputation.