Dong Li didn’t reply.

Instead, she smiled at Nie Tian as she once again lifted her wrist and whispered into her bracelet, “Time to pull in the net.”

Nie Tian was stunned.

However, he learned the meaning of Dong Li’s words in the next moment.

Numerous people started moving about quickly in the dense bushes around Black Water Lake, revealing a very large blockade that sealed this entire area.

At that moment, the people from the Realm of Black Marsh saw the reality of things.

They realized that their plan to snatch spirit plants from the Dong Clan was no long viable.

They couldn’t even finish off the three groups of explorers, much less the experts that were closing in on them.

“Retreat!” The man with the hawkish nose cried out.

Upon hearing his cry, the Qi warriors from the Realm of Black Marsh immediately left their opponents and scattered away in a hubbub.

By the time the three groups of explorers realized what was going on, their opponents had already broken up and disappeared into the tall bushes.

Dong Li seemed as composed as ever, but the look in her eyes turned colder and colder.

Via the seven Heaven Eyes Nie Tian had spread out to cover the area, Nie Tian could see with great clarity that powerful experts from the Dong Clan were shrinking their blockade.

Their strength and cultivation bases were far superior to the explorers’.

As the people from the Realm of Black Marsh attempted to break through their blockade in different locations, every one of them was met with strong resistance.

Sounds of battle, desperate wails, and agonized shrieks that snapped prematurely filled the air.

Nie Tian could see through his Heaven Eyes that the black-robed Qi warriors were being slaughtered by powerful experts from the Dong Clan.

Even their leader, the late Greater Heaven stage man with a hawkish nose, was surrounded by several powerful experts from the Dong Clan. From their stance, it seemed that they wanted to capture him alive.

Nie Tian immediately realized why Dong Li hadn’t been eager to summon her own people, but rather had them stay put at the perimeter.

On the one hand, she wanted the three groups of explorers to tire the thieves from the Realm of Black Marsh out. On the other hand, she wanted her own people to form a watertight blockade while the explorers kept the thieves busy.

Once the blockade was fully formed, it would be harvest time.

Dong Li knew that if she scared those thieves off with her clansmen, it would be very hard to capture or kill them all in the dense foliage, which was why she had made such a deployment.

She intended to get them all in one go.

“What?!" A shudder suddenly ran through Nie Tian’s body as he examined the actions of the Dong Clan members via his Heaven Eyes.

Via one of his Heaven Eyes, he caught sight of the group of people from the Cloudsoaring Sect.

He discovered that his grandfather Nie Donghai, Nie Qian, Jiang Lingzhu, Ye Gumo, and the others were by the foot of a small mountain peak, and they were marching in his direction at full speed.

He could even see the urgency on Nie Donghai’s face.

WHOOSH!

Han Mu, who was waiting for people from the Realm of Black Marsh to run into their net, suddenly sensed something, and dashed off towards Nie Donghai and his team.

It wasn’t long before Han Mu appeared in Nie Donghai and Zhan Yuan’s sight.

Seeing Han Mu appearing in front of his grandfather, Nie Tian was deeply worried, yet there was nothing he could do.

He knew that everything was going perfectly according to Dong Li’s plan.

Han Mu, who had tangled with Nie Tian for months in the Realm of Split Void, stopped his dashing momentum in front of Nie Donghai and Zhan Yuan. “Greetings, I’m a member of the Dong Clan.”

After learning that Han Mu was from the Dong Clan, Zhan Yuan let out a sigh of relief, and said without any hesitation, “We’re from the Cloudsoaring Sect. Thank god! We’ve been hoping to meet people from your clan! A group of unknown Qi warriors recently appeared in Black Water Lake’s vicinity. They disregarded the rules set up by your clan and madly assaulted fellow explorers. We...”

Zhan Yuan detailedly explained everything that had happened recently to Han Mu.

Han Mu started smiling the moment he learned about their identity. With a very polite tone, he said, “Our clan has already learned about the situation you just mentioned. Don’t worry. Miss Dong has made deployments accordingly, and we’re already dealing with those rats from the Realm of Black Marsh. I believe there will be a clear result soon.”

Upon hearing these words, Zhan Yuan and everyone else, who had felt quite insecure and uneasy recently due to the existence of those killers, put their minds at ease.

Of course they didn’t have a clue regarding the entanglement between Nie Tian and Dong Li. They just felt relieved that the problem that had been hanging over their heads was finally gone.

Jiang Lingzhu tapped her chest and said with a relaxed and admiring tone, “Hahaha, now that Miss Dong has come and dealt with it personally, there’s no reason for us to worry anymore. I’ve heard some stories of Miss Dong. She’s such a capable woman! With her being here, there’s no way that those people from the Realm of Black Marsh will escape!”

Laughing softly, Han Mu’s gaze frequently swept across Nie Donghai and Nie Qian.

After Jiang Lingzhu was finished, he nodded gently and said, “Come with me. I’ll take you to see Miss Dong. You don’t need to worry about that rubbish from the Realm of Black Marsh anymore.”

Zhan Yuan and the others gladly followed along.

“You’re Mr. Nie, right?” Han Mu asked, looking at Nie Donghai.

Astonished, Nie Donghai asked, “Do you know me?”

“Hahaha.” Han Mu let out a meaningful laugh. “You might get to meet someone you’ll be very surprised to meet soon.”

“Who??” Nie Donghai was deeply puzzled.

Han Mu laughed out loud. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

...

As Dong Li’s bracelet glimmered with misty light, she held it close to her ear. After listening for a while, a low chuckle escaped her mouth.

Nie Tian, however, looked very grim.

Dong Li chuckled, apparently in a good mood. “Guess who Han Mu just found. You remember Han Mu, don’t you? He was there with me when we were in the Realm of Split Void.”

Nie Tian, who had already learned what was going on through his Heaven Eyes, dropped to the ground.

He took out a few pieces of spirit beast meat. With a sulking face, he tore chunks of meat off with his teeth and swallowed them to recover the flesh power he had just consumed, while pondering what he should do.

“Why are you not talking?” Dong Li’s smile grew broader.

Her full figure swayed as she stepped closer to Nie Tian flirtatiously. After throwing a jade plate on the moist grassland, she followed Nie Tian’s example and sat down in front of him.

The two of them sat face to face, barely one meter apart.

With a warm smile, Dong Li took the initiative and explained, “Han Mu found that group of people from the Cloudsoaring Sect, along with your grandfather and another person who I believe is your aunt.”

“I’m going to ask you one more time. What do you want?” Nie Tian said coldly.

Seeing that Nie Tian wasn’t shocked at all, Dong Li went blank for a moment before coming to a realization. “Impressive. Apparently, you’ve already learned what just happened to them. This makes sense. Considering you managed to break free from the blockades I arranged for you over and over again, you must have your special method of learning things.”

“Spill it. What do you want?” Nie Tian said in a low voice.

He saw via his Heaven Eyes that Han Mu had already gathered a few powerful Dong Clan experts and escorted his grandfather’s team towards his location.

Under these circumstances, escaping with Starshift like he had done in the wasteland in the Realm of Split Void was no longer an option.

Since Dong Li had his family, he could only admit that he had been outmaneuvered and lay low.

“What do I want?” Dong Li repeated Nie Tian’s question.

Eyes narrowed, she recalled what Nie Tian had done to her in the Realm of Split Void. The smile on her face gradually faded away.

“Do you still remember how you humiliated me in the dense forest right after I killed Shen Wei?” With these words, she subconsciously glanced down at her left breast.

She still remembered that, after Nie Tian had pinned her down, not only had he run his hands up and down her body willfully, but he had also grabbed her left breast vigorously. Now that she thought about it, she could almost still feel the wrenching pain.

“Do you still remember calling me ‘dumb woman’ repeatedly in those little messages you left me?

“You humiliated me so recklessly back then. What do you expect I will do to you?!” Dong Li spat out every word with a great force. Flames of rage were burning within her eyes. However, the flames were bone-piercingly cold, as if they were formed by unlimited killing intent.

Nie Tian remained silent.

He continued to consume spirit beast meat as he wracked his mind for a way to save his grandfather and aunt.

As ideas popped up in his mind and passed by him one after another, he didn’t listen to anything that Dong Li had just said.

After pondering for a while, the only thing that seemed viable was kidnapping Dong Li.

As soon as he made up his mind, his flickering eyes became determined and calm.

However, just as he was about to make a move, Dong Li, who was sitting within arm’s reach of him, suddenly let out a cold laugh. Meanwhile, the jade plate she was sitting on started to emanate brilliant light.

The light instantly enveloped Dong Li’s appealing body.

“I know what you are thinking.” Dong Li slowly rose to her feet. To Nie Tian’s surprise, she took the bracelet on her wrist off and tossed it away, saying, “Now I can’t communicate with Han Mu or issue commands to the other Dong Clan members. It will still take a while for Han Mu and your family to get here.

“Don’t say that I never gave you a chance, Nie Tian.

“Now you have the opportunity to capture me alive during this time, and use me to trade for your family’s safety.”