Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time
Chapter 221: Coming Across The Mist Eye Sect Disciples

Chapter 221: Coming Across The Mist Eye Sect Disciples

Han Yu winced looking at the gruesome and pitiful sight.

"That could’ve been me..."

He waited until the wasps passed before continuing, hugging the shadows, ducking behind boulders, sometimes crawling to avoid being spotted by the Rock Top Vultures circling overhead.

These ugly featherless creatures had jagged beaks and wingspans as wide as a cart. How they could fly without feathers was simply incomprehensible. From the safe cover of a crevice, he watched one swoop down and snatch a small Magma Back Lizard right off a stone ledge, its claws digging deep into the lizard’s blazing, scale-armored back.

"Even they hunt those things... That’s not comforting."

After hours of tense, sweat-drenched descent, Han Yu finally reached the bottom of the caldera—an alien hellscape of rivers of magma, jagged obsidian fields, and bursts of steam that hissed from deep cracks in the earth like the breath of some slumbering titan. Despite the stench of sulfur, his eyes gleamed with awe—and wariness.

The caldera stretched out before him, a bowl nearly eighty kilometers wide, large enough to hold an entire sect. And it was alive.

All around him, beasts roamed. Magma Back Lizards crawled near the lava streams, their backs shimmering with scales like molten glass. Here and there, massive Lava Catfish—each the size of a carriage—swam through the glowing rivers, their glowing whiskers twitching as they hunted lesser prey. Obsidian Geckos clung to sheer black cliffs, and more wasps buzzed above.

But what Han Yu didn’t see disturbed him the most.

"No Fireborn Beasts..."

He had memorized the descriptions. Fireborn Beasts had no flesh, no blood—just pure elemental forms, often shaped like wolves, tigers, birds, snakes or other reptiles, their bodies formed of flame and energy, flickering like sentient infernos.

There wasn’t a single trace of one.

"Too quiet. Too... suspicious."

That’s when he heard it.

A sound.

Voices. Human. Footsteps. Armor.

His stomach dropped.

"Ah, fuck me sideways..."

Without hesitation, Han Yu dove behind a ridge of collapsed basalt, scrambling into a pocket of shade under a dead, bloated Obsidian Gecko carcass. Possibly having been crushed to death by the falling basalt boulder.

The smell hit him immediately—rancid, sulfuric, and foul enough to make him gag—but he bit his tongue, pressed a hand over his mouth, and lay flat.

Within moments, he saw them.

Mist Eye Sect disciples.

Half a dozen of them marched into view, wearing their dark armor draped over mist-stitched robes. Han Yu could see faint runes glowing on the armor.

’Spirit Armor, possibly mid grade or even higher. They came prepared.’ Han Yu assessed.

They looked cautious, some wielding spears or swords and other weapons of their choice wreathed in qi, others holding glowing talismans. They spoke in low voices, clearly scouting the area. Behind them came another figure, the one he’d seen from the outpost.

A man in a plain black robe, unmarked by the Mist Eye crest.

He was lean, pale, and his eyes gleamed with a cruel intellect. He bent down, pressed a talisman to the ground, and murmured a few words. The ground beneath him flared, briefly showing a map of ley lines in glowing red.

Han Yu’s eyes widened.

"He’s tracking something..."

He didn’t know what they were after yet. The skeleton? The ashes? Something else entirely? But one thing was clear—he was in the eye of a growing storm.

Careful not to make a sound, he reached for his parchment and bone-charcoal again.

"Mist Eye Sect has entered caldera. Possibly tracking elemental source. One unknown cultivator—likely formation expert. No Fireborn Beasts yet spotted. Terrain highly hostile. Risk of exposure: high."

He tucked the parchment away, then took a long, slow breath.

He would have to move carefully, like a shadow across coals.

And most of all, he’d have to find a Fireborn Beast before they did IF they were indeed looking for them.

Han Yu had already shifted slightly, preparing to slink away under cover of the decaying gecko carcass, when his ears caught the murmurs of conversation drifting through the sizzling heat.

He froze.

The Mist Eye disciples had begun speaking in earnest, their words only partially drowned out by the distant rumbles of magma rivers and beastly howls. Whatever they were saying, Han Yu could tell it was important. He pressed himself further into the shadows, heart hammering against his ribs like a war drum as he strained to listen.

"Elder Wei," one disciple said respectfully to the man in black robes, "have you found any trace of the Ancient Altar?"

Han Yu’s eyebrows shot up.

The Elder responded calmly, voice dry and crisp like cooled ash. "No. Nothing definitive yet. But the energy is unmistakable. It’s growing stronger by the day. If our estimates are right... we’ll find it soon. A few more days, perhaps less."

Han Yu’s mind raced. ’The Ancient Altar...?’

He instantly recalled the eerie, glowing construct he’d stumbled across deep within the caverns—runes flickering with age-old energy, surrounded by crumbled stone and echoing silence. It had been buried far beneath the surface, past the lizard and snake beasts, deep in the heart of the mountain.

He closed his eyes briefly and mentally retraced his path—every climb, descent, turn through the cracked earth. Then, like a sudden light igniting in his mind, he realized something chilling.

’The altar lies directly beneath the caldera!’

It all clicked. The Mist Eye Sect wasn’t here for Fireborn Beasts. They weren’t scouting rare creatures, or searching for spiritual herbs twisted by lava. No—they were after the altar. Something ancient. Something dangerous.

Han Yu grit his teeth. He was on a completely different mission, but now he had stumbled upon a much greater conspiracy.

The disciples continued talking. One of the younger ones hesitantly brought up the colossal skeleton in the center of the caldera. "It wasn’t there before, right? I mean... something that big... no one mentioned it until recently."

Han Yu’s ears perked up hearing this. He knew for sure this would be valuable information and would add to his missions findings.