Seeing the formidable power of that arrow, the four cultivators who had broken free from the talismans immediately blocked Meng Qiaojiao’s path. They formed hand seals to summon their magical artifacts for defense, but in the blink of an eye, the long arrow directly pierced through all their artifacts.
Boom!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The magical artifacts shattered. The long arrow tore through the bodies of the four cultivators, and the toxic blue flames that touched their abdomens instantly ignited their entire beings.
“No! Young Master, save me! Ahh!!”
“Agh!!!”
Piercing screams of agony cut through the sky as four clouds of ash drifted through the broad daylight.
Seeing that the long arrow was still heading toward her, Meng Qiaojiao’s pupils constricted. This arrow was indeed powerful. She immediately pulled out a jade token.
“Mother!”
She smeared a drop of blood from her finger onto the token, and it instantly emitted an eerie light. In the next moment, the white phantom of a white-haired elder matron appeared. Her eyes were closed, and branches of a phoenix tree grew from her head. An ancient inscription was etched into the wrinkles of her aged face.
Sensing the aura of Meng Qiaojiao’s blood, the elderly eyes snapped open. A powerful aura instantly surged from her gaze, a shocking wave of energy that made Zongzheng Huangyue—who was staring directly at her—shudder. A burst of blood welled up in her throat.
“Pfft!”
Her eyes filled with astonishment. Who was this old woman? She was incredibly powerful—just a phantom was enough to make her feel the pain of her Divine Sense being torn apart.
Though the matron was only a phantom from a protective restriction, she pressed her right index and middle fingers together and pointed forward.
The phantom of that hand expanded to hundreds of meters in height, instantly blocking the Moon Soul Arrow. The fingers caught the arrow and squeezed slightly. The moment the long arrow shattered into fragments, a violent shockwave swept outward.
Zongzheng Huangyue’s pupils shrank. Her eyes reflected a fiery red phantom flying out from the old woman’s fingertips.
It was... a phoenix!
Seeing the fiery phoenix formed by the shockwave heading toward her, Zongzheng Huangyue formed hand seals to manifest a barrier. However, her barrier abruptly shattered into fragments when the phoenix was still a meter away.
Boom!
The phoenix forcibly broke through the barrier and lunged directly at Zongzheng Huangyue, its shrill cry echoing as it soared with spread wings.
“Gah!”
Zongzheng Huangyue was struck full-on by the phoenix. Her body jerked, and blood flowed from her mouth as she plummeted from the sky, crashing into a large tree and losing consciousness.
The Moon Soul Arrow fell to the side.
Seeing that she was finally injured and captured, a flicker of joy moved across Meng Qiaojiao’s handsome features. However, she did not step forward immediately. Instead, she released the Immortal-Binding Rope to bind Zongzheng Huangyue. Only after confirming she posed no threat did she approach.
She crouched down to pick up the Moon Soul Arrow, hoisted the unconscious Zongzheng Huangyue, and left immediately.
...
“Master, Old Four has been captured!”
Wen Li had just stepped out of the Teleportation Pavilion with Hua Cishu and arrived at the Dragon lands when she heard the message from Gu Linshu. He was clearly out of breath, having apparently just escaped. It felt as if the sky had fallen.
The chestnut she was chewing suddenly lost its flavor.
“...” Wen Li stood frozen, unable to believe her ears. She cleaned out her ear and played the message on the transmitter three more times.
“Master, Old Four has been captured.”
“Master, Old Four has been captured.”
“Master, Old Four has been captured.”
Confirmed. It wasn’t that she had too much earwax and heard wrong.
Wen Li stood petrified. Seriously? Was this a joke? She had just rushed over from Old Four’s side with Old Five to go rescue Old Six, and Old Four got captured the moment she left?
“I’ve been set up by the powers that be! Someone is definitely pulling the strings behind the scenes!”
Hua Cishu had also heard Gu Linshu’s message, and his gaze was strangely cold. Gu Linshu had plenty of high-level talismans. Even if the enemy were too powerful, it didn’t make sense for only him to escape. Either everyone should have been captured or everyone should have run. Unless Zongzheng Huangyue had held the enemy off for him.
But who was she? She was Zongzheng Huangyue. Out of the six of them, she might not be the most malicious, but she was definitely the most cold-hearted. It would make more sense if Gu Linshu had held someone off for her. For someone as clever and devious as her to be the only one captured while Gu Linshu escaped—she wasn't exactly the self-sacrificing type.
Wen Li told Gu Linshu to find a safe place to wait for now. She would go look for them to rescue her people after she handled the matters here in the Dragon lands.
After sending the message, Wen Li let out a long sigh and took Hua Cishu to meet up with Xie Tinglan and Yao Dai.
Wen Li followed the location information they had sent and found the inn.
She and Hua Cishu went upstairs. Standing before the wooden door of the room on the far left of the top floor, she raised a foot.
Bang!
The door was kicked open.
Inside, Xie Tinglan and Yao Dai, who had long since prepared and deactivated their defensive array, looked up at her simultaneously.
“Master.”
Yao Dai’s right hand was wrapped in a white cloth bandage, hanging in a sling; it looked like a fracture.
The moment she saw Wen Li, she pouted and stood up to huddle next to her. Her eyes were filled with pitiful grievance. “Waaah, Master! When Old Six and I saw Qi Mei’er, we followed her. Who knew she would still discover us? That Qi Mei’er captured Old Six, and I was also injured. It hurts so much. Even after applying medicine, I’ll still need a few days to recover.”
She shoved Hua Cishu aside with her rear and occupied the spot next to Wen Li. Wen Li reached out to check her injury.
To her surprise, Hua Cishu had anticipated this. He stepped back and stood to Wen Li’s right, a worried smile on his delicate face. “Are you all right, Senior Sister? It looks like it really hurts. Unfortunately, I have no cultivation and have never suffered such an injury. Otherwise, I would definitely be able to help you examine it.”
Even without cultivation, I’m stronger than you. At least I won’t get injured and become a burden to Master.
Hearing the sarcasm, Yao Dai smiled composedly. “Yes, it’s a pity you have no cultivation. You can’t understand the dangers of combat, so you can’t do much to help Master.”
A useless person without cultivation thinks he’s worthy of barking at me.
The two of them bickered like primary school kids. However, no matter how much Hua Cishu provoked her, Yao Dai didn't resort to violence as she had in the past. Xie Tinglan, who had matured considerably, sat on the table with his arms crossed, one foot resting on a chair, looking quite cold and aloof.
Seeing Wen Li calmly walk over to him, Xie Tinglan spoke up.
“Two nights ago, I infiltrated the Dragon clan territory to investigate. Currently, they are preparing for the alliance between the two clans, so the Dragon Clan Leader’s estate is quite bustling. However, deep within the estate, there is a barrier isolating it from the outside world. I’m not sure if it’s the Dragon Sacred Land, but nine black dragons are coiled there on guard. Their cultivations are all at the Late-Stage Golden Core. I couldn’t get in.”
He took a drawing from his storage bag. “This is the map I drew based on the layout of the Clan Leader’s estate.”
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