"Someone's coming." Liu Yidao suddenly opened his eyes during his meditation.
Mo Tiange immediately stood up, gripping her Greenwood Sword.
Senior Brother Zhou focused his senses and said, "About ten people."
Ten people. That didn't look easy to handle. Senior Brother Zhou had mentioned that after wandering the Mist Valley for a day, he rarely saw any fellow sect disciples anymore. The Golden Blade Sect had been cleared out early, and the Zixia Sect had the most people. It was likely these were Zixia Sect disciples.
Through the mist, the figures finally came into view. Wang Qianyi gasped, her face filled with anger.
"Junior Sister Wang, what's wrong?"
Wang Qianyi said furiously, "The ones who insulted us are among them."
Having been together for a while, they had already shared their experiences. Hearing this, Senior Brother Zhou frowned. By then, the people were right before them.
Five at Qi Refining Level 10, three at Level 9, two at Level 8. It seemed the Level 7 Qi Refining disciples had been cleared out early; most of those remaining were at Level 10. Mo Tiange quickly assessed the situation: ten opponents, six on their side. Though outnumbered, Senior Brother Zhou was at Qi Refining Level 11. Even with minor injuries, his strength was not to be underestimated. Their chances of winning were still quite good.
"Well, well," a slovenly-looking young man from the opposite side stared at Wang Qianyi and Shen Bing, grinning. "So the two young ladies are here. We've been looking all over for you. What's the hurry? Are you still not satisfied with us, your fellow disciples?"
Wang Qianyi's face flushed red, while Shen Bing's willow-leaf eyebrows shot up in anger. Both gritted their teeth, saying nothing.
Senior Brother Zhou glanced at them, then coldly stared at the other side. "Junior Brother of the Zixia Sect, please show some self-respect!"
The young man glanced over, about to mock, but noticing Senior Brother Zhou's Qi Refining Level 11 cultivation, he swallowed his words. Unwilling to back down completely, he forced a smile. "Senior Brother, just a few jokes, no need to be so serious, right?"
Mo Tiange snorted and spoke up. "I wonder if you senior brothers usually joke like this with your own sect's junior sisters? That's truly extraordinary. Here in our Yunwu Sect, we treat our junior sisters with the utmost respect and would never casually tease them."
Her words made the young man's face stiffen, turning the color of pig's liver.
Someone from his team immediately snorted. "Why waste words with them? Let's finish this quickly so we can rest more today."
The young man's expression eased slightly. He snorted and summoned his spiritual weapon.
It was the second day. Everyone was tired of pleasantries; encounters almost always led to immediate conflict. After the young man's nonsense, both sides engaged in a chaotic melee without another word. Mo Tiange and the other two each faced one opponent. Senior Brother Zhou was surrounded by three, while the remaining few charged towards Shen Bing and Wang Qianyi. The two women, already lightly injured, each fought two opponents, finding themselves in frequent peril.
Senior Brother Zhou, entangled by his three opponents, saw the two women struggling and shouted, "Junior Sisters, come over here! Fellow junior brothers, help them if you can break free!"
Hearing this, Liu Yidao forced his opponent back a few steps and moved closer to Wang and Shen. Qin Xi retreated while saying to Mo Tiange, "Junior Brother Ye, keep them occupied!"
Mo Tiange nodded. She threw out all her remaining Fire Thorn seeds. Seeds filled the air, landing on the ground and bursting into thorny vines that entangled the three opponents. She also tossed out Bewildering Flowers, finally surrounding the group and rendering them unable to attack.
Seeing this, Senior Brother Zhou gave her a surprised look. Among so many, she was the only one at Qi Refining Level 8. He had thought she was just lucky, but unexpectedly, her skills were also remarkable. This entrapment technique was difficult for Qi Refining cultivators to avoid without prior preparation. No wonder she had lasted this long.
Mo Tiange carefully maneuvered among the three opponents. She wasn't Senior Brother Zhou; facing three alone relied entirely on her entrapment methods. She could only hope the others would resolve their fights quickly to free up help.
One of the higher-level cultivators in the opposing group saw the situation and shouted, "Fly up!"
Reminded, her opponents struggled to use their Light Body Technique to rise into the air. Mo Tiange's expression changed. Her opponents were indeed not simple, figuring out a countermeasure so quickly.
She was running low on seeds and could only grit her teeth and hold on. Suddenly, Qin Xi's low voice reached her ear. "Don't hold on. Use this chance to take them out with you."
Mo Tiange was startled, then suddenly understood. This was the best opportunity to exit—both legitimate and without implicating Senior Brother Liu.
In that instant, she made her decision. She took a few spirit stones from her sleeve and, with a flick, discreetly arranged them. Under the combined assault of the three opponents, she paled and retreated continuously. Seeing this, her opponents were delighted and charged together. Just as Mo Tiange was about to be overwhelmed, Qin Xi called out "Junior Brother Ye!" and turned as if to help. At that moment, the surrounding scenery suddenly shifted. Mo Tiange drew her sword and pointed downward. Immediately, sand and stones flew, and within the mist, several beams of light erupted simultaneously.
Liu Yidao, unable to reach them in time, watched helplessly as they all vanished within the flying sand. A few tokens clattered to the ground.
The scenery shifted again. Mo Tiange looked around; she was now on a mountaintop, with Qin Xi and several others beside her.
The mountaintop was densely packed with disciples from the three sects. Their appearance caused a stir. The three Zixia Sect disciples glared fiercely at them before heading towards the Zixia Sect gathering area.
"Junior Brother Ye! Senior Brother Qin!" someone called from in front. Mo Tiange turned to see Xu Jingzhi. He quickly pulled the two away, found a corner to sit, and asked with concern, "How are you?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "We're fine. We got some tokens, but we really couldn't hold on any longer today. Senior Brother Xu, what about you?"
Xu Jingzhi sighed. "Don't mention it. We were just unlucky. Shortly after splitting up, we ran into five Golden Blade Sect disciples who were also teleported there. We didn't even have time to notify you before we were sent out."
Just as they had guessed. Mo Tiange comforted him, "So that's what happened. That was just bad luck, not your fault."
Qin Xi nodded and asked, "What about Senior Brother Jiang?"
Xu Jingzhi said, "Senior Brother Jiang looks very upset. He probably prepared very diligently and finds it hard to accept for now. We separated after coming out; I don't know where he is now." He then asked eagerly, "How was your harvest? Coming out only today, it must have been pretty good, right?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "We just muddled through, but it was acceptable."
Hearing this, Xu Jingzhi's face was full of envy. "Having a harvest is good. Not like us, after preparing for so long... sigh..."
The three chatted for a while. The teleportation formation activated again, bringing out a few more people—those they had fought. But there was still no sign of Liu Yidao, Senior Brother Zhou, or the others. Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, understanding in their hearts: Senior Brother Zhou and the others had managed to hold on after all.