After a brief exchange, Yun Ze and Bu Bu returned to their original spot.
As soon as they reunited with Su Ling and Xiu Long, Xiu Yun and his group also arrived from a distance!
Before Yun Ze could speak, Xiu Yun’s eyes fell upon Xiu Long standing behind Su Ling, a cold sneer curling his lips.
“Heh, it really is you.”
“It is I, what of it?”
Xiu Long retorted, his tone laced with defiance, “I wonder who it was that chased you away like a stray dog…”
“The Demon Den!”
Before Xiu Long could finish his sentence, Xiu Yun casually drew the long bow from his back, his voice dripping with killing intent!
“Here!”
All twelve individuals, including Su Ling, responded in unison. Xiu Long’s heart trembled in fear, yet he stubbornly remained in place.
His gaze, however, began to drift involuntarily towards Bu Bu.
“This person before us has trespassed into the secret realm, causing its anomaly. He shall be executed! To appease the spirits of the innocent cultivators in heaven!”
Xiu Yun gritted his teeth, squeezing out a single word from between his clenched jaws: “Kill…”
“Wait!”
Xiu Long also interrupted Xiu Yun, then scurried to Bu Bu’s side, “She trespassed into the secret realm as well. If you have the guts, kill her too!”
“Very well!”
Xiu Yun uttered two words, a spiritual arrow already condensing at his fingertip, “Together…”
“Second Brother, now is not the time for this, is it?”
Yun Ze frowned and spoke.
He cast a contemptuous glance at Xiu Long before his gaze returned to Xiu Yun, “The true enemy lies behind us. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves.
There will be time to discuss this after everything is over.”
Xiu Yun looked at Yun Ze.
From their positions alone, he knew Yun Ze’s relationship with this mysterious girl was not ordinary.
After a few moments of hesitation, he finally spoke, “…I will give you this face.”
“Thank you!”
Yun Ze cupped his fists towards Xiu Yun.
He then closed his eyes, sensing the spatial fluctuations in the distance, and looked up at everyone.
“They are less than a thousand meters away. Time is short, so I’ll be brief!”
“If I’m not mistaken, these spirit beasts are coming for Xiao Shu and me. When they arrive, I will take Xiao Shu and continue to flee, while you all scatter and seize the opportunity to hunt these spirit beasts.”
“No!”
Before Yun Ze could finish speaking, Tan Chenyu interrupted, “You two are too dangerous. I’m going with you!”
“Coming for you?”
Xiu Yun retorted, his brow furrowed, “Third Brother, you owe us an explanation, don’t you?”
“…I know.”
“And you plan to slip away with just the two of you?”
Gu Wu Dao countered, stepping directly beside Yun Ze, “I told you! I am no longer the person I once was!
Third Brother! No matter what, Big Brother stands with you! I will not abandon you!”
“Don’t panic, listen to me finish first.”
Yun Ze gave a wry smile, his tone filled with helplessness.
He hadn’t wanted to say anything, but none of the people before him were easily fooled. With just a few words, they would never trust him.
It seemed he had no choice but to reveal this matter.
He looked up at everyone before him and spoke word by word.
“I have an opportunity for Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment. Once I establish my foundation, this secret realm will shatter!”
Silence descended upon the surroundings, and everyone could faintly hear the approaching roars of the spirit beasts in the distance.
Xiu Yun sneered, clearly disbelieving, while Tan Chenyu stared at Yun Ze, lost in thought, appearing to believe him by eight parts.
Only Gu Wu Dao.
He placed his hand on Yun Ze’s forehead, “He’s not burning up, why has he gone foolish?”
“I’m serious!”
Yun Ze slapped Gu Wu Dao’s hand away and looked at everyone with utmost seriousness, “This method was passed down by my master. It requires a vast amount of Origin Qi, supplemented by sect secret techniques and supreme treasures of heaven and earth!
Initially, I was unwilling to reveal this matter and planned to gather Origin Qi on my own. However, with the secret realm’s anomaly, it’s impossible for me to achieve it alone.
Revealing this matter is to ask you all for a favor!”
“I ask you to collect Origin Qi for me! I am willing to exchange it for items of equivalent value!”
This was the plan Yun Ze had discussed with Bu Bu earlier.
Bu Bu had been collecting the life essence for Yun Ze on her own, but now that space was sealed, it was impossible for her to do it alone.
Yun Ze had proposed this method.
He wanted to take a gamble!
He gambled that Tan Chenyu, Gu Wu Dao, and Xiu Yun would all help him!
Gu Wu Dao had already established his foundation, so Origin Qi was useless to him. As long as Yun Ze promised him his master’s bone blade, he would likely agree.
As for his senior sister… Yun Ze believed she would agree.
Although Tan Chenyu was a prodigy, given her nature, she would be more interested in researching how Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment worked.
As long as Yun Ze claimed that Emperor Gui Wu had only passed the secret technique to him and set up restrictions, she would wholeheartedly assist him in establishing his foundation, and he could cooperate with her research then.
As for Xiu Yun…
“Good!”
Yun Ze turned to look in the direction of the voice.
He never expected Xiu Yun to be the first to speak, and his reply was so decisive!
Before he could recover, Xiu Yun’s voice rang out again.
“How much Origin Qi do you need?”
“Over three hundred strands!”
At these words, everyone gasped in unison!
Yun Ze paid them no mind and immediately asked, “What do I need to give in return?”
Xiu Yun looked up at Yun Ze and retorted, “What did you call me?”
“Second Brother!”
“Then it’s settled!”
Xiu Yun replied, then turned to the other twelve members of the Demon Den, “Disperse and set up an ambush around here!”
“What about me, what about me?”
Seeing that Yun Ze was not joking, Gu Wu Dao also stepped forward and asked, “What did you call me?”
“Big Brother!”
“Deal!”
Gu Wu Dao placed his hand on Yun Ze’s shoulder, “Big Brother will help you with this matter!”
“Thank you, Big Brother. Your master’s bone blade…”
“Hey! Brothers don’t talk about such things!”
Gu Wu Dao turned and walked towards the side of the forest, “I will retrieve that bone blade with my own strength!”
Yun Ze stared at Gu Wu Dao’s retreating back, lost in thought.
He seemed to have truly changed into a different person.
“Little Martial Uncle! I’ll help you too!”
Tan Chenyu also spoke up, “But… it’s just that… you in the future… sigh, let’s talk about it after we get out!”
Yun Ze knew what this girl was thinking.
He smiled helplessly and promised Tan Chenyu, “Don’t worry, you can study me as much as you want then.”
“Great! Little Martial Uncle is the best! Second only to Master!” Tan Chenyu’s eyes curved into smiles.
“You’re welcome, you’re welcome.”
Yun Ze’s smile faded, and he looked at Tan Chenyu with a serious expression, “Only you can find me here. It might be troublesome to ask you to transport Origin Qi then.”
“Easy peasy!”
Tan Chenyu casually produced a wisp of Origin Qi, “This is the wisp I collected last time. I’ll give it to you now.”
Yun Ze nodded and accepted it.
However, he did not give it directly to Bu Bu, as it might expose unnecessary matters.
He turned and pulled Wei Lan Shu’s wrist, “Then we’ll be going.”
“Contact us after you’ve shaken off the spirit beasts!”
“Alright!”
Yun Ze responded, then took Bu Bu and Wei Lan Shu and fled into the distance!
Tan Chenyu also vanished into the forest immediately.
“Huh? What about me?”
Xiu Long blinked in surprise.
It seemed he was the only one not included in the arrangements.
He didn’t want to fight the spirit beasts, and he certainly didn’t want to fight them alongside Xiu Yun!
“Damn it! They really forgot about me!”
Xiu Long grumbled with a frown, then chased after the direction Yun Ze’s trio had fled, “Hey! You good-for-nothing! Wait for me!”
Yun Ze naturally heard the voice behind him, but he paid it no mind, only turning to look at Bu Bu.
“Should we let that guy follow?”
“If you kill him now, I’ll have some peace and quiet,” Bu Bu replied coldly.
“Killing him is out of the question. Let him follow.”
Yun Ze uttered, then silently increased his speed of escape.
Regardless, this person was still a direct descendant of the Xiu family.
If he were to kill him just for some peace and quiet, it would likely cause great trouble.
Forget it, so be it if it’s a little noisy.
“As you wish.”
Bu Bu replied, then turned her gaze to Wei Lan Shu.
Wei Lan Shu also looked at her.
The two were only about two years apart in age, with Wei Lan Shu being slightly older, yet Bu Bu’s height was already close to surpassing her.
From the moment they met, they could sense that the other had an unusual relationship with Yun Ze.
However, in their current situation, neither spoke, keeping their questions bottled up.
Yun Ze was busy shaking off the spirit beasts and had no time to think about these matters, only running at full speed.
A full day and night passed.
Only when he could no longer sense the spatial fluctuations of the spirit beasts behind them did Bu Bu finally speak.
“You can stop now.”
“Phew…”
Yun Ze let out a long sigh of relief and finally descended from the air.
He turned to look at Bu Bu, “Did we lose them?”
“No.”
Bu Bu uttered two words indifferently, delivering a blow to Yun Ze, “The entire secret realm is their territory. Can you escape?
We’ve only temporarily shaken them off. It will take at least six hours for them to catch up.”
Yun Ze was stunned!
So all this running was just a mid-game break?
He quickly sat down cross-legged, beginning to recover his spiritual power, and looked at Bu Bu, “Then we have to keep running?”
“That depends on you.”
“Depends on me?”
Yun Ze didn’t understand what Bu Bu meant by this. She then posed a second question.
“Do you know why his spatial封禁 (fēngjìn - seal/ban) is ineffective against you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because…”
Bu Bu leaned forward and pointed to Yun Ze’s lower abdomen, “You, are also a master!”
Yun Ze froze.
But he quickly realized that the place Bu Bu was pointing to was where he stored the two immortal jades!