Yun Ze's heart trembled under the gaze. Before he could regain his senses, the nine spirit beasts he had previously injured lunged forward as if they had no regard for their own lives!
He dared not engage them and instead flashed into the charging crowd!
He hadn't realized the extent of the situation until he looked. He was shocked!
Gu Wudao, who was responsible for breaking through the formation, was now as white-haired as an elder in his twilight years, yet the long saber in his hand showed no hesitation.
Every saber strike was accompanied by blood and flesh.
Xiu Yun was at the rear of the formation, holding the line. Like Gu Wudao, he too had become an old man.
His bow-wielding hand trembled slightly, but every arrow he shot still pierced the heads of the spirit beasts.
Apart from these two, there were twenty-five other people in the group.
More than half of these twenty-five wore cloaks, their appearances hidden, but the remaining half were revealed.
Among them, the youngest ones were unfamiliar to Yun Ze, but judging by their appearance, they were at least in their early fifties.
If cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage looked like this, they would be at least two hundred years old!
"Third Brother! You're finally back!"
Gu Wudao, after slaying a Foundation Establishment spirit beast, burst into laughter. "See! I told you my Third Brother wouldn't abandon us!"
"Alright, shut up!"
A voice, presumably Su Ling's, rang out. Her figure weaved through the crowd, assassinating spirit beasts that approached.
"Just now you were saying your Third Brother might have died out there, which is why he hadn't replied, and now you're like this?"
Gu Wudao's old face flushed. He hadn't expected Su Ling to expose him in such a situation.
"Stop talking! Su Ling, prepare to retrieve the core!"
Xiu Yun's voice came from the rear.
Yun Ze was instantly startled!
Retrieve the core now?
Shouldn't they be focused on escaping in this situation!
Before he could speak, a crimson arrow pierced through the air, accurately striking the chest of one of the nine severely injured spirit beasts!
Su Ling flashed past, darting beneath the spirit beast. Meanwhile, Dan Chenyu's sword descended on the left flank, felling several attacking Foundation Establishment spirit beasts on the spot!
When Su Ling returned, she tossed a pale purple core to Xiu Yun.
"Wei Lanshu."
Xiu Yun's voice sounded again. The core was transformed into a wisp of Yuan Qi and sent directly to Wei Lanshu beside him.
"Three hundred and eleven!"
Wei Lanshu stored the Yuan Qi into his Sumeru ring, simultaneously counting, "One wisp remaining!"
This efficiency...
Yun Ze suddenly felt like he was slowing the group down.
He desperately wanted to do something, but he couldn't insert himself into the situation at all.
This group was like a complete dagger, piercing through the spirit beast horde, and he was like the tassel trailing behind the dagger.
Seemingly in the way.
After a year of cooperation, the group had naturally formed such a tacit understanding. How could Yun Ze, who had just joined, easily integrate?
Xiu Yun naturally noticed this.
He flashed forward, appearing beside Yun Ze, and said quickly, "You cover the rear for me, hold the line, and collect the Yuan Qi!"
"Alright!"
Yun Ze didn't hesitate for a moment. He retreated to the very back of the group.
The nearby Core Formation spirit beasts swarmed towards him. Seeing Yun Ze fall to the rear, they even abandoned the people in front and lunged at him!
I'm going to die!
Are they really just targeting me!
Yun Ze flicked his wrist, unleashing a Hidden Sword technique, killing a Core Formation spirit beast. He used its falling body to block most of the attacking Core Formation spirit beasts.
A black shadow flashed before his eyes.
Before he could react, Yun Ze found a core in his hand... it was from the Core Formation spirit beast that had just fallen!
"Condense!"
Dan Chenyu's voice rang out from not far away. "This should be the last wisp. Hurry!"
Yun Ze dared not hesitate. While rushing with the others, he began to condense the core with his spiritual energy!
But the moment his spiritual energy touched the core, a crisp sound echoed in his ears.
Crack~!
The core... shattered!
What was going on!
"Core Formation mid-stage spirit beasts are no longer enough."
Dan Chenyu, as if having seen this before, quickly shouted forward, "The last wisp must come from a Core Formation late-stage spirit beast!"
"Retreat first!"
Xiu Yun replied swiftly.
A Core Formation late-stage spirit beast was far beyond their current ability to contend with.
But... was it that easy to retreat?
Initially, the spirit beasts were merely encircling the group's tent. However, the situation changed instantly after Yun Ze appeared.
All the spirit beasts abandoned their encirclement and directly converged on the group!
As they broke through this layer of spirit beast siege, more spirit beasts moved to form an outer ring!
Layer upon layer, they were endless!
Yun Ze frowned. He could vaguely sense that the spirit beasts' target was him.
Since that was the case, he couldn't drag others down!
"Second Brother, come here!"
Yun Ze said, then took a step back, instantly finding himself surrounded by numerous spirit beasts.
But in the next instant, his figure appeared in mid-air!
Spatial Shift.
After using Leap once, Spatial Shift twice, and Hidden Sword twice, with his current energy, he could only use Spatial Shift three more times at most!
Yun Ze dared not hesitate. He quickly fled in the opposite direction of the group. "You all go first, I'll find you later!"
As Yun Ze left the group, the spirit beasts immediately abandoned their siege and collectively charged in the direction he had gone!
Several Core Formation spirit beasts, known for their speed, instantly caught up to Yun Ze!
Without the assistance of the others, Yun Ze could not simultaneously defend against so many spirit beasts attacking from different directions.
He could only flee!
Another Spatial Shift, and he was tens of meters away from the group again!
Seeing this, the group of spirit beasts bypassed the others and pursued Yun Ze relentlessly.
Xiu Yun, seeing that the group was safe, stopped and turned to look at Yun Ze's retreating figure. "I'll go assist. You all scatter!"
"Assist what nonsense!"
A middle-aged man shouted angrily. "Xiu Yun, if you go now, you're just going to your death!"
"He is our only hope."
Gu Wudao stood unhesitatingly beside Xiu Yun, saber in hand, ready to pursue. "No matter what, we cannot let him die, or all our efforts will be in vain!"
"I didn't ask you to follow."
Xiu Yun held Gu Wudao's wrist and turned to the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier. "If you want to leave, you can leave now. Those willing to follow, come with me to fight!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiu Yun chased after Yun Ze's escape route!
Closely following him were Su Ling, Gu Wudao, Dan Chenyu, and Wei Lanshu. One person from the Demonic Cave hesitated for a moment before finally following Xiu Yun and the others in pursuit of Yun Ze.
Six people.
Except for Xiu Long, all the decision-makers within the tent had followed.
The remaining twenty-one people stood in place, stunned for a moment. Eventually, seven more followed, while the remaining fourteen exchanged glances and scattered.
However, after tens of breaths, the figures of those fourteen all turned and followed in the direction Xiu Yun was pursuing.
They weren't stupid!
In this situation, acting together was naturally safer.
It was just that they didn't want to get too close, otherwise, this safety might turn into extreme danger!
Regardless, they just wanted to survive!
...
"Damn it, damn it! Why are they chasing so closely!"
Yun Ze felt the spiritual pressure from behind him. He glanced back and saw that Bu Bu had finished absorbing the pure spiritual liquid. He then stuffed another piece into her mouth.
Just then, a bird-like Core Formation spirit beast attacked from the air!
Yun Ze couldn't dodge in time and used another Spatial Shift.
While evading the bird spirit beast's attack, he unleashed a sword qi that struck its two eyeballs!
Blood splattered, and the bird spirit beast fell to the ground, temporarily slowing down some of the pursuing spirit beasts.
However...
It only slowed down some of them!
The Core Formation mid-stage spirit beasts were still biting at Yun Ze's heels. There was even a Core Formation late-stage spirit beast circling in the air, seemingly waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Yun Ze!
It was a Flood Dragon!
Yun Ze hadn't noticed it circling above him. But when Dan Chenyu mentioned a Core Formation late-stage spirit beast, everyone instinctively looked up.
Only then did Yun Ze notice the anomaly!
There was indeed a Flood Dragon circling above the clouds!
This was why he only dared to flee and not engage in prolonged combat.
"Bu Bu, if you don't wake up soon, we're going to be eaten!"
He said this, but Yun Ze knew Bu Bu wouldn't wake up so easily.
Last time she absorbed ten pieces; this time, she might need fifteen to wake up?
He wasn't sure if he could hold on.
However... he had to prepare for both eventualities!
Regardless of the difficulty in collecting the last wisp of Yuan Qi, the collection was nearing completion.
But he was still at the early stage of Qi Refining seventh level. If he didn't improve his cultivation, he would only be delaying things.
Yun Ze took out another piece of pure spiritual liquid and was about to put it in his mouth when the liquid instantly dissipated!
He turned in the direction the liquid had dissipated and saw Bu Bu with an empty mouth!
She had absorbed it!
She was actively absorbing the spiritual liquid!
Yun Ze's heart rejoiced. He deliberately slowed down his pace to take out more pure spiritual liquid from his Sumeru ring.
But this slight pause allowed several Core Formation spirit beasts to seize the opportunity and attack him!
This was his last chance to use Spatial Shift!
Just as Yun Ze was about to use Spatial Shift again, several buzzing sounds echoed in his ears!
Several crimson arrows flashed by, followed by sword shadows and saber light. Those Core Formation spirit beasts instantly fell to the ground.
Though not dead, they wouldn't be able to attack Yun Ze again for a while!
"Why did you follow? I told you to leave!"
The third and fourth pieces of spiritual liquid Yun Ze had taken out were completely absorbed. At this moment, Xiu Yun and the others had also caught up.
Their cultivation was higher than Yun Ze's, and unlike the spirit beasts, they didn't need to wait for an opportunity to attack, so they naturally moved much faster.
"Brothers don't talk about such things!"
Gu Wudao patted his chest. "What's the situation now? What's wrong with the little girl behind you?"
"She's injured and needs to recover!"
Yun Ze took out two more pieces of pure spiritual liquid, which vanished instantly.
He turned to look at Dan Chenyu, who was wearing a cloak. "Xiao Yu, do you have any more spiritual liquid?"
"No."
Indeed, they had been fighting for over a year; how could they possibly have any spiritual liquid left.
Yun Ze frowned slightly, not daring to waste any more time. He directly took out ten pieces of pure spiritual liquid.
This time, Bu Bu's absorption speed was slightly slower.
It took a full three breaths for her to absorb all ten pieces of spiritual liquid. Her eyelids began to tremble slightly, and her lips parted.
"I think I said..."
Bu Bu slightly lifted her eyelids, a hint of silver-gray light flashing in her eyes. She leaned close to Yun Ze's ear and whispered, "I told you not to worry about me, didn't I?"
"Bu Bu, I..."
Yun Ze was about to explain, but he had only uttered three words when Bu Bu turned to look at the spirit beasts behind the group.
The spirit beasts that had been pursuing the group suddenly stopped.
Then...
Crack!
With a crisp explosion, Yun Ze saw countless spatial rifts tear through the bodies of those spirit beasts.
In an instant, thousands of spirit beasts that had been alive and kicking a moment ago turned into dust!
Yun Ze's pupils trembled!
So Bu Bu wasn't bragging!
As Yun Ze was in shock, Bu Bu looked up at the Flood Dragon circling in the sky.
"Little thing, are you done playing? Come down and chat?"
"Alright, I've actually been wanting to know something..."
A man's voice suddenly echoed from the sky.
Soon, the Flood Dragon descended from the sky, appearing before the group and transforming into the appearance of a young man.
He stared at Bu Bu, as if she were the only one in his eyes.
"Who, exactly, are you?"