"Jiaojiao?"
Wen Jinshu stared at the girl in front of her with surprise, and after looking her up and down several times to confirm that this person was indeed Yan Jiaojiao, Wen Jinshu's eyes reddened.
"You came to find us? You saved us?"
Wen Jinshu couldn't believe it. The Illusory Beast Realm was so vast, and they were severely injured at the time. The attacks were sudden and unavoidable. They hadn't even had time to contact Yan Jiaojiao and the others. They had originally thought that this was it for them.
At that time, Wen Jinshu and Xiao Su were having a heartfelt conversation in that tree hollow.
Even when Wen Jinshu was swallowed by those terrifying earth dragons, she hadn't felt like she was going to die, but at that moment, she truly felt she was going to die.
Although Wen Jinshu and Xiao Su had always had an unspoken understanding, and later openly appeared as a couple, it was only because it was suitable and they had feelings for each other. But until that moment, Wen Jinshu realized how deep his feelings for her were.
It was a pity that their time together was running out.
For the first time, Wen Jinshu felt a sense of unwillingness.
She felt that heaven was being too cruel to them, letting them find each other and know that they were the most suitable, only for their time to be so limited.
Wen Jinshu had prepared herself for death, but she never expected that Yan Jiaojiao would be the one to save them in the end.
The feeling of escaping death was truly wonderful. Wen Jinshu hugged Yan Jiaojiao and burst into tears without waiting for Yan Jiaojiao's reply.
Seeing the usually cold girl crying so pitifully, Yan Jiaojiao was taken aback at first, then felt a pang of sympathy.
After all, Wen Jinshu was just a girl. Although the Boundless Continent respected the strong, considering their ages, they were only in junior high school during the Era of Demise.
It was pitiful that they had to endure so much at such a young age.
"Alright, alright, don't cry anymore." Yan Jiaojiao used the gentlest tone she had ever used, patting Wen Jinshu's back as she coaxed her, "Aren't we here now?"
Wen Jinshu cried fiercely at first, but then, perhaps from exhaustion, she leaned into Yan Jiaojiao's embrace and fell asleep.
Xiao Su was a little dazed when he realized he had been rescued. When he heard Wen Jinshu's cries, he was drawn to them, but there was no space for him.
Seeing that Yan Jiaojiao had done what she needed to do, Xiao Su laughed helplessly and didn't disturb the two girls. Instead, he turned to ask Xu Changzong and the others how they had found this place.
"Jiaojiao tamed a flying spiritual beast, and it led us to find you. We asked many people along the way to confirm the direction."
Xiao Su was surprised, "Then you also passed through that strange place? You weren't attacked?"
"You mean the place where the Human-Faced Puppets reside?"
"Human-Faced Puppets?"
Xiao Su looked enlightened, "So it was Human-Faced Puppets. No wonder we couldn't see who was attacking us."
After piecing things together, they knew almost everything.
Xiao Su and the others had followed a spirit fox beast here. That spirit fox beast was quite high-level. Although they knew they shouldn't chase too far, they couldn't resist the temptation of points and quickly pursued it.
But after chasing it here, they were attacked by Human-Faced Puppets.
"Such venomous things like Human-Faced Puppets are in the Illusory Beast Realm too. If it weren't for Jiaojiao, we might have been annihilated."
"It's normal for the Illusory Beast Realm to have demonic creatures, but such a large number of Human-Faced Puppets makes me feel that something is unusual."
Yan Jiaojiao had already coaxed Wen Jinshu to sleep. Upon hearing this, she said, "I think so too. And have you sensed it? Where the Human-Faced Puppets appeared, there was a very strange aura."
"A very strange aura?"
Xu Changzong and Jiang Yiling exchanged glances. Neither of them had sensed it.
Therefore, they had no idea what aura Yan Jiaojiao was talking about.
However, Xiao Su nodded, "I felt it too. A kind of aura that instinctively repels people. When I came into contact with that aura, I even felt a stinging sensation on my body."
"As if I had touched something corrosive."
Jiang Yiling frowned, "Something like that happened?"
Xiao Su nodded, "I actually felt that this was not good after sensing this aura and didn't want to chase any further, but since we were already here..."
Yan Jiaojiao rolled her eyes.
"Since we were already here"?
Does the Boundless Continent also have such strange rules?
Xiao Su saw Yan Jiaojiao's eye-roll and felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, they had taken a risk this time and even caused Yan Jiaojiao and the others to come looking for them. Fortunately, Yan Jiaojiao could deal with these Human-Faced Puppets. Otherwise, Xiao Su and the others would be the culprits, and if they caused their Ge Nan Academy to be annihilated, all their previous efforts would have been in vain.
"Next time, next time we definitely won't be so reckless."
Xiao Su said with a fawning smile, his former arrogance gone.
Yan Jiaojiao said, "Don't talk about next time. We have to pass through the area of the Human-Faced Puppets when we go back. Let's think about what to do."
Everyone was stunned.
"Why do we have to pass through? Can't we take a detour back from here?"
Anyway, they had a flying spiritual beast as a mount, so leaving here from any direction should be easy.
"Obviously not. You should carefully sense your surroundings."
"Human-Faced Puppets also set up barriers. It's too difficult to break the barrier and get out, and it's a waste of time. Human-Faced Puppets are also spiritual creatures of the Illusory Beast Realm. We might as well confront them directly."
Jiang Yiling and the others stared wide-eyed, slightly horrified.
"Are you joking?
"Those are Human-Faced Puppets! We can't even see them, how can we deal with them?"
Yan Jiaojiao glanced at Jiang Yiling and smiled faintly, "Have you forgotten about Xiao Hei?"
When in doubt, find Xiao Hei.
If you can't win, find Xiao Hei.
If you feel like petting something fluffy, find Xiao Hei.
Thank goodness for the all-powerful Xiao Hei.
After Yan Jiaojiao finished speaking, Jiang Yiling and the others fell silent.
They had witnessed Xiao Hei's power.
Although they found Yan Jiaojiao's words somewhat absurd, they also felt strangely reasonable.
Since Xiao Hei was so powerful, it didn't seem like a problem for him to help them?
Besides, the final round of the Academy Grand Competition had no rules against calling upon one's companion spirit beast for help.
The crowd instantly became spirited.
"Can we watch tomorrow then?"
Yan Jiaojiao moved her fingers. She would absolutely not say that she could also deal with the Human-Faced Puppets. Besides saving time and effort, there was another reason for wanting to find Xiao Hei: she really missed Xiao Hei.
She didn't know where he was off gallivanting to, as he had been missing for so long.
At the entrance to the demon realm, Dongfang Cangwu, who was reinforcing the seal, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and sneezed.
He rubbed his nose, quite puzzled, "Strange, could that scoundrel Aronxi be badmouthing me?"