“Fellow Daoist Zhan,” Bai Xia said, leaning on Jing Fei as she approached, her face grave. “The priority now is to find the captain.”
Zhan Jiuzhou’s gaze deepened. “I’ll go look for her immediately.”
Spatial rifts carried immense risks and uncertainties. If Bai Shengyi were to go missing here, and the Dean found out… Zhan Jiuzhou dared not dwell on the thought.
“Senior Brother Jing and I will look for the person who attacked,” Bai Xia stated, her eyes shifting slightly.
Jing Fei looked at her leg with concern. “Can your body still hold up?”
Bai Xia had been struck by the Azure Dragon and fallen to the ground, breaking both legs. If Jing Fei hadn’t returned in time, those legs might have been ruined.
“It’s fine, I—”
“Shall I help you look after this fairy?”
Just as Bai Xia was about to persuade Jing Fei, a voice interrupted her, causing her smile to falter slightly.
She turned around and saw an unfamiliar female cultivator. She looked delicate and frail, with residual anger and worry on her face.
“Who are you?”
Lan Xuerou was about to speak when Jing Fei beside her recognized the person. No, he recognized Yue Ci beside Lan Xuerou.
“Senior Yue Ci? Are you two from Yueqing Mountain?” He was extremely puzzled. Why would people from Yueqing Mountain offer help? Was it because the captain had just slain the Azure Dragon?
Yue Ci nodded, as if sensing Jing Fei’s thoughts. In consideration of Jing Fei’s earlier interception of the Azure Dragon’s attack, he offered an explanation: “Don’t refuse. Bai Shengyi has a connection with our Yueqing Mountain. Helping her look after you is no trouble at all.”
Lan Xuerou, worried about Yue Miaomiao and Bai Shengyi, could have laughed at this moment.
Her junior brother Yue was still so contrary. He always made sure to protect Senior Aunt Bai in front of outsiders, like now. He reminded them that Yueqing Mountain’s help was because of Senior Aunt Bai, yet in front of Miaomiao and herself, he spoke as if he didn’t favor Senior Aunt Bai.
Since Yueqing Mountain was willing to help, Bai Xia had no reason to insist on going with Jing Fei. She could only watch as Jing Fei, along with Yue Ci and some cultivators, headed off to find the perpetrator.
As she watched, she was shocked to realize how many people were leaving.
With the complete demise of the Azure Dragon, the Thousand Soul Insect Silk retreated like a tide. The grassland was left with only some soul corpses. Under Tian Yu’s leadership, most of the soul corpses were dealt with in a short time. Only a few on the outer edges remained to be cleared.
After this ordeal, the disciples of various sects were quite united. They all knew that without Bai Shengyi killing the Azure Dragon, they would not have escaped danger so quickly. Therefore, everyone was extremely enraged at the person behind the attacks.
Among them, those who knew Bai Shengyi were the most incensed.
“Xuan Nü Sect, Dongyang Mountain, Dao Sect…” These people would actually step forward for Bai Shengyi?
“What are you talking about, fairy?”
Before Yue Ci left, he asked Lan Xuerou to stay and look after Bai Xia.
“Nothing, Senior Sister Lan. Just call me Bai Xia,” Bai Xia said with a hearty laugh, covering up her previous words.
She hesitated and then asked, “Senior Sister Lan, what is the relationship between the captain and your Yueqing Mountain?”
Seeing that Lan Xuerou did not answer immediately, she waved her hand awkwardly. “It’s my fault for being nosy. I’m just curious. I’ve never heard the captain mention Yueqing Mountain.”
Just as Lan Xuerou was about to speak, she heard a huge commotion from ahead.
“They found someone!” She immediately stopped caring about Bai Xia’s feelings, her eyes fixed on the front, and her expression turned stern. “It’s them again!”
“Yun Youyue?” Bai Xia’s eyes flashed, and anger appeared on her face. She asked Lan Xuerou, “Senior Sister Lan, do you know Yun Youyue?”
“We met briefly before.”
Bai Xia could detect the coldness in Lan Xuerou’s voice, indicating that their brief encounter was not a pleasant one.
She felt anxious, wondering if Yun Youyue could escape again with so many people surrounding her.
“Bai Xia? Bai Xia?”
“Senior Sister Lan, are you calling me?”
Seeing that Bai Xia had finally come back to her senses, Lan Xuerou didn’t think much of it. She pulled over a senior brother who had retreated from the front lines of clearing soul corpses and said to Bai Xia, “Senior Brother Zhang will protect you. If anything happens, you can directly ask Senior Brother Zhang.”
After giving her instructions, she hurried off to find the plain-clothed youth sitting in meditation.
“Uncle-Master Tian Yu,” Lan Xuerou said, facing him alone, instinctively lowering her head. She always felt as if he could see through everything.
To date, there were only a handful of people who made her feel this way. To encounter two of them in the Vast Universe Minor Realm, one was Senior Aunt Bai, and the other was Uncle-Master Tian Yu.
“Are you here for that little benefactor?” Tian Yu raised an eyebrow, a hint of playfulness appearing on his youthful face as he leisurely wiped the mottled black blood off his jade ruler.
Lan Xuerou lowered her gaze, then said resolutely, “Uncle-Master, I heard my master say that you are skilled in deduction. I beg you to help calculate the whereabouts of Senior Aunt Bai and Miaomiao. Yueqing Mountain and I, Xuerou, will always remember your help. Should you ever need anything in the future, we will not refuse.”
As she spoke, she bowed deeply, her back bent low.
Tian Yu let out a barely audible sigh. “Get up.”
“Uncle-Master, you agreed?”
Tian Yu shook his head. “I’m so annoyed by you brats. None of you are ever out of trouble.”
Lan Xuerou: …
If she remembered correctly, Uncle-Master Tian Yu was not even a hundred years old this year, was he?
Cultivators lived long lives. In the Divine Revelation World, ages were counted in hundreds. Those under a hundred were considered mere children. No one was in a position to laugh at anyone else.
But Lan Xuerou dared not say this.
Zhan Jiuzhou and his men had searched the surroundings repeatedly. The more they searched, the more anxious he became. There was no trace of any spatial rift in the vicinity. Even next to the Azure Dragon’s remains, space was extremely stable, as if the spatial rift had just been an illusion.
When Lan Xuerou and Tian Yu arrived, Zhan Jiuzhou had not paid much attention to them. It wasn’t until Tian Yu suddenly spoke.
“A brat from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion?”
Zhan Jiuzhou immediately tensed up. He looked up and, seeing the bald head and face, breathed a sigh of relief. “Zen Master Tian Yu.”
The true identity of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was known to very few, but the Buddhist sect was not among them.
“Does that little benefactor also have a connection with your Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion?”
Tian Yu scanned the surroundings and realized that, unknowingly, cultivators from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, whom he and Yue Ci had been searching for without success, had already gathered around. They were all diligently searching for that little benefactor.
He was genuinely intrigued now.
This little benefactor was quite interesting.
Not only had she broken everyone’s certain death situation and slain the Azure Dragon, but she also involved so many sect forces like Yueqing Mountain, Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Xuan Nü Sect, and Shen Qi Mountain.
Zhan Jiuzhou also quickly recalled Tian Yu’s abilities and cupped his hands, saying earnestly, “Zen Master, please help me calculate.”
“Alright, alright, let this poor monk see—” He brought his index and middle fingers together to trace his jade ruler. The jade ruler spun rapidly, and he said word by word, “Where—she—is—Pfft!”
“Uncle-Master Tian Yu!”
Lan Xuerou watched in shock as Tian Yu was suddenly struck by his own jade ruler and sent flying backward!