Although he said that, under his sidelong gesture, Xun Lingyin still followed Shi Chun and the other, except that he didn't enter the cave.

After the group left, Hu Yan turned to Jin Zaogong and said, "You keep an eye on the Bilan Sect's gang."

It was reluctant to send his junior brother for such a menial task, but the matter was not suitable to be publicized, nor was it appropriate for others to handle it, lest it create future problems.

Jin Zaogong nodded and left…

Sitting silently inside the cave, Xiang Laner saw the two returning and stood up, wanting to ask Shi Chun what his earlier look meant.

Before entering the cave, Wu Jinliang, who had observed the outside, quickly caught up to Shi Chun and whispered, "The thing we just discussed, we have already found a way to verify it, and it's abnormally fast. To let us show our faces in the dead of night, can't it wait till daylight?"

Without his reminder, Shi Chun's alertness was no less than his; he nodded towards Xiang Laner, indicating, "Keeping her here is precisely for the purpose of testing."

Xiang Laner interjected and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wu Jinliang: "Hu Yan might have betrayed us."

"…" Xiang Laner froze, thinking she was involved in a major event, yet they had led her into a trap?

The problem was that her identity was sensitive; being forced to reveal herself in public would be troublesome.

Wu Jinliang was not as worried as she was, asking Shi Chun, "What should we do, leave or fight?"

He now had the Treasure Robe on him, eager to stir up a fight, having long wanted to engage someone in battle. Last time on the Ice Field, when a group attacked him together and fled, he'd never found a suitable opportunity.

Shi Chun: "We might be over-worried, but we still need to make a final confirmation. However, the situation indeed looks grim, and the worst-case scenario must be prepared; if we really fall into that bastard's hands, then my years as the Master of East Nine Plain were in vain."

Among the regions of the Land of Exile, although he was a young Master, he had been the Master for a relatively long time compared to others; others left after gathering enough merits, but he really spent years in the position.

Not to say he was historically the longest-serving Master, but he was certainly among the longest.

Saying this, he directly took out the mother-and-child talisman and sent a message to Chu Jingtang: Brother Chu.

Chu Jingtang replied quickly: What do you need, Brother Wang?

Shi Chun: Hu Yan might have sold us out to the Su Yuan Sect. We might be silenced. The situation is uncertain; prepare for the worst.

Who knows how Chu Jingtang reacted to this message, his reply was: Don't scare me.

Shi Chun wasn't just scaring him. If someone wanted to silence them, they wouldn't just target these three; the five from Bilan Sect would definitely not escape.

Thus, he didn't further explain, and without time to spare, he directly instructed him on what to do: The more who know, the safer it is. Go find Wu Hong and the other ten sects that cooperated at Moon Sea; once there's trouble, have them first ensure the safety of your Bilan Sect and then retreat.

Those referred as Wu Hong and others were the sects drawn into the debacle at Moon Sea's fall, whom Chu Jingtang had met and talked about on the road earlier. According to Chu Jingtang, Hu Yan had taken charge not only of his Bilan Sect but also of the nearby sects.

Now, with no time to involve several sects, the ten that participated in the fall of Guan Wen were easier to pull in.

Chu Jingtang: Brother Wang, you must be joking. Are you still in the cave? I'm coming to find you.

Shi Chun: Don't come here. Hu Yan is trying to dispatch us and has already placed watchers on us. You might have already been targeted by Hu Yan's men. Follow my instruction to prepare for the worst. I'll go to make final confirmation and contact you immediately if we need to evacuate. No more talk, people outside the cave are waiting to depart.

Chu Jingtang: Brother Wang, give me one more chance, I promise to turn around after seeing you – I won't even get to know you!

Such grumbling remarks, Shi Chun saw but took no heed of them.

Humans seem to have many choices but are often powerless to choose, forced to take the roads nearest to them.

He believed Chu Jingtang knew what to do; whether he could handle it well was up to him. Even with foreknowledge, if he couldn't succeed against an unprepared adversary at the disadvantage, then it could be said that his ability to pick leaders was as bad as Wukang Mountain's.

He stowed the mother-and-child talisman and said to Wu Jinliang and Xiang Laner, "Don't let people wait too long. Let's go."

The three left the cave and met up with Xun Lingyin, who led them quickly away from the place…

Under the starlit sky, Jin Zaogong, shadowed in a dark corner, half sat and leaned against a rock, eyes fixed on the cave entrance across the slope.

Suddenly, the Sandal Gold Flame Energy inside the cave extinguished, and sensing something amiss, he immediately sat up, attentively watching.

The cave he was keeping an eye on, Chu Jingtang had also reached the entrance, stealthily glancing out at the corners in the dim evening light, not discerning much. He first ducked down against the wall, turned back, and signaled to his prepared peers, "Go ahead."

Two peers then stepped out from the shadows, leaping directly from the cave and flanking toward the cliff top.

Jin Zaogong, keeping a sharp watch from the shadows, was surprised and then swiftly dashed towards the opposite cliff top.

Discovering this from his hidden spot at the cave entrance, Chu Jingtang felt a chill and couldn't help muttering, "Wang Sheng, oh Wang Sheng, I have been ruined by you."

He had originally held some hope, but seeing that he was indeed being targeted, his illusions shattered in an instant, and he knew he was in real trouble.

No longer daring to hesitate, he followed the plan discussed with his fellow sect members: they would distract the enemy while he slipped away. He quickly escaped from the mouth of the cave and fled along the edges.

The other two sect members remaining in the cave hid themselves.

At the top of the cliff, the two sect members who had separated earlier met up again and sat side by side, watching the moonlight.

Jin Zaogong, who had rushed up suddenly, didn't expect this situation and felt frustrated. He quickly turned around so as not to show his face and slowly wandered along the cliff, sitting down at the edge of the cliff while secretly keeping an eye on the two emerging figures and watching the entrance of Bilan Sect's cave, maintaining vigilance on both fronts.

In another cave, opened by the Purple Cloud Sect, there suddenly arrived a guest. The team leader, Lao Changtai, was initially happy because staying here for so long had been boring, and having visitors was a distraction. But after hearing Chu Jingtang's story, Lao Changtai wished he could strangle him.

His four fellow sect members felt the same, sensing that disaster had descended from the skies.

Of course, they were also shocked by Su Yuan Sect's ruthlessness—they truly did not care about the lives of disciples from other sects.

Chu Jingtang sighed, "Brother Lao, don't get it wrong, I meant well. Once we fall into the hands of Su Yuan Sect, with so many people, who can guarantee that everyone will keep their mouths shut about that night's incident? Give me half of the mother-son talisman. Once Brother Wang confirms the news and it becomes necessary to evacuate, we will immediately contact you."

Lao Changtai angrily said, "There's no need for that trouble, I'll just disclose this matter now and let everyone know, let's see what Su Yuan Sect dares to do."

Chu Jingtang sighed, "Brother Lao, aren't you just speaking out of anger? If you disclosed it, it might get Wang Sheng and the others killed. Once Wang Sheng and the rest are dead, what will you do without any evidence?

Furthermore, even aside from Wang Sheng and his group, if you dare confront Su Yuan Sect openly and mess up the competition for the domination of Xuan State, are you sure all of you will end well?

Although Wang Sheng is indeed troublesome, he can be understanding. After all, aren't we all being forced by Su Yuan Sect into finding ways to protect ourselves? He was right in saying the more people who know about it secretly, the safer we are.

Brother Lao, time is limited, let's divide the tasks. You visit Ten Thousand Grass Hall, Vermilion Bird Pavilion, Fairy Sect, and Hundred Refinement Sect, and I'll cover the rest."

Seeing Lao Changtai very unwilling, Chu Jingtang then turned to his four fellow sect members and stretched out his hand, "Who will give me half of the mother-son talisman? Hurry up, don't dawdle, do you all want to be silenced?"

In the end, he left with half of the mother-son talisman.

Cooling down after a while, Lao Changtai eventually also discreetly left the cave. Though he was not in high spirits, the logic was correct—it was better to drag more people down with this…

Under the stars and moon, at the foot of two interleaved mountains, after a long journey, Shi Chun suddenly stopped pulling Xiang Laner, causing Wu Jinliang and Xun Lingyin, who were traveling together, to stop as well.

Shi Chun released Xiang Laner's arm; there was no other way, as her cultivation was only at the Initial Martial level, and she couldn't keep up without being pulled.

Stopping at the foot of the mountain without moving forward, Shi Chun asked, "Brother Xun, based on the distance and terrain, this should be the place Brother Hu Yan mentioned, right?"

Xun Lingyin looked around and nodded, "Yes, this should be it."

Wu Jinliang looked back at him and said to Shi Chun, "Brother, aren't we showing our faces a bit too much?"

To the average person, this statement might seem confusing.

But as long-time partners, Shi Chun understood immediately. He was referring to Xun Lingyin—why didn't Xun Ling take the initiative to avoid being seen?

Shi Chun's superpower was already activated in his right eye, observing the interleaved mountains; he had seen everything that needed to be seen and said, "It should be about right by now," raising a hand and flexibly flicking his fingers.

Wu Jinliang hummed in response.

Shi Chun then turned to Xun Lingyin and said, "Brother Xun, my junior brother and I will go ahead. As my junior sister is not in a good condition, I'll leave her in your care."

Xun Lingyin was slightly startled, but it was indeed convenient. He smiled and said, "Okay, leave it to me."

Before he could finish speaking, he was startled again.

He saw Shi Chun pulling Xiang Laner directly towards him.

Xiang Laner was not pleased and struggled, saying, "No need."

Shi Chun didn't care whether she was willing or not, he already pushed her into Xun Lingyin's arms.

Xun Lingyin's hands were unsure where to place them initially, and then he could not put them down at all because his entire body stiffened.

Wu Jinliang's fingers prodding his back slowly relaxed.

Xiang Laner suddenly turned around, and upon seeing Xun Lingyin's expression, she understood what the earlier pushing and shoving meant and stepped back a few steps, asking, "What is this?"

Wu Jinliang said, "I don't know either, he wanted to capture someone alive."

"Just didn't want to lose in an unclear way, I wanted to figure out exactly what was happening and try to capture someone alive, if possible," said Shi Chun as he raised his hand behind him, swiftly drawing his sword, the cold blade patted Xun Lingyin's cheek.

Xun Lingyin clattered to the ground.

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