With a thud, Zhu Ze collapsed onto the ground, kneeling.

The battle that had just been raging quieted in an instant.

Seeing Wu Jinliang bouncing around with his great sword, not looking like anything was wrong, Shi Chun's hanging heart was put at ease, and his gaze also retracted.

He immediately took out the talisman for contacting Chu Jingtang and sent a message: Have confirmed silencing operation in progress, Su Yuan Sect directly involved, evacuate quickly!

Chu Jingtang seemed to be waiting by the talisman, and as soon as the message was sent, a quick reply came back: Where to retreat to?

Shi Chun, admitting that he might not be more familiar with the terrain here than the other party, replied: Retreat wherever you think is safe, don't go too far, let me know where you are, and I'll find you later.

Chu Jingtang: You are my lord and master.

Shi Chun put away the talisman, not stooping to the other party's level.

Meanwhile, the figure tied tightly to the ground and still emanating black mist suddenly tossed off the cloak revealing Mao Zhong, then flew up like a bat, and returned the cloak to Xiang Laner's shoulders.

Wu Jinliang had already darted over and began searching Mao Zhong's body.

Xiang Laner looked him over and asked in confusion, "You took a few of his slashes, and you're fine?"

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "That was just them bluffing and trying to scare people, it's nothing."

Xiang Laner frowned, still puzzled for a moment, then vanished in a flash next to Shi Chun, her toe flipping over the body of Zhu Ze on the ground. Seeing blood oozing from his nose and mouth, she cast a spell to check and found he was dead. She raised her eyes to Shi Chun's, her look one of surprise.

She had initially thought when Shi Chun shouted that taking action would kill someone, it was just to use free labor. She didn't expect that he would actually kill someone.

Shi Chun was also staring at her and asked, "You don't seem to have Initial Martial cultivation; how did you pass the entry check?"

Xiang Laner's eyes held questions, unsure if this man truly didn't know or was feigning ignorance. With her strength demonstrated to this extent, if he truly was from the Three Sects, he couldn't possibly be ignorant of how she concealed her cultivation.

She replied, "Your displayed cultivations don't seem like those who just came from the Land of Exile."

Shi Chun was speechless, thinking to himself that once people develop suspicions, explanations are futile. He said it was a breakthrough achieved here, and even offered to show her the seclusion spot, but she just wouldn't believe it.

Of course, he had encountered other monks before, so he could understand her points of doubt.

Forget it, better not to explain what's inconvenient to explain. It's one way to live, with everyone continuing under their misapprehensions, especially since he had no desire to appear spotless in her eyes.

"Chun Tian," Wu Jinliang called cheerfully, leaping over with a Wind Scale he had taken from plundered pockets and offered, "Here, one broke and here's another to replace it. The members of Su Yuan Sect sure are something, all carrying Wind Scales on them."

Shi Chun took the Wind Scale and inspected it.

Xiang Laner instantly understood something and asked, "Your previous Wind Scale came from those two missing members of Su Yuan Sect?"

She couldn't remember their names, but having heard the discussion here with Hu Yan, she knew two from Su Yuan Sect had died in Moon Sea.

Shi Chun said, "Leaving them in Moon Sea would've been wasteful, so we picked them up."

Xiang Laner gestured towards the Wind Scale in his hand with her chin, "The person was killed by me, that should be my spoils of war."

Both Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were taken aback for a moment, with the latter clearly reluctant.

Shi Chun directly handed it over, "Would you dare use it? We're not afraid of being exposed, let the Heavenly King come down and see if we care, the Heavenly Mirror can be shining on us and we'd still use it. Would you dare? You carry this thing on you, and in case something happens, aren't you afraid of being exposed?"

Her arm seemed paralyzed by his words, unable to reach out, and she was puzzled, "You messing around so recklessly, aren't you afraid of exposure?"

"Not afraid, we come from a clean background," Shi Chun said as he took back the Wind Scale.

Wu Jinliang nodded and grunted in agreement, "Land of Exile, let them investigate as they please."

Xiang Laner: "Even if nothing comes out of it, have you considered how Wukang Mountain feels? If you are exposed, even Wukang Mountain might not be able to cover for you. You've just managed to mix into Wukang Mountain, do you want to be kicked out again?"

Shi Chun: "Why worry so much about others' feelings, you're not Wukang Mountain, how do you know they wouldn't like it?"

"Exactly," Wu Jinliang muttered disdainfully, curling his lip as if to say, if they manage to grab enough here, why bother about Wukang Mountain's feelings? That godforsaken place, who cares about it.

He didn't want to bicker with this woman and squatted down to search Zhu Ze's body.

Shi Chun instructed, "Find out which talisman was used to contact Hu Yan."

Xiang Laner was speechless, realizing these two really feared nothing. What sect could allow them such reckless behavior? If they caught too much attention, whose authority would be enough to cover for them?

She highly doubted if these two really belonged to the Demon Path. Where in the current Demon Path could you find people so brazen? It was utterly unimaginable.

Wu Jinliang, after loading several pockets on his person, brought over a bunch of talismans and said, "Chun Tian, each person has more than one talisman on them, who knows which one is for contacting Hu Yan."

"There's a living mouth here," Shi Chun took the talismans and went over to Xun Lingyin, throwing them on the ground before waking her up.

Some pains are unbearable when conscious, and better avoided by remaining unconscious.

Excessive blood loss had left Xun Lingyin looking frail. He asked, "What do you want?"

Shi Chun replied, "I did this to you because you tried to kill me first. But everything that's happened has happened, and I won't argue about who's right and who's wrong. Here, take a look at these mother-and-child talismans, and point out the one you use to communicate with Hu Yan. Point it out."

Xun Lingyin glanced around and saw all his allies had fallen. His heart shook with disbelief, and he said weakly, "What do you want to do?"

Shi Chun: "We had no grudge, but Hu Yan wanted me dead. He acted first with lethal intent. So what do you think I want to do? Of course I want to settle accounts with him. I will tell him that you all fell into my hands, and whether he saves you or not will be his choice."

After catching his breath for a moment, Xun Lingyin said, "I can't see clearly."

His cultivation was suppressed, and his vision was indeed troubling due to his injuries.

Shi Chun immediately took out a piece of sandalwood gold to assist him, and eventually, Xun Lingyin pointed out one talisman from the pile.

Once the designated communication talisman was in hand, Shi Chun fed him a pill.

He then paced back and forth in the wilderness, waiting.

Wu Jinliang transported the three captives to one spot.

Xiang Laner walked over and asked, "Why aren't we leaving? What are we waiting for?"

Shi Chun: "We're waiting for Chu Jingtang and the others to make their escape."

At the valley's encampment, the Purple Cloud Sect's task manager, Lao Changtai, and members from several other sects had agreed to come out for a stroll, and they eventually wandered up to a cliff where they spotted three on-duty guards, as well as two disciples of the Bilan Sect enjoying moon viewing, and saw Jin Zaogong sitting alone by the cliff's edge.

Lao Changtai rushed over and called out, "Mr. Jin, what's going on? Why are you sitting here all by yourself?"

The others all came up to greet him too.

Jin Zaogong turned to look back and said, "Nothing much, just wanted some peace and quiet."

While he spoke, he shifted his gaze to follow two Bilan Sect disciples who had gotten up and saw them jump down the cliff. He seemed nonchalant as he peeked over the edge and saw them returning to the Bilan Sect's caves before he felt relieved.

Lao Changtai crouched in front of him. "Mr. Jin, could I have a word in private?"

Normally, Jin Zaogong would have granted the request, but with a mission at hand, he didn't dare let the target cave leave his sight. "Whatever you have to say can be said right here."

Lao Changtai glanced at the others nearby, leaned closer, and whispered into Jin Zaogong's ear, "There might be a traitor among us."

A traitor? Jin Zaogong was taken aback. What did he mean?

Lao Changtai had already stood up, intending to speak further away from the others, and gestured again for Jin Zaogong to step aside.

After some hesitation, Jin Zaogong glanced at the cave entrance below. Thinking it would only take a few words, he stood up and moved aside to talk to Lao Changtai in whispers.

After grasping some information, Jin Zaogong returned with furrowed brows, sat back by the cliff's edge, and continued to watch the movement below. He planned to inform his senior brother about what he'd learned afterwards; the present matters were more pressing.

After Lao Changtai and his group had finished their idle chat, they meandered off as well.

Not long after returning to the valley, Lao Changtai took out a mother-and-child talisman—the one that connected him to Chu Jingtang—and a single word appeared on it: Retreat!

This meant that the Bilan Sect group had safely left.

Lao Changtai showed the message to the others from different sects around him. Everyone discreetly took out their talismans and sent the retreat signal to their sect mates who were waiting.

Before long, the various sects took different routes to evacuate, dispersing from the area, and then quickly headed to the rendezvous point. After assembling, they banded together to flee.

Along the way, Chu Jingtang received another message from Shi Chun, asking, "Have you not evacuated yet?"

Chu Jingtang: "We're together, all have been evacuated."

Shi Chun: "Contact me once you find a suitable place to settle."

Chu Jingtang: "Okay."

Shi Chun, who had been waiting under the night sky for some time, put away the mother-and-child talisman and took out another one, the one designated by Xun Lingyin earlier.

Without avoiding the eyes of Wu Jinliang and Xiang Laner watching nearby, he sent a message directly to Hu Yan: Senior Brother, something's happened. The enemy is very strong. We barely succeeded at the cost of two dead and two injured.

Wu Jinliang laughed outright upon seeing this.

Even Xiang Laner understood Shi Chun's intentions—it seemed he was trying to lure Hu Yan here, no wonder they were waiting without changing location.

Hu Yan, who had been sitting in the central cave with his eyes closed waiting for news, suddenly opened his eyes and took out the reacting talisman from his pocket.

Upon reading the message on the talisman, he abruptly stood up and began to pace back and forth away from the stone table, his cheeks taut before eventually responding: Are you Wang Sheng?

Seeing the response on the talisman, Shi Chun was taken aback and curiously asked those around him, "How does he know it's me?"

Xiang Laner: "He doesn't know it's you; it's just a guess. They must have a secret phrase for opening communications, to prevent the possibility that their talismans might fall into the hands of others." Turning to look at Xun Lingyin lying on the ground, "That guy didn't play fair and didn't tell you. Hu Yan now knows something's wrong."

Lack of experience, after all, Shi Chun's face darkened. He quickly walked over to Xun Lingyin, looked down at him coldly for a while, and ultimately restrained his killing intent. He picked up the talisman and responded once more: Hu Yan, you can't escape this debt, just you wait!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.