The red-clothed woman stared at the image where Shi Chun was holding onto Li Hongjiu and not letting go, and slowly transmitted a message in return, "No rush, let's take another look."

Saying this, she glanced at Wei Mo's side.

Seeing the queen's attitude, Lan had no choice but to continue observing.

At sea, the group from East Victory received a message from Wei Mo, learning that Shi Chun had fled with Li Hongjiu, they were alarmed and quickly rushed into the spreading fog, shouting and searching all around.

Yet, there was no response in the vast sea of fog, and for a moment, they couldn't even find the silhouettes of those two Heavenly Immortal experts.

Upon receiving the response, Wei Mo's expression turned grim. He knew well what this mission meant for him. Ending up with this task was both unfortunate and an opportunity. As Right Minister Hou Jiahuan said, this was a direct service to the queen, and he would have to personally present the report to the queen afterward.

Would he be a useless waste in front of the queen, or a person of exceptional ability? The outcome of the matter was everything.

Especially with such an event occurring now, if he could capture the ones even the several experts of the Heavenly Immortal Realm couldn't hold onto, it would certainly earn him a favorable impression before the queen.

Though things were unfavorable at the moment, from another perspective, it was instead his chance.

Thus, he didn't hold back, quickly informing them of the direction in which Shi Chun and Li were fleeing, commanding relevant personnel to pursue, and dispatching experts urgently.

The East Victory army at sea left only a few behind to search, while the rest all rushed out of the dark clouds in pursuit.

Once Shi Chun, flying out of the dark clouds and away from the battle site, saw land, he immediately landed with Li Hongjiu, hiding under a big tree to conceal themselves, then took out the Mother-child Talisman to contact Wu Jinliang, asking for their exact location.

Considering the deployment of so many Heavenly Immortal experts against them, one could imagine the opponent's power. Running around aimlessly was not a solution, and Li Hongjiu's injuries should not be delayed further; he needed proper treatment quickly. For safety, to avoid detection, going to the Netherworld was the most secure.

There was no fear of exposing the Netherworld to Li Hongjiu; in his current weakened state, he could be easily handled, even knocked out.

Wu Jinliang, peeking out from the ground, looked around, a bit troubled as well. In an unfamiliar place, how would he know his exact location except that it wasn't too far from the shoreline,

Seeing this, Shi Chun immediately told him to leave quickly, warning that the opponent might conduct a massive search and he might be found if he stayed too close.

Thus, they agreed upon a specific location for convenience, known to both, which was where Wu Jinliang had been hiding to observe before he moved.

Wu Jinliang was closer to that spot, so Shi Chun instructed him to go ahead and dig a hole, readying for reception.

Once they agreed and confirmed the direction, Shi Chun again picked up Li Hongjiu and soared into the sky, adjusting his course and moving swiftly.

After Wei Mo analyzed their direction at the mirror image, he immediately ordered the pursuing teams to change their direction, commanding them to intercept horizontally, insisting they at least stall Shi Chun even if they couldn't capture him, to buy time for the urgently dispatched experts.

After making arrangements, he stood before the mirror image with his hands behind his back, watching Shi Chun, holding someone and fleeing urgently within the image, and couldn't help but sigh internally. Recalling the initial meeting at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference when he was just a small thug from the Land of Exile,

Back then, he had made promises and had thought the person was talented, considering recruiting him as an exception, but eventually decided to let the other party go. Those scenes felt like they were just yesterday.

In the blink of an eye, only a few years had passed, and that kid had become a close friend with Young Master Nan, and now a life-death comrade with the Yanbao Sect Master's Closed-door Disciple.

Wei Mo never expected he would one day personally mobilize forces to capture this guy, under the orders of the Royal Court no less.

Not to mention anything else, just from the current scene, he couldn't help but lament, "This Li Hongjiu has now become a useless burden. Knowing someone wants to kill Li Hongjiu, which might implicate him, Shi Chun still protects him with his life without giving up. To have such a friend, Li Hongjiu hasn't squandered this relationship."

These words left Young Master Nan feeling uncomfortable. For him, Shi Chun was also someone full of sentiment and righteousness, making him feel truly ashamed when reflecting on himself.

He sighed lightly and murmured, "That's just the kind of person he is, rare in these times."

The masked red-clothed woman, hearing this, glanced over here. Though hearing might be deceiving, the evidence in the image was irrefutable. Her gaze carried an additional scrutiny when she looked again at the image of Shi Chun flying swiftly.

No one present knew the real outcome of the battle within the tornado earlier, but it was generally confirmed that the three Heavenly Immortal experts who took part were likely in grave danger, and Li Hongjiu was naturally injured by those three.

Even though Li Hongjiu couldn't escape entirely unscathed, his strength in just this battle had far exceeded everyone's expectations, astonishing everyone, and had elevated him to an extremely high stature in their minds.

Shi Chun, carrying the injured, flew rapidly while remaining alert to his surroundings. He considered himself cautious enough, never imagining that he received extra special treatment, with someone's specific deployment of the Heavenly Mirror to watch him.

Most people go their whole lives without ever being looked upon by something like the Heavenly Mirror, yet he had been looked upon more than once.

Along the way, he received a message from Wu Jinliang, saying the tunnel has been excavated and is waiting for him.

The impression within the Heavenly Mirror noticed that his hand holding the person was inconveniently trying to check the Mother-child Talisman, immediately wanting to zoom in to spy on the contents of the talisman, but Shi Chun only glanced at it and put it away, thwarting their attempt.

However, with the Heavenly Mirror's assistance, it was destined that his journey would not go smoothly.

Just as he used the terrain below to discern that he wasn't far from Wu Jinliang's location, flying upstream along a winding river, what was meant to happen finally happened.

The sun had already risen, and in the distance, beyond the range his Right Eye Superpower could see, normal vision spotted a group of people hovering and waiting for him. Upon seeing him arrive, they split into left and right wings intending to encircle him.

Shi Chun urgently halted his flight, put away the Wind Scale, spread his legs in a stable stance in the air, quickly extracted a rope, swiftly moving Li Hongjiu behind himself and urgently tying Li Hongjiu to his body.

The dazed Li Hongjiu, tortured this way, had a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth and opened his eyes faintly. Realizing Shi Chun's action of binding them together, he naturally sensed something was amiss. He looked up, though he lacked the strength to use the Dharma Eye to discern who they were, knowing he had run into them again.

With a wry smile, he weakly said, "Forget it, just leave me behind. Your cultivation isn't high to begin with; having me will just drag you down. Just find a way to protect yourself."

Shi Chun kept alert of his surroundings, threw out the Black Lotus Treasure to unfold it, hung a large gourd on his chest, and righteously said, "Brother Jiu, I know you come from a famous sect and look down on someone with a lowly background like mine. It's okay. Since we are brothers, there's no reason to abandon a brother. Even thieves have their codes. I, Shi Chun, lick blood off the blade, kill countless, but never abandon my brothers. I never have before and never will!"

The phrase 'Even thieves have their codes' was something he learned while reading in the library in recent years. It was his first time using it today, and it felt good to say it after reading.

He regretted not being able to say something so sensible when he led East Nine Plain in the Land of Exile back then.

However, on second thought, talking about 'even thieves have their codes' in the Land of Exile seemed absurd, as it surely wasn't sustainable.

But upon hearing this, Li Hongjiu's pallid face clearly showed emotion, his Adam's apple moved slightly, and he turned to look at this scoundrel who had tied them together, his eyes showing a different spirit, as if wanting to reassess him.

His mind quickly turned a few corners. After clearing his throat, Shi Chun continued; "If we manage to fight our way out today, let's try saving ourselves together. If we're doomed to die here, it's an honor for me. Not seeking to be born on the same day, month, and year, but seeking to die on the same day, month, and year! Brother Jiu, let's promise to meet in the next life, reconcile as brothers with no grudges in our hearts!"

In this scenario, hearing such words, Li Hongjiu suddenly felt overwhelmed, his nose inexplicably felt sore, his eyes became red, though he still irreverently said, "Shi Chun, I know you're always spouting nonsense, do you think I'd buy this?"

Shi Chun took out a bell, hung it on his finger, and replied, "Why insist on fighting now, Brother Jiu, when someone is about to die, their words are always kind!"

Actually, Li Hongjiu wasn't wrong; Shi Chun was indeed full of nonsense. If there were another set of visitors than the current ones, who knows if he could still speak such words.

He recognized these people as the East Victory crowd from before, of whom the experts within the Heavenly Immortal Realm were either heavily wounded or killed. The remaining ones present were those who didn't dare to take the stage at the time. Even if they are a group of Earth Immortal Realm experts, he's not one to be trifled with.

He wasn't untested when being besieged by the Demon Path before.

He tried his best to repair the abandoned Magical Treasures just for a bit of self-preservation ability, just to not be bullied so easily.

So, he surely wouldn't surrender without a fight; he definitely had to try breaking out. If he truly couldn't manage, he would have to consider discarding Li Hongjiu as a liability afterwards. Right now, it hasn't come to that, so words of convenience are plenty.

If not said now, then when?

Thus, Li Hongjiu fell silent at his words, pressed his lips tightly together, watching Shi Chun place the Flying Dragon Treasure Sword horizontally in his mouth, hold a mace in one hand, and a bronze mirror in the other, with the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect guarding beside him.

Such a setup, even a fool could see he was preparing to fight desperately.

No matter if his intent to save Li Hongjiu is true or false, but in the zoomed-in image, he binds the bloody Li Hongjiu behind him, clearly intending to live and die together, which made all eyes in front of the image as solemn.

Who doesn't yearn for beauty, who doesn't wish to meet such a friend in their life?

Young Master Nan watched with increasing shame, having met someone like this, who was his friend, yet repeatedly betrayed him, contributing to forcing the other into such a desperate fight, lending his part to it.

The Red-clothed Woman's gaze shifted strangely from the image, sending a transmission to Lan, "Are you sure they want them alive?"

Lan quickly transmitted back, "Yes, when I was in contact with Ice Owl before, Ice Owl mentioned that those people want Shi Chun alive and instructed to act with caution."

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