A few days later!

A large number of disciples from the Cloud Soaring Sect and the Profound Wind Sect left the medicine garden encampment in unison, concealing their auras and departing quietly.

The two sects joined forces in this battle, sending nearly a hundred disciples, each with a resolute young face. However, beneath many of these resolute faces, a palpable tension and a hint of inexplicable excitement were clearly visible.

Led by the leaders of the two groups, they tacitly concealed their auras and moved swiftly and silently through the dense forest like cheetahs in the dark.

Their figures moved swiftly down the mountain, like a pack of ferocious beasts poised to launch a fierce attack.

The entire encampment was suddenly emptied, with only thirty or forty cultivators remaining, the majority of whom were disciples of the Xuanmai lineage, while the rest were all sent out.

The number of patrolling disciples on the perimeter has increased several times, and the arrays in various places have been completely closed, forming an indestructible barrier around the medicine garden.

A large number of Xuanmai disciples were scattered around, sitting cross-legged among the formations. Only a few Xuanmai disciples with exceptional formation skills remained, still breaking through the last few formations in the medicine field. However, they also kept their attention on the surrounding world, as if they would withdraw at any moment if there was the slightest disturbance, ready to enter the formation at any time.

For a time, the entire medicinal herb garden site was filled with an atmosphere of busyness and tension.

Only Lin Xiuyuan seemed to have nothing to do...

Fang Lian is currently in charge of overseeing the medicinal garden. He is at odds with Lin Xiuyuan and is somewhat wary of him. Naturally, he doesn't want Lin Xiuyuan involved. This way, Lin Xiuyuan can be sidelined and his merits can be reduced, which is a win-win situation.

Lin Xiuyuan was happy to have some free time and continued to solidify his foundation on his own, waiting for an opportunity to earn merit.

He had previously killed Gu Wenbai and two others and looted some spiritual herbs. Now, he was participating in a group operation. Although his merits were somewhat questionable, they were close enough.

Next, I'll try my best if I can, but if I can't, there's no need to take the risk. It's all about taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Zhong Jiajia, however, was quite indignant about this. She was still in the medicinal fields deep in the herb garden, breaking the last formation and absorbing the remaining spiritual herbs.

When he occasionally needed to rest and recover his magical power, he would return to the camp to meditate.

Seeing Lin Xiuyuan cultivating alone, sitting on the 'cold bench', she was quite dissatisfied, perhaps with a hint of resentment at his lack of ambition.

So, after Zhong Jiajia recovered her magical power, as she was preparing to continue her journey to the herb field to break the formation, she passed by Lin Xiuyuan and stopped to say a few words:

"Senior Brother Lin, those Yunmai people are really bullying us! They changed everything that was agreed upon."

"You too, if you had taken a tougher stance, given your current status and position, how could this matter have been changed so easily?"

"After all, with your combat strength, you should be guarding this place. It's a bit of a waste of your talents. I think even Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Rong might not be your match. After all, you even defeated Han..."

Zhong Jiajia suddenly stopped speaking, realizing she had said the wrong thing. She quickly stopped and turned to look at Lin Xiuyuan.

Sure enough, the other person's eyes changed slightly, revealing a sharp look, and they looked up at her.

Zhong Jiajia coughed lightly, quickly interrupting her, and said in a somewhat flattering tone:

"So, Senior Brother Lin, I've personally witnessed your combat prowess. You're practically invincible in this realm, more than capable of guarding this place. If you were to lead the charge, it would be a piece of cake!"

Lin Xiuyuan lowered his gaze slightly, shook his head and smiled, not paying attention to Zhong Jiajia's rambling, knowing that she was just indignant on her behalf.

He didn't really care about this matter, so he let Zhong Jiajia do as she pleased.

However, something that shouldn't have been mentioned was brought up...

Lin Xiuyuan looked at the jade slip he was playing with and said calmly, "Junior Sister Zhong, you didn't participate in the meeting before, but you must have heard some rumors. It seems you're overthinking things. That's alright, but I'll reiterate what I told you before: that day, I fought Han Chenhua for several rounds but was defeated and left injured. That's the truth of the matter. Do you understand?"

Although the tone was flat, without any blame or reprimand, and even carried a hint of gentleness, one could clearly sense a domineering and unquestionable aura.

Zhong Jiajia felt a sudden jolt in her heart, and nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice, saying:

"Yes, yes, that's right, I just blurted it out..."

...

…………

As the disciples of both sects continued their journey, they soon left the dense forest and traveled along the mountain paths.

Nearly a hundred disciples moved forward silently, with disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage guarding the perimeter to avoid being discovered.

But.

But no one noticed that in the dense forest far away from them, on a towering tree, amidst the thick canopy, a pair of small eyes were staring intently at the group.

There was no trace of its presence, and one could not even make out the shape of its body.

It looked as if two eyes had been born from the narrow, dark space between the dense, dark canopy of trees.

Once the two groups disappeared from sight, those eyes began to move slowly, gradually emerging from the darkness and finally being exposed to the sunlight, allowing people to get a glimpse of what was inside.

At that moment, as if emerging from a painting, a ripple spread across the boundary between darkness and light.

A strange, small, black bird appeared in the sunlight, revealing its true form.

This strange bird is only the size of a palm, very small and exquisite, and looks cute and delicate. However, its head is flat and strangely shaped, and its eyes are as dark as the black feathers on its body, revealing a bit of ferocity and horror!

Despite its small size, it is extremely fast.

As it spread its wings and flapped them slightly, it transformed into a streak of black light and vanished from the spot.

In the blink of an eye, they were high in the sky, flying deeper into the mountains...

………