Jiang Lingxuan quickly grabbed the communication talisman and said cheerfully, "It's from Bai Muxue. She's urging us to hurry up and said that Elder Cao is about to set off."

"Alright, let's go."

After Sun Muqing finished speaking, she and Jiang Lingxuan waved to Ye Feng together. Then the two women strode out of the cultivation cave and flew up towards the Shenmu Sect's mountain gate.

In just a short while, Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan became two small black dots, almost invisible.

As soon as Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan flew out of the mountain gate, they saw a number of people standing on the edge of the cliff not far away.

The leader was none other than Cao Zhengjian, the eighth elder of the Shenmu Sect.

The female martial artist named She Manqing was standing next to Cao Zhengjian at that moment.

Apart from She Manqing, Bai Muxue and the other five disciples were waiting here, and in front of them were ten demonic beasts with long, narrow wings, their bodies pitch black, but with dark gold patterns on the edges of their wings.

These ten demonic beasts exuded a fierce aura, but they stood there quietly, not daring to move, and each of them wore a black ring around its neck.

"Muqing, Lingxuan, you're finally here! Come over here!" Bai Muxue waved to Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan.

Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan then flew over and landed in front of Bai Muxue.

Cao Zhengjian laughed and said, "I remember seeing the two of you in Elder Lin's cave just now?"

Sun Muqing bowed and said with a smile, "Replying to Elder Cao, my name is Sun Muqing, and this is my junior sister Jiang Lingxuan. We are both disciples recently accepted by Elder Lin."

"So you are Elder Lin's beloved disciples. When I saw you just now, I thought you were his pageboys," Cao Zhengjian said with a smile.

A young boy and an apprentice are naturally different.

To put it bluntly, a boy was someone who served others; he was a servant.

A novice disciple is no match for an apprentice.

However, many apprentices start as novice disciples. As they follow the elders for a longer period, they naturally learn a great deal. If they have decent talent, the elders will most likely accept them as apprentices.

Standing next to Cao Zhengjian, She Manqing giggled and ran over, saying, "Senior Sister Sun, Senior Sister Jiang, we are all direct disciples, so we must get along well and make progress together!"

“Of course,” Sun Muqing nodded.

Jiang Lingxuan looked She Manqing up and down a few times, but didn't say anything more.

Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan now understood why Bai Muxue had said in the message that Cao Zhengjian had recruited eight disciples to form a pursuit team.

Dividing eight disciples into three groups would be difficult, but now that they are eight plus She Manqing, Cao Zhengjian's personal disciple, there are exactly nine disciples.

Elder Cao Zhengjian led nine disciples, making a total of ten people.

They happened to each have one of these strangely shaped bird-like monsters in front of them.

"Elder Cao, what kind of monster is this?" Sun Muqing asked curiously.

"Didn't Elder Lin explain this to you?" Cao Zhengjian retorted.

Sun Muqing shook his head and said, "We haven't been disciples of our master for very long, and he spends most of his time meditating and cultivating, so there are many things in the sect that we don't know very well yet."

"I see. Elder Lin is indeed a rather indifferent person. Even if he takes on disciples, he's not very enthusiastic about teaching them... It's really a shame for the two of you."

Cao Zhengjian smiled and continued, "These ten demonic beasts are all fourth-grade demonic beasts, Flying Cloud Swallows, raised by our Shenmu Sect. Flying Cloud Swallows have very poor combat strength, but they are incredibly fast when they fly and can fly very far. So if there is any emergency mission, we usually ride Flying Cloud Swallows when we go out."

Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan immediately showed expectant expressions.

They couldn't wait to experience the feeling of riding the fourth-grade demon beast, the Flying Cloud Swallow, through the air.

Cao Zhengjian looked at all the Shenmu Sect disciples present and said, "There are nine of you in total. Divide into three groups. I will now divide you into groups."

As he spoke, Cao Zhengjian divided the Shenmu Sect disciples into groups.

The nine disciples were divided into three groups of three.

Moreover, Cao Zhengjian specially arranged for Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan to be grouped with his apprentice She Manqing.

Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan immediately understood that Cao Zhengjian was taking special care of them because of Ye Feng.

However, Sun Muqing still said, "Elder Cao, shall we still team up with Bai Muxue?"

Jiang Lingxuan also said, "Yes, we were invited by Bai Muxue, and we have already attended the Lingyun Sect's celebration ceremony with her, so we are quite familiar with each other."

Upon hearing Jiang Lingxuan and Sun Muqing's words, Bai Muxue's face showed a hint of gratitude.

Cao Zhengjian then asked, "Are you two really planning to team up with Bai Muxue?"

While speaking, Cao Zhengjian was also transmitting his thoughts to Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan.

“I will personally lead my apprentice’s group from beginning to end, but the other two groups may split up. So you stay with my apprentice and I can protect you. If you and Bai Muxue form a separate group, I may not be able to take care of you then.”

Sun Muqing transmitted her thoughts and said, "Thank you, Elder Cao, but let's stick with Bai Muxue. Elder Cao, you don't need to worry about our safety. Our master gave us life-saving items when we left."

Cao Zhengjian then transmitted his thoughts again: "Since you all say so, then fine, I respect your opinion."

Cao Zhengjian immediately made changes: Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan were paired with Bai Muxue, She Manqing was paired with two other Shenmu Sect disciples, and the remaining three Shenmu Sect disciples formed their own group.

"Are there any other problems?" Cao Zhengjian asked.

The Shenmu Sect disciples present all shook their heads.

"Then let's set off now to hunt down the One-Eyed Hermit!"

As soon as Cao Zhengjian finished speaking, he took to the air and sat on the back of a flying swallow.

The other disciples of the Shenmu Sect followed suit.

The next moment, ten flying swallows took off from the ground and flew swiftly toward the horizon.

Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan hugged Fei Yunyan's neck tightly, their cheeks flushed with excitement.

The oncoming gale blew the two women's hair back, and the whooshing sound of the wind excited them.

Although both of them were already True Essence Realm martial artists and could fly, riding the Flying Cloud Swallow in the air now gave them an extraordinary feeling.

"You two hurry up and activate your true energy shields. Do you feel uncomfortable being blown by the wind?" Bai Muxue's divine thought transmission sounded in Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan's minds.

Sun Muqing and Jiang Lingxuan then realized what was happening and immediately activated their true energy shields.

Once the true energy shield was activated, the gale was immediately blocked, thus freeing Jiang Lingxuan and Sun Muqing from the disturbance of the gale.