Chapter 263 Different Paths, Same Destination
After Mu Jianjian finished speaking, she felt the silence around her and realized she had spoken out of turn...
What happens when you accidentally blurt out your innermost thoughts?
Ouyang Wenjin's eyes, which had been gazing into the distance, slowly shifted towards this side. A faint smile flashed across her face, but the blush on her cheeks vanished in an instant, and she returned to her original pale and weak appearance.
Xiong Guang could understand every word the woman spoke, but the meaning of the words together was quite perplexing.
Why can the head keep falling?
Although he didn't understand, he knew it generally meant something derogatory, and then glared angrily at Mu Jianjian.
He felt that he had been provoked by a woman with no cultivation.
Team leader Sun frowned as he watched the farce unfold, glancing at the injured cultivators on his side who were still receiving treatment, but ultimately remained silent.
"Young Master, my sister and I have always depended on each other for survival, and we have never encountered anyone outside..." Seeing that Xiong Guangze was about to get angry, Wan Xing quickly spoke up to mediate.
Even if you just heard the other party's words that seemed to pierce your heart, you still have to pretend that you don't care at all.
Without sufficient strength, this is all one can do.
"Xing'er, are you really so cruel as to try to sever all ties with me?" Xiong Guangze glanced nervously at the pink-clad woman in his arms. "I know you hate me, but Xiao Fen is innocent. I hope you can save her..."
"Young Master, your Daoist partner's injury was not caused by my sister, so how can she be innocent or not?" Mu Jianjian's voice was hoarse and desperate, so helpless and pitiful that it shocked everyone. "You said you made my sister cut off her arm and bleed, isn't that a kind of cruelty?"
Trying to out-argue her? It's best to find the loopholes in her arguments and refute them.
The girl's voice was mournful, and the tears glistening in her eyes quickly captured the hearts of the others, winning them some sympathy.
"Who do you think you are, speaking here? How dare you ruin the bond between Xing'er and me?"
As the exchange of words continued, Xiong Guangze's patience gradually ran out. He felt the little pink in his arms growing weaker and weaker, and a lightsaber surrounded by orange-red flames appeared around them, pointing directly at Mu Jianjian!
"Young Master Xiong, calm down. We're here to find something, not to catch up with old acquaintances."
They haven't even reached the mountainside yet, and the monsters have already decimated most of their forces. The monsters' earlier escape was partly due to luck; if...
Team leader Sun initially didn't want to get involved, but considering the situation, both girls were more pitiful than the others, especially since they were in his team. So he had to speak up.
"Xing'er, since you refuse to acknowledge me, then don't blame me for being heartless." Seeing the woman's indifferent attitude towards him, Xiong Guangze was furious, and the flames burning on the hilt of his sword became even more ferocious.
Ouyang Wenni watched all this with her arms crossed.
The brother and sister hired a caravan to collect rare herbs. The brother, being kind-hearted, wanted to take in these two useless people with no cultivation, but she was unwilling.
It would be great if these two could die now.
Ouyang Wenjin coughed violently, then slowly turned to face Xiong Guangze. "Young Master Xiong, you have no evidence, so please don't make things difficult for these two poor girls."
Xiong Guang glanced at the man's expensive brocade robes before regaining his composure, but he still didn't let it go. "You want evidence? Her blood is the evidence. As long as you can get her blood and give it to Xiao Fen, you'll know I'm right."
He couldn't be mistaken; that expression and that voice must belong to his Xing'er!
Wan Xingruo originally had some hope for the past, but now the other party has completely eradicated all the memories and ambiguity in her heart.
I used to think it was his father who was ruthless and greedy, but you can't judge a book by its cover. He himself is probably the same way!
Wan Xing looked up in horror, the memory of having her flesh cut out and blood gushing back flooding her mind. Just as her body trembled, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"They're here again." Mu Jianjian looked up at the horizon. If just now only three demonic beasts rushed in to scout ahead, now it seemed that the whole pack had come out, and the swaying branches formed a dynamic distant view.
The monstrous beast that blotted out the sky appeared, even larger than the ones that had appeared before. Its giant paws slammed into the dust, raising clouds of debris that even covered the sky.
"Young Master, what should we do?" a man behind Xiong Guangze asked anxiously.
They originally sent people to explore the path leading up the mountain, but they didn't expect to disturb the monsters. Now it seems they can't escape either.
Xiong Guang glanced at the pink-clad woman in his arms, frowning. "Use pills to keep her alive for now. She's not allowed to die before she spits out the secret diagram. As for these demonic beasts—"
It's a pity that the demonic beast arrived at such an inopportune time; otherwise, he would have definitely been able to test the woman's true nature...
"Boom boom boom—"
A more intense roar than the previous wave of monsters came from the distant mountain peaks.
He glanced at Team Leader Sun, who was already preparing for battle, and smirked, "Someone will always step up and deal with these beasts."
Despite its enormous size, the dark-colored beast moved with incredible agility, charging towards their location. Trees fell and rocks shattered in its wake. A man from the caravan quickly stepped forward and drew a formation to intercept it.
A pale blue light burst forth in the air, and in the blink of an eye, a killing array teeming with true energy appeared before everyone's eyes.
Unfortunately, although the formation slowed down the monster's speed, it did not stop it from stomping down with its claws. And under its claws that landed was the very spot where Mu Jianjian and the other person were!
"Xing'er!" Xiong Guangze, who was originally planning to lead the caravan to evacuate, felt a pang of pain in his heart and couldn't help but shout out, but he made no move to go and rescue her.
The next moment, the monster raised its claws, and after the thick fog dissipated, a deep pit was left in the ground. There was no sign of any survivors.
"Let's go." The momentary lapse in concentration was short. After confirming the other person's death, Xiong Guang immediately fell silent and began organizing the other cultivators in the caravan to climb the mountain together.
If this monster could be killed with a single blow, then it seems he was mistaken; his Xing'er is not that weak.
Ouyang Wenni felt it was only natural.
The two women, who had no cultivation, were powerless against the demonic beasts without her even having to make a move. After all, who would pay attention to someone who was completely useless?
Ouyang Wenjin remained expressionless. Surrounded by numerous cultivators, even as his true energy surged, his hair remained perfectly intact. He merely chuckled and turned his gaze to the other side of the woods.
Beneath his robes, specks of dark dust drifted by.
——
Not far away, on one side of a dense forest, two women suddenly appeared out of thin air. One looked terrified, while the other appeared relaxed and at ease.
“We’ve made it out—” Wan Xing’s eyes gleamed as she patted her chest. “They won’t discover you have true qi, will they?”
"Probably not. I moved here at the last minute, so they probably didn't even notice." Mu Jianjian looked down at the black dust that had somehow gotten on her sleeve, frowned, and then sniffed it gently.
It is colorless, odorless, and shows no abnormalities.
"What's wrong?" Wan Xing asked softly, noticing the other person's serious expression.
"It's nothing." Mu Jianjian put her thoughts aside and brushed the dust off her sleeves, which was mostly dust she had accidentally picked up while hiding in the treetops.
After his tense mood relaxed, Wan Xing finally vented his emotions in a deserted place, "Look, when I was on a mission to kill monsters, I saved him several times, but just now he didn't even want to come over once, yet he was so protective of a Qi Condensation woman..."
"Have you ever thought about why Xiong Guangze let Xiao Fen be his Daoist partner?" Mu Jianjian turned to ask Wan Xing.
"Maybe it's because... I really like him?" Wan Xing cried, tears streaming down his face.
"With such a profit-driven personality, how could she possibly have any real affection?" Mu Jianjian said dismissively, recalling Xiong Guangze's flippant introduction of Xiao Fen. "She's not from a wealthy family, yet she's favored by Xiong Guangze because of her Qi Condensation cultivation. Either she has something of vital importance in her possession, or she knows some important information."
"I—" Wan Xing was about to speak when she looked at Mu Jianjian, who was interrupting her with her actions, and asked with her eyes what was wrong.
After a moment, Mu Jianjian spoke up, "I don't know if it was just my imagination, but I felt like someone was watching us just now."
"How is that possible? You used a secret technique to teleport here. In such a chaotic scene, how could anyone notice us?" Although Wan Xing was comforted, she was still somewhat depressed. She casually glanced to the side and spotted a huge figure approaching from a distance.
"Behind us...behind us, there are monsters behind us!"
As soon as Mu Jianjian turned her head, she saw the enormous creature approaching her. It was so fast that she didn't even have time to use her pupil-turning technique!
She abruptly shoved Wan Xing behind her backward, and at the same time, shouted coldly, "Huang Quan—"
The torrent of water descended from the sky, falling instantly like sweet rain beside the demonic beast. Each drop was transparent yet contained a strong corrosive aura, resisting the surging true energy.
"Sizzle—"
The scales of the demonic beast grazed Mu Jianjian's face, leaving a tiny, almost invisible wound on her fair skin, from which a small bead of blood oozed.
The true energy was approaching that of a cultivator at the fourth level of the Core Formation stage.
Although weaker than the monsters that blocked the way before, they were still difficult to deal with.
——
"Brother, are these people you found reliable?" Ouyang Wenni wiped the blood splattered on her face, her voice filled with resentment. "And those people even escaped while we were fighting!"
She looked around at the extremely strained appearance of Team Leader Sun and the others, and felt extremely impatient.
Ouyang Wenjin did not answer her question, but simply stretched out his hand and looked at the black dust floating in his palm, his expression unreadable.
“Brother, don’t be sad. Once we reach the top of the mountain and obtain the precious herbs, you will regain your strength and return to your position as young master!” Ouyang Wenni thought he was just feeling down and immediately comforted him, “Maybe by then your strength will be even greater, and the Palace Master will appreciate you even more.”
Before Ouyang Wenni could finish speaking, she saw the man with the cane in front of her glance over casually, the murderous intent hidden in his eyes sending chills down her spine. By the time she came to her senses, his gaze had returned to normal.
She must have seen it wrong...
Her brother loved her the most since they were little, so why would he look at her like that?
As long as she stays with her brother to help him recover, he will still be the fourth young master of Hehuan Palace!
——
In the southern part of the mountains, three people are working together to kill a giant monster.
The woman at the head of the group had a cold and aloof appearance, and her expression was like frost. She took the lead and charged ahead with two swords in her hands. With the help of the other two, she swiftly cut off the monster's neck with her swords, and the blood that splattered out did not stain her at all.
The demon beast, whose true energy was approaching the seventh level of the Core Formation stage, did not even last the time it takes for an incense stick to burn in the hands of these three people!
“It’s solved,” the woman in blue robes said, landing lightly beside the beast’s head. With a flick of her wrist, she plucked out the beast core, which appeared in her palm. “With this beast core, things will be much easier when we cross the mountainside.”
A man in red standing beside her nodded slightly, waved his gilded fan, and then turned to the thin boy wearing a veiled hat, asking, "Is something wrong?"
The veiled boy shook his head, the black veil swaying with his movements, and under the moonlight, a red and black snake was clearly coiled around his neck.
"It's nothing." The boy patted the snake's head, his voice indifferent and devoid of any emotion.
If there were a fourth person present, they would easily notice the tense and suffocating atmosphere. All three seemed to be ignoring something in order to maintain a semblance of peace and stability.
——
Mu Jianjian stared wide-eyed at the demonic beast bursting through the Yellow Springs, and pulled up Wan Xing, who was also dumbfounded, "Quick, quick! Use tree branches and leaves to hold it off for a while!"
She was stunned. The Yellow Spring Water could grant a cultivator the memories of his past life, allowing him to recall those events. But how could a demon beast have a past and memories similar to those of a human?
Upon seeing this, Wan Xing immediately grabbed a green leaf that was falling in the wind while running backward, infused it with his true energy, and casually tossed it backward.
"Boom—"
Using the green leaves as a medium, a thick, twisting branch, as thick as an arm, emerged and surged toward the monster, tightly binding its four claws.
Wanxing looked back at how his branches had been torn apart after a moment of control, and sighed helplessly.
When will she be as amazing as her aunt was in her prime?
“We can’t shake it off with the Pupil-Twisting Technique.” After several attempts to teleport away with the Pupil-Twisting Technique, she was caught up with every time. Mu Jianjian turned around to face the monster and took off the Morning and Evening Hairpin from her head. “We have no choice but to fight.”
Otherwise, once their true energy is exhausted and they are completely worn out, they will naturally become food for the monsters. It would be better to have a good fight now.
"Alright!" Wan Xing was already heartbroken because of what happened to Xiong Guangze. His eyes flashed with a fierce light. He understood Mu Jianjian's meaning, casually broke off a tree branch, and threw it at the monster.
The next moment, the girl beside him picked up a branch that was growing rapidly in the air, disappeared into thin air, and instantly appeared behind the monster's head!
"Clang, clang, clang—"
The tree branch, originally as thick as a fingertip, suddenly grew larger and, propelled by a brute force of true energy, slammed heavily onto the monster's head.
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