One side consisted of Tai Miao Sect cultivators who had already been worn down — one peak Qi Refining, two late Qi Refining, and two mid Qi Refining. The other side had one peak Qi Refining cultivator who had been exhausted quite a bit and one cultivator whose cultivation couldn’t be seen at all.
No matter how you looked at it, their side held an absolute advantage!
The Huang-surnamed cultivator thought this and immediately gave the order for his side’s cultivators to make their move.
“If we can swallow both groups, we’ll definitely profit big!”
Thus, under his command, Mu Ya and a late Qi Refining Lingxu Sect cultivator instantly arrived beside Shucao and Jin Xuan, surrounding them from front and back.
“Damn it. If you had just obediently let me pull you away earlier, you could’ve escaped. Once the Lingxu Sect group caught up, there would’ve been no chance to run. I really shouldn’t have meddled and helped you!”
Jin Xuan withdrew the golden banner flag that had been blocking in front of Shucao and held it horizontally before him, staying on guard against the two surrounding them. He spoke angrily.
Hearing Jin Xuan’s words, Shucao could only reply helplessly.
“Who asked you to help! If you hadn’t suddenly brought that group over, it wouldn’t have turned out like this.”
“If I had taken you out of here, you would definitely have to pay me a reward. Of course, if you’re willing to become my Dao companion, we can discuss the reward separately.”
“I have zero interest in Dao companions or anything like that. Let’s deal with the trouble in front of us first before talking about anything else.”
Shucao looked at Mu Ya standing in front of them and quietly said to An Qianhua.
“Sister Qianhua, what do you think of his strength?”
“That old man called Mu Ya? Let me think… He seems to be around the same realm as Jin Xuan. But they chased Jin Xuan for so long with so many people and still couldn’t take him down. That means in some aspects, this Mu Ya is definitely weaker than Jin Xuan.”
“Weaker than Jin Xuan, huh.”
“Aiya, why think so much? Look at that guy — he’s already that old. With your fighting style, a couple of hits and his old bones probably won’t be able to take it. Just go for it!”
Shucao looked at the old man standing not far ahead and said.
“Fellow Daoist Mu Ya, you really can’t let us leave?”
“Fellow Daoist Shucao, my lifespan is nearing its end. For the sake of Foundation Establishment, I have no other choice. The few fellow Daoists before this handed over the materials they collected in the secret realm to us, and they were all able to leave the secret realm without anything missing. As long as you obediently hand over your spirit materials, letting you leave safely is something that can be done.”
“Aiya… Then it looks like there’s nothing left to discuss. Sorry, Fellow Daoist Mu Ya.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shucao immediately drove her magic power, accelerating to the limit of her current realm in an instant. At the same time, she threw a punch straight toward Mu Ya’s dantian.
Thud!
Mu Ya couldn’t react to Shucao’s speed at all. That speed far exceeding the Qi Refining limit, combined with her magic power reinforced fist, solidly struck Mu Ya’s body. After a strange cry, he was sent flying backward in that instant, crashing heavily onto the ground and leaving a long trail on the dirt. After he stopped, he directly collapsed powerlessly onto the ground.
Instant kill! It was actually an instant kill! How could it be an instant kill?!
After seeing Shucao finish Mu Ya with a single punch, Jin Xuan’s first reaction was exactly that. No matter what, the other party was still a peak Qi Refining cultivator. Finishing him with one punch was far too outrageous.
After sending Mu Ya flying, Shucao looked at her own fist and muttered.
“I use about this much force when hitting demon beasts. Using it on a cultivator seems a bit too much. Looks like I’ll have to hold back next time. But that old man said he was peak Qi Refining. One punch shouldn’t have killed him, right?”
Although Mu Ya had helped the Huang-surnamed Lingxu Sect cultivator find several other loose cultivators and robbed them of their spirit materials before driving them out of the secret realm, it wasn’t something that went against heaven and reason. After all, every loose cultivator who entered using a Spirit Purification Token had already prepared themselves for the risk of being caught. Therefore, Shucao didn’t want the other party to pay with their life because of this.
Thus, using the magic power she had left on Mu Ya’s body, Shucao carefully sensed the injuries inside him. After confirming there were still signs of life, she let out a sigh of relief. She then looked toward the other late Qi Refining cultivator.
“Walk away yourself, or should I help you walk away?”
The Lingxu Sect late Qi Refining disciple who had personally witnessed Shucao send Mu Ya flying with one punch broke out in cold sweat the moment he saw Shucao look at him. He was terrified that she would take advantage of his inattention and rush in front of him with that eerily fast speed, sending him flying just like Mu Ya. He knew very well that as a late Qi Refining cultivator, he was definitely not as durable as Mu Ya!
Fear made him instinctively take half a step back. Just as he retreated, Shucao suddenly rushed in front of him. Her fist extended forward, as if she was about to throw a punch.
“Oh shit!”
Seeing this scene, the cultivator let out a startled cry. Taking advantage of the moment before Shucao’s fist swung out, he directly crushed the teleportation jade token he had prepared in his hand!
“Rather than getting injured and having the materials I collected robbed, it’s better to just run away with the materials I already have!”
With this thought, a flash of white light appeared, and the cultivator disappeared from in front of her.
“I only tried to scare him and actually scared him into running away. But how did he run? Instant teleportation?”
Looking in the direction the person had disappeared, Shucao muttered.
“That was a teleportation jade token.”
Jin Xuan behind her explained.
“The three sects are different from us loose cultivators who entered using Spirit Purification Tokens. They have special teleportation jade tokens that allow their disciples to teleport out when they encounter danger in the secret realm. We can only use the Spirit Purification Token to find the entrance again and return through the original path. It can be said that they, with teleportation jade tokens, are much safer than us.”
“I see. Speaking of which…”
Shucao looked at Jin Xuan with a half-smile.
“Earlier you kept saying that if you helped me, you would ask me for a reward. But in reality, the one who broke this encirclement was me. So shouldn’t you give me some kind of reward?”
Watching Shucao stretch out her palm toward him, asking for a reward, Jin Xuan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. After all, he never expected that this girl who looked like she had no spiritual energy at all and seemed weak and delicate would actually possess such terrifying strength.
“This girl… she couldn’t be some Foundation Establishment cultivator who suppressed her realm to come in and bully lower-stage cultivators, right?”
Although he was somewhat unwilling, thinking about what he had said earlier and Shucao’s strangely powerful strength, he still took out a pearl emitting blue light from his storage pouch.
“This is called the Canghai Pearl. It’s an item I found in the Tiancong Sea near Dragon City. It contains extremely pure water-attribute spiritual energy and is a high-grade material for refining artifacts or spirit tools. Since you helped me repel those two, I’ll give you this as your reward.”
Looking at the pearl that appeared very precious, Shucao said somewhat cautiously.
“This thing looks really expensive. You giving it to me… you don’t have some other purpose, do you?”
Jin Xuan clicked his tongue and said with some disdain.
“I am the second son of the Jin Family in Dragon City. How could I take advantage of you? This item was a gift someone gave me on one of my birthdays. If it weren’t for the fact that this thing isn’t very useful to me and only counts as a large spirit stone, and because all the spirit materials I collected this time entering the secret realm are what I need for Foundation Establishment, I could only give you this. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have used it as a reward. Giving it to you is still me being generous.”
After Jin Xuan’s explanation, Shucao still accepted the Canghai Pearl. She then looked at Jin Xuan and said.
“Those two sects’ people are still fighting over there. If you want to leave, you should hurry up and go.”
“What about you?”
Shucao looked toward the other side where several people were still in chaotic battle and smiled faintly.
“Naturally, I’m going to deal with all of them!”