Seeing that Qiu Jiuzhen had finally stopped after her hesitation, Baili Yuan's aura remained sky-high as he chased after Gan Shi.
Over four hundred li. With Gan Shi traveling at full speed, he saw Mei Bucai's group after less than half an incense stick's time. As Gan Shi and his group approached, several other Divine Senses also scanned the six of them, who had been standing in place for a long time. But they also scanned Gan Shi's Divine Sense, which was covering that area. After an initial hesitation, there were still faint signs of them approaching Mei Bucai's group. But not long after, Baili Yuan's powerful Divine Sense also instantly enveloped Mei Bucai's group. Immediately, the approaching team stopped its movements. Because Gan Shi and Baili Yuan's Divine Senses had transmitted at the same time, "Whoever approaches these six, the Malevolent Spirit Sect will hunt you down to the death."
The approach of two great Foundation Establishment masters immediately made the teams with intentions change their minds. They didn't know that Gan Shi had only retained his powerful Divine Sense and that his combat strength had not yet recovered. But anyone would have to think twice before encountering a Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone in a situation with two of them. How could they gain any advantage in a fight?
Gan Shi shot over like a meteor. He had long since left the few behind him far behind. He wasn't worried anyway. He had not encountered any obstacles along the way, and with Baili Yuan covering the rear, there would be no problem for the few in the middle. He saw the six people standing in the distance and couldn't help but nod. Even though he had told them to wait in place, Mei Bucai's group was still standing back to back in a horn formation. At the same time, a faint yellow mist surrounded them a few zhang out, shrouding their figures. It was clearly a deadly poison.
Even after Gan Shi landed, although their expressions were excited, none of them walked out of the protective yellow mist. They just stared warily at this yellow-haired man who was over a zhang tall.
"Alright, Mei Bucai, you little rascal, no need to stare at me like that. I'm not an illusion. Dispel the poison mist. Don't accidentally injure me. Where's your Martial Aunt Gong?" Gan Shi glanced at the yellow mist after he landed, then flicked his hand, and a black token shot toward Mei Bucai. He could see that Mei Bucai was the leader of these few, so he didn't make things difficult for them.
Seeing an object fly over, Mei Bucai looked at it with a solemn expression. When he saw it clearly, he snatched the black token in his hand, looked at it carefully, and finally relaxed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Martial Uncle Gan, the illusions here are too terrifying. This disciple's cultivation is too low, and I was afraid I couldn't distinguish them for a moment, so..."
Before he could finish, Gan Shi had already arrived outside the yellow mist. He waved his hand. "Alright, no more nonsense. Dispel the yellow mist. Do you really want me to act?"
Hearing this, Mei Bucai, Cheng Jingnian, and the other five, with respectful expressions, scattered and quickly reached out to tap the yellow mist in front of them. This yellow mist was a mixture of the strongest poisons each of them possessed. Its toxicity was something even Gan Shi would find a bit troublesome. After retracting the condensed yellow mist, the few of them walked out at the same time.
Mei Bucai took a step forward and respectfully handed the token back to Gan Shi with both hands. Seeing Gan Shi's impatient expression, he knew what this Martial Uncle was anxious about. As he handed over the token, he began to recount how they had met Wang Lang and how Gong Chenying had stayed behind. He also explained that Gong Chenying was heavily injured.
Seeing how sensible Mei Bucai was, Gan Shi nodded. But after hearing the rest, his brow furrowed, and he would occasionally ask a question. Besides Mei Bucai's narration, the others also occasionally added a few words. It was just that their expressions were also a bit tense, because they could all see that this Martial Uncle before them was obviously not as strong as they had thought. They had noticed the weak aura on his body. And why had this Martial Uncle come alone? It was just that no one dared to ask. They only respectfully answered Gan Shi's questions.
Gan Shi was thinking about things in his heart and didn't mention that Baili Yuan and the others were behind him. 'I have to find my way back along the path Mei Bucai's group came from as soon as possible. Otherwise, Junior Sister Gong will likely be in great danger.' His mind was racing.
And just as they were talking, a few more people dashed over from the distance, skimming along the ground. Mei Bucai's group, of course, also saw people rushing toward them. It was just that at this moment, they were no longer as tense as if facing a great enemy. No matter how weak Martial Uncle Gan was, he was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Besides, seeing that this Martial Uncle completely ignored the newcomers, it was clear he didn't take them seriously. They also relaxed a little.
Those few people came very quickly and were close in a few breaths. When they entered the range of Mei Bucai's Divine Sense scan, Mei Bucai's group relaxed even more. These people were all Malevolent Spirit Sect disciples, and they were quite familiar with several of them. Du Sanjiang, Lu Qiutong, and Rui Feikai were all there. These were the few that Baili Yuan had assigned to Gan Shi. They were currently the strongest among the Qi Condensation disciples, assigned to protect Gan Shi.
When Mei Bucai's group of six saw Du Sanjiang appear, a look of confusion appeared in their eyes. If they remembered correctly, Du Sanjiang, Lu Qiutong, and the other two cultivators behind them should have been with Martial Uncle Baili's team. But then, their eyes lit up, and they all thought of a possibility.
The few of them flew over quickly and stood behind Gan Shi, not speaking. They just bowed to Mei Bucai's group of six with cupped fists. Mei Bucai's group of six returned the gesture and also did not speak. Gan Shi had his eyes lowered, as if in deep thought.
A moment later, Gan Shi frowned and said, "Why hasn't Baili come over yet?" At the same time, his Divine Sense swept toward the rear. His words seemed to be directed at Du Sanjiang's group, yet also as if he were muttering to himself. Du Sanjiang and the others gave a bitter smile. Their orders were just to follow this Martial Uncle. Seeing him advance at extreme speed, they could only do their best to keep up. If not for this Martial Uncle's concern that they would be left behind, they would probably have lost sight of him long ago. Now, in their Divine Senses, they had long since lost track of Martial Uncle Baili.
Hearing Gan Shi's self-muttering words, a look of excitement appeared in the eyes of Mei Bucai's group of six. It was just as they had guessed. These two Martial Uncles had already rendezvoused. In that case, Martial Aunt Gong was saved.
Gan Shi's Divine Sense scanned out. He had determined that Baili Yuan was less than one hundred and fifty li from him and would arrive soon. And that girl from the Supreme Mystery Teachings had already left with her few people.
He did not waste any time but looked at Mei Bucai and continued to ask, "Which direction did you come from? Did your Martial Aunt Gong say how many people the opponent had, besides Wang Lang?"
"Reporting to Martial Uncle, Martial Aunt Gong did not say how many people the opponent had in total, but there is no doubt that Wang Lang was the only Foundation Establishment cultivator. We wanted to stay behind to intercept the enemy together, but we were strictly ordered to leave by Martial Aunt Gong," Cheng Jingnian said softly.
"Even if you had stayed, it would have been in vain. The enemy is a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It makes sense. Otherwise, with her heavy injuries, holding off one Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been her limit. If there were other Foundation Establishment cultivators, they would only need to split up and chase you, and you would have no chance of escape. Then, after your Martial Uncle Baili arrives, we will go and search," Gan Shi nodded and then stood there, motionless.
At this time, Du Sanjiang and his group walked over to a corner with Mei Bucai's group and began to whisper.
Not long after, Baili Yuan led his group over. Since Qiu Jiuzhen had left, they had also been rushing over. But just as they arrived, Gan Shi pointed in the direction Mei Bucai's group had come from and said to Baili Yuan, "Junior Sister Gong disappeared there."
Baili Yuan had already communicated with Gan Shi via Divine Sense on his way here and already knew about Gong Chenying's situation. He didn't say a word. He and Gan Shi took the lead, with Mei Bucai in the middle, constantly pointing the way. They flew directly toward Gong Chenying's original location. The dozens of disciples behind them split Cheng Jingnian's group of five into different small circles, all privately asking about the reason via Divine Sense. They knew nothing about Mei Bucai's team's situation. They only saw their two Martial Uncles silently sandwiching the fatty Mei and rushing forward, so they could only ask these few.
Under the lead of the two Foundation Establishment masters, they headed for the edge of the region. At this time, there were basically no other people here. Even if an occasional aftershock of a Divine Sense swept past, seeing that the team was led by two Foundation Establishment masters, they would quickly avoid them from a distance. Baili Yuan and his group also paid no attention but released their Divine Senses and continuously scanned their surroundings.
To their disappointment, when they arrived at the place of the battle, apart from some remaining traces of the fight, they found nothing else. And the giant dark shadow in the sky was now no more than two hundred meters from them. The more distant traces of the fight and everything else had been silently swallowed up by the sky shadow.
The two of them had solemn expressions. They split up and flew along the edge of the giant sky shadow for another four hundred li in two directions, but still found nothing. The two of them had no choice but to turn back and rendezvous again. After a brief discussion, they could only fly toward the center. Along the way, they continued to search for Gong Chenying with their Divine Senses. To their worry, they still found nothing. Including the Junior Brother Li who had come to report, there was no trace of him either. The two of them didn't know how big this area was. Now, they could only hope that Li Yan was in another direction. As for Gong Chenying, a bad feeling had already risen in their hearts. It was just that they hadn't found that Wang Lang either, so the two of them still held on to a sliver of hope.
At this moment, Wang Lang's face was extremely ugly. After he had recovered for half an hour, he could no longer summon his flying swords. But he could still use some low-power immortal arts and summon the flying sword magical treasures from his storage bag. He chased after Li Yan in the direction he had fled. At this time, Wang Lang no longer had any thought of getting a good ranking in the competition. His heart was now filled with frustration. Decades of the sect's painstaking efforts. In the previous trials, not only had he not encountered the Malevolent Spirit Sect once, but he had also completely wiped out the Supreme Mystery Teachings cultivators who had successfully rendezvoused with him. He himself had been heavily injured as a result, and the only three survivors he had brought out had been poisoned to death by the Malevolent Spirit Sect, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. The anger in his chest was about to burn him to death. No matter what, he had to make the people of the Malevolent Spirit Sect pay the price, even if it meant losing his ranking, losing the rich rewards, and even the chance to advance to the Golden Core Realm that might be in the rewards. Otherwise, this inner demon would surely accompany him for the rest of his life.
But after searching for a period of time, he still found nothing. For a time, he didn't know where that Qi Condensation cultivator from the Malevolent Spirit Sect had hidden the heavily injured Gong Chenying. In half an hour, a Qi Condensation cultivator who couldn't fly should not have gone beyond a hundred li radius, unless he had a high-grade flying magical artifact.
After searching for a while longer, Wang Lang's Divine Sense turned to the sky. Not long after, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face. To his surprise, he had actually discovered a White Jade Skiff in the air, three hundred li to his right, flying continuously along the edge of the sky shadow.
'It really is Gong Chenying and that Qi Condensation kid.' It was just that although Gong Chenying's aura was weak, she did not look heavily injured, and her aura was gradually increasing. This made Wang Lang hesitate for a moment. His current state was terrible. He had originally thought he would find an unconscious Gong Chenying, but the situation now was not what he had imagined. For a moment, he couldn't help but hesitate.
And just as Wang Lang discovered Li Yan's group, Gong Chenying suddenly opened her beautiful eyes from her meditation. Just now, she had felt a Divine Sense sweep past from above. She was familiar with this Divine Sense; she had fought with it before. So, Gong Chenying also immediately released her Divine Sense. A moment later, she withdrew it.