"What are you waiting for?! Do something already!" Fei Qing shouted, unable to hold back any longer.
People were dying right before his very eyes, so how could he?
However, his agitated shouts fell on deaf ears. Ren Xiexing remained silent, keeping his gaze fixated on the three men who continued to casually cut down the escaping members of the vanguard party.
It appeared rather cold to be ignoring the deaths that were happening with every passing moment, but Zhao Yunxiao could actually relate to his current action – or inaction.
That was because these three men seemed to be far too relaxed.
It was understandable for them to be acting in such a leisurely manner when dealing with the ordinary mortals of the vanguard party. But why were they still so calm even after seeing the main strike force stationed outside the cave?
Coupled with how the Scarlet Leaf Sect were already expecting the coalition's arrival and even stationed a member outside in preparation, it was not impossible for this to be a trap. Either that, or these three men just had that much confidence in their own strength.
Regardless of which way it was, acting carelessly could spell disaster.
"Tch!" Fei Qing clicked his tongue in frustration, but Cong Liexian's stern gaze stopped him from doing anything else.
"How about letting me take the initiative, Fellow Cultivator Ren?" another member of the main strike force volunteered.
He was a young man who could not look more ordinary. There was only one thing about him that stood out – the huge stone sword that he carried on his back.
"...Then I'd have to trouble you, Fellow Cultivator Nian Qin," Ren Xiexing hesitated for a moment before clasping his fists towards him. "But be careful."
"I will," Nian Qin returned the greeting.
Turning his attention back to the three men, a fierce light flashed across Nian Qin's eyes. His bloodthirst erupted in an instant, causing all non-cultivators' knees to turn weak. Even cultivators of the Righteous Coalition – his own allies – could not help but feel a sense of threat.
The three men were no exception. They immediately halted their killing, their faces turning solemn as they watched Nian Qin warily.
In response to the attention, Nian Qin flew towards them without hesitation. "Wheel of Stone!"
Raising an open palm, essence energy came together to form a stone wheel hovering above his palm. It rapidly grew bigger and bigger, until it was more or less the size of the cave entrance.
"Go!" Nian Qin turned his palm to point towards the three men, and the huge wheel immediately flew forward, spinning rapidly as though it was running on an invisible road.
All eyes fell upon the three men, curious to see what sort of move they would make. However, what happened next caused everyone to frown in confusion.
Instead of defending against the technique or simply dodging the attack, all three of them instantly turned around and ran back into the depths of the cave!
Even then, the giant stone wheel followed right behind them, entering the cave and rolling in after them. It gave off a loud rumble as it disappeared into the darkness of the cave.
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
Given how leisurely and arrogant they had acted, he definitely had not expected them to escape without even trying to defend themselves.
In the end, was it all just a farce?
"Where do you think you are going?!" Nian Qin shouted as he prepared to charge in after them.
"Fellow Cultivator Nian, wait!" Ren Xiexing called out at this moment. "Be careful of traps!"
"This..." Nian Qin hesitated upon hearing his reminder. "But are we going to just let them hide in there forever?"
"Of course not. Vanguard party, enter the cave to scout for us!" Ren Xiexing instructed.
His words were like a bolt of lightning ripping through the ears of the vanguard party members. They were only just starting to feel relieved about having escaped the three cultivators, and now they had to go back in there again?
What were they supposed to do if they met the three of them again?
Wasn't this equivalent to a death sentence?
"Don't worry, we will be following right behind you this time," Ren Xiexing assured, though it was doubtful whether that alone would be enough to put their hearts at ease.
"Do you really think that they are still in a state to scout for you?" Fei Qing questioned.
"Are you the leader of this coalition?" Ren Xiexing questioned right back. His message was clear – Fei Qing was in no position to tell him what to do.
"Do you really have to be this ruthless?" Fei Qing refused to back down completely, though his tone did mellow down a little.
Unfortunately, Ren Xiexing once again chose to ignore him.
"What are you waiting for? Didn't you hear what I said? Or are you choosing to defy my orders right now?" Ren Xiexing's voice boomed in the ears of the vanguard party members, causing them to tremble in fear. "Do you really think that I will just stand by and watch if you continue to be this defiant? Let me warn you right now – I am definitely not that nice a person!"
Hearing those words, the exhausted members of the vanguard party had no choice but to turn around.
Their legs felt heavy; the bloody scene of slaughter from before was still fresh in their minds. Just thinking about it was enough to make them feel nauseous.
But at the same time, they had also witnessed how Nian Qin's Wheel of Stone sent the Scarlet Leaf Sect members running. Coupled with Ren Xiexing's promise that the main strike force would be right behind them this time, that gave them a little bit of hope that it would be safer this time.
After all, it was not like they had a choice. At this point, they could only try to convince themselves that things would be all right.
Among them was Xiao Chan – the female servant from the Hei Residence. It would appear that she had been fortunate enough to survive the first round of slaughter.
Still, Zhao Yunxiao Two could sense the deep unease in her eyes. It was likely that she had already started to regret her decision to join the vanguard party, as was the case with most others.
Even then, the vanguard party reluctantly retraced their steps, slowly making their way back towards the cave.
"...Let's go as well," Ren Xiexing said. The main strike force moved to follow, much to the relief of the vanguard party.
Ke Huofen's group entered behind them. So did Fei Qing and Cong Liexian.
"So, you are the one causing us trouble!" Shao Chen yelled before charging through the air, having finally spotted the frail-looking man who had just shown himself behind the trailing group.
"Hahaha! Causing you trouble? You will soon realise that it is more than just trouble that you bunch are in right now!" the frail-looking man laughed while brandishing his crescent moon blades.
Unlike the three men from before, he had no intention of escaping.
Shao Chen did not speak further, choosing to answer with his fists instead.
Bang-!
Fists against blades – the two clashed in a thunderous collision, sending shockwaves in all directions.
Trees creaked loudly as they swayed to the point of almost falling over. Rocks and sand rolled down the cliff walls on each side. Pebbles and fallen leaves were completely swept away. Even the members of the trailing group found themselves knocked a good few steps away, with many of them directly stumbling to the ground.
Zhao Yunxiao Two's eyes lit up in surprise. It became clear to him immediately – this was a fight at the Origin Core realm. Not only that, but he also had a front-row seat to observe it in its entirety!
"L-Let's follow Sir Ren's group. This place isn't safe!"
"You want to go in there? Isn't that the main base of the Scarlet Leaf Sect...?"
"Yeah, but Sir Ren is there, as well as Sir Ke and his friends! If we stay here, we would be screwed if this guy were to lose!"
"That makes sense..."
Not many in the trailing group recognised Shao Chen, but most were convinced about Ke Huofen. At the same time, everyone had also witnessed the way that Ren Xiexing had spoken to General Tie Huaheng on seemingly equal terms. That also caused his status to rise in the hearts of those present.
In their eyes, Ren Xiexing and Ke Huofen were the only reliable ones in the entire Righteous Coalition.
"I'm going first!" the soldier guide was the first to move.
"Wait for me!"
"I'm coming too!"
With the soldier guide making the first move, the rest no longer hesitated. And just like that, even the trailing group started to make their way into the cave.
Zhao Yunxiao was speechless.
He was only just thinking that he could observe and analyse the Origin Core level fight between Shao Chen and the frail-looking man. But with the trailing group leaving, he could not possibly stay behind alone to watch, as that would draw far too much attention to himself.
There was only one option – to follow the trailing group into the cave.
Then again, this might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Even though he would no longer be able to observe the fight out here, it was not as though there would not be any similar opportunities inside the cave.
There were still many other members of the main strike force; surely some of them would be similar to Shao Chen in terms of cultivation level.
On top of that, it would be even more amazing if the opportunity arose for him to watch Ren Xiexing in action. After all, Ren Xiexing was already at the Dao Rune realm, a full realm above the Origin Core level!
With that thought in mind, he entered the darkness of the cave alongside the rest of the trailing group.
***
"What's this? There's nothing in here," Nian Qin complained.
From the outside, the inside of the cave had seemed to be in complete darkness. But once they entered deep enough, they realised that the inside of the cave was actually surprisingly well-lit.
Glowing stones were positioned at regular intervals on the walls and along the edges of the ground, illuminating the long tunnel that they were in. This explained how the vanguard party had managed to venture so deep into the cave earlier, considering they did not have the spiritual senses that cultivators possessed.
"Calm down, you are a little too worked up right now," Ren Xiexing reminded.
"I can't help it. Once I make a move, I don't feel comfortable until I completely crush my opponents!" Nian Qin cracked his knuckles eagerly.
"Is that so?" Ren Xiexing chuckled. "If that's the case, feel free to take on the first opponents who appear later."
"Since you have already agreed, I definitely won't hold back!" Nian Qin smirked in excitement.
Unfortunately for him, the group did not come across any members of the Scarlet Leaf Sect even as they ventured deeper into the cave.
Ten minutes...
Twenty minutes...
After walking for half an hour, even the initially anxious members of the vanguard party started to relax. They had encountered the three men much earlier during their first entry, so getting to walk this far in without any obstructions gave them a slight confidence boost.
Perhaps with the main strike force right behind them, they no longer had to fear the members of the Scarlet Leaf Sect!
Soon, the Righteous Coalition reached the end of the long tunnel, arriving at the entrance of a large chamber.
The high ceiling – taller than a seven-storey pagoda – was held up by numerous tall stone pillars that seemed to be naturally formed. A light mist filled the chamber, originating from the chilling cold that permeated the area.
It was cold enough that ice had formed on the surfaces of the walls, ground, and the stone pillars. At this temperature, each breath taken by the coalition members would give rise to faint white vapour.
"Be careful," Ren Xiexing cautioned. "This wide space makes for the perfect spot for an ambush."
Upon hearing his words, the members of the vanguard party tensed up once again, though they continued to spread out to explore the chamber. On the other hand, the main strike force generally stayed together as they advanced.
"There's something here!" a member of the vanguard party shouted. "There's some strange character written on the ground!"
"Let me take a look!" Nian Qin flew forward without hesitation to take a closer look. "This... it is not just a strange character. It's an array node – one that has been drawn with blood!"
"B-Blood...?" the one who discovered the red character stuttered nervously.
"Clear for me!" Nian Qin shouted.
With a wave of his hands, the faint mist that shrouded the area parted for an instant, temporarily revealing a gigantic red emblem that covered the ground of the entire chamber.
And just like the array node, the entire emblem had been drawn with blood.
But that was not even the most shocking matter. The clearing of the faint mist simultaneously revealed dozens of people who were standing motionlessly right at the centre of the huge emblem.
Their eyes were closed and their heads were hung low. In that strange state, the group of them remained absolutely still as they continued to sink into the rock floor, almost as though the ground were some sort of rocky quicksand.
At this moment, any part above the knees still remained visible above ground level. But at this rate, it would not take more than ten minutes before all of them were fully submerged into the ground.