"Senior Brother Bian, it's been ten days. We already sent out the distress signal. Do you think the sect will come find us?"
In the Golden Core squad, Yuan Hao, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, spoke up. By now, the two Golden Core teams had merged into a group of sixteen. Three were severely wounded, surrounded in the center, their injuries oozing black blood.
The skin around the wounds was corroded bit by bit. Though healing pills helped the wounds close temporarily, once the effect wore off, the corrosion returned. Their faces were pale from pain, but they gritted their teeth and circulated spiritual energy to nourish the wounds, trying to minimize their use of healing pills.
"Don't worry. I can't guarantee what others will do, but Jian Lu Zūnzhǔ is leading this mission. Once she realizes we've lost contact, she will definitely send people to find us."
"We were betrayed by the steward at the outpost. Why would he do that?" Yuan Hao gritted his teeth.
"Hmph. He must be hiding something. Just because we can't see it doesn't mean others can't. For now, we have to preserve our strength and wait for backup."
"Senior Brother Bian, the purple leaf blood insects are coming again!"
A cultivator posted at the cave entrance saw a mass of purple leaf blood insects swarming in and immediately warned everyone inside.
"We'll take turns sending out two teams to fight them off. Absolutely no letting the enemy destroy our defense formation. If that happens, the consequences will be disastrous. And under no circumstances can any of you let the purple leaf blood insects bite you. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Good. I'll lead the first team out to kill the blood insects. Be ready to support us at any time."
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
A flicker of worry crossed Bian Qikang's eyes. After the grand competition at Cloud Sea Sect, their group had split into five teams, returning to the sect from different directions. Following Jian Lu Zūnzhǔ's orders, they patrolled the cities under Heavenly Sword Sect's jurisdiction, mainly looking for signs of evil cultivators.
Bian Qikang's team took the most direct route and should have been the fastest to the sect. But when they reached Yaoguang City, the Nascent Soul steward at the outpost sought them out, informing them of evil cultivator activity in the Ziyu Mountains, a thousand miles away.
Yao Zhēnjūn had secretly dispatched cultivators to investigate but none had returned. A Golden Core squad had already gone to the Ziyu Mountains after learning this and had not come back either.
Yao Zhēnjūn sent this information to the sect and was waiting for reinforcements. But worried for those in the field, he prepared to go himself.
Bian Qikang found it strange, but Yao Zhēnjūn named the leader and seven members of the other Golden Core squad, confirming their presence in Yaoguang City.
Yao Zhēnjūn's attempt to investigate was blocked by his subordinates, who reported the guard team had discovered a suspicious mansion belonging to one of Yaoguang City's major families. Yao Zhēnjūn was needed there for negotiation.
So Bian Qikang led his team toward the Ziyu Mountains based on Yao Zhēnjūn's intel.
Bian Qikang stayed cautious, leaving markers along the route. He felt something was off—too many coincidences. He didn't want to doubt his fellow cultivators but stayed careful.
After five days deep into the Ziyu Mountains, they found their sectmates' marks and followed them. The trail ended at a dense forest, with no further signs. They had no choice but to enter.
Around the forest's edge stood towering mutated elm trees with dripping green leaves, their trunks entwined with thick vines. Deeper inside, the plants turned purple, until in the heart of the forest, they discovered another Golden Core team locked in a bitter battle with the purple leaf blood insects.
Purple leaf blood insects were a mutated breed born from the trees. When resting on branches, they looked like purple leaves, their veins clearly visible. But underneath, thousands of needle-like mouthparts hid.
Once they latched onto flesh, they fed like leeches, draining blood in minutes. Meanwhile, they copied themselves to grow their numbers.
The earlier Golden Core team had clearly been lured into the insect nest. Three cultivators lay on the ground, unable to stand.
The remaining five formed a sword formation to protect the injured and began slaughtering the insects. Bian Qikang's squad joined, carving a bloody path through the swarm and escorting the wounded away.
Yet fate was cruel. No matter how many times they fought through, they always ended up back where they started.
"Senior Brother Bian, there's a formation here. If we can't break it, we can't leave."
Yuan Hao warned. They had no choice but to retreat to an abandoned cave, set up a defense formation, and check their wounds. The three heavily injured Golden Core cultivators were in critical condition.
In the initial encounter, all three had been bitten by the purple leaf blood insects. Though they crushed the bugs immediately, the wounds stayed open. After the battle, they noticed black blood seeping from their injuries, releasing faint black miasma, and corrosion spreading.
They tried to force out the black blood with spiritual power, but after turning red for a moment, it would soon darken again as corrosion deepened. Even cutting away flesh was useless. They were clearly losing blood fast and none knew how much longer they could hold on.
Seeing the danger, Bian Qikang used a Nascent Soul attack talisman to tear open a gap in the formation and quickly sent a distress signal.
The formation resealed immediately. After discussion, they decided to try breaking the formation by concentrating all their Nascent Soul attack talismans for a powerful strike.
But the formation only flickered, refusing to break.
"Senior Brother, we were betrayed by Yao Zhēnjūn. After you broke the formation once, it was reinforced. Someone is guarding it nearby," Yuan Hao gritted out.
"They want us all to die here as food for the purple leaf blood insects."
Bian Qikang's heart sank. If there really were watchers nearby, would the distress signal be intercepted?
His worry was justified. The distress signal never left the cave. Yao Zhēnjūn shattered it and reinforced the formation again before returning to Yaoguang City.
Bian Qikang had no choice but to keep fighting, hoping their sectmates would arrive in time.
The first reinforcements to reach Yaoguang City were Zhēnjūn Meng Zhonglun and Zhang Xuefeng from the Tracking Hall. They did not enter the sect's outpost but surveyed the city, confirming both Golden Core teams had left town. They checked the toad-shaped magical device at the city gates.
After confirming the direction of the teams' departure, they followed the trail. But the deeper they investigated, the more Zhang Xuefeng felt something was wrong.
"Meng Zhēnjūn, I've checked all their stops along the way. There's no trace of them anywhere. There's no record of their return either. This is impossible."
Meng Zhonglun's amber eyes flashed cold as he said, "Return to Yaoguang City and recheck everything."
Yao Zhēnjūn had altered the exit records, causing the two to waste three days. When they returned to Yaoguang City, they met Jian Gui, who was patrolling the city.