The moment Yun Xi heard it, she immediately realized this was the evil cultivators' backup plan. Without hesitation, she popped a top-grade Spirit Restoration Pill into her mouth, flashed out of the formation, and with a wave of her sleeve, retrieved the array plate into her storage ring.
Dian Dian, upon seeing its master emerge, leapt into Yun Xi's arms at once. To it, this was still the safest place.
By now, Yu Qingchen, Liu Haotian, and Xia You had also arrived at Yun Xi's side. None of them looked well, especially Liu Haotian. The first thing he said upon seeing her was:
"Wei Daoyou, this is the evil cultivators' lair. They've prepared a backup. The space here has already been sealed. Everything in this place will be ground to pieces. We can't get out!"
"Tch. Ruthless. They don't even spare themselves," Yun Xi said, frowning.
"Can we still use teleportation talismans?" she asked.
She could already feel the entire cave trembling with an eerie rhythm. It felt like a blender was turning on. At this rate, it wouldn't take long for everything here to be shredded into dust.
Xia You shook her head. "I tried just now. It didn't work."
Yu Qingchen narrowed her phoenix eyes. "This is clearly to erase the trail. The evil cultivators don't want anyone tracking them further, so they're destroying everything."
Just as Yun Xi was considering whether to hide in her personal space to avoid danger, Dian Dian suddenly sent her a voice transmission:
"Master, the Flying Mist Butterfly says there's an ancient teleportation array where it stored its eggs. It might take us out of here, but..."
"But what?"
"It needs high-grade spirit stones to activate."
Yun Xi made a snap decision. "Quick. Have it lead the way. We'll escape first, talk later."
"Yes, Master!"
As Dian Dian communicated with the Flying Mist Butterfly, Yun Xi raised her voice to the others:
"Follow me. I've made a contract with a Flying Mist Butterfly. It says there's a damaged teleportation array nearby. We might be able to use it to escape."
Her words were half true, half false. Since becoming a cultivator, she had gotten used to withholding information out of habit.
"Alright!"
The three immediately agreed and followed Yun Xi without hesitation, racing through the cave.
Xia You, who was at the rear, glanced back and instantly quickened her pace. Part of the cave had already been ground to dust, and the destruction was rapidly spreading in their direction.
Meanwhile, back outside the rear valley of Xiafei Valley, the cultivators could feel the tremors coming from underground. The group of young cultivators who had escaped first instantly realized something was wrong.
"Did something happen at the evil cultivators' lair?"
"Judging from the direction, it must be. What do we do? Should we go check?"
"We won't be of any help if we go. Better to return to town and get reinforcements."
"First Squad should be close to the town by now, right?"
"Probably. But since something's gone wrong with the evil cultivators' lair, we need to return quickly too."
"What about those cultivators we caught?"
A woman in yellow robes grit her teeth and said, "Take them back to town. They're evidence of the evil cultivators' crimes. Even if the lair is destroyed, that won't erase the evil they've done. We're lucky to have been rescued, but the female cultivators who were sent away before us haven't been found yet."
"Wang Daoyou is right. Let's hurry. We can't give them a chance to silence the witnesses."
With that, the second group also began retreating from Xiafei Valley at full speed.
At the center of the vortex, Yun Xi, guided by Dian Dian, arrived at the teleportation array the third-rank Flying Mist Butterfly had mentioned. Liu Haotian took one look and immediately said:
"This is an ancient teleportation array. The distance depends on the number of spirit stones, but… at minimum, it needs high-grade ones to activate."
The first half of his sentence lit a spark of hope in Yu Qingchen and Xia You. But the words "high-grade spirit stones" immediately extinguished it. They might be able to scrape together some middle-grade ones, but high-grade stones were things they'd only ever seen, never owned.
Yun Xi didn't bother explaining. She brushed her fingers across her storage ring — though in truth, she accessed them from the storage bracelet in her personal space — and pulled out nine high-grade spirit stones. With a wave of her sleeve, she embedded them into the array slots and leapt onto the teleportation platform.
"Hurry, get on!"
The moment the other three felt the rich spiritual energy from the high-grade stones, their eyes lit up. In a flash, they joined her on the platform.
Yu Qingchen curled her lips into a smile. "Little Sister Yun Xi, you're the dependable one after all. I owe you again. Consider three of those high-grade spirit stones my debt. Once we escape, I'll definitely repay you."
Liu Haotian didn't say much, but he nodded in agreement. Xia You didn't say anything either, but this was a life-saving favor.
Yun Xi didn't make any noble gestures about refusing. High-grade spirit stones were rare, even for her. She simply smiled and nodded as the teleportation array began to activate.
Just before their figures disappeared, Yun Xi, following the third-rank Flying Mist Butterfly's request, flung out a stack of fireball talismans and burned all the butterfly eggs that had been tainted by evil energy.
As Dian Dian explained, the Flying Mist Butterfly was furious. But without the strength to take revenge, it didn't want to leave any of its offspring to the evil cultivators.
Those butterfly eggs, if successfully hatched, would become second-rank demon butterflies. With the right use, they could be powerful allies. The butterfly had no intention of letting such aid fall into the enemy's hands.
Yun Xi understood. She had originally intended to do the same, but since the butterfly was still perched in her hair, she couldn't bring herself to act without permission. Now that she had it, she didn't hesitate.
The next moment, the spatial shredding power surged through the array. The burnt butterfly eggs were pulverized into dust, and the four figures vanished from the platform.
Moments later, even the foundation stones of the teleportation array were torn apart. The evil cultivators' lair was completely erased from existence.
During the teleportation, Yun Xi quickly tied a red string around herself and Xia You. She handed another to Yu Qingchen and Liu Haotian, who followed suit and tied themselves together.
"We don't know where we'll end up. It's best to pair up. If we get separated, stay safe and find a way to regroup!"
"Alright!"
Liu Haotian barely got a word out before the teleportation passage began to destabilize. A crack opened ahead, and the four were split apart into two groups, swallowed by the rift. Then, the entire passage collapsed.
Back outside Xiafei Valley, the town was already in chaos. The two groups that escaped brought back the news that evil cultivators had set up traps in the valley, targeting young cultivators with promising talent — both from Daoist and demonic paths. This plunged the entire town's cultivators into panic.
The one who had released the bounty to buy third-rank Flying Mist Butterfly eggs was immediately captured by a Golden Core cultivator stationed in Xiafei Town. The low-level cultivators who had helped spread the evil cultivators' marked jade slips were also rounded up. Not a single one escaped.
Within half a day, all the evil cultivators' minions were caught. But the Golden Core cultivator was now troubled. What lay behind this mess ran deeper than expected.
According to the escapees, before them, a group of captured cultivators had already been sent elsewhere. Where they were taken, only the evil cultivators knew.
While Tan Zhēnrén was racking his brain over what to do next, a Nascent Soul-level cultivator from the Xianmo Sect suddenly appeared in Xiafei Town.
Dressed like a Confucian scholar, Jiu Yue Zhēnjūn's first move upon arriving was to check on his beloved disciple.
"Wang You, are you hurt?"
The fair-skinned young man who had previously spoken with Yun Xi cupped his fists and replied:
"Master, I'm fine. My demonic energy had been sealed earlier, so I was restrained. Fortunately, a disciple from the Daoist path helped me escape. That gave me the chance to call for help."