"With five elders of Miao Yun Sect here, Fairy Ranran does not need to come anymore!"
Yun Dehe smiled with satisfaction. Now he would not need to risk his own life.
Hao Yinqin's gaze swept over the five cultivators, his expression shifting unpredictably.
"Did Sect Master Yang of Piao Miao Sect not come?"
Xiao Fengyi calmly infused spiritual power into his sword. "The affairs of Piao Miao Sect are not for Miao Yun Sect to know."
Hao Yinqin sneered. "At a time like this, Elder Xiao still wants to distance yourself? Yun Dehe, do you really not know the relationship between Piao Miao Sect and Miao Yun Sect?"
The moment he was named, Yun Dehe quickly shut his eyes and covered his ears. "I don't know, I don't know, I hear nothing at all!"
Right now, all he wanted was for the people of Miao Yun Sect to deal with Hao Yinqin. As for the rest, he would wait for Fairy Ranran to return before thinking further.
Hao Yinqin looked at his spineless display and was momentarily speechless.
Xiao Fengyi cast a disinterested glance at Yun Dehe, who was pretending to be deaf and dumb, then pressed two fingers across the sharp edge of his sword. "Sect Master Hao, there is no need to involve Sect Master Yun in our matter. Grand Five Elements Sword Formation, converge!"
The other four elders moved in at his command.
Hao Yinqin's expression gradually grew solemn.
…
"Master, where is this transmission talisman from this time?" Lu Ziqian asked curiously.
Yao Ranran frowned lightly. "Yun Gu Sect."
Zhao Lingyi's voice came from within the talisman. Yao Ranran and Lu Ziqian exchanged baffled glances.
"Master, why suddenly do we not need to go to Dongman City anymore?" Lu Ziqian scratched his head in confusion.
Yao Ranran halted the flying boat and leapt down to the ground. "It is indeed Zhao Lingyi's voice. Since he said someone else can deal with Hao Yinqin, we may as well rest here."
"But…" Lu Ziqian still looked uneasy.
Yao Ranran had already put away the flying boat and headed toward the valley ahead. "I sense a spirit spring forming here. Little disciple, once we find it, you and I will split it thirty-seventy."
"That won't do, Master. I can't take seventy percent. Just one share is more than enough for me!"
Lu Ziqian's wavering worry was instantly swept aside by her words, and he quickly refused her offer.
Yao Ranran: "…Very well."
How had this silly disciple managed to survive the demonic lairs, being so easy to fool? Naturally, thirty-seventy meant she would take the larger share.
…
Clang!
A vast and terrifying aura swept out in all directions. Yun Dehe's pupils widened as he saw one elder of Miao Yun Sect's body about to be smashed onto him.
"Elder Xiao, this is not what you promised!"
In the plaza of the City Lord's Mansion, Lin Fang and the others spewed mouthfuls of blood, collapsing powerless to the ground.
"Ah!"
Yun Dehe dodged aside as the falling elder of Miao Yun Sect crashed into the ground, creating a great pit. His aura was faint, barely perceptible.
Yun Dehe: "…"
In less than half a stick of incense, all five of Xiao Fengyi's party had been utterly defeated!
"Now you see my strength. Yun Dehe, since you are willing to ally with Miao Yun Sect, why not join my You Yan Gate instead? I will guarantee that all disciples of Yun Gu Sect live."
Hao Yinqin arrogantly spread his arms as if to embrace them all.
Yun Dehe looked at the unconscious and blood-spitting elders, then fixed his gaze on Hao Yinqin."Who said I was allied with them? The hidden experts I spoke of were never them!"
While feigning composure, he secretly pulled out another transmission talisman and sent it back to Yun Gu Sect.
Hao Yinqin blinked, then burst into laughter. "My old friend, after all these years, this is the first time I've seen you so sly! The moment you realized they couldn't win against me, you immediately cut ties. Faced with life and death, you are just another ordinary man."
"Elder Xiao, you see now? Yun Dehe is a fence-sitter, not worth winning over."
Xiao Fengyi, blood staining his lips, turned his gaze on Yun Dehe. "Sect Master Yun, if you are willing to fight by my side, I can still make a stand."
Yun Dehe coughed helplessly. "Elder Xiao, the hidden expert I spoke of was someone else. You misunderstood."
Hao Yinqin watched their cracks widening and chuckled. "This so-called hidden expert of yours—why have they not arrived yet? I have nearly killed all of you!"
Xiao Fengyi pulled Lin Fang to her feet. "Did you think Miao Yun Sect would be so easily defeated? Hao Yinqin, the ancestor of Miao Yun Sect is about to arrive!"
Lin Fang, pale and weak, shouted loudly at Hao Yinqin.
Yun Dehe also mustered his voice. "The ancestor of Miao Yun Sect will soon be here, and the hidden expert I invited is also on the way. Hao Yinqin, dare you face them?"
Hao Yinqin cracked his wrists and sneered. "Why would I not dare? Just as well, my hands itch after advancing to Divine Transformation."
Yun Dehe felt a shiver in his heart as he looked at the battered five of Miao Yun Sect, his feelings conflicted.
"Sect Master Yun, even if we failed to kill Hao Yinqin, must you treat us with such cold indifference? Elder Zhao still lies in that pit. Can you not pull him out?"
Lin Fang glared furiously at Yun Dehe, as if trying to burn a hole through his face.
A twitch flickered at Yun Dehe's brow. "Very well. You five at least drained a portion of Hao Yinqin's strength. I will help you this once."
He extended a hand to pull Elder Zhao from the pit.
Lin Fang snapped angrily. "What do you mean help us this once? If not for us holding Hao Yinqin back, you would already be ashes!"
Yun Dehe's lips twitched as he rescued Elder Zhao. "If you had not restrained Hao Yinqin, he would already be dead."
Lin Fang's eyes went wide. "What do you mean by that? We were wrong to block Hao Yinqin?"
Yun Dehe brushed the dust from his robes and sighed regretfully. "You were not wrong. I was wrong. I should never have naively trusted Elder Xiao's words, nor should I have sent out that transmission talisman."
Lin Fang furrowed her brows, not understanding what talisman he meant.
Xiao Fengyi gritted his teeth and forced himself upright. "Sect Master Yun, I was careless just now. But this time, with Miao Yun Sect's Patriarch personally taking the field, Hao Yinqin will surely be reduced to ashes!"
Yun Dehe stroked his beard, half doubtful. "Your Patriarch… is he a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě?"
"Of course!" Lin Fang answered proudly.
Yun Dehe glanced at the talisman flying farther and farther away, hesitation flickering in his eyes.Fairy Ranran had not come, meaning she must have already received his earlier message. If he were to call her again, what would she think of him…
A faint blush colored his cheeks. Suddenly he waved his hand.
"No, I cannot keep asking Fairy Ranran for help so easily!"
He chased after the talisman in haste. Hao Yinqin froze briefly, then looked toward the approaching figure of a strange woman.
"Ancestor Tian Shan!"
Xiao Fengyi and Lin Fang cried out in unison to greet her.
Hao Yinqin dismissed Yun Dehe's fleeing back with disdain and sneered. "Ancestor Tian Shan? Did you not see Sect Master Yun running away? He clearly has no faith that you can defeat me."