"It seems we've been discovered," one of them said with a gentle bow.
"Can't we just stay hidden in the cave?" The four disciples from the Baiyue Temple quietly spread out. Peiyuan and Peiqing faced off against Tang Ruowei, while the hot-tempered Peidao confronted Zuo Yanfei. The man being questioned held an eight-trigram compass, and the needle was pointing steadily towards the stone statue. He glanced down at the compass and replied, "According to the tracking results from the treasures given to us by our master, the aura of the demon disappeared right here."
"I warned you beforehand, swords have no eyes. One of your side should have already fallen to me. My master didn't teach me the virtue of mercy; he said no matter what, I must protect myself first, even if I have to kill the enemy. So if it comes to a real fight, I cannot guarantee your lives…" Zuo Yanfei shut her eyes and used the secret method of the Divine Martial Army to probe their surroundings.
"Oh?"
"It seems we've been discovered." Zuo Yanfei repeated the action of closing her eyes and employing the secret method again.
Tang Ruowei exchanged a glance with Bai Qiuran and said, "There are four people out there—two at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, one at the late stage, and one at the peak virtual core stage. The Golden Core cultivators do not seem to have arrived yet." Among the five major sects of the Righteous Dao Alliance, these two sects were among the top five in the Nine Provinces and Ten Lands. Few cultivators would be confused about their names unless they were lost.
Zuo Yanfei closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then suddenly opened them. Her spear darted out like a swimming dragon towards the silent disciple. She waved to a few nearby foxes, saying, "You all go hide inside."
"Let’s go." Bai Qiuran waved with a smile, watching as Tang Ruowei and Zuo Yanfei vanished into the earth with a flash of magical light. Then his expression turned lazy and relaxed.
Peiqing raised his hand to stop them. "What to do now?"
The white fox was suddenly in a panic. "Heh."
"Divine Martial Army? Azure Nether Sword Sect?"
"Does this brother think that just the names of the Azure Nether Sword Sect and the Divine Martial Army can’t protect a few innocent demons?" The white fox looked very flustered.
Tang Ruowei sighed and spread her hands. "So, are the two ladies here intending to shield those demons?"
"Safe travels," someone remarked to them.
"We will fulfill our promises."
"Our inquiry shows that the demons inside don’t seem to be responsible for the prince’s death," the white fox questioned. Peiqing hesitated briefly, then revealed a cold smile.
Bai Qiuran raised a finger, with sword energy swirling around the tip. He stated, "You've come all the way from the demon realm to the Nine Provinces without being warned by your father to be cautious of the cultivators of the Azure Nether Sword Sect?"
Zuo Yanfei glanced at the group of foxes and said lightly, "Ruowei, let’s go out and draw them away. With your earth escape technique, getting away shouldn’t be a problem. Bai Shidi, you stay here with these foxes. Once we draw those foxes away, you all can run together."
"Our inquiry shows that the demons inside don’t seem to be responsible for the prince’s death."
"Ruowei, deal with them!"
"Peidao, don't create trouble."
"Safe travels."
"Well, since we’re on this subject now…"
"Can't we just stay hidden in the cave?"
"That fellow over there seems quite similar to the ambusher we encountered by the canal."
"Seriously, are you all really not considering this?" the white fox asked.
"Well, since we’re on this subject now…" Bai Qiuran chuckled.
Bai Qiuran looked sidelong at her, saying softly, "When I was a kid, with no entertainment, my favorite thing was finding ant hills on the mountain and pouring water in or lighting a fire and blowing smoke into them to smoke the ants out..."
"Ruowei, deal with them!"
"Let’s go." The white fox was stunned for a moment.
"Oh?"
"Hehe, in this vast world, there are undoubtedly a few individuals who resemble each other."
The white fox immediately bowed to Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei and said, "I beg you!"
"This is something your father wouldn't dare say in my presence; you have more courage than him." Peiqing stepped forward with confidence.
"The two ladies are inexperienced, kind-hearted, and when venturing out into the world, it’s natural to be misled by the demons. Rest assured we won’t injure you, at most we will capture the two of you and have the elders of our sect come collect."
"What are you doing?"
The few foxes looked skeptically at the suddenly assertive young Qi Realm cultivator, and the white fox pointed to his own head, asking, "Are you out of your mind?"
Tang Ruowei exchanged glances with Peiqing, seemingly letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Peiqing, is this the place?"
"There are four people outside, two at mid Foundation Establishment, one at late, and one at peak virtual core, it seems the Golden Core cultivators have yet to arrive."
"Very well..."
"Since we've gone this far…"
"We will fulfill our promises."
At this moment, another silent presence suddenly spoke up, "Be careful, something is about to come out!"
"Heh."
"What now?" Tang Ruowei glanced at Bai Qiuran.
The few foxes looked curiously at the suddenly decisive Qi Realm cultivator, and the white fox once again pointed to his own head, asking, "Are you seriously not thinking straight?"
Behind the statue of the former emperor of the Dingguo, four cultivators surrounded a small hole at the statue's base. Peiqing laughed and said, "We are here exactly for this case; the demons that killed the prince are hidden beneath this statue. Wouldn't it be better for the two ladies to join forces with us and collectively capture these monsters?"
"Haha."
A few foxes looked curiously at the suddenly confident Qi Realm cultivator as the white fox pointed at his head again and asked, "Are you seriously alright?"
Tang Ruowei also sighed, twisting her wrist into a stance, standing erect.
Zuo Yanfei folded her hands in front of her. "Heh."
Peiqing looked toward Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei.
"Hah."
They were disciples of the Baiyue Temple sent to capture these shape-shifting demons for some of their elders. Bai Qiuran chuckled.
The four disciples from Baiyue Temple cautiously surrounded around the stone statue, facing Tang Ruowei and Zuo Yanfei.
"To be clear, are the two ladies intending to shield those demons?"
Zuo Yanfei closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and with a sudden burst, her spear flew out like a dragon towards the silent disciple.
"Safe travels."
Does that fellow believe that the Azure Nether Sword Sect and Divine Martial Army cannot protect the innocent demons?
Peiqing raised his hand to stop them. "The former statue of the Dingguo empire stands here; it is the symbol of the Dingguo royal family. Our sect is not at the point of disregarding that level of authority."
Seeing that no one was caught, Tang Ruowei rolled her eyes and let out a soft huff. Meanwhile, Zuo Yanfei saluted the four other cultivators. "I am Zuo Yanfei, a first-class soldier of the Divine Martial Army. This is Tang Ruowei, a disciple of the Azure Nether Sword Sect. May I ask which sect you all belong to?"
"So it seems those women are indeed attempting to protect those demons."
"Indeed, they are two kind-hearted novice warriors who have been led astray."
"Come on!"
"Two lovely young ladies!" Peiqing watched intently as Zuo Yanfei met Tang Ruowei's gaze before stepping forth decisively in concert.
“Safe travels.”
Zuo Yanfei closed her eyes again, inhaling deeply, her spear now a darting dragon ready to strike at the silent disciple once more.