Chapter 93: One Step Ahead

Yun Yifei tore a talisman in her hand and a streak of light tore through the space and shot in the direction of the Tongyou Peak.

At almost the same time, a talisman in Shang Xi’s hand was torn apart and it turned into a little golden spear that flew in the direction of the Four Spiritual Peak.

“We notified both Deputy Patriarch Ji and Deputy Patriarch Shang! I also sent a report to the Tongyou Peak! We should find a way to notify the others!” Yun Yifei patted the head of her horse and signaled to Shang Xia.

Shang Xi sighed, “We did what we could. We shall leave the rest up to fate! Xia’er, lead us back to the Tongyou Peak!”

In order to arrive back at the quickest speed possible, they needed the Lightning Bird’s help to avoid all the dangers they could. As such, Shang Xia had to take the lead again.

“No… This might be a good chance for us!”

Shang Xia raced forward and killed a creature that looked like a cat that pounced towards him.

“If the cultivators of our Tongyou Peak manage to retreat with as few casualties as possible, won’t the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak be in deep trouble?”

“Hey, that’s a Spiritual Roosting Cat! Its fur is a rank one ingredient! Don’t waste it!” Shang Xi yelled and she twisted her body to throw the body of the cat into the pouch on the Scarlet Cloud Horse.

By the time the beast tide came, their pouches were bulging, showing how much they gained from their journey.

Yun Yifei’s expression became a little solemn and she muttered, “A Spiritual Roosting Cat is extremely sensitive to its surroundings. Even though it’s not that strong, Martial Intent Realm cultivators won’t be able to capture it easily. Now, it attacked us on its own accord! Looks like the beast tide is real…”

Yun Zhidai yelled from the back, “Shang Xia, will your birds be affected by the beast tide?”

Her words stabbed right into the fears of those present. That was exactly what Shang Xi and Yun Yifei were afraid of too.

If the little birds were affected by the beast tide and went crazy, it wouldn’t matter much if they were to attack the squad. If they led the squad into an encirclement of other beasts, they would really be in trouble!

“Nope!” Shang Xia declared confidently without even turning around.

As soon as he spoke, a Mutated Rain Swallow flew over and perched on his shoulders.

.

Shang Xia ruffled its feathers to check for any injuries, and he was met with a happy cry from the little bird. It didn’t take long before they returned to the air.

“What are you doing? So many birds came over to you since the beast tide started. Are you really able to talk to them?” Sun Haiwei asked.

“Hehe, that’s because they really like me.” Shang Xia dismissed their questions with some random reason.

In fact, Shang Xia found it weird when it just happened. Everything started from the time the Lightning Bird landed on him.

When the Lightning Bird discovered the abnormalities in its body and ran over to Shang Xia, it was extremely flustered and terrified. It seemed to be losing control of its body entirely!

Shang Xia tried to calm it down by petting it, but the Lightning Bird wasn’t having any of it at first. He thought of using his inner qi to suppress the rampaging inner qi in the little creature’s body, and the moment he did, the Lightning Bird started to calm down.

It didn’t just calm the fluctuating inner qi in the Lightning Bird’s body. The killing intent and fear it felt dissipated slowly.

Shang Xia even started to understand the bird better!

Soon after, the Lightning Bird pointed out the way to safety and the Mutated Rain Swallows in the air started to land on Shang Xia.

Every time they did, he used his inner qi to calm them down. Luckily for him, he possessed extremely dense inner qi. Otherwise, he would have exhausted himself trying to calm down more than two hundred Mutated Rain Swallows!

…

Shang Bo received a tiny golden spear and he showed the report to the other three.

Liu Qinglan was the most anxious of the group, and Shang Bo had already expected her to lose her composure. His extermination origins flashed and he formed a barrier around the four of them.

“We need to return right now!” She yelled.

Shang Lubing hesitated for a second before asking, “Beast tide? Is the news reliable? How did they discover the appearance of a beast tide?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the report. However, it was true that things were a little suspicious. They were merely a ragtag group of Martial Intent Realm cultivators. How could they accurately report on a beast tide?

Ji Wenlong growled in response, “Old Shang, let’s return and talk about the matter of your true identity!” Turning to Shang Bo, he continued, “Did the report state that Shang Xia discovered the beast tide? If it’s him, I’ll believe it.”

Liu Qinglan and Shang Lubing stared at him in shock. Shang Bo was equally surprised by Ji Wenlong’s trust in his grandson.

Everyone there knew that the relationship between the Ji Family and the Shang Family wasn’t great.

Strictly speaking, it was because of Ji Wenlong’s disdain for Shang Bo.

That was something everyone in the upper echelon of the institution knew.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Shang Bo’s expression turned gloomy and he muttered, “So… This beast tide is real then?”

Liu Qinglan continued, “Since that’s the case, we should return! It’s not like we can break the protection formation around the Four Spiritual Peaks now.”

Shang Bo glanced at Ji Wenlong and muttered, “Yeah, we have to return, but…”

“Go back to the Tongyou Peak. Instructor Liu, sound the Tongyou Bell when you return and gather all the disciples who are out.” Ji Wenlong sighed.

…

A giant flame beacon was lit on the Tongyou Peak, and it was a signal for the disciples to return as quickly as they could.

Slightly more than a hundred miles away, Shang Xia gathered more than 20 cultivators of the Tongyou Peak as they rushed back.

Most of them were on the way back, and when they ran into Shang Xia, they joined his group.

There were also some who refused to believe the news of the beast tide and chose not to return with Shang Xia. They continued to hunt down the experts of the Azure Spiritual World.

Shang Xia couldn’t help everybody, and he could only bring those who wanted to return.

With the Lightning Bird leading the way, they managed to avoid a lot of dangers on their way back. That served to boost the confidence of the cultivators on his side and the group became larger and larger.

Of course, the larger their group grew, the more they stood out. Their movement attracted a lot of attention and trouble came knocking.

Luckily for them, the beasts that approached weren’t in packs. They ran into individual beasts and Shang Xia managed to warn the rest before the beast attacked!

When they ran into a horde of mice, one of the cultivators who was bitten on the leg growled, “How dare these freaks attack us? They would avoid us normally and prey on weaker creatures! Looks like they’re going crazy from the upcoming beast tide…”

Because of that, those who held doubts about the authenticity of Shang Xia’s report placed down their suspicion.

Shang Xi stared at Yun Yifei and the two of them leaped off their horses in unison. “Those who are injured, get on the horse! Do not affect our speed when returning! If we fail to return to the Tongyou Peak before the beast tide comes, we’ll be in a lot of trouble!”

There were other riders who handed over their horses as well.

No one knew when, but Wu Tinghai appeared beside Shang Xi and Yun Yifei. “It’s a pity there are no Martial Extermination Realm cultivators at the Tongyou Peak now to ring the Tongyou Bell! Otherwise, we’ll be able to warn the others!”

Shang Xi and Yun Yifei retreated to Shang Xia’s side without another word and protected him from the beasts.

Shang Xi didn’t turn her head when she heard Wu Tinghai’s concern. “We can’t do anything about it. We sent out the reports of what had happened. They should have received the report. Even though the Tongyou Bell hasn’t rung, the beacon has been lit. Those within a ten-mile radius should be able to receive the warning.”

“Looks like we can only leave it up to fate.” Yun Yifei sighed.

Wu Tinghai sucked in a cold breath, but his gaze was soon attracted to the Mutated Rain Swallows that landed on Shang Xia’s shoulders ever so often. “Looks like our leader of the outer divisions will be gaining huge credit this time!”

…

Outside the Four Spiritual Peak…

The experts of the Tongyou Peak took their leave, and calm returned to their territory.

No one knew how long it had been but Yan Su’er’s figure appeared outside the barrier to check if Ji Wenlong and the others had really returned.

She barely left ten feet from the barrier when her expression changed. The staff in her hand swung outwards as she flew back into the barrier with the quickest speed she could muster.

The moment she did, a four-colored blade light appeared from the clouds hundreds of feet away. That wasn’t all. A long lance fell from the skies and shot towards Yan Su’er’s skull.

She might have entered the barrier, but facing two attacks from fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm cultivators, the barrier was far from enough!

At the critical moment, she could no longer care that she was pretending to be injured! With a weird cry, a giant Rain Swallow made from heaven and earth qi appeared behind her. She seemed to have turned into a weird creature with the body of a bird and a human’s head!

“Rip!”

The protection screen around the Four Spiritual Peak seemed to be ripped apart by the blade light.

Even though it restored itself as quickly as it could, the lance went through.

“Boom!”

The Rain Swallow phantom behind her shattered completely and she spat out a mouthful of blood. She nearly fell to the ground.

The protection formation seemed to have sensed the threat all of a sudden and it started operating at full power! The shockwaves were completely suppressed.

“Lang Xiaoyun, Ran Biluo, the two of you allowed me to be hit on purpose!” Yan Su’er’s voice rang through the Four Spiritual Peak.