Lu Xiaoyue saw a giant black hole descending upon her, as if the entire night sky had collapsed.
There was no way to dodge.
Xue Nu, standing not far from her, only managed to let out a gasp, unable to offer any rescue.
Lu Xiaoyue thought she was doomed!
Just then, a dark shadow descended from the sky, like a meteor from the heavens, striking the monster and obliterating it in an instant.
The dark shadow then flew back, soaring into the deep void.
It was a pestle-shaped magical artifact, emitting black energy.
Lu Xiaoyue, still shaken, thought of something and gazed into the deep void.
Indeed, a moment later, a graceful and petite figure descended from the sky.
It was Shi Siyao!
The soldiers also bowed respectfully to her, saluting, "Lord!"
Shi Siyao nodded, then turned to Lu Xiaoyue, smiling charmingly, "Senior Sister, it's me saving your life again, aren't you going to thank me?"
Lu Xiaoyue coughed dryly, "Thank you!" and averted her gaze.
Shi Siyao glanced at Xue Nu again, "Oh my, the white-haired girl has also come in. The family is to be reunited!"
Xue Nu blushed, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Did I say anything wrong? Isn't your brother, Chao Xiyun, a hall master in the Fifth Tier?" Shi Siyao said.
Huh? Xue Nu realized she had misunderstood, and her face turned even redder.
"What are you doing here?" Lu Xiaoyue suddenly looked intently at Shi Siyao.
"I'm here to save you," Shi Siyao smiled. "If I hadn't come, you would have ended up like that," she pointed to the mummified corpse on the ground. "You should go back. These things are not something your First Tier can handle. No matter how many come, they are useless."
A surge of inexplicable anger rose in Xue Nu's heart, "You..."
Lu Xiaoyue tugged at her hand, stopping her from speaking, and then asked Shi Siyao, "Do you know what kind of monsters these are?"
"They are Earthlings!" Shi Siyao said calmly. "They are a unique race in the Southern Continent world. The Southern Continent is riddled with caves, all interconnected. Some we have discovered, and some we have never discovered. They live in those caves we have never discovered."
"Earthlings?!" Everyone in the field exclaimed.
Some found it completely unfamiliar, hearing of it for the first time. Others had heard legends but dismissed them as mere tales, and this was their first encounter.
"Rally the troops, we're going back," Lu Xiaoyue said.
With that, she turned to leave.
"Senior Sister," Shi Siyao suddenly called out to her.
Lu Xiaoyue turned back again, somewhat taken aback, "Is there anything else?"
"Your cultivation is so low, and you're always out on these dangerous missions. I'm truly worried about you," Shi Siyao said.
Lu Xiaoyue was a little impatient, "You don't need to worry about me..."
"Let me give you a fortunate encounter," Shi Siyao said. As she spoke, she took a dragon pearl from her storage bag and handed it to Lu Xiaoyue. "Absorbing the spiritual energy of the dragon pearl can quickly improve your cultivation, but the extent of the improvement varies from person to person, depending on one's fortune."
Lu Xiaoyue was a bit bewildered. She stared at Shi Siyao blankly. She had initially thought Shi Siyao was being sarcastic, but unexpectedly, there was a bonus.
"One should not accept rewards without merit..." Lu Xiaoyue stammered.
"Oh, why be so formal? You're my Senior Sister. If I don't look out for you, who else will?" Shi Siyao insisted, forcing the dragon pearl into Lu Xiaoyue's hand.
Everyone around cast envious glances, especially Xue Nu, who thought, "Why don't I have such a good Junior Sister?"
Lu Xiaoyue, feeling a bit shy, still put away the dragon pearl.
Golden Lion Island had two major opposing sects: Qing Xuan Sect and Ding Yuan Sect. Ding Yuan Sect represented the demonic path, while Qing Xuan Sect represented the righteous path.
Other smaller sects either attached themselves to Qing Xuan Sect or Ding Yuan Sect.
Between these two, there had always been a constant rivalry and irreconcilable animosity.
However, recently, with the impending invasion of Divine Turtle Island, the two had reached a consensus, temporarily setting aside their grievances to form an alliance and unite against the common enemy.
Thus, Golden Lion Island welcomed a period of peace unseen for many years.
The demonic and righteous sects even began intermarrying! The population experienced an unprecedented surge.
News of the Divine Turtle Island's rampage and impending attack on Golden Lion Island had already spread throughout Golden Lion Island.
Led by Qing Xuan Sect, with the participation of various smaller sects, a guard force was established. They maintained constant vigilance outside the island, observing enemy movements, serving as the first line of defense.
Mo Qi and his entourage arrived at Golden Lion Island, where they were greeted by the Qing Xuan Sect's Valley Master Zheng and his men, who were on high alert.
After Mo Qi revealed his identity, Valley Master Zheng and his subordinates retreated.
Mo Qi ordered the establishment of a camp on a clearing at the edge of the island.
He then took Linghu Xiaoxian to Qing Xuan Sect to discuss matters of defense.
Speaking of Qing Xuan Sect, Mo Qi had some prior connection to it. Years ago, when he learned some divine abilities at Duoshe Cliff, there was a successor from Qing Xuan Sect. However, as he hadn't paid much attention at the time, he himself was unsure which of Qing Xuan Sect's divine abilities he had inherited.
The sect leader of Qing Xuan Sect, Ni Guang, had already invited the sect leader of Ding Hai Sect, Hui An, to come. The two were currently waiting at Qing Xuan Sect for Elder Liang of the Sun Moon Sect.
Unlike other cultivation sects that built their temples on mountains, Qing Xuan Sect was situated in a deep mountain valley.
This valley was called Lingyu Valley, said to be exceptionally rich in spiritual energy and a place that Ding Hai Sect had always coveted.
Lingyu Valley was a large valley composed of many smaller valleys, which Qing Xuan Sect conveniently used to divide its organizations, much like other sects used various peaks.
As Mo Qi and Linghu Xiaoxian walked along the path within Qing Xuan Sect, Linghu Xiaoxian suddenly remembered something and cautiously asked, "I remember when you first arrived, you said you liked me. Why do you seem to have amnesia now?"
Mo Qi coughed dryly and smiled, "I remember you also said that the people who liked you lined up from the front gate to the back gate of the Sun Moon Sect. I'm just waiting in line."
"I, I'll let you cut in line," Linghu Xiaoxian said in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.
"What?" Mo Qi pretended not to hear.
"Nothing," Linghu Xiaoxian said, her face flushing, and she quickened her pace, moving ahead.
Just then, a young male cultivator suddenly jumped out, blocking Linghu Xiaoxian's path, a smile playing on his lips, "Hey, where did this fairy come from? So beautiful! How about we become friends?"
Mo Qi recognized him immediately as Chen Xuemu, whom he had fought before.
It was truly a case of finding something without even looking!
Linghu Xiaoxian was startled and felt a surge of anger, wanting to reprimand him. However, her eyes suddenly darted, and she changed her mind, smiling, "My name is Linghu Xiaoxian. We can be friends, or even get engaged."
She wanted to see Mo Qi's reaction.
The sudden turn of events caught Chen Xuemu off guard, leaving him momentarily stunned.
This fairy-like girl proactively offering herself must have ulterior motives.
Otherwise, in this world, where could such good things be found?
He glanced around and broke out in a cold sweat. Indeed, there was someone behind her!
This was a brilliant strategy: the woman uses her beauty to captivate him, making him completely drop his guard, and then the man takes the opportunity for a sneak attack, and he wouldn't even know how he died.
Fortunately, he had been cautious!
But no matter what scheme they had, they had miscalculated!
This was his sect, and they were trying to play mind games with him. Didn't they know where they were!
Upon closer inspection, the man looked somewhat familiar. Where had he seen him before?
Alas, all scoundrels in the world looked alike; it was normal.
At this moment, Mo Qi glared at Linghu Xiaoxian, "Some things cannot be joked about."
Linghu Xiaoxian was not entirely satisfied with his reaction and glared back at him, "It's none of your business."
Seeing Chen Xuemu staring at him, Mo Qi raised his eyebrows and snorted, "Chen Xuemu, still haven't remembered who I am? Years ago, you came to Pengqu Island to challenge me, but you fled with your tail between your legs."
Chen Xuemu finally had an epiphany, "So it's you! You actually dare to show up here. I understand now. You don't dare to challenge me openly, so you're resorting to these underhanded tactics? The honey trap, right?"
He then chuckled, glanced at Linghu Xiaoxian, "But this honey trap is a prey delivered to my doorstep for me." He then looked at Mo Qi, "And for you, it's losing the wife and the soldiers."
Mo Qi naturally understood that Chen Xuemu had misunderstood, but whether he was right or wrong no longer mattered.
Right or wrong, he was wrong!
He had angered him!
Linghu Xiaoxian was also infuriated by his frivolous words and burning gaze.
She felt insulted!
"Die!" Linghu Xiaoxian directly unleashed her Golden Cudgel, striking at Chen Xuemu.
The Golden Cudgel emitted a golden radiance, sweeping towards Chen Xuemu.
Chen Xuemu was greatly alarmed. He hastily formed a mudra, tracing two strokes in the air. The air trembled, and a subtle folding occurred.
The golden radiance whistled, changed direction, bypassed Linghu Xiaoxian, and struck towards Mo Qi!
This was unusual, wasn't it?
If this were their first encounter, he would have been terrified to death. But Mo Qi was no stranger to his methods. He immediately activated his telekinetic power, and the golden radiance forked in front of him, like a river encountering a mountain and flowing around it from both sides.
Linghu Xiaoxian was astonished, realizing that her attack had been diverted by Chen Xuemu's peculiar methods and could not harm him at all. She immediately beckoned, recalling her Golden Cudgel.
The dazzling radiance instantly dissipated without a trace.
Mo Qi's gaze fell upon Chen Xuemu. Chen Xuemu, thinking Mo Qi was about to use his Soul Suppressing Technique again, quickly turned his face away.
Mo Qi seized the opportunity to unleash the Buzhou Telekinetic Art. Chen Xuemu's body suddenly floated up, drifting from left to right, then from right to left, before being violently slammed towards the ground.
With a resounding crash, Chen Xuemu's body hit the ground heavily, leaving him disoriented, seeing stars, and his head spinning.
He hastily employed spatial magic to counter, but as his spell unfolded, he suddenly realized he couldn't touch the source of the opponent's magic at all.
While he was still astonished, his body flew up again. This time, he was sent hurtling towards a large rock with a sharp protrusion that resembled a sword.