"Daddy, are you going to save them?" Ze Fang asked curiously.
"I owe the Lie Yang Sect a favor, and I must repay it," Xiao Man said calmly. "Even though these people haven't officially joined the Lie Yang Sect, they are essentially disciples. As long as they get out alive, they will basically be accepted into the Lie Yang Sect, with the only difference being inner or outer disciple."
"Daddy, do you like Aunt Jun?"
"At such a young age, do you even know what 'like' means?" Xiao Man asked with amusement.
"I like Daddy," Ze Fang said in his milky voice. "I like you very, very much, and I want to be with Daddy forever."
"Are you sure your mouth isn't smeared with honey? It's so sweet," Xiao Man chuckled uncontrollably. "But I like you too, so don't worry. I'm your dad, and I won't abandon you."
"Will you always like me? Like I like you?"
"Mmm, I will always like our little Seven, just like little Seven likes Daddy," Xiao Man replied without hesitation. For her child seeking reassurance, she would always give a positive answer.
Ze Fang snuggled on Xiao Man's back, his smile brilliant. He wrapped his arms around Xiao Man's neck. "Daddy, you're so good."
"If you get tired, just tell me, and we'll find a place to rest." Xiao Man followed the group from a distance, not getting too close to avoid being discovered by the enemies.
Moreover, the enemies' motives were unclear. They were only capturing these examinees and not harming them, so Xiao Man wasn't in a hurry to rescue them. She wanted to take this opportunity to find out their purpose.
"Boss, why are we catching people out here?" one of the black-clothed men asked curiously. "After all, these people will eventually walk into our trap."
"Naturally, it's to make them enter faster," the leader said unhurriedly. "Not a single person who enters shall be missed."
"Right, on the list, that 'Zi Tai Bao' Xiao Qin absolutely cannot be let go. This kid killed three of our companions, he deserves to die!"
Xiao Man, who had been eavesdropping, was startled when she heard the mention of her name. A moment later, she realized that the three people she had killed in Wuji City were associated with these individuals!
A hint of doubt flickered in Ze Fang's eyes. Although he had no cultivation, he could still perceive others' cultivation levels. This group of people were all cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage. The Seven Sects didn't have such powerful cultivators. If the Five Poisons Sect had so many Foundation Establishment cultivators, they would have long ago become the leader of the Seven Sects, not kept such a low profile.
"Daddy, what do they want to do?"
"I don't know," Xiao Man whispered. "Whatever it is, it's not good."
"In that case, let's leave quickly. I'm scared," Ze Fang whined. He didn't want Xiao Man to risk her life. There were six of them, all Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if Xiao Man had extraordinary talent and could defeat stronger opponents, fighting six at once was impossible!
As they spoke, the black-clothed men encountered a group of people head-on, led by Qi Hong, a disciple of the Five Poisons Sect.
"Junior Brother Qi Hong."
"So it's Senior Brother Luo." Qi Hong looked behind Luo Ke, his eyes filled with confusion. "Who are these people..."
"We are all here to assist Junior Brother Qi Hong in taking first place. Naturally, we cannot let others disrupt our objective, so we've captured them."
"Qi Hong, so it's you, you scoundrel!" Seeing Qi Hong appear, several disciples breathed a sigh of relief, realizing they were Five Poisons Sect disciples. "This is fair competition, and you actually brought helpers to trouble us!"
Qi Hong sneered, "Fair competition? You lot, are you worthy?"
"Junior Brother Qi Hong, you go ahead first. We will hold back the others behind us," Luo Ke said obsequiously.
"Very well." Qi Hong nodded. "By the way, if you encounter... Shan Yun, do not harm her."
"Don't worry, Junior Brother. We don't harm people; we just prevent them from interfering with Junior Brother taking first place," Luo Ke replied smoothly. "As for Miss Shan Yun, don't worry, Junior Brother, we definitely won't harm a single hair on her head."
"It's fine if she suffers a bit, so she stops following Xiao Qin around all the time." Qi Hong was somewhat annoyed. He had thought that with his reputation and status, Shan Yun would look at him with new eyes. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Not only did she not look at him with new eyes, but she also tried to instigate conflict between him and the Five Poisons Sect.
"Senior Brother Qi, why do you care so much about Shan Yun?"
Qi Hong glanced at the female disciple speaking beside him, his voice instantly turning cold. "Who I care about has nothing to do with you?"
"It was my mistake, please don't be angry with me, Senior Brother." The female disciple quickly apologized. "I am just speaking up for you, Senior Brother. You think of her in every way, but she betrayed you."
After Qi Hong and his group left, Luo Ke couldn't help but sigh in relief. In their plan, Qi Hong was a very crucial piece. If anything happened to Qi Hong, their plan would suffer a significant setback.
"Senior Brother, why indulge him? He's just a clown, and he really thinks he's someone important." Someone spoke up for Luo Ke.
"He will indeed become an important person in the future, provided he can survive," Luo Ke said with a meaningful smile. "Have you all rested enough? Let's continue on our way... Who's there?"
Luo Ke immediately turned his head, his gaze quickly sweeping across a large area behind them, but he found nothing unusual. Yet, he had clearly sensed a presence just moments ago, but now he couldn't detect any traces. Was it his illusion?
"Senior Brother, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Luo Ke's eyes were filled with confusion. Now that they were in the secret realm, there were many disciples from other sects. Because the secret realm had opened early, disciples from the Seven Sects were also participating, so there were many people entering.
Luo Ke didn't find anything unusual, so he led his men away. After they had left and were no longer detectable, Xiao Man finally released her hand from An Yue's mouth.
"Xiao Qin, why did those people capture our sect's disciples?"
"I don't know," Xiao Man said calmly.
"They are disciples of our Lie Yang Sect. I must save them."
"Save them? The leader has late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. Do you think you can save them?" Xiao Man asked irritably. "I understand your desire to save people, but saving people also requires method. If you rashly charge forward, you'll just be courting death."
"Do you have a way?"
"Not now." Xiao Man looked in the direction Luo Ke and the others had disappeared. "This group has high cultivation. I alone cannot deal with six people."
"Aren't you capable of fighting three at once?"
"The reason I could fight three at once was just good luck; I caught them off guard. Even if I can fight three, can you handle the other three?"
An Yue's face turned pale. Although she had entered the Foundation Establishment stage, being able to hold off one opponent was already good. Asking her to fight three was clearly making things difficult for her.