Fetching Reinforcements

Everyone gathered on the deck, either chatting or enjoying the view.

It was dusk, and the fading rays of the setting sun pierced through the clouds, painting the sky in vast strokes of orange and red. As the sun dipped, it cast a warm golden outline along the mountain ridge, creating a breathtaking vista.

President Song looked down at the beautiful scenery and asked, “Girl Yu, you came to the main city from here, didn't you?”

Shi Yu nodded. “Yes, I stayed here for quite a while.”

Returning here once more and gazing at the familiar scenery, a sense of warmth and familiarity welled up within her.

Inside her dantian, the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame tucked in a corner also conveyed a sense of excitement.

Shi Yu understood and looked toward the south. Standing high aboard the elevated cloud boat, she could clearly see the volcano deep within the range that she had once explored.

Inside it lay the main body of the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame.

The tiny juvenile flame within her body had only reacted this way because it sensed the presence of its main body.

Turning her back to the others, Shi Yu faced the volcano and flicked a strand of flame from her finger. Instantly, a feeling of calling and resonance rippled through her divine soul, as if the main body were communicating with the juvenile flame.

She watched the flame dance rhythmically on her fingertip, her gaze softening. Only when its dancing slowed down did Shi Yu pull it back.

Just then, beneath the brilliant evening clouds, numerous black specks suddenly flew in from all directions. Countless in number, they gathered together into a formidable force—a massive cluster that instantly spiraled and roared through the sky like a black tornado.

A voice filled with uncertainty sounded beside her: “What is that?”

Shi Yu narrowed her eyes to take a closer look. Once she recognized them, she said, “They're Huanhui birds.”

Huanhui birds were a very common low-tier flying spirit beast, and their shadows could often be seen flying across the sky in the main city.

However, these birds were not solitary creatures by habit; most of the time, they appeared alone. Since no one had ever seen so many Huanhui birds gathered together, they failed to recognize them right away.

Looking from afar, a dark, heavy mass of churning black clouds hovered above the Fulong Mountain Range, casting a huge shadow over the ground. There were easily tens of thousands of them.

President Song found nothing unusual about it. “Above mountain ranges, avian spirit beasts are naturally more active. These few days are likely the mating season for the Huanhui birds, which is why they've gathered in flocks.”

As he spoke, he frowned, feeling it was unfortunate timing.

Individually, these birds posed no threat, but in a flock, they presented quite a hazard.

Now that such a massive flock had gathered, and during their irritable and combative mating season no less, passing over the mountain range in the cloud boat would inevitably disturb them. Although the cloud boat was equipped with protective restrictions, President Song could not feel entirely at ease.

Fearing an accident that might delay their journey, he simply brought the boat to a stop while still some distance from the Fulong Mountain Range and said to everyone, “Let's walk the rest of the way.”

Looking at the dense, dark cloud of Huanhui birds, the group felt apprehension in their hearts as well. Hearing the president say this, they all breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly.

President Song struck out a hand seal, and the cloud boat slowly descended to the ground. Shi Yu disembarked with Qingzhou and watched as President Song stowed the boat away.

Walking toward the market town, the group chatted and laughed, making time fly by quickly. Before long, the setting sun vanished completely, and the sky turned pitch black.

As they walked, a sound caught Shi Yu's attention. Her brows twitched slightly, and she turned her head toward a small dirt mound nearby.

There, a pair of blood-stained hands scrambled over the dirt mound with great difficulty, followed by a figure emerging from behind it. He was fleeing frantically in desperate shape, using his hands to dig into the ground for leverage to pull himself over. In his panic, he lost his footing while coming down and rolled straight down the slope.

Shi Yu watched as he tumbled all the way down to her feet.

Master Ji reacted quickly, pulling Shi Yu back while staring warily at the dying, blood-caked man lying at her feet.

The man probably thought Shi Yu and her companions were his pursuers. He strained to open his blood-caked eyes to run forward, but when he saw who was in front of him, his faltering steps froze, and his face gave way to disbelief and joy. “Miss Yu...”

Shi Yu froze for a moment, looking down to examine him closely. The man hastily raised his sleeve to wipe away the blood on his face and said urgently, “Miss Yu, it's me! Lu Song, the shop hand from Tongyi Pavilion!”

A shop hand from Tongyi Pavilion? Surprise flickered in Shi Yu's eyes. Taking a few more looks, she recognized him—he was indeed a junior hand from Tongyi Pavilion.

“What happened to you?” Shi Yu took out a Vitality-Restoring Pill and stuffed it into his mouth. “Did something happen to Tongyi Pavilion? Is Manager Jiang all right?”

Fortunately, though Lu Song's injuries looked ghastly, they were merely superficial flesh wounds that had not damaged his bones or meridians. Once the Vitality-Restoring Pill went down, a healthy color returned to his face in an instant.

Having no time for words of gratitude, he blurted out anxiously, “We were ambushed while out procuring goods! Manager Jiang's life is in grave danger right now. Miss Yu, please help us fetch reinforcements!”

Hearing that Jiang Qihe was in dire straits, Shi Yu frowned. “Lead me there right now.”

Lu Song hurriedly said, “They outnumber us, and several of them have high cultivation—”

“Cut the nonsense and move already,” President Song interrupted, glancing at Shi Yu. He realized the person under attack was likely an old friend of Shi Yu's from this place.

Only then did Lu Song notice that Shi Yu had a group of people with her. Not knowing their identities or cultivation levels, and fearing they wouldn't be able to match the group besieging Jiang Qihe, he stammered, “Miss Yu, you should go to the market town to recruit some rogue cultivators for help instead. Those attackers... there are over ten of them, and three are at the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm!”

Master Ji rolled his eyes and urged, “If you keep blabbering, they'll all be dead.”

Shi Yu glanced at Lu Song. “Lead the way.”

With time pressing and no other option available, Lu Song gritted his teeth and said, “Follow me!”

The place where Jiang Qihe was being besieged was not far. After walking for a short while, Shi Yu detected faint fluctuations of spiritual energy ahead.

Worried about Jiang Qihe's safety, she executed the Swallow Walking Art. Her skirt fluttered like flowing clouds as she leaped into the air, her toes tapping lightly against treetops as she flashed forward several times. Finally, she landed on a branch of a massive tree and looked down below.

She saw the guards of Tongyi Pavilion, led by Jiang Qihe, standing back-to-back with weapons in hand, forming a defensive stance. Surrounding them was a group of fierce-looking cultivators slowly tightening the siege.

“Lu Song has already gone back for help. Hold on a little longer, and we'll be saved,” Jiang Qihe said, his face pale as paper. He clutched his chest, crimson blood oozing from the corners of his lips.

Several guards were severely injured. Hearing his words, they tightened their grips on their artifacts, though despair lingered in their eyes.

The gap in numbers and cultivation between the two sides was too wide; they likely couldn't hold out much longer.

The leader of the attackers was a triangle-eyed cultivator with a mustache. He let out a cold laugh. “Still expecting reinforcements? Jiang Qihe, it's time to go on your way!”

With a wave of his hand, the tiger-like cultivators surrounding them instantly charged forward to kill.

Swoosh!

Just as the triangle-eyed cultivator and his men began their assault, a crisp, resounding sound pierced through the air from afar. An arrow condensed from spiritual energy—crimson flecked with brilliant gold—shot over like lightning, landing with pinpoint accuracy right between the attackers and Jiang Qihe's group.

The arrow burned with radiating spiritual light, so sharp that none dared look directly at it.

Both parties turned to look in the direction the arrow had come from. Standing atop a distant treetop was a young woman dressed in a mist-cloud spirit robe. Her gorgeous hair fell like a waterfall, and her long skirt fluttered gently in the breeze. In her hand, she held a bow radiating a scarlet glow.

Exerting a slight force in her arm, her spiritual energy burst forth, and another arrow condensed upon the bowstring.

With a release of her fingers, accompanied by a sharp whistle, the arrow sped through the air wrapped in spiritual energy, turning into a streak of red-gold light that shot straight toward the triangle-eyed cultivator.