The five from the Supervision Hall remained silent, and this time, Xu Xian did not refuse.
Being headstrong was a matter of timing.
Given the current circumstances, this was indeed the only way.
Aside from Nangong Ning and Ruan Zhong, the others, no matter how fearless of death, would not be able to stop the giant serpent if they stayed. There was no point in arguing.
Among them, Xu Xian was indeed the most reliable choice to deliver the message.
It was a long journey, and currently, only Xu Xian was in peak condition.
Moreover, he carried not only black spirit incense but also gold spirit incense.
Song Qingshu, still on his back, whispered, "I should stay too."
"You're in this state and you're still trying to be a hero?" Ruan Zhong scolded him irritably.
Xu Xian spoke up, "Let's get out of the range of this formation first."
The bamboo forest spanned dozens of miles, thick with thorns.
For an ordinary mountain dweller, walking out without getting lost would take at least half a day, but for cultivators who could fly, it was but a few moments.
Behind them, the giant serpent hissed incessantly. From time to time, the wretched screams of qi refining demonic cultivators could be heard.
The group from the Wendao Sword Sect managed to escape just as the giant serpent was preoccupied, reaching the edge of the formation wall.
Nangong Ning manifested a formation flag.
"Go!"
The small flag crossed the air, fluttering as it expanded from the size of a palm into a standard war flag. Blood-red light swirled around it as spiritual resonance hummed.
"Open!"
With a single command, a corner of the invisible formation wall split open.
"Go!"
"Right."
In a flash, they all appeared in the bamboo forest outside the formation wall.
With a flick of his sleeve, Ruan Zhong released a burst of sword intent to level a patch of ground. He then placed the children down on the cleared space.
Nangong Ning looked back at the giant snake. Not wasting a moment, she bit her middle finger, smeared her essence blood onto her forehead, and began chanting an ancient incantation.
A faint, flickering blood-red light enveloped her.
Confused, Xu Xian set Song Qingshu down on the ground and asked curiously, "What is Ning doing?"
Song Qingshu explained weakly, "This is the Weeping Blood Formation. It is powered by the blood and qi of the one who casts it. Senior Sister is erasing the marks left by the demonic cultivators and replacing them with her own."
Xu Xian understood partially. "She even knows how to do this?"
Song Qingshu murmured, "Among the demonic sects of the world, there are twelve Immortal Demon Caves, thirty-six Heavenly Demon Gates, and seventy-two Earthly Demon Grottoes scattered across Fanzhou. However, the techniques they practice are mostly the same few types: soul refining, blood refining, or essence refining. This Blood Demon Cave was once one of the seventy-two Earthly Demon Grottoes. This Weeping Blood Formation is as common as our righteous path's Spirit-Sealing Formation. In fact, the difficulty of mastering this Weeping Blood Formation is far lower than our Spirit-Sealing Formation. Senior Sister once participated in the battle to wipe out the Ice Demon Grotto, so it's not surprising she knows this..."
"I see..." Xu Xian nodded slightly.
On the other side, after Nangong Ning erased the demonic marks on the formation flag, she began to close the formation wall, even strengthening it further. Realizing her spiritual power was insufficient, she cast a glance toward Ruan Zhong for help.
"Junior Brother Ruan, help me."
"Understood!"
As for the five from the Supervision Hall, they used local materials, felling giant bamboo to construct rafts. They lashed the bamboo together to carry the three thousand infants.
This way, they could carry more than they could on swords and consume less spiritual power.
Xu Xian also joined in to help.
Song Qingshu, meanwhile, focused on circulating his qi to recover from his injuries.
Outside Snake Valley, Min Zhan sat atop a mountain peak under the moon with a grave expression. A scout arrived to report again.
"Reporting!"
"A giant serpent has appeared in Snake Valley. Ghost Venerable has been swallowed, and the whereabouts of Blood Venerable are unknown. The Blood Demon Cave disciples are leaderless and in full retreat. The eight members of the Wendao Sword Sect are all alive and heading this way..."
Min Zhan said nothing and simply waved his hand.
The scout vanished back into the shadows.
Min Zhan was a nascent soul cultivator. Even without the scout's report, he could see everything clearly from his vantage point.
Xiushe had indeed revived.
It was just that things had deviated significantly from their original plan, but that no longer mattered.
He stared intensely into the dark night, whispering to himself.
"I didn't expect those two useless fools to actually succeed."
"A pity this creature is so violent that it attacks both friend and foe. It cannot be used by me."
"The Master should finally give up on it now."
The snake had not truly been resurrected.
Instead, it had possessed the blood infant to reconstruct its physical body.
However, the end result was the same.
Xiushe would bring chaos to Yecheng and slaughter the innocent commoners. Yecheng would be unable to resist and would request the Wendao Sword Sect to step in and slay it.
As for how they fought or how many casualties they sustained, that had nothing to do with him. It would be best if both sides suffered heavy losses.
Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to extract himself completely and cleanly from the situation.
"Men!"
With a low shout, four core formation generals arrived like shadows.
Min Zhan stood up, his cold armor gleaming and his red cloak snapping in the wind. Standing under the moonlight, he glared at the distant mountains and spoke each word with weight:
"Deliver my command!"
"The demonic cultivators of the Blood Demon Cave have conspired with a snake demon to bring chaos to Yecheng. Today, this Marshal leads his army to execute them. Leave none alive."
The four generals cupped their fists in salute.
"By your command!"
The army received the order, drew their blades, and formed battle arrays. They stood ready.
The demonic cultivators, while retreating, encountered the ambush and were forced into combat.
"Remnants of the demon grotto, prepare to die!"
"Kill!"
"To war!"
The demonic cultivators had initially thought these were reinforcements from Yecheng.
Not only were they off guard, they had even accelerated toward them with joy.
They never expected a sudden slaughter, and they suffered heavy losses instantly.
One core formation Elder was even struck down by the opposition.
"Elder, it's Yecheng's Black Armor Cavalry."
"They've blocked all the exits!"
One of the core formation Elders glared with fury and cursed, "That dog Min Zhan! He's burning the bridge after crossing it! I knew these people from the Northern Borders couldn't be trusted!"
"What do we do now?"
"We couldn't beat those bastards from the Wendao Sword Sect, but we can certainly deal with these ants from Yecheng! Follow me and break through!"
"Kill!"
The two groups immediately clashed in a frenzy.
The soldiers used formations to suppress them with numbers.
The heavy cavalry charged.
Arrows fell like rain.
The demonic cultivators raged, charging frantically.
However, Yecheng's Black Armor Cavalry were no pushovers.
Among them, there were many body refining and qi refining practitioners, as well as dozens in the foundation establishment and core formation stages.
Combined with their rested state and numerical advantage, though they took losses, they held the upper hand firmly.
In the distance, the Wendao Sword Sect disciples, who were hurrying to build bamboo rafts, were momentarily confused by the commotion and the rising flames behind them.
After scouting the situation, one of the Supervision Hall members reflexively rejoiced.
"It's the Black Armor Cavalry! They're fighting the demonic cultivators! We're saved!"
Feng Shisan, however, poured cold water on that hope without hesitation, saying grimly, "The Black Armor Cavalry... those are Min Zhan's men. Martial Uncle Ruan has met him; he won't let us live."
The expressions of the others turned dark.
They could figure out such a simple matter even with their toes.
Min Zhan was part of all this from the start.
Those soldiers must have been stationed there long ago.
Why wait until now to act?
Min Zhan's plan was nothing more than letting the mantis stalk the cicada while he acted as the oriole behind.
If the demonic cultivators succeeded, he would reap the rewards.
If the demonic cultivators failed, he would scrub his hands clean.
As long as everyone here died, it didn't matter if the spirit swords returned to the peaks. The truth would be whatever he said it was. Perhaps he would even claim the merit for exterminating the remnants of the demon grotto.
Xu Xian said in a heavy voice, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind... What a masterful calculation."
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