Call for Master When in Danger

"A living sacrifice?!" Li Nanzhu’s heart tightened. A bizarre blood-light was already pulsing on the surface of those dark red crystals, and a thick blood mist began to seep out. Clearly, the array was nearing completion!

Feng Qingping’s array disk floated silently. "We must split up." Her fingertips rapidly traced array runes. "I need thirty breaths to set the array. It can trap one Golden Core stage cultivator, but as for the other..."

Rong Yuying immediately cut in, "Leave that one to me and Junior Sister Ling." She looked at Feng Qingping. "Can you all handle the one you trap?"

"Leave it to us," Feng Qingping nodded slightly, exchanging a knowing glance with Feng Weilan.

Li Nanzhu also quickly took out explosion talismans. "The others and I will be responsible for destroying the blood-fiend crystals."

Yu'er handed the lotus lamp to Li Nanzhu. "The wick can sense the blood-fiend energy. The brighter it shines, the more crystals there are."

Suisui suddenly jumped onto Li Nanzhu's head, its bone claws pulling desperately at her collar. Li Nanzhu’s pupils suddenly contracted—the blood-red light beneath the floor, signaling the array’s completion, was about to connect!

"We're running out of time!"

Feng Qingping’s fingertips trembled slightly. The spiritual runes on the array disk were only half-traced, and fine beads of sweat broke out on her forehead—this trapping array still needed at least ten breaths to complete.

Rong Yuying gripped her round fan tightly, blocking the anxious Qinghe and others behind her. Her internal anxiety was even greater than theirs, but in this situation, she had to maintain absolute rationality.

If they couldn't rely on Feng Qingping’s array to deal with the two Golden Core stage evil cultivators, then even if they rushed over to stop the few Foundation Establishment ones, the gap in cultivation would likely result in them being heavily injured by the two Golden Core cultivators. When that time came, far from saving anyone, they would likely become part of the living sacrifice themselves!

It was at this moment that the final blood-fiend crystal was about to be embedded into the wall by the evil cultivators!

No!!!

Everyone cried out silently in their hearts. Perhaps the heavens heard their wish, as a low, raspy, and somewhat familiar voice suddenly exploded beside them.

"Wait a Moment!"

The actions of all the evil cultivators suddenly froze. Even the attacks of the two Golden Core stage cultivators paused for a moment as they instinctively turned toward the source of the sound.

To the astonishment of the group, Li Nanzhu had swiftly thrown on the black robe she had stripped from Zhao Tiezhu earlier. The oversized cloak completely enveloped the girl’s slender frame, revealing only half of her fair chin. Even Suisui had been precisely tossed into the arms of her sixth senior brother.

Then, she herself suddenly charged out from the corner!

"Zhao Tiezhu?" The Golden Core evil cultivator on the left furrowed his brow, but the bone nails in his hand didn't stop, continuing to blast toward the Hehuan Sect disciples. "Why aren't you at the prison cells guarding the fodder? What are you doing here?"

Li Nanzhu didn't answer. Seizing the moment of the cultivator's hesitation, she dashed toward the other end at top speed!

"Zhao Tiezhu! What are you doing?!" the Golden Core evil cultivator on the right shouted sharply, raising the whip he used for attacking.

Li Nanzhu ignored him. Her hands reached out, and three Foundation Establishment evil cultivators suddenly felt a sharp pain in their wrist bones—in that instant, three blood-fiend crystals changed hands!

As the ice-cold crystals touched her palm, she felt a wave of dizziness. The blood-thread-like patterns seemed like living things wriggling against her skin.

"Zhao Tiezhu, have you gone mad?!" the cultivator on the left roared. "Put the crystals back!"

This moment of turning back allowed Li Nanzhu’s movements to be completely exposed to them.

The slender wrists beneath the black robe were nothing like Zhao Tiezhu’s thick arms. The pupils of the Golden Core evil cultivator on the left shrank. Feeling something, his expression changed drastically. "No! This isn't Zhao—"

Before he could finish, two fierce attacks whistled through the air. The blood whip and bone nails were immensely powerful, clearly aimed to kill. Before the attacks even landed, the sharp wind had already blown back Li Nanzhu’s hood.

"Junior Sister!" Feng Qingping’s scream nearly tore her throat. Her array was still missing the final three spiritual runes, and her fingers turned white from excessive force.

Feng Weilan had also charged out the instant the attacks were launched, and Rong Yuying finally snapped out of it, her round fan fully unfurling. "Save her!"

But it was too late. The distance was simply too great—the two attacks were only three feet from Li Nanzhu’s back!

Everyone watched helplessly as the two fatal blows were about to strike the girl!

Li Nanzhu felt a faint stinging pain on her back, the sensation of the fierce air pressure cutting through.

Instinctively, she closed her eyes, and the words Xiao Yan had once said to her flashed through her mind—

'Call for Master when in danger.'

"Master..."

BOOM!

The expected pain did not arrive.

Li Nanzhu snapped her eyes open. As expected, she saw a green light screen blooming from her brow. The flame-shaped mark was now clearly visible, emitting a soft yet resilient glow that blocked both attacks—it was the Qingming Seal Xiao Yan had left on her when she became his disciple.

"As I thought..." She reach out a trembling hand toward her brow, her fingertips touching only a patch of burning heat.

Feng Qingping’s array was finally complete at that moment!

Eight jade talismans flew out, forming an Eight Trigrams trapping array in the air that firmly locked in the Golden Core stage cultivator on the left. The cultivator turned in a rage, but his bone nails bounced back as if hitting an invisible wall.

At this point, Feng Qingping’s face was as pale as paper. The terror of the previous moment had nearly broken her.

"Kill!" Rong Yuying hesitated no longer. Her round fan fully unfurled as nine streaks of silver light shot toward the Golden Core stage cultivator on the right like falling stars. Ling Suxin took the opportunity to throw three detox pills; the pills exploded in mid-air, forming a pale purple barrier that temporarily blocked the erosion of the blood-fiend energy.

Feng Weilan’s blade was already pressed against the throat of one Foundation Establishment evil cultivator. Still immersed in shock, the man didn't even have time to react before his throat was slit.

"Hehuan Sect disciples, hear my command!" Rong Yuying’s fan expanded completely as dozens of silver lights flew out from a pink mist. "Form the array!"

The trapped disciples of the second team were still stunned by what had just occurred. Hearing Rong Yuying’s voice, their spirits surged, and they managed to bolster the final light barrier.

Li Nanzhu took the opportunity to smash the stolen blood-fiend crystals violently onto the ground. The moment the crystals shattered, she felt the entire corridor tremble. Fine cracks appeared even on the crystals that had already been embedded.

Suisui had somehow climbed to the ceiling. Its small claws grabbed a piece of rubble and precisely threw it at a blood-fiend crystal. Web-like cracks immediately appeared on the crystal's surface.

"Stop them!" the trapped Golden Core cultivator roared, manifesting a bone spear to frantically attack the silver light screen. Every collision sparked blinding flashes, yet he remained unable to break through the trapping array Feng Qingping had hastily set.

Seeing the evil cultivators grow increasingly frenzied, Feng Qingping ignored everything else and flickered into the array to engage him in combat.

The Golden Core stage cultivator on the right was suppressed by the joint efforts of Rong Yuying and Ling Suxin, unable to pull himself away for the time being.

Seeing things take a turn for the worse, the Foundation Establishment evil cultivators exchanged looks. One of them suddenly bellowed, "Flee!"

Before the words finished, a snowy blade-light spanned across the corridor.

"Trying to leave?"

Feng Weilan’s figure appeared like a ghost, his long blade held precisely three inches in front of the fugitive's throat. Unable to stop his momentum, the man’s neck slammed straight into the blade—

Squelch!

On the other side, Li Nanzhu, Qinghe, and the others had already destroyed the fifth blood-fiend crystal. The patterns of the blood-fiend array, which had been nearing completion, grew even dimmer, and the flow of blood mist in the air became chaotic and disordered.

She was about to rush toward the sixth one when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her brow—the light of the blue-flame mark was weakening.

"Watch out!" Ling Suxin’s warning rang out.

The Golden Core stage cultivator on the right took a direct hit from Rong Yuying’s fan and suddenly flicked out three bone nails, aiming straight for Li Nanzhu’s heart!