"Fifth Senior Sister! You are incredible!" Duan Xianxing sprawled on the ground, weakly giving a thumbs-up. "Setting up a teleportation array while fighting! I didn't even notice! That guy must be dumbfounded!"
Li Nanzhu also caught her breath, saying with lingering fear, "Fortunately Fifth Senior Sister was here, otherwise today would have been truly dangerous."
Jiang Yifan looked at Feng Qingping, his eyes filled with praise and gratitude. "Fifth Junior Sister, thanks to your foresight and staying calm in the face of danger."
If not for Feng Qingping's covert array maneuvers, they might not have been able to completely escape the pursuit of a Nascent Soul cultivator, even if they had created an opportunity.
Ling Suxin also nodded slightly in agreement.
Feng Qingping shook her head, her expression turning serious. "Now is not the time to relax. Qin Lie will not give up, and this place is not necessarily absolutely safe. We must recover our spiritual energy as quickly as possible, then find a way to rendezvous with Second Senior Brother and Sixth Senior Brother!"
Feng Qingping's words were like a bucket of cold water, sobering everyone from the relief of their narrow escape.
"Fifth Junior Sister is right!" Jiang Yifan immediately regained his focus, suppressing his surging blood and fatigue as he said solemnly, "Everyone, check your injuries immediately, take your pills, and recover as quickly as possible! I will stand guard!"
As the person with the highest cultivation and currently the best condition in the team, he took on the guard duty without hesitation.
He quickly set up several simple warning restrictions around them, then sat down cross-legged, tuning his breathing while alertly sensing any movement in the surroundings.
Ling Suxin did not speak. The Pure World Lotus Lamp hovered before her, emitting a soft glow that dispersed any potential negative energy in the vicinity and subtly forming a small recovery barrier to accelerate everyone's spiritual energy replenishment.
Li Nanzhu silently took out pills and distributed them to the group. The others took the pills and swallowed them immediately, not bothering to speak as they focused entirely on circulating their cultivation techniques to absorb the medicinal power.
Their previous battle had been an immense burden, especially for Li Nanzhu. Forcing the use of the Eight Principles of Yong had almost drained her spiritual energy and divine sense, leaving her face still as pale as paper.
After taking her pill, Feng Qingping did not immediately enter meditation. Instead, she took out her array compass and several special array flags, beginning to arrange a stronger concealment array and a defensive array around the group.
She knew well how powerful the divine sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator was; ordinary hiding methods might not be secure.
They had to cover their aura and tracks as much as possible.
For a time, this corner of the dense forest fell into a tense silence, with only faint spiritual energy fluctuations and the light fragrance of dissolving pills lingering in the air.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, everyone's breathing gradually stabilized.
Li Nanzhu slowly opened her eyes. Although her face was still somewhat pale, the spirit had returned to her gaze.
She looked at Feng Qingping and asked, "Fifth Senior Sister, where are we now? How far are we from Second Senior Brother and the others?"
Feng Qingping had already located them using the Soul-Sound Bell and the array compass. Hearing this, she replied, "We were teleported to the southwest, about a hundred li from where we encountered Qin Lie. At this distance, a Nascent Soul cultivator's divine sense should not be able to cover us directly, but we cannot lower our guard."
She paused, her brow furrowing slightly. "As for the positions of Second Senior Brother and Sixth Junior Brother... the signal from the Soul-Sound Bell is still very weak, and the direction seems to... have changed."
"Changed?" Jiang Yifan also opened his eyes, a flash of worry in them. "Could it be that Second Junior Brother and the other encountered trouble as well and were forced to move?"
"It's possible." Feng Qingping nodded. "Sixth Junior Brother is heavily injured. With Second Senior Brother carrying him, their movement will inevitably be difficult. If they were discovered by other teams or encountered demonic beasts, they would likely change their hiding spot."
Duan Xianxing grew anxious. "Then what should we do? We have to find them quickly!"
Ling Suxin also spoke up, "We must rendezvous as soon as possible. It was already this difficult for the five of us; Second Senior Brother is protecting Sixth Junior Brother alone, so his situation is likely even more dangerous."
Jiang Yifan pondered for a moment before decisively stating, "There's no time to lose! We set out immediately, heading in the direction sensed by the Soul-Sound Bell! Fifth Junior Sister, you will be responsible for guiding us and setting up arrays to hide our tracks along the way. Junior Sister Ling and I will lead the way, while Little Junior Sister and Seventh Junior Brother support from the middle. Everyone, stay alert. If we encounter anything, do not linger in battle; our primary objective is to reunite!"
While the five from the Five Elements Dao Sect were narrowly escaping danger and planning their next move within the secret realm, outside the realm, upon the massive viewing platform suspended among the clouds, a significant stir had already begun!
What triggered this commotion was not the fact that Qin Lie, a Nascent Soul cultivator, had failed to capture the group from the Five Elements Dao Sect—after all, there were many variables within a secret realm, and instances of the weak defeating the strong or escaping skillfully occurred from time to time.
What truly surprised and even shocked the high-ranking members of various sects, who were well-versed in the world, was the astonishing skill Feng Qingping had displayed during the battle: multitasking to silently set up a teleportation array amidst a fierce fight!
"Hiss—!"
A leading elder from a mid-sized sect could not help but suck in a breath of cold air. Pointing at the image of Feng Qingping setting the array on the light screen, his voice trembled slightly.
"This girl... her control over arrays has actually reached such a level?! To multitask and set up an array under the fierce assault of a cultivator of the same level, and to do it so covertly and seamlessly? This... this is simply unheard of!"
"Among the Eight Sects, there is no sect that primarily focuses on arrays." Another old man stroked his beard, his eyes flashing with sharp light. "Even among rogue cultivators or clans that specialize in arrays, those who can achieve such mastery at the Golden Core stage are definitely as rare as phoenix feathers! This girl is extraordinary!"
"The Five Elements Dao Sect... when did they produce such an array prodigy?"
Discussions broke out one after another, as everyone's eyes focused on Feng Qingping's calm and concentrated face on the light screen.
Previously, although Feng Qingping had taken first place in the array competition, the process had not seemed particularly brilliant. Coupled with the Five Elements Dao Sect's habitual low profile, other sects had not given her much attention.
Some sects even believed her win might have involved an element of luck or was due to the unique nature of the Five Elements Dao Sect's array inheritance, and they had not truly regarded her as a top-tier array genius.
However, witnessing the terrifying array control she displayed during a life-and-death struggle, everyone finally realized the truth.
It wasn't that she wasn't strong enough; it was that the previous competitions simply hadn't been enough to force out her full strength!
Or rather, what she excelled at was precisely this kind of practical application—the path of arrays that strikes like a sudden thunderclap from silence!
"Multitasking to precisely set up an array during a fierce battle, hiding the tracks so well that even a Nascent Soul cultivator failed to notice... this girl's talent and practical application in arrays can be called monstrous!" a highly respected rogue cultivator senior could not help but praise.
Qin Wuyan, the sect master of the Beast Taming Sect, was the first to react. His gaze drifted toward the area where Feng Yi was located as he quickly whispered an order to an elder beside him.
"Go check immediately! What is the overall rank of Feng Qingping from the Five Elements Dao Sect in this Golden Core stage competition?"
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