Yu Xiaotang finally felt a bit more at ease, the tension in her shoulders relaxing slightly as she secured the immediate area. She flipped her wrist with a sharp, practiced motion and took out two black jade talismans that looked completely ordinary, their matte surfaces absorbing the dim light of the rift. She then handed the items to the two elders, the cold jade passing between their fingers. "These are the child talismans of a paired sensing talisman. You each carry one, and I have the mother talisman. With them, you can vaguely sense each other's position within a hundred li, and you can also use them for emergency communication if the situation becomes dire."
The paired sensing talisman was naturally just a cover to explain her oversight. The real monitoring method was the system mark she had already placed. Still, appearances had to be maintained to avoid raising suspicion among her subordinates.
"Remember this," Yu Xiaotang said, her voice turning cold and carrying unquestionable authority that made the air feel heavier. "This trip is for scouting only. Don't get greedy or rush ahead into danger. If things can't be done, or if you receive a message from the sect, retreat immediately. Your own safety comes first. If your reckless actions expose our identity or push you into a dead end… the sect rules will deal with it."
That last sentence was a naked warning that hung in the air like a blade. Combined with the freshly planted mark, especially on Granny Hua, the effect was immediate and obvious.
Granny Hua's expression tightened as she bowed her head, replying respectfully, "Young Sect Master, please rest assured. This old woman will remember your teachings and won't act rashly in the field."
Xue Shouren suppressed that strange, nagging feeling in his heart and bowed as well. "This subordinate understands. I won't fail the Young Sect Master's trust in this matter."
"Go," Yu Xiaotang said, waving her hand to dismiss them.
"Yes." Neither of them hesitated. Their figures flickered in the gray light, turning into two faint shadows that silently melted into the rift's thick fog, sneaking toward the battlefield in the northwest.
Watching the direction they disappeared in, Yu Xiaotang's gaze stayed icy as she once again sank her mind into the system interface. On the system map, aside from the glaring crimson zone in the northwest, two new light points with special markers had appeared on the grid. They were moving rapidly toward the edge of the battlefield, their signatures clear against the dark background.
The light point representing Granny Hua was solid and stable, while Xue Shouren's was noticeably blurrier, flickering on and off as he moved. Just as the system had predicted, the mark's effects differed between the two individuals.
"Hmph… Xue Shouren… you had better not ruin yourself," Yu Xiaotang sneered inwardly, her eyes narrowing at the flickering icon.
She sat down cross legged again on the cave floor, regulating her breathing while closely monitoring the battlefield and the two elders through the system display.
Meanwhile, two barely visible shadows sped through the rocky rift. They were Granny Hua and Xue Shouren, their movements synchronized and silent. Both of them pushed their concealment techniques to the limit, drawing their spiritual power inward until their auras almost blended with the damp surroundings.
They were experienced enough not to charge straight toward the center of the battlefield. Instead, they chose a winding route through the canyons, constantly shifting positions and using the terrain to avoid being locked onto by any probing divine sense from the combatants.
After about the time it took to burn an incense stick, they were already far from the stone cave where the Hehuan Sect disciples were hiding. The gray fog around them seemed thinner in this area, but the spiritual power fluctuations and faint rumbling from the northwest were growing clearer and more violent, unsettling the mind with every boom.
Granny Hua slowed down and sent a voice transmission to the butcher beside her. "Elder Xue Shouren, the spiritual energy ahead is extremely chaotic. The battle has probably reached a critical stage. We need to be even more careful from here on. let's observe from the edge first and not rush in."
Her tone carried a natural gravity and caution. The sense of obedience to Yu Xiaotang's orders was unusually strong in her heart, the thought of scouting first and putting safety above all else deeply ingrained in her psyche.
Xue Shouren licked his dry lips, bloodlust and greed flashing in his eyes as he replied by voice transmission. "What Granny Hua says makes sense. But… judging by this commotion, a major treasure has to be appearing. If we can grab even a bit of benefit from the fallout… heh…"
The urge to take risks hadn't completely faded in him despite the warnings. It was only being suppressed by his wariness of Yu Xiaotang and the vague, persistent pressure of the mark. He was still quite afraid of the consequences of sect rule punishment.
"Quiet," Granny Hua suddenly snapped in a low voice. She stopped abruptly and pulled him into the deep shadow of a massive boulder.
Several hundred zhang ahead, a disheveled figure was fleeing in panic, riding a dim sword light straight toward their direction. That person's clothes were in tatters and their aura was dangerously weak. Their left arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder, and strange black qi coiled around the open wound like smoke. It was obvious they had been poisoned during the fight.
Judging by the torn robes, it was a late stage Golden Core cultivator from the Xuantian Sect.
Whoosh.
A jade green poison needle shot out from the fog behind them, striking precisely toward the fleeing cultivator's back.
"Five Poison Old Monster, you won't die a peaceful death!" the Xuantian Sect cultivator screamed in venomous hatred as they sensed the deadly danger, desperately pushing their protective spiritual light to its breaking point.
Puff.
The poison needle pierced through the dim barrier with ease and sank deep into their body. The cultivator stiffened, black qi spreading rapidly over their face like a web, and they dropped straight from the air. Their aura vanished in an instant as they hit the ground.
A figure shrouded in a green cloak appeared soundlessly among the rocks. With a casual gesture, they pulled the cultivator's storage bag into their hand, didn't spare the corpse a glance, and vanished back into the fog, rushing toward the battlefield's center.
The entire process happened in the blink of an eye. A late stage Golden Core cultivator had fallen just like that, discarded like trash.
Behind the rock, Granny Hua and Xue Shouren held their breath, their hearts chilled by the sight. Five Poison Old Monster was a notorious Nascent Soul cultivator known for his ruthlessness. He had been dragged into this conflict as well.
The battle's brutality far exceeded their initial imagination.
"it's already… the Young Sect Master's caution was right after all," Granny Hua sent gravely, her voice echoing in the butcher's mind. "This place is already a true danger zone. Nascent Soul cultivators have gone mad, and they won't care about identities at all." Her trust in Yu Xiaotang's foresight deepened even further with every passing moment.
The greed in Xue Shouren's eyes receded quite a bit, replaced by a grim seriousness. He loved killing, but he valued his own life above his bloodlust.
"Yeah… let's watch first."
They moved even more carefully, creeping along the battlefield's jagged edge. The closer they got, the thicker the stench of blood became and the more violent the spiritual energy turbulence grew. Brilliant spell lights exploded in the distance from time to time, accompanied by deafening booms that shook the cliffs.
When they finally reached a high cliff that allowed them to vaguely overlook the battlefield's core, the sight before them made even the well traveled Nascent Soul elders suck in a cold breath.
Several li away, above a wide mountain valley, the world itself seemed to have changed color under the strain of the power. Ice phoenixes, sword dragons, toxic miasma, and beast souls were all visible in the air. All kinds of powerful spells and treasures were crashing into each other in a frenzy. At least five or six figures radiating terrifying Nascent Soul pressure were locked in a life and death struggle that showed no signs of stopping. The ground below was already a complete wreck, peaks collapsing into rubble and rivers cut apart by stray qi.
What was even more alarming was that on one side of the valley, a massive Three Headed Yin Python had already awakened from its slumber, its enormous body thrashing as it attacked every living being that came near. On the other side, a sea of golden clouds buzzed loudly in the air. It was a swarm of fist sized Gold Devouring Flying Ants, their mouthparts razor sharp and glinting. Wherever they passed, even the solid rock was gnawed away in seconds.
A Nascent Soul melee. Plus two awakened Nascent Soul level ferocious beasts. This area had completely turned into a land of death for anyone caught inside.
"They have lost it… all of them," Xue Shouren muttered to himself. Even he felt a shiver of fear at the scale of the carnage. At this level of chaos, if they were dragged into the center, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.
"Look there," Granny Hua suddenly said, pointing toward the very center of the battlefield where the energy was densest.
There, Han Ji Zhēnjūn of the Northern Ice Palace was protecting Ling Chuan behind him, fiercely clashing with Duan Shuang Zhēnjūn of the Xuantian Sect and Xuan Shou Zhēnjūn of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.
Ling Chuan was gripping a jade box tightly, his fingers locked around the treasure. From the thin cracks in the lid, dazzling starlight spilled out in vibrant ribbons of blue and white. Even amid the roaring, chaotic battle, the brilliance was impossible to ignore.