"Don't let them get away!" Elder Lie Yang clutched his bleeding shoulder, shock and fury twisting his face as he roared into the mountain hollow.
The cooked duck had already flown off just as they're about to secure it. How could he possibly accept that after losing a disciple to the struggle?
The three of them immediately gave chase, their figures blurring into streaks of fire as they pursued the bloody light.
At the same time, deep within the Mist Trace Rift Valley, Yu Xiaotang suddenly snapped her eyes open.
On the system map, the two light points representing Granny Hua and Xue Shouren abruptly grew extremely faint and flickered unstably against the dark background. They were moving at high speed along an irregular trajectory that jerked across the grid.
At the same time, three red points representing hostile units appeared nearby, clinging tightly to them in a relentless pursuit.
"Something is wrong." Yu Xiaotang's expression sank instantly, her eyes narrowing as she studied the icons.
Judging from their movement path and speed, Granny Hua and Xue Shouren were clearly being hunted down by a superior force. Their auras were unstable, which made it obvious they had used some kind of secret technique that damaged their foundation to forcibly boost their escape speed for a desperate flight.
Those three red points chasing them weren't weak either. They were unmistakably Nascent Soul cultivators based on the energy signatures registered by the interface.
"Damn it." Yu Xiaotang cursed inwardly, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. She was furious that those two idiots hadn't followed her strict orders and had acted on their own greed, throwing themselves into unnecessary danger. She was also aching over the temporary loyalty seals planted on them and the Star Core Origin Essence fragment that might have already been in their hands.
"System. Lock their real time position and analyze the optimal evacuation route."
[Calculating. Optimal evacuation route planning in progress.]
[Warning. Target movement direction has deviated from the preset safe zone and is fleeing toward the Poison Miasma Swamp. This area contains unknown high risk energy reactions. Toxic gases are dense. Visibility and divine sense perception are extremely low. Abandoning pursuit is recommended.]
"Poison Miasma Swamp…" Cold light flashed in Yu Xiaotang's eyes as she recalled the geography of the realm.
She knew that place from the records. On the system map, it was marked in deep red as a high danger zone. Even Nascent Soul cultivators would find it extremely perilous if they entered without proper preparation.
Granny Hua and the others fleeing there clearly meant they had been driven into a corner and wanted to use dangerous terrain to shake off their pursuers. But in their current condition, entering the Poison Miasma Swamp was probably a near death sentence for the wounded pair.
"Two useless fools who can't succeed at anything but excel at ruining it," she muttered through clenched teeth, her anger simmering.
Still, cursing was one thing. She couldn't truly ignore them and let the investment go to waste.
It wasn't because she cared that much about their lives in a sentimental way. It was because they carried temporary loyalty seals. If they were captured or had their souls searched by an enemy, her special methods might be exposed to the world. On top of that, losing two mid stage Nascent Soul elders would be a devastating blow to the Joyous Union Sect and to her current plans for the inheritance.
"I have to save them. But how," Yu Xiaotang thought as her mind raced through various tactical possibilities.
With her current strength, leading a group of Golden Core disciples to face three Nascent Soul pursuers would be suicide for everyone involved.
Even using the system's trump cards would carry enormous risk to her own safety.
"No. I have to find another way." She forced herself to calm down, her breathing becoming slow and deliberate.
Her gaze swept across the system map as she searched desperately for a sliver of hope among the flashing icons. Suddenly, her eyes fixed on another violently flashing red area at the edge of the map. It was the core battlefield where a brutal melee was still raging between the great sects.
A crazy idea quickly took shape in her mind, dangerous and bold.
"If you all want to snatch it, then I will stir the waters even more," Yu Xiaotang thought, a vicious light flashing through her eyes.
"System. Immediately use Granny Hua and Xue Shouren's current position as the center and simulate the release of the following information. Hehuan Sect elders are escaping with a fragment of Star Core Origin Essence, heading southeast. Raise the simulated signal strength to maximum and ensure that all cultivators and beasts with sensing ability nearby receive it. Execute immediately."
[Ding. Simulated information release requires 100 points. Confirm execution.]
One hundred points.
Yu Xiaotang's heart was bleeding at the cost. That was almost half of her remaining points she had painstakingly gathered.
She didn't hesitate for even a second. "Confirm."
[Executed. Simulated signal is being released. Release in progress.]
"Everyone, listen up right now," Yu Xiaotang snapped as she spun around and barked at the disciples who were still cultivating inside the stone cave. "Pack up immediately and prepare to relocate. This place isn't safe anymore."
"Yes, Young Sect Master." The disciples didn't understand why they were moving again so soon, but seeing her grim expression, they didn't dare delay and immediately stood up.
"Move. Head southwest and enter the deepest part of the rift valley," Yu Xiaotang said no more and took the lead out of the cave, her figure disappearing into the mist.
The southwest was the deepest region of the Mist Trace Rift Valley and one of the highest danger zones marked on the system map. At this moment, it was actually the safest place for them, because there probably wasn't anyone there brave enough to enter.
Less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick after they left, Elder Lie Yang and the other two elders, who were frantically chasing Granny Hua and Xue Shouren, suddenly changed expression.
They all sensed several powerful and concealed divine senses sweeping over the area from different directions, then faintly locking onto their position.
"This is bad. Someone else has their eyes on us," Elder Lie Yang thought as his heart sank, his face turning iron gray with dread.
"Damn it. How did the news leak," he snarled, looking around at the encroaching fog. His first thought was that those two old Hehuan Sect bastards had used some kind of mutual destruction message technique to summon help. "Hurry. Catch them. Grab the fragment and leave immediately."
But it was already too late for a clean getaway.
"Roar—!"
A thunder-shaking roar came from the side, vibrating through the ground. A Cracking Earth Bear covered in black scales, its eyes blood red with madness, charged out from behind a hill and thundered toward them.
"Daoyou from the Blazing Sun Sect, why be in such a rush," a sinister voice sounded from the other side as a bandage-wrapped figure slowly emerged from the mist.
"Hmph. Treasures belong to the virtuous. If the Blazing Sun Sect wants to swallow it all, that won't be so easy," another streak of light descended from the sky. It was clearly a Nascent Soul early stage elder from the Profound Heaven Sect who had been injured and retreated earlier in the melee and had now rushed over after hearing the news of the fragment.
The faces of Elder Lie Yang and the other two instantly turned deathly pale.
Ahead were fleeing Hehuan Sect elders. Behind them were beasts, loose cultivators, and disciples from other sects eyeing them hungrily. They had become the target of everyone's arrows in an instant.
"Go," Elder Lie Yang decided instantly, his survival instinct overriding his greed. He didn't even bother chasing Granny Hua anymore. He grabbed the two injured elders and fled in another direction to escape the encirclement.
If they didn't leave now, forget about snatching the fragment. They would be the ones left behind to die in the chaos.
Granny Hua and Xue Shouren felt the pressure behind them suddenly vanish as the pursuers turned away. Chaotic energy fluctuations and furious roars followed from the distance. They didn't know exactly what had happened, but they knew this was their best chance to survive the encounter.
Gritting their teeth, the two of them burned their remaining essence blood. Their speed jumped again as they fled desperately in the opposite direction from their rendezvous with Yu Xiaotang, quickly vanishing into the endless fog of the swamp.
At this moment, Yu Xiaotang had already led her team quietly into the most dangerous and most hidden depths of the Mist Trace Rift Valley.
She looked at the system map. The light points representing Granny Hua and Xue Shouren were gradually moving farther away and had temporarily escaped danger. She then looked at the region that had descended into chaos again because of the Star Core Origin Essence fragment news. Her expression was terrifyingly dark.
"I hope you make it back alive," she murmured to herself. "Otherwise, I will have to go get that fragment myself."
She had sacrificed 100 points and taken on the potential risk of losing two Nascent Soul elders to buy them a slim chance of survival and to throw the situation into turmoil.
As for whether Granny Hua and Xue Shouren could shake off all the covetous forces while heavily injured and ultimately return to her side, that depended on their fate.
She had already done everything that benevolence and duty demanded.