Wang Longyu had just lifted his leg to leave when Qian Duoduo reminded him, “Clear the battlefield.”
The three of them took all the Storage Pouches from the Helou Family members, and as they walked, they divided the Medicinal Pills equally.
At this moment, Wang Longyu had the most severe injuries, Yu Yixiang was second, and Qian Duoduo was the lightest. They couldn't stop to heal their injuries. They could only suppress their injuries with Medicinal Pills. After walking a few steps, they would try to contact them with a Jade Slip, but there was no movement from the other end of the Jade Slip. The silence was like the black of night, pressing heavier and heavier on their hearts.
The night grew thicker, and the mountains became colder.
Deep underground in Helou Castle, the Helou Old Ancestor's eyes revealed a slit, “Useless, you can’t even deal with a few Outer Sect Disciples. Zhan’er, you go, take a few more people. You must kill them!”
A sturdy young man stood up, waving his arm, and led eight He Lou Clan members, rushing to the surface. He Louzhan, the young Clan Chief of the He Lou Family, had the best Aptitude among the younger generation, the highest cultivation, and was the most astute and capable.
“It’s snowing,” Yu Yixiang stretched out her hand. From the gaps in the mountain forest, white snowflakes drifted down, and they were quite large.
“Good thing,” Wang Longyu mused, “It can help us cover our tracks.”
Qian Duoduo thought for a moment and said, “If we can cross that deep gully, maybe we’ll be out of the Formation and can send the message back to the Sect.”
Yu Yixiang nodded in agreement. On both sides of the deep gully, the scenery was completely different. From this, they could infer that the scope of the Formation was bounded by the deep gully.
That deep mountain gully became their lifeline for rescue.
Now, they were at least four or five hours away from the deep gully. Would the He Lou Family send more people to pursue them during these four or five hours?
Betrayal was a capital offense. As long as they sent the news of the He Lou Family’s betrayal back to the Refining Spirit Sect, the He Lou Family would face certain annihilation.
Therefore, the He Lou Family would definitely send people to intercept them. Moreover, they would have to send more and stronger people.
Qian Duoduo stopped, “The He Lou Clan members know the route we took to get here; if we return the same way, they’ll easily catch up.”
Yu Yixiang nodded, “Go in a straight line, to the nearest deep gully.” Qian Duoduo and the others checked the mission Jade Slip and found a new route.
The three of them changed direction and simultaneously changed their Formation. Wang Longyu walked at the very front with a wooden stick, Yu Yixiang was in the middle, and Qian Duoduo brought up the rear. As Qian Duoduo walked, he used a branch to erase the footprints in the snow.
“Jin *Shidi*, you and Junior Sister Yu shouldn’t bother with a cripple like me.” Wang Longyu’s face was bruised, and each step he took in the snow became increasingly difficult. “I’ll find a cave and hide. Once you break out of the Formation and contact the Sect, come back and save me.”
Yu Yixiang shook her head, “If we die, we die together. However, I suggest Jin *Shidi* can rush out first.”
Her face wasn't good either, and she looked preoccupied.
“For me to leave alone, it’s impossible. Unless you two first—send me to the underworld.” Qian Duoduo imitated Helou Chuang’s tone and looked back at them.
If he wanted to live alone, he would have left long ago. If he left alone now, wouldn’t all his desperate efforts just now be in vain?
Wang Longyu, he had to save him. The increasingly pleasing Yu Yixiang, he also had to save her.
Even if he couldn't save them, he still had to try.
Yu Yixiang smiled happily, then sighed softly.
Wang Longyu said solemnly, “Senior Sister Yu, Jin *Shidi*, whether or not I can return to the Sect, I, Wang, will never forget this life-saving grace.”
“We can definitely go back, definitely.” Qian Duoduo encouraged them, and also himself.
One of them sighed, and the other was busy expressing thanks; this meant they had no confidence in returning to the Sect.
But, no matter how difficult returning to the Sect was, was it harder than starving to death, or being beaten to death?
Even if they weren't afraid of death, then they would just walk one step at a time. Qian Duoduo concentrated, circulated the Eternal Wealth and Nobility Art, and used his Spiritual Awareness to perceive the surroundings.
After walking for half an hour, he heard a sound behind him and quickly pulled Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu, swiftly diving into a snow pit. After sweeping away the snow on the surface with a branch, in the snow pit, Qian Duoduo set up a turtle shell tent and carefully observed outside through the window on the top of the tent.
Yu Yixiang pressed her lips together, holding his hand tightly. Wang Longyu closed his eyes, taking this opportunity to recover some strength.
Before long, a red figure whistled through the mountain forest. That figure continuously leaped among the trees, its movement technique extremely agile and bizarre.
When the figure reached the place where Qian Duoduo and the others had previously passed, it stopped.
This person's aura was similar to Helou Chuang’s, a cultivation of the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation!
If the three of them attacked at the same time, they might be able to kill him. Qian Duoduo would use the Cold Flame Pure Snow Spear, Yu Yixiang would use a silver sword, and Wang Longyu would use a wooden sword.
However, Qian Duoduo and the others didn't know if he had companions nearby, or how many there were.
Qian Duoduo and the other two exchanged glances in the turtle shell tent, both shaking their heads, deciding to remain still. Yu Yixiang’s hand almost dug into Qian Duoduo’s bones.
The He Lou Clan member paused for a moment, scanned his surroundings, found nothing unusual, and then pushed off a tree, heading into the distance.
“They’re here,” Wang Longyu sighed, “You two—”
“We,” Qian Duoduo interrupted him, “can go back.”
“Let’s go,” Yu Yixiang took a deep breath. “No matter how large the Formation, it has an end. The deep gully is that end.”
They packed up the tent; the snow outside was still falling, and the sky and earth seemed to be connected by the snow.
Qian Duoduo and the others continuously swallowed Qi Return Pills to replenish their Spiritual Qi. Despite this, all three of their bodies began to tremble. Their injuries were worsening, and the weather was getting colder.
Yu Yixiang also gripped a wooden stick in her hand, using it as a crutch to support her body.
Qian Duoduo’s heart, like the branch in his hand, grew heavier and heavier. Their speed was too slow; at this rate, they wouldn't reach the deep gully before dawn.
Even with such slow progress, they had to stop several times, hiding in tree hollows and snow pits, to avoid the He Lou Clan members who were like blood bats. Among these pursuers, several had cultivation levels no lower than Helou Chuang.
Having just passed through a stream valley, Qian Duoduo was about to suggest they rest for a bit when, in his Spiritual Awareness, a large tree ahead suddenly moved.
Not good! He had just taken out the turtle shell tent, pulled the two of them in to hide, when an arrow had already shot into the top of the tent.
“Refining Spirit dogs, why don’t you roll out and die?”
About twenty zhang away, a He Lou Clan member at Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight stood on a large tree, holding a blood-colored bow, with a whistling arrow nocked on it.
The arrowhead of the whistling arrow had two whistle holes. Once shot, it would emit a sound that echoed through the mountain forest.
“Don’t let him send the message,” Yu Yixiang pointed at him and said to Qian Duoduo.
Qian Duoduo leaped up from the ground, and the Yin Yang Spring Breeze Scissors in his hand shot out simultaneously. With a flash of gray light, the blood-colored bow and the whistling arrow were both cut into two pieces.
The artisan artifact power of the Yin Yang Spring Breeze Scissors was indeed effective. It was just that Qian Duoduo had crafted too few this time. This was the last one.
The He Lou Clan member threw down the bow and arrow in his hand, and a sharp spike appeared in his hand. He leaped down and fiercely stabbed towards Qian Duoduo.
Level Eight against Level Six, he had his confidence.
Qian Duoduo made a desperate expression, holding a wooden sword in his left hand, stabbing towards the He Lou Clan member’s throat. As he crossed paths with him, Qian Duoduo loosened his left hand, dropped the wooden sword, and grabbed his right wrist. The He Lou Clan member’s face showed a cold sneer, because the sharp spike had already pierced Qian Duoduo’s robe. Two more inches, and it would be Qian Duoduo’s heart.
However, Qian Duoduo had Golden Claw Armor under his robe.
Qian Duoduo’s right hand thrust out fiercely, the Golden Rooster Sword arrived first, piercing into the He Lou Clan member’s chest amidst the violent tremor of the Golden Claw Armor.