"Thanks, Bos Mao, for taking care of us along the way. If there's anything we can help with, just say the word." Bei Ze spoke politely.
Jian Mao only listened without taking it to heart. He returned the courtesy with a clasped-fist salute.
Next came Hou San. Unlike the others, he was straightforward. He cupped his fists and said, "I'm just a lone loose cultivator. I don't have much ability, except for sniffing out news, running errands, and following orders. I'd like to keep following you, Boss Mao. I hope you won't mind."
"Have you thought it through?"
"Yes."
"Alright then, you'll stay by Fairy Lu's side."
Hearing that, Hou San finally relaxed, a smile spreading across his face. After bidding Lady Di's group farewell, he quickly went to join Fairy Lu.
The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples soon scattered, leaving the trading market quietly.
The first to receive news of their departure were Cheng Zu and his junior.
"Senior Brother, they're moving fast. Looks like they're heading for the inner region."
"Mhm. I told you Jun Qingfeng was injured, so of course they're in a rush." Cheng Zu's childish face carried words that sounded far too mature.
"In any case, the information we gave them was true. What they do with it is their choice."
The Ji Du Squad was the second to hear. After his men reported, Ji Du rubbed his chin, eyes turning as he said to Dao Ba, "We'll stay another day, finish clearing out what we have, then leave tomorrow."
"So soon? The trading meet still has three days left." Dao Ba looked surprised.
"I don't feel easy. Don't argue, just make arrangements. Get rid of some of those items even if the price isn't perfect. Don't hold them in hand."
"Yes."
Dao Ba left to pass the order, while Ji Du went to seek news from Cheng Song.
The Fu Hu Squad only learned of Senior Brother Mao's departure half a day later. Furious, Fu Hu cursed his men.
"Idiots! I told you to keep an eye on them and you couldn't even manage that. Now it's too late. How am I supposed to avenge Jiao Jiao?" He barked his words with false bravado, but Dai Jiao's eyes shone with admiration. Only he knew he was secretly relieved.
Yesterday, Dai Jiao had suffered a divine sense strike. He'd immediately realized the attacker was someone who specialized in divine sense and was far stronger than Dai Jiao. Their overall strength wasn't weak either. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sensed such danger when they left.
Now that they'd gone, he didn't have to risk a confrontation on Dai Jiao's behalf.
By the latter half of the day, news spread across the market. People said the Fu Hu Squad had driven a hard bargain with the Bing Si stall and left early out of fear of retaliation. The story gave Fu Hu another excuse to strut. But Cheng Zu and the Ji Du Squad both knew the truth. They kept quiet and slipped away quietly over the next two days.
On the fifth day, after the skies had turned fully dark, the trading market was attacked. The casualties were heavy. The attackers were half-plant, half-beast creatures known as Black-Whip Electric Eels.
They looked like clumps of water grass, able to split off into smaller clusters. Normally they lived underground, only surfacing when prey appeared.
As the name implied, they were long, black whips. The central body was the thickest, made of segments as thick as a baby's arm, arcs of electricity flickering across the joints. Twenty or more whips sprouted from a single root mass, held together by tendrils that let them move both under the ground and on the surface.
When they caught prey, they stunned it with electricity, then wrapped around it, dragging it underground to devour at leisure.
They thrived around burial grounds, feeding on insect carcasses and immortal remains, a feast of pure nourishment. Any squad that had ventured there before knew their terror.
So when the array broke, the experienced scattered at once. The less informed hesitated and were instantly bound up. To Black-Whip Electric Eels, they were nothing but snacks.
Chaos swallowed the trading ground. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples had already left, entering a barren stretch of desert and gravel. The land stretched desolate for a hundred li, wind sweeping grains of sand through sparse patches of grass and stone.
Jian Dan could feel it. The Xianyuan energy here was richer than at the outer edges. She couldn't absorb it without a technique, but the energy seeped faintly into her skin.
"Senior Brother, are we sure this route's right?" Jian Jing still asked, unease in her voice.
"It's right. But this path's tricky. Everyone stay sharp." Jian Mao compared the landmarks in memory before replying.
The Bai sisters carefully surveyed the area. For now, nothing seemed amiss.
"The plants here are useless. They're not poisonous either," Bai Shuang said coldly.
"Woman, be ready. There's something beneath this desert. It's only a fragment, the main body's not here. Cross quickly." Liu Chuan's voice sounded in Jian Dan's mind.
Her gaze dimmed. She didn't dare use divine sense, only gathered the others and said,
"There's something underground. We'd better move fast. Don't stir up too much noise."
No one objected. They all assumed Jian Lu had scouted it. With their divine sense suppressed to only a few paces around their bodies, they naturally followed her lead.
"Go!"
Jian Dan shot forward, feet tapping the ground lightly, covering more than ten meters in a step. The others didn't slack, chasing close behind.
But her heart grew heavier, since Liu Chuan kept urging her to go faster.
Just as they neared the treeline beyond the desert, a whip as thick as an arm burst from the ground, wrapping around Jian Xu at the rear.
Jian Mao, right beside him, cursed inwardly. "Not good!"
He already had his sword in hand. The blade flashed down on the whip's joints, sharp and precise. With one strike, he severed the black coil.
Jian Xu, caught in its grasp, had tried to draw his sword, but the moment the current shot through him, his mind went blank. His body went numb, leaving him conscious but unable to move.
That was when a strand of silk shot out, wrapping around Jian Xu and yanking him back. He tumbled toward Jian Chun and Wu Siyuan's side, but another black whip lashed at him.
This time, Jian Dan didn't hold back. The Mò Xī Jiàn was already in her hand. With one clean slash, she cut the whip from its root.
The severed piece writhed like a live eel, arcs of purple lightning dancing along its length as it slithered over the ground.
Three blades flashed in quick succession, slicing it into three chunks before it finally stopped moving.
"Take it!" Jian Dan ordered.
Hou San's face was pale, but he still cooperated with Kuang Dao. Kuang Dao hooked it with his blade, while Hou San quickly stored it in his ring. By now, the group had made it into the forest. Watching Jian Mao and Jian Dan battle two more black whips, they were anxious, but didn't dare move rashly.
The two, though, managed without much trouble, their swords cutting true.
"Woman, want to take a gamble?"