The Bai sisters were startled, their staves about to strike down when Jian Dan quickly sent a voice transmission to everyone.
"Don't panic, this is my plant beast. We'll use the chaos to slip away."
The blades in everyone's hands froze mid-strike, then vines suddenly wrapped around them and pulled them underground.
Liu Chuan carried them all, swiftly moving through the earth. Once they were out of the inner perimeter, he plunged straight into a rushing river.
They drifted with the current for a while, steering clear of where the black-whip electric eels were most concentrated. Then Liu Chuan smashed into a mountain wall on the opposite side, tunneling dozens of miles underground again. By the time everyone's faces had turned pale, he burst out of the ground and flung them into the open, before retreating on his own.
Even though they were suddenly thrown out, everyone stayed alert. No one panicked or fumbled, each of them landing steadily as they scanned their surroundings with sharp vigilance. They'd landed in a swampy wetland. Green plants sprouted between rotting leaves and broken giant trees. On the decaying wood, a few brightly colored mushrooms glowed faintly, luring people to pick them.
Once they realized the area was relatively safe, they slowly gathered together.
"Senior Brother!" Jian Jun was the first to step forward and bow to Jian Mao.
Jian Mao immediately helped her up, his stern face softening with a rare smile. "We're fellow disciples, there's no need for such formality. Your aura seems steady, you're not hurt, right?"
As he spoke, his gaze swept over his junior sister. He had always thought highly of Jian Jun. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone straight to the Law Enforcement Hall to register for this mission the moment he received the news.
"Senior Brother, don't worry. The reason we were delayed by three days was because Jian Lu was healing Junior Brother. Otherwise, we wouldn't have taken this long."
Jian Jing explained from the side.
The ten cultivators who had been waiting here also stepped forward to greet everyone. When they saw Su Chui among them, their expressions filled with surprise. After greeting him, they immediately grabbed him to ask what had happened after their group had been scattered.
Once the Bai sisters, Hou San, and Kuang Dao scouted the surroundings and confirmed it was safe, Bai Shuang set up the Heaven-Earth Defensive Formation that she hadn't had time to return yet. Everyone entered the barrier to speak in detail.
Among the ten who followed Jian Jun, three were from the Heavenly Sword Sect, three from the Purple Sky Sect, one from the Cloud Sea Sect, one from the Artifact Sect, and two from the Yin Yang Gate. The rest of the cultivators who'd entered had either fallen or been scattered.
That Jian Dan's group had run into Su Chui was sheer luck. As for the ones who'd gone missing, it was impossible to contact them anytime soon.
Inside the formation, after exchanging greetings, Jian Jun spoke up, briefly recounting what had happened during the less than ten years they'd been stuck here since entering the spatial rift.
"Jian Mao Zūnshàng, may I ask, were there only your group that entered this time?"
The one who asked was a female cultivator from the Yin Yang Gate. Jian Mao knew exactly why she was asking, and he didn't hide the truth.
"This place has a time difference with our Lingyun Continent. You've only spent less than ten years here, but we've waited for you for over a hundred years.
And with the Purple Sky Sect spreading word that the spatial rift was unstable, they had already sent Xiao Yong and Xiao Rong inside, but no news ever came back. The sects were told to make their own decision, whether to send people in to find you, or wait and see."
At this point Jian Mao glanced at Xiao Yong and Xiao Rong. They nodded in agreement, confirming what he said was true.
Xiao Rong then added, "Since this exploration was initiated by the Purple Sky Sect, and yet a hundred years passed with no one returning, the sect sent us in again, hoping to find you and bring you back.
But our group had terrible luck. Many fell one after another, and we almost died ourselves when a man-faced tree tried to drain our life force. Luckily, Daoyou from the Heavenly Sword Sect arrived just in time to save us.
In the end, only the two of us survived out of the ten who came in from the Purple Sky Sect."
The survivors listened quietly, their faces grim as they grasped the danger of this place.
"Our Heavenly Sword Sect insisted on sending people in to search for you. That's why we were the first to arrive at the Purple Sky Sect. It was Junior Sister who pushed hardest for us to enter early, without waiting for the other sects. At the time, the Loose Cultivator Alliance only had Kuang Dao present, so he joined our team to enter the rift."
When Jian Mao mentioned him, Kuang Dao gave a broad salute to the group. Even if no other loose cultivators had entered, at least he had.
"We entered one step ahead. But before we even landed here, the spatial rift began to collapse. Our group was nearly torn apart by chaotic currents. If we'd entered even a moment later, there'd be no reunion like this today."
The two from the Yin Yang Gate couldn't decide what to say. Their sect hadn't sent help, while the Heavenly Sword Sect had entered early. And who could've predicted the rift would close so quickly?
The two of them had clung to Jian Jun all this time, enduring only because she shouldered most of the pressure. Deep down, they'd long since stopped hoping for rescue. But some small part of them had still clung to a sliver of faith that their sect would send help.
"You've come, and for that we're already deeply grateful. Whether we can leave this place or not, Cloud Sea Sect will remember this debt."
The survivor from Cloud Sea Sect bowed with clasped hands.