Wei Yunqing instinctively swung her sword to block the incoming talisman, but as it shattered, hundreds of fireballs exploded outward and rained down on her. She slashed desperately to defend herself, yet several fireballs still struck her body. Forced to fight while retreating, she stumbled all the way to the desert's edge. Just as she was about to fall back into the swamp, someone pulled her back.
Steadying her stance, Wei Yunqing quickly looked to see who had attacked her. It was a female cultivator from Huaxian Gate. Her anger drained away at once, replaced by grievance.
"Daoyou, please don't blame me," she said pitifully. "When I was fighting the water turtle bugs, I panicked and lost control, so I accidentally struck you."
The female cultivator's face remained cold.
"You think one 'accident' is enough? If my Senior Sister hadn't shielded me in time, I would already be the parasite host of those bugs. Someone like you is a walking disaster. You shouldn't follow us any longer."
She turned to Liu Haotian and added sharply,
"You all saw it. She dragged me down as her shield. A backstabber like that cannot remain in the team. I suspect she has ties to evil cultivators. She probably joined us only to erode our squad from within."
Her words pierced Wei Yunqing's softest spot. Tears welled up as she hastily defended herself.
"I was wrong just now, I admit it. But you can't slander me as an evil cultivator! I only formed my Golden Core recently, I haven't mastered my strength yet. That's why I made a mistake."
After speaking, she turned to Wei Chenyin, hoping her clan elder would speak for her.
Wei Chenyin, however, kept her eyes lowered in silence. What could she say? Though they shared the same family name, she barely knew this girl. Because of Wei Yunxi, her impression of Wei Yunqing was already poor. How could she possibly defend her now, especially against cultivators of Huaxian Gate?
A flicker of impatience crossed Liu Haotian's handsome face. A dignified Golden Core cultivator, crying and pretending to be fragile, was unbearable to watch. His voice turned heavy.
"The situation just now was unexpected. This Haoran Sect Daoyou never swore a Heavenly Oath, so she isn't truly part of our squad. And now she has injured a Huaxian Gate Daoyou first. Our team does not welcome you. Please leave."
Zi Jing Zhēnrén fanned herself idly, her eyes cool as she watched. The young woman before her gave off the air of a clinging vine. But she never underestimated such types—once they latched onto you, one day they would drain you dry, turning you into their nourishment.
Wei Yunqing's face blanched at Liu Haotian's words. She pleaded at once. "Liu Daoyou, please don't drive me away. I won't do it again."
Then she turned quickly to Wei Chenyin. "Ancestor, help me, please. I really didn't mean it."
Wei Chenyin finally raised her eyes. "Help you? How? Should I swear a Heavenly Oath in your place? Or compensate Huaxian Gate's Daoyou for you?"
Her tone was not gentle, but everyone present could hear the hint of warning she offered.
Wei Yunqing, however, only looked stricken, as if crushed by despair. With tears glistening, she spun and ran into the swamp, wearing the expression of someone wrongfully forced to leave.
"Well, that was a sight to see. So this is what kind of personal disciples Haoran Sect raises," the Huaxian Gate cultivator sneered.
Cao Yi frowned and shot her a cold glance.
"She is herself. Haoran Sect is Haoran Sect. One person doesn't represent the sect, just as you don't represent all of Huaxian Gate."
The female cultivator choked on his words. Still, her goal was achieved—the troublesome girl was gone—so she said no more.
Once both sides had cooled, Liu Haotian spoke again.
"Earlier in the swamp, we only harvested a few water turtle bug corpses and some poisonous weeds. Do you want to explore it again?"
"No," Lin Keyang replied firmly. "The swamp is mostly poisonous creatures, little of use to us. Better we search this desert instead. There should be valuable resources here."
The others agreed. None of them wanted to run into Wei Yunqing again. To them, she was like a rat dropping—touch her once and misfortune followed.
After resting for the time of a single incense stick, the group set off deeper into the desert. Hidden at the swamp's edge, Wei Yunqing ground her teeth so hard it was as if silver would shatter between them. A flash of murderous intent gleamed in her eyes.
From deep within her sea of consciousness, the evil soul whispered.
"They all look down on you, abandoning you alone in this dangerous place. Doesn't it chill your heart? Are you truly willing to endure this? Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to trample them beneath your feet? I can help you."
The honeyed voice made Wei Yunqing snap awake. She immediately sealed off the evil soul's whisper, clutching her pounding heart. Her jaw clenched tight. She was unwilling. If only she were strong enough, how could these people dare treat her like this?
Instead of chasing after them, Wei Yunqing slipped into the crimson bracelet she carried. She wanted to see if the portable city inside contained anything that could boost her strength quickly.
The bracelet lay half-buried in the sand. Soon, drifting winds covered it completely. After a quarter of an hour, a swarm of desert army ants came upon it and carried it away. Wei Yunqing, rummaging through the city's stores inside, never noticed.
Elsewhere, Hu Yingjun broke through his fourth cave mansion and retrieved a stalk of fox-tail grass. But the defenses of the fifth cave mansion were too strong. No matter how he attacked, it wouldn't budge. Enraged, he stamped his feet and even let his fox tail show.
Just as he prepared to try again, a rift tore open behind him. It yanked his tail inside, and with a wail of despair, Hu Yingjun was dragged into the rift and vanished before the fifth cave mansion.
Meanwhile, Sheng Yuhong still battled halfway up Sword Peak, clashing head-on with a razor-sharp sword intent of the metal element. His robes were in tatters, yet he didn't notice.
Across the secret realm, nearly all surviving Yuányīng Zhēnjūn were being drawn into rifts in various ways, vanishing from their positions. The secret realm itself grew unstable.
Yun Xi steadied herself and turned a cold gaze on Xian Xu Zhēnjūn. It was this man who had pulled her into the rift earlier. If not for him, she might not have been dragged inside at all.
Xian Xu Zhēnjūn, however, spared her no attention. He glanced at her lightly, then scanned his surroundings.
At that moment, Dian Dian cried out frantically in Yun Xi's mind.
"Master, be careful! A large number of evil cultivators are approaching rapidly!"
Yun Xi abandoned her impulse to kill Xian Xu Zhēnjūn with a glare. She extended her divine sense outward, and what she saw made her heart sink. The colossal beasts she had once encountered in the strange forest had gathered into a beast tide, stampeding toward them.
Worse, these beasts had evolved into true demon beasts. As they charged, they stirred the forces of the Five Elements. Even more terrifying, their eyes glowed with an unnatural gray, clearly under someone's control.
"How can this be?" Yun Xi whispered. She summoned the Nine Nether Dragon Umbrella into her hand.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xian Xu Zhēnjūn noticed her action. Misunderstanding, he scoffed.
"Overestimating yourself."
Yun Xi had no time for this narcissist. She was just about to warn Han Lian and Yun Chen Fózǐ when figures began flashing into existence around them.
Her breath caught. They were all Yuányīng Zhēnjūn—Shi Jun, Ye Yirui, Jiu Yue, Qing Zhu, Huan Die, and others she recognized. They appeared bewildered, watching each other warily.
At once, Yun Xi activated Fufeng Step and moved beside the Haoran Sect Yuányīng Zhēnjūn. She whispered urgently through voice transmission.
"Senior Brother, something has gone wrong!"