Chapter 229: Going Out to Retrieve Someone — All Sword Cultivators Are Secretly Violence Maniacs…

“Lian Mu, what’s wrong?”

Lian Mu had been lost in thought. It wasn’t until someone called her name that she snapped out of it.

Xu Xianxing looked at her curiously. “What were you thinking about?”

Lian Mu stared into his eyes, searching for any trace of unusual emotion, but found none. She smiled faintly, shook her head, and changed the subject. “Nothing much. I was just thinking about the exploration zones. Since we’re all gathered here, how are we supposed to proceed?”

“The arrival of the Black Tide is no small matter. Word has probably already spread outside. This round of exploration might not even be completed, or the rules could change at the last minute,” Baili Que analyzed. “In this situation, no one in their right mind would keep pushing deeper into the inner circles.”

For some reason, Lian Mu suddenly thought of Qian Songshi. With his belligerent and trouble-seeking nature, he just might take the opportunity to seize control of an exploration zone.

Guan Shize pulled out a map and checked the markings. He noticed that several bell points were now marked as occupied by the Returning Immortal Sect. He said, “Our Returning Immortal Sect has taken four exploration zones. I’d guess they were snatched by Senior Disciple Wen and Senior Disciple Ji’s teams.”

The others crowded around to look at the map. Just then, another bell point was covered in a green marker, indicating that the Returning Immortal Sect had claimed yet another zone.

“Huh? Another one?” Guan Shize looked puzzled. “One of our teams headed toward the Flat Earth Circle.”

Qu Ruotian said, “The Black Tide is so dangerous. Just dealing with the Abyssal Circle is hard enough, and they still went deeper? Could it be Senior Brother Wen’s team?”

Baili Que pointed outside the barrier. “But Senior Sister Qiu Heng’s team just came back. I remember Wen Yun was in her group.”

Everyone turned to look. Five people rushed into the barrier, panting heavily.

Among them were disciples from the Crimson Sky Sect, but Wen Yun was nowhere to be seen.

Xu Xianxing: “?”

Xu Xianxing blinked. “Am I seeing things, or are Crimson Sky Sect disciples mixed in with our sect’s people?”

Qiu Heng’s group looked utterly exhausted. As soon as the Crimson Sky Sect disciples entered the barrier, they collapsed onto the ground.

Ye Minghe and Xiao Jin stepped forward to meet Qiu Heng. From a distance, the three seemed to be exchanging words.

Lian Mu gave Baili Que a subtle signal. A talisman quietly flew from Baili Que’s sleeve and stuck to the nearest tree.

The group perked up their ears to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Qiu Heng said, “Senior Brother Ye, please take care of them. I need to go back and bring Junior Brother Wen back.”

Ye Minghe asked with concern, “What happened to Junior Brother Wen?”

Qiu Heng replied, “One of our team members was captured by Demonic Creatures. Junior Brother Wen went after them and told me to bring the others back first. He’s in serious danger right now.”

Ye Minghe said, “I see. No wonder Elder Ji suddenly left earlier… Do you know where Junior Brother Wen is now?”

Qiu Heng answered, “He has a tracking talisman on him. We should be able to locate him.”

Xiao Jin said, “I’ll go with you.”

Qiu Heng nodded. “Alright.”

Without taking a moment’s rest, Qiu Heng turned around and left the barrier with Xiao Jin.

After they departed, Ye Minghe looked over at Lian Mu and the others.

Baili Que quickly destroyed the eavesdropping talisman. The group maintained calm expressions, pretending nothing had happened.

Ye Minghe walked over and exposed them directly. “You all heard that, didn’t you? Don’t worry for now. Our senior brothers and sisters will definitely bring them back safely.”

Baili Que: “…”

As expected, there was no fooling Senior Brother Ye.

Lian Mu asked, “Senior Brother Ye, where’s Senior Brother Guan? He hasn’t returned either?”

“Huai Lin volunteered to go with an elder they encountered along the way to search for other teams,” Ye Minghe explained. “I’ll be heading out soon as well, with the elder. If any of you want to come, you’re welcome to join—but only Chief Disciples are allowed.”

Xu Xianxing asked, “Is this a new rule for the exploration? Competing to see who kills more Demonic Creatures?”

Ye Minghe replied, “No. There’s been no word from the sect leaders yet. This was a suggestion from the patrolling elders within the domain. Whether the official rules will change depends on the decisions of the three major sect masters.”

Lian Mu said, “With something this serious going on, Sect Master Hua still hasn’t made an appearance?”

Ye Minghe gave a helpless smile. “Who knows?”

If they assumed the worst, the current situation clearly favored the Azure Profound Sect. Their members were far stronger than those of the other three sects and could move freely through both the Abyssal Circle and the Flat Earth Circle. These two circles also had the highest number of bell points.

While the other sects were busy defending against the Black Tide, the Azure Profound Sect could easily seize the initiative and claim all the exploration zones within the two circles.

Xu Xianxing said, “Maybe they’re still unaware? I don’t think Sect Master Hua is the type to take advantage of a crisis for the sect’s benefit.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Ye Minghe said.

Baili Que frowned and looked at the glowing green markers on the map. If Wen Yun had gone to rescue a fellow disciple, then the team that had been aggressively claiming exploration zones must be the one led by Ji Mingyue.

Why hadn’t they returned? Why were they heading deeper into the Flat Earth Circle?

Xu Xianxing noticed his concern and said, “Senior Sister Jiang is an artifact refiner with considerable strength. She can clear out Demonic Creatures with just her Spirit Artifacts. If their team dared to enter the Flat Earth Circle, they must be confident. And with Ji Mingyue there, they won’t be lacking in pills.”

Seizing exploration zones during the chaos wasn’t something only the Azure Profound Sect would think of. The real issue was having the strength to move freely during the Black Tide.

Whether the rules changed or not, having a team actively exploring could only benefit them in the long run.

After thinking for a moment, Lian Mu raised her hand. “Senior Brother Ye, I’d like to go with you to find the other teams.”

Ye Minghe was taken aback. “Only Chief Disciples are allowed, Junior Sister Lian.”

Lian Mu said, “Xu Xianxing has a health issue. He can’t go. I’ll take his place.”

Xu Xianxing nodded vigorously. “Yes, Senior Brother Ye. My old illness is acting up again. I’d only slow everyone down.”

“Your old illness flaring up, just like that?” Ye Minghe looked skeptical. “But the elders specifically said only Chief Disciples are allowed to go. The rest of the disciples should stay within the protective barrier.”

Lian Mu asked sincerely, “Are you saying, Senior Brother Ye, that I’m not strong enough to be considered a Chief Disciple?”

Ye Minghe replied, “That’s not it… Fine. If Junior Sister Lian wants to come, she can. I’m sure the other elders will understand. But this time, no wandering off. We all have to stay close to the elders.”

Baili Que said, “I’m coming too.”

Lian Mu asked, “When do we leave?”

“Start getting ready now,” Ye Minghe said. “The elder coming to pick us up will be here soon. As for this protective barrier, Elder Mei will be guarding it.”

After speaking, he went to negotiate with Mei Chengyu. After all, the other party was a senior of the Crimson Sky Sect, and had come across sect lines to protect a disciple of the Returning Immortal Sect. It was necessary to maintain good relations.

Lian Mu didn’t have much to prepare. She only needed to bring a sword and she was ready to go.

She chose to go with Ye Minghe not just to retrieve someone, but also to use the opportunity to fish for some information from him.

Before she left, Xu Xianxing stopped her. He took off his fox-fur cloak and wrapped it around her. “Wear this.”

“Aren’t you cold?” Lian Mu asked.

Xu Xianxing replied, “I’ve got a fire. If that’s not enough, I can borrow a few more warming talismans.”

Lian Mu said, “I’m going out to kill Demonic Creatures. It’ll get dirty. You should keep it for yourself.”

Wearing something like a whole amethyst mine on her back made her, a penniless cultivator, feel a little out of place.

Xu Xianxing said, “It’s fine. Worst case, I’ll just buy another one. Your Spiritual Root issue hasn’t been resolved yet. It’s stable for now, but if anything unexpected happens, as long as you stay still, this cloak could save your life.”

“Alright then, thank you,” Lian Mu said with feeling. “Being rich really is nice.”

Baili Que said meaningfully, “Young Master Xu, I want one too.”

Xu Xianxing replied, “Get lost. Everyone knows talisman cultivators from the Hidden Heart faction are best at running away. Especially someone like you with a Wind Spirit Root.”

Baili Que muttered, “…Who’s spreading that nonsense? They better hope they don’t get caught by us talisman cultivators from the Hidden Heart faction.”

Lian Mu said, “That’s nothing. Us sword cultivators get slandered all the time too. People say we’re all secretly violent maniacs.”

Xu Xianxing and Baili Que said in unison, “Aren’t you?”

Lian Mu: “…”

Are we?

Probably… not, right?