Chapter 113: Opening the Door to Welfare— Too Shameless…

“How’s the situation with the team leader?”

“Still no news. We’ll continue to wait.”

Inside the oasis, a team from Azure Profound Sect was resting. The environment here was much better than other places. The oasis was covered by a special barrier, while the outside was unbearably hot, the inside was cool and pleasant.

Yuan Huai looked around. They had reached the fourth illusion, and a fourth sun appeared in the sky. At this moment, anyone still walking in the desert was likely having a hard time.

“Everyone, be cautious. The team leader cleared the Demonic Beasts in this oasis before leaving, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely safe.” Feng Yunyi pulled out a batch of freshly made Ice-Cold Pills from the Alchemy Furnace. “With this weather, the Demonic Beasts in the desert are looking for an oasis to cool down.”

The oasis they were in had already been cleaned of Demonic Beasts. Ying You, accompanied by Talisman Cultivators and Body Cultivators, ventured out to scout the way while leaving the Alchemy Cultivators and Artifact Refiners behind. The oasis’s barrier had been reinforced by Jiang Yuechen, which could temporarily block Demonic Beasts below the third tier.

There were no capable fighters in their group. Ying You had promised to return quickly, but an hour had passed without any news. Feng Yunyi, worried for their safety, sent the remaining Sword Cultivators and Talisman Cultivators out to find them.

“At this point, we can only stay put,” Yuan Huai said. “Let’s hope no other sects find this place.”

Feng Yunyi began handing out the Ice-Cold Pills. “Yuechen checked the area before leaving. The other sects won’t be able to reach here for now, unless they can cross most of the desert in half a day.”

“These Ice-Cold Pills will help with the heat. Keep them on you. When the team leader comes back, we can use them on the road,” Feng Yunyi said. “This Illusory Realm has almost no spiritual plants, so we’re lucky we gathered a lot last time. Otherwise, it would be hard to deal with.”

Without thinking, Yuan Huai swallowed one pill. Not long after, cold energy spread through his body, and he felt much cooler.

He found a stone to sit on, preparing to fix his spiritual artifact. As soon as he sat down, he noticed something moving toward them from a distance.

“What’s that?”

Yuan Huai squinted, trying to make out the figure, but the shifting heat waves distorted his view.

Feng Yunyi turned around, only to see a massive yellow snake crawling toward them, moving with incredible speed. Its posture was twisted, and it drooled from its mouth, looking as if it had been poisoned.

All the Azure Profound Sect disciples in the oasis stood up, warily watching the snake as it drew nearer.

“Stay calm. The barrier will stop it,” Feng Yunyi reassured.

The giant viper crawled up to the edge of the oasis, its belly burned and blistered. It urgently needed to enter the oasis to rest. When it touched the barrier, it was bounced back, and the part of its body that had made contact with the barrier was scorched.

The Azure Profound Sect disciples sighed in relief as they saw it couldn’t enter.

However, in the next moment, the giant viper curled its belly and suddenly began to thrash violently, smashing its head into the barrier. The spiritual energy fluctuations from the fourth-tier Demonic Beast clashed with the barrier, shaking the heads of the people inside.

“Strange, why is it suddenly…?”

Feng Yunyi furrowed his brows, watching the giant viper slam its head into the barrier several more times. Initially, they thought it would break through, but to their surprise, in the blink of an eye, the snake’s head shot forward with a hiss, and the white scales covering its belly began to twist.

“Bad news, it’s about to break through to the next stage!” Yuan Huai’s eyes widened. “Quick, contact the team leader!”

The Azure Profound Sect disciples readied themselves, protecting the sole Talisman Cultivator as he hurriedly used a spiritual talisman to contact the other leaders.

Just as he finished speaking, the giant viper’s belly split open, and a blade-like object stretched out from inside. It moved downward, cutting out a door-shaped opening.

The giant viper couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground. Its belly had been torn open, and a person crawled out.

Feng Yunyi: “?”

Lian Mu had just emerged from the snake’s belly. Upon seeing daylight, she raised a hand to shield her eyes.

After spotting the people nearby, she greeted them, “What a coincidence, we meet again.”

Feng Yunyi: “…”

Yuan Huai stared in shock: “???”

Her again… Why does she always appear in such an unusual way?

The others were momentarily stunned, thinking this might be another illusion. Without hesitation, Lian Mu rushed in and began wreaking havoc.

“Azure Profound Sect’s Second Seat team, ten Artifact Refiners are out, soon to be expelled from the Illusory Realm…”

Feng Yunyi immediately reacted, retreating while quickly gathering the remaining Azure Profound Sect disciples into a defensive formation.

The oasis barrier could block Demonic Beasts, but not humans. As soon as Lian Mu entered, she gained the upper hand. She had observed that the capable fighters in the Chief Team were not here, and only Artifact Refiners and Alchemy Cultivators were present.

She had originally been following the Demonic Beast to find the oasis. After all, Demonic Beasts in this area were more experienced and would seek shelter when it got too hot. She only needed to stay in its belly and wait.

When she sensed the nearby oasis barrier, she immediately took its core. To her surprise, there was another surprise waiting for her when she emerged.

“Looks like the team leader’s mind isn’t working too well. Leaving you all alone here without anyone capable of fighting—was that not just waiting to die?”

Lian Mu cornered them and pointed her sword at them. “If you run into me, consider yourselves lucky. Hand over all the spiritual materials you have, and I’ll put you out of your misery.”

Feng Yunyi: “Why are you cursing our team leader? I’m the one who sent the other Sword Cultivators away, it has nothing to do with our team leader.”

Lian Mu: “…”

Just as Wen Yun said, Feng Yunyi really wasn’t that smart. She hadn’t noticed it before, but now she understood.

“Lian Mu, I suggest you don’t do anything rash,” Yuan Huai said coldly. “If you offend Azure Profound Sect, your Returning Immortal Sect won’t have a chance at ranking in this competition.”

“Pretty arrogant,” Lian Mu grabbed his collar, pushed him to the ground, and placed her foot on his shoulder. “Let me try first.”

She placed her sword at Yuan Huai’s neck and began searching his body.

The others saw this and wanted to flee immediately, but the weather outside was at its worst right now. Going out would be no different than courting death.

Yuan Huai’s face was icy, his fists clenched tightly. “You dare!”

The sword’s edge pressed closely to his neck.

Lian Mu quickly found his spatial pouch and pocketed it, weighing it in her hand.

No wonder he was the Chief Artifact Refiner; the spiritual materials on him were of the highest grade. However, Yuan Huai was quite cautious. He hadn’t stored all of his spiritual materials in one pouch, and some were likely not on him.

Seeing that she was about to make a move, Feng Yunyi quickly said, “Wait! Let’s make a deal. Release him, and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“You won’t be able to run away either,” Lian Mu said with a smile.

Feng Yunyi: “… This time, you’ve succeeded, but next time, it might not be so easy. How about this: we make a contract. This time, you let him go, and next time, we can cooperate with Returning Immortal Sect and win together.”

“That’s too unrealistic. Who’s to say that next time, you won’t be beaten by Crimson Sky Sect? No one can guarantee that you’ll even get a top ranking in the next round,” Lian Mu replied.

Upon hearing this, the Azure Profound Sect disciples all showed displeasure. Everyone knew that Crimson Sky Sect had been secretly provoking Azure Profound Sect for a long time. Mentioning Crimson Sky Sect was clearly an attempt to provoke them.

One of the Alchemy Cultivators sneered and said, “Returning Immortal Sect only managed to get second place once and already forgot their place? What are you, a bunch of opportunistic cowards? Do you really think you have some skills?”

Lian Mu: “Stop wasting time with nonsense. If you don’t give me something that satisfies me, you’ll all die.”

“What do you want?” Feng Yunyi asked.

Lian Mu thought for a moment and then said, “Hand over all your spatial pouches. We’ll make a contract, and in the next round, you’ll give half of the spiritual materials and spiritual plants you obtain to Returning Immortal Sect.”

She paused for a moment, and a thought popped into her mind about getting Feng Yunyi to tell her the method the Feng family uses to repair the dantian, but after a second thought, she realized it wasn’t the right time. Given the current situation, Feng Yunyi might not tell the truth.

“Those terms aren’t too much,” Lian Mu said.

Yuan Huai: “… Don’t push it too far.”

Lian Mu looked at Feng Yunyi. “Will you agree?”

Feng Yunyi gritted his teeth and glanced at the direction where Ying You had gone. They hadn’t returned yet. “Agreed.”

This was just his luck—how could he run into her at this critical moment?

He and the other Alchemy Cultivators and Artifact Refiners took off their spatial pouches and threw them at Lian Mu’s feet. Feng Yunyi then took the initiative to summon the contract.

In the Illusory Realm, sects could sign contracts with each other to form alliances or exchange something, but only one contract could be signed per Illusory Realm. One party must be from the Chief Team.

Once the contract was signed, it couldn’t be altered or destroyed unilaterally unless both parties agreed to annul it.

A contract favorable to Returning Immortal Sect was something no one from Returning Immortal Sect would ever voluntarily abandon…

Once a Chief signed a contract with another sect, the other Chiefs would be notified.

Feng Yunyi wrote down the details on the contract, hoping that Ying You and the others would know about this and return quickly.

“Blood oath,” Feng Yunyi placed the contract in front of Lian Mu.

Lian Mu drew a line on the sword’s edge with her finger, then pressed it against the contract.

She collected the spatial pouches scattered on the ground and, as promised, released Yuan Huai. He staggered two steps before being caught by Feng Yunyi.

However, in the next moment, she raised her sword and charged into the crowd, stabbing wildly.

Feng Yunyi: “???”

Feng Yunyi: “Stop! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t make a move?!”

In less than the blink of an eye, all the Artifact Refiners and Alchemy Cultivators in the oasis were out, leaving only Feng Yunyi and Yuan Huai, the two Chiefs.

“I only said I’d let the Chiefs go, not them,” Lian Mu wiped the blood off her sword, smiling wickedly. “Sorry, this is the first time I’ve met someone from the number one sect, and I couldn’t quite control myself.”

Yuan Huai furrowed his brows. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed she had a bloody small knife strapped to her waist. It was a Magic Crystal Knife, commonly used by Artifact Refiners, and it seemed to be of a high grade.

A flash of doubt crossed Yuan Huai’s mind: How could a Sword Cultivator have a Magic Crystal Knife?

Before he could think further, Lian Mu had already mounted a broom and flew off in another direction.

“She didn’t even try to drive us away, and she could have stayed here herself” Yuan Huai said.

Feng Yunyi sighed. “Now she has everything she wants. All the Ice-Cold Pills I just made were taken by her, so naturally, she’s not afraid of the scorching desert heat.”

In the vast oasis, only the two of them remained, their figures lonely under the blowing wind, creating a somewhat desolate atmosphere.

“The team leader must have heard about this by now. This time, we cannot let Returning Immortal Sect get away with it!”