Leng Yuan, who had been full of arrogance just moments ago, was now kneeling before them, begging for mercy. Everyone instinctively took a step back, wary that this woman might suddenly resort to trickery.

Seemingly oblivious to their reactions, Leng Yuan continued to bow her head, crying out, “Please spare me! Or else, you can all leave this place. After all, I can’t escape Tiansheng Continent, so I won’t be a hindrance to you in the future.”

“Speaking of which, it was all those people who instructed me. They begged me to harm you,” Leng Yuan said, slowly raising her head and directing her gaze toward Black Robe, Qiu Ye, and the others who were standing in a mountain crevice.

Black Robe, Qiu Ye, and their companions shuddered inexplicably when they met Leng Yuan’s cold, eerie gaze.

“Young lady, do you think begging for mercy now will work?” Imperial Tutor An raised an eyebrow, looking at Leng Yuan with exasperation.

This woman had single-handedly stirred up such a bloody storm, and now she was thinking of begging for mercy?

Did she take them all for saints?

It would be good enough if they didn’t slaughter her with a knife each…

Leng Yuan looked toward Imperial Tutor An, biting her lower lip, her black pupils filled with fear.

Seeing Leng Yuan like this, Mu Yunjin felt nothing but contempt.

No wonder Leng Yuan was associated with Qin Muyue; these two people’s ability to bend and adapt was truly extraordinary!

Daoist Feng Xuan’s face was full of disdain as he took out a dagger and held it in his palm. “That black peach blossom on your forehead is an eyesore, very inauspicious. Will you remove the peach blossom mark yourself, or shall this Daoist do it for you?”

“I…” Leng Yuan hesitated slightly, then immediately nodded upon meeting everyone’s gaze, “I… I’ll remove it myself.”

As she spoke, Leng Yuan slowly raised her hand…

Just as Leng Yuan’s hand was about to touch her forehead, a strange cold light flashed…

Numerous small poisoned arrows flew out from within Leng Yuan’s sleeve, shooting toward the people surrounding her.

When everyone had approached Leng Yuan, they had remained vigilant. Now, seeing the poisoned arrows flying toward them, they all dodged to the side.

Taking advantage of the momentary dispersion, Leng Yuan channeled her true energy and fled at high speed.

Just as the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix and the ink qilin were about to give chase, the gravely burned Ghost Cart Demon Bird suddenly darted over, blocking for its master one last time.

Seeing Leng Yuan escape, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li flew in tacit coordination, pursuing in the direction where Leng Yuan had disappeared.

To both of them, it was unacceptable to let such a great menace as Leng Yuan continue to exist in this world.

After dispatching the Ghost Cart Demon Bird, the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix and the ink qilin followed their masters.

The original site returned to calm.

“Today has truly broadened my horizons—first witnessing the divine beast Five-Colored Divine Phoenix, then seeing the ink qilin’s transformation, and even encountering the nine-headed bird mentioned by storytellers,” Daoist Feng Xuan said, looking at the Ghost Cart Demon Bird’s corpse with amazement.

“Since ancient times, it’s been said that evil cannot triumph over righteousness. There’s always truth to that saying,” Imperial Tutor An laughed, then turned around, his gaze falling leisurely upon Black Robe and the others still standing in the mountain crevice.

On Black Robe’s side, there were now only four people, all of whom had suffered various internal and external injuries.

While on Imperial Tutor An’s side, they outnumbered them by more than double.

Those dozen or so tribal leaders had all disappeared to who knows where…

“Ouch, ouch…” As the two sides faced off, a wailing voice came from the distance.

Looking over, they saw Qiqi being supported by Lei Yan, walking on tiptoe and hopping towards them.

At a glance, both appeared seriously injured.

Upon seeing Imperial Tutor An and the others, Qiqi suddenly felt like she had met old friends in a foreign land. Her mouth turned down, and her eyes welled with tears…

Earlier, she and Lei Yan had tried to detain Leng Yuan but were severely injured by this woman instead. If she hadn’t cleverly sealed her aura, creating a false death state to deceive Leng Yuan, she might have been beaten to a pulp by Leng Yuan.

“Qiqi, where did you go? We haven’t seen you for so long.” Hua Ying, seeing that Qiqi was seriously injured, immediately went forward to support her.

Upon approaching, Qiqi promptly sat down on the ground. “I was injured by Leng Yuan. Brother Lei Yan transmitted true energy to me for a long time before I could barely walk.”

“You should rest for a while. We just went through a fierce battle here, and now the mistress and Prince Ning have gone to chase Leng Yuan,” Hua Ying said.

“That Leng Yuan is still alive?” Qiqi was surprised.

Hua Ying nodded.

“Truly a thousand-year tortoise, a ten-thousand-year turtle. So many people and still can’t kill her!” Qiqi’s paws itched with anger at the thought of Leng Yuan.

“You should talk less for now!” Hua Ying said helplessly, seeing that she still had the energy to curse.

Qiqi pouted but stopped talking.

Looking around, Qiqi couldn’t help but ask again, “Where’s Huang Yan? Didn’t he come along?”

“Brother Huang Yan, due to his special constitution, has been settled in the Beiming Kingdom’s palace,” little Yu’er explained to Qiqi.

“So that’s how it is…” Qiqi said, observing Hua Ying’s expression.

Hua Ying’s face was expressionless, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere.

“Chu Qing, you haven’t spoken until now. What do you think we should do?” On the other side, Qiu Ye turned his gaze to Chu Qing.

Chu Qing’s behavior on this journey had been rather strange.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the palm strike he had directed at Mu Yunjin earlier—the sudden force from behind—was Chu Qing’s doing, wasn’t it?

Called out by Qiu Ye, Chu Qing raised an eyebrow, but remained calm and unperturbed. “Although the opponent currently has greater numbers and strength, most of their injuries are more severe than ours.”

“Imperial Tutor An was already injured before, and having just jointly attacked that demon bird with Daoist Feng Xuan, his internal injuries are likely more serious now, though he doesn’t show it.”

“Daoist Feng Xuan’s weakness is that little girl raised by Murong Rusu. That little girl was previously poisoned with a secret toxin carefully prepared by Miss Shen and Rong Min. She probably still has remnants of the poison in her body.”

“Among those spirit beasts, apart from the snake spirit, the rest are seriously injured and not worth fearing.”

“Jiang Qingxue does have some skills, but she’s not difficult to deal with.”

“So, although they outnumber us, if we were to fight head-on now, they might not be our match,” Chu Qing analyzed the situation on the opposing side.

Although his analysis was superficial and not worth deep deliberation, it was enough to deceive these people for now.

Once there was a result from Leng Yuan’s side, it would be his turn…

“What you say has some merit, but we’re also injured. Besides, that strange man Imperial Tutor An has all sorts of weird artifacts. What if he throws a few more wooden sticks at us? Wouldn’t we…” Shen Wanning said halfway before being stopped by a glance from Black Robe.

“Womanly mercy!” Black Robe scolded her with anger in his voice.

Shen Wanning was startled by the rebuke, her eyes showing some hurt.

“Miss Shen, you are, after all, the famous Grass Ghost Woman, proficient in gu techniques and evil arts. How can you boost others’ morale while diminishing your own?” Chu Qing glanced at Shen Wanning and chuckled lightly.

Shen Wanning was momentarily stunned upon hearing Chu Qing’s words, then gave a bitter smile.

Indeed, if Chu Qing hadn’t mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten her title…

Once upon a time, she had been a proud woman, but now, she had nearly relegated herself to the dust.

Feng Lan had once cherished and protected her, but since he had emerged alive from the hot spring, he seemed to have changed entirely…

She didn’t despise him for his looks, which had been ruined by the scalding water of the hot spring, but he was solely focused on seeking revenge and no longer showed her patient care.

After all, she was just a woman.

If she hadn’t truly loved Feng Lan and wanted to help him, she wouldn’t have bothered to get involved in these chaotic world affairs.

“What should we do now?” Shen Wanning spoke calmly, her tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

Qiu Ye looked at the surrounding mountains and spoke, “Recall all the tribal people hidden in the mountains to attack with us.”

“Those people only listen to their leaders’ commands. Will our orders be effective?” Shen Wanning asked.

Qiu Ye was momentarily stumped.

“Speaking of which, where did those leaders go?” This was something they still didn’t understand.

If those people had been killed by Mu Yunjin and her group, there should be bodies or at least some trace, but now they couldn’t see even a ghost…

“Chu Qing, where are your people?” Black Robe suddenly looked at Chu Qing, his gaze fixed on Chu Qing’s eyes.

Chu Qing pulled out a folding fan and waved it gently. “What does the elder mean?”

“Didn’t Qin Muyue previously take over a sect and declare herself a ruler? But as I know, you later claimed that sect for yourself. The elite assassins in that sect, at least five hundred of them, why can’t we see even one now?” Black Robe asked.

“Could it be that you have other plans?” Black Robe questioned again.

Seeing that they had begun to suspect him, Chu Qing remained calm and unflustered. He detached what looked like a feather from his waist and handed it to Black Robe.

“Earlier, I saw that the elder had already united the tribal people here, so I thought this mission would surely be successful. Therefore, although I brought those five hundred people, I only had them wait outside Tiansheng Continent, fearing their sudden appearance might disrupt the elder’s plans.”

Black Robe took the feather and examined it carefully. “If that’s the case, then summon those five hundred people to support us now.”

“That’s no problem, but we must first open the seal at the entrance of Moonlight Cliff,” Chu Qing said, pointing to the entrance near where Imperial Tutor An and the others stood.

Black Robe narrowed his eyes and smirked coldly, “Then the three of us will clear a path for you first.”

Chu Qing smiled and nodded.

On Imperial Tutor An’s side, everyone was waiting for the people on the opposite side to make the first move.

After waiting for quite a while, just as they were growing impatient, Black Robe, Qiu Ye, and Shen Wanning suddenly flew over. Without a word, palm winds and various hidden weapons came flying toward them.

“They’re coming. Be careful!” Imperial Tutor An’s expression darkened as he flew toward Black Robe.

Daoist Feng Xuan directly confronted Qiu Ye.

Jiang Qingxue and Hua Ying moved toward Shen Wanning.

Chu Qing circled to the back of these people. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was attacking him yet, he channeled his energy to activate the mechanism at the entrance of Moonlight Cliff.

As the seal at the entrance of Moonlight Cliff opened, Chu Qing flew out and quickly closed the seal again.

After walking a few steps into a nearby cave, Chu Qing took out a whistle and blew it once.

Rong Min and the black-clothed man Yang Lian appeared from the shadows. Before Chu Qing could speak, Rong Min excitedly stepped forward, “Chu Qing, I just saw the method to activate the Divine Command Token in a cave!”