She jumped down from the tree with the mole demon in her grasp and said to Nu Ba: “I’ll go ahead, don’t stay too close to me.” As she spoke, she examined the mole demon’s large head, scrutinizing him up and down incessantly.

Not long after, a furtive figure arrived at a banyan forest thirty-seven li west of the Yan military camp.

This forest was filled with banyans of various sizes, and the ground was covered with intertwining roots, making it difficult to traverse. Upon closer inspection, almost all the banyan roots were connected—

One tree forms an entire forest.

The central ancient tree was already a thousand years old, requiring more than ten people to encircle its trunk with their arms. Its branches and leaves reached toward the heavens, lush and verdant.

The short figure stopped before the tree, looked around carefully, and only after confirming no one was nearby did they swiftly climb up.

The banyan’s crown was exceptionally beautiful, with cascading layers. The figure quickly disappeared among the sheltering leaves.

Climbing up another ten zhang or so and pushing aside the dense foliage revealed a tree hollow!

The opening was five feet wide, with blackened, scorched marks around its edges. Anyone with discerning eyes would recognize that this tree had been struck by lightning before—a standard lightning-struck tree. Its vitality was remarkably tenacious; after being split, it continued to grow. Now the entrance was completely concealed by luxuriant branches and leaves. Unless one climbed up to search carefully, it would be impossible to discover this hidden opening whether standing on the ground or flying in the air.

Just as the figure was about to plunge inside, a rustling sound came from nearby, followed by a leopard leaping down from the tree crown. It bared its fangs at the figure, with a deep growl like a saw cutting wood:

“Yan Qing! Where the hell have you been?”

The voice was filled with anger.

This short, stout figure was indeed the mole demon Yan Qing. He shrank his head: “I went to the Yan camp and blew up some supplies.”

“The explosion to the east was you’re doing?” The leopard was startled. The explosion at the Yan camp was earth-shattering, clearly perceptible even thirty li away. “The master only told you to monitor the camp!”

“Yes.” Yan Qing narrowed his eyes smugly. “You don’t know how hateful they are…”

The leopard pressed a paw against his head, its eyes flashing green: “The explosive gu were given to you for self-protection, not to provoke trouble!”

Yan Qing was somewhat afraid of it and shrank his body: “B-but New Xia was delivering supplies to Yan. I thought if the Yan army got them, we would… so I took the opportunity to blow up all the supplies.”

The leopard’s voice revealed exasperation: “Are you trying to get everyone killed? After the camp explosion, the Yan soldiers will soon search here!”

“Uh…” Yan Qing froze. “W-where’s the master?”

“When he heard the explosion, the master immediately said it was most likely your doing! Lu Ming has already relocated with the master, and I was told to wait for you.” The leopard jumped down from the tree first. “Yan Kingdom’s bird demons just flew overhead; they shouldn’t return for another quarter hour.” They needed to slip away during the patrol interval.

Yan Qing glanced at the tree hollow regretfully but still followed.

The entrance was narrow, but it became increasingly spacious inside. When the tree was struck by lightning years ago, its heart emptied. Later, after suffering from insect and water damage, the hollow grew larger, yet remarkably, the bark remained intact, giving no hint of what lay within from the outside.

Yan Qing had once built a nest here. He had renovated the tree hollow, dividing it into several chambers that could accommodate at least ten people.

Over the past two days, only four people had stayed inside.

The battle at Xianlong Mountain had taken an unexpected turn, with only three cultivators remaining at Yun Ya’s side. As the Yan army occupied Xianlong Mountain and pushed forward, this area became Yan’s rear base. The Yan King was fully committed to hunting down Yun Ya, who had not yet recovered from his serious injuries and could only avoid confrontation. With communication with the main forces cut off, their situation was quite troublesome.

Yan Qing asked softly: “When will the master recover?”

“In another two or three days, it should be fine. The Yan King pursued too relentlessly along the way, causing the master to sustain new injuries while fighting and retreating. Otherwise, he would have recovered long ago.” The leopard cursed him in passing, “You fool!”

Since the Yan army had established a camp on Storm Island, they had naturally explored the surrounding terrain several times, even numbering the caves large and small, and routinely inspecting them. Though it appeared to be wilderness, finding a place to take shelter was quite difficult.

They had already stayed here for two days, finally having an opportunity to meditate and recuperate, allowing Yun Ya time to tend to his injuries. If not for Yan Qing’s impulsiveness and sudden notion to blow up the Yan military camp, they wouldn’t need to relocate.

Yan Qing smiled ingratiatingly: “Where are we going now?”

“Let’s get far away first, then decide.” The leopard demon replied irritably. “We need to move at least fifty li west, with a Yan military checkpoint in between.”

The two hurried westward under the cover of night.

Though the sun had not yet set, white mist was already eagerly spreading throughout the forest. Areas near lakes contained much water vapor, which began to form mist as soon as the temperature dropped.

Such weather was undoubtedly advantageous for their retreat.

After several dozen more steps, they reached a river valley, though due to the dry season, the river had shrunk to a stream.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded ahead, shaking heaven and earth.

The ground beneath their feet trembled violently, making it impossible to stand steady.

Yan Qing said dryly: “Explosive gu! That’s the power of explosive gu.”

Who would use explosive gu in such remote wilderness?

The answer was obvious.

The explosion came from the water’s edge, still some distance away. Dense fog obscured the view ahead, making it impossible to see clearly.

Both halted in their tracks, their expressions changing.

Then the mist before them was disturbed as two figures emerged. They moved swiftly, appearing before the two in the blink of an eye. A familiar voice reached them:

“It’s an ambush, go!”

The newcomers were Yun Ya and Lu Ming.

They all turned and fled together.

Having discovered the Yan forces’ ambush, they had decisively set off an explosive gu to divert their opponents’ attention and seized the opportunity to break through.

A long laugh echoed through the thick mist, resonant as a bell, filled with pride and self-satisfaction: “Great State Preceptor Yun, let’s see where you can escape to this time!”

The leopard demon and Yan Qing’s faces changed simultaneously.

The Yan King!

How had the Yan King caught up so quickly?

Yun Ya’s clothes were neat and showed no traces of blood. If not for his pale complexion, Yan Qing would not have noticed he was injured, but from this distance, he could still detect a very faint scent of blood.

He glanced at Yun Ya’s abdomen, knowing he was wounded there. Running so forcefully must have reopened the wound. For the past month, the Yan King had doggedly pursued them, trying everything possible to prevent the State Preceptor from having time to meditate and heal. If not for his special constitution, the wound would have festered into a hole by now.

While running, Yun Ya still had the presence of mind to ask: “What happened with the explosion at the Yan camp?”

As he asked, his gaze fell on Yan Qing. His eyes appeared somewhat obscure in the dim light.

Yan Qing scratched his head: “New Xia was delivering supplies to Yan Kingdom. I couldn’t stand it, so I used explosive Gu to blow up their camp.”