"What are you sighing for?" Zhu Ling snapped, irritation clear in her voice. "Hurry up and tell me, what exactly happened to Senior Sister Bai?"

Li Muzhan shook his head. "Senior Sister is heavily injured. She won't be waking up any time soon."

"How could that be..." Zhu Ling frowned, refusing to believe it.

Li Muzhan gestured to their surroundings. "Look around you."

It was only then that Zhu Ling took in the area. The lush green grass held subtle disturbances, as if many feet had trod upon it, though none of the impressions were deep enough to catch the eye immediately.

Now that she looked closely, however, she could discern that the ground had been marked by practitioners of significant cultivation. Their lightness skill was superb; they had trod so lightly that the marks were naturally hard to spot.

Zhu Ling snorted. "Who dared lay a hand on one of our Tianyuan Pavilion people! They have some nerve!"

Li Muzhan shook his head. Zhu Ling shot him a glare. "Why are you shaking your head? Am I wrong?"

Li Muzhan replied, "Senior Sister Zhu, our Tianyuan Pavilion isn't exactly invincible across the martial world, is it?"

Zhu Ling huffed. "But there aren't many who dare provoke us! ... Junior Brother Li, can you track them down?"

Li Muzhan lowered his head to examine the traces, then frowned and shook his head. "They're gone! ... But by my estimation, we won't need to look for them."

"Why not look for them?" Zhu Ling frowned and shot him another look. "Anyone who dares injure Senior Sister Bai must pay; Tianyuan Pavilion will not be trespassed upon!"

Li Muzhan sighed and shook his head. "This place might be a trap."

"Hm—?" Zhu Ling’s bright eyes flashed, and her body instantly tensed. She spun around, scanning the perimeter. "Are they waiting in ambush?"

Li Muzhan nodded slowly. "That's highly possible."

Zhu Ling drifted lightly up into a nearby tree, observing the surroundings meticulously. After a while, she dropped back beside Li Muzhan. "No one?" she asked dismissively.

Li Muzhan replied, "I can't see them, and I can't feel them, but it's a sensation—as if an invisible force is watching this place."

"Mysterious!" Zhu Ling pouted, knitting her brows. "Then what do we do?"

Li Muzhan pondered. "Senior Sister Zhu, guard Senior Sister Bai. I'll go take a look!"

"You going alone? No way," Zhu Ling countered. "We should wait for Senior Sister Bai to recover. We’ll deal with them together!"

She thought to herself that anyone capable of injuring Senior Sister Bai so severely would likely be trouble for Li Muzhan if he went alone.

Li Muzhan said, "Senior Sister Bai likely won't recover for quite some time. Her injuries are too severe."

"It doesn't matter as long as the protective array is active! What are we afraid of?" Zhu Ling huffed. "They won't be able to get in!"

She glanced at Bai Mingqiu and sighed. "Senior Sister Bai was too stubborn. If she had set up the array sooner, she wouldn't have suffered such terrible injuries!"

Li Muzhan shook his head. "Perhaps it wasn't that she was overconfident, but that their attack was too sudden. ... How many factions do dare provoke Tianyuan Pavilion?"

"Exactly!" Zhu Ling nodded vigorously. "You can count them on one hand! Divine Fist Sect, Huaqing Sect, Bright Mirror Sect, Jade Spirit Sect..."

Li Muzhan asked, "And those we have grudges with?"

"...They all have grudges!" Zhu Ling snorted.

Li Muzhan looked at her. Zhu Ling glared back. "What are you looking at? None of them are easy opponents. We’ve fought them all before, but held back due to mutual concerns."

Li Muzhan asked, "And those with good Qinggong?"

"They're all decent," Zhu Ling admitted. "Listen, Junior Brother Li, stop wasting your effort. We’ll know once Senior Sister Bai wakes up!"

Li Muzhan smiled faintly. "I'm going to check anyway."

"Go on, go on, but be careful. If things look bad, run back! They can't get through the barrier!" Zhu Ling called after him.

Li Muzhan nodded and phased away. He truly felt something was amiss—an unseen danger enveloped him. Someone was definitely observing, and though the sensation was faint, it could not escape his intuitive perception.

He glanced left, then right, occasionally crouching down to tap a tree or move a few stones, appearing completely casual and aimless in his movements.

As the sun sank below the horizon and twilight descended upon the wilderness, the weary birds flew back to their roosts. He clapped his hands together, returned inside the protective array, and approached Bai Mingqiu.

Bai Mingqiu was speaking with Zhu Ling. Her expression was composed, and the two stood side-by-side, swaying gently in the wind like two beautiful blossoms.

When she heard him approach, Bai Mingqiu looked over, her clear eyes like still water focusing on him. Li Muzhan smiled lightly. "Senior Sister, are you alright now?"

Bai Mingqiu nodded slightly. "Mmm, not fatal."

Zhu Ling quickly went, "Pah, pah," chiding her playfully. "Senior Sister Bai, don't say such inauspicious things!"

Her face was grave, and she glared at Li Muzhan. "Junior Brother Li, did you find anything?"

Li Muzhan shook his head. "They are hidden deeply, not making a sound. ... Could they also be waiting for someone?"

"Highly possible!" Zhu Ling nodded quickly, turning to Bai Mingqiu. "Senior Sister Bai, are they really from the Divine Fist Sect?"

"Mmm," Bai Mingqiu replied, her jade-like face cold as she nodded.

Zhu Ling snorted. "Such audacity!"

Bai Mingqiu looked at Li Muzhan. "Junior Brother, are they still outside?"

Li Muzhan nodded slowly. Bai Mingqiu frowned. "They already know our communication methods. This is no small matter."

"How could they know?!" Zhu Ling’s bright eyes widened in shock.

Any sect’s communication methods were closely guarded secrets; if an outsider knew them, it meant dire trouble.

Bai Mingqiu frowned. "I still haven't located Junior Brothers Yang and Tang."

"What?!" Zhu Ling gasped. "Senior Sister Bai, are you saying those two junior brothers leaked it?"

Bai Mingqiu sighed sorrowfully. "I fear they couldn't withstand the torture."

"The Divine Fist Sect is despicable!" Zhu Ling ground her teeth, stamping her foot in hatred. "If they do this, then we can too!"

"That's why they want to silence me, so I don't live," Bai Mingqiu shook her head. "Now that you two are here, alas..."

Li Muzhan smiled gently. "Senior Sister, rest and heal. We will break out of the encirclement."

Bai Mingqiu shook her head, saying nothing.

Zhu Ling pouted, "Senior Sister Bai, are you saying I’m a burden?"

Bai Mingqiu glanced at her. "What do you think?"

Zhu Ling paused, then stamped her foot petulantly. "Then what should we do? I can't very well kill myself, can I?"

Li Muzhan offered, "Senior Sister Zhu, you protect Senior Sister Bai and leave together. I will hold them off. ... There are six of them in total, right?"

"Mmm," Bai Mingqiu nodded lightly. The two of them were silent for a moment. Although their discussions were usually about swordsmanship, she knew Li Muzhan was meticulous in his thinking and extraordinarily intelligent; deducing the number six from footprints was hardly surprising for him.

Li Muzhan mused, "I have enough confidence to tangle with six of them."

Zhu Ling was about to speak, but Bai Mingqiu nodded. "Given the situation, this is the only path! ... Wait a moment, let me recover from my injuries first."

"Senior Sister Bai, when will you recover?" Zhu Ling asked.

Li Muzhan said, "Senior Sister, let me give you a hand."

Bai Mingqiu did not refuse. She sat cross-legged on the lush grass, and Li Muzhan sat behind her. Zhu Ling watched them, felt a bit useless, and wandered off to the lake shore, wildly stabbing her sword into the water.

Silver fish piled up near the bank. She threaded them onto a branch, built a small bonfire, and began roasting them. Soon, a fragrant aroma wafted through the air.

White steam rose above the heads of Li Muzhan and Bai Mingqiu. About half an hour later, the sky grew completely dark. In the light of the leaping flames, the white vapor receded, and both awoke.

Bai Mingqiu turned to him. "I didn't expect Junior Brother's internal cultivation to reach this level."

Li Muzhan cultivated the Twelve Forms of Tianyuan, which was the core cultivation method for the Twelve Swords of Tianyuan and the highest-tier internal art of Tianyuan Pavilion. It was only slightly inferior to the sect’s ultimate foundational technique.

However, the foundational technique had extremely harsh prerequisites and could only be cultivated by women, making it inaccessible to him. Thus, the Twelve Forms of Tianyuan was the most profound cultivation method available to him.

The rule was that one could not learn Tianyuan Pavilion’s ultimate techniques without earning merit. But as the direct disciple of the Pavilion Master, he wasn't entirely without special privileges, and the Twelve Forms of Tianyuan was precisely one such privilege.

Disciples without the Pavilion Master’s direct tutelage had no right to practice this method; even core inner disciples were forbidden. Li Muzhan had been secretly instructed by Pavilion Master Long Jingyue and had been cultivating it for a year. Paired with the Twelve Swords of Tianyuan, his progress was exceptionally fast.

Bai Mingqiu also cultivated the Twelve Forms of Tianyuan. Since their core techniques were identical, helping her heal was twice as effective with half the effort—the results were extraordinary.

"Senior Sister Bai, are your injuries healed?" Zhu Ling arrived, carrying a string of fragrant, sizzling roasted fish.

Bai Mingqiu shook her head. "More than half is recovered."

Zhu Ling handed her the fish. "Then when will you be fully healed?"

Li Muzhan laughed. "If the night passes, tomorrow should be enough."

"That's not too late," Zhu Ling said, a smile breaking through. "Try my cooking! Junior Brother Li, here!"

She handed a string of fish to Li Muzhan, declaring proudly, "My barbecue skills are not to be underestimated. They must be delicious, right?"

Li Muzhan took a bite and praised it enthusiastically. Zhu Ling beamed, her face full of satisfaction.

Bai Mingqiu shook her head. At a time like this, Zhu Ling could still smile; she truly envied her junior sister's disposition.

After the three finished the fish, Li Muzhan gathered some fruit from the nearby woods. Then, the three sat down to meditate and regulate their internal energy.

Around midnight, Li Muzhan helped Bai Mingqiu heal once more. In the deep hours before dawn, when the darkness was deepest, the trio put their plan into action.

Li Muzhan walked last, the two women leading the way. Bai Mingqiu put away the jade talisman, and the array vanished. They left the lakeside and had just reached the entrance of the valley when six figures drifted out like specters.

Li Muzhan hid in the distance, observing the six figures through his Void Eye. They were all elderly men with pure white beards and eyebrows, clad in dark robes, standing sternly around the two women.

Zhu Ling’s bright eyes darted around as she spat venomously, "Six old men bullying our young ladies—your Divine Fist Sect truly has no shame!"

The six elders shook their heads but remained silent, their gazes locked firmly on the two women. Their feet moved lightly, as if they were floating on water, slowly circling their targets.

Zhu Ling huffed, "Even if you kill us, it’s useless! Junior Brother Li has already escaped!"

"Hmph, he won't escape," one elder rasped with a cold laugh. "There is only one way out of here. Where can he flee?"

Zhu Ling pouted. "That's not necessarily true!"

The speed of the six elders gradually increased. A flash of sword light erupted from Bai Mingqiu's waist, immediately followed by the cry of a crane. She deployed her ultimate move right at the start.

"Careful!" the elders shouted in unison, followed by the weaving shadows of fists. Streams of fist imprints shot toward Bai Mingqiu, attempting to suppress her sword light.

But the sword light ascended like a crane breaking the sky, shattering the elders' fist imprints and stabbing toward one of them. The elder, having no choice, took the blow head-on; the tip of the sword pierced his fist.

The elder’s expression did not change. He immediately struck back with a punch, and the other five seized the chance to launch a fierce assault. Bai Mingqiu intended to drive the sword tip into his chest, but the powerful force transmitted through the fist blocked her momentum. She was forced to withdraw her sword and parry. A cacophony of metallic rings erupted.

Zhu Ling couldn't help much and was quickly suppressed, struggling to breathe. Luckily, Bai Mingqiu's sword light was astonishing. Zhu Ling gritted her teeth, let out a delicate cry, and followed the lightning-quick sword light, merging with Bai Mingqiu to greatly enhance their combined power.

Li Muzhan observed through the Void Eye, a faint smile appearing on his lips. It seemed the combined sword technique of the two women was vastly more powerful—likely a unique swordsmanship art of Tianyuan Pavilion.

The power of the six elders' fist techniques was astonishing, matching the sword skills. Any one of them possessed cultivation not inferior to Bai Mingqiu’s. If they had truly joined forces, the two women would have been defeated long ago, were it not for the Twelve Swords of Tianyuan.

After more than a hundred exchanges, the two women began to falter again. Li Muzhan knew that if he didn't intervene now, they wouldn't hold out much longer, so he transformed into a streak of sword light and shot out.

"Uh..." The sword light was incredibly fast, piercing one elder’s chest. He instantly reappeared behind another, driving his sword forward.

The elder collapsed heavily, having barely managed to avoid the fatal blow. Li Muzhan felt a chill; such incredible reflexes indicated this would require some serious effort. He flashed again to another elder’s rear and delivered another strike.

In an instant, he seemed to multiply into five figures. The five elders scrambled in confusion, allowing Bai Mingqiu and Zhu Ling the chance to break free and disappear into the woods. (Your support is my greatest motivation.)RV

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