The black-robed man, the green-robed woman, and Yun Huizhou had been at a stalemate for a long time. Yun Huizhou remained perfectly composed, simply hovering in the air, using his Saber Qi and Internal Energy to shield himself and prevent the swarms of flying insects from drawing near.
If this continued, Yun Huizhou’s Internal Energy would eventually be depleted. When that time came, it would be much easier for the black-robed man and the green-robed woman to either capture or kill him.
This was exactly what the two Hall Masters intended.
However, Yun Huizhou’s sudden outburst shattered the stalemate, making them even more vigilant.
Thinking of how the Gu House had been set ablaze, the black-robed man and the green-robed woman grew anxious. They worried that if something happened to the Gu House, it would affect the Holy Pool.
If the two people over there managed to break through and the three of them regrouped, the fight would become even more difficult.
Seeing the battle between the three of them suddenly intensify, Lian Li knew his chance had come.
He took out the oil-soaked cloth strips he had been carrying, tied them to small stones, lit them with his fire starter, and threw them toward the densest part of the insect swarm beneath Yun Huizhou.
Because their attention was fixed on Yun Huizhou, the black-robed man and the green-robed woman could only see that fire had been tossed into the center of their serpents and insects, but they had no idea which direction it had come from.
They wanted to find the culprit, but the moment they were distracted, Yun Huizhou pressed his advantage.
Not daring to engage Yun Huizhou in close-quarters combat, they could only hastily pull back and focus on controlling the swarms.
However, Lian Li had over a dozen oil-soaked cloth strips.
He lit them all at once and used his Internal Energy to hurl them into the swarms like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers.
The insect swarms fell into chaos.
Although they were still under the control of the black-robed man and the green-robed woman, instinct drove them to scatter in a panic.
Controlling them now required far more mental effort from the two Hall Masters than before.
Gradually, they found themselves unable to withstand Yun Huizhou’s offensive.
Hiding behind a rock, Lian Li watched the battle above with bated breath. He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw Yun Huizhou gain the upper hand.
As long as he had the advantage, leaving wouldn’t be difficult.
His guess was correct, but before Yun Huizhou could make his move to leave, a commotion erupted from the direction of the Holy Pool.
He quickly turned to look and saw Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan breaking through the encirclement, heading this way.
The fire on that side was larger than here, and the people of the Spirit Cult had more to worry about, allowing Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan to break free.
Since these two Hall Masters were already struggling against Yun Huizhou, the three of them joining forces would surely result in an instant victory, allowing them to make a clean getaway.
At that thought, he suddenly paused. Wait a minute—the three of them could slip away, but what about him?
He had been hiding and causing trouble the whole time; from the moment they separated until now, he hadn’t even shown his face to Zhao Honglan, Qu Tingquan, or Yun Huizhou.
Thinking this, he stepped out slightly. But just as he emerged, a stray palm strike from someone shattered the rock beside him.
Lian Li silently pulled his head back.
Don’t stick your head out, don’t stick your head out.
But if he didn’t show himself, how was he supposed to leave?
Was he expected to use his own Lightness Skill to rush out? He couldn’t make it!
Therefore, he still had to regroup with Yun Huizhou and the others.
Lian Li hid behind the rock for a while longer before peeking out again. He saw that Yun Huizhou, Zhao Honglan, and Qu Tingquan had already converged. Both the black-robed man and the green-robed woman were significantly injured.
They could certainly kill them, but reinforcements were fast approaching. If they stayed, they would be surrounded again.
The two opponents were clearly trying to stall them now.
Yun Huizhou didn’t care. His attacks were incredibly fierce, forcing the two to retreat and keep their distance.
Seeing the timing was right, Zhao Honglan was about to leave when he suddenly realized Lian Li wasn’t with Yun Huizhou.
Panicked, he was about to ask Yun Huizhou when he saw the latter suddenly charge toward a seemingly random location.
Although the black-robed man and the green-robed woman didn’t know what Yun Huizhou was doing, they knew the direction he was heading gave them an opening.
They combined their strength to attack Yun Huizhou again, but Qu Tingquan and Zhao Honglan quickly moved to intercept them.
Behind the rock, Lian Li saw Yun Huizhou rushing toward him and immediately understood that the man was coming to scoop him up.
His Lightness Skill speed definitely couldn’t keep up with these three. If Yun Huizhou didn’t come for him, he really wouldn’t be able to get out.
He jumped out instantly, waving his hands wildly—especially his left arm, which was tied with the black cloth strip.
Yun Huizhou had spotted him long ago. He had originally thought the boy would wait behind the rock for him to arrive, but he hadn’t expected him to jump out so directly.
As soon as he drew near, Lian Li leaped up and clung to him.
Yun Huizhou grabbed him with one hand, turned back to swing his saber at the black-robed man and green-robed woman once more, and joined forces with Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan to force the two back again.
Seeing this, Lian Li hurriedly shouted, “Let’s go, let’s go!”
Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan immediately followed. With the three of them together and Qu Tingquan present, the serpents and insects summoned by the Spirit Cult disciples didn’t dare approach. This effectively neutralized one of the Spirit Cult’s greatest weapons.
The three of them broke free from the Hall Masters’ harassment and managed to charge out of the Spirit Cult’s grounds relatively smoothly.
However, they didn’t dare stop. This was the Spirit Cult’s territory.
Although the ordinary disciples hadn’t been able to participate in their battle earlier, if they were caught and surrounded again, they would be worn down.
None of the four would be able to escape.
At that moment, Qu Tingquan spoke. She seemed extremely unwell, her voice strained: “Don’t stop, keep going. I’m about to lose control of that thing inside me. They still have two Hall Masters who haven’t appeared; they are fighting me for control over it.”
Zhao Honglan reached out to support Qu Tingquan’s arm, leading her forward.
Yun Huizhou and Zhao Honglan each carried someone. Although their speed didn’t drop, their energy consumption was much higher.
If they couldn’t make it out of this forest to call their horses before being caught, all four of them would likely end up back at the Spirit Cult as vessels for raising Gu.
However, misfortunes never come singly.
Qu Tingquan’s face suddenly turned deathly pale.
“Pfft—”
She spat a mouthful of fresh blood onto Zhao Honglan.
“Tingquan!” Zhao Honglan cried out in alarm.
“Don’t stop…” The blood overflowing from Qu Tingquan’s mouth stained her chin red. “Their Great Elder… and the Cult Leader have emerged from seclusion… they are chasing us…”
The sound of rustling filled the air. Lian Li looked down, and his blood felt as though it had frozen.
The ground was densely packed with insects and snakes. It made him suspect that every bug and snake in the entire forest was gathered here.
“I can no longer control that thing…” Qu Tingquan slowly released Zhao Honglan’s hand and continued, “Leave me behind. You can still get away.”
However, Zhao Honglan had no intention of letting her go, continuing to pull her forward.
Qu Tingquan wanted to stop directly, but she feared slowing Zhao Honglan down even more.
Just as she was about to plead again, Yun Huizhou up ahead came to a halt. Carrying Lian Li, he landed atop a lush tree.
The surrounding branches completely concealed their figures.
