Chapter Ninety-Six: Separated

“Huh?”

The others stared blankly. Choosing the safe zone at a time like this was no different from walking straight into a den of wolves.

Feng Chuxun was the first to stand. It was not that he could not see the danger; he simply chose to trust Shen Qingyun. Since Shen Qingyun dared to say such a thing, he must clearly have some assurance.

Was Shen Qingyun the kind of man who would act foolishly?

Clearly not.

So Feng Chuxun chose to believe him.

The two sisters rose without hesitation as well, almost at the same moment. They had never once doubted Shen Qingyun. Even if he had deliberately sent them to their deaths, they would never have questioned him. Much less now, when they believed he would never do such a thing.

Su Ye, Ling Xiao, and Wu Xier also stood in succession. In the safe zone, there were always more people standing than sitting, so their sudden movement was striking.

At once, many people noticed them. Eyes followed as they moved, and little by little, the gazes fixed on Shen Qingyun and the others changed, their faint curiosity turning into shock.

They saw Shen Qingyun’s party walking directly toward the exit of the safe zone, the path leading to the next area of exploration.

“Have they gone mad? Can’t they see all those monsters blocking the way outside?”

Everyone’s hearts trembled. Choosing to go out now was no different from courting death.

Xing Wuque noticed Shen Qingyun’s move, a hint of thought appearing in his eyes. After a moment, he said, “Follow them.”

The people in Xing Wuque’s group were baffled. Follow them? Follow whom, and where to?

But soon Xing Wuque gave them their answer.

He also stood and followed behind Shen Qingyun’s group.

Xing Wuque’s team wore strange expressions. Had their captain also lost his mind?

Still, since their captain had taken the lead, as subordinates they had no reason to refuse. Thus the large crowd formed a stream behind Xing Wuque.

Seeing this, Gu Yang said, “We’re following too.”

No sooner had he spoken than eleven people immediately got up and went with him. These eleven had originally belonged to Shen Qingyun’s group. After joining Gu Yang’s party, however, one had perished in a monster encounter.

Originally, Shen Qingyun’s party had only seven people. With so few, they naturally drew less attention. But once Xing Wuque and Gu Yang’s groups were added, the situation was completely different. A trickling stream, suddenly joined by a great torrent, would be invisibly magnified.

In other words, Shen Qingyun and the others had now drawn the attention of everyone in the safe zone.

The true disciple of the Malevolent Puppet Sect watched this scene with great interest, then turned and walked toward where the Malevolent Puppet Sect’s group was gathered. “Disciples of the Malevolent Puppet Sect, obey. Follow those Azure Cloud Sect people.”

This true disciple of the Malevolent Puppet Sect seemed to hold considerable prestige within the sect. At a single command, the entire Malevolent Puppet Sect team stood and followed after Gu Yang’s group.

Such a massive party, yet not a single person questioned the order of that disciple, nor did anyone speak up. The whole group was like a troop of puppets, controlled by the Malevolent Puppet Sect’s true disciple.

“So the rumors are true. He really is a strange one.”

The true disciple of the Sword Mastery Sect hugged his sword, his eyes covertly tracking the back of the Malevolent Puppet Sect’s true disciple.

The other three sects’ true disciples nodded at his words, the importance they attached to him rising another level in their hearts.

“It seems the Five Great Sects do have at least one man worth calling a man.”

The eldest true disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect looked at Shen Qingyun at the front. His expression remained calm, showing none of the excitement of someone leading a trend.

Hearing his words, the other three sects’ true disciples changed expression slightly. They opened their mouths, but in the end said nothing.

“So be it. Yiting, go tell our Hundred Flowers Sect people to follow as well. I’d like to see what that man can do.”

The eldest true disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect parted her red lips and addressed the woman beside her.

“I understand.”

The woman called Yiting nodded and turned back toward the Hundred Flowers Sect’s group.

It seemed that no matter how many teams the Malevolent Puppet Sect and the Hundred Flowers Sect had, there was always one person capable of commanding them all at once. The Azure Cloud Sect, however, had no such person...

“Senior Brother Qingyun, look behind us. So many people are following us!”

Qiao Xinyu bounced to Shen Qingyun’s side and said this brightly.

“What do I care if there are more people behind us?”

Shen Qingyun remained calm, his eyes fixed on the monsters blocking the passage ahead.

“Boring.”

Qiao Xinyu pouted. She had thought she might see some interesting expression on Shen Qingyun’s face.

Why did she want to see a different expression on Shen Qingyun’s face, anyway? She did not know either. She only felt that no matter what he did, he was always too composed, as though everything were already in his grasp.

Shen Qingyun lifted his gaze slightly toward the rocks above the passage.

If he used that thing, just how much destruction would it cause?

Stepping out of the safe zone, the storage ring on Shen Qingyun’s index finger immediately flashed with a faint white light, and a black box appeared in his hand.

It was precisely the final spirit artifact Shen Qingyun had chosen in Flame Valley.

He opened the black box. Inside lay six dark red spheres, each etched with flame-like runes and no larger than half a palm.

Yet these ordinary-looking, inconspicuous little spheres had nearly driven Huo Qing to murderous intent.

Shen Qingyun took out one, weighed it in his palm. It was somewhat heavy, and there was a faint burning sensation in his hand.

He lifted his eyes slightly, looking at the monsters growling in low voices. If not for the bull-headed, serpent-bodied beast blocking the way ahead, they would have already rushed forward.

Shen Qingyun stopped.

Naturally, everyone behind him stopped as well.

The people at the back craned their necks, trying to see what had happened up ahead.

Then they saw Shen Qingyun fling out a small dark-red sphere.

The sphere landed and rolled gurgling into the monster horde.

In an instant, a pillar of fire shot upward, carrying an intense searing heat. Wherever the flames rose, monsters were instantly reduced to ash. The fire pillar exploding skyward burst apart, and the scattered fireballs fell like a burning meteor shower into the monster crowd. Flames swept through, and every monster was stained with fire.

In everyone’s eyes, what blazed ahead did not seem like ordinary flame at all, but the will of fire itself, able in a heartbeat to burn away the filth of the world.

The fire raged, and the heat pouring toward them made it seem as if even the air had been ignited. Every breath carried the stench of charred flesh and burning remains from the monsters.

The countless people behind Shen Qingyun, seeing this scene, could not help but be shocked, wondering what kind of sphere he had just thrown.

While they were still thinking, they saw Shen Qingyun throw out another one.

“Another one?”

Everyone’s hearts jolted. An object with such terrifying power would already be remarkable if there were only one. And yet there was a second?

The second pillar of fire shot up, undoubtedly adding fuel to the blaze.

The flames burned, and so did the monsters. Miserable howls rose without end...

Yet within that violent sea of fire, a figure still stood upright amid the flames, letting them scorch it and remaining utterly unmoved.

“It’s that bull-headed, serpent-bodied monster!”

Someone cried out, recognizing the silhouette within the fire.

Bathed in flames, the bull-headed, serpent-bodied beast fixed its narrow eyes, cold as endless frost, on Shen Qingyun.

“So it really can’t be burned to death,” Shen Qingyun murmured, his expression unchanged.

“If even that doesn’t kill it, we won’t make it out!”

Someone could not help but cry out in despair, his face drained of blood.

“Useless.”

Beside him, a female disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect looked at him and spat. Was he even a man, being this timid?

Shen Qingyun let out a soft breath and looked up toward the rocks overhead. The two pillars of fire just now should have had some effect on them.

“Another one?”

The crowd was startled. Just how many of these did he have?

However, this one was not thrown into the fire sea. Instead, it arced upward and lodged itself into the rock face.

With a thunderous boom, the ground quivered slightly. Then the rocks above the bull-headed, serpent-bodied monster came crashing down.

Many people’s eyes lit up, understanding what Shen Qingyun intended. He wanted to crush the monster with the falling stone!

But some thought further. If even the terrifying fire had failed to burn it to death, could ordinary rock really crush it?

That was obviously impossible.

Naturally, Shen Qingyun could not have failed to realize this. It was only that the power of this sphere seemed to have exceeded even his expectations.

He had only meant to trigger a rockfall, but he had not expected the collapse to be so violent. The falling stone turned into a cataclysmic landslide. The two mountain peaks flanking the passage were both set in motion by the explosion, and in an instant they shattered and collapsed, huge boulders tumbling endlessly toward the passage.

“Fall back.”

Shen Qingyun spoke calmly. These boulders would not injure him, but they would still be troublesome. With the formation at the safe zone, things would be much easier; it would shield them from the rocks rolling toward them.

In an instant, dust filled the air. The Ghost Valley had already been hard to see through, and now visibility had dropped even further.

When the dust finally dispersed, everyone was shaken to the core. Ahead, there was no mountain, no passage, only a field of ruins.

“We’re moving out.”

Shen Qingyun took the lead, leaping onto the rubble formed by the collapsed mountains. His nimble figure was like a monkey moving through the trees.

After a brief daze, Ling Xiao and the others hurried after him.

“Go!”

A cry rang out from the safe zone, instantly rousing many who were still lost in shock.

The crowd surged toward the ruins like a tide. Weren’t they worried about having no chance to leave? Now was not the chance itself?

For a moment, the scene was like locusts sweeping over a field.

...

“Mm... at last we’re out.”

A female disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect stretched lazily, the fullness of her chest rising even more, causing the man beside her to stare blankly, nearly drooling.

“Aah!”

Only then did the female disciple realize there was a man beside her, and she cried out in alarm. “Who are you? How are you here?”

Startled by her shout, the man jolted as well. His expression changed slightly, and he looked around. “I...”

“And who are you?”

“I?”

The woman also looked around. All around them was only the ruined devastation left after the storm’s passage. Aside from themselves, not a single person was in sight.

They had been separated.

On another side, Shen Qingyun discovered that several more people had somehow joined his group.

“Are you all all right?” Shen Qingyun asked.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m fine too!”

“I’m not fine. I landed face-first! Waaah... will this leave me disfigured?”

Seeing that everyone in his group was fine, only Qiao Xinyu had had the misfortune of landing face-first during the final leap. Fortunately, the Twin Spirit Armor had protected her, so she was unharmed. Still, a face-plant hurt all the same.

Shen Qingyun then turned to look at the unexpected newcomers, and among them were even two people he knew.

“Senior Brother Shen, it seems we have quite the fate with one another.” Xing Wuque smiled when he saw Shen Qingyun look over. “Even when fleeing, we flee together.”

Gu Yang stood at Xing Wuque’s side, gave a muffled snort, and said nothing.

“Sword Mastery Sect, Li Jian.”

The true disciple of the Sword Mastery Sect, arms still around his sword, met Shen Qingyun’s gaze, nodded, and said indifferently.

“Malevolent Puppet Sect, Wu Shi.”

“Hundred Flowers Sect, Xi Xian’er.”

The true disciple of the Malevolent Puppet Sect and the eldest true disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect spoke in turn.