Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Helping in a Snowstorm

By then, the fight between Senior Brother Zhao and the pair of Li and Zhang had reached a fever pitch. He fought two alone without falling behind, clearly showing a solid foundation. His sword moves were especially sharp and tricky, always blocking their combined attacks.

On the other side, Hua Xuan Zi fought a male cultivator of the same level with ease. Because she had barely spent any strength earlier, the two traded blows back and forth. Hua Xuan Zi even tossed out talismans now and then to disrupt him, holding the upper hand for the moment.

Senior Brother Qian, because he had been injured by a sneak attack earlier, struggled against a male cultivator a layer above him. After taking another sword cut across his back, he couldn’t hold back a muffled groan. He called to Hua Xuan Zi, “Senior Sister Hua, please block for me for two breaths. I need to take a healing pill.”

Hua Xuan Zi didn’t slow as she moved toward him. She couldn’t let him die. If he was killed, all the pressure would fall on her and Senior Brother Zhao. Then it would be two against four, and their odds would be poor.

At that moment, Hua Xuan Zi didn’t consider the Wei Family siblings at all. She assumed they had already run. She could understand it. Protecting yourself was not wrong, and with their cultivation, they couldn’t help much anyway.

Just as Hua Xuan Zi was two steps from Senior Brother Qian, Yun Xi formed a hand seal and fired a Lightning Strike. This time she didn’t hold back. The attack at Qi Refining layer nine instantly knocked the dagger from Senior Brother Qian’s hand and charred the left hand holding it into blackened carbon.

“Ah!” Senior Brother Qian’s scream made both sides pause.

Hua Xuan Zi caught it from the corner of her eye. The moment she saw the dagger in his left hand, she understood his “injury” was fake. He had been planning to sneak attack her. If someone hadn’t struck in secret, she would have been stabbed through the heart while completely unguarded.

“Shameless!” Hua Xuan Zi snapped.

With a backhanded sword strike, she took Senior Brother Qian’s life and didn’t forget to seize his storage pouch.

Only then did Yun Xi tell Zong Hao, “Brother Zong Hao, it’s our turn to move.”

“I’ve been ready.” After seeing that close call, Zong Hao understood Senior Brother Qian had betrayed the squad too. No wonder Senior Brother Li could leave marks so smoothly. Senior Brother Qian had clearly been helping him cover it up.

By now, everything had become completely clear. That was why Yun Xi chose this moment to act. At the very least, she needed to sort out who was friend and who was foe before she could truly help at the critical moment.

As they rushed in, Yun Xi immediately threw out the Third Rank formation plate in her hand. This time she activated a trapping formation. Anyone who tried to scheme against her was not getting away.

Zong Hao followed right behind his sister. The two of them first worked together to kill Senior Brother Qian’s opponent, then went to help Senior Sister Hua.

Hua Xuan Zi thanked them right away. “Junior Sister Yun Xi, Junior Brother Wei, I, Hua Xuan Zi, owe you a favor. If we don’t die this time, I will definitely repay this life-saving grace!”

“Senior Sister, let’s deal with this person first,” Yun Xi said, accepting the promise and reminding her. “Then we’ll help Senior Brother Zhao. He’s fighting two alone. We have to prevent them from making a desperate move.”

“Good!”

Now it became three against one. Hua Xuan Zi took the lead in offense. Yun Xi kept interfering with Golden Arrow Spell, Fireball Spell, and Lightning Strike, while Zong Hao focused on sneak attacks and finishing blows to support Hua Xuan Zi.

In the end, Hua Xuan Zi stabbed her sword through the man’s heart, and he fell unwillingly.

Hua Xuan Zi lifted the opponent’s storage pouch with her sword tip and tossed it to Zong Hao. Then she tossed the storage pouch she had taken from Senior Brother Qian to Yun Xi.

“Senior Sister, this is…”

“Take it. This is what you deserve.”

Yun Xi smiled slightly. “Then thank you, Senior Sister.”

“Go. We’re going to help Senior Brother Zhao.”

Led by Yun Xi, the three of them reached the place where Senior Brother Zhao and the others were trapped. Hua Xuan Zi charged in with her sword. With the two of them joining forces, the situation flipped quickly.

Seeing the tide had turned, Junior Sister Zhang glared at the Wei Family siblings with venom. “You two are the ones who ruined everything!”

She pulled out a Second Rank talisman from her robe and threw it toward the siblings’ direction.

Yun Xi’s pupils shrank. With her spiritual sense, she controlled the formation plate and trapped Junior Sister Zhang and the Second Rank talisman in a separate space. Then, with a booming crash, it exploded, and the entire formation shook twice.

Yun Xi’s heart ached as she looked at the low-grade spirit stones in the formation plate turning into powder. She immediately added nine more. If she couldn’t make her money back after this, she would take a massive loss.

Zong Hao rushed in front of her. “Yun Xi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Yun Xi shook her head. “She’s the one who isn’t. Come on. Let’s take her storage pouch first.”

With that, she unlocked the sealed space and went to collect the spoils.

Hua Xuan Zi and Senior Brother Zhao weren’t affected at all. The two joined forces and quickly cut down the Zhao-surnamed man, ignoring his pleas for mercy, and took his storage pouch.

At last, the fighting paused. Yun Xi controlled the formation plate so both sides could regroup.

Now Hua Xuan Zi and Senior Brother Zhao looked relieved. They both cupped their fists. “Thank you for helping us. Otherwise, the two of us would have had no way to escape their scheme.”

Yun Xi returned the salute. “Senior Sister Hua, you’re being too polite. I trust your character. In the end, it was their greed. They didn’t want to contribute, but they wanted the most resources.”

Hua Xuan Zi sighed. “This time, we misjudged people. I wanted to take you on a mission, but I didn’t expect you to be the one who saved us.”

Senior Brother Zhao also spoke. “Xuan Zi, don’t blame yourself. Actually, after this squad mission, I planned to tell you that we shouldn’t team up with them anymore. It’s not that I don’t want to support junior brothers and sisters. It’s that they’re never satisfied.”

He continued, “In fact, I already saw signs during the last two missions. You didn’t notice, and I didn’t want to say too much, since they were all people you brought in.”

This time, Hua Xuan Zi glared at him. “Then why didn’t you say so earlier? Am I the kind of person who can’t tell right from wrong? It was only a temporary squad. We don’t owe them anything. If they hadn’t begged me to take them, I wouldn’t have bothered with them at all.”

She added, “After this mission, the spirit stones I’ve saved up will be enough to trade for a Foundation Establishment Pill. After that, I’m going into seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.”

Senior Brother Zhao could only spread his hands helplessly. Plans couldn’t keep up with changes.

Just then, the formation shook again. The four of them instantly turned alert and stared outside the formation, all sucking in a cold breath.

“It’s that Second Rank sand mouse!”

“How did it get alarmed?”

“Earlier, Junior Sister Yun Xi burned the Gold Sand Grass in their den to help you out. That’s what alarmed it.”

This Second Rank sand mouse had early Foundation Establishment strength. It led its offspring in attacking the formation, clearly knowing its enemies were hiding inside this “shell.”

Senior Brother Zhao frowned. “Junior Sister Wei, how long can your formation plate hold?”

“As long as we have spirit stones, it can keep going.” Yun Xi answered honestly. “But if this drags on, the commotion will draw other demon beasts. We’re already close to the inner region. If we attract a Third Rank demon beast, my formation won’t hold.”

Senior Brother Zhao was steady. After thinking, he said, “Junior Sister Wei, can you control the formation plate to split space? We’ll let in a batch of sand mice, kill them, then let in another batch. In the end, we’ll grind down that Second Rank sand mouse with the formation!”