Chapter 189: Alienation and Solitude

West of the central area, in a depression where rare herbs grew, three cultivators were fiercely battling a Three-Eyed Fire Wolf. A middle-aged man, dressed in the robes of the Greatsword Sect, wielded an azure greatsword, deflecting most of the Fire Wolf's attacks. An old man in a yellow robe and a young man in a gray Daoist robe assisted him by attacking from the left and right flanks.

Before long, after enduring a powerful fire orb attack head-on, the Greatsword Sect disciple severed the beast's head with a single sword stroke. He then retrieved his greatsword and burst into laughter, looking up at the sky.

"Brother Meng truly possesses profound magical power!" exclaimed the old man in yellow robes, rushing over. "To be able to slay this Three-Eyed Fire Wolf with a single sword strike! You are indeed a top disciple of the Greatsword Sect!" He showered Meng with endless flattery, his face betraying no hint of embarrassment.

If Han Li were present, he would have recognized this old man as Xiang Zhili, who had once strongly urged him to form a "weaklings' alliance." However, the young fellow disciple who had been with him at the time was not present, suggesting they had been separated during teleportation.

"Heh heh! If not for the assistance of Brother Xiang and Daoist Li, how could I have achieved this so easily?" said the black-clad middle-aged man, who, despite his achievement, was quite modest.

"Why be so modest, Brother Meng? Your contribution to slaying this beast is the greatest; there's no denying that!" said the young Daoist priest. Though not old, he spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, showing remarkable maturity.

A smile flashed across the black-clad middle-aged man's face upon hearing this, but he quickly offered a few more humble remarks.

"Speaking of which, those other fellows still fighting each other are truly foolish!" the black-clad man suddenly interjected. "If they knew that three cultivators from different sects like us could unite to slay beasts and collect herbs together, I wonder if their jaws would drop in shock!"

"Indeed! This is all thanks to Brother Xiang's persistent efforts!" the Daoist priest repeatedly nodded in agreement. "If Brother Xiang hadn't analyzed everything so clearly for us, Brother Meng and I would probably still be fighting to the death!"

"Not at all, not at all! You are both exceptionally intelligent individuals; I merely spoke the truth!" Xiang Zhili chuckled, smoothly declining the praise with a string of glib remarks. "There's no need for anyone to needlessly sacrifice their lives for things that are practically impossible for us to acquire. Instead of wasting time fighting each other, how much better it would be to clear out all the rare medicinal herbs outside the central area! And with everyone working together, dealing with these demonic beasts is simply a piece of cake!"

Upon hearing this, the other two immediately resumed an enthusiastic session of mutual flattery.

"Alright, let's quickly gather the 'Fire Dragon Grass'! We'll each take an equal share!" the black-clad man said, unable to contain his eagerness, his voice betraying his urgency. As he finished speaking, he walked towards the few red sprouts behind the Fire Wolf's corpse.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Zhili and the Daoist priest exchanged a knowing glance and a smile, then readily agreed and walked over.

What neither of them noticed was that a sinister expression suddenly appeared on the black-clad man's face, hidden from their view as he turned away, but it vanished just as quickly.

To the south of the central area, in a place covered in yellow sand, a male and a female disciple of the Hidden Moon Sect were repeatedly prodding the sandy ground with Ice Cone spells in a small area, seemingly searching for something.

However, after half a day, they still found nothing.

"Where did that bitch hide herself? When I find her, I'll definitely gouge out her eyeballs!" The female disciple, despite her enchanting beauty, uttered such vicious and cruel words that the man felt a chill run down his spine.

"Junior Sister, let's just give up," the male disciple said timidly, appearing to be quite afraid of her. "The time set by the sect is almost up; if we don't leave now, we'll be late!"

"Hmph! It's all your fault, you good-for-nothing!" the woman snapped, far from listening. She immediately pointed at the male disciple's nose and reprimanded him with a furious expression. "You couldn't even keep an eye on a little girl at the tenth level of cultivation and let her slip away right under our noses! If word gets out, my sister and I, the 'Hidden Moon Twin Beauties,' will be a laughingstock! Honestly, how could the sect assign a wimp like you to be my cultivation partner!" The male disciple flushed with embarrassment, yet looked utterly helpless.

Despite her words, the female disciple glanced at the sky's light and dared not continue searching. After all, delaying a major sect matter, even with her special status and powerful backing, was no small affair.

However, leaving this place empty-handed left the woman somewhat unwilling. After some hesitation, she gritted her teeth and pulled out a blue talisman.

She gave a sinister smile as she looked at the talisman, then abruptly tossed it behind her. She darted forward, only stopping dozens of feet away to look back.

Seeing this, the male disciple secretly cursed his misfortune, but he didn't dare to delay and followed closely behind her.

By then, the talisman had transformed into a colossal black cloud, dozens of feet wide, completely obscuring the sky above the area. The surrounding temperature then plummeted, becoming incredibly cold.

Before long, countless large, sparkling ice cones began to fall from the dark cloud, slowly at first, then rapidly. Soon, they densely embedded themselves across the small area, like the spines on a cactus.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the dark cloud gradually dispersed. By then, the entire sandy ground was covered in glistening ice.

The female disciple's eyes widened as she scanned the sandy ground, now almost entirely covered in ice, but she found no anomalies.

Her expression darkened with resentment. She irritably yelled at the male disciple, then sullenly led the way out of the area. Her so-called cultivation partner, of course, followed closely behind.

The Hidden Moon Sect female disciple, who had already departed, failed to notice that a faint trickle of crimson liquid was seeping from a corner of the sandy ground, amidst the countless ice cones. It was too faint to catch her eye.

After half a quarter-hour, as the crimson stain began to expand, the yellow sand suddenly swelled into a small, circular mound, growing taller and more distinct.

Finally, the sand mound violently churned, and a green-clad woman rolled out from within. A slender ice cone was embedded in her shoulder, and blood streamed profusely, covering half of her body. In her hand, she tightly clutched a yellow silk handkerchief that glowed with light, appearing to be no ordinary item.

The woman slowly struggled to her feet. She looked at the wound on her shoulder, her delicate eyebrows furrowed in a frown.

She raised her other hand and gently grasped the ice cone. With a grit of her teeth, she pulled it out. The pain made her let out a soft groan, and tears welled up in her beautiful eyes as blood gurgled from the wound.

Ignoring the tears on her face, she dared not delay for a moment. After a flurry of movements, she pulled a decorated porcelain bottle from her storage pouch, poured some yellow medicinal powder onto the wound, and the blood immediately stopped flowing.

Only after all this was done did the green-clad woman sit down on the sand, her knees drawn up, utterly still. A moment later, she suddenly covered her face with her hands and began to sob. However, fearing she might attract others, she kept her cries extremely subdued.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, the female disciple from Spirit Beast Mountain finally stopped crying. She looked up at the empty sand, and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

She bit her lip and slowly stood up with difficulty. After half a day of hesitation, she finally decided on a direction and stumbled towards the central area. At this moment, faint tear stains still lingered on her delicate and lovely face, yet it also held an unyielding expression that seemed out of place.

This woman was, surprisingly, the very young girl who had sold Han Li the "Golden Bamboo Brush." Wounded and walking alone across the silent sandy ground, she appeared even more fragile and pitiable, truly evoking sympathy.

A moment later, the young girl, clutching her wound, slowly disappeared into the yellow sand.