Chapter 349: Evacuation

In the back hall, the old man stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Seeing Han Li and dozens of other cultivators enter, he spoke with an unchanging expression:

"I have just assessed all of you. You either possess excellent aptitude or cultivate unique techniques. Therefore, you are the seeds of our sect's revival. You now have half a day to return and pack your belongings. Martial Nephew Huang will lead you in immediate departure."

Everyone was startled by his words, and some asked with surprise and doubt, "Grand Ancestor, won't it take the Devil Daoists another two days to breach the defenses? Why such a rush?"

"Hmph!" the old man retorted. "It is true that it will take two more days to breach the front lines, but do you think they will simply watch as our remaining personnel escape? They have already dispatched others to bypass the defenses and launch long-range attacks on various sects. Their objective is likely not to annihilate all sects, but merely to prevent our smooth retreat. Therefore, we must sacrifice those outside to buy you time for withdrawal. However, if any of you dare to leak this information to those outside while packing, causing widespread chaos during the retreat, I will personally eliminate such traitors." The old man in brocade robes spoke with absolute ruthlessness, sending a chill down the cultivators' spines.

"Yes, sir!" Han Li and the others naturally dared not object. They all replied respectfully, then dispersed to pack their belongings.

On the way back, Han Li and the old man parted ways mid-journey, both deep in thought. Han Li's cave residence was quite far, so after parting, his Divine Wind Boat immediately flew at full speed to reach it as quickly as possible.

At this moment, Han Li's mind was incredibly conflicted. If he were to retreat to another country as Grand Ancestor Linghu suggested, his life would naturally be safe, and he might even be highly valued by superiors due to the lack of personnel. However, to rebuild the Yellow Maple Valley and establish a foothold in a new country, as one of the few remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators, he would undoubtedly be bogged down by numerous mundane affairs. He would have little time for further cultivation! By the time everything settled and the Six Sects re-established themselves, he would surely have missed his opportunity to advance to the Core Formation stage. This was something Han Li absolutely did not want to see.

But if he were to flee now, Han Li didn't know if he was still under the old monster's spiritual sense surveillance. Even a slight misstep might be detected, and then, as a deserter, he would certainly meet a miserable end. Han Li was filled with deep regret. If he had known things would turn out this badly, he would have fled to another country immediately. Why had he bothered to return?

With a sense of helplessness, Han Li returned to his cave residence. Upon entering, he first took out the storage bags filled with talismans from under his bedroom bed and tucked them into his robes. Then, he went to the storage room and likewise collected the remaining rare medicinal herbs. Finally, he went to the secret chamber of the Spirit Eye Spring, destroyed the entire chamber, and concealed the Spirit Eye Spring. Since he couldn't relocate this spiritual object now, Han Li didn't want the Spirit Eye to be discovered and used by the Devil Daoists.

After completing all this, Han Li re-checked his residence to ensure nothing was overlooked. Only then did he exit the cave. He then retrieved the formation flags and disk for the first set of the "Five Reversal Grand Formation" and carefully placed them into his storage bag.

Seeing the cave entrance, now exposed due to the dismantled formation, Han Li's eyebrows twitched. He suddenly unleashed two streaks of dark light and spent the time it would take to eat a meal to completely demolish the small mountain peak, burying the cave residence under the collapsed rubble. After this, Han Li circled once in the air before flying away.

When Han Li returned to the main hall, most of the others had already arrived. To Han Li's surprise, besides the dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators, there were also hundreds of Qi Condensation disciples in the hall. "Are these people also going to evacuate with us?" Han Li wondered, a little confused. Then his eyes lit up as he spotted the old man and Xiao Cui'er standing together, conversing in low voices, both looking extremely serious. Seeing this, Han Li walked over without hesitation.

"Martial Uncle Han!" Xiao Cui'er respectfully called out upon seeing Han Li approach. Han Li smiled and nodded, then turned to the old man and asked, "What's going on? Are these Qi Condensation disciples evacuating with us?" Han Li kept his voice low to avoid drawing attention.

"Indeed!" the old man said lightly. "We can't easily abandon them. My disciple here is also among those with excellent aptitude!" A hint of pride appeared on his face when he spoke of Xiao Cui'er, which Han Li found slightly amusing.

After some more time, Grand Ancestor Linghu and a capable-looking middle-aged man finally appeared. "We just received news that Devil Dao cultivators have been sighted," Grand Ancestor Linghu said with a solemn expression. "You must depart immediately. All subsequent arrangements will be handled accordingly! I will have the remaining personnel in the valley draw the enemy's attention."

Han Li and the others were shocked to hear Grand Ancestor Linghu's words. The Devil Daoists had arrived so quickly! The middle-aged man beside Grand Ancestor Linghu then coldly stated, "Time is of the essence, so I'll be brief. With so many of you evacuating under my lead, I have only one demand: you must obey all my commands. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a traitor to the sect and dealt with immediately. Now, depart!"

This person was truly decisive and efficient! After these brief remarks, he bowed deeply to the old man beside him and was the first to exit the hall. The others, after a moment of stunned silence, swarmed out after him. Thus, a formidable procession of several hundred people ascended from in front of the stone hall and rapidly flew northeast.

After more than half a day, the entire procession exited the Taiyue Mountain Range, then proceeded to advance at an even faster pace. Han Li, riding his Divine Wind Boat, flew near the front of the group. Seeing that Han Li's Divine Wind Boat could carry passengers, the old man unceremoniously pulled Xiao Cui'er onto it with him, leaving Han Li to force a few dry laughs, unsure what to say.

However, just as the group had flown a hundred li beyond the Taiyue Mountain Range, a dazzling white light suddenly streaked from behind. In a blink, it soared over the many cultivators and landed in the hand of Martial Uncle Huang at the front of the group. It was a small, gleaming white sword with a jade slip attached. The middle-aged man's expression darkened. He immediately waved his hand, bringing the entire group to a halt. He then removed the jade slip, tossed the small sword casually into the air, and instantly, the sword transformed back into a white light and flew back the way it came. Martial Uncle Huang extended his spiritual sense into the jade slip to examine it closely. A moment later, he withdrew with a grim expression and immediately lowered his head in deep thought, clearly having encountered a troublesome matter.

"All Foundation Establishment cultivators, step forward. There's been a change, and I need to reassign tasks," the middle-aged man said, turning back abruptly with a grim face. Han Li and the others were startled by this, but after exchanging glances, they obediently advanced on their spiritual artifacts. Xiao Cui'er, meanwhile, nimbly jumped off the Divine Wind Boat.

"Martial Uncle, what happened?" asked several people who had seen the middle-aged man receive the flying sword message. "The Grand Ancestor sent word that the moment we left, the Devil Daoists arrived right after us," Martial Uncle Huang stated coldly. "Furthermore, they seem to know our evacuation plan and have split into two groups: one has trapped the Yellow Maple Valley, and the other is pursuing us. Therefore, to ensure the main group's escape, I need a team from among you to draw them away with me. Those I call upon will come with me to obstruct the enemy, while the rest will continue flying out of Yue Country under the lead of the designated person."

A chill ran through the hearts of the others upon hearing the middle-aged man's words. They were not fools; this mission to obstruct the enemy was clearly a near-certain death sentence! Although most people's gazes flickered nervously, Martial Uncle Huang pointed them out without hesitation, calling out more than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators in one breath. Unfortunately, Han Li was among them, but the old man had managed to avoid being chosen!

Those who were called upon turned pale, yet no one dared to voice any objection. With a wave of Martial Uncle Huang's arm, the others continued to speed away, leaving Han Li and the selected few standing alone.

"Alright, time is critical now! I know most of you aren't optimistic about this interception mission!" the middle-aged man said, his tone softening slightly. "However, I'm not asking you to fight head-on against the pursuing enemy. I only require you to launch a surprise attack, draw their attention, and provide a brief cover for the group ahead." He then pulled out over twenty green jade slips from his person.

"Memorize the map within the jade slip, then destroy it!" Martial Uncle Huang said. "If you get separated later, you can regroup at the locations marked on the map." As he finished speaking, he raised his hand, and over twenty green lights shot out, with one hovering before each person. Hearing Martial Uncle Huang's explanation, the others' expressions improved significantly. Since they weren't expected to directly confront the Devil Daoists in a full-scale battle, their chances of survival were much higher. So, everyone eagerly grasped a jade slip and began diligently memorizing the map within.

Although Han Li took the jade slip, he merely scanned it roughly and didn't commit the map to memory. This mission to stay behind and obstruct the enemy was, for Han Li, a rare opportunity to escape. For the sake of his future Core Formation, he was unwilling to follow the Yellow Maple Valley's path to the very end.