Chapter 462: Eight Great Hermits

Upon hearing the sound, Huang Huihong’s movements paused. He decided to observe the situation first.

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. The voice was familiar; could it be the person he was imagining?

Sang Qian, already excited, rushed to the window and gazed at the elegant figure slowly drifting from mid-air. “Master Qiu, it’s really Master Qiu!”

Her delicate, beautiful eyebrows, eyes veiled in a misty haze, and luscious lips, as if moistened by sparkling morning dew, made anyone who saw them instinctively want to lean in and take a sip.

The faint smile on her lips, and the charming way her eyes danced, caused any man to catch his breath at first sight. Who else could it be but Qiu Honglei!

Ever since she left the Immortal Abode on Bright Moon Road, the establishment's popularity had plummeted by about half. Sang Qian had lamented her absence for a long time, thinking he would never see her again in this life. Who knew he would encounter her today!

It seemed heaven was truly kind to him.

The other Dark Elves' eyes also flashed with astonishment as they gazed at her. How could such a beautiful woman exist in the world? At first glance, their thoughts immediately turned to a bed.

Dark Elves were vastly different from the nature-loving, peace-fonding Elf race. They enjoyed killing and never concealed their desires.

A few female Dark Elves among the group showed jealousy in their eyes. "This woman radiates sensuality to her very core. She clearly came out to seduce men."

"Master Qiu, quickly leave, it's dangerous here!" Sang Qian suddenly realized. This place was so perilous; wouldn't a beautiful woman like Qiu Honglei be walking straight into a trap?

Zu An rolled his eyes. Was this guy an idiot? Even if he didn't know Qiu Honglei's identity before, he must have just seen her fly in from mid-air. She couldn't possibly be an ordinary person.

Sang Hong also frowned and let out a snort, clearly disappointed by his son's behavior.

Qiu Honglei replied with a cheerful smile, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master Sang."

At the same time, seeing Zu An in a groom's outfit and Zheng Dan beside him in a bride's dress, looking like a newlywed couple, she paused slightly, clearly not understanding what was happening.

If she remembered correctly, Zheng Dan was Sang's family's daughter-in-law, wasn't she? How could the Sang father and son not mind at all? Did their family have some strange fetishes?

The Dark Elves on the other side then reacted. "So, they're trying the 'substitute the plum for the peach' trick! We almost fell for it. Everyone, pay attention: later, capture the one in the groom's outfit alive. That's Zu An."

Just then, someone else said, "What if this woman is working with them, trying to mislead us?"

The Dark Elf leader paused, realizing that was indeed a possibility. He then said, "Capture both young ones. Kill the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the older man."

Qiu Honglei sighed softly, "You're already distributing the spoils? Aren't you a little too arrogant?"

The Dark Elf leader's gaze greedily swept over her several times. "Don't worry, lady. After we finish our business, we'll take good care of you."

Although Qiu Honglei appeared to have good cultivation, they didn't take her seriously.

Qiu Honglei shook her head. "Forcing these people out from the main army must have been achieved with General Lu's army, right? And you guys just want to seize the opportunity to reap the rewards?"

The Dark Elves were startled. "So you're an subordinate of Lu Sanyuan!"

"What?" Sang Qian was instantly distraught. He couldn't comprehend that such a beautiful woman could be a rebel.

In contrast, Zheng Dan felt some admiration for Qiu Honglei. Given that her own secret identity was once the leader of one of Bright Moon City's two major gangs, she naturally felt a sense of kinship with Qiu Honglei. If the other woman were merely a courtesan who served men with her beauty in a pleasure quarter, Zheng Dan would have disdained her.

"It's a pity Lu Sanyuan, a hero his whole life, miscalculated. He only sent a delicate woman like you. Besides serving as a bed warmer, you're utterly useless to us." Several Dark Elves burst into laughter.

"Who said I was alone?" Qiu Honglei smiled subtly, then lightly clapped her hands. Eight figures slowly emerged from various directions.

These eight individuals varied in build—some stout, some thin, some tall, some short—and included women.

Upon seeing their distinct features and attire, the Dark Elf leader was instantly alarmed. "You are the Eight Dispersed Immortals of the Demonic Cult!"

"I didn't expect assassins like you, who hide in the shadows, to know of our reputation," one of the stout men chortled.

The Dark Elves' expressions instantly turned extremely grim.

Zu An asked Sang Hong, who was beside him, "What are the Eight Dispersed Immortals?"

"They are high-ranking members of the Demonic Cult, each representing one of the eight elemental powers: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and ice," Sang Hong said gravely. "I didn't expect the Demonic Cult and the rebels to have colluded so early. No, looking at the situation, perhaps they're even working together."

Qiu Honglei turned to him and smiled faintly. "Lord Sang, a wise man like you should know that sometimes, wise men don't live long."

Sang Hong's face remained calm. "In this situation, I wouldn't have lived much longer anyway."

Just then, the Dark Elves moved, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, firing them towards the Eight Dispersed Immortals almost instantly.

Each bow glowed intensely with blue light, clearly empowered by an array of magic formations, explaining why they could launch arrows with such piercing power.

As if by unspoken agreement, none of the Dark Elves called out; they attacked simultaneously. The moment the arrows were released, the dark streaks of light had already reached each enemy's vital points.

Zu An clicked his tongue in silent amazement. These Dark Elves truly were top-tier assassins. If it were him, he probably wouldn't have been able to react in time.

The Eight Dispersed Immortals evidently hadn't anticipated such swift and coordinated movements; they had no time to dodge. The arrows had already struck them.

"The Demonic Cult's Eight Dispersed Immortals are nothing special!" the Dark Elf leader sneered, about to say more, when his expression suddenly changed. He had clearly seen that the arrows weren't impaled in their bodies, but rather stuck in a transparent, thin membrane in front of them.

Various colored lights flowed around the Eight Dispersed Immortals, forming transparent shields. The dark streaks of light fired by the Dark Elves were stuck precisely on these shields.

However, as the light continued to swirl, the arrows all fell to the ground.

Zu An observed carefully: the red light sphere should be the shield of a fire-elemental user; the transparent one, water-elemental; the purple, lightning-elemental; the golden, metal-elemental. "Oh, and that unfortunate one, probably wood-elemental—it's quite a nice vibrant green..."

The Dark Elves were alarmed. They all drew their narrow, thin swords and charged directly at them.

Each of them left an afterimage in their original spot, then turned transparent, moving around continuously to attack the Eight Dispersed Immortals.

Their speed was astonishing, and being transparent, they only revealed their true forms for a fleeting moment upon contact with the shields. Attacking their targets from all directions was truly dazzling to behold.

At the same time, they didn't simply attack their individual targets; they frequently swapped opponents to maximize their effectiveness. Clearly, these top-tier assassins also coordinated their attacks with formation techniques.

Even from a distance by the carriage, they could feel the sharp killing intent emanating from that direction. Zu An even witnessed a few leaves accidentally fall into the fray, only to be instantly shredded by the killing aura.

He wondered what he would do if he faced such an encirclement by Dark Elves.

After much thought, he concluded it would be a dead end. He could only escape beforehand to avoid being surrounded in such a way.

In contrast, the Eight Dispersed Immortals of the Demonic Cult remained very calm, mostly standing their ground without dodging, directly facing the attacks from all directions.

The surrounding defensive shields flickered on and off, but no matter how the Dark Elves attacked, they could not break through their defenses.

Zu An's eyes widened. "With shields like these, aren't they practically invincible?"