Chapter 110: Twelve Groups

The Peak!

"Naturally, we must search!"

Chao Yunlin insisted, asserting that the bond between fellow disciples could not be disregarded in front of his senior sister. In reality, he somewhat regretted his words after speaking them, feeling he had been a little impulsive. However, words once spoken are like spilled water – they cannot be taken back.

Well, once he uttered those words, Guan Yingjie found it difficult to say anything else. To object would make him appear heartless and uncaring, someone who disregarded the lives of his fellow disciples. Even Mulan Qingqing was cornered by these words. Yet, as the team leader, she had to consider things carefully. She gently reminded them, "If we truly act on Wang Sheng's words, and it gets out, you know the consequences. None of us can bear that responsibility."

Chao Zhilin whispered, "Wang Sheng is such a contemptible person, unforgivable by heaven and earth. As long as he can't speak, no one will know about it afterwards." For them, killing a "Wang Sheng" would be as easy as turning over one's hand; there was no possibility of failure.

Seeing how much his junior brother valued the bond of fellow disciples, Guan Yingjie, gritting his teeth, could no longer remain silent. He bowed his head and said, "Whether Senior Brother Guan is alive or dead, we don't know, but if it can secure Senior Brother Guan Qian even a slim chance of survival, then a mere Wang Sheng's death is indeed insignificant."

Mulan Qingqing was as cold as ice, her face expressionless, but in reality, she was extremely conflicted inside. Her two junior brothers had put her on the spot. She knew very well that sending people to Moonsea to search was not a wise move, but if she stubbornly refused to search, it would be seen as disregarding the lives of her fellow disciples. Making the decision to stop them was difficult. How could she face the criticism from everyone back at the sect? How many people in this world could overlook the importance of reputation and righteousness? Furthermore, it was said there was no sign of a struggle when the incident occurred. If Guan Wen was truly in distress, waiting for someone to rescue him, then her inaction would indeed be inappropriate.

After much hesitation, she conceded, "How many people would be appropriate to send?"

Seeing that she had made a decision, her two junior brothers immediately began to brainstorm and assist in the planning.

A little later, Chao Zhilin said, "Too few won't do, too many isn't suitable either, as it would cause too much commotion. One hundred people should be enough."

Mulan Qingqing asked, "Who should go?"

Guan Yingjie replied, "Senior Sister, you don't need to worry about that. I'll coordinate the people from my side. You just need to get in touch with Senior Brother Yan. The top priority is to prevent the two groups from meeting, and secondly, that fellow Wang Sheng must not be left alive!"

Mulan Qingqing nodded slightly, picked up her communication talisman, and contacted Yan Ji again.

Yan Ji, who had been waiting for the message behind the dirt mound, now knew what to do. He put away his talisman, emerged from behind the mound, and rejoined the group. All that was left to do now was wait.

As Shi Chun had expected, after a night of lost contact, the various sects spread around Moonsea indeed felt uneasy. By mid-morning, people began to arrive one after another to investigate. Those who arrived first were generally from nearby locations, and communication channels with the missing groups began to be re-established.

Around noon, Shi Chun and Wu Changliang used the pretext of activity to avoid observation, then also retrieved their respective communication talismans. On the hot talisman, faint writing appeared: "Bai Zhuchuan is eager for quick success and has led his group to Moonsea. I am caught in the current, unable to help myself."

Unless there was an unforeseen event, this message was naturally from Bian Weiying, a routine update to facilitate her comrades' decisions.

Shi Chun shook his head. Now she knew she was caught in the current, but he had warned her long ago. If she wouldn't listen, she'd have to suffer the consequences. As usual, he read the message but did not reply, putting away his talisman.

Wu Changliang pondered, "They've also come to Moonsea. We won't run into them, will we?"

Shi Chun scoffed, "With all these people around, set up around Moon Lake, there's practically a Xuanzhou informant every one or two li. Running into them is highly probable. Now that Xuanzhou knows your junior sister's story, it's uncertain whether they'll avenge you when they see Bai Zhuchuan. Bian Weiying, being among them, might get implicated. Whether we can save her, we'll see when the time comes." He pointed to the communication talisman in Wu Changliang's hand, suggesting that in a crucial moment, they could consider sending a message.

Of course, if the situation wasn't right, they would also stand by and let Bian Weiying die. Wu Changliang estimated that letting her die was highly probable, because he understood Shi Chun well, knowing that Shi Chun harbored a deep hatred for anyone outside of 'Life Prison.' Shi Chun had once personally told him, "In this world, there is no one who cannot be killed!" He knew that the so-called "world" referred to people outside of 'Life Prison' who were neither relatives nor acquaintances. Naturally, he also harbored hatred for those outside, but he was a person who clearly distinguished between love and hate. Besides those who deserved hatred, there were also many endearing people. He thought it would be a waste for someone as beautiful as Bian Weiying to die like that.

At the foot of a towering, snow-capped peak, a person wearing a strangely fashioned cloak made from several pieces of clothing landed after a swift flight. They suddenly stopped and also pulled out a communication talisman. The writing that appeared on it was the same as what Shi Chun and the others had seen. This person, who could receive Bian Weiying's message, was naturally none other than Xiang Lan'er. However, in that attire, if she didn't speak or if one didn't look closely, it was impossible to tell if she was male or female. Similarly, after receiving the message, she read it but did not reply, then continued to fly towards the snowy mountains.

Upon reaching the snow-covered mountaintop, she took out a pre-prepared bundle of clothes from her cloak and immediately set it on fire. Soon, thick plumes of smoke billowed from the mountaintop. Doing this here was, naturally, a way to contact someone. This was a method Feng Chi had told her before she left Wukang Mountain. She was told that someone would contact her once she arrived. If there were any special circumstances and no one contacted her for a long time, she should go to the highest peak in the Western Extremity and try burning smoke. The current situation was that someone had already contacted her, but contact had since been lost. She wasn't sure if this method would still work, but at this point, she could only try to revive a dead horse as if it were alive.

After the thick smoke had billowed for a while, Xiang Lan'er's eyes flashed. She saw figures rapidly flying up the mountain from the foot, not just one, but people appearing at the base of the surrounding peaks. Before long, twelve figures, men and women, wearing the attire of various sects, successively leaped onto the mountaintop, their eyes filled with wariness.

Xiang Lan'er waved her arms, and the surrounding snow quickly piled up, forming a domed snow house in an instant. After accommodating the group inside, she pushed open her cloak with her elbows, and from her ten fingers emerged a ball of flame. Seeing this, the twelve immediately knelt on one knee and bowed, remaining silent.

Xiang Lan'er spoke in a cold, hoarse voice, "Where is the person who was supposed to contact you?" She revealed neither her true face nor her real voice. By rights, these people were not qualified to directly contact her; she had only appeared in person out of necessity. Although she had appeared, she still tried her best to conceal her true identity.

The twelve exchanged glances. "No one has contacted me," one said. "Me neither," another added. All the replies were similar: because their contact person had not appeared for a long time, they had come here according to the backup plan. Furthermore, these people didn't even know who was supposed to contact them; they had originally thought it was the person standing before them.

Xiang Lan'er didn't tell them it was Sun Shigang either. Since Sun Shigang wasn't there, she had to re-evaluate the backgrounds of these people. Upon inquiry, they were all sect members from various continents, arranged to come and obey the instructions of a contact person. There were a total of twelve groups from twelve sects, none of whom had known each other beforehand. They had all immediately rushed to their designated locations, awaiting contact.

Surprisingly, the rendezvous point for six of these groups was in Moonsea, at one corner of its crescent shape.

"Moonsea..." Xiang Lan'er wondered with surprise, "Why were you told to wait for your contact in Moonsea?"

"We don't know." That was the reply from the leaders of all six groups. However, one of them hesitated, then added, "Since this gathering is for Insect Nacre Crystals, and I've heard there are more of them in Moonsea, could it be that we're meant to search for Insect Nacre Crystals there?"

Xiang Lan'er questioned, "Moonsea is dangerous. What good would it do to send thirty of you to search for Insect Nacre Crystals there?"

The person hesitated, "Could there be a way to avoid the risks?"

Xiang Lan'er was momentarily stunned by these words and recalled the original reason for things. The reason people were sent to assist her in this gathering was to help her achieve certain results and solidify her status back at Wukang Mountain. In other words, they were to help her find a considerable amount of Insect Nacre Crystals. Now she knew that these so-called twelve groups only amounted to sixty people. Against the forces from various continents, fighting and plundering would yield no advantage, nor should they be used in such a way.

If that were the case, then the groups sent to Moonsea to rendezvous might indeed be prepared for finding Insect Nacre Crystals. If the higher-ups could make such preparations, it was impossible that they had no certainty and were just relying on luck. She suddenly realized something: that fellow Sun Shigang might have brought a method to avoid risks in Moonsea, either by mastering some trick or by bringing some item. And she was certain it was the latter. Because if it were just a trick, the higher-ups could have simply told her. It must be something that needed to be brought in, which is why it was kept from her, also to avoid putting her in danger.

Figuring this out, she couldn't help but inwardly curse Sun Shigang, "He deserves it!" Since even these people hadn't contacted Sun Shigang, his fate could already be guessed: he was most likely dead. It was a pity that opportunities to meet with Sun Shigang were too few, so she didn't get a chance to understand the details.

Recalling this, she decisively made up her mind and said, "Let's go, to Moonsea!" Why go to Moonsea? To find Shi Chun and the others. Shi Chun and his companion, along with Sun Shigang, had both gone missing. She had never given up her suspicion about the connection between their disappearances. If Sun Shigang had fallen into Shi Chun's hands, then whatever Sun Shigang had on him might also be in Shi Chun's possession. To find Shi Chun, she would first need to find Bian Weiying. If Sun Shigang's items were indeed in Shi Chun's hands, she had a way to probe this through the communication talisman in Bian Weiying's possession. And this sort of matter was not something she could ask Bian Weiying to relay. She could only personally borrow the communication talisman Bian Weiying used to contact those two fellows.

As they left the temporary snow house, one person reminded everyone, "We were told upon arrival that the Heavenly Observation Mirror would be used during this gathering. When we move as a group, each sub-group should maintain a distance of at least ten zhang from one another, to minimize the chance of appearing together in the Heavenly Observation Mirror's reflection."

The group proceeded accordingly. After finding their respective teams down the mountain, they maintained a considerable distance as they moved forward. Xiang Lan'er traveled alone as a separate group...

A contingent of over a hundred people arrived near Moonsea, stopping as the evening glow descended, but did not approach closely. It was the force dispatched by Guan Yingjie. After receiving the message, he immediately had Mulan Qingqing send a message to Yan Ji, informing him that the corresponding personnel were in place and ready for deployment at any time.

Yan Ji's reply was to have those forces wait in place and act only after dawn the next day.