Chapter 329: Double Breakthroughs

What was happening? The Mingshan Sect group was somewhat dumbfounded, especially Shi Chun. This didn't seem to be what he had imagined. Had Shudao Mountain not intercepted Jihuo Sect? Had there been no conflict with Jihuo Sect?

Also, Zhen'er had previously told him that the movements of the Wind Scales would startle the fire bats in the underground passage, leading to an attack by them.

The situation, as observed, did indeed startle the fire bats and caused an attack, but his understanding seemed to be mistaken. The Wind Scales, if moving fast enough, could also get ahead of the "tidal wave" of bats.

If he had known this earlier, there would have been no need for Shudao Mountain to cover their retreat; his own flight would have naturally left the fire bats behind.

He hadn't clearly seen who the group attracting the fire bats was. Realizing the noisy disturbance was already causing the dormant fire bats in the surroundings to show signs of waking, Shi Chun, quick to react, let out a strange cry, "Wind Scales, let's go!"

He was the first to pull out his Wind Scale and shot out. While still in mid-air, he activated the Wind Scale, first enveloping Zhen'er, who was right beside him, and flying away. At that moment, there was truly no time to call out to everyone individually; he didn't even manage to bring Wu Jinliang.

"Oh my!" Chu Jingting also let out a strange cry and pulled out his Wind Scale to flee.

Everyone else naturally followed suit. Fortunately, they all had Wind Scales, so they quickly made their escape.

However, even with the Wind Scales, reaching maximum speed took some time. By the time they hit top speed, they found themselves joined by a group of old acquaintances.

Shi Chun's group spared a glance and were speechless to find it was the Shudao Mountain group, led by Gu Lianni.

They had wanted the other group to cover their retreat, but it turned out they had run ahead for nothing.

He didn't have the presence of mind to specifically observe the condition of the Shudao Mountain personnel. The high-speed flight of the Wind Scales, coupled with the fact that the underground passage was not a straight path, required him to be extremely focused on maneuvering the Wind Scale.

Along with the Shudao Mountain group, the fire bats that had been disturbed along the way continuously joined the attacking wave.

Everyone was desperately accelerating forward; slowing down even a little meant potentially being overwhelmed by the pursuing wave or being blocked by the fire bat swarm awakened ahead.

The occasional shrill screams from those running slightly slower behind them served as motivation for the group to desperately flee.

Gu Lianni's face showed sorrow and indignation. The screams she heard were naturally coming from the Shudao Mountain disciples behind her, yet she couldn't turn back to save them.

In contrast, Zhen'er appeared calm. She looked around, then at the people behind her, then at Shi Chun's reaction, and finally softly uttered two comforting words: "Don't be afraid."

Her other hand, not held by him, gently stroked Shi Chun's forearm.

In his nervousness, Shi Chun indeed found some comfort, and his spirits brightened slightly. "Yes," he thought, "if we really were to be overwhelmed by the fire bats, this woman might have a way to save us."

The underground passage was indeed long, but relative to the speed at which these cultivators traveled, it was not exceptionally long.

Before long, the group burst out from beneath a cliff. Seeing the brilliant starlit sky again, everyone's mood lifted, feeling a sense of rebirth. Trailing behind them were flying dragons made of blue light cracks and countless red glowing dots, still in relentless pursuit.

Their Wind Scales had not been damaged, so they had nothing to fear. After emerging from the winding passage, with the sky vast and open and no obstructions, the Wind Scales' speed was finally unleashed to its full extent, comparable to the flight speed of a high-level Earth Immortal. They quickly put distance between themselves and the fire bats behind them.

The group finally had a moment to look back.

As they flew further and further away, the fire bat swarm could no longer keep up and eventually gave up the chase, returning to where they came from.

At the same time, the fire bat swarm fluttering around the exit beneath the cliff suddenly became chaotic and turbulent. A mass of black mist surged out, swirling and churning like a divine dragon wagging its tail.

It was demonic energy, which didn't seem to harm the fire bats, but its peculiar nature made them uneasy, causing them to dodge and scatter.

Within the demonic energy, Wu Shanshan and others appeared indistinctly. Including Jin Hao and Lin Yuefang, only seven members of the Wangqing Valley group remained, and most of them were injured.

The few figures emerging from the demonic energy gazed at the direction the fire bats were pursuing in the distance. Jin Hao pointed and said, "They must have gone that way."

No sooner had she spoken than a rumbling sound, as if the heavens and earth were shaking, resonated from afar, wave after wave. The women's feet trembled, and they exchanged startled glances.

After a brief thought, Lin Yuefang said, "It seems someone is breaking out of the ground."

"Never mind that, first we must focus on Shi Chun; we can't let them escape." Wu Shanshan waved her hand, leading her people rapidly in the direction Shi Chun and his group had fled.

No sooner had they left than another cloud of demonic energy emerged from the cave entrance, and two more individuals came out: Xu Anchang and You Mu.

Besides these two, no other members of the Four Cauldrons Sect managed to escape.

There was no way around it; it was difficult to widely use demonic energy to protect their fellow disciples in front of everyone, and they didn't retreat. The consequence of stubbornly pushing forward was naturally a heavy price.

After exchanging glances, the two also followed Wu Shanshan's group.

In the distance, the ground split open. A brilliant light suddenly pierced through the earth and shot into the sky. Amidst the flying debris, a group of people burst forth from the ground. It was the Jihuo Sect group, led by Yin Tianlu, who held a broadsword. The sword's body was as bright as silver frost, and its blade was enveloped in a layer of brilliant light.

The stones that had been blasted into the sky fell like a waterfall, re-burying the newly opened hole.

Only people emerged from underground; not a single fire bat was seen.

The fire bats couldn't follow them out because the underground passage was too deep from the surface. Yin Tianlu used his magic artifact to forcefully break through the ground, and the resulting collapse and falling debris easily cut off the fire bats' pursuit.

Not retreating the original way was also to reduce contact with the fire bats and minimize casualties among their fellow disciples, which is why they resorted to forcefully breaking through the ground.

Several individuals took out their spare Wind Scales and unfolded them, catching their fellow disciples who had soared into the air.

They assessed their numbers, finding only about forty people left, most of whom were injured.

Yin Tianlu's mood was heavy, and his expression was grim. He hadn't expected to suffer such heavy losses against fire bats, which were not particularly powerful.

Hei Hu, who also had injuries, said in a deep voice, "It's my fault."

"Alas," Wu Xiao sighed.

The brilliant light from the sword in Yin Tianlu's hand suddenly retracted. He put the sword into his Qiankun pouch, looked around, and stated decisively, "The underground passage can't be infinitely long. With the fire bats chasing them, they'll have to come out eventually. Spread out and search the surroundings; wherever you see fire bats flying out, that's where they emerged."

His determination was clear. Things had come to this point; not only was their objective to eliminate competitors for the championship, but the heavy casualties they had suffered now also needed to be accounted for.

At his command, the group, still shaken, quickly complied and dispersed.

After a pursuit through the air, the Wangqing Valley group found no trace of Shi Chun and his companions and had to pause, hovering to observe.

"They just left; there should still be lingering traces of their aura. They can't escape." Wu Shanshan, speaking to reassure the others, closed her eyes and cast a spell for a moment. When she opened them again, her eyes glowed with a terrifying dark red light.

Lin Yuefang and the others exchanged glances, clearly surprised.

Jin Hao clicked her tongue and said, "So, Senior Sister has already mastered the 'Demonic Eye'."

"The direction is correct, keep going."

Wu Shanshan pointed ahead and motioned for everyone to continue.

On a mountaintop, Shi Chun's group landed for a temporary rest. Shi Chun immediately asked his subordinates, "Is everyone alright?"

"We're fine."

"Alright."

"It was pretty terrifying, very exciting."

The results proved that the Mingshan Sect group was completely intact. They had been scared, but not a single hair was lost.

In contrast, the Shudao Mountain side had lost over a dozen people, leaving only nearly thirty. Those who disappeared were probably never coming back.

The Mingshan Sect group could only stand by and watch the spectacle, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were gloating.

They had personally seen and heard their leader call out to the Shudao Mountain group, but the others hadn't listened and had almost put them in danger. It had been quite a scare, so it would have been strange if they hadn't felt this way.

Of course, after seeing Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang feigning sympathy, the Mingshan Sect group was also influenced, putting on expressions of sorrow and mourning.

Gu Lianni, after communicating with her fellow disciples, had reddened eyes. When she looked back at Shi Chun, she felt regret and resentment internally, blaming him for not explaining things clearly beforehand.

However, she didn't voice those thoughts. She walked closer and asked, "Where are we now?"

Shi Chun looked up at the sky, rubbing his head in frustration. Having twisted and turned underground for so long, their sense of direction was completely lost. He hadn't paid close attention to celestial coordinates before, as there were no fixed star patterns in this Divine Fire Domain; the surrounding constellations changed daily.

But he wasn't flustered. He glanced at Zhen'er beside him and said, "Don't worry, she knows."

On Lihuo Island, Mulan Qingqing, who was meditating cross-legged in an inn, suddenly lifted her head slightly while her eyes were closed. Her bones and muscles made dull crackling sounds, and a faint bloody, turbid mist emanated from her body, slightly darkening her snow-white robes.

After a long period of stillness, she slowly withdrew her cultivation, exhaled, and gradually opened her eyes. Looking at her raised hands, she murmured to herself, "Have I broken through?"

At this very moment, her cultivation had officially broken through from the High Martial Advanced realm to the Great Attainment realm.

She had been stagnating at the breakthrough point of the Advanced realm for a long time. The sect's original assessment for her, given her comprehension, was that it would take at least another two years.

This was also why she had made a three-year pact with Shi Chun: she intended to seek him out for another battle after her breakthrough, to personally avenge her past shame.

Who would have thought she would break through ahead of schedule?

Not long after, in another inn, Feng Chi, who was serving as a protector, repeatedly congratulated the astonished Xiang Lan'er: "Congratulations, Miss, on finally breaking through to the Great Attainment realm."

Xiang Lan'er, who had risen from her bed and was pacing, still wore an expression of disbelief. "I've been stuck at this threshold for so long. Before, I just suddenly had a hunch, a faint feeling that I was about to break through, but I never expected it to actually happen."

Feng Chi smiled. "I also thought you'd need more time for enlightenment. This early breakthrough is enough to prove your extraordinary cultivation talent, Miss." Then she added softly, "The Saint Venerable will certainly look at you differently once they know."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a sudden clamor and noise erupted outside.

"They're falling, they're falling!"

"Look, so many are falling!"

The two inside, who had been listening intently, quickly stepped to the window, opened it, and looked out. They saw that the floating array of Fate Lotus Lamps seemed to be in disarray, with lamps continuously dropping one by one.

Disregarding propriety, the two immediately exited through the window and swiftly flew to the floating lamp array, looking up.