Gu Hong continued to speak aggrievedly, "It was you who wanted to come out and find resources. You discussed it with Xiao Ying and Xiao Hong, who were guarding you. They disagreed, so I ambushed them, knocked them unconscious, and let you out. If you hadn't had this idea first, how could I have let you out?"
The Holy Emperor roared, "How dare you talk back? You adamantly said there would be resources and that you would succeed. I believed you and thought there was no risk, so I followed you in. I originally planned to quickly improve my cultivation after obtaining some resources to exterminate these lowly people. I didn't expect to come up empty. If we go out now, your tribesmen will surely kill me."
"What are you afraid of? If I die, I can't escape unscathed either," Gu Hong said.
"You? What is your status? Can you be compared to me?"
"You..." Gu Hong was so angry she felt like spitting blood.
At this moment, the Holy Emperor looked across the river. He noticed that Mo Qi had also not obtained any resources. A sudden idea struck him: since everyone had failed to obtain resources, the Blackwater Tribe had suffered no losses, and the bet could continue.
He then turned to Gu Hong and put on a different face, "Miss Hong, I apologize. I was a bit hasty just now. Actually, upon careful consideration, I do bear undeniable responsibility. I shouldn't have scolded you."
Gu Hong, who was originally annoyed, immediately beamed upon hearing this, "It's nothing, nothing. A true man doesn't fuss over minor details. I actually find this to be a sign of your manliness."
At this time, Sun Qian on the opposite bank said with self-reproach, "Alas, I didn't know it would be like this. Now you have nothing, and you have to face them when you go out... But I will face them with you."
"Face what together? What does it have to do with you? When we go out, I'll use a trick, knock you unconscious, and say I escaped on my own, and it has nothing to do with you," Mo Qi said calmly.
At this moment, the Holy Emperor on the opposite bank chuckled, "Kid, did you get anything? You got lucky and had a slight advantage earlier. We'll inevitably have another fight when we go out, and I will kill you then."
Then, he said to Gu Hong, "Let's go," and led Gu Hong away.
Gu Hong glanced at Sun Qian and followed.
Sun Qian said to Mo Qi, "Let's go out too."
Mo Qi, however, looked at the towering mountain barrier before him, lost in thought.
If this mountain connected to the star world, what a massive spiritual脉 it would be!
At least, he could try it first.
He walked to the foot of the cliff, placed his hand on the cliff face, released his spiritual energy, and began to sense.
At that moment, the entire ground trembled, as if an earthquake had occurred.
Sun Qian was startled and asked nervously, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Mo Qi felt a powerful spiritual脉 within the mountain and was overjoyed, saying, "We didn't come here in vain."
Sun Qian was delighted, "Really? What did you discover?"
As she spoke, she walked towards Mo Qi.
Mo Qi said, "It's a long story. I'll explain later," and began to channel his magic power to absorb the spiritual脉.
The Holy Emperor, who was walking away, felt the ground tremble and sensed something unusual. He stopped and looked back, only to see Mo Qi placing his hand on the cliff face and absorbing something.
Could he absorb spiritual脉?
The Holy Emperor was utterly shocked.
Even in his prime, he could not achieve this. He could not absorb spiritual脉 with his bare hands!
What kind of talent and aptitude was this?
No, if such a person were allowed to grow, he would surely become a formidable threat. Therefore, he could not let him grow.
With this thought, the Holy Emperor said to Gu Hong, "They have obtained something unexpected. We must go and snatch it back. This will be beneficial for my return to the throne."
Gu Hong glanced at Mo Qi and saw something drilling from the mountain into Mo Qi's palm. She was curious, "What is that?"
The Holy Emperor impatiently said, "This is not the time to talk about this."
With his words, he flew up and lunged towards Mo Qi, "You deal with Sun Qian, and I'll deal with that brat."
Sun Qian saw the Holy Emperor returning and knew he intended to harm Mo Qi. She resolutely turned around, "You do your thing, I'll block them for you."
But how could Mo Qi bear to let her face the Holy Emperor alone?
Moreover, with her cultivation, she was no match for the Holy Emperor; going up would be suicide.
At this moment, he couldn't disengage.
However, he was not short of helpers now.
The Fire Demon, Little Dot, Little Blood Man, and the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors flew out one after another, attacking the Holy Emperor.
And the Sun-Hunting Wheel!
The Holy Emperor made random swipes in the void, causing numerous spatial rifts. One rift trapped the Fire Demon and sent it falling towards the river.
The Fire Demon was greatly alarmed. It feared water the most; once it fell into the water, it would vanish without a trace.
It frantically exerted all its strength, spat out a burst of immense flame, and forcefully broke through the barrier.
The Fire Demon's body flew out, and it spat a torrent of fire at the Holy Emperor in mid-air.
The Holy Emperor hastily made a swipe, the space tore open, and the torrent of fire dissipated harmlessly.
Another rift trapped the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors and began to compress them, nearly crushing them into a pulp.
The Golden Flood Dragon Scissors were also greatly anxious. It darted left and right, then opened its cutting edges and slashed wildly, finally cutting through the barrier and breaking free.
It continued forward, charging towards the Holy Emperor.
The Holy Emperor still made a swipe in the air, casually flicked his hand, and the space trembled, shaking off the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors.
Another rift collided with Little Dot (the space was too small to contain it), forcefully sending Little Dot flying backward. However, Little Dot quickly got up and charged towards the Holy Emperor. Little Dot's massive body was like a mountain, crashing into the Holy Emperor.
The Holy Emperor swiped in the air. Just as the space was about to tear open, Little Dot's body had already arrived, forcefully breaking open the gap and continuing forward, sending the Holy Emperor's body flying.
Concurrently, the Little Blood Man's body exploded, and countless tiny blood spots attacked the Holy Emperor. They were dispersed and had no discernible trajectory.
The Holy Emperor, suspended in mid-air, awkwardly adjusted his posture and made several swipes with his hands. This time, the space tore open, repelling Little Dot.
Little Dot's massive body, along with the shattering space, was thrown into the river.
As for the blood spots, the Holy Emperor's spatial rifts enveloped some, tore apart some, and repelled some.
However, some blood spots always broke through, stuck to the Holy Emperor's body, and began to corrode rapidly.
Small blood spots initially appeared on the Holy Emperor's body, then rapidly spread, quickly devouring his body.
His body shook, his head detached from his original body, and rolled onto the ground, then quickly grew a neck, shoulders, and abdomen... The original body was rapidly consumed by blood clots, turning into a pool of blood.
That pool of blood writhed and shook on the ground, gradually gathering, shrinking, and deforming, eventually forming the appearance of the Little Blood Man.
At this time, the Holy Emperor's body was still growing rapidly, but his hands had not yet grown, rendering him unable to use magic power.
Just then, the Sun-Hunting Wheel whistled through the air, aiming to slice at the Holy Emperor's head.
The Holy Emperor was greatly alarmed. He rolled his half-body and narrowly dodged it.
The Sun-Hunting Wheel missed its target but continuously emitted a humming sound. Using its rotation, it reacted quickly, made a sharp turn, and immediately aimed to slice at the Holy Emperor again. The Holy Emperor cried out, fleeing into the distance with his suspended half-body.
The Sun-Hunting Wheel was relentless and continued to pursue.
Little Dot, the Little Blood Man, the Fire Demon, and the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors also pursued from behind.
Gu Hong, having received the Holy Emperor's orders, disregarded their sisterly bond and launched an attack on Sun Qian.
Sun Qian retaliated while also trying to persuade her, "Ah Hong, the sea of suffering is boundless; turn back while there is still time. You are sinking deeper and deeper."
Gu Hong laughed, "Ridiculous. Who is in the sea of suffering, you or I? Don't be so self-righteous. You've clearly followed a nobody, yet you think you've transformed from a pheasant into a phoenix and are now lecturing me. You should be the one to wake up. Look at what kind of person he is to make my Holy Emperor brother so enraged."
Sun Qian said helplessly, "Let's not discuss who is in the sea of suffering for now. You are now trying to kill me too. If this continues, will you kill all our tribesmen for him?"
Gu Hong paused, then chuckled, "As long as that person is dead, the patriarch will accept my Holy Emperor brother. Why would I kill all the tribesmen?"
"You are still changing the subject and unwilling to face your inner demons. You have fallen too deep into the demonic path."
"Shut up! I didn't want to kill you, but since you insist on protecting him, you must die."
The two women each wielded a treasure sword, exchanging blows, parrying each other's moves, and refusing to yield. They fought fiercely, locked in a stalemate.
They were originally of equal strength and should not have been able to determine a winner, but Sun Qian held back at every turn, while Gu Hong pressed her advantage relentlessly. Gradually, Sun Qian began to fall into a disadvantage.
At this moment, Mo Qi had completely absorbed the entire spiritual脉. It was a massive spiritual脉, and he couldn't absorb it all at once. He absorbed a portion for himself and bottled the rest.
Seeing Sun Qian in grave danger, he immediately pointed his finger, and an arrow of light shot out, piercing Gu Hong's shoulder. Gu Hong cried out in pain, and her movements faltered.
Sun Qian's counter-attack with her sword went in without any surprise, but she stopped it abruptly.
The tip of the sword stopped just by her skin.
Even so, Gu Hong was swept to the ground by the sharp sword wind, her face filled with dejection.
Sun Qian sheathed her sword, "You can go. I hope you reflect further."
Gu Hong got up and left.
Mo Qi watched her retreating figure and said, "People like that will never repent. You should have killed her."
Sun Qian sighed, "After all, she was a companion I grew up with."
Mo Qi also wondered if, if Jin Dan made a mistake, he could bring himself to kill Jin Dan.
Never mind, he wouldn't dwell on these annoying thoughts!
Mo Qi drew another section of the spiritual脉 from the bottle and handed it to Sun Qian, "Absorb this. It will improve your cultivation."
Sun Qian hesitated for a moment, then accepted it and channeled her magic power, allowing the spiritual脉 to permeate into her body through her palm.
A moment later, she felt her internal spiritual energy surge, and she sat down to begin her breakthrough.