The crowd immediately became alert, as this was a sign of the presence of netherflames.
Under the dim sky, mist surged, and the wind sounded like wailing ghosts. One by one, flickering flames drifted from a cliff face ahead. The white mist grew thicker, accompanied by the sounds of fighting, indistinct and unclear.
Someone had encountered netherflames!
Su Luo’s eyes sharpened; she even saw black netherflames, and quite a few of them.
Chu Tianshu and Lu Jixing were not worried. They grabbed their swords and charged into the light mist, shouting, “Quickly extinguish these netherflames, and we can eat and rest soon!”
Qin Yuanshu and the others followed, rushing forward together.
As they rounded the cliff face and heard the voices clearly, Su Luo’s eyes lit up, “Is that Young Master Xiao? I am Su Luo!”
“Miss Su, is that you?”
A familiar voice came from within the mist, it was Xiao Jingchen. “That’s great, to actually meet you.”
Finally, she had met Xiao Jingchen.
Beside him was a graceful woman who was continuously attacking the netherflames. They were both in peril.
“Brother Li, Miss Su!”
Xiao Jingchen, seeing Su Luo and the others appear, was both surprised and delighted.
The crowd surged forward to help, but this time facing over a dozen black netherflames, it still took some effort.
As soon as they approached, everyone felt faint whispers in their ears, as if countless people were murmuring, their voices mixed and indistinct. But after a moment longer, the voices became like chanting, unsettling the heart.
“Concentrate and eliminate them!”厉天绝 shouted.
Each time he struck, he could crush a ball of grey netherflame, dispersing the agitated mist. Even when facing black netherflames, though the compression was slower, he remained at ease.
Su Luo formed hand seals, continuously directing them into the netherflames.
The techniques of the Xuan Sect were particularly effective against these netherflames, even more convenient than Li Tianjue’s compression and explosion methods.
When they had only encountered grey netherflames, the difference was not very apparent. Now, facing black netherflames, the effect became clear.
The hand seals carried a special power that completely purified the netherflames, causing them to dissipate into the air. With each purification, the mist thinned, and a number appeared on Su Luo’s teleportation bead. Like turning pages, the numbers flickered: seventy-nine, eighty-two, eighty-five, ninety…
“So, killing black netherflames makes the numbers change faster?” Su Luo noticed the difference.
Indeed, black netherflames were more dangerous than grey ones. If eliminating grey netherflames counted the same as black ones, it wouldn’t be fair.
With the addition of Su Luo, Li Tianjue, and the others, the crisis was soon averted.
The netherflames were gone, and the mist had also greatly thinned. Xiao Jingchen finally breathed a sigh of relief and said joyfully, “Brother Li, Miss Su, and everyone else, thank you for your rescue.”
He pulled the woman over, and Su Luo and the others involuntarily tensed.
Could this be the Flower Demon Empress?
But when they saw the woman’s appearance, everyone was somewhat surprised.
Although the woman was quite pretty, she was by no means breathtakingly beautiful. At most, she could be described as delicate and charming, like a shy village girl, with a few freckles on her face. Moreover, the alluring power that Li Tianjue had sensed earlier was gone, making him unsure of her identity.
“Who is this?” Su Luo asked deliberately.
“Let me introduce her.”
Xiao Jingchen looked at the woman with affection, gently holding her hand. “This is Rong’er. I told you we would come to the Heaven’s Chosen Tournament together. Rong’er, these are friends from Qingxu Heaven, whom I mentioned to you before.”
He then introduced Li Tianjue and the others to the woman.
The woman smiled softly, “Thank you all for saving us. Otherwise, Xiao Lang and I would likely have met with disaster.”
Su Luo looked at her with a half-smile, “Miss Rong’er, you are not shy this time. Finally, you have allowed us to see your true appearance. Young Master Xiao spoke so highly of you that we were very curious.”
As she spoke, she activated her Divine Eye Mirror, seeing clearly.
It was indeed her!
Hua Xiangrong: One of the Eight Emissaries of the Dark Magic Ridge, peerlessly beautiful, possessing alluring power, and also one of the Four Great Beauties of the Xuanhuang Continent. Skilled in poison, especially various poisonous flowers and grasses, with wood element talent, Spirit King fifth-stage cultivation…
She was actually at Spirit King cultivation. No wonder Senior Brother couldn’t catch up to her last time.
Without the detection of the Divine Eye Mirror, with this appearance, Su Luo would still doubt her judgment.
But now, her concealment was useless.
Hua Xiangrong, unaware that Su Luo had seen through her identity, smiled bashfully, “You must be Miss Su. Xiao Lang mentioned that if it weren’t for you, he would still be poisoned and unable to participate in the Heaven’s Chosen Tournament. Thank you. Due to some special circumstances, this is not my true appearance either. I hope you all can understand.”
She actually directly stated it wasn’t her true appearance!
She truly had a bold spirit.
Chu Tianshu and Lu Jixing exchanged glances and said nothing more. Li Tianjue remained composed, but all those who knew Hua Xiangrong’s identity secretly remained vigilant.
The sky had completely darkened, and the night wind picked up. The group found a sheltered spot nearby, took out firewood, pots, and pans from their storage rings, and started a pot of hot soup, preparing to rest for the night.
Qin Yuanshu and the other outer disciples went to cook. Su Luo approached Li Tianjue and nodded at him.
Li Tianjue understood her meaning, a hidden gleam flashing in his eyes.
“Senior Brother, what do we do now?” Su Luo transmitted mentally.
“If we reveal her identity, Xiao Jingchen will certainly not believe us, nor will he allow us to deal with her. For now…” Li Tianjue also transmitted back, speaking solemnly, “We will watch her discreetly. First, we need to determine her purpose for participating in the Heaven’s Chosen Tournament and observe if any other demon sect disciples have infiltrated.”
Su Luo nodded, “Alright, I’ll inform Second Senior Brother and the others.”
She told Chu Tianshu, Lu Jixing, and Zhan Li about this, but not the outer disciples, to avoid them revealing any clues.
Sun Jian and Wen Ruchu were kept completely in the dark, busy with preparing food by the fire.
After they had eaten and were full, everyone gathered around the campfire to rest.
At this moment, Hua Xiangrong suddenly tugged at Xiao Jingchen’s sleeve and moved her lips. A moment later, Xiao Jingchen nodded gently, held her hand, and stood up, saying, “Everyone, Rong’er and I have something to attend to, we will be leaving for a while.”
Lu Jixing, who had been watching her, immediately asked, “Where are you going? If there’s anything, I can help.”
He suspected that this demoness was up to no good.
Hua Xiangrong blushed and turned her head away. Xiao Jingchen also said awkwardly, “No need, we’ll be back soon.”
Lu Jixing was insistent, “Why be so polite! Brother Xiao, if you have something to say, let’s all…”
“Alright, Third Senior Brother.”
Su Luo gave him a meaningful glance, “Don’t be so tactless. Miss Rong’er has private matters, why are you making a fuss to go?”
Chu Tianshu gave him a glare, “Are you stupid!”
Lu Jixing only then realized that perhaps this Miss Rong’er needed to relieve herself. He then sheepishly sat down, watching Xiao Jingchen and the woman leave.
The group chatted around the campfire, and time passed…
Li Tianjue suddenly said, “It seems they’ve been gone for almost half an hour.”
Su Luo and the others also realized it. Yes, it had been too long.
Even if she had diarrhea, it should be over by now.
“Something might have happened.”
Just as Su Luo was about to suggest they go look for them, a rustling sound was heard.