As expected, Bai Zizhen was chosen by the sect, and Shangguan Chengtian, whom they had mentioned earlier, was chosen by the cultivation families.
Shangguan Chengtian, ranked among the top three cultivation families, was hailed as the most talented cultivation genius of the Shangguan family to date.
Shangguan Chengtian had recently broken through to the Core Formation stage and had intended to gain some heavenly treasures to enhance his cultivation in this Taiyi Divine Sect's ancient cultivation ruins.
However, no one had expected that after entering, he would be teleported out from the main peak after a short while, only managing to obtain a few spirit stones, which left him feeling extremely stifled and displeased.
With both sides having chosen their representatives, the next step was to figure out how to break through the encirclement of the Sakura Island people and escape.
Song Mingqin and Qu Fei recounted their encounter with the Sakura Island person, Yamamoto Ichiryu, to Bai Zizhen. Shangguan Chengtian, who had been present earlier, frowned upon hearing this again.
"Are you sure that person is the organizer this time?" Bai Zizhen asked.
Shangguan Chengtian said to Bai Zizhen, "The ones who fought with Yamamoto Ichiryu just now were Mingqin Sword Immortal and Qu Fei."
"I say, why is Song Mingqin called Mingqin Sword Immortal, but I'm just called Qu Fei?" Qu Fei was immediately displeased with Shangguan Chengtian's way of addressing Song Mingqin.
"Old Qu, it's not that I don't want to call you that, but ask everyone here if anyone knows your title?" Shangguan Chengtian also expressed his helplessness.
"Pfft, hahaha." Ye Qingcheng couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this. Everyone turned to look at Ye Qingcheng, and Ye Qingyi quickly covered Ye Qingcheng's mouth with her hand.
"Aren't these the Ye sisters from the underground city?" someone spoke up.
"Sister Qingcheng?" Huangfu Yun saw Ye Qingcheng and shouted, running towards her.
"Huangfu Yun!" Huangfu Zheng shouted sharply, stopping Huangfu Yun. Huangfu Yun stood rooted to the spot, his initially joyful expression turning very serious.
"Grandpa," Huangfu Yun called out.
"Return to your proper place," Huangfu Zheng said to Huangfu Yun, then transmitted his voice to warn him, "At a time like this, do not think about romantic matters. Don't bring shame to our Huangfu family here."
"Understood, Grandpa," Huangfu Yun lowered his head and obediently returned to his family's tent.
"Qingyi, Qingcheng, why are you here?" Huangfu Zheng said with a smile.
Upon hearing Huangfu Zheng speak, everyone realized that these two girls were from the City Lord's mansion of the underground city.
The Huangfu family and the City Lord's mansion of the underground city had always had a good relationship, with ongoing business interactions. Therefore, they only dared to confirm after hearing Huangfu Zheng's greeting.
"Who is that man?" Soon, someone noticed Ye Bufan standing beside Ye Qingyi and Ye Qingcheng.
"That, I think I heard that 'Living Yama' of the demonic sect call him Ye Bufan earlier, on the main peak." Upon seeing Ye Bufan, someone remembered the words of the Living Yama.
"Ye Bufan, isn't that the rising star? Could it be that Ye Bufan is also from the City Lord's mansion of the underground city?"
Someone murmured Ye Bufan's name. Seeing that Ye Bufan shared the surname Ye with Ye Qingyi and Ye Qingcheng, they immediately linked Ye Bufan to the City Lord's mansion.
"Since all three of them are here? Could it be that the City Lord of the underground city, Yu Xing, has also come?"
As everyone discussed, more and more speculation arose.
"Alright, alright, everyone, let's discuss the main business first," Song Mingqin said, seeing the increasingly absurd speculation, and quickly shifted everyone's attention. "It's better to think about how we can leave here now than to speculate."
"Mingqin Sword Immortal is right," Huangfu Zheng said.
"Currently, our biggest headache is not knowing how the Sakura Island people have arranged themselves. I think we need to find a few people as scouts to understand the situation," Huangfu Zheng proposed.
After Huangfu Zheng spoke, Shangguan Chengtian immediately followed up, "Is anyone willing to be a vanguard scout, to help us understand the Sakura Island people's deployment?"
After Shangguan Chengtian spoke, the cultivation families fell into silence.
This made Shangguan Chengtian's expression a bit grim. He thought that they had elected him as the leader, but now that they needed them to do something, no one was stepping forward, which was a slap in his face.
Seeing this, Bai Zizhen said, "Does anyone from our sect want to go and scout?"
"I'll go," Song Mingqin said.
"I'll go too," Qu Fei said immediately after Song Mingqin.
"I'll go too," Huangfu Zheng said after a moment of thought, stepping forward.
Shangguan Chengtian looked at Huangfu Zheng, and the two exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.
"Since I am the temporary leader elected by the cultivation families, I believe I should lead by example. I will go with Senior Huangfu," Shangguan Chengtian said.
"You are our elected temporary leader, how can you go? I will go from our Tao family."
The speaker was the head of the Tao family, Tao Liangce, who stepped out from the crowd, his face full of anger.
"To be safe, let's split up and explore in four directions. It's best to have teams of two, just in case. We need four more people. Is anyone else willing to go with me?" Song Mingqin asked.
"Me," Ye Bufan said, then walked to Song Mingqin's side.
"It should be me," Huangfu Yun shouted, and walked to Ye Bufan's side.
"Nonsense!" Huangfu Zheng shouted again upon seeing Huangfu Yun's eagerness. "Look at your cultivation level. Go back and stay put. Don't cause trouble."
Huangfu Yun was somewhat unconvinced. Ye Bufan patted Huangfu Yun's shoulder and said, "I know you really want to prove yourself to Ye Qingcheng, but this is not the time to show off. Scouting is very dangerous. The strength of the Sakura Island people is very high. If you go, you will be in mortal danger."
"I'm not showing off here. I just want to prove to my grandfather that I'm no longer a child in his eyes," Huangfu Yun said very seriously. "I have my own ideas, and I want to do something for Kyushu."
"But you have to be clear about the gap in strength. You are at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and your grandfather is at the peak Foundation Establishment stage. You are the hope of your Huangfu family. You cannot get into trouble. What will happen to the Huangfu family if something happens to you?" Ye Bufan persuaded Huangfu Yun.
Huangfu Yun clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and fell silent for a moment before finally retreating.