The four of them flashed out of the law house at almost the same moment, spiritual sense sweeping toward the source of the blast.
Guan Zhizhi led her fellow Hanbing Sect disciples out of the courtyard as well, all looking in the same direction. Disturbed, Baifeng gave an irritable shake of his head and was the last to step through the gate.
Yunxi frowned. "Evil cultivators. They are besieging cultivators who came in."
Her spiritual sense saw it clearly. At least five white-robed Nascent Soul cultivators were attacking three Nascent Soul loose cultivators. The loose cultivators fought well, but three against five left them at a disadvantage.
Guan Zhizhi stepped forward and cupped her hands. "Ran Xi Zūnzhě, you said there are evil cultivators. They entered the Misty Snow Domain as well?"
"Yes. Not only that, they plan to contract the realm spirit and turn this place into their mobile lair," Yunxi said outright.
Her answer left Guan Zhizhi and the others wide-eyed.
Jun Jun blurted, "No wonder the Zūnzhě were pulled in too. The realm spirit is saving itself."
Hearing him, Han Lian glanced over at the handsome young man. So Hanbing Sect did have sharp disciples. She arched a brow.
"You are correct. We obtained this intelligence just now. To verify it, you should help those being besieged. If you can take one alive, even better. We can get more information."
Guan Zhizhi understood that Han Lian Zūnzhě was not asking but instructing. She bowed at once."We will support them immediately."
She waved her hand and led the Hanbing Sect cultivators into the storm.
Han Lian turned to Baifeng at her side. "Baifeng, go with them. Do not let them get played. If you can, bring one back alive."
Baifeng dipped his head and vanished into the blizzard.
Only then did the remaining three injured cultivators step forward to bow. "Han Lian Zūnzhě, the three of us are wounded. We will not hold them back."
Han Lian waved casually, saying nothing more.
Once Guan Zhizhi's group of five joined the fray, the battle flipped at once to eight against five.
A ruthless glint flashed in one white-robed man's eyes. He raised his voice. "Daoyou, what is the meaning of this? They stole the Snow Lingzhi we discovered. We are only taking back what is ours. Are you in league with them?"
Before Jun Jun could answer, one of the besieged loose cultivators, a woman, snapped back, "Spare me. Who stole your Snow Lingzhi? We found it first and lured away the three guardian snow foxes before picking it. What does that have to do with you?
You attacked the moment you saw us. I say you have ulterior motives. Do not try to muddy the waters."
Guan Zhizhi said coolly, "Since both sides claim the right, present evidence."
Her words favored neither side, but she and her companions still kept the five white-robed Nascent Soul cultivators ringed in.
The five exchanged a glance and, in the same motion, each tossed out a Thunderblast Bead aimed squarely at Guan Zhizhi's encirclement.
"Evade."
Guan Zhizhi said a single word and used the storm as cover to slip past the explosions.
The beads burst harmlessly in midair with a roar. The earlier blast Yunxi's group had sensed had come from the same thing.
With five Thunderblast Beads detonating together, the white-robed five found a gap and tried to dart out. This time, however, their plan was doomed.
"Thud."
"Woo."
"What is that?"
"Run."
"A snow beast."
The overlapping cries from within the storm made all eight and the three loose cultivators halt.
Watching Baifeng's antics, Han Lian and the others could not help a twitch at the mouth.
Baifeng was swatting the white-robed cultivators unconscious one by one with a single paw each. Then, with razor claws, he reached through their bellies and plucked out their Nascent Souls, cheerfully popping them into his mouth. Four fell that way in succession.
The last realized things had gone wrong and crushed a teleportation talisman, vanishing into the storm.
Only then did Baifeng lick his lips and saunter back.
Guan Zhizhi and her team gathered the four bodies and escorted the three loose cultivators back to meet the four Zūnzhě.
At the sight of the fifth-rank white polar bear, the three loose cultivators knew they had run into a hard wall. With the situation unclear, they dared not make a wrong move.
The woman who had spoken earlier, Yun Qianhe, tossed a healing pill into her mouth to deal with the wounds from the earlier siege. She did not know what would come next and refused to sit and wait for death.
Li Jiu and Wu Sìye did the same. Reaching Nascent Soul as loose cultivators was no easy road. They would not place their lives in others' hands.
When Guan Zhizhi brought the three into the law house and they saw Ran Xi and the others, Yun Qianhe and her companions finally let out a breath.
The four before them were the Divine Transformation cultivators who had recently shaken the cultivation world. Dragged into the Shanhe Scroll, they had fought the evil soul for ten years at the seal, risking their lives to keep the evil artifact Dragon Fang from breaking free. They were role models.
Yun Qianhe knew it from image jades that had recently reached the Northern Region, so she was certain these four would not harm people without cause.
Yun Qianhe, Li Jiu, and Wu Sìye stepped forward and bowed. "Loose Cultivator Alliance's Yun Qianhe, Li Jiu, and Wu Sìye pay respects to the four Zūnzhě."
Han Lian spoke first. "You three are from the Northern Region Loose Cultivator Alliance."
Li Jiu replied respectfully, "Yes. We heard the Misty Snow Domain's entrance was in the Polar Extreme Wind Zone and came to try our luck. We did not expect the gale to mutate and drag us into the secret realm."
Yunxi followed up, "Tell us what happened after you arrived."
Wu Sìye stepped forward and summarized concisely.
When they entered the Polar Extreme Wind Zone, the three of them forged a Tongsheng Bell contract to keep in contact and avoid getting separated. After arriving in the secret realm, they regrouped quickly and began exploring.
They had heard the wolves' howls earlier, but assumed some cultivators had met a pack, so they did not join the fun. Instead they guarded a patch of fifth-rank Snow Lingzhi they had found, preparing to harvest at the precise moment of ripening.
The herb's guardians were three peak fourth-rank snow foxes. They divided tasks: Li Jiu and Wu Sìye drew the foxes away while Yun Qianhe harvested.
The plan worked. Once Yun Qianhe picked the Snow Lingzhi, she sprinted to the rendezvous point.
They had barely regrouped when the five from earlier surrounded them.
The fight broke out for no reason they could see. Three against five, they were forced onto the back foot, and Yun Qianhe realized the enemy's strikes were vicious, clearly aiming to kill. They were not fools. Unable to win, they ran. The chase brought them to within sight of the law house.
The earlier explosion had been the five throwing Thunderblast Beads at them, blocked by Li Jiu's tortoise shell shield. Li Jiu was wounded because of it. As they prepared to flee again, Guan Zhizhi's team arrived.
Guan Zhizhi filled in the rest in a few words. Then everyone looked to Baifeng. Baifeng opened his mouth and spat out a single Nascent Soul.