"Who cares who he is? Right now, I have a big task to handle. Why are you still here? I'm leaving first, and I might contact you later." Indeed, Xi Ying's voice transmission came through once again.

"Where are you going? Be careful," Yuan Ming didn't ask further, merely whispering a word of caution.

Xi Ying didn't respond again, apparently she had already left.

Yuan Ming continued to move forward with the group, while ruminating over the situation.

Xi Ying seemed exceedingly pleased about the attack on Biluo Cave, and no doubt intended to fish in troubled waters.

He didn't feel much loyalty to Biluo Cave; if things took a bad turn, he surely wouldn't foolishly share fate with Biluo Cave. He needed to find an opportunity to slip away.

The Earth Travel Talisman had only a little spiritual power remaining, but it should still be able to activate one more time for an underground escape. There was a good chance to avoid this calamity.

As for the threats just made by the Great Cave Master, Yuan Ming didn't take them to heart. Not to mention that once a battle started, the Great Cave Master would be too preoccupied with the Core Formation Stage expert among the enemy to care about these Qi Refining Stage cultivators. And with his identity as a Registered Disciple and his usually low-profile demeanor, it was likely that few among those around him would even recognize him.

Yuan Ming glanced around and found no one was paying attention to him, pretending to wipe sweat from his forehead.

From the spot between his brows, he released two soul crows, which dove into his sleeves and then headed underground through his trouser legs.

Yuan Ming kept moving forward, and his figure soon disappeared into the distance.

Two black crows flew out from the nearby woods one after another, silently heading in different directions.

...

The Great Cave Master soared through the sky, much faster than Yuan Ming and the others who were traveling on foot, and soon arrived at the gate of Biluo Cave.

By then the stone forest at the gate had been completely destroyed, the Mountain Guarding Disciples nearly wiped out, and the ground almost entirely stained red with open corpses and scattered limbs.

The Great Cave Master's eyes were full of rage, but they shifted slightly upon seeing the sunrise pattern on the black-clothed figures: "Dawn Alliance!"

Seeing the Great Cave Master appear, a few of the black-clothed figures who had gone into a frenzy attacked with magic artifacts in their hand.

"Stop!" someone in the crowd cried out in haste, but it was already too late.

The Great Cave Master's eyes shone with a cold light, his hands forming seals and then rubbing together.

Dozens of thunderbolts as thick as arms shot out, and for a dozen or so feet around, brilliant thunder and lightning interwove. In a flash of lightning, one of them struck the black-clothed man at the front.

How could these Qi Refining Stage cultivators withstand a blow from a Core Formation Stage cultivator? Their bodies immediately burst open.

The snaps and cracks filled the air!

In just a moment, seven or eight people fell, and only then did the remaining black-clothed figures realize that something was wrong and began to retreat. Still, more than ten people were struck dead by the swiftly moving purple thunderbolts.

"The Great Cave Master has come!" The surviving Mountain Guarding Disciples cried out with joy.

Without a word, the Great Cave Master made another set of seals with his hands, sending another few dozen thunderbolts pouring down.

At that moment, a whip-like blood-colored blade light shot out from the forest ahead, sweeping over the purple lightning at a speed several times faster than a falling thunderbolt.

All of the lightning was cut in half and dissipated into countless electrical arcs that vanished into the void.

The blood-colored blade light flew back and landed in the palm of a sturdy hand, revealing itself to be a blood-red battle axe with faint red lines flickering on its surface.

The owner of the sturdy hand was a Blood Robed Man, standing over eight feet tall, with red hair down to his shoulders and dark red eyes, emitting a terrifying aura of murderous intent.

"Xue Zhan, it's you! Why are you working for the Dawn Alliance?" Upon recognizing the face, the Great Cave Master frowned and spoke.

"I am now the Vice Leader of the Dawn Alliance's Southern Border division. Is it not a matter of course for me to protect my subordinates when I strike?" the Blood Robed Man cackled strangely.

"You've joined the Dawn Alliance!" The Great Cave Master seemed surprised.

"Indeed, not long ago I received an invitation from Captain Ou Ji and have just joined," said the Blood Robed Man with a smile.

"What is Dawn Alliance's purpose in launching such a major invasion of my Biluo Cave today? Who has put you up to this? This is quite the grand display!" The Great Cave Master's pupils constricted as he asked coldly.

"That is beyond my knowledge. The task I was given was simply to stop you, Fellow Daoist Mao," the Blood Robed Man replied, licking his lips.

The disciples of Biluo Cave at the gate had been at a disadvantage, but with the timely arrival and intervention of the Great Cave Master, they finally caught a break.

Now that the Great Cave Master was held up by the unexpected appearance of the Core Formation Stage cultivator Xue Zhan, the last dozen or so of them were surrounded once more, and two more fell in an instant.

Despite facing an enemy force several times their size and having held out until now, each of the dozen or so were skilled practitioners at the Ninth Level or Ten Layers of Qi Refinement. The Great Cave Master frowned slightly, and lightning once again flickered in his hands.

"Fellow Daoist Mao, if you continue to strike, I'm afraid we'll have to engage in another battle today. If you and these disciples remain stationary, we too will step aside and not interfere. How about it?" The Blood Robed Man flashed in front of the Great Cave Master, the giant axe in his hand pulsing with blood light.

"Xue Zhan, you do have a way with jokes! You invade my Biluo Cave, and as the Biluo Cave Master, if I were to give up and remain motionless, wouldn't that make the entire Southern Border Immortal Cultivation World laugh their heads off? If it's a fight you want, then let's fight, no need for empty talk!" The Great Cave Master huffed, his hands surging with thunder, ready to make his move.

The Blood Robed Man known as Xue Zhan was a famous Core Formation Stage Loose Cultivator in the Southern Border, known for his unruly nature, bloodthirsty and fond of killing for temporary pleasure. Once he really got fired up, he wouldn't stop until either he or his opponent was dead, which is why few dared to provoke him.

He had once clashed with Xue Zhan, and though his cultivation was a small realm higher than his opponent, the other fought as if he had no regard for his life. Every time he had the chance to seriously injure his adversary, the opponent would press forward rather than retreat, adopting a stance that seemed ready to trade life for life, which caused him quite a headache.

Now that his foe had appeared again, he was indeed a troublesome character to deal with.

Xue Zhan let out a hearty laugh, holding his battle axe across his chest, his blood qi roiling around him as if he was ready to strike at any moment.

The confrontation between the two Core Formation Stage cultivators in mid-air was about to erupt, while more than a dozen Biluo Cave Mountain Guarding Disciples below, despite relying on their forbidden arts, were completely isolated. In a blink of an eye, several more perished, and they were on the verge of being utterly annihilated.

Just at the critical moment, four or five red flames shot out from the mountain gate in front, screeching shrilly as they struck like meteors into the group of black-clad people surrounding the dozen or so Biluo disciples, exploding with a loud bang.

Large numbers of the black-clad people were blown away, many swallowed by the sea of flames, screaming continuously.

"Everyone, attack together and let these petty thieves stay here forever!"

A giant red spiritual bird, several zhang in length, flew out from inside Biluo Cave. The red flames were spat out from its mouth. On the back of the spiritual bird stood a person—it was Elder Meng Shan from the Beast Taming Hall.

Following closely behind Elder Meng Shan were several flying spiritual beasts, all rushing forward at full speed with Foundation Establishment Cultivators standing on their backs.

Behind these elders, more and more Biluo Cave cultivators surged up like a tide.

The reinforcements from Biluo Cave had finally arrived!

The black-clad army had already been fighting for a while and inevitably showed signs of fatigue, while the Biluo Cave disciples were fresh forces. With nearly thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators among them, far more than the black-clad people's Foundation Establishment cultivators, they immediately gained the upper hand.

The black-clad army was killed and forced to retreat continuously, soon driven out beyond the mountain gate.

The Great Cave Master was still confronting Xue Zhan but breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this scene.

Just then, figures flickered in the woods outside the sect, and a large group of black-clad people burst forth, among them not a few Core Formation Stage experts.

"Do not act rashly, come back!" Seeing this, the Great Cave Master urgently shouted.

Under the leadership of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, Elder Meng Shan and the other Biluo Cave cultivators halted their advance and formed a defensive array.

Yuan Ming had already retreated to a corner of the crowd and looked toward the oppressive mass of black-clad people with trepidation.

So many enemies, appearing out of nowhere. The large-scale assembly of cultivators had managed to advance without prior notice, and it seemed that he needed to be careful in the upcoming battle.

"Excuse me for a moment," a voice came from the ground beneath him.

Startled, Yuan Ming quickly stepped aside.

The ground burst open, and a figure covered in dirt emerged.

"Wu Lu, is that you! How come you're here?" Yuan Ming looked closely at the person and was surprised.

The individual emerging from the ground was none other than Wu Lu.

The nearby people, noticing the commotion here and seeing a Biluo Cave Disciple emerge, all revealed a disdainful look in their eyes.

"Brother Yuan Ming? I'm quite embarrassed. I was on duty guarding the gate today, and when the enemy launched a massive assault, I had to use the Earth Travel Technique in desperation to flee underground," explained Wu Lu as he patted the dirt off himself, his tone self-deprecating.

"By no means. If I were in Brother Wu Lu's place, I would have made the same decision," Yuan Ming said evenly.

Wu Lu nodded gratefully and took out an elixir to consume, then turned his gaze toward the black-clad army opposite them.

"Does Brother Wu Lu know the origins of these black-clad people?" Yuan Ming inquired.

"Don't you recognize the emblem of the Dawn Alliance? These are members of the Dawn Alliance," Wu Lu said in a low voice.

Yuan Ming was shocked and looked incredulously at the opposing crowd.

"The Dawn Scatter Alliance is a legendary loose alliance of the Southern Border. It's not just in the Southern Border; Dawn's influence spreads throughout the Southern Border, the Central Plains, and many other areas. If we talk about strength, they're actually incomparable to Biluo Cave. These black-clad people should be members of the Dawn Alliance's branch in the Southern Border," Wu Lu elaborated, assuming Yuan Ming had not heard of the name Dawn before.

"Does Dawn have a grudge against our Biluo Cave, or have they been hired by someone else?" Yuan Ming composed himself and asked.

"I'm not sure about that. The Dawn Alliance acts without restraint. As long as the payment is good, they will dare to accept any mission. This attack on the mountain must have been instigated by someone else, and they came well-prepared," said Wu Lu with a glimmer in his eyes, speaking somberly.

The Great Cave Master looked at the members of the Dawn Alliance with a gloomy expression and slowly asked, "My Biluo Cave has always steered clear of the Dawn Alliance's waters. Xue Zhan, I ask you once more, why have you led an attack on the Biluo Cave's mountain gate today?"

"I've already said, today's actions of the Dawn aren't under my command; you're asking the wrong person," Xue Zhan said casually, resting the battle axe on his shoulder.

The Great Cave Master was about to speak again when he suddenly looked intently towards a certain direction in front of him.

A dark cloud zoomed in from the front, landing about ten zhang away in the blink of an eye, and rumbling like distant thunder emanated from inside.

A deep voice came from the cloud, "Hehe, Fellow Daoist Mao Lihong, it's been many years since we've seen each other, and yet your elegance remains. Truly a joyous occasion!"

"Ou Ji!" The pupils of the Great Cave Master constricted.

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