Outside, daylight still held sway. But as soon as they stepped into the enigmatic forest, darkness surrounded the gals. From chirping birds to the whistle of the wind, one could hear absolutely nothing, as if all life vanished as soon as one stepped into the forest. Atrophied black locust trees dangled in the air, swaying left and right in rhythmical fashion. Their green leaves flashed intermittently, acting as the sole source of light in that god-forsaken place.
As soon as they stepped into the eerie forest, most of the girls' hearts skipped a beat. Still they pressed on, marching with slow, careful steps as they spread their Spiritual Senses out to watch out for distasteful surprises. Each had various reactions to the new setting. Yan Le and Chun Xu never lost their composure. The former a rogue cultivator, the latter a battle-tested killer, they'd gone through enough trials to not get fazed by a couple of anomalies. The Zhi-Zhu twins relied on their maturity to stay focused. Dong Ling didn't have the heart to care, and the Li initiates trembled like the leaves dropping from the atrophied locust trees.
Despite the variety in reactions, the group stayed united, heading closer towards the cloudy brume that soared towards the sky.
'According to rumors the brume occasionally expands or shrinks, depending on factors that no one seems able to make sense of. Let's just hope that we won't be the unfortunate lot standing right there when an expansion starts.' Chun Xu thought.
While she was the one advocating for this move, the Sword Fairy didn't like their current destination one bit. The mystery, uncertainty and dangers surrounding the brume were such that Nascent Soul realm experts didn't dare to venture into the forest, much less camp close to the brume. Alas, with the destruction of the White Immortal Sect, as vast as the world was, the girls had no place of shelter. With enemies waiting at all corners, they first had to bide their time, waiting for enemy factions to lower their guard before they tried to escape the Dongli state.
The two commoners' words resurfaced, forcing Chun Xu to set aside her apprehension to lead the way. With each passing minute, the brume got closer—warning the girls that they neared their target.
From Chun Xu to the Li initiates, all felt their chests tighten, ominous sensations spreading through their veins as they cast their Spiritual Senses at the distance. They didn't sense anything, and yet the ominous senses only got stronger. Alarmed, they came to an abrupt halt, exchanging confused glances as they read the same sensation in one another's eyes.
'What is this feeling? Don't tell me that...' Chun Xu didn't have the time to finish her words. One voice boomed out, shaking the heavens and earth.
"Bold ants! How dare you interrupt my master's funeral rites?!" Boundless pressure followed that voice, pinning the girls right where they stood. Unable to resist the pressure of that voice's owner, they dropped to their knees, trembling uncontrollably.
"Nascent Soul? Divine Transformation? No...it's higher! Much...much higher!" All had the same reaction. Their trembling eyes stared into the distance. The swaying trees made way, and in a whirlwind of white light, a band of over 100 figures clad in long white robes, tall silver hats and golden masks appeared, surrounding a long coffin on which one herculean figure lay.
A piece of cloth covered the herculean figure's face. Yet, as they stared at its pale hands and inert body, the girls' hearts beat erratically.
"Since when do Dongli cultivators venture all the way to this place? It must be spies dispatched by the Bloodstone Patriarch! Let's kill them to avenge master!
"What kind of timing is this? Bloodstone spies or not, these insolent ants deserve to be damned!" One after the other, the masked experts made threatening remarks. The pressure of their cultivation bases locked on the girls, certifying that, not a single expert on the scene didn't have a Nascent Soul cultivation base at the very least!
Worse, from these people, they sensed an unprecedented harmony with the Grand Dao, as if Heaven itself favored them, giving them free access to all its mysteries.
'What is the meaning of this? And why...does my heart feel like it's been hacked by 1,000 cuts?' The girls roughly shared the same thought. But while the situation seemed desperate, Chun Xu, Dong Ling, the Zhi-Zhu twins and Yan Le, refused to die without a fight, struggling against the pressure to reach for their weapons.
They wouldn't have the opportunity. Murderous force dropped from the sky, about to sentence them to sure death.
"Wait, wait! It's the girls!" A milder voice echoed, forcing the masked expert to halt their murderous move. Only now did the girls realize that, on the scene, though all wore golden masks, not every expert donned the white robes.
Three stood out. Two females that respectively wore a red monastic robe and lilac dress, and one man clad in an eye-popping green Daoist robe, with a tall hat of the same color hanging proudly on his head.
"Reminds me of Xiao Hu. What a green and glossy hat. Impressive," Dong Ling whispered, but then, she registered the voice that had just saved them from death. Her body shook in disbelief, and she stood up, glancing at one of the men in white.
He stepped forward, lowering his golden mask to reveal a face that made the girls' eyes stretch impossibly.
"D...Dad?" Dong Ling was the first to react. Her lips trembling as if struggling to accept the word they uttered.
Yes, it was Guang Fanghu that just prevented the girls' execution. But though he'd been reunited with his darling daughter, the Yang Patriarch's face had no joy to offer.
"Ling'er? Should you not be in Chrysanthemum City by now? Why weren't you there, and what...are you doing here? Never mind that." Balling up his fists, Guang Fanghu lowered his eyes, biting his lips to restrain his grief. Still, his cheeks flushed, and he fell to his knees.
"I'm sorry. Dad...let you down."
