Really Startled

He Lingxiu felt that this really was impossible for anyone to predict.

Wang Li's thinking was already broad enough. As for his senior sister, Lü Shenliang... who could foresee a crazy woman's next move?

But she immediately relaxed again. "It's fine. Even if she wants to follow us, she probably won't be able to catch up."

Wang Li quickly learned what she meant by that.

The Jizhi Azure Bird swiftly swooped down.

Below lay a stretch of wasteland.

In the Cultivation World, any territory that belonged to no sect and contained little spiritual energy was called wasteland.

But the world of ordinary mortals was different.

The less spiritual energy an area had, the fewer spiritual materials it produced, and the less likely it was to attract demonic beasts. Such places were actually safer to live in.

Thus, there were several villages below with cooking smoke curling skyward, along with vast patches of farmland scattered across the hills.

By the great river not far away, there even seemed to be a bustling market town.

The Jizhi Azure Bird landed amid a hill not far from one of the villages.

Rice paddies surrounded the hill, and several oxen were still plowing in them.

This truly was the sort of place that cultivators would never normally spare a second glance.

Yet the moment the azure bird landed, Wang Li spotted flickering spiritual light on the sunward side of the low hill.

More than a dozen crystal pillars, each half a man tall, stood on the ground. At their center was an array disk the size of a millstone, embedded with more than ten spirit sources.

The spiritual energy within those spirit sources had already begun to slowly flow out. Drawn by the crystal pillars, the almost tangible energy wound through a space over ten zhang wide like transparent ropes.

Within that space, strange, profound sheets of Huaguang flickered into view from time to time, as if they were shining through from another world.

This was undoubtedly a temporarily constructed teleportation array.

Wang Li had never seen such a temporary teleportation array before, but the distinctive crystal pillars and the unique radiance of a teleportation array still let him identify it at a glance.

This was quite an impressive undertaking.

A temporarily constructed teleportation array consumed far more spiritual energy than a normal one. For the matter of traveling to the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain, the only apparent purpose of setting one up here was to deceive the eyes and ears of others.

Seven cultivators had already gathered around the temporary teleportation array. Including Wang Li and He Lingxiu, there were now nine people in total.

The instant the Jizhi Azure Bird landed, the gazes of those seven cultivators sharpened. But when they saw Wang Li's bare feet, puzzlement immediately appeared in their eyes.

Cultivators who liked going barefoot, with such a peculiar habit, seemed uncommon.

In their understanding, walking around with bare feet often had something to do with certain special divine abilities.

During the brief time it took the azure bird to land, Wang Li also hurriedly examined the others.

Among the seven cultivators, three clearly stood together, while the other four kept a wary distance from them.

These were likely two groups from different origins.

The three standing together were all male cultivators. They appeared to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven. Who knew whether they had deliberately altered their figures and appearances with spells or magical artifacts, but to Wang Li, they all looked of average build with exceptionally handsome features.

All three young cultivators were quite skilled at concealing their auras, with no obvious spiritual energy fluctuations. Wang Li had no particular method of observing qi, so he could not determine their cultivation levels.

But right then, He Lingxiu's voice sounded in his ear. "Two are at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, and one is at the First Level of Foundation Establishment."

Wang Li's expression did not change, but inwardly, he was somewhat delighted.

His gaze then fell on the other four cultivators.

The oldest among them was a woman who looked well over fifty. She was somewhat short, half a head shorter even than an ordinarily sized young girl.

She wore a loose red robe dusted with gold. Together with her round face, it gave her an almost festive appearance.

Of everyone present, her expression was also the most amiable.

"That woman is at the Second Level of Golden Core. The other three are also at the Third Level of Foundation Establishment." Just as Wang Li's gaze moved away from the woman, He Lingxiu's voice sounded in his ear again.

At this point, Wang Li felt nothing in particular. Subconsciously, he assumed that since this woman was a Golden Core True Person, she must be the one who had arranged this temporary teleportation array.

But then the woman in the red, gold-dusted robe nodded to them and said something that stunned him. "Since everyone is here, activate the array and send us over."

"Yes!"

Among the three cultivators beside the woman whom Wang Li had not yet had time to inspect closely, one male cultivator and one female cultivator immediately bowed slightly. Spiritual energy rippled from their bodies as they directly activated the teleportation array.

The woman was the first to step into the newly activated teleportation array, vanishing amid its misty spiritual radiance.

Next, a tall, thin middle-aged male cultivator who had been standing beside her stepped into the teleportation array and disappeared as well.

Wang Li and He Lingxiu exchanged a glance. Though both were somewhat puzzled, neither said anything. Only after the three young cultivators had entered the teleportation array did they step into it together.

The instant the hazy light before their eyes vanished, Wang Li and He Lingxiu found themselves amid a forest of jagged rocks.

The stones rising around them were all blue-black, each one twisted like a monster.

The breeze blowing from nearby carried a damp scent, along with a faint stench.

Not far from this stone forest seemed to lie a vast swamp.

Apart from the woman, the tall, thin middle-aged man, and the three young cultivators, six more cultivators were waiting in the stone forest. Beside them stood another temporary teleportation array.

Wang Li looked at the six cultivators who had just entered his sight.

All six wore ordinary hemp garments, but beneath them, they clearly wore some distinctive kind of magical robe. Wang Li could not sense any spiritual energy emanating from them, and if he closed his eyes, even his divine sense would probably struggle to detect them.

The six cultivators were all of average build, but he could not see what any of them looked like.

That was because they all wore identical greenwood masks.

The greenwood masks looked exceedingly crude, with only holes carved for the eyes, nose, and mouth. There were no visible runes on them, yet each mask radiated a hazy green glow that even his divine sense could not penetrate.

At that moment, Wang Li thought He Lingxiu would tell him their exact cultivation levels as she had before. To his surprise, however, her voice did not sound in his ear.

Instead, the voice of one of the six cultivators rang out.

"Fellow Daoists, this is already Evil Water Continent. Once this array sends us onward, we will arrive at White Bone Continent. However, we will go first. We will teleport directly to the western edge of White Bone Continent, while you will teleport afterward to its southern edge."

Because the robes and masks worn by the six cultivators were so unusual, even after the voice sounded, it was difficult to tell who was speaking.

"Fellow Daoists, our objective is exactly the same as yours: to find a way to rescue those three cultivators. We will merely enter from different locations. The employer wishes to add another layer of certainty. If you encounter us within the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain, please remember that we are on the same side and do not start a conflict among ourselves. You should understand that so long as those three are found and rescued, whether it is us or you who finds them, it will count as perfectly fulfilling the employer's request."

The six cultivators did not dawdle. As soon as one of them finished speaking, someone immediately activated the teleportation array beside them.

"Wait."

The woman in the red, gold-dusted robe suddenly spoke to stop their next move. Then she looked amiably at Wang Li and He Lingxiu. "Since you two fellow Daoists are familiar with White Bone Continent, do you have any thoughts regarding where their teleportation array is sending them?"

Wang Li's heart stirred. He knew this woman was cautious and was seeking the opinion of the guides in their group. Yet from her words, it seemed that He Lingxiu had followed him in the capacity of a guide.

Thinking about it, that made sense. For something as highly confidential as opposing the Saint's disciples, naturally the fewer participants, the better. If she were openly acting as an intermediary, it would be inconvenient for her to take part.

He understood this in an instant, then merely smiled faintly without speaking, deliberately keeping silent.

But what he never expected was that He Lingxiu did not transmit her voice to him at all. She simply said aloud, "There's no problem. Entering from the western edge or the southern edge makes little difference."

Wang Li turned to stare at He Lingxiu in disbelief.

He Lingxiu merely gave him an amused smile.

At the same time, her voice transmission finally sounded in his ear. "I know what you're thinking right now. You must be wondering whether I know anything about White Bone Continent at all, or whether I know nothing and am just making things up. Your guess is right. I've never even entered White Bone Continent. How would I know whether entering from the western edge or southern edge is better? I really was just talking nonsense. Anyway, if you deliberately try to set me up later, I'll just keep making things up. If disaster strikes, we'll suffer it together."

That ruthless?

Wang Li was truly startled.