Pei Ling really did return to Luoshan City safe and sound, just as Chen Huan had expected.
Under the rule of Chongming Sect, the Sacred Sect had always stood supreme.
If a sect disciple encountered danger, anyone who failed to save them would have their entire clan executed once the truth came to light!
Pei Ling had sought help from City Lord Duanmu, on whose favor the Shen Family Business depended. Once they verified his Nameplate, the merchants didn't dare show the slightest neglect.
They abandoned the entire cartload of goods by the roadside, cleared out their finest carriage, and loaded Pei Ling and the Aversion to Life Saber into it. They even searched the spot where he'd collapsed several times to make sure nothing had been left behind. Then they left the old, weak, sick, and disabled behind, gathered up all the able-bodied men, put two riders on every horse, and escorted the carriage toward Luoshan City at full speed!
The convoy raced along the road. Just as it reached the city gates, a rider urged his horse forward and called out from a distance, "The Shen Family Business encountered an unconscious Chongming Sect disciple by the roadside! He said he has urgent business to report to City Lord Duanmu!"
The gate guards' expressions changed at once. They hurried inside to report to their commander, who immediately grew grave and passed the news up the chain. The carriage carrying Pei Ling had barely entered the city when City Lord Duanmu appeared in front of it!
His expression was solemn. Ignoring everyone kneeling around him, he strode up, flung open the carriage curtain, and examined Pei Ling. Only then did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief. "He's merely exhausted his spiritual power. There are no other injuries... Bring me a Foundation Establishment Pill."
The steward went personally to fetch it. When he returned, he fed the pill to Pei Ling, and City Lord Duanmu used his own spiritual power to help him absorb its medicinal effects. A moment later, Pei Ling slowly opened his eyes.
"Little Friend Pei," City Lord Duanmu asked immediately, "what exactly happened to you that you had to report to me at once? And where are Little Friend Chen and the others?"
Pei Ling's heart began to race. He'd said what he did earlier because, in the wilderness, Chongming Sect alone might not be enough to keep the merchants in line. A county official might not be as effective as the local one, so he'd invoked City Lord Duanmu as well.
Now it seemed that his tactic had worked. But if he couldn't give City Lord Duanmu a satisfactory explanation, he might still be in for trouble!
They were both in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Though the City Lord had repeatedly claimed he couldn't handle the Human-Faced Spider, one wrong move could still leave Pei Ling worse off than if he'd fallen into the spider's clutches.
Thankfully, inspiration struck at the crucial moment, and he blurted out, "To answer you, City Lord, I was supposed to go with Senior Sister Chen to eliminate a flower demon. But Senior Brother Chen said he wanted to take us deep into the mountains to broaden our horizons... Who could have known..."
Pei Ling deliberately glanced around, hinting that he wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to say what came next in front of everyone.
While City Lord Duanmu raised a hand and set up a small soundproofing array, Pei Ling quickly polished his story. When the City Lord gestured for him to continue, Pei Ling worked up a look of grief and hurried on, "Who could have known! Senior Brother Chen and the others had Senior Sister Xiao set up an incredibly complicated formation. They planned to refine the Human-Faced Spider into the Soul Summoning Banner."
"What?" City Lord Duanmu froze, then let out a dry laugh. His gaze turned rather strange. "Have your Senior Brother Chen and the others gone mad? I wouldn't dare provoke a Human-Faced Spider. Why would they go looking to die?"
"City Lord, I don't know either!" Pei Ling shifted all the blame onto someone else. "It was only my second day in the sect when Senior Brother Chen took me out on a mission. I didn't know anything. If you hadn't kindly warned me beforehand, I wouldn't even have known that was a Human-Faced Spider, much less a Foundation Establishment Realm demon beast. In any case, Senior Brother Chen's plan failed, and we had no choice but to split up and flee. Maybe the spider thought I was too weak to bother with and went after the other senior brothers and sisters..."
He put on a look of terror. "Judging by its direction, the Human-Faced Spider is heading straight for Luoshan City. That fiend went on a rampage, and Senior Sister Chen may already have been killed! If it gets into the city, the consequences will be unimaginable, City Lord!"
City Lord Duanmu narrowed his eyes and stared at him for a moment. Pei Ling felt as though he'd once again become a mortal, caught in the gaze of a venomous snake about to strike. The immense pressure left him barely able to breathe.
Cold sweat seeped across his back. Had he given himself away?
But then City Lord Duanmu abruptly let the pressure fade and said calmly, "Luoshan City... You can rest easy. Every city under the Sacred Sect with a population above a certain size has a Netherworld Demon Subduing Array. Any demon beast above the Foundation Establishment Realm that comes within a hundred li will trigger the formation and be killed, unless it's wearing a Beast Taming Ring."
"Is that so?" Pei Ling's hair stood on end. He swallowed and forced a smile. "I joined the sect late, so I didn't know... I've troubled you, City Lord."
City Lord Duanmu smiled warmly. "Luoshan City may be safe, but Little Friend Chen and the others are still disciples of the Sacred Sect. Had I not known, that would be one thing. But now that I do, how could I stand by and let them die? Where did they go to refine the Soul Summoning Banner?"
Pei Ling hadn't expected things to develop this way. It was good that the City Lord hadn't pressed him for details, but he was actually going to rescue them!
How could an Underworld Sect have such a kindhearted elder? What kind of luck did he have?!
Could the Idiot System's hidden side effect be that it lowered his luck?
He wanted to invent some wildly inaccurate location so the City Lord would waste time searching, giving Chen Huan and the others a better chance of dying in the Mountain Forest. But the City Lord questioned him closely and even hinted that he knew the Luoshan mountains well.
Helpless, Pei Ling could only tell the truth. At the City Lord's request, he even used the dirt on the ground to sketch out the approximate route and location.
"Thank you for your efforts, Little Friend Pei." The City Lord questioned him twice more, confirming that his account remained consistent and that he hadn't left anything out. Then he smiled faintly and instructed the steward, "I'm going out of the city to rescue them. Take Little Friend Pei back to the residence so he can rest, and see that he's well looked after."
Before the steward could answer, he swept his sleeve, transformed into a soft breeze, and drifted over the city wall in an instant.
Pei Ling looked at the steward, who was gesturing for him to proceed, steadied himself, and reluctantly took a step forward.
At that moment, Chen Huan still had no idea that rescue was on the way. His hair was disheveled, his body covered in wounds. His shoulder, arms, back, thighs... venom had eaten into him, leaving wounds of every size and bloodstains everywhere.
His left shoulder had even been sliced open, flesh and skin torn away in a great chunk!
He'd done it to keep the Soul Summoning Banner from being damaged. Unless he faced certain death, he'd rather use his own body as a shield.
"Beast... Pei Ling, you beast!!! Human-Faced Spider, you beast!!!" Chen Huan was in agony from head to toe. His spiritual power was nearly exhausted, and his limbs and bones throbbed as they were repeatedly drained.
But the pain in his heart was worse than the pain in his body.
Though Chen Huan had done everything he could to protect it, the Human-Faced Spider's frenzied attacks had still left two cracks in the Soul Summoning Banner. Five of the ghost servants inside had vanished, including Huang Xian, whom he'd only just refined into it.
Thinking of the cost to repair the banner, Chen Huan's heart ached. He couldn't help cursing inwardly all over again.
Just then, another spiderweb shot toward him from behind. Chen Huan's eyes bulged with fury. "Beast! If I make it out of here, then once I reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, I'll wipe out every last one of your descendants!!!"
Cursing, he dodged to the side and raised the Soul Summoning Banner, ready for the second web that was sure to follow. But the banner swayed above his head for a moment without doing anything.
Chen Huan froze and instinctively glanced back. The Human-Faced Spider was still blazing with fury, but its cold eyes held a hint of exhaustion.
"Is the fiend tired?" Chen Huan understood at once. The Human-Faced Spider had already been badly weakened after laying its eggs. And it had chased him all the way from its nest, tearing through the Mountain Forest as it went. Even a Foundation Establishment Realm beast couldn't do all that without tiring.
It might still be able to pursue them, but the speed and frequency of its web-spinning and venom-spitting would obviously have fallen off.
At the thought, Chen Huan's spirits soared. Without hesitation, he used the Blood Burning Great Method and shot toward the edge of the Mountain Forest. "You fiend, don't you dare give up! Once I'm out of the forest and travel a little farther, I'll be within a hundred li of Luoshan City."
"Then the Netherworld Demon Subduing Array will activate on its own. Maybe I'll even get to reap the benefits!"
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