With the Ethereal Flight Talisman empowering him, Yu Ci moved through the earth like a fish through water, diving deeper. After several breaths, however, he suddenly sensed something strange. He turned back, yet found nothing. Frowning slightly, he shifted his attention forward—then sharply twisted his head around again. This time, in the near-total darkness, he finally saw a slender figure emerge from the soil with movements even smoother than his own.
"Zhai Que'er!"
Weren't they supposed to split up? Yu Ci's heart tightened. He did not know where Third Master He had gone, while Xia Shuanghe, already parasitized by his divine-intent starlight, was clearly heading in a completely different direction. Under such circumstances, what was Zhai Que'er trying to do?
Even as he wondered, Zhai Que'er completed a small burst of acceleration and crashed straight into the circle of true baleful intent he had laid down. Escape arts moved in and out of the Five Elements by relying on such a "circle" to exchange vital essence with the outside world. It should have been airtight, yet he had no idea what method the female cultivator had used to drill straight through it as though it were nothing, without causing the slightest conflict of auras.
Yu Ci instinctively wanted to pull away, but this female cultivator, who looked so spirited and pure, raised a finger to her lips in a gesture for silence. Then she curled herself slightly, and her whole body seemed to shrink by a size as she pressed directly into Yu Ci's embrace. Even earlier, the green robes and small cap she wore had slipped off her body. For some inexplicable reason, an invisible force held them up, shaping them into a human form. In an instant, they drew away from the two of them, their speed surging