Standing to one side, Qu Chao Ci suddenly spoke with utter resolve:
"Master, our lives are a small matter; Taisu Valley's legacy is what matters! We absolutely cannot let it fall into the hands of a shameless scoundrel like Xie Wangyan of Ningchan Cave!"
Bai Cao Xuan nodded.
"Rest assured, my disciple. I will never let Taisu Valley's legacy fall into the hands of these followers of evil and crooked paths!"
Just then, another Taisu Valley disciple nearby spoke with a hint of resentment:
"Master, didn't that Heaven-Hunting Great Sage say he would come save us? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"
At those words, another Taisu Valley disciple spoke up:
"Exactly, Elder Bai Cao. If not for what the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage said, we would never have held our ground here. We might have escaped already!"
Qu Chao Ci said with some displeasure:
"Escaped? Given the situation back then, where could we have escaped to?"
The disciple who had just spoken immediately snorted.
"Anything would be better than sitting here waiting to die!"
The other disciples began talking over one another as well.
Although these disciples knew as clearly as Qu Chao Ci did that there had been nowhere to flee under the earlier circumstances, faced with life and death, they still could not help regretting their decision.
Bai Cao Xuan, who was struggling to control the Barrier and withstand the attacks of the Blightbones, could not help snorting coldly when he heard the noisy discussion around him.
"All of you, shut up!"
At once, the disciples inside the pavilion fell as silent as cicadas in the cold.
Bai Cao Xuan took a deep breath, then swept a cold gaze over the disciples in the room.
"Whether others help us or not, we have no right to reproach them."
He