Ge Hong crouched in the shadows beneath the eaves opposite the inn, the Sound Transmission Talisman in his hand already his third to burn.
Sweat slid down his temples and splashed against the dark roof tiles.
"Why hasn't Brother Jing Wen come yet..." He stared fixedly at the lattice window on the inn's second floor, where dazzling flashes of spiritual light erupted from time to time.
He recalled how, not long before, he had first brought Jing Wen to the Welcome Inn, hoping merely to try their luck and pick up a bargain.
Who could have expected things to devolve into a brutal melee?
Ge Hong knew perfectly well that he was only a cultivator at the qi refining sixth layer. With powerful experts gathered like clouds, his strength put him at the very bottom.
If he did not leave at once, he might be caught in the vortex of battle and crushed to pieces in an instant.
After slipping away, he had hurried to the vicinity of the inn where the Third Brother was staying.
Ge Hong had barely concealed himself when he saw five black-clad members of the Black Fiend Cult arrive in haste and head straight inside.
Before long, fierce sounds of fighting rang out from the inn. Clearly, the two sides had already clashed.
The encirclement formed by the five black-clad cultivators was gradually tightening, while the man in blue known as the "Third Brother" struggled to fend off attacks from every direction. Cracks had already appeared in the jade pendant at his waist.
Boom!
A blade of sword qi cleaved through the guest room wall, and the man in blue seized the chance to leap out.
Just as he was about to escape, the leader of the black-clad men suddenly lashed out with a nine-section