They did not doubt Zhu Lingyun's keen senses. Since he felt something was amiss, even though they could see nothing, they remained on high alert.
Gang Qi surged around them, forming a thin layer as both palms slowly swelled by a full circle.
Those hands were especially conspicuous, making them seem as though their bodies had shrunk by a circle.
One glance was enough to tell that they cultivated some unusual palm technique.
They slowed down, moving ever more slowly as they walked shoulder to shoulder, ready to strike at any moment.
They advanced gradually and eventually reached the patch of woods Zhu Lingyun had indicated.
It truly was empty. They drifted down and landed in the clearing.
Just as they were about to watch their surroundings warily, their expressions changed slightly and their gazes sharpened.
A statue of the Spirit Venerable stood directly before them.
It was precisely the Spirit Venerable statue of their Giant Spirit Sect.
The two instinctively bowed in worship, a habit formed over countless years.
The next instant, their brows suddenly flared with pain.
"Stop!" Zhu Lingyun's voice rang out abruptly.
Darkness washed over their vision in waves, and they hurriedly raised their heads.
Zhu Lingyun was locked in battle with a blue-robed middle-aged man.
The blue-robed man's sword light flashed like lightning, swift as thunderbolts, chilling the heart.
They clutched their brows and discovered blood gushing steadily from them, impossible to stop.
Wave after wave of darkness clouded their vision.
It was as though all their Spiritual Power was flowing out with the blood, leaving them weaker and weaker.
They turned to look at the statue.
Yet it was merely an ordinary stone carving, not a statue of the Spirit Venerable.
They had been fooled!
Perhaps in their tension, the instant they saw the