Upon hearing this, Xiao Hua withdrew his gaze from behind him and replied blandly, "No need for courtesy!"
After speaking, a thought struck him, and he continued, "Are there any other cultivators ahead?"
"No..." Xiong Yi answered honestly. "This junior flew for a long time without seeing a single cultivator!"
"Oh?" Xiao Hua pondered, then pressed further. "How did you... come to follow True Lord Huode?"
Hearing Xiao Hua ask about the previous siege, Xiong Yi did not dare conceal anything and hurriedly explained the entire matter. As Xiao Hua had expected, True Lord Huode had plans similar to his own. Besides seeking exotic treasures at the Yaotai Gathering, he also wanted to gather a group of Nascent Soul cultivators under his command. Thus, even before that blood-colored star streaked across the heavens, more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators had already assembled within Yaotai Mountain's Imperial Array. By the time they entered the Sandbar Imperial Array, with those led by Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi included, their numbers had reached around thirty.
True Lord Huode also seemed to know that there were Mother-Child Spirit Fruits called Human Essence within the sandbar. Thus, he found that place before Xiao Hua did. Unfortunately, Fairy Jing had beaten him to the punch. True Lord Huode and the others gained nothing. Just as Ao Zhantian had said, they searched for a long time without finding anything usable, truly returning empty-handed. When the baleful star appeared, dozens of them were drawn into it by blood-colored rosy light. When they emerged again, they discovered that while some people had vanished, most were still together. True Lord Huode immediately discussed joining forces with Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi to besiege Xiao Hua. Xiong Yi did not know how the three had discussed it. He had long