Upon hearing this, Xiao Hua withdrew his gaze from behind him and answered blandly, "No need for thanks."
After speaking, a thought struck him, and he asked, "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 fell thoughtful upon hearing this and pressed further, "How did you... come to follow True Lord Huode?"
Hearing Xiao Hua ask about the earlier encirclement and slaughter, Xiong Yi did not dare conceal anything and hurriedly explained the whole matter. Just as Xiao Hua had expected, True Lord Huode had plans similar to Xiao Hua's. Besides seeking rare treasures at the Yaotai Gathering, he also wanted to gather a group of Nascent Soul cultivators under his wing. Thus, even before that blood-colored star streaked across the heavens, more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators had already gathered within Yaotai Mountain's defensive array. By the time they entered the Sandbar defensive array, together with those led by Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi, their numbers had reached around thirty.
True Lord Huode also seemed to know that Mother-Child Spirit Fruits called Human Essence existed 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 useful and truly returned empty-handed. When the baleful star appeared, dozens of them were drawn into its blood-colored rosy light. When they reappeared, they discovered that while some people had vanished, most were still together. True Lord Huode immediately discussed joining forces against Xiao Hua with Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi. Xiong Yi did not know how the three had discussed