Chapter 82

From the Boiling Spring to the Bitter Well, a hundred miles of mountain road, it took two hours. From the Bitter Well to the foot of Tian Du Peak, forty miles of mountain road, it took half an hour.

After a fierce battle, his right chest was pierced, and his wounds had not yet healed. Then, he made a full effort to trek through the mountains and forests. Even though Wei Shizhi had extraordinary physical strength, he felt his legs weakening and was panting heavily.

Song Qi saw someone rushing down from Tian Du Peak from a distance. When the path turned sharply, the person leaped forward, as agile as a monkey. He thought it looked like his senior brother and quickly hurried forward. When he saw the other person's face clearly, he exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Brother, you... how... how..."

Wei Shizhi took a deep breath and interrupted him, "Are Senior Uncles Lu and Zhang at the foot of the mountain?"

Seeing his serious expression, Song Qi's heart skipped a beat. He replied, "I just saw Senior Uncle Zhang and Senior Brother Hu heading towards the Crescent Moon Pond." The Senior Brother Hu he mentioned was Hu Yong, the most favored disciple of Zhang Jinghe, who was defeated by Wei Shizhi with one blow during the competition.

Wei Shizhi said, "Go find Senior Brother Yue and ask him to notify the disciples of the three lineages. Gather everyone together, support each other, and do not enter Tian Du Peak."

"What happened?"

"Go quickly!" Wei Shizhi didn't have time to explain and started running towards the Crescent Moon Pond. Song Qi hesitated for a moment, then sprinted towards the stone room, feeling a bit excited.

The Crescent Moon Pond was bathed in the sunset, the lake and snow reflecting the evening glow, serene and picturesque. Zhang Jinghe was instructing her disciples to form their Dao embryos when she was startled by a series of hurried footsteps, causing her to frown. She turned around and saw Wei Shizhi, a disciple of Senior Brother Qi, running through the snow, like a sudden blemish on a perfect painting.

Hu Yong followed her gaze and muttered, "What's the matter, so rushed and agitated?" He hated and feared this lowly-qualified Senior Brother Wei, feeling embarrassed whenever he thought about him.

After Wei Shizhi stopped and bowed, Zhang Jinghe asked, "What's the matter, so flustered?"

"I encountered a fire elemental that had been sleeping for over thirty years near the Boiling Spring. It seems to be the culprit who harmed the disciples of the Yang-numbered stone rooms back then."

Zhang Jinghe's heart sank, and she urged, "Tell me slowly."

Wei Shizhi recounted the entire story. Zhang Jinghe pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you think?"

"That elemental needs blood to restore its strength. We should not stay here for long. It would be better to retreat to Qiu Tao Valley."

Zhang Jinghe hesitated, "It suffered a great loss under the Master's sword and may not dare to enter Xiandu again..."

Wei Shizhi neither urged nor tried to persuade, standing quietly by her side, waiting for her decision.

Zhang Jinghe was always indecisive. In the past, she maintained neutrality between Xun Ye and Deng Yuantong, appearing fair but actually wavering. Now, faced with this tricky situation, she was at a loss, unsure how to respond. After some thought, she ordered Hu Yong and Wei Shizhi to gather the trial disciples, keep them together, and not let them scatter. She would immediately go to Xianyun Peak to report to the Master and make a decision.

Wei Shizhi sighed inwardly. Hesitation leads to chaos; women are ultimately not decisive enough.

As the sky grew darker, Hu Yong gathered the trial disciples and lit a bonfire but refused to explain what was happening. The disciples whispered among themselves, feeling uneasy. Wei Shizhi suggested they return to the stone rooms, leaving only him and Hu Yong to guard outside, but Hu Yong said it was his master's order and could not be disobeyed.

Wei Shizhi shook his head. Zhang Jinghe's casual words, he clung to them without flexibility. However, he didn't want to argue with Hu Yong over this. At least with so many people around, the elemental wouldn't attack him first.

Song Qi and Song Ji surrounded Wei Shizhi, repeatedly asking what had happened. Wei Shizhi patted their heads and whispered, "If anything, just in case, if anything happens, don't panic. Immediately hide back in the stone room, barricade the door, and don't come out. Senior Brother Yue, take care of them, and don't worry about anything else."

Yue Zhiyan was chilled to the bone by his words and also lowered his voice to ask, "What could it be?"

Before Wei Shizhi could answer, a series of sharp "hehehe" laughs suddenly echoed through the night sky. His heart sank; he had feared this would happen. The familiar laughter sounded a bit stronger, not as weak as before.

"Senior Brother Yue, now!"

Yue Zhiyan understood immediately, grabbing Song Qi and Song Ji under his arms, and quickly ran into the stone room, bolting the wooden door and listening intently to the sounds outside.

Wei Shizhi stood up, drew his iron rod from the sword bag, and shouted, "Junior Brother Hu, quickly get everyone back to the stone room!"

Hu Yong repeatedly called for everyone to return, drawing his Zhanlu sword, his heart pounding like a drum, his eyes wide, looking around.

A pale figure suddenly dropped from the dark night sky, grabbing a trial disciple by the hair, pulling back, and biting into the throat, sucking the blood. The disciple gasped and thrashed, but could not break free from the attacker's arms.

A chorus of horrified screams erupted around them.

Hu Yong was stunned by the bloody scene. In the firelight, he clearly saw a naked woman, as thin as a stick, with long hair, biting his junior brother to death, desperately sucking the blood, her eyes glowing green, staring at him intently. His hand holding the sword trembled. He knew he should bravely charge forward and cut down the demon, but... he couldn't.

Wei Shizhi reminded him, "Junior Brother Hu, that elemental moves like the wind, be careful. Junior Brother Hu? Brother?" Seeing no response from Hu Yong, he pushed him, and Hu Yong screamed, wildly swinging his Zhanlu sword, jumping to the side as if on fire.

The woman lifted her head, grinned, her white teeth covered in blood, and said to Wei Shizhi, "We meet again, this time you can't escape!" She extended her right hand, fingers together, and plunged them into the chest of her prey, easily tearing open the chest and digging out the still-beating heart. She brought it to her mouth and took a fierce bite, chewing with a crunching sound, a look of ecstasy on her face.

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