While Xie Tian was struggling against the poison, Jiang Lan rushed toward the only female resident in the outer sect area, where her friends and Qi Ning resided.
When the yin slave got there, all her friends had already gathered by Qi Ning's order.
Yao Lan, Xu Xiuying, and several core disciples were also presented. Unlike the usual, they put on their magic armors.
Both JY and VY disciples wore medium-grade bikini armors or breastplates while the elders had earth-grade robes and high-grade chainmail. Their weapons varied. Spears, swords, and shields had been prepared.
Everyone dressed as if they were about to go to war.
"E1052? Where have you been? Didn't you hear the summon? You're not supposed to wander off on your own," Yao Lan reprimanded Jiang Lan for neglecting the emergency call.
Jiang Lan sulked. She bowed and apologized to everybody as the staring eyes of the seniors intimidated her.
Xu Xiuying patted Yao Lan's back and walked toward Jiang Lan. She knew that Xu Miao might have ordered this girl to do something, "Leave her be. My son must have asked her to run his errand."
Then, Xu Xiuying turned to Jiang Lan, "Did Xu Miao ask you to do something?"
"Err, yes," Jiang Lan confessed.
"What did he ask you?"
"H-He asked me to bring him an item."
"Can you show me?"
"…"
Jiang Lan had no choice as she couldn't lie to Xu Xiuying. She presented the succubus a spatial ring that she stole. However, she had already transferred most of its content to her ring, just in case it might be taken back.
The only things remaining inside the ring were common items, such as raw spirit stones and throwing weapons.
Xu Xiuying accepted the ring and scanned through the content. When she discovered that nothing good was inside the ring, she frowned, "Is this it? Is this what Xu Miao told you to fetch him?"
Jiang Lan nodded without saying anything.
Xu Xiuying clicked her tongue. She passed the spatial ring back to Jiang Lan, "Your duty here is over. Descend the mountain along with other outer disciples and return to our sect. Tell my son to stay in his room from now on."
"Y-Yes, senior!"
Hearing that she could leave this place early, Jiang Lan was delighted. She rushed to her room and packed her belongings.
…
Looking at the happy girl, Xu Xiuying snorted.
'Damn slave. She has the galls to trick me. This must be Mao Miaomiao's order.'
Xu Xiuying didn't trust Jiang Lan and Xu Miao since the latter got too smart for his own good. From her perspective, the guy should have stayed in his room and copulate with JY disciples all day. After all JY disciples got strong enough, she would start another project with him as the core.
Unfortunately, Xu Miao was slowly slipping out of her control. He started to become more independent after the examination event.
'Should I brainwash him and extract his secret right away? If I do, will he lose the ability to enhance my disciples?'
Xu Xiuying wasn't sure if letting Xu Miao roam free in the sect was a good idea anymore. Once she had dealt with the war at hand, she would reconsider Xu Miao's position in her sect.
'I'll get rid of Jia Shan and steal as many treasures from the sect as many as I can. After that, I'll think about how to deal with him!'
The succubus queen put Xu Miao's matter to the back of her mind for now. She turned to her subordinates and her core disciples. Among them, her favorite legacy disciple stood there.
The disciple had silky long straight silver hair like Xu Xiuying, but her iconic side bang hairstyle made her stood out from the rest, who relied on hairpins to tie their hair. Her smooth white jade skin was flawless without a mark, and her gorgeous face outline looked dignified under the sunlight. Donning in red earth-grade breastplate armor with silk robes underneath, her sexiness and her curvy body attracted every male cultivators' eyes.
She was Xiong Zhenzhen, the most beautiful girl among disciples and elders. This legacy disciple was only 19 this year, but her cultivation base was already the same as many elders, the 5th stage.
Xiong Zhenzhen's red eyes gleamed. Her snake-like pupils revealed her sinister thoughts and bloodlust. Her aura manifested a shadow female figure, who was enveloped in blue flame.
Looking at her proud legacy disciple, Xu Xiuying's mood got better.
"How are you feeling, Zhenzhen?"
Xiong Zhenzhen muttered in a low voice, "Hungry, thirsty, and sleepy."
"You'll get to eat soon. Save your strength for the main course, okay?"
"Hmm."
Xiong Zhenzhen's solemn expression never changed. She only grumbled in her throat and groaned like a mad dog. Yet, nobody realized that she was just being sleepy and hungry.
Xu Xiuying patted her head and looked at the others, "Once all outer disciples left this place, we will join with Wei Huang's forces! This is your last chance to check your loadout! Once we regroup with the Wei forces, there will be no turning back!"
.
.
.
A few minutes later, Xu Xiuying's group joined with Wei Huang's group at the outer disciple central square.
The Wei forces already subjugated this area. All minor elders and disciples yielded to Wei Huang and his men while the others fled to the inner disciple district on top of the mountain.
A few meters away, an infirmary was nearby. It was the place that Xie Tian was hiding, but nobody had searched the place since the physician elder already surrendered to them.
Wei Huang brought five 5th stage cultivators and over a hundred 4th stage elites here. Also, there was another 6th stage master, who had pale skin like Xu Xiuying.
The pale-skinned man was Fu De, the overlord of the southern slum district. His age was already 160 this year, but he still retained the appearance of a middle-aged man. His straight long black hair and goatee gave a vibe of a dandy guy. His black luster robes also made his character mysterious and handsome.
Still, Fu De was an evil cultivator. His crimson eyes and the distinguished bloodlust aura revealed his cultivation path.
"You're finally here," Wei Huang welcomed his allies, "Now that we're all here. How should we siege the sect? We already control the hill and the entrance."
Xu Xiuying only glanced at Fu De, being wary of this master. Fu De's father was the one who invented [Energy Drain], a simplified version of her sect's [Vampiric Touch], so she knew that this guy could also use a similar technique. She didn't like being close to the geezer.
"All three 6th stage masters will attack Jia Shan together. The rest of the 5th stage elders will subdue all their leaders while our 4th stage elites will capture all inner disciples and core disciples."
"That simple?"
Xu Xiuying snorted, "If you have a better idea, share with us then."
Wei Huang chuckled. He tested Xu Xiuying if she had any hidden agenda or an ingenious plan to overthrow Jia Shan. However, it seemed that he had overestimated her.
"How about you, Lord Fu? You're older than the rest of us, so you should have more experience in warfare. How would you attack the sect if you were me?"
Fu De rubbed his beard with his right hand while his left hand was behind his back. He leered both demons with the corner of his eyes. His prideful demeanor irritated Xu Xiuying and Wei Huang, but they had to cope with his ill manner.
"You two geezers are simpletons. If you want Jia Shan dead, you should have ambushed him when he's alone or when he has to leave for businesses. Why are you all starting a war when he's prepared?"
Wei Huang spat and clicked his tongue, "FYI, there's a dangerous disciple that can manipulate space-and-time. Jia Shan is sheltering that guy, so we have to get rid of that geezer to get that secret! Do you want Jia Shan to steal the space-and-time technique from that disciple and get stronger?"
Fu De widened his eyes in surprise, "Space-and-time art? Really?"
Space-and-time techniques and arts were considered one of the top tiers of all techniques, which drove these masters into taking action. Everybody dreamt to obtain the ability, but its existence was only in legends and fairy tales.
However, it showed up here. Fu De would never miss this chance to acquire the secret.
"You've missed a lot, Lord Fu. That young man literally reversed time. I experienced it myself."
"I get it," Fu De laughed, "I understand everything now! You bunch are getting anxious, right? That's why you have to invite me to the mix even though you don't like me."
"Will you help, or are you here to watch? If it's the latter, we won't share the secret and the loot."
"Of course, I'll gladly help. Who wants to miss a chance to learn space-and-time art?"
"Then, what's your idea about today's siege?"
Fu De had a sinister smile on his face, "Since our target is that space-and-time boy, we don't need to kill Jia Shan, aren't we?"
"I see! Then, we take that boy, and we'll complete our objective!"
"No. We'll still need to kill Jia Shan since that bastard is still a threat. We three will focus on killing him while our subordinates will search for that boy…"
The protagonist curse was taking effect after Xie Tian had been forced to use his secret in public.
In many stories, protagonists rarely showed his true skills in public since it would attract attention from the old masters and greedy elders. However, due to Xu Miao's influence, everything strayed from common storyline paths.
Xie Tian's plot armor was weakened, and a snowball effect was ongoing.
…
A couple of hours after the discussion and strategic planning, Fu De, Wei Huang, and Xu Xiuying came to a conclusion. They would team up and bait for Jia Shan while their subordinates would be searching for Xie Tian. Any team who found him had to report back to the headquarter.
Wei Huang took the lead and question both masters, "That's settle. Does anybody here know where that boy is?"
"…"
Xu Xiuying and Fu De didn't say anything. Since Fu De lacked intel, he kept his mouth shut.
On the other hand, Xu Xiuying had a suspicion where Xie Tian might be, but she refused to share the information. She had another idea, "A few days ago, Jia Shan took that boy to the inner area. I think he must have been recuperating somewhere there."
"Don't you have a few spies in the sect? I know that Luo Cheng is your subordinate. Isn't he a part of your group?
Fu De and Wei Huang stared at Xu Xiuying in suspicion. Yet, the latter didn't flinch.
"Indeed. Unfortunately, his recent report said that Jia Shan took that boy away himself. He also searched through resting quarters and infirmaries in both the outer area and inner area. He didn't find the boy."
That was a lie. Xu Xiuying covered for Luo Cheng since she could still use him in the future. Also, the places that she said were her search targets. She planned to investigate resting quarters and infirmaries nearby in secret first.
"Ah, a pity. I guess we have to search for the inner area and Jia Shan's residents. Well, let's move out. We've delayed our siege for too long!"
…
Luo Cheng, who was eavesdropping the conversation, heaved a sigh of relief. Nobody realized that Xie Tian was resting in the outer infirmary, which was so close to their center square.
'This is dangerous. These greedy fuckers will definitely kill Xie Tian after they extort his secrets. I need to get him out of here.'
Luo Cheng secretly touched his J-Phone and texted to Xie Tian, hoping that he could wake up and realize what was going on.
[Wei Huang and Xu Xiuying are attacking the mountain goose sect and are looking for you. Hide and escape immediately! If they catch you, you're dead!]
Not only had he texted to Xie Tian, but the dwarf also planned to sneak away from the group and bring him out of the sect.
Unfortunately, someone had a good nose and acted first.
Xiong Zhenzhen suddenly leaped and ran toward a nearby infirmary. Then, Xu Xiuying's J-Phone vibrated.
[[BZZ]]
[I've found Xie Tian. Can I eat him?]
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