Eight hundred disciples clawed at the loose soil in desperation. They could feel the oppressive raging heat from Tang Mohai as well as two other elders bearing down upon their heads. They used anything they could, their hands and legs, pieces of wood and metal, and even their own precious weapons. Those in the frontlines were afraid for their lives as they were directly responsible for the women"s escape."Dig! Dig!"
It was quite impressive what a group of men could do when forced. Mountains of dirt were dug away and a deep crater formed in only a few minutes. Tang Mohai watched from the edge of the crater as it steadily grew deeper and deeper… five meters… ten meters. There was still no trace of the women or how they escaped!
There were some escaping treasures that allowed a cultivator to hide deep underground. Yet Tang Mohai had never heard of anything that was capable of hiding two hundred women! It must have been a supreme treasure! He felt pangs of regret from his overconfidence and oversight. If he could have captured those five women, he would have gotten the treasure as well.
A few short moments pa.s.sed and the crater was fifteen meters deep when Tang Mohai sensed an approaching immortal aura. He looked up in alarm.
The dot in the sky descended quickly, with a blazing flame aura, and fluttering crimson robes.
"Sect master!" Everyone stopped digging and bowed.
Fen Jue took in the scene and then landed beside Tang Mohai. "What happened?"
Tang Mohai quickly explained their attack and the escape of half the women.
Fen Jue had a frown on his face as he pondered the issue. He finally said, "We"re leaving."
"Yes, master!"
Tang Mohai and the rest all sighed in relief. An elder"s rage was nothing compared to the sect master"s rage!
They grabbed the captured women and the wounded and followed their master away from the camp. Close by, they had already prepared even more disciples along with a thousand horses and a hundred horse pulled carriages. The women were locked up in the carriages and the army of red set off quickly, heading north. Divine Blazing Mountain had truly come prepared for this attack…
Tang Mohai and the elders rode alongside Sect Master Fen Jue and they discussed the operation in detail. Tang Mohai tried to spin the story as though he had put forth his best effort but that the disappointing result was due to the unexpected power of the five disciples from Ten Thousand Flower Valley. The others nodded their heads furiously in agreement, also hoping to escape punishment.
Fen Jue was in a good mood and did not seem to mind. "It"s better this way since he won"t get involved in our business." He said, "The goal of this operation was to obtain the Snow Fairy and the other talented girls for Ziping. Everything else is just a bonus."
"Master, will Fen Ziping be okay?" Tang Mohai wondered, "Snow Fairy and them are quite strong."
"Of course, he will succeed." Fen Jue replied with a dangerous glint in his eyes, "That old hag guaranteed it!"
---
Long Yifei and a dozen beautiful white robed women rode through the dense bamboo forests, rus.h.i.+ng westward in the direction of Crystal Bamboo City. They were still weeks of travel away from the safety of the city but Long Yifei hoped that she could run into some mercenaries or cultivators that could distract her pursuers.
"Hya! Hya! Run!"
Their white steeds were struggling from the full speed gallop but she kept up the frantic pace, urging the beasts to go faster.
She looked around at the women around her. There were five at the 10th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm and seven at the 9th Level. They were around the same age as her, some a bit older, but they were all astonis.h.i.+ngly beautiful. Each one of them could easily bewitch the hearts of countless men. They were her strongest followers and the ones she relied on the most.
Those junior women and others she left behind would be lost in this incident. It was a heavy blow to the sect, but as long as she had her core followers… she would be okay. She can always rebuild. There were thousands of fresh recruits ready and waiting.
"Madam!" One of the women called out, pointing behind them.
Long Yifei spared a glance and saw with great displeasure that the pack of old decrepit elders were right behind her group and gaining on them. It was a strange. Her horses were the absolute best within the sect and there were only a limited number that she gave to her closest followers. Those old farts shouldn"t have been able to catch up so quickly.
"Whatever, keep going!"
The group of twenty elders soon joined her troop. Long Yifei had to hold back rising levels of irritation as they continued onward together.
The first and second elder rode up beside her. They were some of the oldest women in the sect, more than eighty or ninety years old, and every bit as tough as they were wrinkly.
"Long Yifei! Why did we not stay and fight?" The first elder asked loudly, over the sound of hooves and rus.h.i.+ng wind. "Why did you choose to abandon our juniors."
Long Yifei saw everyone was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. She cursed inwardly, this old b.i.t.c.h! She didn"t have time for this…
"Oh no! Behind us!" Someone yelled out.
A large group of Divine Blazing Mountain elders and disciples came into view behind them. Fen Ziping was leading the pack and they were visibly gaining on them!
Long Yifei"s mind spun and she realized too late that it was her horses! Something must have happened to them… but that meant the only possibility was…
She turned to see a cruel smile on the first elder face before she felt several sharp stabbing pains across her body. "Ahh!"
Her muscles started to become numb and unresponsive and she was soon thrown from her horse and landed in a heap on the leafy forest floor. Poison! She struggled with all her might but she could not fight the steady spread from multiple needles that had penetrated her skin. Her eyes became cloudy and the last thing she saw was that the old elders were still on their horses while her followers had all tumbled to the ground around her.