"Respected Child of Light, a group of humans has appeared ahead." Zhu Ziyang was still immersed in his spiritual sea when the voice of Luo Xingxiya, the Great Starry Unicorn, reached his ears.
Zhu Ziyang was slightly startled, then immediately woke up and asked, "Where?"
"Just a short distance ahead to the side," the Great Starry Unicorn said, pointing a direction with the horn on its head.
"Quick, let's go see," Zhu Ziyang immediately said.
"Yes," the Great Starry Unicorn immediately ran in that direction.
A moment later, that group of humans appeared in Zhu Ziyang's sight, and his face instantly showed surprise, excitement, and a hint of anger. Without any hesitation, he immediately urged the Great Starry Unicorn to charge out.
—
Zhang Lexuan now had to be cautious with every step, because if a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast rushed out, they would truly be buried in the Star Dou Great Forest.
It turned out that Zhang Lexuan had barely absorbed the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's spirit ring in one day, but forcefully absorbing a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring had damaged her life essence. Combined with her previously damaged Spirit essence, this resulted in Zhang Lexuan, although now an eighty-first-level Spirit Douluo, having a combat power that could probably only contend with a Spirit Elder.
She would take a few steps and then turn back to look at her Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters who were closely following her. These favored children of the Shrek Inner Courtyard were now as disheveled as beggars, none of them unscathed, all injured, and could only support each other to barely move forward. Their combat power at this moment was even less than that of a one-ring Spirit Master.
Perhaps encountering the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor had exhausted all their bad luck. The group had set off last night and, until now, although they had only traveled two or three kilometers, they were very fortunate not to have encountered any Spirit Beasts.
"Senior Sister, let's rest," Ma Xiaotao said, supporting Zhang Weiwei, her face pale, her eyes dim, and her voice choked, "Sister Weiwei is almost at her limit."
These Inner Courtyard Disciples were truly at their wit's end. All the resources they had for recovery and treatment had been used to save several dying companions. The rest were hungry, having walked from last night until now.
"But it's too close to the core area!" Zhang Lexuan's face was conflicted. Looking at her Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, whose faces were ashen, her heart felt like it was being cut by a knife, but she couldn't stop. She said, "Once we stop, it's easy to attract Spirit Beasts. By then, all of us might…"
She didn't finish, but everyone else understood her meaning.
"It's fine, Senior Sister, I can still hold on!" Zhang Weiwei, who was nearing unconsciousness, forced herself to endure the fatigue and said with somewhat cracked lips.
"Let's keep going!" Zhang Lexuan hardened her heart and then said reassuringly, "Maybe Elder Xuan has already returned to the academy and is bringing people to pick us up! We must not give up on ourselves!"
"Elder Xuan… hehe," Shen Xu sneered. This usually taciturn Spirit Saint of the Grand Void Sword was now filled with resentment.
Not only him, but others also shared the same thought. For their predicament, Elder Xuan, as the Elder leading the team, definitely bore ninety percent of the responsibility. If it weren't for his dereliction of duty, how could they have encountered such a disaster! This was the thought of everyone except Zhang Lexuan. In fact, even Zhang Lexuan, the Inner Courtyard's Senior Sister who had spent the most time with Elder Xuan and received many favors from him, was now full of resentment and dissatisfaction towards Elder Xuan, but she couldn't show it.
Because she was the Senior Sister.
"S-Senior Sister!" Su Meng suddenly cried out in panic, looking at the front with terror in her eyes, "It's a Spirit Beast!"
Zhang Lexuan immediately spotted the Spirit Beast Su Meng spoke of, and a look of despair instantly appeared on her pale, pretty face. Without any hesitation, she mobilized the spirit power within her body, preparing to die with this suddenly appearing Spirit Beast. She could die, but these Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters must not be harmed again!
The Spirit Beast got closer and closer, gradually revealing its appearance: a golden horn, pure white fur, and huge wings, causing Zhang Lexuan's heart to sink continuously. Although she didn't know the specific information about this type of Spirit Beast, the appearance of a unicorn was still very recognizable. Could she really take down this unicorn?
Zhang Lexuan was a little doubtful.
"Senior Sister!"
Just as despair continued to grow in Zhang Lexuan's heart, a shout full of excitement and joy suddenly came to her ears. Zhang Lexuan froze, then realized that a young man was sitting on the unicorn's back. The young man was looking at her and the others excitedly. She was a little incredulous, rubbed her eyes, opened her mouth, and squeezed out a few words from her throat, "Ziyang?"
"Senior Sister, it's great that you're all fine!" Zhu Ziyang had already jumped off the Great Starry Unicorn and ran excitedly to Zhang Lexuan's side, wanting to hug her.
However, someone was faster than him. Ma Xiaotao rushed over directly and hugged him, tears of excitement streaming from her beautiful eyes. Zhu Ziyang helplessly comforted Ma Xiaotao while walking towards Zhang Lexuan, simultaneously glancing at the others. At this sight, his heart couldn't help but "thump."
Only eight people!
"Senior Sister, has Elder Xuan not returned yet?" Zhu Ziyang asked with a gloomy expression.
"Ziyang, you…" Zhang Lexuan was still surprised by Zhu Ziyang's sudden appearance, her gaze full of vigilance as she looked at the two Starry Unicorns behind Zhu Ziyang, "They…?"
"Senior Sister, don't worry. They are Starry Unicorns and won't harm us." Zhu Ziyang knew what Zhang Lexuan was worried about, but some things couldn't be explained clearly in a short time, so he only spoke about the important matters, "They will take us out of the Star Dou Great Forest!"
"Is that so!" Zhang Lexuan was still a bit hesitant, but she chose to trust Zhu Ziyang, so she said, "If that's the case, can they carry Weiwei and Ruo Ruo?"
"No problem, I'll communicate with them," Zhu Ziyang agreed, looking at the Inner Courtyard Disciples behind Zhang Lexuan. They were all very surprised by Zhu Ziyang's sudden appearance, but even more so, they were pleasantly surprised. They had already lost two companions and didn't want to lose any more, especially this Junior Brother who could be said to have turned the tide. They clearly understood that if it weren't for this Junior Brother's crucial control at the end, perhaps even more of them would have died.
Looking at these Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters in such terrible condition, Zhu Ziyang felt very distressed. Suddenly, he thought of something and immediately turned back to the Great Starry Unicorn and shouted, "Luo Xingxiya, do you have healing abilities?"
"I only know a little simple healing; I can only cure basic external injuries," the Great Starry Unicorn shook its head regretfully and said, "Your companions all have internal injuries and exhaustion; I can do nothing."
"All right," Zhu Ziyang had no choice but to give up and said, "Then can you help carry them?"
"As you command," the Great Starry Unicorn replied.
"Senior Sister, why aren't Senior Brother Zhu and Senior Brother Long here?" After getting the Great Starry Unicorn's answer, Zhu Ziyang looked at Zhang Lexuan again and asked the question he had wanted to ask earlier, his voice trembling slightly, very afraid of receiving a sad answer.
"Don't be sad, they're still alive!" Zhang Lexuan said with a bitter smile, "They were taken back to the academy by Elder Xuan because their injuries were too severe." This was the only good news for everyone at the moment; no one else would die.
"Elder Xuan?!" Zhu Ziyang was startled, then anger instantly surged to his head. He said coldly, "So, Elder Xuan just left you a group of students with no combat power here? How could he do that?!"
Zhu Ziyang was truly furious, thinking that Elder Xuan's head must have been kicked by a cow to abandon a group of severely injured students and run back to the academy alone. Didn't he understand the danger involved? One oversight is carelessness, but twice?
Seeing Zhu Ziyang's angry expression, a warmth rose in Zhang Lexuan's heart, and she comforted him, "Ziyang, Elder Xuan also lost his composure because of your disappearance. Don't you know your importance to the academy? Moreover, Elder Xuan only returned to the academy to get reinforcements after I had absorbed my spirit ring and gained some ability to protect myself, preparing to come back and find you."
"This…" Zhu Ziyang's anger subsided a little upon hearing this, and he also realized some of Elder Xuan's intentions for abandoning Zhang Lexuan and the others and returning to the academy alone. However, he was still full of anger, "Senior Sister, let's leave the Star Dou Great Forest first."
"Okay!" Zhang Lexuan nodded.
As the two most clear-headed people present, they both understood that now was not the time to denounce Elder Xuan. What was most important now was to safely leave the Star Dou Great Forest!