Mu Lian fled forward in a panic. Although her flying magical treasure was of a high rank, the people chasing her were also extraordinary. They were two Sword Cultivators from the Ten-Pace Courtyard, who were best known for their speed.
Nearly a hundred years had passed since the end of the great war, and the Supreme Mystery Teachings had long since returned to the South Sea. Although they had become the weakest power, they had vaguely allied themselves with the other two sects again.
The reason was that the Malevolent Spirit Sect had revealed the existence of the Chimei Emissary!
Gu Jiuqi alone could suppress the Spirit Transformation cultivators of the three sects. What's more, the Malevolent Spirit Sect also had another Spirit Transformation cultivator, Su Changyang. This forced the other three sects to be on their guard.
Thus, after the great war, the Desolate Moon Continent quickly returned to its former pattern. The Malevolent Spirit Sect was once again vaguely targeted by the three sects.
The disciples of each family also returned to their former hostile stance. When they went out for training, they would hunt down cultivators from other sects and act without mercy. There was no longer any of the camaraderie of when they had joined forces to resist the enemy.
Several years ago, Mu Lian had accepted a solo mission to find a "Shadow Space Stone." This was an indispensable material for refining illusion-type formations.
She had spent a full six years outside before finally finding this item yesterday.
But unexpectedly, just as she obtained it, two cultivators from the Ten-Pace Courtyard suddenly appeared and pressed towards her.
The two Sword Cultivators from the Ten-Pace Courtyard didn't waste any words. They immediately demanded that Mu Lian hand over the "Shadow Space Stone."
How could Mu Lian be willing? She knew that in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, seizing a treasure meant killing to silence the witness. The two sides started fighting with almost no words exchanged.
These two cultivators from the Ten-Pace Courtyard were both Outer Sword Courtyard cultivators. But before the Golden Core realm, the Outer Sword was actually sharper and better at killing than the Inner Sword Courtyard cultivators.
In an instant, Mu Lian was forced back step by step by the sword formation formed by more than ten flying swords.
She dodged left and right in the rainbow-like rain of swords. Fortunately, she was very vigilant and had quickly put distance between them the moment they appeared, so she was not surrounded by the two.
Mu Lian also had life-saving means. Not only was she skilled in Gu arts, but she also had a flying magical treasure that was extremely fast.
But the two Sword Cultivators' sword-riding speed was also extremely fast. It was very difficult for Mu Lian to shake them off easily. Instead, they were getting closer and closer.
As a disciple of "Never-Parting Peak," the Gu-insects on Mu Lian were also quite powerful among those of the same rank.
But against these two Sword Cultivators, they couldn't get close at all. Many of them were shredded in the rain of swords formed by the other party's flying swords.
"Let's see where you can run!"
Mu Lian, who was fleeing at full speed, suddenly felt her vision blur. Greatly alarmed, a figure blocked her path.
It was one of the Sword Cultivators who had been chasing her from behind. At this moment, this Sword Cultivator's face had turned as white as a sheet.
Clearly, his sudden appearance in front of Mu Lian was the result of some secret art, which had cost him a great deal.
But he had finally blocked Mu Lian's path. And the other Sword Cultivator from behind arrived at the same time, completely trapping Mu Lian.
"What do you think you're doing?" Mu Lian's willow-like eyebrows shot up.
"Don't waste words with her. We're not far from the Malevolent Spirit Sect. She's trying to stall for time and find a chance to escape. Attack!"
The pale-faced Sword Cultivator in front spoke immediately. At the same time, he pointed two fingers forward. Ignoring the need to recover his magical power, a series of long rainbows shot out from the giant sword casket on his back.
The next moment, the crisscrossing rainbow lights shot towards Mu Lian.
The other party clearly knew that the two of them were robbing a treasure, yet she was still asking the obvious here. If she wasn't stalling for time, what was she doing? Since they had already started fighting, they were definitely going to kill her and take the treasure.
Seeing this, Mu Lian's pretty face changed again. Her Gu arts were very powerful, but today she had unfortunately met Sword Cultivators who countered her.
The Gu-insects she refined were called "Ant-Mosquito Gu," which were good at swarm attacks and sneak attacks. They could fill the entire space. Ordinary cultivators would find them extremely troublesome and would have a hard time escaping their fate while trying to deal with them.
But against the extremely masculine and unrestrained sword qi of Sword Cultivators, the bodies of the "Ant-Mosquito Gu" were too fragile. They couldn't break through the layers of sword curtains set up by the other party, let alone get close to attack.
Mu Lian was, of course, trying to stall for time and find another opportunity to escape, but the other party didn't fall for it.
Helpless, she swept her jade hand around her. A large expanse of white clouds quickly surged out from beside her.
The white clouds appeared abruptly and rapidly. In just a moment, they had turned the surrounding two or three hundred zhang into a sea of clouds.
Mu Lian's figure was instantly submerged within, and her aura disappeared along with it.
As a result, the rainbow-like rain of swords lost the precise location of its target.
"Hmph, let's see how long you can hide!" the pale-faced Sword Cultivator in front let out a cold snort.
Mu Lian's move had indeed caught him off guard. He was also only a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
In total, he had only refined ten flying swords. The coverage of these sword curtains was most powerful within a hundred zhang.
Once it exceeded this range, the power of each sword would be sharply reduced, and a cultivator of the same rank could easily block it.
However, he also knew that this female cultivator's situation was probably not much better at this time. Although this kind of concealment art was good, for every inch she expanded the range, she would consume a large amount of magical power.
In order to avoid his sword formation attack, the female cultivator had spread the surging white clouds to more than two hundred zhang. She definitely wouldn't be able to maintain such an art for long.
And Mu Lian, within the white clouds, was, as the Sword Cultivator had said, complaining endlessly in her heart. She really couldn't hide for much longer.
This art was called "Sea of Clouds." She usually used it to trap enemies and then release Gu-insects to launch a sneak attack from within. At the same time, it could also conceal her own aura so that her main body could also launch a sneak attack.
Usually, when she used it, she would at most use it within a hundred-zhang range. Coupled with her sneak attack, she could almost severely injure an enemy within a few breaths.
But this Sword Cultivator's sword formation had too wide of an attack range. She had to use this art to avoid the other party's attack. By casting it over such a large area, Mu Lian could at most last for about fifteen breaths.
At the same time, her other objective had also failed. She had wanted to envelop both of them in the white clouds so she could release the "Ant-Mosquito Gu."
But the Sword Cultivator in front was obviously very experienced in fighting. The moment the white clouds around Mu Lian began to spread, his body had already retreated rapidly.
But he didn't retreat too far, always keeping the surging, spreading white clouds from touching him.
'Right, what about the other Sword Cultivator?'
Mu Lian's Divine Sense swept back at the same time, but she didn't find the Sword Cultivator who had been chasing her just now. She couldn't help but panic. The exchange had just passed for half a breath, and both sides' movements were as fast as a startled swan.
Losing track of the other person at this time meant that the other party was going to launch a sneak attack on her at any moment.
And just as Mu Lian was panicking about losing the enemy's trail and was about to expand the range of her Divine Sense scan, a series of earth-shaking explosions suddenly came from below.
Boom boom boom!
At the same time, a cold shout was heard again.
"Still trying to ambush us? Your Malevolent Spirit Sect has always been good at these shady tricks. Just come on out!"
The large rocks on the ground below were sent flying by a series of sword lights. At the same time, a figure rushed out from the splashing rain of stones and the sword formation in a sorry state.
Sun Guoshu cursed endlessly in his heart. He had no intention of participating in this chase.
Even though he had also seen clearly that the female cultivator was wearing a dark green long robe with two tightly embracing small insects embroidered on the cuffs, and was a disciple of the "Never-Parting Peak" of the same sect as him, what did that have to do with him?
He had been able to survive until now by relying on this kind of self-preservation. But the Sword Cultivator's senses were too keen. It was possible that the moment Sun Guoshu sensed the other party, he had also been sensed by them.
At that time, Sun Guoshu saw that the few streaks of escaping light were astonishingly fast. If he had turned around and run, he would have been immediately exposed, which was why he had hidden below.
He thought the three people in pursuit would just fly past overhead. Who would have known that just as they were about to approach him, the Sword Cultivator had suddenly accelerated and blocked this "Never-Parting Peak" disciple.
These two Sword Cultivators had long since seen the long robe on Sun Guoshu. He was also a Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivator. They immediately thought he was going to ambush them.
Therefore, judging that they were about to enter the other party's ambush range, they had not hesitated to expend a large amount of essence blood to forcefully intercept Mu Lian. While attacking, they had also launched an attack on Sun Guoshu.
This was to prevent this Malevolent Spirit Sect disciple from launching a sneak attack from behind, or this person from calling for more helpers through other methods.
"You two, you two, you fight your own..."
"Senior Brother Sun?"
The moment Sun Guoshu rushed into the sky, he immediately cried out. He had no intention of getting involved in this mess.
But just as he had just opened his mouth, he heard a surprised voice like that of a yellow oriole come from a patch of white clouds.
Sun Guoshu's expression couldn't help but freeze. He had also seen the face of this fellow sect member from below, and he didn't recognize this woman. But the other party had actually called out his surname.
Mu Lian was also stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Then she saw a figure shoot straight into the sky, and then she saw clearly that the person was also wearing the sect uniform of the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
She couldn't help but be overjoyed. A closer look, and she immediately recognized Sun Guoshu. Of course, she had also heard Sun Guoshu's words. At this, she hurriedly interrupted him.
Even if they were from the same sect, when faced with danger, of course, the main thing was to save one's own life. Mu Lian naturally knew this.
Although Sun Guoshu kept a low profile, his maverick style had still made many people remember him.
And Mu Lian had heard others' discussions when she was handing in a mission once, so she had taken a few more glances at Sun Guoshu and thus remembered his appearance.
"We can't let him get away!"
The Sword Cultivator who was fighting Mu Lian, seeing Sun Guoshu fly towards the distance as soon as he rose into the air, couldn't help but say anxiously.
They weren't too far from the Malevolent Spirit Sect. Once Sun Guoshu escaped, even if the two of them succeeded in killing Mu Lian, the matter would be known by others.
Sun Guoshu had only fled a few dozen zhang when a sky full of sword lights came whistling from behind. He couldn't help but curse in his heart.
'Damn it, I'm going back to hand in a mission. What does your grudge have to do with me!'
But at this time, he also knew that the other party would not listen to his explanation and would only want to kill him to silence him.
And the female cultivator in the white clouds, after shouting once, had said nothing more.
Mu Lian had already seen the delicate situation between the two sides. Although that Senior Brother Sun didn't want to help, the other party would not let a fellow Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivator escape.
So, she said no more. After losing the threat from behind, she took the opportunity to urge the white clouds to surge rapidly towards the Ten-Pace Courtyard Sword Cultivator in front. This was her only chance to counterattack.
Her magical power was being consumed even more violently. Helpless, she took out several medicinal pills with one hand and took them. The rate of magical power consumption could no longer be supplemented by holding a spirit stone.
And these medicinal pills could provide her with the magical power she needed in a short period of time. But she had no time to refine this medicinal power.
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before the pill poison in the medicinal pills would erupt rapidly. At that time, her strength would not increase but decrease.
At this moment, Mu Lian silently erupted with all her strength, recklessly driving the large expanse of white clouds to roll towards the other party. This time, the white clouds were incredibly fast.
If this Sword Cultivator continued to retreat, because there was no longer a block from behind, Mu Lian would take the opportunity to flee in another direction.
The Sword Cultivator opposite seemed to have guessed Mu Lian's intention. He simply stopped retreating and let the white clouds spread towards him. He steeled his heart and actually charged towards the center of the white clouds.
As long as he charged a certain distance, the distance of the white clouds he passed through could be ignored.
His attack range would also be rapidly reduced, making it easier to lock onto the other party's position.
Just as this Sword Cultivator had charged in a few dozen zhang, a palpitation arose in his heart. He suddenly dodged to the side. And at this moment, more than a hundred "Ant-Mosquito Gu" suddenly appeared around him.