"Since you claim to have a way to send things to that world fragment, help us convey the message inside the scroll to martial brother Feng Jun. Only when we see his reply can we rest assured and facilitate a rescue project."
Han Xuhan took the sealed scroll from Shen Mi and waved the crowd goodbye with a wide smile on his face. Tun Shi Tian had already scouted ahead, figuring out which spatial fissure led back to their sect.
One by one, all four members of the invasion team jumped down toward the sea, disappearing just a dozen meters above the water level.
When Han Xuhan recovered his senses, he was crouching on familiar soil, sitting at the edge of the floating island belonging to the Crimson Snow Sect.
"What's the plan now?" Xiao Wu said, having regained his bearings already.
"I'm going back to your house. You three go ahead and explore the rest of our neighboring sects. Tun Shi Tian can help you, so I'm leaving him here," Han Xuhan replied, feeling rather tired from the adventures since the morning.
"Underling, I don't think we should take the owl with us for scouting," Mu Ran commented in a thoughtful tone, making Xuhan pause in his stride.
"What?...Why?"
"Hearing sister Zhou's analysis of the nature of this tournament, I feel like we should take this opportunity to test ourselves in more extreme situations. Scouting ahead means we will become choosy with which sect we land on. We will also begin thinking about optimal plans from the get-go, which will decrease the tension and intensity of the invasions for us. The invasions will become just another boring routine. It would be much better to land on foreign sects, completely blinded in terms of foreknowledge, and then learning how to improvise, adapt, and overcome on the spot! This would be a challenge worthy to tackle even while being a repetitive routine! I believe it is the essence of this tournament, to be caught in alien circumstances and learning how to deal with them."
Han Xuhan listened to him with his mouth open.
That was quite possibly the stupidest thing he had heard coming out of Mu Ran's mouth. And judging by the befuddled look on both Xiao Wu and Yuen Zhou's faces, they shared the same sentiment with him.
"...Alright," Han Xuhan said after waiting an uncomfortably long time to see whether they would oppose Mu Ran's brilliant observation. But it seemed like both of them had their own reasons to not want Tun Shi Tian to tag along.
Feeling rather miffed, Xuhan canceled the owl's summon and jogged towards Xiao Wu's hut.
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Watching his back disappear from view behind the mountains, Mu Ran, Yuen Zhou, and Xiao Wu looked at each other simultaneously, their gazes alert.
"That Leng Qing guy was right. Underling Xuhan really is trying to keep a tab on all of us to learn about our fighting methods," Mu Ran whispered.
"That doesn't prove much. He could have just been concerned about our safety," Xiao Wu remarked.
"Whatever the reason may be, the fact is that Leng Qing was able to predict what he would do. Now we need to consider whether the later portions of his prophecy would turn out to be correct as well," Yuen Zhou said emotionlessly.
"That he will betray all of us? Doesn't yet seem believable..." Mu Ran trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.
* * * * * *
The journey to his dao tower took slightly longer than what he was accustomed to, further signaling at the deteriorating state of his control over it.
As soon as he appeared inside the expansive hall, he found himself caught beneath a rain of dry, blood-red ink.
The letters of laws were descending endlessly from above, falling on the ground in a way that screamed of external control.
Patter, patter, patter...the letters fell into patterns consisting of familiar strokes, arcs, and shapes.
A sentence written in English was born amidst the chaos.
"To await all hope to be lost before making a choice is a fool's mark."
He read the sentence aloud and laughed.
"So is making a choice with another's guidance, senior. Between the two, at least I'm in control of the former."
The blood-red words on the floor broke apart and rearranged themselves immediately.
"You are in control of nothing."
Han Xuhan felt his mood go sour. He couldn't counter that, could he?
Harrumphing, he shot upwards, slipping inside the dome at the center of the ceiling. Upon focusing on the circular imprint there, he was transported to the Realm of Laws, popping into existence inside his origin point.
After a good look around, he went up to the mouth of the endless tunnel attached to his 'room' and shouted.
"Ey, Brother Yun, we need to talk! Respond immediately if you're there!"
A brief moment later, Qian Yun's tired voice sounded from the other side.
"...Is this about the broken spear? We've found it. But if you want it, you need to uphold your part of the deal."
Han Xuhan was taken aback.
He had just told Qian Yun about it last night!
They had managed to locate it so fast?
"Are you sure it's the one? I'm not sure whether to trust that kind of efficiency or not..."
Qian Yun roared from the other side, "Don't you dare try my nerves now, asshole! I will-"
"Okay! Okay! Cool down, fellow cultivator," Han Xuhan quickly stopped him from spiraling into one of his long-winded rants. Being locked up inside that world fragment was about to drive this guy insane. Even he felt a bit bad for pushing his buttons at this point.
"Cool down? I'd like to see you trying to cool down when you have an insidious predator hunting you ceaselessly! Do you know how much we had to risk for your stupid weapon? Two of us almost got killed!"
A smile crawled onto Xuhan's face as Qian Yun complained.
"Are you talking about the mutant zombie? Well, in that case, you should definitely cool down, Brother Yun; because I have already found your solution!"
"...What?" Qian Yun was caught off guard for a moment. But he recalled their previous conversation soon enough.
"Your martial sister...Did she really agree? Does she have a way to kill that zombie?" He shouted, excitement bubbling up inside his voice.
"Kill? Why would she kill something she nurtured herself?" Han Xuhan used the same tone Yuen Zhou had used with him.
"Then what? What's your solution?"
"My martial sister has a way to control the zombie remotely. She can make it treat all of you as its allies, not enemies. That means you shall no longer be hounded by this remaining undefeatable foe. The entire Holy Land will become safe for you to explore. Hell, you'd actually have an additional power to rely on, depending on whether you agree to the condition she imposed, of course."
For a long minute, Qian Yun remained silent. Han Xuhan had no idea what was going on inside his head, but his eventual reply made him feel a sense of relief.
"State the condition. If she can control it to the point it becomes totally harmless, we will consider the offer."
Han Xuhan recalled the memory of this morning, when HE had been the one to suggest this condition to Yuen Zhou. Stifling a victorious howl, he said, "You need to teach her zombie how to cultivate."