Slow, too slow, three days had already passed since the attack and the sect was no closer to launching a rescue. Yi, like everyone else, was emersed in the repair efforts across the sect.

However, every morning and evening he would track down Elder Shen Duqing, the one who had been promoted to the Elder Tao's position and ask for updates. And every morning and evening he would be told that they were working on it.

Yi knew they were trying to gather support from the other two Sects in the region, just like he knew that was impossible. The Grassy River Sect had been suppressing the Raging Stormy Mountain ever since their Nascent Soul Ancestor had passed away after failing to beak though for too long.

Not only that but they were also backed by a powerful Major Sect in the Empires Central region. This meant that even if they wanted to, the Silent Whistling Wind Sect would not help for fear of offending the Grassy River.

Yi also heard through the rumors that the Sect master failed to break through to the Nascent Soul in his seclusion. And now both he and the Grand Elder, the only Peak Core Compression Stage Cultivators in the Sect, were injured. Basically, he could read between the lines. For all the talk of a rescue mission, the Raging Stormy Moutain wasn't in a position to help their Disciples.

Yi felt he had waited long enough, his arms were healed, and there seemed to be little chance that anyone else could assist him in this. He began to make his own preparation for rescue.

Two Days later, he sat cross legged, meditating. Last night he had opened his Right Palm Meridian, it was a bit premature, but Yi Knew he would need every advantage he could get.

Today he planned to take every Sect point he had to buy herbs and other supplies, and by tonight, he would be gone. Like the past five days he stopped in to check on senior Luo first thing in the morning.

He had been injured during the Attack and was still hospitalized. Thankfully he was close to a full recovery and would most likely be out in another day or two.

He and Yi chatted for a while and then Yi said goodbye and turned to walk away. However, before he could make it far a hand grasped his own. He turned back and saw Senior Luo staring with a penetrating gaze.

"In my room, underneath the third floorboard on the right as you walk in. Good luck Junior." Senior Luo let go of Yi's hand and then turned around in bed, as if nothing had happened. Yi paused for a moment, staring, then bowed deeply to his Seniors back before turning to leave.

After collecting his supplies, he returned to the dorms, but instead of his own he went to a different door located on the first floor. Yi took out the Key Talisman that his Senior had slipped into his had earlier and pressed it to the door. It swung open, revealing a room almost identical to Yi's own accept a little larger and with more things inside.

He Counted the floorboard and gently pried at the third one to the right. It easily came up and inside were three items, two small pouches and a dagger. Yi Examined the inside of the pouches first.

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One Contained small dark brown balls he recognized as Exploding Pills, quiet a few of them in fact. The Other pouch held a few coins, jade circles with the middle punched out. Full coins held the most value, with no hole, half coins only had a small hole, and ring coins were called such because almost no coin remained, leaving only a small jade ring. The ones in the pouch were mostly ring coins with a few halves and no whole. It also had a small Talisman, and while Yi wasn't an expert, he recognized it as a low-quality shield Talisman.

He was truly touched by his Seniors gifts, and he still hadn't checked the dagger. Picking it up Yi saw that it was engraved with a flame enchantment, most likely done by Senior Luo himself. He had mentioned that he dabbled in Enchanting a few times to Yi, and the etching on the blade showed that it was a fairly low-grade enchantment but probably one of Senior Luo's better successes in the difficult field.

Packing everything away he then went up to his own apartment where he grabbed an assortment of things for travel. He had a small handful of alchemy successes, mostly energy pills and nourishment pills meant for long travel. He had only three pill types of a slightly higher quality. Pepper bomb pills were the entry level version of the exploding pills Senior Luo had given him. Blood Stop pills and Pain Numbing pills were standard first aid medicines meant to be crushed over a wound.

Yi also grabbed his tea herbs but left everything but a small travel kettle and cup behind. All too soon it was time to leave. With the chaos of repair, he found it shockingly easy to simply leave the Sect. His Increased cultivation and stamina saw him out and overlooking the village in only a few hours.

He looked back over the same hill that almost four years prior he and Cao had caught their first glimpse of the Sect. Yi knew that leaving this way would most likely get him expelled from the Sect, and that was assuming he didn't just die.

"Goodbye" he said to the distant mountains and turned around. This was always going to happen eventually; the Raging Stormy Mountain was too small for a protagonist. If he hadn't left eventually worse things might have happened to the Sect. Well, he guessed what was done was done, it didn't matter anymore, and he only hoped that Cao could stay alive long enough for him to find her.

Hong Cao stood in a ring, blood dripped down her face from cuts on her cheek and forehead. Her Opponent, a Demonic Man also in the Early Meridian Cleansing stage, sneered at her and charged. It was hardly far, he was fresh and armed, and she had been fighting for hours, still she blocked his first hit, dodged his second and sent him flying back with a kick. The Man recovered quickly grinning like a maniac and charging right back at her.

This had been going on for over a week. In the first day the Demons had told all the Captives to join them and betray the Sect, predictably nobody had taken them up on the offer. That's when the fights started. Everyday all the captives would fight Demonic cultivators until they collapsed. Every day the captives got a little weaker, barely any food, no medical aid, and dirty cold cellars to sleep in wore on their minds and bodies.

The Strongest Captives were Body Refinement Stage, which could easily last through these conditions for months if needed. However, the Early Meridian Cleansing Cultivators Like Cao were barely hanging on.

After her fourth fight without rest Hong Cao Collapsed. Not for the first time she wished she had opened her heart or even lung Meridian to improve her stamina. She was dragged, not remotely, gently out of the ring, distantly she could hear cheering as a new prisoner was thrown in.

Two days ago, the first person had given up, yesterday it was two more, today four. Most had been In the Early Meridian cleansing stage but one had been in the middle. She wasn't sure exactly how many had been taken but the number was at least a few hundred. The Only reason she knew how many had given up was the jailers would remind everyone first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening. They could be lying of course, but Cao didn't think so.

Hell, if she wasn't sure Yi was on his way, ready to dye his fists red, she might have been tempted to give up too. But she couldn't do that to her best friend, her brother really. So, she would hold on, just a little longer.