The middle-aged man in pristine robes eyed the two Zi siblings intensely. He slowly walked toward them and crouched down once he got close enough to place a hand on their shoulders.

“I’m Chen Hao Ming, an elder from the Clear Heart Sect. I’m sorry for coming too late. I may have taken care of that demonic cultivator, but your father has already passed on.” The middle-aged man spoke out in a soft and feminine tone.

The siblings visibly flinched at the news, but Zi Xi recollected himself instantly and stepped forward. He clasped his fist and bowed towards the elder.

“Thank you for saving us, Elder Chen. We owe you our lives.”

Zi Xiao Mei didn’t have her brother’s composure and instead ran out toward the body of her father. More tears fell down her cheeks, as if a dam had broken.

Li Lang breathed in deeply to contain his emotions while he carefully watched the elder who had suddenly appeared.

What are the chances he makes such a dramatic entrance? I say this guy was here the entire time and only stepped in when convenient.

Despite Li Lang’s misgivings, there wasn’t anything he could do, nor did he have any proof, so he took to the background.

“No need for thanks, child. We have to leave quickly before more demonic cultivators have any ideas about the unique physique you two possess. Quickly say your farewells to your father.”

Having heard the elder’s words, Zi Xiao Mei’s cry intensified. “It’s all my fault, father! I’m sorry!”

Zi Xi grimaced at the scene and made his way over to hug his sister. For a while, nothing but their heartbreaking cries could be heard.

“I’m sorry, children, but there is no more time. You will have to mourn later. We must depart now.” The Clear Heart elder reminded.

The siblings’ eyes widened, but then turned to Li Lang.

“Elder, can we take our brother here with us? With our father gone, there’s no one left to take care of him.”

“A boy with a particularly big head.” He said thoughtfully. “I have heard about him in the reports. I believe he only has grade one aptitude, which unfortunately means he cannot enter the sect.” The elder shook his head. “Only disciples can reside in Mount Clear Heart, so he can’t come with us. Here, boy, take this and take care of yourself.”

The cultivator threw a pouch toward Li Lang. Upon catching it, he could immediately tell it was full of coins from the jingling of the bag.

“...Li Lang, please take care of yourself. It won’t be long until we come to find you once we have settled in.” Zi Xiao Mei said while doing her best to hold back her tears.

“Yes…Please be careful yourself. No one should target you if we’re not there, but still, be careful.”

“...I will…I’ll also make sure to bury your father. You guys can rest assured.”

While Li Lang had his misgivings and was lost on what to do himself, he agreed his two childhood friends would be much safer with the Clear Heart Sect. As soon as the children finished with their parting words, the elder whistled loudly, and a giant bird rushed toward them. The beast was larger than the vehicles Li Lang had seen, and a mysterious pressure emanated from it.

Is that a tamed Qi beast…?

It landed docilely beside the elder, lowering itself to allow the humans aboard. The elder swiftly helped the siblings mount the beast before getting on himself. The bird had an intelligent glint in its eyes and took off after confirming its passengers were aboard.

It flapped its wings, producing a gust of wind that kicked up all the sand around Li Lang as it took off. Just as it was about to pick up speed, a purple fog encompassed the entire area. The moment the gas made contact with the giant Qi beast, its movements slowed and the bird went into a daze.

The passengers on the mount, however, were completely fine. A soft yellow glow enveloped them, keeping the fog out.

Elder Chen narrowed his eyes and inspected their surroundings. He could make out something moving rapidly within the fog, but nothing beyond that. As the sweat started to build on the elder’s brow, the gentle voice of an old lady sounded out from no particular direction at all.

“A Violet Core cultivator of the righteous path at such a young age. You have even comprehended Fire Laws to minor achievement. Not bad.”

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The Clear Heart Sect elder remained silent, despite his expression betraying how serious he found the situation. He made a split-second decision and reached into his robe.

“Come now, you don’t plan on getting violent with an old lady like me, I presume? Why don’t you leave those kids behind and I’ll let you go?”

“Silence you demon! I would be a fool to trust the words of a demonic cultivator like you!” The elder pulled out and scattered a dozen talismans all around him and they exploded with enough force to clear away the fog so that even Li Lang could spot them from the ground.

Unfortunately for Elder Chen, the fog returned a second later.

“Oh, do you know who I am?” The old lady’s voice resonated through the area once more.

“Stop playing around with me and give me an honorable death, if you must! I was prepared to meet my end the moment the infamous Abductress showed up. May the heavens curse your fate with a horrible end for all your misdeeds!”

“I see…” The woman let out a weary sigh. “Fine, I will give you the end you desire.”

As soon as she said her words, the sound of wood clacking filled the area. It grew louder until a figure suddenly leaped into view, crashing into Elder Chen. The Zi siblings huddled together as they watched a wooden puppet locking swords with the elder.

“A Violet Core level puppet?” Elder Chen muttered.

The two were evenly matched, with the Elder’s protective glow clashing against the purple fog that continued its attempt to seep through the barrier.

Neither party budged until the elder’s sword started to glow. Its intensity grew by the second before the middle-aged man shoved the puppet off his mount before chasing after it.

Several wisps of fire materialized around the elder, spinning in a circle around him. The fire then shot out as if it had minds of its own, cutting off the escape route of the puppet.

He then brought his sword up and the wind began being sucked toward his sword, creating a vortex around it. Right above his sword, a colossal fireball appeared. It rapidly reduced in size as it became more compact every millisecond. The color changed from red to orange, then to a resplendent yellow, as it stabilized around the size of a carriage.

The heat of the surrounding area shot up with the appearance of the giant fireball. The purple haze quickly dissipated from the heat, restoring vision to everyone around. However, what took its place was the air distorting from all the heat, creating a visibly shimmering effect to accompany the high temperatures.

“Whole Heart Slash!” Elder Chen yelled as he swung down with his sword.

The entire area went silent once he swung down, as the yellow fiery ball descended toward the puppet, which was now exposed without any fog around. It appeared slow at first, but suddenly closed the distance to its target in an instant. Then sound all returned at once as the impact of the fireball hitting the earth resounded. Dirt splashed up high into the air, with birds crying out as they took to the skies.

However, the clear skies only lasted for several more seconds before the purple fog once again consumed the scenery as the ball of fire was gone. It prevented everyone from seeing the aftermath of the attack.

Elder Chen knew it didn’t matter if his attack worked or not, as it was only a puppet controlled by a superior cultivator. That was why he landed back on his Qi beast. He looked haggard, and he sweated profusely as he sighed to himself.

“Elder Chen, are you okay?” Zi Xiao Mei asked worriedly.

“I’m sorry—”

Just as he was turning back to face the Zi siblings, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He glanced down to find a sword had pierced through his chest, and the last thing he saw was the face of the emotionless puppet when he turned his head to get a glimpse of his assailant.

His body collapsed on the back of the giant bird. A wistful sigh from the old woman could be heard by everyone nearby. A moment later, the Qi beast suddenly lost consciousness as well. The beast came crashing down onto the ground.

Li Lang, who had only seen glimpses of the fight, immediately reacted to the noise of the Qi beast hitting the ground. He immediately ran toward the sound of impact.

“Zi Xi! Zi Xiao Mei!”

He ignored the fog and continued running straight into it. He felt his body weaken, but he persisted.

His perseverance paid off when he spotted the large shadow in front of him. It urged him to move even faster until he spotted an adult-sized figure standing over his unconscious friends, sprawled on the ground.

“It really is the Tranquil Harmony physique. Very good!” The old lady’s voice sounded out from the figure.

Li Lang froze at the sight of such a dangerous character, unsure of what to do. He watched as the old woman waved her hands and two wooden puppets appeared out of thin air and began to carry the Zi siblings over their shoulders.

I need to save them…But what can I do?

Li Lang gritted his teeth as he cursed his own powerlessness. He took a deep breath and made up his mind.

“Please leave them alone, Senior! Let me take their place instead!”

The old woman ignored his pleas and kept her full attention on the siblings, but his cries had managed to wake his childhood friends up.

“Huh, where are we? Who are you? Let me go!” The siblings cried.

When Zi Xi met eyes with Li Lang, he quickly changed his complaining tune to that of anger.

“Li Lang! What are you doing? Get away from here!”

“Now, now, children. Behave.” The old woman clapped her hands and the wooden puppets instantly vanished into the fog, along with the children they were carrying.

Li Lang watched his friends disappear in horror as the old lady finally turned around to face him. She abruptly faded away into the fog and reappeared directly in front of him, causing him to flinch back. He didn’t even get to fall to the ground as the woman gripped his shoulder, holding him in place.

Unable to move, Li Lang could only watch on fearfully as the old lady flashed her teeth at him.