Chapter 527: Prelude

"Around four days, Young Master Dugu," Situ Hao replied to Dugu Changxu. "However, we might be able to meet sooner, as Ning Zhiya will be leading Luo Yixuan and the others toward us."

Dugu Changxu nodded in understanding. "Elder Hao, I wanted to ask you about Situ Lingxi."

"Hmm?" Situ Qingze’s ears perked up. "Are you interested in my sister, Brother Changxu?"

Dugu Changxu ignored him. "Is she—"

"Young Master Dugu, we don’t know much about our young miss, so you should ask Old Patriarch Situ or Madam Murong about that matter."

Dugu Changxu raised an eyebrow for a moment, glanced at Situ Qingze, and nodded to the two elders. He knew Situ Lingxi and Tang Xiao knew each other, but he didn’t know their real relationship, and their reaction gave him the answer. "We should leave now."

"Yes."

Situ Qingze grumbled in annoyance because Dugu Changxu always ignored him, even though they were in the same group, and he only spoke to the two elders of the Situ Clan. ’This bastard! I will definitely teach him a lesson in the future!’

One of Tang Xiao’s clones, who was watching from afar, didn’t immediately follow them. After all, he could monitor them through the system map, so he chose to pick herbs in that area first.

.

.

.

*Bam... Bam...*

In one area, Tang Xiao was busy fighting several Lower Emperor-level beasts. Unlike before, he didn’t use the power of the Sun Stone to fight them; instead, he relied solely on his sword techniques.

Meanwhile, Situ Lingxi and Cui Jing were tasked with protecting Tang Yin and the others, who were busy gathering herbs. Given their current strength, they couldn’t fight emperor-level beasts, so Tang Xiao asked them to gather herbs.

In fact, Tang Yin and the others wanted to return to the second area, but Tang Xiao forbade them because there were many powerful cultivators in that area, and he couldn’t leave them unprotected.

Situ Lingxi told Tang Xiao that she would protect them, and Cui Jing would accompany them. However, he asked them to be patient for a while, and they could return once those cultivators entered the third area.

Since Tang Xiao insisted on it, Tang Yin and the others didn’t press the issue; instead, they focused on gathering herbs in the third area.

.

.

.

Xuanyuan Yueyao and Tian Xiaoqian sat side by side on a large tree branch, watching Tang Xiao fight those beasts.

Although Tang Xiao had already shown a bit of his abilities in front of them before, Tian Xiaoqian was still curious about his fighting abilities, so she decided to observe him.

Compared to Tang Xiao, Tian Xiaoqian felt that her combat ability was less efficient. She could see that he was moving along with the beasts’ rhythm, and his attacks always struck their weak points precisely. ’How did he train himself? How could his speed surpass cultivators at my level? If I pay close attention, his speed is much faster than my grandfather’s.’

Like Tian Xiaoqian, Xuanyuan Yueyao also didn’t know much about Tang Xiao, especially his training method. Every time she asked him, he just said he practiced normally like ordinary people.

In Xuanyuan Yueyao’s eyes, Tang Xiao was always shrouded in a mysterious mist. Every time she felt she knew him better, he would show her something else, like his previous fight with the Peak Emperor Level Beast.

Xuanyuan Yueyao wanted to know Tang Xiao’s secrets, but he was too cautious, and he kept everything tightly under wraps. The more mysterious his attitude toward her, the stronger her feelings for him became.

.

.

.

[Master, Mo Wang has moved again, and he is getting closer to Huangfu Meizhen’s location.]

Tang Xiao moved away from the beasts, opened the system map, and looked for Mo Wang’s location. Based on Xiao Ai’s calculations, the male demon would arrive at Huangfu Meizhen’s location in two days.

Xiao Ai also displayed the locations of the other three demon generals, and Tang Xiao saw that they went to the fourth area. As for Mo Bing and Mo Jie, they were still in the third area, and their location was a little far from his.

[I think you should take them to another area, Master.]

’Just let them be for now.’ Tang Xiao refused. ’I don’t care about Song Tianzun’s fate, and I’m more curious about Mo Wang’s new plans against him.’

Before they entered the space rift, Mo Bing had already told Tang Xiao that Mo Wang was tasked with capturing Song Tianzun, but he readjusted his plans due to the changes in the space rift.

.

.

.

"Did something happen?"

Tang Xiao snapped back to reality and turned to Xuanyuan Yueyao. "Nothing happened. It’s just that Mo Wang is getting closer to Huangfu Meizhen’s location. Besides, this place is about to undergo some changes, but I can’t be sure what will happen next, so everyone should prepare for the worst."

"Change?"

"Try to sense the qi inside this space rift."

Xuanyuan Yueyao followed Tang Xiao’s instructions; her expression stiffened a few minutes later. "Since when did you notice the change?"

"A week ago," Tang Xiao pointed to the central area. "The source is there! That’s why I don’t want to rush to the next area, and we have to prepare to return to the first area."

"The first area?"

"The first area is the safest, so we should escape there if the changes are too dangerous for us." Tang Xiao observed his group members from the system map. He discovered that several elders went to the area full of the Tyrant Level Beasts. "You can tell them if you want."

After saying that, Tang Xiao returned to his previous location and fought those beasts again.

*Thud*

Tian Xiaoqian landed beside Xuanyuan Yueyao. "What did he say to you?"

"There is danger lurking in this place."

"A danger?"

"The danger hasn’t appeared yet, but it will appear soon." Xuanyuan Yueyao explained to her about the changes in the qi in the space rift.

After hearing that, Tian Xiaoqian tried to sense the changes in the qi in the space rift, and she wouldn’t have noticed if Xuanyuan Yueyao hadn’t told her about it. She looked toward Tang Xiao’s area, and she was curious about how he noticed it so quickly.

"This place seems more dangerous than I previously thought."

"I agree."

Xuanyuan Yueyao and Tian Xiaoqian immediately contacted everyone, asking them to gather at their camp.

After everyone else gathered, Xuanyuan Yueyao and Tian Xiaoqian explained the situation to them, and she asked them to prepare for the worst.

They were shocked after confirming the truth about the change in the qi, and Xuanyuan Yueyao didn’t hide from them that Tang Xiao was the first to notice it. She asked them not to disturb him, especially after Jiang Haoming’s previous attitude.

They agreed with Xuanyuan Yueyao and immediately contacted their members in other areas. In addition to forbidding them from approaching the barrier to the fourth area, they also instructed them to be prepared to flee to the first area should the situation change.

"Elder Mengli."

"Yes." Xuanyuan Mengli immediately contacted Xuanyuan Yushen and Xuanyuan Wanqing, instructing them to focus on protecting the two princes. She also asked them to take the two men away by force if an emergency arose. "I’ve already told them."

"That’s good." Xuanyuan Yueyao flew up to the tallest tree in the area and looked towards the central area. Unfortunately, Tang Xiao had no information about that area, so they couldn’t check the situation there. "What will happen next? I’ve never felt qi change like this, and the changes give me a bad feeling."

.

.

.

Night fell quickly, and they gathered together like the previous nights. However, the atmosphere among them was more tense than before, mainly because of the incident this morning coupled with the change in the qi.

Tang Xiao didn’t join them; instead, he sat alone atop the tallest tree in their area, focusing his attention on the central area. Unfortunately, Xiao Ai couldn’t inspect the area, so she didn’t know the reason behind the change in the qi.

*Swoosh*

"Master."

Tang Xiao turned to Hun, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her. "Why did you come out?"

"I felt a change in you, and you were restless, so I wanted to accompany you."

Tang Xiao smiled when he heard that. "This place is connected to the upper realm, and something is brewing in the central area. My strength may be enough to face cultivators in the lower realm, but I am not strong enough to face those who come from that realm, so I feel uneasy."

"It’s okay, Master," Hun said softly. "Honestly, not all cultivators in the upper realm are as strong as you think, so you don’t need to worry too much about them. Even though this place is connected to that realm, I’m sure they won’t send cultivators with high cultivation here."

"I hope you’re right." Tang Xiao glanced away. "Hun, you should go back inside the sun stone now, and I’ll call you out when those people are no longer by my side."

Hun did not refute Tang Xiao; she kissed him before entering the sun stone.

"Xiao’er." Tang Yin sat beside Tang Xiao and leaned her head on his shoulder. "We can enter the ark from here, right?"

Tang Xiao embraced her. "If great danger occurs, I want all of you to enter the ark directly."

"How about you?"

"If that happens, I will go to the central area to check the situation there." Tang Yin wanted to say something, but she swallowed the words that almost came out of her mouth. "I know you’re worried about me, but I have the void element, so you can rest assured."

"I know."