Chapter 274 273: The West District Examinees' Pursuit

"Whether I'm good enough or not isn't for a girl like you to decide. That depends on Tang Yi's opinion. Anyway, I'm going to confess to him the moment I see him, and we'll see what he says," Mi Lu said bluntly, flicking a lock of hair from her temple, completely unconcerned.

"You!"

Tang Shu pointed at Mi Lu, fuming and speechless. She had never seen such a shameless woman.

'How can a woman be so shameless?'

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE!

Tang Shu wanted to say more, to make Mi Lu back down, but just then, a rustling sound came from the distance.

The sound seemed to come from someone moving quickly through the darkness, stepping on dry twigs and fallen leaves.

"What is that..."

Hearing the sound, the three of them fell silent and listened intently.

The rustling grew closer and closer, as if whoever was making the sound was rushing straight toward Mu Xianling and the others.

"It couldn't... It couldn't be those two contestants from the West District, could it?" Tang Shu asked weakly, her hands tightening on Mu Xianling's arm in fear.

"The Demon Beast Forest is extremely dangerous at night, and the Little Extreme Sacred Land is no exception. Ordinary contestants wouldn't travel in the dark, or they'd face immense danger. It's just like with that Level 5 Demon Beast from before. If those two contestants from the West District hadn't drawn its attention, we would've been doomed. So, for someone to be moving through the night and heading unerringly in our direction... if I'm not mistaken, it must be those two contestants from the West District," Mi Lu said, laying out her analysis with perfect clarity.

"Ah? No! What do we do? Sister Xianling, what should we do? They're not going to capture us, are they? *Sob*... I don't want this. I don't want to be captured."

Hearing Mi Lu's analysis, Tang Shu immediately panicked. She turned and gripped Mu Xianling's arm tightly, starting to cry.

"What are you babbling about! Calm down!"

Mu Xianling glanced at Tang Shu and patted her arm to quiet her. "It's not necessarily those two contestants from the West District. It could be a Demon Beast for all we know. But we must prepare for the worst! If it is them, we can't outrun them. If we try to hide here, with their considerable strength, they'll surely sense our auras when they get close. This is tricky."

"Then what do we do, Sister Xianling?" Tang Shu said urgently. "Whether it's a Demon Beast or those two contestants from the West District, we have to figure something out, fast!"

"Don't panic. The more you panic, the harder it is to think of a solution."

Mu Xianling soothed her again, then lowered her head in deep thought.

But after a moment of thought, as the rustling sound grew ever closer, she still couldn't come up with a way to resolve the impending crisis.

Sighing, Mu Xianling muttered in resignation, "We're all out of energy. We can't run. If only we had a treasure that could conceal our auras... we could hide right here, and they'd never find us."

"A treasure that conceals auras? I have one!"

Hearing Mu Xianling's murmur, Mi Lu's eyes suddenly lit up.

"You do?" Mu Xianling froze for a second, turning to look at Mi Lu in astonishment.

"I do!"

Mi Lu nodded and pulled an exquisite brocade box from within her silk robes. She opened it, and with a HUM, a hazy gray energy surged out, forming a gray Energy Shield that enveloped all three women.

At that moment, the three women could clearly feel their auras being completely sealed within the gray Energy Shield. Not a single trace escaped. It was incredibly magical.

Seeing Mu Xianling and Tang Shu staring at her in amazement, Mi Lu explained, "This is a life-saving item my family gave me called the Hidden Treasure Box. It can conceal a Martial Artist's aura. When used, not even a Battle Emperor Level Martial Artist can find you. It's incredibly precious. Our lives are in danger, and we might even face humiliation from our enemies. As much as I hate to use this treasure, I have no choice in this emergency."

"You actually have a treasure like this! This means as long as we hide, those two contestants from the West District won't be able to find us, even with the strength of a Battle King!" Mu Xianling said with delight.

"Does that mean we're saved? We won't be captured by those two contestants? This is wonderful!" Tang Shu added happily.

Although Tang Shu disliked Mi Lu, they were all in the same boat now. And since Mi Lu had just produced such a precious item, Tang Shu couldn't bring herself to be angry with her, no matter how much she disliked her.

"Don't celebrate too early. This thing has limitations. It can only be used for a total of three days, and only three times per day, with an interval of one double-hour between each use. Each use only lasts for half a double-hour. After that, this gray Energy Shield will disappear! In other words, once half a double-hour is up, our auras will be exposed, and we'll have to leave immediately!" Mi Lu said seriously.

"It has that many restrictions?"

Mu Xianling's brow furrowed at the news, but she still said, "Let's not worry about that for now. We'll deal with the limitations. First, let's get through this crisis! We can't just stand here. Even with our auras hidden, they'll see us if we stay out in the open. We have to hide! Over there! Let's climb that tree!"

As she spoke, Mu Xianling pointed toward a large tree.

Tang Shu and Mi Lu looked where Mu Xianling was pointing and saw the large tree.

After exchanging a glance, the three women moved quickly. They were all Martial Artists with excellent physiques. Though exhausted, they could still manage to climb a tree. In no time, all three of them were up in its branches.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

Just as Mu Xianling and the others settled in the tree, two black shadows appeared right where they had been standing moments before.

Peeking down from the tree, the three women saw that the two black shadows were none other than the two contestants from the West District!

Seeing the two men, all three women held their breath. Their bodies went rigid, and they didn't dare to move a muscle, their tension palpable.

'It really is them! Just as we thought!'

'I can't believe they're still chasing us!'

'And somehow, they managed to track us all the way here!'

"That's strange. I could still sense their auras a moment ago, right in this spot. But now that we're here, they've suddenly vanished. The Destiny-Seeking Disc isn't reacting either. I don't know what happened," Jiao Zhiming said in confusion, fiddling with a round, iron disc in his hand.

"Maybe you were just being oversensitive and misjudged their location? Or maybe the Destiny-Seeking Disc is malfunctioning?" Shao Yushan asked, scanning the surroundings.