Whoosh---
In the scorching sun of the wild desert, where no birds or beasts could be seen, a group of people that stretched over nearly ten miles, was like a dragon winding forward in the yellow sand.
In the lead, there was a wooden ship about ten feet long. Many disciples of the Justice Division collapsed on the deck, wiping their foreheads and necks with towels soaked in cold water to fight against the fire spiritual energy of the Central Region .
In the cabin, Ye Anping, wearing the Black Star Sect's uniform, held a jade slip in his hand as he wrote a string of names on it with an ink brush.
---Protector of the Justice Division , Zhou Muhe.
Then, he placed the jade slip on the table, took out another brand-new jade slip, and wrote down another name:
---Flag bearer of the Justice Division , Liu Yucheng.
...
After a while, the door of the cabin was opened from the outside.
Wearing a golden long dress, Yun Yiyi carried a bowl of cold water, walked into the cabin, and came to Ye Anping's side. "Anping, drink some water. We'll be at the Seven Dragon Valley soon."
Ye Anping nodded and put down the jade slip in his hand. "How's it going? Is there any trouble?"
"No... However, some of the disciples of the Justice Division 's Travel Department are about to collapse. Young Miss Xiao has instructed those cultivators with lower endurance to rest on the ship."
"Yeah, you should go out and show your face more often. It's okay with me."
Yun Yiyi glanced at the dozens of jade slips on the table and sat beside him. As she poured him a glass of water, she said, "Anping, you let me and Young Miss Xiao hang among the Justice Division disciples daily. Are you afraid that they will cause trouble?"
"Sort of." Ye Anping replied with a nod. "Although the Justice Division is under my command now, other than a few who have seen me before, ordinary disciples don't trust me. I have to let them know that you, the Young Miss of the Sword Sect, and the Young Miss of the Black Star Sect are still on the team. This way, they won't feel like they've been abandoned."
"Using Miss Xiao's and my identities to appease the troops' mood?"
"Something like that." Ye Anping shrugged slightly and smiled. "But among these three thousand people, there must be spies of demonic cultivators. I believe that now that the Wall has been breached, the Ghost Spirit Sect has most likely begun to pursue us."
"Is there a way to deal with it?"
"Sure is." Ye Anping looked down at the map hanging on the wall. "We have to march nearly five thousand miles to reach Sword Gate Pass . If we travel day and night, fatigue and fear of pursuers behind us will cause internal strife in the team sooner or later."
"So..."
" Seven Dragon Valley ." Ye Anping stared at the circled location on the map. "We have to kill all the pursuers here. After passing the Seven Dragon Valley , it will be a smooth road, but..."
Saying this, Ye Anping showed some uneasiness.
Seeing his expression, Yun Yiyi lowered her eyes, pondered for a while, then gently held his right hand. "What's wrong?"
"The situation changes rapidly. I'm afraid that Ghost Spirit Sect will not follow the norm and send one or two Deification cultivators to catch up with us. If that's the case, most likely eighty percent of the three thousand disciples will die."
Yun Yiyi nodded as if she had suddenly realized something.
"No wonder you ignored the spies of demonic cultivators although you knew they were infiltrated..."
"Yes, the spies will definitely report that these three thousand people are all Foundation Building cultivators. Therefore, if the Elders of the Ghost Spirit Sect know our combat strength, they will send a Nascent Soul cultivator and a few dozen Core Formation cultivators to hunt us down..."
Ye Anping lowered his eyes as he stroked his chin. "As for who it is... maybe it's the Elder of the Ghost Hall or Young Master Gui Qinghe, or maybe it's Chi Ming... I hope it's Gui Qinghe who comes after us. He's easier to deal with..."
"Is there anything you need me to do?"
"Nothing, just show up in front of the disciples more often." Ye Anping looked at her sideways. "Your cultivation is not as good as Yunluo's. You won't be of much use."
?
Yun Yiyi frowned and pinched him.
"Anping..."
"Just kidding, I just don't want you to take risks, otherwise your father will kill me."
Yun Yiyi felt helpless when she heard this, but she also knew her own limitations. If she were to fight, it was only thanks to the magical items and spiritual weapons in her bag that were better, and the fact that she was a little stronger than ordinary late-stage Foundation Building cultivators. However, she couldn't compare with Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue.
Yun Yiyi looked at the jade slips on the table with names written on them. After hesitating for a while, she summoned a zither from her storage bag and sat down on one side, placing the zither on her lap.
"Since my husband is writing the memorial tablets, I will help soothe the spirits with the zither."
"...Alright."
Ye Anping didn't say much, just nodded in agreement.
Just as Yun Yiyi's fingers had started to pluck the strings, the door was suddenly pushed open again.
Yun Yiyi quickly placed her hands on the zither strings and turned to look at the door.
Xiao Yunluo, holding a saucer and a teapot, pushed the door open with her shoulder and walked in, seemingly wanting to bring a cup of tea to Ye Anping. But when she saw Yun Yiyi and the teapot on the table, she realized:
---She was late.
"..."
Yun Yiyi smiled. "Sorry, I was a step ahead."
Xiao Yunluo pursed her lips and looked at Ye Anping, but then, not caring, she walked forward and placed the teapot on his table. Glancing at the zither in Yun Yiyi's hand, she said, "Miss Yun is so refined... She still has the leisure to play the zither on the march."
"It's just that I saw my husband writing the memorial tablets, so I accompanied him and played the zither to soothe the spirits."
"Ah?"
Xiao Yunluo was stunned for a moment and looked at the spirit tablets on the table with some embarrassment on her face. She immediately lowered her head and knelt on the mat, clasped her hands together, and chanted the sutra softly. "When the rite is complete it will bring relief..."
Ye Anping looked at these two and let out a sigh.
The music of the zither ended, and the Blessings and Longevity Sutra was recited three times.
Ye Anping put the one hundred and twenty-seven jade slips he had written into a special storage bag, then looked at the map hanging on the wall next to him. "Yunluo, do you know where the name Seven Dragon Valley comes from?"
Xiao Yunluo thought for a while and nodded.
"Hmm... I remember it was written in the books that thousands of years ago, there were seven dragons residing there. However, it seems that due to the collapse of the spiritual vein, the originally lush valley turned into a wilderness, and the dragons disappeared..."
Ye Anping pretended not to know and nodded. "So that's how it is..."
Xiao Yunluo smiled happily as she glanced at Yun Yiyi proudly. "I have a perfect memory of the books I read. Anping, you can ask me anything you don't know."
Yun Yiyi didn't say anything, but she felt that Xiao Yunluo was like a child, easy to fool. It was obvious that Ye Anping was just pretending not to know.
Ye Anping shook his head slightly and thought to himself.
In the game, because of the many life-and-death situations she had experienced with Feng Yu Die, Xiao Yunluo also understood her destiny as a Black Dragon in several life-threatening situations.
And now, perhaps because of his issue, Xiao Yunluo, who was a piece of gold, didn't have the chance to shine.
Let's take this opportunity to give her an impulse.
Thinking of this, Ye Anping frowned, with a grave expression. "Yunluo, when we reach the Seven Dragon Valley , my life is in your hands."
"Ah?"
"Remember what I said that night at Jade Pass ? You're a Black Dragon. If you can't understand what I mean by that--"
...Then I will have to use the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal.
Ye Anping thought so in his heart, but out loud, he said, "--I will surely die."
Xiao Yunluo froze when she heard this. After a while, she lowered her head nervously and asked, "Anping... are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Are you putting your life in my hands?"
"Yes."
Xiao Yunluo was rather unconfident and asked in a small voice, "...Is there any other way? I..."
Ye Anping frowned, shaking his head. "No, there's only one way. Whether I live or die depends on you."
Yun Yiyi could tell at a glance that Ye Anping was probably just scaring Xiao Yunluo, but she did not expose him. Instead, she smiled.
"Young Miss Xiao, my aptitude and cultivation are not as good as yours, so I'll leave my husband's life in your hands."
"Ah..." Xiao Yunluo came back to her senses and quickly raised her head. "That... Of course! He is also my husband!"
But just as she finished speaking, Xiao Yunluo saw Ye Anping's extremely serious face and immediately lost her confidence.
She opened her mouth slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't say it. Finally, she nodded. "Anping, I will try my best!"
"Don't just try. My life is in your hands this time..."
"Ah... yeah, I'll do it... I will... yeah."