Chapter 24

After all, the Savage Forest was dangerous, and Ji Da was also afraid that Jiang Li would drag him down. Seeking benefit and avoiding harm was human nature.

Now that he saw Jiang Li again, he struggled inwardly for a while. In the end, his father’s instruction to protect Jiang Li as much as possible gained the upper hand.

Jiang Li was in a hurry to find Ye Qingruo. The White Bone Demons at the bottom of the valley were about to come up, and she had no time to delay.

Now he said he had been worried. What had he been doing earlier?

So she left behind one sentence: “You’ve got the wrong person.”

Then she hurried forward.

Ji Da frowned. Seeing people around them looking over, he silently closed his mouth.

Everywhere he looked, there were figures. The atmosphere was heavy and tense, just like his conflicted heart at this moment. Should he break away from the group to protect Jiang Li?

However, Jiang Li did not give him time to hesitate. She quickly slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

“Jiang Li, hurry! There’s almost no time.”

Following Xiao Hu’s urging, the crowd suddenly fell into chaos.

In an instant, miserable screams sounded everywhere. The Golden Core disciples could still dodge, but the Foundation Establishment disciples were not so lucky.

Because Foundation Establishment disciples had not yet opened their divine sense, they had not known that there were White Bone Demons at the bottom of the valley. Moreover, those demons were all at Golden Core. From the very beginning, the Foundation Establishment disciples had fallen into a disadvantage. At this moment, they had almost become fish on the chopping board.

Ye Qingruo made a prompt decision. “All Qingxi Sect disciples, retreat!”

While searching for Jiang Li, she had encountered the Qingxi Sect disciples led by Xinyi. Thinking that Jiang Li might possibly be over here, she had come with a faint hope to search.

Who would have known that as soon as she arrived, before her divine sense could even find Jiang Li’s shadow, she discovered that the area below was ​bailiantales.com​full of white bones that had become spirits, and all of them were at Golden Core.

Ye Qingruo knew very well that most Qingxi Sect disciples were at Foundation Establishment and had no ability to fight them. She hurriedly ordered everyone to retreat, but it was still too late.

Seeing groups of white bones surge over, she held the Binghua Sword and stood at the very front.

“Xinyi, take everyone and leave!”

Xinyi stammered, “Young Sect Master… we can’t leave…”

White Bone Demons filled the sky and the land. The moment they appeared, they surrounded all the cultivators in a circle. Where was there any chance to leave?

Seeing this, the Qingxi Sect disciples all moved closer to Ye Qingruo. The hundred disciples participating in the trial gathered together, and the same thought flashed through all their minds.

They were finished!

Ye Qingruo did not, like the other Golden Core disciples, only care about herself. She tightened her grip on the Binghua Sword. As the young sect master, she absolutely would read the original at bailiantales.comnot allow herself to abandon the Qingxi Sect disciples.

Just then, a clear voice rang out.

“Ye Qingruo.”

Hearing the call, Ye Qingruo raised her brows and looked over. She saw Jiang Li only a few steps away.

“You…”

Ye Qingruo wanted to say that Jiang Li should let Xiao Hu protect her and quickly flee for her life, but then she felt that saying anything would be unnecessary.

Because Jiang Li had already arrived in front of her.

The two stood side by side with swords in hand. Neither of them said anything, yet it was as though something had already been said.

A thick scent of blood spread through the air.

Most of the disciples from the Lower Three Sects were at Foundation Establishment, and their casualties were heavy. The disciples from the Upper Three Sects were slightly better off. Some inner disciples had even taken out protective artifacts and were temporarily not in danger.

As for the disciples without protective artifacts, they were in a miserable state, being surrounded and slaughtered by the white bone horde.

Screams rang out endlessly. The disciples hiding beneath magical artifacts watched with their hearts pounding in fear, but none dared to open their mouths and call for help.

It was truly because the barriers created by these magical artifacts were limited. For example, Mei Sheng, the chief inner disciple of Tianjian Sect—Senior Brother Mei.

The protective artifact he had offered up was a white jade umbrella. Under the umbrella, at most fifty people could be covered.

The Upper Three Sects had each sent two hundred disciples. Mei Sheng barely needed to think before choosing to protect the Golden Core disciples of Tianjian Sect like himself.

As for the remaining one hundred and fifty disciples, he was powerless to help.

Ye Qingruo also had a protective artifact given to her by her adoptive father, but the Purple Gold Cover could protect at ​stolen content​most four people. She could not choose.

In her urgency, she glanced at Xinyi, pushed Jiang Li backward, and activated the Purple Gold Cover.

Qingxi Sect’s chief disciple, Xinyi; Jiang Li; and two people closest to Xinyi—one of them was Xia Zhidi.

Jiang Li was pushed by Ye Qingruo. Looking at the small purple light cover, she had not yet come back to herself when Xia Zhidi tugged at her sleeve.

“Jiang Li, look.”

Look at what? Jiang Li looked around, not understanding.

Xia Zhidi pointed toward the white bone horde chasing after and slaughtering the sect disciples. “Those white bones seem to be automatically avoiding this place.”

Or rather, avoiding the place where the Qingxi Sect disciples were.

Jiang Li froze slightly. It was true. With the Qingxi Sect disciples’ position as the center, not a single white bailiantales.combone approached within dozens of meters, forming a safe circle.

What was going on? Was it because the male lead and female lead were both here?

Thinking of this possibility, she hurriedly said, “Come here quickly! Qingxi Sect’s side is safe!”

But the screams were deafening. How could anyone clearly hear her voice?

Jiang Li took a deep breath, walked out, and explained the situation to Ye Qingruo.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Qingruo decided to save people. They were all sect disciples of the cultivation world. If they could protect one more person, then they should.

She and Jiang Li exchanged a look, then walked in two different directions and each shouted aloud.

“There are no white bones approaching Qingxi Sect’s side! Everyone, hurry—”

“Jiang Li, come back quickly! Jiang Li…”

“Young Sect Master, come back quickly! Young Sect Master…”

Before they could even finish a complete sentence, the Qingxi Sect disciples behind them cried out in terror. Those white bones seemed to have smelled fresh human qi and suddenly surrounded the Qingxi Sect disciples.

Jiang Li and Ye Qingruo were greatly alarmed and hurriedly turned back.

“Quickly return to the Purple Gold Cover…”

Ye Qingruo instinctively spoke, but halfway through, she fell silent because of the scene before her.

Because as they returned, those white bones actually retreated.

Seeing the white bone horde turn to seek other targets, the Qingxi Sect disciples could not help shouting, “Young Sect Master, don’t go too far away!”

Clearly, the White Bone Demons had surrounded them because Jiang Li and Ye Qingruo had left, then bailiantales.com retreated because the two of them returned.

In other words, what these white bones feared was either Jiang Li or Ye Qingruo.

No matter which situation it was, as long as both of them stayed, that meant safety.

Ye Qingruo seemed to sense something and said to the Qingxi Sect disciples, “Watch your words.”

She meant they were not to discuss that strange scene just now.

After that, she walked to the edge of the safe circle, circulated spiritual power, and said loudly, “No white bones approach Qingxi Sect’s side. This place is temporarily safe. Fellow Daoists, come quickly.”

Ye Qingruo was certain that the one the white bones feared was not herself, because before Jiang Li arrived, those white bones had not avoided Qingxi Sect’s position.

Only after Jiang Li came did the place where the Qingxi Sect disciples stood become safe.

In other words, Jiang Li was the one the White Bone Demons feared.

Her calm, clear voice, strengthened by spiritual power, rang throughout the surroundings of the valley. Hearing Ye Qingruo’s voice, the few survivors saw that there really were no white bones approaching Qingxi Sect’s side, and they fled there without hesitation.

More and more people joined them. The formation that originally had only one hundred Qingxi Sect disciples quickly expanded to more than two hundred people. Only then did the tragic battlefield finally quiet down.

The night grew deeper.

Beneath a dozen or so protective artifacts, large and small, the survivors’ expressions were tense. They looked at the battlefield strewn with corpses and remained silent for a long time.