My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Ruan Chayan and Luo Hanying stayed in the cave with the pretty widow and others for four days. Around midnight, when the wine monk and Mu Qing returned from Qiuxi City, they arranged to find a new place to stay.

If they stay in the same place for too long, they are not only more likely to be targeted by monsters, but also more likely to be located by the people of Taibai Pavilion.

Whether it's garbage or feces left behind by daily life, they will all reveal their traces.

The group arrived at an ancient city, which was covered in yellow sand. There were collapsed city walls and houses, and it was impossible to say how many years ago this place had been.

When Widow Joe explored this place, she thought it was safe, but when her group arrived, they actually disturbed the two sand pythons that had been occupying the area.

Fortunately, the Sand Pythons only had an eighth or ninth level of cultivation, equivalent to the late stage of the Golden Core realm in human cultivation. Ruan Chayan and Luo Hanying directly broke through the shackles of the pills, and their overwhelming pressure caused the two Sand Pythons to run away in fright.

Widow Qiao was surprised and delighted that the two of them had such high cultivation levels, and asked them who they were.

Luo Hanying then explained that she and Ruan Chayan were disciples of the Shiren Sect and were going to explore the unopened Guangxu Secret Realm, passing through their area.

Widow Qiao clapped her hands and laughed, "This is truly our good fortune! If it weren't for the mercy of you two seniors, we don't know what would have become of us!"

Ruan Chayan exchanged a few polite words, and then she joined Luo Hanying in setting up an array in the ancient city.

For the next few days, they would wait here for reinforcements to arrive. Just in case, they should make more preparations to prevent the elderly, women, and children from being harmed by monsters or Taibai Pavilion.

*

Widow Qiao's expression was hard to decipher, a bitter smile playing on her lips: "Are you really going to abandon your son and leave here?"

The man standing opposite her said matter-of-factly, "After so many days, I've figured it out. As long as I'm alive, my son can be born again."

"The power of Taibai Pavilion is so strong that the entire Canglan Realm cannot withstand their formations and alchemy cauldrons. Why should I stay here for a mere brat?"

Widow Qiao looked both reluctant and disgusted with men: "That was your child, after all. Jiao Niang sacrificed her life to fill the formation so that you two could live. Jiao Niang's body is barely cold, how can you say such shameless things?!"

The man waved his hand impatiently: "My beloved is dead. When disaster strikes, everyone flies away!"

Pretty widow, stop dawdling with me! Hurry up and give me the pills and spirit stones. Are you trying to hoard the things those two immortals gave you by holding onto your Qiankun bag like this?

"I told you I saw it! That alluring, tall, thin guy stuffed a lot of pills into your hands!"

Widow Qiao and a man missing an arm stood in the shade. Few people came here, and if Luo Hanying hadn't set up an array here, no one would have known they were talking.

Luo Hanying: ? A slender, alluring woman? Me?

"What are you arguing about?" Luo Hanying thought to herself, since they're all eyeing the pills she gave away, she should ask what's going on.

The man remained silent, so Widow Qiao explained, "Old Chen wants to leave. He plans to go to another town and asked me for pills and spirit stones. I gave a set to everyone who left earlier."

Luo Hanying nodded knowingly: "In that case, just give it to him. One more or one less person won't make any difference to us."

It's one thing for him to be immoral, but we can't be immoral too.

Luo Hanying's sarcastic remarks made Widow Qiao unable to suppress her laughter. Chen Laosi, knowing that Luo Hanying's cultivation was so high that he could crush him with a single finger, only showed his resentment and said nothing.

While patrolling outside the ancient city, Ruan Chayan watched the man leave in a blatant manner and asked Luo Hanying what had happened.

"Nothing much, he just wants to give up on Qiuxi City and isn't planning to wait for us to rescue his son."

Luo Hanying buried the spirit stone in the corresponding location, then continued distractedly, "[I heard him tell Widow Qiao that he wanted to start a new life, that he didn't want his current child and planned to have another one.]"

Ruan Chayan's expression was one of disgust: ["Speechless. What a disgusting man."]

Luo Hanying cast a dust-removing spell, shaking her clean clothes to check: "There was nothing I could do, I was so disgusted that I told Widow Qiao to get rid of them quickly."

I don't understand why he wants to leave now when the reinforcements are supposed to arrive in a few days.

"Could it be that you're afraid he'll die in a fight?" Ruan Chayan scoffed. "He's only at the Qi Refining Realm. How could we possibly let him confront Taibai Pavilion head-on?"

Luo Hanying couldn't understand why either: "Who knows? Neither of us seems like the kind of people who would push low-level cultivators out to their deaths."

Some people's thoughts are just hard to understand; we have no idea what they're thinking.

The two complained a couple more times and then forgot about it.

If all goes well, as long as the Yun Liubai family and the people from Wenyuan Academy arrive in Qiuxi City, they will be able to enter the city and drive the people from Taibai Pavilion out.

Although dealing with the alchemy cauldron and the formation is troublesome, ensuring the safety of the survivors for the time being is not a difficult task.

However, an accident occurred.

In the latter half of the night, when everyone was most relaxed, the people from Taibai Pavilion stealthily made their way to the outside of the ancient city. If they hadn't triggered the formation, everyone would probably have died in their sleep.

Ruan Chayan quickly pulled Huajiao out of the spirit beast pouch: "Huajiao! Wake up! Your time to shine has come!"

Pepper was unwittingly carried on Ruan Chayan's shoulder, and the two of them, one human and one beast, took the lead in guarding the edge of the formation and engaging in combat with Taibai Pavilion.

Luo Hanying hurriedly checked the formation. Several people had reached their side and rear, trying to break the formation. After interfering with them, she didn't dare to go out. Those people were all more powerful than her and had underhanded methods. She didn't dare to gamble that she would be alright.

Luo Hanying simply laid out the array plates she had carved before, like burying landmines, around the perimeter. The situation was critical; if they cared about the array plates, no one cared about their lives.

Widow Qiao, who had just fallen asleep after keeping watch at midnight, was awakened by the drunken monk. She wiped her face, summoned her magical weapon, and charged out: "What's going on?! How did Taibai Pavilion know we were here?!"

The drunken monk took a swig of wine, enlarged the gourd and used it as a weapon, and laughed loudly, "I'm afraid there's a traitor among us!"

This old monk has devoted himself so diligently to saving all sentient beings, yet they have failed him!

As he spoke, he slammed the gourd heavily onto the two people who were fighting with Ruan Chayan, giving Ruan Chayan some breathing space.

Ruan Chayan scanned the area with her divine sense and spotted Chen Laosi hiding behind several leaders. She exclaimed incredulously, "It's Chen Laosi! The Chen Laosi who said he was leaving Qiuxi City today! He's behind those two!"

Now it was clear who had betrayed them, and Widow Qiao was furious: "I should kill him today! That bastard!"