The leader of the cultivation alliance has a crush on me.

As expected, where there are people, there is gossip. Rong Xiu heard about Rong Ling's situation from someone and came to find Feng Xun in a hurry.

Therefore, Feng Xun did not have time to answer Song Ke's question, or rather, he had no intention of answering it at all.

Seeing that Feng Xun looked cold, as if Rong Ling were a stranger, Song Ke was afraid that Rong Xiu would be disheartened, so she couldn't help but remind him: "Hey, he said so much, he just wants to go to Xiqiong Kingdom to find Rong Ling, don't let him go."

Feng Xun looked at her with a questioning gaze, but because Rong Xiu was there, he didn't ask.

Song Ke said, "It's not that Xiqiong Kingdom is a vicious and dangerous place that cultivators usually don't dare to go there. If he goes there now, isn't he just courting death?"

"Besides, Qi Feng is still there. If we run into him, what do you think will happen to him?"

"However, we also need to find Rong Ling."

Feng Xun asked Rong Xiu directly, "What do you want?"

Rong Xiu was stunned when he heard Feng Xun speak. It took him several seconds to react. He said with a determined look on his face, "Master, I know that I am not strong enough and it is a bit presumptuous of me to go like this, but I can't watch Rong Ling get into trouble."

"The Western Kingdom is his nightmare." It was also his own nightmare. Rong Xiu didn't say the rest, but he could imagine that if Qi Feng used Rong Ling as bait to gather spirits and summon souls, the people of the Western Kingdom who had been resentful for over a hundred years, wandering for over a hundred years, and starving for over a hundred years might devour Rong Ling completely.

Because that's how they died—eaten alive by those demonic creatures that evolved from living demons.

Rong Xiu had tried to forget those terrifying and painful memories, but as soon as he opened a crack in the memory and recalled them, those painful wails and sharp curses seemed to be right next to his ears, shaking his eardrums.

Rong Xiu realized something was wrong with him, quickly snapped out of it, and silently recited the exorcism incantation several times before feeling a little better.

As the group descended the mountain, Song Yansong looked worried: "Alliance Leader, your injuries haven't fully healed yet. Going now would be too risky."

"However, Rong Ling is your disciple, so I can understand your concern for his safety."

After saying that, he said apologetically, "If I weren't watching the formation, I would have come with you all; it would be good to have more people to help each other."

Feng Xun remained silent, standing there with a cold expression. Rong Xiu, on the other hand, greeted Song Yansong with gratitude, saying, "Sect Leader Song, you are too kind. There's no need to worry; we will act carefully."

"Besides, I should be quite familiar with the Western Kingdom."

Song Yansong nodded in agreement and could only instruct, "Take good care of the alliance leader."

Rong Xiu nodded: "I will."

The three of them didn't bring anyone else with them, but they ran into Tian Shu on the way.

Rong Xiu immediately stood in front of Feng Xun, looking at Tian Shu and the group of Luo You Alliance subordinates behind her with a wary expression.

Song Ke also looked surprised and leaned closer to Feng Xun to ask, "There are only two of us."

Feng Xun asked calmly, "What?"

Song Ke assessed the strength of both sides: "I don't think we can win."

Tian Shu looked at Rong Xiu and sized him up for a few moments before slowly saying, "Oh, we haven't even reached Yuxiao Mountain yet, and we've already run into Alliance Leader Feng. What a coincidence."

"Tian Shu, we haven't settled the score for the chaos you've caused at Xuan Shang Palace, and now you've delivered yourself right to our doorstep," Rong Xiu said angrily.

Tian Shu chuckled softly. She glanced at Feng Xun, then at Rong Xiu, her tone as if she were talking to an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time: "The way you're saying this makes it sound like I'm the one avoiding you."

"Speaking of which, weren't you the ones who ran away first?"

"You..." Rong Xiu was furious at Tian Shu's words. Before they were enshrined in the Xuan Shang Palace, when had they ever been treated with such contempt?

"If you hadn't been so shameless, taking advantage of my master's serious injury to launch a sneak attack, do you really think you could have come to the Suspended Palace to run wild?"

Tian Shu couldn't help but laugh: "Hahaha, no, Rong Xiu, why can't you see that? Since our alliance leader was able to seriously injure Alliance Leader Feng, what's so strange about losing? Or are you all sore losers in the cultivation alliance?"

After speaking, she swept her gaze over Feng Xun. It seemed that because of his serious injury, her previous apprehension had completely disappeared, and her gaze became bold and unrestrained. This made Rong Xiu unable to resist summoning his sword and attacking Tian Shu.

Before Song Ke could even express her surprise, she could only sigh, "I thought your disciple was quite composed, but how come he still resorts to violence at the slightest disagreement?"

"Hey, aren't you going to help him? I reckon he's no match for Tian Shu."

Feng Xun said coldly, "Troublesome."

Rong Xiu was fighting Tian Shu, and it was as if he was being toyed with by Tian Shu. Rong Xiu's cultivation level was not as high as Tian Shu's, nor had he cultivated for as long as she had. He was quickly sent flying back by a single blow.

Feng Xun then stepped in and caught Rong Xiu with a thought, preventing him from falling in a sorry state.

He was surprised for a moment, then quickly said with some guilt, "Thank you, Master."

Song Ke encouraged Feng Xun from the side: "No, the Luo You Alliance is so arrogant, aren't you going to teach them a lesson?"

“You are the leader of the Cultivation Alliance. If you don’t deal with her now, they will still go to Jade Cloud Mountain once we get rid of them.”

"You know where my father set up the formation. It can't be disturbed. If they mess it up, I really won't be able to come back."

"You, we've been through thick and thin together, how could you just watch me die?"

"Quick, beat them up. You seem to have recovered quite well, so it's a good opportunity to practice on them."

Feng Xun frowned, sounding somewhat annoyed: "Too talkative."

Seeing Rong Xiu injured, Tian Shu was about to say something when Feng Xun attacked. Tian Shu was powerless against Feng Xun, but instead of killing them, Feng Xun set up a formation for them and threw the man into it.

Song Ke looked at Feng Xun's rapid fighting style with surprise: "Where did you put them?"

Feng Xun said calmly, "It's just a small formation. It won't be easy for them to break it open in a short time. This way it's more convenient."

Rong Xiu watched Feng Xun take action, his face full of worry: "Master, what do you think?"

Feng Xun glanced at him, and Rong Xiu looked ashamed: "It is because this disciple is not skilled enough and has disgraced Master."

Feng Xun didn't say much, only saying, "Let's go."

Song Ke was still looking around to see where Tian Shu had gone, and asked curiously, "Where did you put them? That's amazing."

"Are they really not going to be able to get out anytime soon?"

"If you had this skill earlier, you wouldn't have had to leave the Suspended Palace."

Why didn't you make a move that day?

Feng Xun didn't speak. Rong Xiu noticed that Feng Xun was looking to the side and asked with a puzzled expression, "Master, why are you looking over there? Is something wrong?"

Feng Xun withdrew his gaze, but quickened his pace, and Rong Xiu didn't press the matter further.

Half a month later, they arrived at a temporary inn at the foot of Tianqiong Mountain, the closest mountain to the Western Kingdom.

I overheard this gossip while eating.

"Did you know that something seems off about Tianqiong Mountain lately? There used to be a lot of small animals in the mountains, but these past two days when I went up the mountain, I didn't see a single living creature, and I even faintly smelled a strong stench of blood."

"Is it true or not? It's not just the legend that a fox spirit lives on Tianqiong Mountain. I saw a magnificent palace built at the foot of the mountain for worship. With the fox spirit's protection, how could anything strange happen?"