Chapter 46: Iron Wings

After experiencing the night assault, Jiang Yan and his companions chose not to continue their journey, deciding instead to remain in place for the time being.

Ji Chuxue pondered aloud, "Let’s stay here and cultivate for a few days. Those monsters seem to have a hierarchy; we need to take our time and plan carefully."

Jiang Yan nodded in agreement, "Senior Sister is right! Everyone, have you ever wondered why those monsters are impervious to Little Dragon’s true fire? What secret is hidden within the white cloth wrapped around them?"

He was puzzled. If they were truly zombies, then the powerful true fire of Little Dragon should easily reduce them to ashes.

Xie Lingzhou furrowed her brow. "The white cloth wrapped around them is indeed strange. And the black mist emanating from their bodies—what could it be?"

Jiang Yan suddenly asked curiously, "By the way, Third Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister, Fourth Senior Sister, Fifth Senior Sister, what stage are you at in your cultivation?"

Xie Lingzhou replied, "Middle stage of the Nascent Soul Realm."

The others responded in turn.

Qin Feifei and Wu Qianqian were at the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, while Wen Yue was at the peak of the Golden Core Realm.

Jiang Yan then glanced at Zhou Yu, who was gently feeding water to the female corpse Jiang Xin, and asked, "Zhou Yu, which stage of the Nascent Soul Realm are you in?"

Zhou Yu calmly wiped the corner of the girl’s mouth and answered, "Peak stage."

In other words, the lowest cultivation level among them was Little Bai’s, followed by Jiang Yan and Wen Yue.

Although Little Bai was at the bottom, Jiang Yan felt that, as someone destined to greatness, he could not afford to fall behind.

He resolved to devote himself to cultivation in the coming days.

In fact, he had long sensed that a vast amount of spiritual energy had accumulated within him. Now was the time to digest it properly and transform it into his own strength...

To allow everyone to cultivate in peace, Ji Chuxue erected a powerful barrier around the camper van.

With this, should any monster attempt to breach the barrier, she would sense it immediately.

Thus, everyone inside—including Little Dragon and Little Bai—entered a state of cultivation.

While Jiang Yan’s group was intensively cultivating inside the camper van, the sect disciples continued their arduous escape across the sands.

Lin Ruyan’s group had barely any time to rest before a new wave of mummy-like monsters descended upon them.

"Ah! What are these monsters?" a female disciple cried, hacking wildly at the creature.

Though the monster’s body was sliced in two, its upper half stubbornly crawled toward her.

A quick-witted male disciple reacted by swiftly severing the monster’s head; only then did its upper half cease moving.

Lin Yurou joined the fray, conjuring a fireball in her hand and hurling it at the monster. Despite catching fire, it still lunged at her.

She acted decisively and sliced off its head with her sword.

This batch of monsters appeared to be of a lower rank, and they were soon dispatched.

Seeing that the disciples could handle themselves, Master Xuanqing refrained from intervening.

He believed that the fate of the weak would inevitably catch up with them.

Li Ziyun gently stroked Lin Ruyan’s hair, his face full of affection. "Ruyan, you’re amazing! You took down three monsters single-handedly."

Lin Ruyan blushed slightly and smiled, "Senior Brother, you flatter me. These monsters were simply too weak."

Master Xuanqing happened to notice their exchange, and an inexplicable irritation stirred within him; the chill radiating from him intensified.

"Keep moving," he commanded coldly.

Upon hearing the order, the disciples—exhausted though they were—could only grit their teeth and press on.

None of them noticed the massive black dragon streaking across the sky above.

Seated atop the dragon were Snow Eagle and Soul Hunter, and the male disciple they had captured clung tightly to one of its legs.

"Heroes, I can fly on my sword myself," the male disciple called out to Snow Eagle and Soul Hunter.

Soul Hunter replied bluntly, "Shut up. You’re too slow. If you keep whining, I’ll just kill you."

Snow Eagle concurred, "Exactly."

The male disciple, resigned to his fate, continued to cling desperately to the dragon’s leg. He felt utterly unlucky—how had he ended up encountering these two fierce figures?

"Iron Wing, you’d better fly faster, lest you lose another scale. Don’t you agree?" Soul Hunter tugged coldly at the chain around the black dragon’s neck.

This dragon had originally been imprisoned, and Soul Hunter had specifically requested to bring it down to the mortal realm using a divine ring capable of containing living creatures.

It was said that this black dragon had once been the contracted beast of their target for this mission, but had been forcibly released from its bond, leaving it gravely wounded.

It could sense the soul aura of their mission target, aiding them in locating her.

"Soul Hunter, do you think the target is in the Death Desert?" Snow Eagle asked curiously.

"We only need to deliver the Soul-Returning Flower. As for the target, that’s up to luck. If we’re unlucky, we can vent our frustration on Iron Wing, how about that?" Soul Hunter replied carelessly.

A spark of excitement flashed in Snow Eagle’s eyes. "Good idea! I love plucking dragon scales."

Iron Wing, hearing their conversation, growled in anger, "Hmph, I will never betray my master. Forget it! If you’re so capable, just kill me!"

Soul Hunter jerked the iron chain around the dragon’s neck and sneered, "You’ve been released from your contract, and you still call him master? Such loyalty! If you don’t cooperate, I have plenty of ways to make you obey."

The male disciple clinging to the dragon’s leg, terrified by the exchange, shut his eyes and silently repeated to himself, "I didn’t hear anything, I didn’t hear anything..."

Iron Wing, his neck tightly bound, let out a pained dragon roar.

The sound echoed through the skies.

Inside the camper van, Jiang Yan and the others all heard it.

"Did you just hear a dragon’s roar?" Wu Qianqian asked curiously.

Jiang Yan glanced at Little Dragon and asked, "Little one, do you have any relatives in this desert?"

Little Dragon shook his head, "No. That dragon’s roar was unfamiliar, and it sounded very painful."

Jiang Yan felt an inexplicable worry. He was deeply concerned about the source of that dragon’s cry.

Was the dragon that uttered it still alright?

Ji Chuxue suddenly asked, "Sixth, shall we spar with swords? It’s been a while since we’ve practiced together, hasn’t it?"

Jiang Yan’s eyes shone with excitement at her suggestion; he too wanted to spar with his Senior Sister and test his newly developed sword techniques.

They stepped out of the camper van, and Ji Chuxue smiled, "Sixth, as always, I’ll let you make the first three moves. Go ahead."

At her words, Jiang Yan immediately drew his Flaming Sword. With a flash of sword light, he launched an attack at Ji Chuxue.

The two exchanged blows, their sword strikes fierce and dazzling, making for a spectacular duel.

Though Jiang Yan was ultimately defeated, Ji Chuxue noted his swordsmanship had improved remarkably.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he might even surpass her.

"Senior Sister, thank you for the match. When it comes to swordplay, I’m still no match for you," Jiang Yan smiled, then added, "I’ve recently developed a new sword technique. Would you like to see it?"

Ji Chuxue’s interest was piqued. "Show me, then."

Jiang Yan gripped his Flaming Sword tightly and unleashed the Thunder Sword Technique at an empty stretch of desert.

With a flash, a bolt of powerful lightning struck far into the distance.