With a flash of azure light and a sharp ring, Huangfu Song's wooden sword, slashing toward Qiao Ruohe, was blocked.
As he lowered his gaze in astonishment, he saw that the hidden weapon was actually a red flower.
Looking up, he saw three or five female cultivators flying through the air, hovering above.
Though a flash of displeasure crossed Huangfu Song's face, he dared not act on it and obediently raised his hands in a bow. "Greetings, Martial Aunt."
"He is my newly accepted disciple. I must ask Martial Nephew Huangfu to let him go." It was Elder Fanhua who flew to the front.
"Martial Aunt, but he is a fugitive of the sect." Huangfu Song's gaze shifted to Qiao Ruohe.
"This brat almost burned down the entire Withered Wood Forest with a single fire. As far as I know, the sea of fire in Blooming Flowers Valley was also his doing. Besides, if Elder Gumu questions this and says I let the man go, even the Sect Leader will not spare me."
Hearing this, Xiao Ling's heart tightened as well. How did he know about the fire among the myriad flowers?
"What?" Elder Fanhua flew closer. "Are you saying my words carry no weight?"
"Your nephew wouldn't dare." Though Huangfu Song said he wouldn't dare, he refused to give ground in the slightest.
Suddenly, a dozen cultivators behind him collapsed to the ground, howling without stop.
Huangfu Song fixed his eyes on the scene and was struck with sudden terror.
The ones who had knocked down his confidants were the flower petals thrown from Elder Fanhua's hand.
This Elder's cultivation was no longer what it used to be; she had actually advanced to the Transformation (Tier 3) level.
Huangfu Song was momentarily speechless, not daring to utter another half-word.
He could only stand by as the female disciples beside Elder Fanhua broke the three men's bindings and led them away.
"Senior Brother Huangfu, what should we do?" asked one of the disciples who had not fallen, turning to their senior lineage brother.
Huangfu Song smashed his folding fan onto the platform, snapping it in two.
"Good grief, a mangy little brat dares to plot against Senior Sister Lin. Just you wait."
He had originally thought that under Elder Fanhua's protection, Qiao Ruohe could safely return to Blooming Flowers Valley and beg his master for the Soul-Returning Pill.
Yet just as they neared Blooming Flowers Valley, Elder Gumu of the Withered Wood Forest in Divine Wood Palace suddenly appeared in mid-air with his disciples.
"Junior Sister, I didn't expect that in just half a year, you would have broken through to the Transformation realm. Truly a cause for joy and congratulations."
Elder Gumu's playful expression suddenly turned to one of deep shock when he caught sight of Qiao Ruohe, and he could not help looking him up and down.
Before Fanhua could return any polite pleasantries, he immediately ordered the dozens of disciples behind him to form a spell formation, blocking their path back to the valley.
"Senior Brother, what is the meaning of this?" Elder Fanhua asked.
"A transmission talisman arrived from Martial Nephew Huangfu, saying a brat named Qiao Ruohe burned down a hundred acres of my ancient forest," Elder Gumu said.
"Although my withered forest consists merely of dead and ancient trees, the youngest among them is one hundred and eighteen years old. Now that they have been reduced to ashes, there must be a reckoning."
Elder Gumu pointed at Qiao Ruohe. "I must ask Junior Sister to hand this boy over so I can take him back to suffer some punishment and retribution."
Seeing his master arrive, Jin Dapeng could no longer stay still.
He flew forward and bowed. "Master, I am also to blame for the fire in the ancient forest."
"You possess a pure metal bone-root; how could you possibly wield fire-attribute Spells?" Elder Gumu raged.
"I have yet to pass judgment, so hold your tongue with such nonsense."
Seeing his master's expression, Jin Dapeng fell silent with a sigh of bitter frustration.
Terrified of being expelled from the sect, even if he had the heart to exonerate Qiao Ruohe, he chose self-preservation.
His mission this time was to obtain the two green-covered secret manuals of Blooming Flowers Valley. He carried a heavy responsibility and could not afford to ruin the big picture over a small matter.
"Junior Sister, hand over the arsonist so I can give the Sect Leader an account regarding the fire disaster in the Withered Wood Forest," Gumu said to Fanhua.
Fanhua let out a cold snort, locking eyes with the old fellow.
She saw that when Elder Gumu first arrived, he merely wanted an explanation. But upon seeing Qiao Ruohe's appearance, his eyes had lit up once more.
Given this old wretch's cultivation level, he had undoubtedly also discerned that Qiao Ruohe was not of a Mortal Body.
Perhaps harboring the same intentions as her, he had laid down the formation to force her hand.
Yet how could a fat sheep that had fallen into her hands be handed over to someone else?
Before her eldest disciple Lin Qingxuan could draw the dark shadow out of this boy's body, she could never let the other old monsters in the sect snatch him away.
"Eat this." Fanhua handed a red pill to Qiao Ruohe.
"Master, what is this?"
"If you want to live, eat it."
Elder Gumu's expression changed drastically. "Junior Sister, I implore you to think twice. If the wrong pill is taken, I fear even the medicinal guide will be useless."
"Senior Brother, if you don't step aside now, don't blame your Junior Sister for using your disciples and grand-disciples to practice my new techniques."
Though Fanhua was speaking to Elder Gumu, her gaze never left Qiao Ruohe.
Seeing him hesitate for a split second, she moved in a flash, appearing behind him and striking the back of his neck.
Qiao Ruohe involuntarily opened his mouth, and the red pill slid down into his stomach.
That pill erupted within his internal organs like a fireball.
"Quickly take him back to the valley," Fanhua instructed Xiao Ling.
The young woman seemed to understand the purpose of the red pill and fiercely grabbed Qiao Ruohe's arm.
As Fanhua channeled her spiritual power directly into Qiao Ruohe's brow, a surging force shot the two of them into the air, fleeing into the high heavens like an arrow.
No, not two people—there was a third.
Jin Dapeng had been standing right beside Qiao Ruohe. Seeing the two about to flee, he instinctively grabbed Qiao Ruohe's ankle, soaring dozens of feet into the distance along with them.
"Pursue them!" Elder Gumu shouted to his disciples.
More than fifty disciples in green robes immediately took flight to capture the three of them. Meanwhile, the two Form Manifestation cultivators were about to engage in a Combat of Immortals on the border between Blooming Flowers Valley and the Withered Wood Forest.
As it turned out, that red pill was capable of stimulating the qi-control ability within Qiao Ruohe's body.
Instantly, it allowed him to comprehend the art of traversing the sky, enabling him to fly briefly with several times his usual strength.
Only, as he flew through the sky, he swayed from side to side, having no idea how to maintain his balance.
Fortunately, with Xiao Ling grasping his arm and Jin Dapeng pulling his leg, he was prevented from plunging out of the sky for the moment.
"Eldest Senior Brother, gather your spiritual qi at the soles of your feet and center your mind in focused concentration. As long as your heart is undisturbed, you can walk through the skies."
Every word Xiao Ling spoke registered clearly in his mind, and after a few chaotic tumbles in the air, he indeed grew much steadier.
Borne aloft by the boundless spiritual qi generated by the red pill, he flew back into Blooming Flowers Valley.
Just in time, he ran into Lin Qingxuan, who was leading the disciples of Blooming Flowers Valley to reinforce their master.
As it turned out, Fanhua had already sent back a transmission Talisman to inform her of the situation.
That Talisman also contained instructions ordering her to protect Qiao Ruohe and prevent him from being snatched away by the disciples of the Withered Wood Forest.
Upon reading the message, Lin Qingxuan had heeded only the first half of her master's words and led the disciples forth.
Yet she could not bring herself to follow the latter half of the instructions.
Her heart was set solely on giving him a hard time, or even killing him with her own hands.
The matter of their Dual Cultivation was finished; why on earth would she protect him?
Before their eyes, fifty or sixty disciples from the Withered Wood Forest had taken a shortcut, entered Blooming Flowers Valley, and confronted the local group.
Xiao Ling, Qiao Ruohe, and Jin Dapeng were caught squarely between the two factions, unable to advance or retreat, appearing as public enemies to both sides.
"Senior Sister Lin," a leading disciple from the Withered Wood Forest stepped forward and cupped his fists. "This brat burned down a hundred acres of ancient forest in our Withered Wood Forest. Our Master has ordered us to capture him. We ask for your cooperation."
Xiao Ling approached Lin Qingxuan and explained, "Eldest Senior Sister, Master already knows about this. She told us to return here to seek refuge."
"Senior Sister Lin, this matter has already reached the ears of the Sect Leader. If Blooming Flowers Valley refuses to let us take the prisoner, the Sect Leader will surely inflict punishment, and I fear your honored master Elder Fanhua will be implicated as well." The leading Withered Wood Forest cultivator used the authority of Huangfu Song's master, the Sect Leader of Divine Wood Palace, to try and pressure her.
"Since this scoundrel is so daring, take him away," Lin Qingxuan said indifferently.
At these words, it was not just the leading cultivator who stood stunned on the spot.
Xiao Ling and Jin Dapeng were equally astonished.
Even the disciples of the Withered Wood Forest were dumbfounded.
They had fully expected to engage in a Combat of Immortals with the female disciples of Blooming Flowers Valley; some of the male disciples had even worried it might ruin any friendship between them. They never imagined it would be this simple.
Having obtained Lin Qingxuan's consent, the cultivators of the Withered Wood Forest immediately surrounded Qiao Ruohe.
Having only just begun practicing the art of traversing the sky, how could he possibly escape the clutches of this group of veteran cultivators?