"Could it be that they realized that someone was tailing them and retreated out of fear of incurring trouble?" Luo Xuan asked.
"That's possible!" Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as he was about to say something, someone from the crowd suddenly shouted, "Look, there are people in front!"
The crowd walked forward and saw three freshmen sitting on the ground. Their bodies were stained with blood, and they seemed to have sustained some light injuries.
The three of them were only at Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle. Upon seeing so many people, their faces immediately warped in shock. "We haven't hunted any spirit beasts yet …"
After saying those words, they recalled that snatching was forbidden among master teachers, and they heaved a sigh of relief.
"I've seen them before. They're from Luoyuan Empire!"
Luo Xuan sent a telepathic message over.
Zhang Xuan nodded.
Just like Miryu Empire, Luoyuan Empire was a Tier-2 Empire. Back in the Academic Sea, they lived in close proximity to one another, so they were able to recognize one another.
"Were you injured by the spirit beasts?"
Zhang Xuan turned to the trio and asked.
"That's right!" Knowing that they bore no hostility, the trio didn't try to hide the truth.
"It shouldn't have been a problem for a dozen Consonant Spirit realm spirit beasts to kill you. Why did you leave after sustaining light injuries?"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
It was already a walk in the park for a Consonant Spirit realm spirit beast to kill three Transcendent Mortal 4-dan master teachers, needless to say, a dozen of them. If they were to make a move, the three of them would be dead in less than a breath.
There was no need for them to leave after sustaining light injuries.
"You … How did you know that we were attacked by a dozen Consonant Spirit realm spirit beasts?"
One of the master teachers was taken aback.
"We are currently tracking those spirit beasts, so of course we know!" Zhang Xuan replied.
"Oh, we aren't too sure either. We were just moving when we encountered so many spirit beasts. We thought that we were doomed, but … they only attacked us once before turning around and leaving, as if afraid of something …" the master teacher replied.
"They were probably afraid that you would catch up to them!" another master teacher interjected.
Not too long after the spirit beasts left, the group of people immediately caught up to them. Most likely, they were afraid that they would be on their tail, so they didn't dare to stay any longer.
"If they were afraid that we would follow them, they would surely be furious at humans.
At this point, Luo Xuan had also noticed the problem.
If this group of people really discovered them and were afraid that they would be caught, they would definitely not show any mercy if they encountered other humans who tried to stop them. Could they only lightly injure them?
"What's up ahead?"
Raising his eyebrows, Zhang Xuan could not help but ask.
"Ahead of us is the Skyline, one of the most dangerous valleys on Leiyuan Peak," the first master teacher said.
"The most dangerous? Oh no … "Zhang Xuan suddenly thought of something and leaped up. He rushed forward hastily, and the others followed closely behind him.
Not long after, they arrived at a huge valley surrounded by precipitous cliffs. Looking up from below, the sky was like a straight line, giving off a feeling that one man could hold the pass against ten thousand enemies.
Ding ding ding ding!
Even before arriving, Zhang Xuan could already feel a surge of zhenqi and the sound of weapons clashing against one another.
"There's a battle ahead …"
Hearing the voice and feeling the surge of zhenqi, how could the crowd not realize that there was a battle ahead? Perplexed, they turned their gazes over.
"We'll know once we go up and take a look …"
Zhang Xuan pointed.
It was a high point in the canyon. Countless rocks stood in mid-air, covering a large area. One could clearly see the scene in front of them from above.
Rushing up, the crowd's faces paled.
Several hundred spirit beasts had surrounded the two hundred master teachers.
There were Consonant Spirit realm and Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts among the spirit beasts, and every single one of them was incredibly powerful. Even though there were quite a few master teachers surrounded by the spirit beasts, many of them still sustained severe injuries under the onslaught of so many spirit beasts.
"We are being surrounded. Could it be that … those spirit beasts intentionally revealed an opening to lure the master teachers over so that they could … annihilate them?"
Everyone's lips twitched, and their faces paled.
Even though they had the advantage in numbers, if they were to be surrounded by so many spirit beasts, there was no doubt that they would die!
Even though Zhang Shi had the half 9-dan Great Violetwing Beast with him, the latter was simply too huge, and the Skyline before them was too narrow. Even if they managed to reach it, they wouldn't be able to move freely. If anything went wrong, they might even fall into danger under the encirclement of so many spirit beasts!
Zhang Xuan's face turned grim.
His Soul Depth was far higher than that of the others, and his ability to analyze the situation was also much deeper than theirs. When he first noticed that the group of spirit beasts had turned around and left, he had already harbored suspicions. From the looks of it now, it was indeed a scheme!
Bluebacked Ferocious Bear, Steelfang Panther, Southern Yellow Tiger, Golden-Armed Steel Ape … These were spirit beasts that specialized in speed on land. Even a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage master teacher would find it hard to catch them if they were to sprint at full speed. Yet, they were intentionally taking a detour to lure more and more master teachers over.
Just that, they didn't expect to lure the humans here to surround and annihilate them!
"Alliance …"
Everyone had been thinking of working together to hunt the spirit beasts, but never in their wildest dreams would they have thought that the spirit beasts had already formed an alliance. The bait was the bait, and the ambush was the ambush. The division of labor was clear and orderly, and they intended to annihilate the humans in one fell swoop!
Fearsome!
If they hadn't encountered the spirit beasts, would they have fallen into their trap as well?
"Zhang Shi … What should we do?"
A master teacher asked anxiously.
As a master teacher, it was their duty to step forward to save their comrades. But … even if they were to rush over, it would be impossible for them to do anything at all!
In fact, even if the Great Violetwing Beast were to arrive, it would be impossible for it to save so many people!
"The responsibility of a master teacher is to protect mankind. No matter how dangerous it is, we must ensure that the lineage of mankind doesn't die out … If we don't save our comrades when they are in danger, it will be a breach of our principles, and it will be difficult for us to advance any further in the future!"
"But … if we really intend to save them, it would be futile even if all of us were to be wiped out!"
"Indeed. Given the current situation, we don't know whether we should save them or not …"
The crowd fell silent.
Given their strength, it was impossible for them to save the humans. If they didn't save them, they would only be watching helplessly as their comrades were killed. They would surely feel guilty, and they would lose the moral values that they had always held onto.
"We have to save them, but it's impossible for us to enter just like that!"
Zhang Xuan frowned as he tapped his sleeves with his fingers.
"Then what should we do?"
The crowd turned their gazes over.
At this moment, everyone was placing their hopes on the young man before them, hoping that he could create another miracle.
"Do any of you have the formation flags and blueprint for the grade-5 Beguilement Formation?"
Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before turning to the crowd.
"I … do!"
A master teacher from Luoyuan Empire replied.
As a formation master, he was capable of setting up formations to capture spirit beasts. This was also the reason why he dared to travel alone. Otherwise, given their strength as Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle cultivators, they wouldn't have dared to leave alone.
"Give it to me!"
Zhang Xuan stretched out his hand.
"Alright!"
Knowing that it was for the sake of saving his comrades, the master teacher nodded. With a flick of his wrist, a pile of formation flags and a jade token appeared before him.
"This is a grade-5 primary Illusory Footsteps Beguilement Formation. It was created by the formation master of our empire, Tao Ran. However … it's extremely troublesome to set up this formation. Even though I have studied it for three years, it will still take me at least two hours to set it up. More importantly … given how narrow the gorge is, how are we going to set it up? "
The master teacher asked doubtfully.
Even if he were to set up this formation, it would take him at least two to four hours to set it up. Besides, setting up a formation required one to study the terrain and use a compass to find the nodes where the spiritual energy in the area intersected.
Putting aside whether he could set up the formation or not, even if he could, it was unlikely that the master teachers would be able to hold on for too long under the assault of so many spirit beasts!
Not to mention, how were they supposed to set up the formation if they didn't head over? If they were to head over, they would be surrounded as well, and even if they didn't die, they wouldn't be able to do anything!
Of the two hundred master teachers trapped here, there were bound to be formation masters as well. Even so, what could Zhang Xuan possibly do?
"Let me take a look first!"
Paying no heed to the other party's words, Zhang Xuan tapped on the jade token and infused his zhenqi into it. Following which, the Illusory Footsteps Beguilement Formation appeared before his eyes.
"Flaws!"
Zhang Xuan muttered as he stared intently at the jade token. However, his consciousness was already immersed in his mind.
The Illusory Footsteps Beguilement Formation was a type of beguilement formation created by Formation Master Tao Ran of Luoyuan Empire. It was capable of making use of the terrain to beguile lifeforms, and once trapped, even a Cosmos Bridge realm expert would find it difficult to escape.
Browsing through books in the Library of Heaven's Path was extremely fast. In just a few breaths, Zhang Xuan had already memorized all of the key points of the formation.
Opening his eyes once more, he turned to the crowd and asked, "Do you have any spirit stones on you?"
"Spirit stones?"
The crowd nodded in agreement. "We have some!"
Even though middle-tier spirit stones were valuable, most 4-star pinnacle and half 5-star master teachers would still have some on them.
"Take them all out. Prepare ten spirit stones each. If it's not enough, borrow from others!"
Zhang Xuan instructed.
"Alright!"
The crowd nodded.
Ten middle-grade spirit stones was more than enough for him to take out.
Seeing that everyone had prepared their spirit stones, Zhang Xuan instructed, "We have a total of fifty-three people now. Excluding me, there are fifty-two of you. Split into four groups, named East, West, South, and North!"
Even though they had no idea what Zhang Xuan's intentions were, they could only follow his instructions. Thus, the crowd nodded and split into four groups.
As master teachers, they moved swiftly. In just ten breaths, they were done.
"Alright, prepare yourselves. Later on, listen to my instructions and execute them strictly. The slightest mistake, and we might not be able to save them …"
With a grim expression, Zhang Xuan looked at the crowd.
"Zhang Shi, don't worry!"
"We will listen to your arrangements!"
Even though the crowd was still doubtful, seeing the determination and confidence in Zhang Xuan's eyes, they nodded in agreement.
The three master teachers from Luoyuan Empire were still intending to question Zhang Xuan on the matter, but upon seeing the attitude of the crowd, they could only swallow their words. Taking a deep breath, they looked at the young man before them with doubt in their eyes.
This young man wasn't the oldest among them, so why did everyone trust him so much?
In their view, unless an expert of Elder Mi's caliber were to make a move personally, no one would be able to save them!
Could it be that … this fellow really had a solution?
(Everyone, please follow Lao Ya's Weibo Weibo. Search for "Qidian Sweeps the World's Edge" with V authentication. There is a handsome photo of Laoya on it!)
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