Chapter 278 : Tricked
The three righteous sects needed to be contacted, and the demonic path cultivators couldn't be ignored either—though Nine Abyss Sect was clearly problematic, and Celestial Demon Sect and Harmony Sect might have been recruited by them, they couldn't abandon the strength of two sects based on mere possibility. At worst, even if Celestial Demon Sect and Harmony Sect were in league with Nine Abyss Sect, finding them might still reveal something about Nine Abyss Sect's schemes.
In short, the urgent task at hand was still finding people.
Zhu Baiyi didn't want to mingle with a group of juniors, nor did she want people to know she had no means of contacting the demonic path cultivators, so she suggested: "The sooner we act, the better. This island isn't small—we'll be more efficient if we split up."
This made sense, with the only concern being the formidable strength of the natives. Qingyu was about to propose that she and Zhu Baiyi each lead a team, but Zhu Baiyi saw through her intentions and spoke first: "Time is limited, so I'll pair with Qingyu. We two move quickly and can explore farther areas. You all can just search nearby."
Qingyu wanted to object, but upon reflection, it made sense—bringing many disciples would indeed make it difficult to search the entire island in one day. The only concern was whether the disciples, with their insufficient strength, could resist if they encountered natives.
Zhu Baiyi once again saw through her thoughts and spoke again: "Fellow Daoist Jiang's strength is considerable. With her protecting the disciples, there should be no problem."
Suddenly named, Jiang Mo was confused. Among everyone present, her strength was indeed the greatest after Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi. However, she had originally come only for her Senior Sister, and at most would protect the Xuanqing Sect disciples out of gratitude for years of support. How had Zhu Baiyi, in just a few words, pushed the safety of the Crimson Blood Sect disciples onto her as well? She hadn't eaten a single spirit herb from the Crimson Blood Sect!
After her confusion passed, Jiang Mo was about to object when she met Peak Master Qingyu's gaze. That look contained inquiry and doubt, seemingly concerned that she couldn't bear this responsibility.
A master was different from outsiders. Even though Senior Sister had left Xuanqing Sect for many years, Yun Qingyue's genuine respect and affection for the master who had raised her hadn't changed in the slightest. Jiang Mo knew this, so when facing her master, she also tried to show as much respect and friendliness as possible... Of course, occasionally demonstrating her strength was also necessary!
So, faced with her master's distrustful gaze, Jiang Mo instinctively straightened her back and firmly promised: "No problem, Peak Master, rest assured. I'll protect them all."
The corners of Zhu Baiyi's lips, hidden behind her veil, curled up slightly, finding Jiang Mo somewhat more agreeable.
Qingyu's gaze was a bit complex, and after finally glancing at Yun Qingyue beside her, she said nothing and was pulled away by Zhu Baiyi: "Let's go. We'll head out first. This island is quite large, and gathering everyone won't be easy."
In the end, Qingyu was pulled away by Zhu Baiyi. Watching their departing figures, Jiang Mo belatedly realized something. She turned to Yun Qingyue, who had remained silent throughout, and uncertainly asked, wondering if she was overthinking: "Fellow Daoist, are they..." She didn't finish her sentence, but inwardly asked the system: "System, have I been tricked?"
Yun Qingyue didn't answer. She too was watching the rapidly departing figures, her gaze complex with a hint of doubt.
The system, however, gloated: "Yes, Host, your feeling is correct. You've been tricked."
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Although being tricked was irritating, and having a crowd of third wheels behind them was even more annoying, Jiang Mo had no room to reconsider at this point—Qingyu's concerns weren't unfounded, as the natives' strength on the island truly wasn't something ordinary cultivators could contend with. Even sect elites like Tan Xin and You Yi struggled to resist. If the two sects' disciples were left to act on their own and happened to encounter natives, they would be as defenseless as a meat bun against a dog.
With no choice, Jiang Mo reluctantly accepted the task and began gathering people with the group.
Their party consisted of juniors, and they didn't expect to easily find those powerful cultivators in hiding. However, they still needed to gather ordinary cultivators—not because they expected significant help in an actual battle, but to prevent them from being easily captured and becoming sacrifices on that mysterious altar.
"Fellow Daoist Tan Xin, do you have any methods to gather Buddha Sect disciples?" Jiang Mo asked casually as they walked.
For this ghost ship journey, Buddha Sect had brought few people—besides Tan Xin, there were only three disciples and one elder. This couldn't compare to other sects' scales of dozens or even scores of people, and even his senior brother Tan Ming hadn't come this time... Of these five people, one had already been captured by natives the day before yesterday, and it was unknown if their numbers had increased over these two days.
Tan Xin joined his palms and frankly replied: "This humble monk has left markers, but no one has come. Perhaps my fellow disciples aren't in this area."
Since Buddha Sect didn't have many people to begin with, and Tan Xin had spoken thus, there was no need to dwell on it. Most of Xuanqing Sect's disciples had already gathered, except for those captured or not in this area. Among the three righteous sects, only Tiandao Sect remained, but there wasn't a single Tiandao Sect disciple in their group now, making it difficult to gather people using the same method.
Jiang Mo wasn't one to adhere rigidly to conventions and asked Tan Xin: "Fellow Daoist, do you know Tiandao Sect's markers for contacting disciples? If you do, we could simply draw some, and Tiandao Sect people would naturally come when they see them."
Hearing this, Tan Xin uttered a Buddhist invocation, shook his head, and looked at her with disapproval.
Jiang Mo was about to say something when Yun Qingyue suddenly spoke: "Those are each sect's credentials. To outsiders, they may seem unremarkable, but disciples of each sect have their own criteria for judgment, and they can't be easily counterfeited."
A marker might be easy to draw, but if discovered by the other sect, they might issue a kill order. In the current situation, if they falsified Tiandao Sect's markers, the other party might either ignore them or come and directly attack. Either way, it wasn't a good idea and could easily provoke conflict.
Hearing this, Jiang Mo didn't persist and directly deflated: "In that case, let's just look around randomly and try our luck."
That was the only option. No one had any objections, and they carefully moved through the forest. They were both searching for cultivators scattered across the island and vigilantly watching for natives who might capture people at any time, while also needing to guard against the omnipresent spirit beasts.
They walked like this for half a day, occasionally encountering a few cultivators who joined their group after explanations. However, this efficiency was indeed low—in half a day, they had gathered fewer than ten cultivators.
It's worth noting that there had been four hundred people on the ghost ship that day. At this rate, it would take until the year of the monkey to find everyone.
Even Jiang Mo, whose thoughts were mostly on her Senior Sister, couldn't help feeling anxious at this situation—the longer they delayed, the more cultivators would be captured by the natives, and no one could confirm that the altar required everyone as sacrifices.
Finally, even Tan Xin grew impatient and suggested: "We've searched this area thoroughly. Should we try another direction?"
Jiang Mo had no objections, and Yun Qingyue nodded as well, so everyone changed direction and continued.
This time, their luck was better. After searching for less than half an hour, they heard the sounds of battle ahead. With no spirit beast roars, the most likely combatants were cultivators and natives.
Everyone's eyes brightened immediately, especially the battle-loving Crimson Blood Sect disciples, who immediately rushed forward upon hearing the commotion: "Let's go help!"
By the time these words fell, the dozen or so Crimson Blood Sect disciples had already disappeared, while Tan Xin, who had actually faced the natives before, couldn't even stop them in time and could only shout: "Be careful!"
The Crimson Blood Sect disciples might or might not have heard, but they had vanished in the blink of an eye, howling as they joined the battlefield ahead. The remaining people naturally couldn't just stand by, so they all hastened their steps to catch up. Passing through the grove, they saw the two sides fighting ahead—indeed, it was a conflict between natives and cultivators, and as expected, the situation wasn't good.
In the cultivation world, spell cultivators were predominant, with many others practicing talisman, formation, or alchemy paths. Combat-oriented sword cultivators and martial artists weren't mainstream. The latter two, like body cultivators, needed to refine themselves, and cultivators unwilling to endure such hardship naturally wouldn't choose these paths.
Originally, there wasn't much difference in superiority among cultivation methods, but on this island where spiritual energy was depleted, the strength disparity became significant.
In the current melee, only a few sword or martial cultivators could still cope; most of the others were outmatched. Just as they were about to fall, the Crimson Blood Sect cultivators appeared like a fresh infusion of blood, temporarily halting the decline. However, this situation didn't last long. By the time Jiang Mo and the others arrived, those Crimson Blood Sect disciples had also been drawn into the struggle.
Of course, there were occasionally some "clever ones" who, seeing the Crimson Blood Sect disciples rushing in to "die," took advantage of the reversed situation to escape. Some truly got away, while others were promptly caught by the natives, most of whom were knocked to the ground and lost their fighting capacity.
Jiang Mo didn't bother with those fleeing, nor did she have time to distinguish between righteous and demonic paths. With a shout, she led the charge.
Natives typically formed hunting squads of a dozen or so people, and today was no exception—the cultivators had encountered a native group of about a dozen. In contrast, there were over thirty cultivators, more than twice the number of natives. But just like Tan Xin's earlier experience, despite the enormous numerical advantage, the battle was one-sided. If not for a few martial and sword cultivators holding the line, they might not have lasted until Jiang Mo's group arrived.
Even now, the arrival of Jiang Mo and her group didn't frighten the natives. On the contrary, their eyes brightened even more, as if they had seen prey walking right into their trap, filled with delight.
Jiang Mo noticed this and laughed bitterly, determined to knock out some of their teeth!
Normally, Jiang Mo didn't use weapons, as her claws and the White Tiger's innate sharp metal energy were the sharpest weapons in the world. But now, unable to use spiritual energy or transform her claws, she quietly reached into her innate space, pulled out a longsword, and slashed toward the natives ahead.
The sword moved with piercing grace, its edge dancing through the air, each move and form vaguely revealing a hint of familiarity...