Nie Tian could see that they were rather lucky with their operation against the Dark Moon this time.

Since there weren’t many powerful experts on the Dark Moon’s side, their battle prowess was very limited.

After a thorough observation, he found that there were only two early and one middle Greater Heaven stage expert among the Dark Moon defenders. All the rest were Heaven stage Qi warriors.

Gu Yu alone would be able to take the three Greater Heaven stage Dark Moon experts single-handedly, and it would be a guaranteed victory.

Even the slightest gap in cultivation base between the two sides would usually determine the result of a battle. Normally speaking, one late Greater Heaven stage cultivator could easily slaughter three middle Greater Heaven stage enemies.

The Dark Moon found themselves at their wits’ end dealing with Gu Yu alone, not to mention having to defend against the middle Greater Heaven stage Shi Qing and two other Greater Heaven stage experts at the same time.

Given enough time, with only the four Greater Heaven stage experts, the Blood Skull would be able to wipe out the entire Dark Moon force that had been defending their base.

The reason why there was such a huge gap between the strength of the two sides was that Ma Jiu had led an assault against Pei Qiqi and still hadn’t returned.

If Ma Jiu and his band had returned to the valley and united with the defenders at their base, Gu Yu and his Blood Skull members would probably have suffered a great loss.

The Blood Skull members laughed in wild and arrogant manners as they chased after the Dark Moon members at different locations in the valley.

“Hahaha! We’ve hit gold!”

“Without powerful experts here to help them defend their base, not only can we kill all of these weaklings, but we can even destroy their teleportation portal!”

“Great prizes come with with great risks indeed!”

Every one of them saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deal a great blow to the Dark Moon.

If they could later ambush and kill Ma Jiu here, they would practically annihilate the entire branch the Dark Moon had deployed in the Void Illusion Mountain Range.

If that happened, their operation would become a huge success, and every member who had participated in it would be considered to have made substantial contributions.

Upon returning, they would be able to receive handsome contribution points, which they could use to trade for large amounts of spirit stones, medicinal pills, and high-grade spiritual armors and weapons.

At the exploded wooden cottage...

With a momentum that was as fierce as a tiger, Shi Qing forced the Dark Moon members to run away from their teleportation portal.

Pei Qiqi, on the other hand, was focused on breaking up the teleportation portal with her deep knowledge regarding spatial magics, after killing two Dark Moon members with her Ethereal Swords.

Nie Tian observed Pei Qiqi from about a hundred meters away.

He was no longer interested in the battle taking place in the center of the valley.

He had already realized that the most crucial factor that would determine the outcome of the battle didn’t lie with Gu Yu or any other Blood Skull expert.

Rather, it was whether Pei Qiqi could destroy or dismantle the teleportation portal, and therefore prevent Dark Moon reinforcements from pouring into the Void Illusion Mountain Range.

“Miss Pei, although I’m not helpful at all when it comes to dismantling the teleportation portal, I can guarantee you that no Dark Moon member will ever come close enough to distract you.” Shi Qing solemnly gave his word.

A wave of earthy-yellow energy fluctuations spread out into his surroundings, and the ground within a few dozen meters range couldn’t stop trembling, giving rise to unceasing rumbling sounds.

The Dark Moon members who were standing in his vicinity couldn’t stop themselves from shaking as they sustained constant blows from the ground.

All the early and middle Heaven stage Dark Moon members around him had blood dripping from their mouths and noses as they fled in fear.

Only a handful of late Heaven stage members were able to contend with the force for a brief while. However, all of their faces began to turn pale shortly afterwards, and they were forced on withdrawing from the area.

In contrast, Pei Qiqi didn’t seem to be influenced at all. She was crouching in front of the the teleportation portal and occasionally checking it with her hands, devoted to finding a way to dismantle it.

The few Greater Heaven stage Dark Moon experts also came to understand the truly key factor that would determine the result of the battle, and then madly dashed towards Pei Qiqi and Shi Qing. “The teleportation portal is the key!”

“That bitch is going to dismantle our teleportation portal. If she succeeds, we won’t be able to return to the Land of the Abandoned, and the Blood Skull will hunt us down wherever we go!”

“We have to stop her!”

However, Gu Yu had long since prepared for that.

“It seems that I have to let you go first. But don’t worry. It won’t be long before I send Ma Jiu and the others there to keep you company.” Gu Yu’s wild laughs were so thunderous that the whole mountain valley shook and rumbled.

At the same time, the other two Greater Heaven stage Blood Skull members rapidly converged on Shi Qing and waited for their enemies’ arrival.

“Our victory is almost certain.” After observing for quite a while, Nie Tian had already come to the conclusion that, if there were no mishaps, the Blood Skull would be victorious.

Therefore, he didn’t intend to join the battle and win credits alongside the other Blood Skull members.

He knew that, with every Dark Moon member they killed, they could trade their victims’ heads or bracelets of holding for certain amounts of contribution points.

The amount of contribution points they earned would determine the valuables they would receive from the Blood Skull, as well as the speed at which they would be promoted.

Nie Tian knew that if, as a guest elder, he jumped in at this moment and reaped spoils when the battle was a certain victory, the other Blood Skull members would very likely hate him for stealing their credits.

Therefore, he stood there and did nothing.

PUFF!

Blood shot out of an early Greater Heaven stage Dark Moon member’s ripped-open neck. The man’s head flew high into the air before Gu Yu caught it with one hand.

With a wild, bloodthirsty laugh, Gu Yu shook it, causing more blood to fall onto him.

The man’s death seemed to have severed as the last straw, breaking the last remaining confidence of the Dark Moon members who were still struggling to turn the situation around.

Soon, all the Dark Moon experts that were fighting Blood Skull members lost their fighting spirit and decided to abandon their base.

“We’ve got to leave now. It’s a lost cause. If we insist on staying and fighting, we’ll only end up dying for nothing.”

“Let’s go and find Lord Ma Jiu!

“Only by joining forces with Lord Ma Jiu will we be strong enough to turn the situation around!”

“Let’s get out of here!”

All the figures who were wearing Dark Moon garments spread out and rushed out of the valley.

Covered in blood, Gu Yu chased after the two remaining Greater Heaven stage Dark Moon experts, while Cai Yuan the rest of the other Blood Skull members pursued the fleeing Heaven stage Dark Moon members.

Dressed like a male cultivator, Cai Yue also charged out of the valley along with other Blood Skull members, shouting excitedly.

Upon seeing her, Shi Qing’s expression immediately flickered as he called out to her, “Little Lord!

“You can’t leave the valley! Before we came here, we made a pact that you wouldn’t leave my sight! If you break the pact, I’ll inform your father of it after we return to Shatter City. I’m afraid he’ll ban you from coming to the Void Illusion Mountain Range ever again.”

After hearing Shi Qing’s claim, Cai Yue sulked as she came back and repeatedly stabbed a dead Dark Moon expert in the chest with her sword. “Good god! You’re so boring!”

Seething with excitement, she was just about to pursue and kill Dark Moon members alongside her brother, which was exactly the type of life she had longed for and the very purpose of her trip to the Void Illusion Mountain Range.

Shi Qing’s sudden appearance had locked her down like a set of shackles and stopped her from pursuing what her heart desired. It was only natural that she wasn’t happy about it.

However, she knew very well that if she went ahead and left the valley anyways, her father would definitely ban her from stepping out of Shatter City again.

Therefore, she could only wait in the silenced mountain valley while battles were taking place elsewhere.

Upon looking around, she caught sight of Nie Tian, who was standing in the valley, doing nothing. She wrinkled her nose and said, with her delicate small face filled with contempt, “Humph! What kind of man are you if you’re too cowardly to fight the Dark Moon with us? People like you disgust me the most!

“I’ve long since noticed that you did nothing but watch the whole time.

“A guy like you doesn’t deserve to be a guest elder of the Blood Skull!

“The Blood Skull doesn’t need an incompetent guest elder. You’d better give back the identity medallion as soon as possible so that you don’t sully the reputation of our guest elders!”

Shi Qing, who had been guarding Pei Qiqi and waiting for her to destroy the teleportation portal, also shot a examining gaze towards Nie Tian.

That was when he realized that Nie Tian hadn’t participated in the raid.

He understood that Cai Yuan would never give a guest elder’s identity medallion to an incompetent man.

Only truly powerful experts who had won Cai Yuan’s admiration would be given a guest elder’s identity medallion. The early Heaven stage Nie Tian seemed to be the weakest.

As a matter of fact, Shi Qing had been curious about Nie Tian’s battle prowess, and had wanted to examine him with this raid.

However, Nie Tian hadn’t made a single move. Thus, he was both disappointed and harboring suspicion.

That was why he didn’t berate Cai Yue for being rude.