After bidding farewell to Shi Qing, Nie Tian once again put on the mask which came with the identity ‘Mu Han’. After they were a significant distance from Shi Qing, he said, “I doubt that he’ll be able to make it back to Shatter City alive.”

Without slowing down, Pei Qiqi, who was leading the way in the front, said with an plain tone, “I know.”

“So...” Nie Tian wished to speak, but stopped on second thought.

If they had stayed and protected Shi Qing as he spent some time to recover, he would probably have an easier time on his journey back. Even if he were to encounter other Qi warriors from the Thunder Mountain Sect, he might still have a chance at escaping.

However, Pei Qiqi hadn’t shown the slightest intention to stay any longer. She had taken Nie Tian and left soon after they had taken care of the Thunder Mountain Sect pursuer.

All of a sudden, Pei Qiqi came to a stop.

After Nie Tian stopped beside her, she said, “This place is very close to the Void Illusion Mountain Range. There may be more Thunder Mountain Sect Qi warriors in the vicinity. I don’t think that man’s death will remain a secret for very long. If people from the Thunder Mountain Sect come to search for him, and find us with Shi Qing, they’ll probably uncover the truth and hold us accountable.”

“So you’re worried that we would have gotten into trouble if we didn’t leave?” Nie Tian asked, his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah,” Pei Qiqi admitted her real thoughts without hiding anything. “That man was at the late Greater Heaven stage, and we only managed to kill him so quickly because you snuck up on him. If we had fought him fairly, you, Shi Qing, and I might still have been able to kill him, but we wouldn’t have been able to stop him from sending messages to others.

“We might have managed to kill him, but those that the Thunder Mountain Sect would send after us might be Worldly realm experts.

“Even if we team up, we won’t stand a chance fighting a Worldly realm expert from the Thunder Mountain Sect.”

Nie Tian fell silent. A while later, he said, “You’re very rational.”

“Now, lots of people die every day. We can’t afford to care too much about them.” Pei Qiqi’s eyebrows didn’t move in the slightest as she spoke. “I only care about my master and Li Ye’s safety. I won’t concern myself with any others’ wellbeing.”

“What about me?” Nie Tian suddenly asked. “What if I was being chased by people from the Thunder Mountain Sect, and you happened to see me?”

Pei Qiqi’s cold eyes glittered as she bowed her head slightly, as if she was contemplating. A moment later, she said, “I’d come to your aid if I believed that I had a good chance of saving you. If your pursuer was at the Worldly realm or even the Profound realm, I’d probably give up, and avenge you when I’m strong enough.”

Nie Tian smiled heartily and said, “Well, if you’re surrounded by enemies, no matter who they are or what their cultivation bases are, I’ll rush to your side and fight with you. If worst comes to worst, I’ll die. Big deal.”

Upon hearing these words, Pei Qiqi’s slender body shuddered slightly.

Apparently, Nie Tian’s words had created waves in her heart. However, she rapidly calmed herself and said, “Well, enough talking. We need to be extra careful from now on, and try not to come into contact with people from the Thunder Mountain Sect or powerful experts from the other sects as well. Our destination is the spatial rift controlled by the Tool Sect.”

Nie Tian nodded. “Okay.”

Afterwards, under Pei Qiqi’s leadership, they repeatedly adjusted their path as they approached the Void Illusion Mountain Range and the spatial rift guarded by Tool Sect experts.

As they did, Nie Tian scanned their surroundings with his Heaven Eyes and instructed Pei Qiqi to stay as far away from foreign experts as possible.

One night...

The two of them finally reached the edge of the Void Illusion Mountain Range after meticulously steering clear of group after group of powerful foreign experts.

At that moment, vague sounds suddenly echoed out from within one of Nie Tian’s Sound Stones.

Under the night sky, he took out the Sound Stone, and realized that it was the Sound Stone Dong Baijie had given him, which supposedly would allow them to communicate with each other within a 250 kilometer range.

He sent a wisp of psychic awareness into the Sound Stone and immediately received a message from Dong Li.

At the same time, Pei Qiqi took out her Sound Stone and frowned as she held it close to her ear. Clearly, someone had contacted her as well.

The message from Dong Li was clear, and Nie Tian could tell that she was filled with excitement. She asked him where he was and informed him of the current situation.

According to her, the powerful experts from the other eight realms had already started clearing the Void Illusion Mountain Range.

All of the local Qi warriors, including the members of the Blood Skull, the Dark Moon, and the Wild Fire, had been expelled from the mountain range.

She also told him that the major powers from the Realm of a Hundred Battles had teamed up and assumed control of one of the spatial rifts.

Aside from the spatial rift controlled by the Heaven Palace Sect, theirs was the most heavily guarded, almost impregnable.

However, even though the Tool Sect was currently controlling a spatial rift, their defenses seemed fragile now that the Yin Sect, the Yang Sect, the Flame God Sect, and the Spirit God Sect had also come to the mountain range.

Dong Li also told her that Wu Ling was among those who the Tool Sect had planned to send into the spatial rift. If he went into the spatial rift with Tool Sect disciples, Wu Ling might discover his actual identity and seek trouble with him.

She did everything she could to persuade him to go through the spatial rift controlled by the Realm of a Hundred Battles with her and other members of the Dong Clan.

She even told him that, as long as he agreed to join them, she would come to pick him up from his current location with a Profound realm Dong Clan expert, and escort him safely to their spatial rift.

Holding the Sound Stone, Nie Tian frowned as he pondered in silence.

Moments later, Pei Qiqi put away her Sound Stone and asked Nie Tian with a puzzled expression, “Who were you talking to?”

“Dong Li,” Nie Tian said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Pei Qiqi’s face dropped. “She’s also in the Void Illusion Mountain Range? What did she say?”

“She told me that Wu Ling is there with the Tool Sect experts, and also that the spatial rift controlled by the Tool Sect doesn’t seem impregnable,” Nie Tian said without holding anything back. “She also said that the Tool Sect is in actually a vulnerable place now that Zhao Shanling is still somewhere out there. Seeing that, powerful experts from the Spirit God Sect, the Flame God Sect, the Yin Sect, and the Yang Sect might come to take the Tool Sect’s spatial rift. So... she invited me to go to join her.”

Pei Qiqi’s bright eyes shone with frosty light as she stared directly into Nie Tian’s eyes and asked, “So what did you tell her?”

Nie Tian scratched his head. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“I forbid you to go to join those from the Dong Clan!” Pei Qiqi’s tone suddenly grew unprecedentedly strong.

Looking into her cold eyes, where she attempted to hide her anger, Nie Tian was shocked.

Having spent such a long time with her, Nie Tian had rarely seen her get angry. After a brief silence, he nodded slowly and said, “Alright, I’ll tell her no.”

With these words, he sent Dong Li a message, telling her that it was an arrangement made by a senior of his, so he had to go with Zhen Huilan and Pei Qiqi.

Immediately after sending the message to Dong Li via that Sound Stone, he sensed Dong Li’s rage.

He hastily ended his connection with Dong Li, not wanting to hear her grumbling.

“From now on, avoid contact with that woman as much as you can.” Pei Qiqi let out a cold harrumph. “God knows how many men who were attracted by her looks died because of her. Don’t you remember how she summoned other Hunter organizations to chase you in the desert and the wasteland? The woman is very good at manipulating men who want her into doing things for her. I hope you don’t get fooled.”

Nie Tian gave a dry smile.

After a moment of silence, Pei Qiqi added, “My master is on her way here. She’ll take us to our destination. Don’t you worry. Also, you don’t have to worry about Wu Ling. You’ll just use the name ‘Mu Han’. He won’t be able to recognize you. Even if he does, will you be scared of him?”

Provoked by her words, Nie Tian laughed heartily and said, “Alright, I’ve already told you that I’ll go with you and join those from the Tool Sect.”

…

In the Void Illusion Mountain Range...

A number of powerful experts from the Realm of a Hundred Battles were standing by a spatial rift. They all had serious expressions on their faces, as if they were waiting for something.

Not wearing any mask, Dong Li’s gorgeous face was filled with anger and grouchiness. She suddenly turned to Gu Haofeng, who was trying to please and woo her, and yelled, “Would you shut your mouth, Gu Haofeng?!”

Strange expressions appeared on the faces of Qin Yan, Cao Qiushui, Qian Xin, and the other juniors.

Just now, Dong Li had seemed fine, and was talking with them about their plans after arriving on the other side of the spatial rift.

Then, she had taken out her Sound Stone and talked to someone. After that, she suddenly grew angry, and then lashed out at Gu Haofeng. Everyone was rather confused.

Feeling wronged, Gu Haofeng asked with an embarrassed expression, “Why are you mad at me, Li? What did I do?”

“You talked to me! Your voice is irritating!” Dong Li’s appealing body moved lightly as she ran towards Dong Baijie, who was sitting with his back against a huge rock and drinking at a slow pace.

Dong Baijie set his alcohol bottle on the ground before smiling at her and asking, “What’s wrong? Who made you angry? Tell me, and I’ll go teach him a lesson right now.”

Dong Li lowered her voice and said angrily, “You know exactly who it was! That bastard refused to join us!”

The Sound Stone Nie Tian had used to communicate with Dong Li was a gift from Dong Baijie, so he naturally knew Dong Li had been talking to Nie Tian.

“That’s alright,” Dong Baijie comforted her in a low voice. “We’ll have plenty of chances to meet on the other side. There’s no rush.

Dong Li couldn’t get over it as she said, “It’s hard to say if the Tool Sect will be able to guard their spatial rift, and his enemy Wu Ling is also going to be there. Joining us is clearly the better choice. Our team is going to be the most powerful one to enter that strange dimension, but he insisted on joining those from the Tool Sect. His head must have been kicked by a mule!” (Slang: not very smart)

Looking at his younger sister, who was still furious, Dong Baijie burst into laughter and asked, “You’re angry because he chose Pei Qiqi, aren’t you?”

“What?! No!” Dong Li rolled her eyes at her older brother. “I’m just angry because he made a dumb decision, taking a risk, while there’s clearly a safer choice.”

“Hahaha!” Dong Baijie laughed but didn’t say a word.

Under his meaningful gaze, Dong Li grew somewhat self-conscious, and mumbled bashfully, “You’re thinking too much. It’s not like that.” Afterwards, she ran away from Dong Baijie, kicking rubble into pieces as a way to vent her anger.