"Let me in! You can have all my belongings―"

"No! Let me in! My father is an Elder of the Bai Clan. He can pay you handsomely."

"The Xu Clan has always been a patron of the Pavilion. Open the gate!"

Loud screams and noises could be heard in front of a tall building. A crowd of cultivators and mortal people alike, was surrounding the front gate of the building, clamoring to be let in.

"The monster beasts are here!" Someone screamed. A few beasts had reached the area. After spotting the crowd, the beasts jumped at them. But they were bombarded by flying swords and martial techniques, and quickly dealt with. But with the appearance of beasts, the crowd began to panic and lose their patience.

"Bastards! Do you have any humanity left in you? How can you do this to us?!"

"Fuck this! Everyone, attack together! Let see how calm they are if the formation is broken. Since they won't let us in, they shouldn't stay in either!"

Many offered their belongings while others appealed to morality and conduct―there were several who outright threatened disastrous consequences. Some were even trying to break the formation.

Across the building, a group of young cultivators stood on the roof of another building watching the scene.

"They have already activated their formation." Mu Chen said as he looked at the spherical barrier that protected the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

"They must have started it once they saw the city formation disappear. We wasted too much time." Li Kun sighed. They had come rushing here as fast as possible, but it was still too slow.

"Would they let us in?" Xia Ping asked.

"Doubt it." Mu Chen shook his head, looking at the crowd. Once the Pavilion lowered its formation, these people would be the first to rush in. As it was in the nature of crowds, things could easily get out of hand. And with the beasts so close, the Pavilion wouldn't risk helping anyone.

"We should split up." Mu Chen said, facing everyone.

"Split up?" Liu Fengying frowned and looked at Mu Chen. "I refuse."

"Haha!" Li Kun laughed. "Brother Chen, I didn't know you had such a dark sense of humour."

"Mu Chen!" Liu Ru said, "Do you want us to get eaten?"

"Ah! Brother Chen." Xia Ping said, "Do you have a fever?"

"Listen to me. We―" Mu Chen wanted to argue, but was interrupted.

"Mu Chen." Liu Fengying said. "You must be too tired. Or else you wouldn't be making such stupid suggestion."

"I think he just wants to get rid of us. He must be planning to run away alone." Liu Ru said. "Mu Chen, I never thought you were such a heartless person. Are you even a man?"

"Ah! Brother Chen?" Xia Ping asked, shocked. "Is this true?"

"Brother Chen!" Li Kun sighed. "I never thought there would be a day when you would make me look down on you."

"I think Brother Chen must have stayed alone in the forest too long―maybe he ate something bad there?" Xia Ping said.

"You must be right! No wonder he is making such crazy suggestions." Li Kun said with a look of understanding.

"Don't worry, Mu Chen." Liu Fenying said, "Even if you are crazy, I won't leave you alone."

"..."

Mu Chen's face twitched. In just a few words he had been turned from a tired person to a back-stabber to a lunatic. Liu Fengying, Liu Ru, Xia Ping and Li Kun began to discuss his symptoms and how best to treat him. Though the topic of discussion was himself, he had been turned into a spectator.

Gao Ren, Su Rong, Ye Lanlan, and Yi Hanying, were puzzled by the strange turn of conversation.

"Enough!" Mu Chen roared. "If you guys keep wasting time like this, it will be too late!" Only a few beasts managed to reach this region of the city. But it wouldn't be long for it to be overwhelmed by beasts.

Liu Fengying and others finally stopped bad-mouthing Mu Chen. Liu Fengying snorted and looked away from him, a frown visible on her forehead. Liu Ru, Xia Ping, and Li Kun also avoided eye contact with Mu Chen as they pretended to be engrossed in deep thoughts.

"You guys!" Mu Chen could only sigh.

"Cough!" Gao Ren cleared his throat. "Whatever the plan, we must hurry up or it would be too late. Brother Li, Brother Xia?"

"We will be staying with Brother Chen." Li Kun said, Xia Ping nodded.

"Everyone needs to split up." Mu Chen shook his head.

"Nonsense!" Liu Fengying said.

"Brothen Chen. I've to disagree on this." Li Kun said.

"Don't listen to them. If everyone splits up, you will have a better chance at survival." Mu Chen said to Gao Ren.

"Brother Chen, you really believe splitting up is a good idea?" Gao Ren looked at Mu Chen with a weird look. "Aren't you worried about facing the beasts by yourself?"

"Would it be of any use?" Mu Chen shrugged.

"Brother Chen's mental state is really strong." Gao Ren sighed.

"Isn't Brother Ren the same?" Mu Chen said.

"It's different." Gao Ren didn't elaborate, but Mu Chen understood.

The beast tide was very dangerous. However, it was only true for mortals and average cultivators. For cultivators like Liu Fengying, Gao Ren and Li Kun, who were successors of their clan and sects―although they couldn't stop the tide, protecting themselves was not an issue. As someone from strong backgrounds, each of them had their own cards that could help them escape and guarantee their safety. Gao Ren, Su Rong, Ye Lanlan, and Yi Hanying did not have the same status as Liu Fengying and others. However, they were from the Ming Dynasty where even the average cultivator had access to resources that could only be obtained by the rich here. So they too, had their own methods to guarantee their survival. So after the initial shock of the beast tide had faded, everyone had adjusted their mentality and were no longer worried.

Of course, they would only use such life-saving cards when it was absolutely necessary. They would not casually reveal them or mention it to others. Even if Mu Chen had been very intimate with Liu Fengying, he had no idea what her life saving cards were.

All of them already had their own means, except Mu Chen. Unfortunately, such life saving techniques took a long time to refine and were usually meant to protect only the user.

Liu Fengying, Li Kun and Xia Ping wanted to protect him by staying close to him. But once they got surrounded by beasts, they would have no choice other than fighting to death or escape. Only Mu Chen would not be able to escape.

Mu Chen was aware of it, so he suggested for their group to split up. He didn't want to embarass Liu Fengying or others. Nor did he think others should have to drag their lives with him to death.

"Hmph! It's fine to split up. Who needs to rely on men anyways?" Yi Hanying scoffed.

"Shut up!" Liu Fenying scowled at Yi Hanying, causing her to take a step back in alarm.

"I―" Yi Hanying was at loss. She didn't understand why Liu Fengying was suddenly mad at her.

"Sister Fengying, calm down." Su Rong moved between the two, "Hanying wasn't serious."

"Fengying!" Mu Chen sighed, "You don't have to involve others." Liu Fengying glanced at him and looked away.

"Actually, I am of the same opinion as Brother Chen." Gao Ren said, after a while.

"Then you should leave fast, Brother Ren." Li Kun said. "Once the beasts reach here, it will be harder to escape."

"You guys should also escape before it's too late." Mu Chen said to Liu Fengying and others. But once again, his suggestion fell on deaf ears.

"Fine! I will leave first." Mu Chen turned to leave, but he stopped after crossing a few feet. Liu Fenying, Liu Ru, Li Kun, and Xia Ping had begun to follow him.

"You guys!" Mu Chen groaned helplessly. "Why are you being so stubborn? Just leave me alone."

"Hmph!" Liu Fengying said. "Where do you think you are trying to run?"

"Fengying. Listen to me." Mu Chen sighed. "You should escape. If anything happened to you, I won't be able to forgive myself."

"Then what about you?" Liu Fengying asked.

"Me?" Mu Chen racked his head. Should he find some place to hide? But where could he hide? Most residents had locked themselves in their houses, while others had hid inside the city hall. But Mu Chen knew that the buildings and the houses weren't strong enough to avoid the beasts. If it was just a few beasts, you could hide from them. But with hundreds and thousands of beasts rushing, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they would leave no stone unturned. Or maybe he could use the sewer? The city had an underground duct that carried the waste out of the city into a pit outside. It should be big enough for him to crawl through?

"I...will figure out a way." Mu Chen said.

"Liar." Liu Fengying retorted and didn't speak anymore.

Li Kun and Xia Ping looked at each other, but didn't speak. They also believed Mu Chen couldn't find a way to escape. An awkward silence descended on the group of youths.

"I've got a way. We don't have to seperate." Gao Ren said, his expression hesitant. Everyone looked at him.

Mu Chen also looked at Gao Ren. If possible he wanted to avoid stepping into the sewer. Moreover it was also possible some other people had the same idea, so there would be fighting over it.

"We need to find a taller building." Gao Ren said.

#

The bell tower was one of the tallest structures in the city. Mu Chen and the other reached the top of the tower. A giant solidarity bell hung at the center. A dome protected the bell from sun and rain, supported by four pillars with archways between them.

"I see!" Li Kun looked through the archway into the sky where the battle between the cultivators and scavengers was still ongoing. "The entrance to the tower is narrow, the beasts won't be able to reach here easily. And the scavengers are occupied with the cultivators in the sky. They won't notice us unless we make any big movements. We can continue to hide here for a long time! Haha! Brother Ren, this is brilliant." Li Kun thumped Gao Ren's back. Xia Ping gave a thumbs up.

"Indeed." Su Rong and others began to discuss among themselves.

"You think so too?" Liu Fengying said.

"Eh? This can work too?" Gao Ren asked, stunned.

"Why are you so surprised? Aren't you the one who brought us here?" Yi Hanying stared at Gao Ren.

"I don't think he brought us here to hide. Right, Brother Ren?" Mu Chen said. He had noticed the airflow from one of the archways had been blocked. He couldn't see anything there, but his intuition told him―something big was blocking the air.

"I―cough!" Gao Ren seemed hesitant.

"Brother Ren, if you had something else in mind, you should not hide it anymore. Although this place looks good for now, it's not guaranteed it would stay the same." The tower seemed safe at first glance, but it's structure was weak compared to the walls protecting the city. It could collapse from impact if a few beasts crashed into it.

"You're right." Gao Ren said. "Everyone, please keep this secret for me."

"What is it? It seems big." Li Kun said. By now, everyone had noticed the anomaly, and understood this was what he had in mind. And they began to probe it using their divine sense.

"It's a… flying ship?" Liu Fenying said, her tone uncertain.

"Huh? Doesn't it seem too big?" Xia Ping asked.

"It's big! Almost the size of..." Su Rong furrowed her brows in consternation. Then looked in shock at Gao Ren as she realized something. "How did you…?"

"Like I said, keep this a secret." Gao Ren waved his hand. "Everyone board on!"