On the other side of the Red Snake Mountains, everyone was on edge, waiting for the Spirit Ascension cultivator to show up.
Chen Yuxi and Sun Yurong boldly stood at the access point leading out of the mountains, while Gu Zhi and Gu Yen kept watch at the other access point.
The Red Snake Mountains are fairly distant from the Inner Sect, and we've set up layers of spatial disruption fields to prevent any cultivators from teleporting directly into our sect. Plus, Elder Sun's Blood Killing Arts should act as a backup defense, especially since it's so well refined.
We've also notified the matriarchs, so all we must do now is hold out until they arrive with our sect's ancient beasts.
As a chief elder, I, Chen Yuxi, must defend the White Serpent Sect at all costs!
Chen Yuxi was sweating bullets as she thought.
Truly, she was a brave woman, but the thought of a Spirit Ascension cultivator attacking them kept her apprehensive.
Sun Yurong, however, seemed unfazed, calmly folding her arms and gazing ahead with her piercing red eyes.
I swear, Yang Wei, we'll need to have a serious chat once you're done with whatever you're up to in those mountains. He shouldn't have much trouble killing those cultivators, unless I overestimated his strength... but that's unlikely, my visions are never wrong.
Sighing, she glanced to the side and noticed a few Inner Sect disciples eagerly awaiting the cultivator's arrival.
"Oh, they're here too...?" she said to herself.
Among the disciples were Missionary Elders Deng Rulan and Hu Meizhen.
Hu Meizhen clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, physically expressing her eagerness to give the cultivator a beating. "I can't wait to beat up whoever steps through those gates!" she grit her teeth. "They'll be even more unlucky if they're a man!" she growled.
Deng Rulan, hands clasped behind her back, remained composed. "Hmm?" she responded to Hu Meizhen's outburst. "Do you realize none of us stand a chance against a Spirit Ascension cultivator? Even the matrons are just Nascent Soul cultivators. We'd be wiped out by one Spirit Ascension cultivator alone."
Hu Meizhen turned abruptly to face Deng Rulan.
*Boing!* *Boing!!*
Her breasts bounced around haphazardly, trying to follow the motion of her abrupt movements.
"Shouldn't we at least hope for the best? If we all work together, we'll crush them and make them beg for mercy!"
Chen Yuxi urgently skipped over to Sun Yurong and placed a hand on her shoulder, saying, "How could they casually call this a false alarm? All the chief elders obviously sensed a spiritual aura far stronger than the Nascent Soul Realm."
Sun Yurong unfolded her arms and shrugged blissfully, replying, "Does it matter now? I can't even sense the aura now that the barrier is down."
Chen Yuxi remained silent, unsure of what to say next.
Sun Yurong then focused on the disciples who were all still gathered and said, "The inner disciples are free to leave. I apologize for the unneeded disturbance. Now, we'll just focus on concluding the trial so we can compile a list of disciples who passed and see which of the four peaks they'll be assigned to."
Many of the inner disciples didn't look happy when they were told to leave. They felt like they'd wasted their time. One of the rules of the sect was to pause all closed-door cultivation if there was a general threat to the sect. Finding out that the threat was a false alarm simply frustrated them as they could've been doing so much more.
Hu Meizhen was about to take her leave, but she noticed Deng Rulan still waiting. "What's wrong, sister? Shouldn't we get going?" she asked. Then, with a coquettish smile, she added, "We still have time for some fun~~"
Deng Rulan replied, barely paying attention, "Hm, sure..."
But her gaze was fixed elsewhere.
On Yang Wei and Liu Yan.
Hu Meizhen caught on quickly, accusing, "You're looking at Yang Mi again, aren't you?" She looked angry and was already pouting.
Ignoring Hu Meizhen's feelings, Deng Rulan confessed, "It's not just her I'm looking at..." Her eyes lingered on Yang Wei, admiring her petite figure; those slender arms and legs paired with her small yet curvaceous waist. "It's like Yang Mi made an interesting friend~" she added licking her lips slowly.
Sensing where this was going, Hu Meizhen immediately jumped in front of Deng Rulan, blocking her view, and shouted, "Sister, there's no need to pay attention to them. I'm far better and have a prettier body!"
Deng Rulan chuckled at Hu Meizhen's child-like cuteness and patted her on the head, saying, "Of course."
"So, let's begin assessment..." Sun Yurong finally re-announced it.
Right after, she glanced back at Yang Wei and smiled again, "It seems a few of us, have already started showing their worth as Star Disciples~"
All Yang Wei could do was smile back at her.
And the two kept looking at each other for while.
The first time, Liu Yan may not have noticed it, but this time, she most definitely did.
"Hm?" she uttered, as she calmly monitored their lingering stares.