In the morning, Rehvka stealthily took Fiby to the central region of the sect. Using her Grey Disciple tablet, she managed to easily enter the sect’s inner area and present herself. She simply stated that she had fled alone, wounded and fearful, using unconventional paths through the sect’s forest to return. Her body was fine, but her wounded soul was clear to anyone who sensed her aura; they readily accepted her words.
On that same day, members from both clans arrived at the sect and accused the whale of leaving without permission and bringing outsiders into the forest. There were obviously clan sentries monitoring the forest’s entrances and exits; if they used the normal exits or notified anyone, the leaders would know. So, they sneaked away and returned with the high-level spatial formation.
A sect elder investigated everything. Upon arriving where the whale was, he saw no one except the red disciples; he searched the entire forest and found nothing either. He then interrogated the whale, who claimed he had never left the spot.
He made sure to break all the recording crystals. There was no evidence they had left; it was just their word against the clan members. They could let the elders investigate their souls to see the truth, but in their memories there were many things that were better left obscure. So, they had to swallow all of it with anger.
Ruri’s formation was perfect, leaving no spatial fluctuations or traces of the clan members. The Dao of the Formation God was no joke.
Shortly after, an urgent summons arrived for Kisala and Ambry from their respective clans. This time, they were securely held by Ruri, almost returning the message with curses. In the end, they chose to just ignore it; screw the future consequences.
Their loyalty to the clans was completely destroyed, but the two didn’t want to officially declare themselves out of them, still believing their parents weren’t directly involved in these shady things. At least one of them... the other was becoming more anxious by the minute, which didn’t escape Alm’s notice.
On that day, the sect disciples did not attack; the clan members must have been in meetings to replan things. So, everyone who should have been resting was training, preparing for the next pipeline.
In the midst of that unusual day, only Ruri and the two Feys were together, while Idris trained with Corin in the distance. After a brief pause, Ambry sitting beside Ruri spoke a bit fearfully.
"My mother is someone small and irrelevant in the clan, while my father is a middle elder; he... he doesn’t like to think too much, being impulsive and emotional. She is the smart one, and I am more like her."
Ambry looked at Ruri a bit crestfallen, but Ruri encouraged her to speak her mind freely. "I believe in him; he must have seen forged images and just ran out without talking to my mother, believing everything. I know he did something cruel... and attacked you all to kill... but if he realizes his mistake, he will do everything to make amends."
Ruri just gently stroked her head, comforting her, while Kisala sitting further ahead had a cold expression with her gaze down. Ruri looked at her; Kisala was much taller than Ruri, even when sitting. But a warm wave of QI lifted her chin and forced her to look at her. Ruri just smiled softly.
"Master doesn’t mind, as long as they acknowledge the mistake. Idris is also a good boy; he won’t be angry. What about you? What do you feel?"
Kisala took a deep breath and looked at Ruri deeply; there was complete trust between them. After gathering courage, she spoke, pouring everything out. "My father died shortly after I was born. My mother is a high elder of the clan... she’s quite strict and always made me train and study hard. She said if I didn’t produce results quickly, I would have to marry and have children soon. She had an unmatched desire for power and wanted to use me to gain more influence, either through my power or as someone’s bride... I feel... that she is certainly involved."
Ambry lowered her head thoughtfully; she already knew this, both had lived very similar experiences. She was sure her parents weren’t involved... but she knew it was by luck. Her father was the high-level one in the couple, and he was direct. Her mother, she had said similar things several times; how she was weak and had no contacts with other sects. If she were just a common elder, Ambry would be sure she was involved too.
"I don’t feel anything for my mother..." Kisala spoke, looking seriously at Ruri. "If she’s really involved, she should be judged by the sect. Please... if you can, tell him that..."
"No need; he’s listening," Ruri nodded slightly. "He asked to talk to you out of concern, saying he didn’t want to get too close to you... but his attention to your emotions only worries me more."
Both listened and sighed softly. Ambry then spoke gently, "You mentioned how he took care of you since childhood, how attentive he was... he really like..." She swallowed her words, feeling an explosive fury brooding in the distance, only to dissipate later.
Ruri just smiled ironically at his furious reaction from afar. She couldn’t confirm or deny. Indeed, he had always been very kind to children, and she knew the reason well. Frustrated, Ruri bit her lip... she barely had time now to be alone with him and try to fix this.
A bit further away, on the mountain.
’You bastard. My honor is being tarnished because of you!’ Alm roared angrily.
’What kind of honor do you have? Not to mention that it was you who was paying close attention to them and asked Ruri to make them talk,’ Bruno replied dryly, scoffing. ’Well, screw it. Now we can act without worries, after failing so humiliatingly. They can’t rely on the clans and are going on their own.’
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Alm fell silent after calming down. Logically, enemies would only pressure them to catch them in the sealed world of the sect in just over a month. However, their instincts warned them of hidden danger approaching.
They speculated. The level of power shown by them and their allies made it clear that the few demons the enemy could send to invade that sealed world would hardly be able to kill them. The demonic leader of the branch couldn’t afford to send disciples to die in vain indefinitely; each demon that invaded posed risks and great losses to her.
Soon, she would need to ensure they were severely injured before entering the sealed world. With the planet’s clans proving useless, she would have to risk a big move. Or her losses would only increase. She was probably a woman driven by hatred, and she would never rest until they were dead.
’With great dangers and risks, come great opportunities,’ Bruno said thoughtfully. ’What sinister plan do you think she’ll execute?’
’Plan? Why bother making plans? She has enough power to crush us easily. We’re like caged rats on this planet and can’t escape,’ Alm replied sarcastically, but it wasn’t a joke.
They already knew there were numerous demonic cultivators watching the planet; any attempt to escape would be detected. When Ruri sent those cultivators away, spatial laws couldn’t hide the aura of people fleeing.
The demons knew it wasn’t them, as they were Feys. If they tried to stop them from fleeing and attacked those weak Feys, the sect would have evidence to retaliate. Obviously, if it were really the whale, they wouldn’t care, but against weak Feys, they allowed the escape.
Alm quickly thought and concluded, ’Surely there are methods for that bitch to attack stealthily and escape before leaving evidence...!’
At that moment, Alm and Bruno felt that this idea was very close to reality. They both smiled faintly; if she wanted to attack stealthily, why not lure the wolf using the sheep?
***
Night fell. The dense darkness of Yin approached the pivotal moment, nearing midnight, and everyone was positioned and ready for battle.
Previously, as this hour approached, disciples ceased their activities and only resumed in the morning. Every night, it was the time when demons attacked; this happened daily.
When midnight struck and everyone felt Yin almost complete on the planet, a mental command message reached the leaders of the groups. They were coming.
At that instant, a strange shift occurred within the groups. In Ruri’s group, Idris stepped forward, determined. In Rehvka’s group, Quirio also advanced with seriousness. In Kaiyka’s group, Corin took the lead while Calirer was not visible among them. In Runula’s group, Deryu snorted and moved forward.
They were not in their regular formation. Soon, about thirty demons approached, and those in the frontline faced the first clash.
Those behind provided weak and ineffective support. Those at the front fought a desperate battle. Despite Corin and Deryu being physically powerful, they were directed to face high-level adversaries, putting their lives at risk.
Ruri needed to focus all her attention, prepared to intervene and protect Idris in case of emergency. But to her surprise, it was unnecessary. He was evolving rapidly, his instincts for danger developing remarkably; he knew when to flee to avoid certain death.
Meanwhile, Quirio could easily conceal himself with Yin in times of peril; he fought surprisingly cold and focused, as if much older than his actual age.
The night passed, and everyone survived. However, those at the frontline clearly came out wounded. Those in the rear contributed little and seemed to have little strength...
This repeated for three days, and no Empyreans were sent by the enemies. They seemed to be carefully analyzing and measuring something.
Until one fateful night, inside the cave, the new attack began. The whale opened his eyes, a dark gleam flickering within them. Calirer, by his side, noticed it and grew excited—she already knew what he was planning.
The whale smiled. "Finally, the wolf has arrived."