Chapter 165: Retreat
The disciples of the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect fought skillfully, utilizing the terrain to their advantage and having good cooperation, yet due to their poor offensive capabilities, they weren't able to take down the beast.
"Damn it! Why is it not going down?!" Mei Lin groaned in frustration as she started to feel fear.
"We're not strong enough," Ling Mei admitted through gritted teeth as she narrowly dodged another swipe of the beast's claws. "Our offensive techniques aren't good enough to damage the thick hide of this beast."
Wan Ling, panting heavily, observed the beast, trying to find a weak point in the creature's movement, and then she noticed, 'Wait, the beast is slowing down, it is getting exhausted from all the blood loss and the continuous fight.'
But as she was about to tell them that, she saw something else, 'They are getting exhausted as well, I need to tell—'
Before she could continue thinking, Gao Xiu muttered bitterly, "They were right," recalling the scene outside of the Mystique Realm, "Our offensive abilities are really lacking."
"Don't say that!" Wan Ling snapped, "We can't afford to think like that at this point. We need to continue fighting until either we or the beast is exhausted. We won't give up. We need to fight until at least Senior Brother Shen Yuan arrives."
The mention of his name seemed to light a fire of hope inside everyone, but it wasn't enough to turn the table against the beast.
The beast lunged again, faster this time and Zhao Lian screamed as its claws sliced across her arm, leaving deep bloody gashes.
"Retreat!" Ling Mei commanded as she saw the desperate looks on the faces of her sect members.
They began retreating, but the creature didn't relent. It pursued them with terrifying speed, attacking them from time to time.
"This is bad," Mei Lin panted, glancing over her shoulder. "We can't keep this up for long."
…
As Shen Yuan and Elder Xiang Mei arrived at the entrance of the Mystique Realm, they felt the tension in the atmosphere. The three sect elders look at the entrance of the Mystique Realm intently.
Xiang Mei dropped Shen Yuan some distance away from the other sects, she looked at him for a second before saying, "We have two inner sect elders stationed outside the Mystique Realm, you should go and meet up with them before entering the realm."
"Hmm…so you can't be seen by others for now, looks like you were decided as the hidden guardian by our sect." Shen Yuan looked at her thoughtfully before sharing his thoughts.
"Indeed, now you should hurry up, I don't want the disciples to get into any danger." She finished saying as she disappeared from the Shen Yuan's view.
Shen Yuan shook his head and moved toward the gate of the Mystique Realm. The gate was opened in the middle of a forest, the path filled with rocks and vines and Shen Yuan felt the fresh air of the forest.
He soon reached his destination, the gate of the Mystique Realm looked like a crack in the very fabric of the world. It radiated an ancient aura as Shen Yuan observed the gate.
Two women soon descended from the sky as they observed him closely, looking at Shen Yuan in curiosity and sighing in relief seeing him finally here.
"Shen Yuan," Yun Lan, one of the inner sect elders began, "The disciples have already entered the Mystique Realm for quite some time, you should enter now as well and meet up with them."
Shen Yuan nodded his head and just as he was about to say something, he felt the presence of other higher-ranked cultivators approaching his location. He turned his head to see the elders of Ironwood Mountain Clan standing some distance away from his location.
"So this is the infamous Shen Yuan?" One of the younger elders spoke with a hint of disdain in his voice, "Took him long enough to show up. Or maybe he finally gathered his courage to enter the Mystique Realm? Hahahaha."
The surrounding disciples laughed as another one chimed in, "He's probably nothing special, just someone who got inside the sect with his connections. Let's see if he can survive inside or not."
Shen Yuan calmly smiled at them, treating both the elders and the disciples who didn't enter the Mystique Realm as if they were clowns. He didn't waste time with them on their petty quibble as he stepped toward the entrance of the Mystique Realm.
On the other side, the Azure Sky Sect's disciples observed the interaction with thoughtful looks on their faces. One of the elders among them, commented, "The Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect has really found a gem this time. Not only did he complete that absurd trial but his temperament alone makes him exceptional."
He paused, his voice changing somewhat, "Yet, I can feel immense arrogance inside of him, if he doesn't tone it down he might suffer in the future."
Another Elder beside him, a white-haired old man with a long beard, spoke something different. "It's rare for someone of his age to have his abilities, it's nothing strange to have confidence in his own ability, but other people interpret it as arrogance due to their own shortcomings. Let the young ones spread their wings, we old bones are enough to cover their backs." Find more chapters on m_v l|e'm-p| y r
…
Shen Yuan stood before the opening, feeling the aura and preparing himself for what was to come.
Elder Yun Lan, seeing him ready to enter the Mystique Realm spoke up, "The other disciples seem to have encountered some trouble, it would be better if you hurry towards them."
"I'll catch up with them soon," Shen Yuan replied calmly, still having absolute confidence in himself.
Elder Xiang Mei's voice echoed in his mind from somewhere, "Be careful in their Shen Yuan, you might have made many preparations but we never know what you will encounter inside there. So, proceed with caution.
Shen Yuan just nodded he couldn't send her a message from so far away. Without hesitating, Shen Yuan entered the Mystique Realm, vanishing from the sight of everyone outside.
…
Back where the disciples were fighting the weird beast, they ran for some time until they felt themselves being overwhelmed by the intensity of the fight. Yet the beast was also badly wounded as his body dripped with blood and its thick hide softened from the continuous blows.
Just as the beast seemed to overwhelm them, a sudden explosion of Qi ripped through the air, slamming into the beast and sending it crashing into the nearby trees. The beast howled in pain as it struggled to rise to its feet.
Wan Ling and the others looked up, startled at the sudden intervention. Standing atop a nearby hill was a figure wearing the robes of the Azure Sky Sect holding a long bow.
"How weak," the disciple murmured to himself as he descended from the hill, "This is the first beast you had to face, and look at your condition already. This Mystique Realm is really not suitable for you."
Ling Mei narrowed her eyes, her pride stinging at being helped by someone who looked down on her before, "We didn't ask for your help."