Over the next two days, Lily Bai tried every trick she could think of to escape.
But without her spiritual power, there was precious little she could actually do.
Every attempt ended in failure.
Azure Flame sometimes used the Swiftstride technique, sometimes just flew lazily along. Lily had no idea how far they'd gone or where they were.
Every night, they’d suppress their auras and check into a human town to stay at an inn.
At night, Damian Black would lock Lily in a Spirit Barrier; in the daytime, he’d let her out to continue the journey.
This day, they arrived at a place called Twinspring City. As usual, they suppressed their auras and checked into a big inn.
The moment they walked in, they realized the place was packed.
And everyone there was a cultivator.
Luckily, the inn was huge, and there were still rooms available.
As usual, Azure Flame only booked one room. The three of them followed the innkeeper upstairs.
Azure Flame led the way.
Lily Bai walked in the middle.
Damian Black brought up the rear.
Just then, a group of cultivators drinking by the stairs suddenly slammed their table. "Now that's what I call satisfying!"
Lily glanced at them as she walked past, thinking, What's so satisfying? You nearly split that table in half.
"Baxa snatched over twenty disciples from the Spirit Alliance, Sigil Sect, Longride Sect, Ninefold Mountain, and more. Now that he's finally been caught, it's a real relief!"
Hearing the words "Baxa" and "caught," Azure Flame suddenly slowed down. The three of them pricked up their ears to listen.
"The Sigil Sect lost the most disciples! I heard even the Sigil Sect Leader's only son ended up in their hands."
The Sigil Sect Leader's only son?
Jiu Li—my junior brother!
Lily Bai's fists clenched tight.
"Are they dead or alive?" someone at the table asked.
"You think anyone survives after falling into demon hands? Of course they're dead! Probably fed to some monster!"
"It's infuriating!"
"Exactly! That's why, in half a month, at the Sigil Sect's oath-swearing rally, we'll take Baxa's head as our battle standard!"
"This time, the Sigil Sect Leader is mobilizing the whole sect, swearing to break the Wildlands Tribulation Thunder Array! The Divine Realm, all the major Celestial Sects and noble families, will join the fight!"
"This war—we're going to storm the Primeval Demon Wilds and tear the Demon Emperor to pieces!"
"Tearing him to pieces isn't enough! We have to annihilate his soul!"
"Right! First, strike him dead with Genesis Bolt, then toss his soul into Yellow Springs Volcano so he's wiped out for good!"
Lily Bai shot a dagger-like glance at a certain Demon Emperor.
Once inside, Damian Black sealed the whole room with a Barrier.
Azure Flame had been pushing through for days, always the most exhausted. Normally, she’d shrink down to bat-size and curl up on the bed to sleep.
But tonight, she stayed in human form and pulled out a Messenger Charm to call someone.
The other side picked up, a familiar voice came through: "Who is it?"
Azure Flame glanced at Damian Black. "Li Ao, you’ve got Baxa’s Messenger Charm. Looks like he really did fall into your hands!"
Only then did Lily Bai realize—the voice belonged to Young Master Drake, Li Ao.
"Yep! You’re just now hearing about it?" Li Ao sounded delighted. "Guess living in the Primeval Demon Wilds really keeps you out of the loop!"
"Let me hear Baxa’s voice," Azure Flame said.
A muffled groan came from the Messenger Charm.