Hurry Faster

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Lin Qingxue, steering the Lotus Heavenly Skiff, had no idea she had just survived a life-and-death crisis.

She merely pushed the lotus platform to its limits, flying desperately into the distance.

Faster!

Even faster!

Master and the others are coming! The Snake-men are coming! Those coveting the spiritual fire are coming!

If only I can reach that place!

Spiritual energy was being consumed at a terrifying rate.

Gritting her teeth, Lin Qingxue had to take out spirit stones one by one from her storage bag. The stones shattered in her palms, and the spiritual energy was frantically absorbed into her body before being channeled into the lotus platform.

Finally!

At the cost of six hundred mid-grade spirit stones.

A massive flying ship faintly appeared at the distant edge of the desert. It was hundreds of feet tall and immeasurably wide, carved entirely from white jade. The hull was engraved with various complex flight and defense runes, emitting a faint fluorescence under the moonlight.

That was the sect flying ship of the Azure Profound Sect.

Upon it stood courtyards, pavilions, and even restaurants and taverns, looking just like a small town.

For this trial, it wasn't just the Purple Cloud Peak that came; under the influence of the system, it was a trial organized by the entire Azure Profound Sect. This flying ship could accommodate tens of thousands of people and was the Azure Profound Sect's mobile vessel for large-scale events.

Its construction cost was exorbitant, enough to rival the wealth of a third-rate sect.

"We're here!"

Lin Qingxue's eyes lit up, and her heart finally relaxed a little.

At least here, she wouldn't have to worry about other factions in the desert, like the Snake-men, coming to cause trouble.

"Heartless Man, you have to pay back these spirit stones."

Looking at the unconscious Ye Shu on the lotus platform, Lin Qingxue sighed and steered the platform toward the deck.

"Senior Sister Qingxue?"

As soon as she landed, the guarding disciples on the deck let out gasps of surprise. They looked at Lin Qingxue on the lotus platform, then at the ragged, bruised dancer girls behind her, and finally at the white-clad youth whose body was emitting fire. For a moment, they didn't know what to say.

It was a younger guarding disciple who finally stepped forward.

"Senior Sister, even though we came to the Dangul Desert to rob... uh, to find opportunities, isn't straight-up human trafficking a bit too much?"

He pointed at the dancers, his face filled with righteous indignation.

Lin Qingxue glared at him.

"If you don't know how to speak, then shut up. Who told you this is human trafficking? I rescued them from someone else's clutches! Rescued them, do you understand?!"

"Hurry up and take them down to settle them in."

"Also, you are not allowed to tell anyone that this person is with me. If I find out any of you blabbed..." Lin Qingxue pointed at the collapsed Ye Shu, her gaze sweeping over the guarding disciples present, making no secret of her threat.

The guarding disciples trembled and nodded hastily.

"Don't worry, Senior Sister, we didn't see anything."

A guarding disciple stepped forward, wanting to guide the dancers to the rest area, but they shrank together in unison, looking fearfully at the strangers before them.

"Don't be afraid."

Lin Qingxue's voice carried a rare gentleness as she said softly, "These are our Azure Profound Sect disciples; they won't hurt you. Everything is fine now. Once I settle Qingli and the Heartless Man, I will come find you."

After speaking, she glared at the disciple again.

"Treat them well. If you dare to bully them..."

"We wouldn't dare." The guarding disciple waved his hands repeatedly.

The dancers finally relaxed and, somewhat timidly, followed the guarding disciple away.

Seeing the dancers settled.

A heavy stone in Lin Qingxue's heart finally dropped.

Next, it was these two.

Looking at Ye Shu and Xiao Qingli on the lotus platform, Lin Qingxue beckoned to another guarding disciple and ordered, "Go arrange a small flying ship for me, the fastest one available. I am returning to the Azure Profound Sect today."

The Lotus Heavenly Skiff was fast, but it consumed too much spiritual energy.

Even if she exhausted all her spirit stones, it probably wouldn't be enough for her to fly back to the Hundred Thousand Mile Mountains.

It was better to switch to a small flying ship, which excelled in endurance.

Hearing this, the guarding disciple was taken aback.

"Senior Sister, if you go back alone, are you just going to leave the matters of Purple Cloud Peak unattended? Moreover, for this sect trial, leaving early might be a bit... against the rules."

"I don't have time to explain to you, just arrange it quickly."

Lin Qingxue's voice carried a hint of urgency. If they waited until her Master and the others returned, the Heartless Man would definitely be dead!

"But this..."

The guarding disciple was somewhat conflicted, but meeting Lin Qingxue's slightly reddened eyes, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

"A-alright, I'll go register it."

He nodded with difficulty, turned around, and ran off like a wisp of smoke.

Lin Qingxue watched his back at the registration desk, then looked in the direction of the Snake-man City, burning with anxiety.

She didn't know how long the battle in the Snake-man City would last.

But considering the spiritual fire was already lost, it definitely couldn't be too long. Her Master might already be on her way back.

By then, the Heartless Man would surely have only one path to take—death.

"Faster... Please be faster... Master is coming..."

She urged in a low voice, her eyes fixed intently on the distant registration desk. Just a few seconds felt as though hundreds of years had passed.

Finally, under Lin Qingxue's anxious, eye-bulging gaze.

The guarding disciple looked up, took out a stamped document, and waved at her.

"Senior Sister, it's done!"

Swoosh!

Before he could even react, Lin Qingxue appeared right in front of him and snatched the document away.

Great! There's hope!

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, her pupils suddenly shrank.

Outside the deck, at the end of the desert.

Beyond the distant skyline, five blurry silhouettes were flying toward this location.

Lin Qingxue's heart skipped a beat.

It was too late.