"Not good." The demon cultivator was very sensitive to evil spirits. Yan Sen stood up suddenly and looked at the dark cloud, wondering, "I'm afraid this thing is not easy to get rid of!"
"What is that?" Yuan Xiao also looked up.
"It's a rabbit!" Cheng Yi shouted, "Hide quickly!"
Yan Sen grabbed his collar and said, "Bullshit, I don't know when even the spirit rabbit can fly!"
Cheng Yi was about to argue, but Gu Pinglin interrupted them and said, "It's a rabbit-faced bat."
"Rabbit-faced bat?" Yan Sen's face changed.
The next moment, Xin Ji's screams came from above his head.
In just a few words, the dark clouds had floated over everyone's heads, blocking the light from the sky and casting a large shadow on the ground. Everyone could then see clearly that it was not dark clouds at all, but a black swarm of bats!
There were thousands of bats as big as human heads. Each of them had a rabbit face and two long furry ears on its head. The bloody light that everyone had seen before was those blood-red eyes that glowed with ferocity.
"Hurry..." Xin Ji did not even have the time to call for help. He dodged the attacks while pulling at the ferocious bat that was biting his shoulder. The bat held on tightly and refused to let go, and its defense was amazing. Even if he slapped it with all his strength, it was of no use.
"Rabbit-faced ferocious bat! It's a rabbit-faced ferocious bat!" Someone from the Yuan family finally recognized it.
Everyone was shocked, and Yan Sen loosened his grip. Cheng Yi took the opportunity to break free and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"This bastard..." Yan Sen was about to start scolding him, but Cheng Yi suddenly flashed back and ran over to pull Duan Qingming: "The rabbit sucks blood, we can't beat it, why don't you run away!"
Duan Qingming moved sideways without leaving a trace, pushed his hand away, and reminded him with a smile: "Senior Xin is in trouble, didn't you say you would save him?"
"Ah?" Cheng Yi was stunned and worried. "I can't beat him. It would be most cost-effective if one of them dies. Let's run."
"It's too late." Gu Pinglin said.
Xin Ji was a demon in his previous life. When his life was at stake, he saw that everyone was indifferent, so he became frightened and swooped down towards everyone with a swarm of bats!
Gu Pinglin and the other three were in a panic. The rabbit-faced bat was a mid-level vicious bird that liked to suck blood for cultivation. Its individual combat power was not as strong as that of the same level beasts, but with so many of them, its attack power was terrifying. It would not take long for it to suck a living person dry.
"You are looking for death!" Yan Sen was furious, his eyes flashed with murderous intent. He wanted to slap Xin Ji to death, but he was afraid that the bats would become more violent when they saw blood, and that would implicate him. He carefully used his true energy to push away a few bats, turned his head and called to Duan Qingming, "Run first, don't worry about anything else!"
With a sneer flashing across his eyes, Yuan Xiao secretly signaled his men to move away. While pulling Qi Yanfeng back, he pretended to casually send out a palm with his backhand, pushing several ferocious bats towards Duan Qingming, blocking their way.
"Second cousin!" Qi Yanfeng held his hand.
Yuan Xiao whispered: "Don't forget who he is. If he doesn't die, your cousin Qinghou will..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a sudden sound of gust of wind behind him. He turned around quickly, only to see a swarm of ferocious bats rushing towards him!
The accident happened in an instant. All the ferocious bats changed direction and rushed towards Yuan Xiao and the other person. In the blink of an eye, the two were submerged by the swarm of bats!
The Yuan family members came back to their senses and rushed to save him, screaming, "Second Young Master!"
How powerful are thousands of bats! Qi Yanfeng's screams, Yuan Xiao's roars, and the shouts of the crowd all rang out, and the scene was in chaos. The rabbit-faced bats were used to acting in groups, and even the bat on Xin Ji's shoulder let go. Xin Ji was finally rescued, and the whole person collapsed to the ground, his face pale. Fortunately, Yan Sen and his people were out of danger, and no one blamed him. They all went to watch the excitement over at Yuan's.
The Yuan family is not a family of sword practitioners, but their magic is also powerful. Yuan Xiao shouted loudly, and a purple light suddenly appeared in the air. Dozens of purple gas beads scattered, and many ferocious bats were wrapped in the gas beads. Then, the gas beads exploded, blood plasma flew, and several ferocious bats fell to the ground injured.
The blood of their kind floated in the air, and the bats became more violent. Although Yuan Xiao was a great cultivator of inner alchemy, the ferocious bats were of a high level and in large numbers, and he simply could not handle them alone. What's more, he had to protect Qi Yanfeng. The Yuan family members tried their best to rescue them, but the ferocious bats seemed to have identified the two of them and attacked them frantically. As Gu Pinglin expected, Yuan Xiao was soon injured.
"What's going on?" Yan Sen was surprised and looked at Duan Qingming subconsciously.
Duan Qingming did not hide it: "It's just a little snake saliva."
Snakes are the natural enemies of the rabbit-faced bats, no wonder the bats reacted so violently. Yan Sen looked at him, with a little more fear in his eyes: "You have never been close to Yuan Xiao, how did you do it?"
Duan Qingming smiled but did not answer.
Gu Pinglin said, "It's on Miss Qi." As early as when Qi Yanfeng came to ask for the sword, Duan Qingming had put snake saliva on him. When Yuan Xiao came into contact with Qi Yanfeng, he was naturally also stained with snake saliva.
Yan Sen was puzzled: "How did you know there were evil bats at that time?"
"Can fly, rabbit, and..." Gu Pinglin turned sideways to look at Xin Ji, "Senior Xin can't beat him, these three conditions are enough."
It is true that due to their nature, rabbit-like beasts are not ferocious enough and are usually not very powerful. Therefore, when everyone heard Cheng Yi's reminder, their first reaction was to treat it as a joke and no one took the so-called "rabbit" seriously. However, Cheng Yi has been hunting monsters since he was a child, so his words should never be ignored. When he said "it can't fly", it can be known that this thing is an evil bird in the sky. The only evil bird that looks like a rabbit and can cause Xin Ji to suffer is the rabbit-faced bat.
Of course Duan Qingming could also think of it.
Yuan Xiao was stained with snake saliva, and if he had been more obedient, he would have been fine. However, he attacked with ill intentions, hoping to take the opportunity to get rid of Duan Qingming. However, the wind from his palm brought the smell of snake saliva, which instead attracted ferocious bats to attack him.
He was seeking death, which was exactly what Duan Qingming wanted.
The nest of the ferocious bats is just ahead. By utilizing Yuan's power to weaken the strength of the bats, everyone will have a greater chance of passing through.
In this situation, the Yuan family's strength was fully demonstrated, and they took out all the magic weapons and formations. In addition to Yuan Xiao, they actually had a great inner alchemy cultivator. In just a cup of tea, dozens of ferocious bats were killed. Of course, the price they paid was not small. Several cultivators died in the battle, and their corpses were densely covered with ferocious bats.
Yuan Xiao was already covered in blood. Seeing that the ferocious bats could not be killed, he tried his best to open a gap and pushed Qi Yanfeng out of the bat group.
"Cousin!" Qi Yanfeng was unharmed and the smell of snake saliva had dissipated, but her body was stained with blood and she was still being targeted by two or three ferocious bats on the periphery. The others were busy saving Yuan Xiao and had no time to take care of her. She did not ask for help. While shedding tears, she drew her sword and slashed at the ferocious bats fiercely.
Gu Pinglin understood clearly: "It's a pity to be born a woman."
The moves this woman used were exactly the ones I had just asked about. They were very different from the sword-fighting diagrams. It was rare for her to comprehend and apply them in battle so quickly. However, no matter how talented a girl from a noble family was, she couldn't learn anything at her parents' home. Even if she married into her husband's family, she still had to follow the rules of that family. Her path to the sword was more difficult than Qi Wan'er's.
Although her swordsmanship was good, Qi Yanfeng's cultivation was too low. She was bitten by three ferocious bats and cried out in pain. She looked towards Duan Qingming several times with tears in her eyes, but never spoke a word.
Seeing Duan Qingming remained calm, Yan Sen laughed, "Boy, you are ruthless enough."
Yuan Xiao, who was surrounded by the bats, heard Qi Yanfeng's cry and shouted anxiously, regardless of his own serious injuries: "Cousin, how are you? Where is Brother Duan? Brother Duan, please save her!"
Among the three sons of the Yuan family, Yuan Xiao is famous for his arrogance. He has fallen into danger due to his own fault, and he has not asked for help from this side until now. After all, he still has some backbone. Now he is willing to speak up for Qi Yanfeng, which shows how deeply the word "love" can trouble a person.
Gu Pinglin pondered secretly and glanced at Duan Qingming from the side, and just in time, that pair of enchanting black eyes looked at him with a smile.
Qi Yanfeng was bitten by three ferocious bats, and his blood attracted other ferocious bats to gradually surround him. The situation was already very critical.
Gu Pinglin frowned slightly, retracted his gaze, flew over, and absorbed the air flow with one palm. Several ferocious bats were shaken away. Gu Pinglin took the opportunity to grab Qi Yanfeng's arm and led her out of danger. When the ferocious bats surrounded them again, they seemed to encounter something they were afraid of and quickly retreated. Even the three that were biting Qi Yanfeng let go and flew away.
Qi Yanfeng was still in shock. She was the daughter of a noble family and had never encountered such a dangerous thing during her experience outside. In addition to being injured, she was shocked and in pain, and she could hardly bear it. She fell weakly in Gu Pinglin's arms, trembling and crying.
Duan Qingming looked at the two of them with a normal expression.
Gu Pinglin patted Qi Yanfeng's shoulder soothingly, and gently pushed her away: "It's okay."
Aristocratic families value etiquette, and Qi Yanfeng lost her composure out of fear. After calming down, she quickly stepped back and sobbed, "Thank you... Master Gu." As soon as she finished speaking, another Yuan family cultivator screamed. She immediately remembered Yuan Xiao's situation, and regardless of her injuries, she rushed over to save him, crying, "Second cousin!"
Gu Pinglin held her back and said, "Going there now will not help, but will only cause more trouble."
Qi Yanfeng turned around, tears in his eyes, and looked at him pleadingly.
Gu Pinglin let her go without saying anything.
Qi Yanfeng couldn't help but look at Duan Qingming, then looked at him, seemed to understand something, and lowered his head silently.
"It's not that Junior Brother Gu is standing by and watching," Duan Qingming explained in a gentle voice, "Although the rabbit-faced bats are ferocious, they are not good at fighting for a long time. Now that they have suffered heavy casualties, they should retreat soon. Brother Yuan just needs to hold on. If we take action and provoke their ferocity again, the consequences will be even more serious."
Qi Yanfeng exclaimed "Ah", and quickly raised his head to look at him: "Are you serious?"
"Of course," Duan Qingming said with a smile, "Don't worry."
The sky was filled with wind and clouds, and precious light was flashing. The Yuan family was still fighting a desperate battle with the bats, and the screams continued. Yuan Xiao's condition must be worse. Qi Yanfeng was anxious, but she also knew her own abilities, so she had to listen to Duan Qingming's words, and refrained from rushing over. She covered her mouth and cried beside him.
The fact was just as Duan Qingming said. After a cup of tea, the ferocious bats seemed to have heard the order and suddenly left the battle circle. They gathered into a dark cloud and retreated quickly. The Yuan family suffered heavy casualties. Most of the 24 people were killed, and only ten were left. All of them were injured. Among them, Yuan Xiao was the worst. He had attracted most of the ferocious bats to protect Qi Yanfeng. Now his true energy was exhausted, and large pieces of flesh were torn off his shoulders, back and arms. He was bleeding profusely, and his inner elixir was damaged. He fell to the ground and couldn't get up.
Qi Yanfeng ran over to help him up: "Cousin, how are you?"
Yuan Xiao shook his head and held her hand weakly, his eyes finally showing some spirit: "I'm glad you're okay..."
"It's all my fault." Qi Yanfeng burst into tears and fed him the pills.
A Yuan clan cultivator glared at Gu Pinglin and the others: "How dare you just stand by and watch?"
Gu Pinglin remained silent.
"Shut up!" Yuan Xiao half-raised his upper body, took a breath, and managed not to faint. "It's normal for several friends to have insufficient cultivation."
"But they are too..." the monk was still dissatisfied.
Gu Pinglin interrupted him: "And then?"
The man was stunned: "What?"
"I just stood by and watched," Gu Pinglin calmly glanced at the Yuan family members and then returned his gaze to him, "So what?"
Under the invisible pressure, the man couldn't help but take two steps back. When he was about to say something, he suddenly remembered something and broke out in a cold sweat - most of his side were killed or wounded, the two inner alchemy monks had lost their combat effectiveness, but the five people from the Lingxin Sect were almost unscathed. Unknowingly, they were already at a disadvantage!
Yuan Xiao also knew that the situation was not good, but his injuries were too severe. He could not speak and could only cough violently.
"Well, we are all friends, why bother about it," Duan Qingming walked towards Yuan Xiao slowly, "I wonder how is Brother Yuan's injury?"
The atmosphere eased, and everyone in the Yuan family secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but Yuan Xiao's body froze, and he subconsciously clenched his hands, then loosened them again. Qi Yanfeng hugged him and looked at Duan Qingming nervously: "Sixth cousin..."
"Brother Yuan, are you okay?" Duan Qingming lifted the hem of his robe, half-knelt down, and looked concerned. "I know a little about medicine, do you need help?"
Qi Yanfeng hesitated and looked at Yuan Xiao.
"Don't worry about it." Yuan Xiao looked at him directly, his tone still cold and hard, "Thank you for saving my cousin."
Duan Qingming smiled and said, "Brother Yuan is too polite. Yanfeng is also my cousin, so it is my duty to save her."
Yuan Xiao panted lightly, looked at Qi Yanfeng for a long while, looked away, and said resolutely: "You go with Brother Duan first."
Qi Yanfeng hurriedly asked: "How can this be possible?"
Duan Qingming also said: "Brother Yuan, what are you doing? Of course we have to go together."
"I can't do anything like this, and I'm just a burden. It's better for me to stay and wait for the elders." Yuan Xiao stared at him and said slowly, "The situation here is complicated. If we are unlucky, it is common to encounter enemies and demonic cultivators. I don't know if we can survive until they arrive."
Duan Qingming smiled slightly: "Brother Yuan thinks too much."
Yuan Xiao did not continue the topic: "Take your cousin away." He said to Duan Qingming, but he was looking at Gu Pinglin.
Qi Yanfeng quickly shook his head: "I'll go with you."
"No," Yuan Xiao said, "If we encounter a strong enemy, we still have magic weapons to protect ourselves. If you stay, not only will you not be able to help, but you may also be a burden to us."
"This..." Qi Yanfeng hesitated.
"Go ahead." Yuan Xiao patted the back of her hand softly, then looked at Gu Pinglin with a rare hint of request in his eyes.
Gu Pinglin certainly knew his intention. He noticed that there was something fishy about the evil bat incident and was sure that Duan Qingming would not let the Yuan family go easily, so he let Qi Yanfeng leave. He did not trust Duan Qingming, but he saw that he had saved Qi Yanfeng. On the surface, he entrusted Qi Yanfeng to Duan Qingming, but in fact, he entrusted him to himself.
Gu Pinglin decisively refused: "Let her stay."
Yuan Xiao was about to say something else when Duan Qingming interrupted him: "Brother Yuan is right. It's no good for my cousin to stay. Come with us."