Xie Li's gaze was cold as it swept over the two women at the front, a mocking sneer crossing his face.
The rest of the warriors wore far more sinister expressions. Those of lecherous inclination ogled the two women, their gazes sliding shamelessly over their shapely figures as though they were already prey—mere trophies waiting for the grand formation to shatter before they could rush in, seize them, and have their fill.
The two women's expressions remained utterly indifferent, without the slightest trace of fear.
Xie Li recognized the two women at a glance. To deal with Dragon Den Mountain, he had naturally investigated every detail of the place. One of the women was called Wu Yi, originally a disciple of the local Haker family who had since left the clan and joined Dragon Den Mountain. The other was called Qian Yue, who seemed to have been brought back by Yang Kai from somewhere.
Their cultivation levels were hardly worth mentioning—one at the Saint King Second-Order, the other at the Saint King First-Order. They were entirely beneath Xie Li's notice.
The three elders standing behind them—two of them were surely Chang Qi and Hao An. Both had originally been retainers of the Haker family. The two had also made the trip to the Blazing Flame Sandy Lands, and somehow, through some fortuitous encounter, had both broken through to the Void Returning Realm. They had subsequently joined Dragon Den Mountain.
As for the last one, Xie Li studied him with suspicion. Upon making out the man's face, he blurted in surprise: "Brother Ning, what are you doing here?"
That white-haired, white-bearded elder was none other than Ning Xiangchen—the very one who had gone to the Emperor's Domain with Yang Kai.
Truth be told, his situation was one of utter helplessness. After returning from the Emperor's Domain and receiving Yang Kai's promise, he had been gathering weapon-forging materials all along, intending to come to Dragon Den Mountain to borrow Yang Kai's fire bird artifact spirit in order to repair his own Void-grade artifact.
Having finally scraped together all the necessary materials and rushed here in haste, he had never expected Yang Kai to be away.
With no other option, he could only remain within the mountain and wait.
He had barely settled in when the Xie family outside began their assault on Dragon Den Mountain.
Ning Xiangchen found himself in an awkward predicament. Staying on would be unwise—once the mountain's protective grand formation fell, he would inevitably be caught in the crossfire. But leaving outright was equally impossible. That would come across as heartless and disloyal, and he could forget about borrowing the fire bird artifact spirit from Yang Kai to restore his artifact.
Ning Xiangchen was caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to move forward or retreat.
He belonged to no sect and had no clan. He had cultivated entirely on his own, reaching his current realm through sheer self-reliance. Every step had been fraught with hardship, every advance purchased with countless narrow escapes from death. The path of cultivation had been a thorn-strewn one.
In the past, when Master Green of the Shadow Moon Hall had still been alive, any damage to an artifact had meant seeking out the master for repairs. The master had been approachable and easy to deal with, and over the years Ning Xiangchen had received no small measure of his care. But apart from Master Green, he knew no other Void-grade artificers. Had that not been the case, why would he ever have turned to Yang Kai for help?
Ning Xiangchen spent two uneasy days inside Dragon Den Mountain while the warriors outside bombarded it relentlessly for those same two days. Over the course of those two days, however, he noticed something very strange.
The warriors inside Dragon Den Mountain, even when facing a siege on all sides, showed not the slightest panic. Each continued to fulfill their duties—those who needed to work kept working, those who needed to cultivate kept cultivating—as though the commotion and enemies outside simply did not exist.
If one or two warriors behaved this way, it could be chalked up to strong mental fortitude. But when every single person did the same, it bordered on eerie.
Especially the leading ladies, Wu Yi and Qian Yue. The two women had been calmer than anyone over these days, sipping tea and exchanging lighthearted banter from time to time. Did they not even know how to write the word "death"?
Ning Xiangchen was simultaneously stunned and filled with admiration. Compared to his own anxious wavering, the composure of these juniors was nothing short of extraordinary.
The protective grand formation of this small hilltop—Dragon Den Mountain—had withstood two days of combined assault from over thirty Void Returning Realm cultivators and more than two hundred Saint King Realm warriors and still remained as solid as iron. This was what truly made Ning Xiangchen reassess his impression.
This little hilltop was no simple place!
Just this protective grand formation alone was not something an ordinary person could have set up.
Recalling Yang Kai's many exploits within the Emperor's Domain, Ning Xiangchen gritted his teeth and decided to take the gamble—stay and fight alongside Dragon Den Mountain. Every sign pointed to the fact that this little hilltop was no soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will. It very likely harbored some devastating hidden trump card, and might just turn danger into safety.
Of course, Ning Xiangchen's choice was not driven by chivalrous sentiment but by a calculated gamble.
He was betting that Dragon Den Mountain would survive this crisis. Once the ordeal was passed, he could legitimately ask Yang Kai to lend him the fire bird artifact spirit. Otherwise, owing a favor left a persistent unease in his heart.
Now, venturing out alongside Wu Yi and Qian Yue to meet the enemy was something Ning Xiangchen had volunteered for—no one had called upon him to do so.