Dilemma

Liu Peng had heard stories of the Moonlight Autumn District in the past, a bustling center of commerce and trade where merchants and traders would come from all corners of the land to sell their wares. But as he walked through the streets, his eyes scanning the desolate landscape, he could hardly believe that he was standing in the same place.

The air was heavy with a noxious miasma that stung his nostrils and made his eyes water. The once-bustling shops and stalls were now shuttered and abandoned, their windows broken and their doors hanging on their hinges. The few people who still walked the streets were dazed and lifeless, their faces blank and devoid of any hope or joy. It is as if they are just walking toward a certain direction, the center of the district.

As he and his companions entered the district, they were greeted by a robed person who shouted at them, "What are you standing there for!"

Startled, Liu Peng apologized and explained that they had come with prisoners and hypnotized individuals.

"How many people have you brought?" the robed person asked.

Liu Peng hesitated for a moment before replying, "There are 57 hypnotized individuals and 42 captured prisoners."

"Take the captives to the prison cell," the person inspecting the hypnotized people, "Leave these people here,"

Liu peng was unfamiliar with the place. He couldn't have fogure out just where the holding area was.

"Excuse me, sir," Liu Peng asked the robed figure nervously. "Could you tell us where the holding area is, please?"

The robed person looked at him with suspicion, causing Liu Peng to become more anxious. Was their cover blown already?

After what felt like an eternity, the robed person finally responded, "Follow this path," he said, sketching out a rough map on a piece of paper. "You'll find the holding area there."

"Thank you," Liu Peng said, his relief palpable. He and his companions quickly gathered the prisoners and set off towards the holding area.

As they walked, Bai Fa turned to Liu Peng and whispered, "I don't like this. It's too quiet. Something feels off."

Liu Peng nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean," he said. "But we have to keep moving. We can't let these people suffer any longer."

The group hurried along the path, their hearts pounding with anticipation and fear. What awaited them at the holding area? And what will happen to them in this risky plan? Only time would tell.

The three carriages carrying Juanxiu and the rest of their group moved slowly through the crowded streets of the Moonlight Autumn District. As they passed through the throngs of people, Liu Peng kept his eyes peeled, hoping to catch a glimpse of his family. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't spot them in the sea of faces that surrounded them.

Finally, they arrived at the holding area, where the cages were opened by one of the guards, revealing the prisoners inside. The captives looked tired, disheveled, and defeated, their faces etched with lines of despair; they were trying their best to act the part. Each of them was bound in chains and tied to the next prisoner, forming a long chain that snaked through the cramped holding area.

As Liu Peng and the others were leading the prisoners towards the building, they were greeted by a stern-looking man dressed in black robes.

"Stay there!" the man shouted.

Liu Peng felt like he was on his toes. Luckily, it was just a normal procedure wherein they need to account for the prisonerss.

"I need you to escort these prisoners to their designated cell," the man said firmly, pointing inside a massive building.

Liu Peng nodded in understanding, and the group started making their way towards the prison building. As they approached, they could see that it was once a grand mansion, but now it had been converted into a massive cell. The doors were reinforced with thick metal bars, and the windows had been boarded up.

The stench of human waste and sweat filled the air, making Liu Peng and his companions cover their noses with their sleeves. The prisoners looked up at them with despair and fear in their eyes, the sound of their chains dragging on the ground echoing through the halls.

As they entered the building, they could see that the cells were lined up along the walls, each one filled to the brim with people. Liu Peng and his group quickly moved, gazing on all the corners of this area. It was a multiple floor mansion.

As the group moved through the winding corridors of the prison, Juanxiu, Siyi, and the rest remained alert, taking note of every detail they passed. They counted the guards they saw, strategizing their next move in their minds.

Liu Peng couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness and anger as he looked around the cell, taking in the pitiful state of the prisoners. "How could someone do this to their own people?" he muttered under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief.

Bai Fa looked at Liu Peng as if thinking about the same thing, "Is there anything else we can do to help these people?" They thought.

The group moved silently, their steps echoing off the stone walls.

Finally, they arrived at the prison cell, a cavernous room filled with rows of iron bars and stone walls. The prisoners inside were huddled together, looking up at the group with a mix of fear and hope in their eyes.

The man in the robe gave Liu Peng a cold, hard stare, "Your job is done here. Now leave."

As soon as the robed person turned his back, Juanxiu and the rest sprang into action, moving swiftly to subdue all of the guards inside the prison cell. They worked with precision and skill, taking down their opponents one by one until the room fell silent, the only sound being the heavy breathing of the group as they caught their breath.

Juanxiu surveyed the large room they had entered, mentally mapping out their plan of action. "We'll use this as our base," he declared to his companions, Bai Fa and Cao Ying.

"Cao Ying, take the rest and move silently. Subdue the other guards on the other floor." Bai Fa commanded.

Cao Ying nodded in understanding and swiftly led the group away.

As they waited for the others, a woman's voice called out to them from one of the prison cells. It was Deng Ya, the Governor of the Tiger Quarry. "Let us out," she pleaded. "We might be of help to you."

Juanxiu hesitated. There were hundreds of cultivators imprisoned here, each with their own unique cultivation technique sealed away. Releasing them one by one would be a daunting task, but creating a pill to help them would require an ingredient he did not have at the moment. He decided to use a formation instead, hoping that the energy fluctuations would go unnoticed.

Slowly and methodically, they unlocked the doors of the prisoners on the upper floor, taking care not to alert the guards below. The prisoners emerged, stretching their limbs and rubbing their sore muscles, grateful for their newfound freedom.

As Juanxiu and the others were freeing the prisoners, Cao Yin returned to the upper floor, quietly reporting to Old man Bai Fa that they had successfully subdued the guards on the lower level and sealed their cultivation.

"They won't be causing any trouble for a while," Cao Yin whispered.

"Good work," Old man Bai Fa nodded, looking pleased with the news. "Now, let's take these robes and hand it over to some of the people here. We will increase the number of people who will use a disguise."

Cao Yin handed over the robes they had stripped from the subdued guards, and Old man Bai Fa examined them closely.

"Some of you will stay here. Otherwise, we will arise suspicion," Juanxiu said. "You will act like the prison guards. Be careful not to alert the people outside. Once your cover has been blown, we will lose this building which is in vantage point,"

Juanxiu took one of the metal bars from the prison cell and used it to draw a complex formation on the ground. The formation was intricate, with dozens of interlocking symbols and lines etched into the dirt.

As he worked, Deng Ya watched with interest on this young lad. After several minutes of intense focus, Juanxiu finally stepped back from the formation and nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, it's done," he said. "Governess Deng Ya, can you instruct everyone to enter the circle?"

Deng Ya nodded and began calling out to the other prisoners, urging them to gather inside the circle that Juanxiu had drawn. One by one, they entered the formation, looking on with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

Once everyone was inside, Juanxiu activated the formation, channeling his qi into the intricate symbols he had drawn. Suddenly, a burst of energy rippled out from the formation, causing the air to shimmer and crackle.

As the energy dissipated, the cultivators inside the formation felt a sudden surge of power coursing through their bodies. Their cultivation seals had been unsealed, allowing their qi to flow freely once more.

Gasps and cries of amazement filled the air as the newly-freed cultivators tested their newfound strength, flexing their muscles and casting spells. Juanxiu watched with a smile of satisfaction, feeling a sense of pride at what he had accomplished.

Juanxiu continued to work tirelessly, creating formation after formation to unseal the cultivation of the prisoners. Each time, he carefully drew out the intricate symbols and diagrams, making sure that the energy was contained within a limited space to avoid detection.

As he finished each formation, Deng Ya would call out to the strongest cultivators among them, instructing them to follow Old Man Bai Fa.

Meanwhile, Old man Bai Fa and Cao Ying distributed the robes they had gathered to the strongest members of their group, selecting those who had the greatest combat ability and strategic thinking. These individuals were to blend in with the crowd and wait for the arrival of Pan Geming and his forces.

Juanxiu addressed Deng Ya and the rest of her military forces, "We cannot stay here for long. The enemy will surely discover that their men have been replaced. I will give you a chance to fight with us. We need your help."

Deng Ya nodded in agreement, "We are at your service. What do we need to do?"

Juanxiu replied, "We have a man who reported the situation to the authorities. We expect that these people will soon come. After they arrive, chaos will ensue and we will support them from the inside. Once we make our move, you will join us in battle."

The other people nodded in agreement, and Juanxiu instructed them to change into the robes quickly. Once they were all disguised, they left the prison cell.

Liu Peng bid farewell to the prison guard outside, but the guard did not give them a second glance. They knew that they had to blend in with the crowd as much as possible to avoid suspicion. As they moved through the throngs of people, they remained inconspicuous, keeping their heads down and avoiding eye contact with anyone who might recognize them.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea as the hypnotized people cleared a path for the arrival of someone important. Juanxiu couldn't help but feel curious as to who this person was. He made his way through the crowd as inconspicuously as possible, his disguise hiding his true identity.

As he reached the front of the crowd, the man removed his hooded robe, revealing his face. Juanxiu was taken aback by what he saw. It was his Uncle Shunyuan, whom he just met in the old Hao territory. His heart raced as he watched his uncle make his way through the crowd, his eyes scanning the faces in the crowd.

Juanxiu felt torn between revealing his true identity and keeping his disguise on. He knew that if his uncle saw him, it would put him and everyone else in danger. So he stood there, hidden in plain sight, as his uncle passed by, oblivious to his nephew's presence.

Juanxiu watched as his uncle and his entourage disappeared into the distance, the questions in his mind multiplying by the second. He had known his uncle Shunyuan since he was a child, and he had always been a kind and generous man who had treated him like his own son before he left the clan. But what was he doing here, leading a cult of rogue cultivators and harming the people?

Juanxiu's thoughts were interrupted by Bai Fa, who placed a hand on his shoulder. "We need to move quickly," he said,