Poor Teamwork

Ten minutes later they arrived at the base camp. Hong Yue Xian let go of them and looked at his left arm that turned blue and became half frozen. He pondered a little and injected his soul force in the arm. As the cold poison was an ability effect, it was most likely a form of the wolf's soul force, which meant he could devour it.

Indeed, a few moments later his arm returned to normal, except for the bloody wound, which started to sting a lot as the cold retreated. Suddenly, he was hugged by three soft bodies. He looked up and saw his girls looking at him in worry, tears welling up in their eyes. He felt touched and hugged them back, before staring at them with a stern expression.

"You three do realise that we each fought a single Black Gold rank with a few thousand Gold and Silver ranks, yet you all took so long to finish your battles, all of you were exhausted, and each of you were in a tough spot, cut off from everyone else. Did you ask yourselves the questions? What if something unexpected happened? What if we fought a Legend rank? Why did you fight separately? You could have easily accomplished everything you did today by combining your strengths into one."

"Ruo'er can use her charm and illusions to create a line of defence, while leaving a narrow path open for a few demon beasts to enter, where the combat oriented Xiu'er would kill them. Any that bypass her, or are a threat to her, will be ambushed by Xin'er. That way you three will be able to conserve your strength and energy, while speeding up the process tenfold. Teamwork is important."

"I know you have scruples about each other, but today each of you almost endangered yourself and others because of your selfishness. Now go and think on that before you sleep. I will keep watch till midnight when Ruo'er will switch with me. Good night." Berated them Hong Yue Xian.

He was very angry and worried about them, but there was not much more he could do. Troubled, he sat on the rock and examined his wound. What he saw astonished him, as the wound was healing at a visible rate. In a couple of minutes it was fully healed, as if nothing happened.

Hong Yue Xian pondered for a while and came up with a wild guess. He had greater regeneration than average person, which meant he had greater vitality. And what was vitality if not life force, and as for the reason why he had more life force, it had to be connected to his ability.

His guess was that he could devour and refine other people's life force, in other words youth and vitality. Still he would need to do some tests to be sure once he returns to Glory City. With that Hong Yue Xian closed his eyes and cultivated.

Meanwhile, Yang Xin and Shen Xiu went inside the cave ashamed, they thought about his words and their actions that day, and knew he was right. As they continued to ponder, sleep overtook them. Huyan Lanruo was feeling a bit better, but she was still a bit depressed. She remembered how much effort she put earlier in the battle, and thought. 'Xian is right. I bet Lord Ye Mo could take on the whole demon beast group by himself and kill them without breaking a sweat in a short time. While we..." she sighed guiltily and went to bed.

Hong Yue Xian was awoken from his cultivation by noticing someone approach him from behind. He sensed it was Huyan Lanruo and relaxed. A few moments later, she sat down by his side and leaned her head on his shoulder, while he embraced her willow waist in response.

She looked at his left arm and asked "Does it still hurt?" "Actually, it has already fully healed. I have great regeneration." Chuckled Hong Yue Xian as he showed her his arm. She examined his arm and seeing it as good as new, was delighted, before burying herself in his chest and looking up at him.

"Xian, sorry about earlier today. All of us knew you had other women, but I guess we just couldn't accept it that easily, making it awkward and tense between us. Even getting you hurt... But don't worry I will talk to them and settle our differences once and for all. I want to spend the whole day tomorrow with them until we are able to coordinate and cooperate properly." Promised Huyan Lanruo with determination and zeal in her voice.

Hong Yue Xian was relieved and touched by her words and hugged her tightly, kissing her gently on the forehead. "If so, you will need more rest before tomorrow, so sleep some more." Said Hong Yue Xian patting her head. "But what about keeping watch during the night? You need to rest as well." Asked Huyan Lanruo with concern, making him chuckle. "There is no need for the watch, I spread the special herbs and Legend rank demon beast blood to keep the other demon beasts away. We will not be attacked, besides I can sense them if they get too close. I did not do it on the first night so you would realise the gravity of your oversight." Laughed Hong Yue Xian amusedly.

"Bad Xian! Meanie! Wait till I tell the others, we will make you pay!" Exclaimed Huyan Lanruo in fake anger, as she pouted adorably and ran back into the cave. He watched her go with a grin, before resuming his cultivation.

The next day Huyan Lanruo proved true to her words and made a meeting between the girls. For some reason they were behaving very secretive and made sure to not let him know. Hong Yue Xian was very curious, but he was happy to see them get along, so he let them be.

In the evening as the sun came down he was approached by Huyan Lanruo, who looked at him with a wicked smile. 'She is plotting something!' Screamed Hong Yue Xian in his mind as he waited for her to speak. However, Huyan Lanruo remained silent as she grabbed his hand and led him inside the cave. What he saw there almost gave him a heart attack. He could not speak and could only stare with his jaw wide open, trying not to forget how to breathe.