An Unexpected Calamity

As they were anxiously looking for Shen Wu's figure, Yan Qing turned to Wen Ran and said, "Junior Sister, I know it's hard to guess the thoughts of girls like you, but you need to be more sensible. Eldest Senior Brother has been feeling really down recently, and whatever the conflict you may have with him, you shouldn't be choosing this time to get angry with him."

"That's right, Junior Sister," Luo Huai chimed in. "Times are tough for Eldest Senior Brother right now. You need to be more understanding of him."

Although those two senior brothers spoke in a very tactful manner, it was clear that they were implicitly blaming Wen Ran for being insensible and causing Eldest Senior Brother to put himself in danger for her!

Wen Ran was speechless when she heard that. She was almost certain that she would get questionable stares of 'how could you think like that' from her senior brothers if she put forth her view Shen Wu directed and acted out that entire charade.

Under the wishy-washy persuasion of several senior brothers, they finally entered a dense black forest. Since a large number of demons were sealed there, demonic and devilish Qi gathered there all year round, so much so that the sky was still dusky even though it was daytime and the sun was shining high up in the sky.

Waves of pressure came bearing down on them the moment they walked in.

The plot never mentioned that Shen Wu would come to the forbidden area, and Wen Ran was unsure if she would encounter any danger here. In light of that, she decided not to get separated from her senior brothers since she was still quite aware of the extent of her abilities. She was filled with regret at that moment, because she would have trained harder if she had known earlier that it would happen!

"Eldest Senior Brother!" Luo Huai suddenly looked ahead and called out. "Is that him?!"

Suddenly, a figure in white flashed in front of them. Luo Huai was about to catch up, but Wen Ran held his hand. "Third Senior Brother, there are many demons in the forbidden area that are capable of tricking us."

"You're right, Junior Sister." Yan Qing was the oldest one there, and relatively speaking, he was also the calmest. "Luo Huai," he reminded, "don't be impulsive."

Luo Huai nodded and calmed down.

The two senior brothers had a tacit understanding and walked in front of Wen Ran. Despite being Shen Wu's die-hard fans, their love and care for her as their junior sister was genuine and she felt touched by that.

The further they went, they began to get clearer views of several demons that revealed their true forms. Those demons looked coldly at them as they passed by without making any attacks. It went without saying that they hated those in the Immortal Ascension Mansion for imprisoning them there, but they were also aware that they might lose much more than their freedom if they fell into the hands of other sects.

All the demons and devils imprisoned here had done evil things in the human world, but that did not mean they were stupid. Once they hurt the people of the Immortal Ascension Mansion, the elders would come looking for them and there was a possibility that they might even lose their lives.

Nevertheless, it was still a test of one's mental strength to walk through those demons' dangerous gazes.

At that moment, a white-robed figure flashed past Luo Huai's line of sight. He wanted to chase after him, but he remembered what Wen Ran and Yan Qing had said earlier and refrained from being so impulsive. Instead, he said, "Could that be Eldest Senior Brother?"

"We can head over and check, but remember to be careful," Yan Qing said.

Luo Huai had no objections, so Wen Ran had no choice but to follow them.

As they went in the direction that the white-robed figure disappeared to, they began venturing deeper into the dense black forest. The gloomy air there was even thicker, and what appeared in front of them was a demonic beast lying on the ground.

It had a huge all-black body that looked like a wolf but was not. It had two horns on its head and scarlet-red eyes, and it was lying under the tree as if at rest.

That was the most imposing and dangerous-looking demon they had encountered on their way there. Fortunately, it only glanced briefly at the three people who approached it before looking away in disinterest and closing its eyes to take a nap.

Generally speaking, they could remain on peaceful terms with such demons on the surface, but Yan Qing and the others still could not help but raise their guard. Just as they were about to walk past the demon, a short but crisp sound of the flute was heard from inside the forest.

The demonic beast opened its blood-red eyes and roared to reveal the fangs inside its mouth. Then, it seemed to have lost control and charged right toward the three white-robed figures.

"Be careful!" Yan Qing was the first to react. A long sword appeared in his hand and he immediately blocked the sharp claws of the demonic beast. The force of the attack even sent him staggering back a couple of steps.

Luo Huai brandished his long sword and rushed forward to support Yan Qing in defending against the assailant.

Wen Ran stood there and frowned. It was inevitable that they would sustain injuries in a fight. Once the smell of blood appeared, the high-level demons might still be able to control themselves, but low-level demons would almost certainly spiral out of control. A prolonged fight would only be disadvantageous to herself and her senior brothers.

"Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, please hang in there for a moment!" Wen Ran called out:

Yan Qing and Luo Huai had only just fought with the demonic beast for the first time, but they could already sense its sheer strength. It was already a little difficult for them to block the demonic beast's sharp claws and the attack was almost a thousand pounds strong. "Go ahead, Junior Sister," Yan Qing said, "we'll stall it!"

Wen Ran did not reply. She had just picked up a stick from the ground and was continuously drawing something on the soil. Before long, it was obvious that she was making the preliminary preparations for a formation. Instead of being idle when she 'starved' herself and locked herself in her room, she spent her time reading all sorts of life-saving spells and paid special attention to preserving her life ever since she found out that she was going to be killed by Shen Wu at the end of the story.

More and more cold sweat appeared on Wen Ran's forehead as she drew on the ground. Her movements also became increasingly slower. Her cultivation level was still rather low, so it was really difficult for her to draw such high-level formations. However, she looked at her two senior brothers who were already injured and immediately gritted her teeth to force herself to move.

At long last, she finished the last stroke of the formation.

Wen Ran's face was already pale. She threw away the branch, took out a round bead from her storage bracelet, and tossed it over. The bead struck the demonic beast's head and a white mist emerged to temporarily blur the demonic beast's vision.

"Hurry up and come over here!" she yelled.

Yan Qing and Luo Huai did not waste any time and quickly flew to Wen Ran's side. Yan Qing was experienced and could tell at a glance that the pattern on the ground was a teleportation formation. He looked at Wen Ran in surprise.

Wen Ran stood outside the formation. Her hands formed a seal as she said heartbreakingly, "Tell Old Wen to save me!"

"Wait! Junior Sister!" Yan Qing protested.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Qing and Luo Huai had disappeared from the formation.

A metallic taste gushed up from Wen Ran's throat, but she resisted the urge to vomit that blood. After all, she would be doomed if the smell of blood began to spread and attract other demons!