At first, these Yuan Ying cultivators were a mix of four or five different factions, and they were fighting fiercely with each other before Dao Gu was tricked away by the five tailed fox demon. It was only after Dao Gu was taken away by the fox demon alone that they united to give chase.
Naturally, such a simple alliance would be easily broken apart... The moment Dao Gu was carried away by the bubbles, their simple alliance instantly crumbled into dust.
There was no need to pretend to be good anymore. In an instant, they tore off their disguises and chased after what they each believed to be the real demon pills.
In just a few short seconds, this place became empty and quiet.
"I really didn't misjudge you. You're truly cunning and sly," the five tailed fox demon gave Qin Ran a thumbs up in praise.
"Stop wasting time, let's get out of here quickly!"
Qin Ran didn't even look at her as he arranged for Li Shiyin to ride her sword, chase the wind and ride the wind, Long Qiqi to ride the tiger, and the four mouths of One Peak to hurry at full speed.
Halfway through the air, Qin Ran thought of something and looked back at Huang Feiyu and Tian Wenjin who had been watching the show to the side. He said, "You guys should escape quickly too! They'll be back soon. Either return to Dao Sword Sect to avoid disaster or continue searching for the possible remaining demonic weeping willow Dao Fruit."
As he spoke, he also remembered something. He summoned the bubbles to wrap Tian Wenjin entirely and reminded, "That fog is poisonous, don't make contact recklessly. Young Master Huang, since you're in a fire state, there is no need."
"Be careful!"
He bid them farewell and flew away with Li Shiyin and the three silly children towards Dao Sword Sect.
After flying steadily for a while, Qin Ran suddenly realized something was off. He looked back and gazed puzzledly at that exceptional beauty with white hair. He asked uncomprehendingly, "Why are you still following us?"
"A cunning and sly guy like you must be a male fox spirit," the five tailed fox demon replied. "I feel you have a lot of potential... I'll give you a chance, become my male concubine."
"???" Qin Ran was stunned speechless for a moment. Sister, are you out of your mind?
But before he could speak, Li Shiyin in front had stopped. The little girl stood on her sword with her hands on her hips, glaring murderously at the five tailed fox demon. She said fiercely, "You shameless fox demon!"
"You're right, I am a fox demon!" The five tailed fox demon nodded and showed Li Shiyin her five-tailed fox form.
Faced with this shameless tactic, the simple Li Shiyin was left speechless, not knowing what to say.
It was still Long Qiqi who retorted sharply. She was not called a venomous snake for nothing. Her curses grew more toxic by the sentence. "A wanton whore like you who has no sense of propriety at all is unwanted trash."
Long Qiqi laid bare the true face of the five tailed fox, leaving her feeling utterly shamed. She glared resentfully at Long Qiqi and said stubbornly, "I'm not a human. Your so-called human etiquette and values don't matter to me."
"But the chief of our sect is human. A loose whore like you isn't worthy of our Chief Qin!" Long Qiqi remained as fierce as ever.
"Ahem!" Feeling rather embarrassed, Qin Ran hastily interrupted their cursing match and urged, "Just talk if you want to talk, don't stop flying!"
The group continued flying.
"I'm asking seriously, why are you following me?" Qin Ran questioned the five tailed fox demon again. Her talk of a male concubine was obviously just joking around.
The five tailed fox demon replied, "Because you sacrificed all of my Dao Fruits to save your own life. Who else can I follow if not you? You have to compensate me for my Dao Fruits!"
"Compensate you for your Dao Fruits?" Qin Ran found her response to be utterly preposterous. "You were the one who approached us first. You should compensate us for emotional distress!"
"Moreover, all the Dao Fruits?" His gaze went to the fox demon's ample bosom. He sneered coldly, "How could you possibly only have five Dao Fruits?"
The five tailed fox demon hugged her chest defensively as though she had suffered an assault to her body.
"I saved your life. That's an indisputable fact. With your abilities, it would've been impossible for you to retain possession of the Dao Fruits to begin with. The fact that you managed to obtain one or two is already more than enough." Qin Ran retorted, "I saved you and even let you possess Dao Fruits. You shouldn't be ungrateful."
Qin Ran could see through the situation clearly. The five tailed fox demon had no rebuttal. She blinked her eyes shiftily then stubbornly followed behind Qin Ran without another word.
After flying steadily again for a period, since Qin Ran still saw that Tushan Youyou was following behind them, he asked, "What do I call you?"
"Tushan Youyou!" Replied the five tailed fox demon.
"Tushan?" Qin Ran exclaimed in surprise. To think she really was a nine tailed fox spirit! He asked again curiously, "I'm very curious, what happened after I left... Mainly, how did you manage to obtain all of the cultivators' Dao Fruits?"
"Ah..." Tushan Youyou seemed rather embarrassed as she mumbled, "Like that... that... that...!"
"Like what... what... what exactly?" Question marks popped up in Qin Ran's brain.
Tushan Youyou remained vague and evasive, refusing to explain clearly.
Qin Ran suddenly realized this likely involved Tushan Youyou's privacy, some kind of innate magical ability or special technique. He decided not to inquire any further.
The group continued flying steadily some more when they were stopped again. They had been caught up by the Yuan Ying cultivators after all.
One of the Yuan Ying cultivators from before, Zhican Valley Cultivator, blocked their path up front. He stood there sneering at Qin Ran, "You can fool others, but you can't fool me."
Qin Ran remained composed as he stepped forward and asked back, "What did I lie to you about?"
"Firstly, you didn't throw out all five Dao Fruits just now. You still have Dao Fruits in your hand." Zhican Valley Cultivator stated. "And secondly..."
He looked to Tushan Youyou and questioned, "How many Dao Fruits do you still have on you?"
Tushan Youyou's expression changed ever so slightly as she refuted, "I don't have any Dao Fruits left on me!"
Qin Ran's countenance remained tranquil but from a single glance at Tushan Youyou, Zhican Valley Cultivator could tell that his guess was spot on.
Thus, he started laughing arrogantly as he gazed up at the sky, as if having grasped full control of the situation. He said leisurely, "Take out the Dao Fruits. If you do, this lordship can spare your lives."
"You say..." Qin Ran seemed perfectly calm as he asked this man, "In this world there will always be people who believe themselves to be the cleverest. But ultimately, this world will tell them that there are always those more clever than them. So those who believe themselves to be the cleverest often turn out to be the stupidest.
"Tell me, are you the cleverest one?"
Zhican Valley Cultivator remained silent and asked back, "What are you trying to say?"
"If you already know she still has Dao Fruits on her, don't you think others would know as well?" Qin Ran questioned.
Zhican Valley Cultivator's expression instantly changed. He looked around warily.
With but a glance, he spotted a Yuan Ying cultivator flying over. Zhican Valley Cultivator immediately went quiet.
Soon after, another appeared, then a third... In almost no time at all, over a dozen Yuan Ying cultivators had gathered, surrounding Qin Ran's group in the middle.
"Look..." Qin Ran laughed lightly. "Everyone's clever."
Tushan Youyou shrank to his side and tugged worriedly at his sleeve. She asked weakly, "Let's not dwell on who's clever or not for now. We're surrounded by so many Yuan Ying cultivators. How do we escape?"
"We don't need to escape!" Qin Ran replied.
"Huh?" Tushan Youyou stared blankly. "Wait here to die?"
"No..." Qin Ran shook his head and asked meaningfully, "Among all these Yuan Ying cultivators, do you see anyone from Lingnan Immortal Sect? Anyone from Dao Sword Sect?
"Could it be they aren't clever people?"
Only then did Tushan Youyou catch on. She suddenly realized that, ever since the collapse of the demonic weeping willow, she had not seen a single person from Lingnan Immortal Sect.
Sensing something, she gazed towards the depths of Hengduan Mountains. Over in that direction, there were still more people coming!