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Hexin had just relaxed when Qinshu's words made her tense up again.

She stared at Qinshu, her eyes widening in shock. "Beast tide?!"

Qinshu nodded, humming in affirmation. "There were many demonic beasts in that mountain we were just in. Their auras were obvious. If we had stayed a moment longer, those beasts would have descended the mountain."

Hexin gasped, patting her chest in lingering fear. "Good thing we ran fast! Otherwise, with our small stature, we would've been devoured with not even a scrap left."

As soon as she finished speaking, a thought struck her, and she whipped her head around to look at Qinshu again. "Qinshu! Do you think the people our sect sent for reinforcement are enough? What if they encounter the beast tide? Wouldn't they be caught between enemies on both sides?"

Qinshu wasn't sure. She immediately took out her jade slip, wanting to send a message to her master, only to realize she didn't have her master's spiritual imprint. Left with no other choice, she turned to contact her senior brother...

Forget it. Better go with Second Senior Brother instead.

"Second Senior Brother, there seems to be a beast tide on the mountain near the Zhong Family's mine. Are the reinforcements from our sect enough?"

But there was no response from Wen Chi. Qinshu grew anxious, wishing the green leaf beneath her could fly thousands of miles in an instant.

Given the seriousness of the situation, despite her lingering fear of her First Senior Brother, she decided to send him a message as well.

To her surprise, even the message to First Senior Brother yielded no reply.

How odd. Could they both be in seclusion at the same time?

It made sense for First Senior Brother, but hadn't Second Senior Brother just come out of seclusion? And now he's back in again? Are they competing to out-cultivate each other?

Qinshu didn't have time to dwell on it. She quickly sent a message to her Senior Sister, Chiyu. Surely, she wouldn't be in seclusion too?

As expected, Chiyu didn't disappoint. Shortly after, she replied:

"We sent four Golden Core cultivators and fifteen Foundation Establishment cultivators. Oh, by the way, First and Second Senior Brothers are also there—two from our Pill Sect and two from the neighboring Sword Peak."

Qinshu was momentarily stunned. No wonder the two of them hadn't responded.

Then, her brows furrowed, and she quickly sent another message. "Senior Sister! Go find Master and request reinforcements! The situation there isn't good. Those demonic beasts are already powerful, and now there's a beast tide. I'm worried our senior brothers will be trapped and in danger!"

"How do you know? Junior Sister! Are you over there too?!" Chiyu's voice rose in sharp concern.

"I just escaped from there! Senior Sister, there's no time! Go report it now!" Qinshu urged.

Hearing that Qinshu was safe, Chiyu finally let out a breath of relief. After reminding her to return to the sect as soon as possible, she rushed off to Master's peak to report the matter.

At this moment, Wen Chi and Cheng Yan had already arrived at the Zhong Family's mine, located within the Wangxu Valley. Upon arrival, they immediately set up an array to seal off the area.

A demonic beast, resembling both a leopard and a hound, relentlessly attacked the formation. With each strike, the golden barrier trembled violently.

"Evacuate the low-level cultivators first! This formation won't last long. Move quickly!" Cheng Yan commanded while channeling his spiritual power into the formation.

The Zhong Family members promptly followed orders, leading the surviving low-level cultivators away from the beast's attack.

Wen Chi glanced at the retreating cultivators and asked, "Did any of our Xuantian Sect disciples come to mine here?"

The Zhong Family's steward pondered for a moment before answering, "I believe so. I recall seeing two young girls, about ten years old."

The moment they heard "ten-year-old girls," Wen Chi and Cheng Yan both tensed.

They spoke in unison. "What are their names?"

"Uh... I think they were called Zhang San and Li Si," the steward replied cautiously.

Wen Chi: "..."

Cheng Yan: "..."

Although the names didn't match, they both had an unsettling hunch.

It's her! It has to be her!

"Where are they? Are they still alive?" Wen Chi's expression darkened ominously.

Cheng Yan remained silent, but his face was equally grim.

The steward was bewildered. Had those two little girls owed them spirit stones or something? Why were these two acting so furious?

"I'm not sure, but someone saw them escape with their storage bags before the beast arrived," the steward quickly explained.

As soon as he said this, Wen Chi and Cheng Yan's expressions eased slightly.

"They better be fine. Otherwise, forget about the beast—even your Zhong Family will have to pay the price," Wen Chi stated calmly. Yet his words carried a weight that was as chilling as thunder, even making Cheng Yan glance at him sideways.

The Zhong Family's steward could only smile bitterly. They had bought a spiritual vein—how did things turn out like this?

Didn't their master consult the Tianji Pavilion for a fortune reading? Wasn't this place supposed to be a land of fortune and prosperity?

But this was no blessed land—it was a disaster zone!

Meanwhile, the message board at the sect's transmission plaza was flooded with updates. Some were searching for missing loved ones, while others were asking if there was a chance to scavenge for valuables.

The most upvoted message, however, was a juicy piece of gossip:

"Did Tianji Pavilion mess up? The Zhong Family had the esteemed Elder Lu Li of Tianji Pavilion perform a divination before purchasing Wangxu Valley's spiritual vein. He said it was a land of great fortune. But now? People have died, and the mine has collapsed."

Lu Li?

Qinshu silently blacklisted him in her mind. If she ever needed a divination in the future, she would never consult this guy.

Still, she wanted to be fair, so she decided to ask a friend from Tianji Pavilion—Xue Han—for clarification.

[Immortal Master, I saw people saying that Elder Lu Li from your Tianji Pavilion deceived the Zhong Family. Is that true?]

After sending the message, she felt that it sounded too much like she was just here for gossip. So she quickly added another line:

[If it's false, you should clear things up quickly. Rumors can be harmful.]

To her surprise, the reply came swiftly.

"It's true."

Qinshu had sent a text, but the response came as a voice message. The voice was cool and clear, like water dripping into a still spring—both crisp and gentle.

It was an odd combination of qualities. It was hard for Qinshu to reconcile this voice with the image of a greasy-fingered forum troll.

Was he a male voice actress?

Coughing lightly, she pulled herself back to reality and hesitated over how to respond. Before she could, another message arrived:

[Immortal Lady, you've had a narrow escape. If there's nothing urgent, it would be best for you to remain within the sect in the coming days.]

Qinshu stared at the message in stunned silence.

She hadn't told him anything—so how did he know she had just survived a dangerous ordeal?!

Tsk, tsk. If the Zhong Family had consulted this Tianji Pavilion master instead, they wouldn't have gotten themselves into this mess.