Chapter 73: Flee for Life

“Sister, be careful!”

On the hundred-zhang cliff face, Zhao Linger lightly pressed her foot against a slightly protruding rock and leaped upward.

She skimmed along the cliff face, covering three zhang, and landed steadily on another protruding rock three zhang away.

This protruding rock was tiny, barely large enough for one foot to stand on.

Qing…

A clear chime as her sword was drawn.

As she landed, she drew her sword again and plunged it into the adjacent cliff wall.

Double insurance to ensure she wouldn’t fall.

Behind her, Tian Xiaoqing, Xu Kunlun, and He Pingsheng leaped one after another, following the path Zhao Linger had just taken.

Though Xu Kunlun was a fat man, he moved with surprising agility now.

“Sister, did you see it?” Xu Kunlun shouted.

Zhao Linger turned her head ahead and said, “I saw it… another fifty zhang ahead—I’ll find a few more landing spots, then we can cross… there’s a crack in the cliff face over there!”

“That whole swarm is inside that crack!”

As Zhao Linger spoke, she lightly pushed off and leaped again, landing on a protruding ledge ten zhang away.

With her jump, the others behind her followed in sequence.

After seven or eight such leaps, all four reached the cliff crack.

The landing spot here was large enough to accommodate all four.

Peering into the crack, it was pitch black—nothing visible.

Hummm…

Hummmmm…

Occasionally, massive golden wasps flew in from afar and entered the cliff fissure.

Or flew out from it.

Some drifted toward Zhao Linger and her group, and she swiftly cut them down.

“Remember this!” Zhao Linger said sternly: “Once we enter the cave, each of you must activate your defenses immediately!”

“Tiger-striped Golden Wasps are Level One beasts—they’re not inherently dangerous!”

“Their attack power is weak!”

“They’re even weaker than Qi Refining cultivators of the second or third layer—but their tails carry a venomous stinger!”

“That stinger is deadly; even a Qi Refining cultivator at the twelfth layer would die here if stung!”

Zhao Linger extended two pale fingers and said, “Our goal today is to harvest Tiger-striped Golden Wasp Nectar—if we get it, good; if not, don’t be disheartened!”

“But remember two things!”

“First, if the swarm launches a large-scale attack, immediately stop gathering and retreat… retreat… flee!”

“Understood?”

She didn’t rush to state the second point, but turned to face the three before her.

He Pingsheng, Xu Kunlun, and Tian Xiaoqing all nodded.

Zhao Linger continued: “Second, if we’re surrounded by a massive swarm and can’t escape, immediately crush the jade talisman in your hand—don’t hesitate, don’t hesitate, don’t hesitate…”

As she spoke, Zhao Linger even pulled out her own jade talisman: “Did you hear that?”

The three before her answered in unison: “We heard!”

“Good!” Zhao Linger said: “Follow me…”

Bang…

Zhao Linger waved her hand and pulled out a silver shield.

She activated three layers of sealing arrays with her spiritual power—it was a top-grade magic treasure.

A spherical silver shield enveloped her entire body.

Even so, she kept one hand gripping the jade talisman.

“Bang…”

“Bang bang…”

Beside her, He Pingsheng, Xu Kunlun, and Tian Xiaoqing each activated their own shields.

He Pingsheng’s shield was raised by the top-grade magic treasure, the Green Wood Shield.

With four sealing arrays, his shield was the most durable among them.

Back on Xiuzhu Peak, when Linglong had tricked him and nearly killed him with the Golden Giant Snake, He Pingsheng had once activated the Green Wood Shield for defense.

So now pulling it out again wasn’t surprising.

Everyone knew he possessed a top-grade defensive shield.

To Qi Refining disciples, this was a priceless treasure; to Foundation Establishment or Golden Core cultivators, it was worthless.

So no one would truly covet it.

The four entered in single file, stepping into the cold, damp cave.

The cave was neither large nor small, about one zhang in diameter.

Hummmmm…

Soon, Tiger-striped Golden Wasps flew in.

One wasp suddenly landed on He Pingsheng’s light shield.

But no harm—it wouldn’t affect the shield at all.

“Hurry…” Zhao Linger said: “They’ve spotted us—we must move fast in and out…”

The four ran through the cave.

But from that moment on, Tiger-striped Golden Wasps kept arriving endlessly.

At first, only one or two.

After twenty breaths, a swarm began pouring in.

Hummmmm…

Hundreds of them surged toward the four shields.

The activated shields felt heavy, weighed down.

“Sister, this won’t work…” Tian Xiaoqing said: “We don’t know how far ahead it goes, but the wasps keep multiplying—what do we do?”

“I can barely hold on!”

Zhao Linger’s face darkened: “We misjudged—we didn’t expect so many wasps inside!”

“Alright… we can’t risk going further…”

“Retreat first…”

“Think of a way to lure them out!”

“Draw them away from the cave, then come back to collect the nectar!”

Zhao Linger was decisive—she turned and fled immediately.

The other three followed close behind.

But then…

Something unexpected happened!

Hummmmm…

Countless golden wasps surged out like a golden cloud.

Like a flood rushing forward.

“Damn it!” Xu Kunlun cursed: “Sister, run! Too many—we can’t hold!”

The four accelerated, moving like wind—within a few breaths, they shot out of the cave!

The wasps behind them weren’t fast.

But as soon as they stepped outside, the four froze.

Outside the cave was only a platform, about one zhang wide, beyond which lay sheer cliffs.

Though they were cultivators, they hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment—they couldn’t fly on swords.

What now?

Only one option: follow the original path, leaping across the cliff face to escape.

That would be exhausting.

“Paper crane… paper crane…” Zhao Linger shouted: “Activate your paper cranes immediately!”

But before the words left her lips, and before they could even retrieve their cranes, hundreds of wasps swarmed toward them.

Hummm…

All four shields were completely covered in wasps.

Millions of them—enough to make one’s scalp crawl.

Even if they activated the paper cranes now, what good would it do?

These wasps could devour their shields in moments.

Even if they got onto the cranes, they’d still be stung by the venom.

What now?