Zou Feng wanted to lead the female disciples of Silk Cave to Hundred-legged Ridge to seek refuge, hoping to concentrate their forces and fight back against the Celestial Essence Sword Sect together.

However, he hadn’t expected that after sending Zhi Shuang to pass on his idea, only a handful of female disciples would follow her out of Silk Cave.

Moreover, these few were almost all Inner Qi Realm disciples, already panic-stricken and at a complete loss.

"Where are the others?" Zou Feng asked in confusion.

Although Silk Cave had no True Qi Realm masters at the moment, it had a large number of Gang Qi Realm disciples.

He had also learned long ago that Silk Cave had a full three female disciples with enough outstanding Talent to potentially break through to the True Qi Realm in a short time.

If these talented disciples were to perish today, it would be an enormous loss for all of Biyou Palace.

Actually, Teng County had simply been drained of too much Essence Blood by the previous Poisonous King Spider. This had left her body severely depleted, and she needed ample time to rest and recover.

Otherwise, Teng County might have already begun her breakthrough to the True Qi Realm.

Of course, despite this setback, as the new Cave Master with access to a full suite of Cultivation resources and a former True Disciple, her Talent was still undeniably high.

Therefore, Teng County’s breakthrough to the True Qi Realm was still just a matter of time.

In response to Zou Feng’s confusion, Zhi Shuang explained with a pained expression, "The senior sisters said they wouldn’t be able to fight as effectively at Hundred-legged Ridge."

"They said they could use their familiarity with Silk Cave to better maneuver against the Celestial Essence Sword Sect’s disciples... and maybe even find their ideal partners in the process..."

Hearing this, Zou Feng finally understood.

’I was just projecting my own perspective onto them, thinking only about the danger of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect’s attack.’

’But I overlooked what Bai Chen said in his earlier transmission: This is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity!’

Especially for the predatory female disciples of Silk Cave, those Celestial Essence Sword Sect Sword Cultivators who had mastered the Celestial Essence Sword Gang were practically no different from walking Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills.

They could take advantage of their home turf in Silk Cave—a place where they could subtly inflict the Silk Binding Love Gu on intruders—to play a game of cat and mouse with the Sword Sect disciples.

As the Sword Sect disciples wandered through the labyrinthine Silk Cave, they would likely fall prey to the Gu without even realizing it, becoming helpless victims caught in a "spiderweb."

Eventually, they’d be drained dry by the Silk Cave disciples—so desiccated you could use them as kites.

Of course, the risks were also immense. They would have to constantly be on guard against the Sword Sect disciples snapping out of it and drawing their swords to sever the bond.

But if they managed to drain a few of them, it was possible that the most talented disciples could even use this opportunity to break through to the True Qi Realm...

’I didn’t think of that. Then again, I’m not a true Silk Cave disciple; I don’t have that ’draining’ ability.’

As for the few female disciples who had followed Zhi Shuang out, they were only at the Inner Qi Realm. They had long since lost their nerve and just wanted to find someone powerful to protect them.

They lacked the ability to play cat and mouse with the Sword Sect disciples inside Silk Cave.

With this in mind, Zou Feng naturally saw no reason to persuade them further. He waved to Zhi Shuang and the other women. "Let’s go!"

Before setting off, Zou Feng couldn’t resist one last look back at Silk Cave.

’Before long, this place will probably become the most lurid and obscene battlefield in all of Biyou Palace.’

’There won’t be any long-range bombardments, mostly just close-quarters struggles.’

’But it will be just as intense, that’s for sure...’

The next moment, Zou Feng turned and left, heading for Hundred-legged Ridge as planned. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Theoretically, the Hundred-legged Ancestor’s strength was rumored to be on par with a Second Grade Martial Artist.

Since the Celestial Essence Sword Sect dared to attack Biyou Palace, they must have brought a horde of True Qi Realm experts.

’Even if I’m not afraid of a Third Grade opponent, I’d be finished if I ran into several of them at once, or even a Second Grade.’

’But the mountain summit is even more off-limits. The current Sword Saint himself might make an appearance there.’

’So for now, seeking protection from the Hundred-legged Ancestor—with his many, many thick legs to cling to—was the most sensible choice.’

Zou Feng had just started running with Zhi Shuang and the others when the once-clear sky suddenly became overcast with dark clouds.

Flashes of sword light flickered within the dark clouds, and a biting gale suddenly whipped up around them.

"The Wind and Thunder Sword Array. What a grand display!"

"Hmph. Using a Sword Array on Cloud Mist Mountain? I’d like to see how long you can maintain it!"

Bai Chen’s voice rang out once more.

Though he sounded like he was addressing certain experts from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, he was also reminding the Biyou Palace disciples not to lose their composure at the sight of this celestial phenomenon.

This so-called Wind and Thunder Sword Array shouldn’t be sustainable for long in the unique environment of Cloud Mist Mountain.

Meanwhile, Zou Feng tilted his head back, staring blankly at the Thunder Sword Qi in the sky.

’That stuff looks like it could strike at any moment. I don’t even need to see it in action to know how terrifyingly powerful it is.’

’Just as I thought. Biyou Palace has its Ten Thousand Poison Devouring Immortal Array, so of course the Celestial Essence Sword Sect has a countermeasure.’

’But still...’

’No matter how you look at it, these are the methods of a Cultivator, aren’t they?’

Zou Feng was once again certain of his earlier judgment: advancing to the True Qi Realm was probably equivalent to entering the Qi Refining Stage of Immortal Cultivation.

Various methods, like Skills and Arrays, could start appearing more and more.

Once Zou Feng determined that the Thunder Sword Qi in the sky was unlikely to automatically seek out targets and strike him down, he quickly picked up his pace.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey was uneventful, and before long, Hundred-legged Ridge was in sight.

Though the journey had been relatively smooth, Zou Feng could already hear the sounds of fighting from all directions, punctuated by constant flashes of Sword Qi.

Clearly, the disciples of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect had already used the power of the Wind and Thunder Sword Array to storm into Cloud Mist Mountain.