Outer Sect's Crouching Tigers (to be edited)

At this moment, Ouyang Li's token turned red. It started glowing, and it also emitted some warmth. Ouyang Li understood that there was no way to ignore it now.

From this, he knew that the sect's higher-ups wanted him to leave the Waste Disposal Pavilion and use his strength to support part of the defense.

'Damn you! Damn you all!' Ouyang Li was inwardly screaming. Still, he didn't dare to open his mouth. 'Must these old monsters test me at this particular moment? I've already died in this skirmish once!'

However, he knew that had no choice in this matter. As long as he wanted to stay in the Gentle Wind Valley, he could only grit his teeth and fulfill his duty.

And so, he unwillingly tapped on his token. Instantly, a small map was projected into his mind. It showed a small inconspicuous gorge in the Outer Sect area. It was where one of the Great Formation Array nodes was located.

'So, this is the place that I'm supposed to go to? Well, just perfect! It couldn't be any further away from me…'

The first thing he did was go down and retrieve a hidden stash of Spirit Stones. They were in a small bag, and he thought they might come in handy later.

He wasn't stupid enough to place everything in his cave, even though it was protected. Oh, how he wished that he had a spatial artifact!

Then, he hesitantly adjusted his cultivation base to show that he was now in the 7th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm.

'Well... it might look suspicious for me to move about with such a weak strength…' He mused. 'How about I make my Inner Qi fluctuations erratic and try to look like I'm struggling under the protection of some artifact?'

The Mysterious Bead followed his wishes. However, Ouyang Li could sense that it was somewhat weaker after his second death. It was as if something was irreversibly lost.

'Fuck it! I will surely get my revenge on the one who's responsible...' He promised himself, carefully harboring the malice in his heart. He felt that he was still a little unhinged because of this unexpected death and revival. Then, he switched his attention to still wobbly siblings.

'You two stay here and continue to meditate. I was summoned to help with the defense. Remember to wait until the Small Protective Formation is deactivated. Don't try to leave before that.'

'Yes, senior. Please, take good care of the sect...' The girl whispered. It was clearly the first time she felt such an intense and oppressive aura. No wonder she was still slightly shaken.

Regardless, no one could guarantee the enemy's defeat. Ouyang Li knew that his presence wouldn't change anything. He just hoped that he wouldn't be a burden. He really didn't want to be the last straw to break this old camel's back. Still, he didn't tell siblings any of these. There was no need to bother Outer Disciples.

Ouyang Li quickly left. He knew that siblings would be saved here. At least as safe as possible. He even envied them that they could stay here!

'That's why accepting a higher position in the sect is so troublesome. It's not worth it, not worth it at all!'

As soon as he emerged from the ground, Ouyang Li dived into the shadows and run towards the node.

Actually, it didn't matter whether he moved in the open or not. Divine senses of cultivators could spot him anyway. Still, this mortal habit of his was somewhat comforting.

Looking up, one could see that a terrifying battle was taking place in the sky. And even though the Outer Sect was partially protected, Ouyang Li could see its signs in nature.

Spiders and small warms were hastily burying themselves deeper into the ground, Immortal Cranes were covering along with the chickens, and the bees were playing dead. It was a scary sight to behold.

High above, it was as if four little suns got caught up in each other's gravitational fields. Glowing spheres and loud energy discharges blotted the sky, their brightness almost surpassing the sunlight.

It was the terror of Heavenly Lords!

What was worse, even more similarly powerful auras were still coming from the West!

'Dear Heavens! I have to hurry!' Ouyang Li could only inject more Qi into his legs hasten his footsteps. He hoped that the Great Formation node would be somehow protected. Otherwise, he might die here once again!

He could easily spot many other cultivators rushing about. Each had a fully developed Divine Consciousness. They were hurrying to maintain the Great Formation. Even if a bunch of them died here, it would matter. After all, there were too many.

'Where the heck did they all come from?' Ouyang Li couldn't help but wonder. 'And how come all those emergency nodes appeared out of thin air?'

Although the rushing cultivators were openly extending their senses, they didn't dare to move them far away from their bodies. Still, it was clear that they were quite powerful. At least at the Immortal Foundation Realm!

Some of them wore red Steward cloths, and others were real Elders. There were even some immortals disguised as grey-robbed mortal servants!

'What a good Gentle Wind Valley and what dutiful righteous immortals!' Ouyang Li could help but roll his eyes. It was such a scam!

'What rule-obeying cultivators? What righteous sect?' This was really an eye-opener! Clearly, Gentle Wind Valley was a place where everyone hid their cultivation bases! A gathering of crouching tigers and hidden dragons!

However, the sect higher-ups weren't stupid! They clearly had a good grasp on who used Gentle Wind Valley's special masking techniques!

That's right! At this moment, all those people were in a panic! Each of them was looking at their tokens with teary eyes. The red light basically meant do execute or wait to be abandoned. Then, no one in the Golden Fields Continent will help you! Bah, other Great Sects would be delighted to bring you treacherous ass back here.

So, just like Ouyang Li, all those people had to grit their teeth and run to their assigned nodes. There were no exceptions!

He doon arrived in the gorge. Not wasting any time, Ouyang Li quickly injected his Steward's token. The node immediately lit up.

Then, he stood in a central position and connected his senses with a formation. It was a mind-boggling experience. It was as if he became part of a hive!

Tens of different voices could be heard in the background. Some were instructing newcomers on where to direct their Shen and Qi, and others were asking, trying to understand the situation.

And this was only Outer Sect's part of the Great Formation functioning on emergency cores! He couldn't even begin to grasp the whole scale of this array!

For a second, his consciousness connected with someone else's. A small, girlish voice appeared in his mind.

'Steward authority... okay. Your task is to allow the formation to swiftly transfer part of the battle pressure toward the center. Remember not to interfere! Simply focus your mental energy and let it go with the collective flow. If wounded, make sure to quickly deactivate your token. Understood?'

Ouyang Li did as he was told. Only after a moment did he realize the importance of what just happened.

'Holy shit! Was that an artifact spirit?' He muttered, relieved that he can finally use his mouth without fearing retaliation. 'On what level is this array formation, anyway?'

"You truly have a vast imagination! I'm supervising this section. You can call me Elder Yu. Now, stop talking. I mean all of you! If you use your voice, the formation projects the sounds to me. I can mute you, but don't blame me if something bad happens in your area. Now, focus. There is a difficult task ahead of us!'