Chapter 233: Mo Que's Sprint

On the road outside the village, a young man was enthusiastically talking to a burly middle-aged man beside him.

Although they were still far away, Wei Hai could hear them clearly if he wanted to.

"Father, I'm telling you, our sect is amazing! Don't be fooled by its location in a small village; it has everything inside! It's so interesting! I'll show you around later, and you can meet our sect's Xiao Luan and her disciple Da Tao, and also the Cold Pool. Oh, and Father, I can demonstrate how I carve formation diagrams! How about I make a small cooling formation for you on the spot?"

Mo Yuanjiao hadn't yet noticed anything unusual in the village and was excitedly introducing Lingxian Sect to his father.

General Mo, however, wasn't really listening to his son. He nodded absentmindedly, his gaze focused on admiring the surrounding scenery.

"The mountains and rivers are beautiful, and the land is full of outstanding people. This is a wonderful place!"

As a general who had spent years on the battlefield, General Mo appreciated such lush, verdant landscapes.

Following behind them, Mo Que silently observed the surroundings, a habit he had developed after years of being a bodyguard.

When the three of them approached the village entrance, Mo Que, who had been mostly silent throughout the journey, suddenly interrupted Mo Yuanjiao, who was still talking non-stop.

"Young Master, something's wrong."

Hearing this, Mo Yuanjiao immediately looked towards the village entrance and the area around it.

Indeed, something was very wrong. Normally, by this time, the village would be bustling with smoke from the morning fires, and many villagers would be out fetching water or working. But now, there wasn't a single soul in sight.

The next moment, his sharp eyes spotted a purple figure floating above Shuxi Village, vaguely human-shaped.

Both Mo Que and General Mo followed his gaze and saw the purple figure hovering in the air.

Then, Mo Yuanjiao realized it wasn't just a vague figure—it was indeed a person, and this person had just turned to look at them.

"Young one, are you a disciple of Lingxian Sect?" Wei Hai asked with a sly grin.

He was quite pleased. It was like a pillow handed to him when he was drowsy—he had been pondering how to break through the protective array of this new sect quickly. It had taken him too long to breach Shangyang Sect's defenses last time. Now, with this disciple who had even brought his family to visit the sect, he sensed an opportunity.

He intentionally didn't lower his voice, making sure it echoed across the area, ensuring that the sect members inside knew he had captured one of their own.

As soon as he finished speaking, he leisurely raised his hand, ready to pull Mo Yuanjiao over from a distance.

Just as he was about to seize Mo Yuanjiao, an urgent voice rang out from the sky:

"Mo boy, dodge quickly!"

When Mo Yuanjiao saw the person in the air and noticed the strange situation in the village, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

As soon as he felt the spiritual energy rushing towards him, his instincts kicked in faster than ever. He swiftly pulled out a defensive talisman and activated a defensive formation, then grabbed his father and dove to the side. Mo Que also quickly dodged to the side with them.

The defensive talisman and formation shattered the moment they came into contact with the man's spiritual energy, but the three of them barely managed to avoid the direct hit.

Even so, Mo Yuanjiao was still struck on the back by the edge of the spiritual energy blast from the purple-clad figure, causing him to fall heavily to the ground, sliding several dozen meters away!

As a result, General Mo was thrown from his grasp.

Because the spiritual energy attack was primarily directed at Mo Yuanjiao and he had taken the brunt of it, both General Mo and Mo Que, who were behind him, escaped without serious injuries.

Seeing Mo Yuanjiao lying on the ground, bleeding from all orifices and unconscious, both General Mo and Mo Que rushed over to him, their hearts tightening in fear.

"Yuanjiao!"

"Young Master!"

"Get into the village! Run to the entrance!" Liao Pantou's voice rang out urgently.

At the same time, the sky above them grew darker, thick clouds rolling in, with flashes of lightning visible within them.

But at that moment, no one noticed the change in weather.

Realizing the severity of the situation, Mo Que immediately hoisted both General Mo and Mo Yuanjiao onto his shoulders and started sprinting towards the village entrance, following the elder's instructions.

However, the purple-clad man raised his hand again, sending a massive hand-shaped wave of spiritual energy after them.

Watching the three of them flee in panic, Wei Hai felt immense satisfaction.

This was the allure of ultimate power—seeing these weak mortals scurry away in fear of his might was a truly wonderful feeling.

When he noticed that the young man had reacted quickly and used numerous defensive talismans to avoid the full force of his attack, he was somewhat surprised.

Although it was a casual strike on his part, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, it was still impressive that the young man had managed to defend himself.

He decided not to cripple the boy just yet. Instead, he planned to capture him and see if he could provide some amusement later.

On the ground, Mo Que felt a wave of despair as he saw the massive spiritual energy hand rapidly descending towards them.

He could clearly sense that he wouldn't be able to escape its reach before it struck.

At that moment, they were less than a hundred meters from the village entrance. But in comparison to the speed of the descending hand, that hundred meters seemed like an insurmountable distance.

Just as the spiritual energy hand was about to reach them, no more than three meters above their heads, a thick bolt of lightning suddenly twisted out from the dark clouds above, crashing directly down on Wei Hai!

Caught off guard, Wei Hai was struck squarely by the lightning, his purple robes shattering into pieces. Only the tattered remnants of his white inner garments barely covered him.

The spiritual energy hand hovering above Mo Que also dissipated.

Without hesitation, Mo Que redoubled his efforts and sprinted into the village entrance.

Although Elder Liao had said that entering the village would ensure their safety, Mo Que didn't dare to relax. He continued to dash towards the sect as fast as he could, carrying General Mo and Mo Yuanjiao.

Shuxi Village was shaped like a long strip, and the road from the entrance to the far end stretched about five or six li (roughly 2.5 to 3 kilometers). From the village's far end to the foot of North Mountain was another four li (around 2 kilometers).

Even though Lingxian Sect was only halfway up the mountain, the path to the top wound around for more than a li (about 500 meters) due to the mountain's height.

So, from the village entrance to Lingxian Sect, the total distance was around eleven or twelve li (roughly 5 to 6 kilometers).

As Mo Que and his companions raced towards Lingxian Sect, unaware, a figure suddenly flew out from within the sect, speeding towards them.