Chapter 466: Let Her Go

Duoduo was thrilled to be let out at first. But upon sensing the intense heat of its surroundings, it immediately became uncomfortable.

When it saw the dense swarm of Fire Scorpions, its fur stood straight on end.

The next moment, without waiting for a command from Lu Sangjiu, it used the Ice Condensation Technique, instantly freezing its surroundings!

Duoduo’s Ice Skill had always been excellent, and after just swallowing the Snow Leopard’s inner core, it had reached a new level.

Even in this incredibly hot place, its ice could still create a temporary freeze.

It was only temporary, but it gave everyone a much-needed moment to catch their breath. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

Lie Rufeng glanced at Duoduo, then praised Lu Sangjiu, "This Spirit Beast... impressive."

Upon hearing the praise, Duoduo immediately puffed out its chest and raised its head, looking incredibly smug.

Lu Sangjiu smiled and stroked its small head. "It really is. A shame its cultivation is still a bit low. It can only provide a temporary reprieve from our current predicament."

Lie Rufeng calmly stated two words: "It’s enough."

As they spoke, Duoduo’s ice was already starting to melt under the heat from the Fire Scorpions and the environment.

Just as the Fire Scorpions were about to break through the ice, Lie Rufeng brandished his longsword and swung it rapidly around him!

His blade seemed to conceal countless tiny razors. Wherever it passed, the ice shattered, and the Fire Scorpions beneath were torn to pieces along with it!

Lu Sangjiu’s eyes narrowed. ’His swordsmanship must be infused with Wind Magic. Could he have a Mutated Wind Spirit Root?’

’Generally, Cultivators with Mutated Spiritual Roots are very strong. If Lie Rufeng has a Wind Spirit Root, this level of skill would make sense.’

As she was thinking, Lie Rufeng finished off the surrounding Fire Scorpions. He turned to Lu Sangjiu and said, "Have your Spirit Beast continue to coordinate with me. We need to leave this place as soon as possible!"

Spirit Beasts are territorial. They had come here because they knew a Fire Python was hidden nearby. They must be close to its habitat now, which meant that if the Fire Scorpions pursued them just a little further, they would surely not dare to continue.

So, no matter how many Fire Scorpions there were, they could shake them off as long as they moved out of this area quickly enough.

Lu Sangjiu, of course, didn’t mind helping. She immediately called to Duoduo, "Go stand on Mr. Lie’s shoulder and coordinate with his movements!"

Duoduo responded with a "CHIRP CHIRP" and leaped directly onto Lie Rufeng’s shoulder.

The man-and-beast duo cleared the path ahead, inflicting maximum damage at top speed.

The rest of the group finished off the few stragglers that slipped through.

With such coordination, the group covered several hundred meters. By the time the Fire Scorpions finally stopped their pursuit, Duoduo had nearly exhausted its Spiritual Power.

Duoduo was exhausted. Seeing this, Lu Sangjiu didn’t dare let it remain in the searing heat any longer. She quickly recalled it to her Spirit Beast Bag and tossed in a few Spirit Stones for it to replenish its Spiritual Power.

If even the support, Duoduo, was this tired, then the main attacker, Lie Rufeng, was certainly not having an easy time either.

However, with his Earth Immortal Cultivation, he had a great deal of stamina. His face was only a little pale and his breathing slightly heavy; he was nowhere near complete exhaustion.

"Let’s rest here for a bit before we continue on."

Lu Sangjiu noticed Lie Rufeng hadn’t suggested a break. ’Maybe he’s too proud to ask,’ she mused, so she decided to speak up herself.

When Lie Rufeng glanced over, she put on a pitiful expression and said, "I used up too much Spiritual Power just now, and I’m really not in good shape. Just a little time to recover is all I need, please!"

In reality, Lu Sangjiu had been slacking off the entire time and had used even less Spiritual Power than anyone else.

She was only doing it to give Lie Rufeng a chance to rest, but of course, someone was too clueless to notice.

Duan Yiyi, who was looking disheveled and was already sulking, seemed to find an outlet for her frustration upon hearing Lu Sangjiu. "You barely lifted a finger, and you’re already spent?"

"I told you bringing this dead weight would slow our progress! You all just had to bring her. Such a pain!"

Lu Sangjiu silently rolled her eyes where Duan Yiyi couldn’t see. ’I can’t even be bothered to argue with her.’

’Spoiled, willful, stupid, and malicious. Giving her a single glance would be a waste of my life.’

But Lie Rufeng wasn’t about to indulge her. He shot her a look and said, "Who’s the real dead weight here, her or you? Do you have no self-awareness?"

Stung by his words, Duan Yiyi’s face flushed red then turned pale, her expression unsightly.

Lie Rufeng had already looked away. As he sat down to regulate his breathing, he added one last comment. "Duan Yiyi, if you don’t know how to speak, then shut your mouth. Don’t let people think our Qiyue Sect is full of useless trash like you."

His words were harsh, and Duan Yiyi’s eyes reddened with anger. "Lie Rufeng! I call you Senior Brother out of respect, but don’t you push it!"

"You’d say that to me over some woman who came out of nowhere? I think you’ve been so bewitched by that little hussy you’ve completely lost your senses!"

This was just Duan Yiyi being completely unreasonable. Even a people-pleaser like Tang Ming had to admit in all honesty that Lie Rufeng was defending Lu Sangjiu purely out of a sense of fairness.

It had absolutely nothing to do with being captivated by her looks; she was purely slinging mud.

Thus, he couldn’t help but speak up. "Junior Sister Duan, watch your words! Everyone can see what kind of person Senior Brother Lie is. You can’t just slander him like this!"

This only made Duan Yiyi angrier. "So what you’re saying is, what he said about me wasn’t slander, it was the truth?"

"Fine! Every single one of you is defending this stranger. So I’m the one who’s not needed here, is that it? In that case, I’ll leave!"

Tang Ming felt a headache coming on and was about to say something more, but Ruxin, who was beside him, coolly interjected, "We’re not defending her. We’re defending reason."

"Junior Sister Duan, out in the real world, no one is going to put up with your spoiled tantrums forever."

Ruxin’s words were what finally set Duan Yiyi off completely.

Before, she had said it partly in the hopes that Tang Ming would try to placate her, but now she truly wanted nothing more than to leave.

"So every last one of you is ganging up on me, is that it? Fine! I don’t need your tolerance. I’m leaving right now! You can go deal with that Fire Python on your own. I’d love to see if you lot can make it back alive without me!"

No matter how willful Duan Yiyi was, she was still the second-strongest fighter in the team.

With her gone, the pressure on the rest of them would indeed increase significantly.

Seeing her actually turn to leave, Tang Ming grew anxious. "Hey, Junior Sister Duan, don’t—"

Before he could finish, Lie Rufeng stopped him. "Ignore her. Let her go."

Lie Rufeng’s expression was cold and tinged with annoyance. "Keeping her around might just cause more trouble. It will be more peaceful now that she’s gone."

"But..." Tang Ming had a troubled look on his face. "Won’t she be in danger if she goes off on her own? And it’ll be riskier for us, being down a fighter..."