The Evacuation Trap

Chapter 351: Evacuation

Arriving at the rear hall, the old man was standing there with his hands clasped behind his back.

Seeing over a dozen cultivators, including Han Li, file in, his expression unchanged, he stated:

“I’ve inspected all of you. You either have decent aptitudes or practice special techniques. As such, you will be the sparks for this sect’s future resurgence. You have half a day. Return to your dwellings, pack your things, and then Martial Nephew Huang will lead you out immediately.”

Hearing this, everyone was stunned. Someone asked in surprise:

“Ancestor, didn’t we say the demonic path cultivators needed two more days to break through the line? Why the rush?”

“Hmph! It will indeed take them two more days to breach the forward defenses. But do you think they’ll just watch while we remaining cultivators slip away? They’ve already sent another force around the defensive line on a long-range raid against the various sects. I suspect their mission isn’t to annihilate us, but simply to prevent us from retreating smoothly. Which means the outer defenses must be abandoned to buy you time. However, if any of you dares to leak this while packing and causes chaos during the evacuation, I will handle you myself.” The brocade-robed elder’s voice was icy cold, sending a chill through everyone present.

“Yes.”

…

Han Li and the others naturally dared not object. They all acknowledged respectfully and then filed out to gather their belongings.

Walking back, Han Li and the short old man parted ways midway. Both were lost in thought, their minds heavy.

Han Li’s cave dwelling was too far away. After they split up, he activated the Divine Wind Boat to its maximum speed, hoping to reach his home as soon as possible.

At this moment, Han Li’s heart was incredibly conflicted.

If he followed Patriarch Linghu’s plan and retreated to another country, his life would naturally be safe. Moreover, due to the severe shortage of manpower, he would likely be highly valued by the upper echelons.

But the same logic meant that to rebuild Yellow Maple Valley and carve out new territory in a foreign land, he, as one of the few remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators, would be mired in endless trivial affairs. He would have far too little time for continued cultivation.

By the time everything settled and the six sects had re-established themselves, he would likely have long passed his window of opportunity for Core Formation. This was something Han Li absolutely could not accept.

Yet, if he were to flee now, he had no idea if that old monster’s divine sense was still monitoring him. Making the slightest suspicious move might alert him. As a deserter, he would be hunted down without a doubt, with no place to bury his corpse.

Han Li felt a surge of regret. If he had known things would deteriorate to this point, he would have fled to another country immediately. Why had he even come back?

Resigned to his fate, Han Li returned to his cave.

As soon as he entered, he first retrieved the talisman storage pouches hidden under his bedroom bed, tucking them all into his robes. Then, he went to the storage room and collected the remaining rare medicinal herbs.

Finally, he entered the secret chamber of the Spirit Eye Spring, destroyed the entire room, and covered the spring to conceal it.

Since he could not relocate this spiritual treasure now, Han Li had no desire for the demonic path cultivators to discover and use it.

After finishing, he did a final check of the cave. Feeling nothing was left behind, he called Qu Hun out of the cave. He then dismantled the first set of “Reversed Five Elements Formation” flags and plates from in front of the cave and carefully stored them in a storage pouch.

Watching the cave entrance reappear as the formation vanished, Han Li’s brows twitched. He suddenly unleashed two black beams of light. In the time it took to eat a meal, he pulverized the entire small peak, its collapsing rubble completely burying the cave.

Then, he released the Divine Wind Boat. With Qu Hun in tow, he circled the area once before flying off into the sky.

By the time Han Li returned to the main hall, most of the others had already arrived. He left Qu Hun outside the hall and walked in himself.

To his surprise, aside from the several dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, there were also several hundred Qi Condensation disciples present inside.

“Are these people coming with us?” Han Li wondered with some confusion.

But then, his eyes lit up. He saw the short old man standing with Xiao Cui’er, whispering to each other. Both wore extremely serious expressions.

Seeing this, Han Li walked over without hesitation.

“Senior Han!” Xiao Cui’er called out respectfully as he approached.

Han Li nodded with a smile, then turned to the short old man and asked in a low voice:

“What’s going on? Are these Qi Condensation disciples coming with us?”

He kept his voice deliberately low to avoid drawing attention.

“Yes. These people are either of exceptional aptitude or have special status within the sect. They can’t be easily abandoned. My apprentice here is among those with exceptional aptitude.” The short old man stated flatly. But when he mentioned Xiao Cui’er, a hint of pride crept into his tone, which Han Li found somewhat amusing.

A little while later, Patriarch Linghu and a sharp-looking middle-aged man finally appeared.

“We’ve just received word. Traces of demonic path cultivators have already appeared nearby. You will depart immediately. From now on, you will follow all of Martial Nephew Huang’s arrangements. I will keep the remaining members of the valley here to hold off the enemy.” Patriarch Linghu spoke with a heavy expression.

Hearing this, Han Li and the others were shocked. The demonic path had arrived far too quickly.

The middle-aged man beside Patriarch Linghu then spoke coldly:

“Time is tight, so I’ll make this brief. I have only one requirement for this large-scale evacuation: everyone must obey my orders without question. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a traitor and dealt with on the spot. Now, move out immediately.”

This man was truly a man of action. After a few short words, he bowed deeply to the old man beside him and was the first to stride out of the hall.

The others were stunned for a moment before swarming out after him.

Thus, a massive company of several hundred people lifted into the air from before the stone hall and flew off rapidly toward the northeast.

…

Half a day later, the entire group left the Taiyue Mountain Range and began to fly even faster, pressing onward with all haste.

Standing on his Divine Wind Boat, Han Li flew toward the front of the formation. Seeing that Han Li’s boat could still carry passengers, the short old man unceremoniously pulled Xiao Cui’er onto it. Han Li could only force a dry laugh and offer no objection.

Xiao Cui’er seemed quite interested in Qu Hun, who stood behind Han Li. Her large eyes rolled around as she stared at him. The short old man, however, had already guessed the gist of Qu Hun’s nature. After asking a few brief questions, he dropped the matter.

The group had only flown about a hundred li beyond the Taiyue Mountain Range when a blinding white streak shot up from behind. It flashed past the cultivators in an instant and landed in the hands of Martial Uncle Huang, who was at the front. It was a small, shimmering white flying sword, with a jade slip inserted into its hilt.

The middle-aged man’s expression darkened. He immediately raised his hand, signaling the entire formation to halt.

He then removed the jade slip, casually tossed the small sword back into the air, and the sword transformed back into a white streak, flying back the way it came.

This Martial Uncle Huang extended his spiritual sense into the jade slip to examine it. After a moment, his face grew grim, and he withdrew his consciousness, immediately lowering his head in deep thought. He had clearly run into a troublesome problem.

“All Foundation Establishment cultivators, step forward. The situation has changed. I need to reassign your tasks.” The middle-aged man suddenly turned his head and said with a dark expression.

This startled Han Li and the others. After exchanging glances, they obediently flew forward on their artifacts. Xiao Cui’er tactfully jumped off the Divine Wind Boat.

“Uncle, what happened?” More than a few people asked, having seen the flying sword message.

“The Patriarch just sent word. No sooner had we left than the demonic path cultivators arrived. It seems they were aware of our evacuation plan. They’ve split into two forces: one is besieging Yellow Maple Valley, and the other is pursuing us. To ensure the main group’s escape, I need a team to follow me and draw them away. Those I name will join me for the blocking action; the rest will continue flying out of Yue under my designated leader.” This Martial Uncle Huang spoke coldly.

Upon hearing this, the others felt a chill in their hearts.

None of them were fools. This blocking mission was clearly a suicide run.

Though most eyes averted his gaze, this Martial Uncle Huang pointed without hesitation, singling out over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators in one breath.

Unfortunately, Han Li was among them, while the short old man escaped selection.

Those whose names were called turned pale, but no one dared to voice any refusal.

Thus, with a wave of his arm, the rest of the group sped away, leaving only Han Li and the others behind, looking rather isolated.

“Alright, time is tight. I know most of you don’t have high hopes for this mission. But I’m not asking you to fight the enemy head-on. I only ask that you launch a sneak attack to draw their attention, buying the forward group a little more cover.” The middle-aged man’s tone softened slightly. He then produced over twenty green jade slips from his person.

“Memorize the map inside these jade slips, then destroy them. If we are separated later, you can re-form at the locations marked on the map.” After saying this, Martial Uncle Huang raised his hand. Over twenty streaks of green light shot out, and a jade slip floated before each person.

Hearing this, the others’ expressions improved considerably. Since they wouldn’t be fighting the demonic path cultivators head-on, their chances of survival were much higher. Everyone grabbed their jade slips and began to memorize the maps within.

Although Han Li had also taken his jade slip, he only glanced over it briefly, committing very little to memory.

For him, being left behind to block the enemy was a rare opportunity to break away. To secure his future Core Formation, he had no intention of following Yellow Maple Valley all the way to the end.