Xie Yunhai looked ecstatic.

Xie Wanting had been focused on the lake, which was turning clearer and clearer, yet she rushed to the air-transportation spiritual tool her brother was on as soon as he arrived.

Xie Wanting seemed very emotional and relieved as she said, “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re alright.”

Then with a deeply concerned look in her eyes, she asked, “What happened? How did you sustain such heavy injuries?”

With the Bone Blood Demon still at the lake bottom, Nie Tian and girls didn’t have much to do, and thus flew over to Xie Yunhai as well.

Besides, Nie Tian also wanted to know what had happened after they had left the Fortune Wells.

Weak and limp, Xie Yunhai took out a medicinal pill and swallowed it, before Xie Wanting helped him sit up straight.

Wisps of faint smoke that seemed to contain strong toxins rose from Xie Yunhai’s nostrils.

Xie Yunhai took a deep breath. Nie Tian and the girls’ presence seemed to restore some of his confidence as he explained, “I was injured by Fiends. I ran into a group of Fiends on my way back here. Those Fiends appeared to be looking for something with their unique tools.

“They stopped me and asked me if I saw a place pervaded with poisonous smoke.

“I suspected that what they were looking for was this lake, which you’re guarding.

“So I ignored them and tried to escape, but they pursued me. Even though I managed to escape their pursuit with Water Escape, one of them injured me with his bloodline magic. Deadly toxins gradually infiltrated and corroded my flesh and blood.”

After hearing Xie Yunhai’s explanation, Xie Wanting instantly laid her eyes on the lake. Realizing the Fiends’ intentions, she said, “Those Fiends must have detected that Fiend corpse with their special tools. I bet they came for the corpse of their powerful predecessor that’s lying at the lake bottom.”

Nie Tian nodded. “That’s probably the case.”

“There’s a Fiend corpse at the bottom of this lake?!” Xie Yunhai asked with a shocked expression.

Xie Wanting pointed at Nie Tian. “That’s what he said.” 

Xie Yunhai seemed to be instantly convinced as he said, “Then there’s probably no mistake in that.” 

Then, he questioned his sister and learned what had happened here during the past few days.

Nie Tian, however, seemed to be more concerned with what had happened at the Fortune Wells instead of the situation with the Fiends, so he asked, “So what happened at the Fortune Wells?”

The mention of the Fortune Wells put deep fear in Xie Yunhai’s eyes. “The old man who occupied the soul power Fortune Well killed almost everyone!”

This piece of information didn’t seem to surprise Nie Tian or the girls at all.

Confused by their lack of reaction, Xie Yunhai said, “Don’t tell me that you knew what that old man was going to do.”

“We did,” Nie Tian said.

With a grim face, Xie Yunhai continued, “Soon after you left, three young outsiders initiated a joint attack against the old man. Many human cultivators, spirit beasts, and other outsiders joined the action in attempts to seize that most special and precious Fortune Well for themselves.

“The battle turned out to be a bloody one. Most of the participants died miserable deaths.

“Even though those three outsider youngsters survived, they sustained heavy injuries and fled in sore straits.

“I realized the unfavorable situation and ran away before it was too late.

“I guess that old man wanted to refine the pure soul strands spilling from that Fortune Well first, and thus didn’t go very far to hunt down those who fled. But I could still see torrential lightning filling that area of the sky after I flew to a place far from that region, so I guess he killed all those who stayed there.”

Nie Tian sighed. “The man’s name is Yuan Jiuchuan. He’s a reborn cultivator who was at the middle Saint domain in his previous life.” 

“No wonder then!” Xie Yunhai secretly congratulated himself for his wise decision. “Luckily, I was well-aware that, given my strength, I wouldn’t stand a chance at seizing that Fortune Well from that old man’s hands, and thus left before their battle ended. If I had let greed cloud my judgment, I would probably already be dead.”

With these words, his face tensed up again. “Anyways, that Yuan Jiuchuan probably won’t be able to find us here. We don’t have to worry about him anymore. What we need to worry about are those Fiends who are currently searching through this region. Perhaps they’ll get here before long.

“Sister, would you tell our martial brothers who are scattered in the vicinity to come back here? They won’t be able to protect themselves against the Fiends if they don’t join us.”

Xie Wanting’s expression flickered slightly as she asked, “How many Fiends are there? How powerful are they? Will we be able to handle them?”

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to match them in battle by just relying on our own strength. One of them was very dangerous, as he held very powerful magical treasures.” With these words, he took a glance at Nie Tian and the girls. With an anticipating smile, he added, “But if they agree to help, then we’ll probably be okay.”

After hearing these words, Xie Wanting and the other Water Moon Sect disciples all turned to look at Nie Tian and the girls.

Their attitude towards them had changed when Nie Tian had summoned the Bone Blood Demon.

They assumed that Xie Yunhai wanted to rely on Nie Tian’s strength to fight the Fiends, but they didn’t know that, in Xie Yunhai’s eyes, Mu Biqiong and Yin Yanan were even more formidable.

“I’ve already claimed that Fiend corpse at the lake bottom. Of course I won’t allow those Fiends to take it from me.” Nie Tian made his stance clear.

Xie Yunhai instantly let out a sigh of relief.

Now that Nie Tian had learned what he had wanted to learn from Xie Yunhai, he gave Yin Yanan a signal, and their air-transportation spiritual tool flew away from Xie Yunhai and Xie Wanting to the other side of the lake.

“Now that we have those three on our side, the Fiends will bring trouble upon themselves if they dare to attack us,” Xie Yunhai said with a relaxed face. “Thankfully, they decided to help us. Otherwise, we would have had to abandon this place.”

In a low voice, Lu Feihua chimed in, “Young lord, those three’s cultivation bases aren’t that impressive. I don’t see what’s so special about them, other than that man’s puppet.”

Xie Yunhai gave a cold harrumph. “You were lucky that you didn’t get into a fight with them.” 

On his way to the lakeside, he had learned from Lu Feihua that a brief conflict had happened between Nie Tian’s group and him, and it was his sister who had resolved the conflict and reached a mutual understanding with them.

“If a battle had actually broke out between you and them, you’d have suffered a crushing defeat,” Xie Yunhai said coldly. “Even my sister would have suffered from your rash action. Most people who come to the Shatter Battlefield travel in large groups like we do. Only those who have strong backing dare to travel on their own.

“Even though those three travel in each other’s company, every one of them is strong enough to travel alone.

“You should have seen how formidable they were at the Fortune Wells. Those two women weren’t any weaker than that man, if not stronger.

“That puppet you saw is only the tip of an iceberg. They have many more powerful resources at their command.”

All of the other Water Moon Sect disciples’ expressions flickered after they heard those words.

After Xie Yunhai gave them a detailed explanation of the early battles at the Fortune Wells, even Xie Wanting was deeply shaken as she fixed Nie Tian and the girls with an apprehensive gaze from afar.

Across the lake...

Gazing impatiently into the lake, Yin Yanan asked, “When in the world will your puppet come out of there?”

“In about two days,” Nie Tian answered.

“The Fiends those people talked about may get here before that,” Yin Yanan said with furrowed brows.

“There’s nothing to fear about those Fiends,” Nie Tian didn’t seem worried at all.

Yin Yanan seemed edgy as she said, “We need to refine the soul crystals as soon as possible, but with all those Water Moon Sect disciples around, we can’t simply take the soul crystals out and start channeling power from them!” 

“Do you two want to go to a place that’s farther away from here?” Nie Tian proposed.

The girls exchanged a glance. After a moment of pondering, Yin Yanan shook her head and said, “Forget it. Our loss would outweigh our gain if the Fiends were to discover and sneak up on us. We might as well wait a bit longer here.”

Mu Biqiong agreed. “Yeah, let’s wait two more days.” 

However, only one day passed before more than a dozen Fiends arrived in an overbearing manner.

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