The speaker was a beautiful woman who appeared to be the leader.

"Hmph! What are you staring at? Where do you think you’re looking? Stare again and I’ll gouge your eyes out, you damned pervert!"

Before the leading woman could speak, a cute, big-eyed woman at her side had already launched into a fiery tirade against Jiang Jichen, threatening him viciously.

However, her curses and threats came out in a delicate, almost charming way, robbing them of any real intimidating power.

But before Jiang Jichen could speak, the leading woman said to the big-eyed girl, "Little Qing, don’t be rude!"

Xia Qing glared with her big eyes and said huffily, "Sister Tang Ni, *he’s* the one being rude, okay? Did you see where his eyes were wandering? Don’t stop me, I’m going to dig them out!"

The big-eyed girl was genuinely furious.

The leading woman spoke. "This Young Master meant no harm. If he had, you wouldn’t have just been pushed back a few steps. And you want to gouge his eyes out? If the Young Master hadn’t shown mercy, you foolish girl, you probably couldn’t have even taken a single one of his moves!"

Xia Qing hadn’t been cultivating for long; she was only at the Innate Ninth Realm. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

But Tang Ni was at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment realm and had a discerning eye. She had naturally seen everything clearly when Jiang Jichen and Xia Qing clashed just now.

Xia Qing’s first strike was a complete sneak attack, yet the young man dodged it with ease. With her second strike, he merely flicked a finger to shatter her Sword Intent. The disparity in their power was instantly obvious!

Indeed, if Jiang Jichen wanted to kill Xia Qing, an Innate Ninth Realm cultivator, it would take no more than a single finger. Tang Ni hadn’t been exaggerating.

Xia Qing was simply too indignant to admit it. Thinking back now, she knew she was no match for this Innate Sixth Layer youth.

At a glance, the young man was shrouded in mystery.

Xia Qing stood off to the side, sulking silently. Tang Ni, however, gave Jiang Jichen an apologetic look and said, "I must apologize for this display, Young Master. This is our camp. You appeared so suddenly that we mistook you for our pursuers. That’s why Little Qing attacked so mercilessly. I hope you can forgive us."

Hearing Tang Ni’s explanation, Jiang Jichen began to piece together what was happening.

The Dark Abyss was, in essence, a Teleportation Array that sent you to a specific region, but to a random location within it. Anyone who passed through the Dark Abyss would be transported to this area, appearing at an unpredictable spot.

As fate would have it, Jiang Jichen had appeared at the exact moment they were packing up their camp to leave.

It seemed Tang Ni, Xia Qing, and their group of women were being pursued. Jiang Jichen’s timing couldn’t have been worse, leading them to mistake him for one of their pursuers.

Now that it was all out in the open, it was clear it was just a misunderstanding. Still, Jiang Jichen felt he was the one at fault.

Jiang Jichen politely performed a fist-and-palm salute. "I am Jiang Jichen. A pleasure to meet you, ladies. The fault for this incident lies with me, not with any of you, and certainly not with Miss Xia Qing. It was all my mistake, and I offer my sincerest apologies to you all."

Refined and polite, exceptionally handsome, and with a graceful air about him, Jiang Jichen cut a very fine figure. He immediately won the favor of the women present. One of them giggled and said, "Well, little brother, you’re quite the looker. What are you doing out here all alone? Want to travel with your big sister here for some company?"

Just then, Tang Ni cut in. "Settle down, everyone. Finish packing, quickly. We need to leave this place as soon as possible. If the people from the Five Poison Sect catch up to us, we’re done for!"

At Tang Ni’s words, the women, who had just been laughing and joking, suddenly fell silent. A worried expression appeared on each of their faces.

Xia Qing spoke up. "Sister Tang Ni, running like this is no solution! We’ll reach the Ancient Ruined City soon, and they’ll catch up to us there eventually anyway. We might as well fight them! Let’s show them that our Red Beauty Adventurer Squad isn’t to be trifled with!"

Tang Ni sighed. "The ones hunting us are just a single squad from the Five Poison Sect, and they have three Early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators among them. They’re also experts in poison, which is nearly impossible to defend against. If we really were to fight, we wouldn’t stand a chance!"