"Damn it, does the Holy Sect have a traitor? How was the Zombie Alliance waiting in ambush the moment we arrived?"

After fighting their way through, they successfully escaped into the dark green light of the Array. The group of Holy Sect Disciples let out a collective sigh of relief, then immediately broke into a stream of curses.

In the current situation, even a fool could see that someone must have leaked their movements ahead of time.

Taking out a Heavenly Return Pill that helped restore True Qi, Qi Yun placed it under his tongue and slowly scanned his surroundings.

This was the location of the Holy Sect Marketplace.

When they had arrived earlier, they hadn’t noticed anything amiss from a distance.

Now, up close, the entire Marketplace had clearly endured a bloody battle. It was damaged everywhere, covered in bloodstains, and several buildings were on the verge of collapse.

It was a scene of utter ruin and devastation.

"Are you the fellow disciples from the Holy Sect who’ve come as reinforcements?" a weak voice asked from the side.

Qi Yun turned his head and saw a middle-aged man with graying hair, a sallow complexion, and sunken eyes slowly approaching. He coughed suppressively as he walked.

"I am the True Cultivator stationed to guard this Marketplace, Yuan Sea."

"COUGH COUGH... Is it just you?" Yuan Sea’s gaze swept over the hundred or so Outer Mansion Disciples before him—still shaken, most of them injured—and his brows locked tightly.

To seize Da Wu Mountain this time, the Zombie Alliance had brought a force of five hundred. If the Holy Sect had only sent this handful of people, they might as well pack up and run now.

Hearing Yuan Sea’s question, the crowd almost subconsciously looked toward Qi Yun, who stood to the side.

During the earlier breakout, the overwhelming methods Qi Yun had displayed had already won everyone’s respect. Demon Sect cultivators were insidious and cunning, but they still adhered to the principle of respecting the strong.

Besides, Qi Yun was this year’s Outer Mansion Champion Scholar.

After this experience, he had now become the backbone of the group in everyone’s eyes.

’Why are you all looking at me? Don’t you have mouths?’

Rolling his eyes, Qi Yun saw the atmosphere had reached a certain point. He had no choice but to step forward and address Yuan Sea.

"The Holy Sect has ordered the disciples of all Nine Great Outer Mansions to hurry to Da Wu Mountain for the campaign."

"We are just the vanguard. More of our fellow Outer Mansion disciples will be arriving in succession."

Hearing Qi Yun’s words, Yuan Sea’s brows didn’t relax. Instead, they tightened even further.

"Only Outer Mansion Disciples? Are there no Inner Mansion True Cultivators accompanying you?"

"We are all from the Outer Mansion; we wouldn’t be informed of Inner Mansion matters." Qi Yun took note of Yuan Sea’s grave expression.

’The situation on Da Wu Mountain has probably deteriorated to an extreme degree.’

’Even the arrival of disciples from all Nine Great Outer Mansions isn’t enough to put Yuan Sea at ease.’

’Does that mean... the Zombie Alliance has a large number of True Cultivators holding the line?’

Hearing Qi Yun’s reply, Yuan Sea also realized his reaction might have been inappropriate and quickly explained:

"Please don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of looking down on the disciples from the Outer Mansion."

"It’s just that the Zombie Alliance’s offensive is ferocious this time."

"They colluded with a traitor from our Holy Sect, destroyed our Marketplace’s Dharma Guardian Array, and launched a surprise attack that caused us heavy losses."

"They also dispatched ten True Cultivators with cultivation at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining or higher."

"Furthermore, the Zombie Alliance excels at Corpse Control, and each of those ten Zombie Alliance True Cultivators brought a Copper Armor Corpse with them, each comparable in strength to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer."

"By that count, that’s twenty opponents at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer."

"If it’s only Outer Mansion Disciples, it will be very difficult to contend with them."

"Ten True Cultivators?! And each with a Copper Armor Corpse?"

Yuan Sea’s words left the Outer Mansion Disciples present stunned.

The Zombie Alliance might not be as large as the Holy Sect.

But to become one of their True Cultivator Disciples...

...one would likely need to be at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer at the very least.

In contrast, their class of Outer Mansion Disciples had only been initiated for a little over a year. Most of their cultivation levels hovered around the Qi Refining Second and Third Layers.

Those who reached the Fourth Layer were already as rare as phoenix feathers.

As for the Qi Refining Fifth Layer... they feared only the Champion Scholar himself had reached it.

When they did the math, the power gap between the two sides was indeed a bit large. Even if the other Outer Mansion disciples arrived and they had the advantage in numbers, there was an eighty-percent chance they still wouldn’t win.

"But if the situation is so urgent, why did the Holy Sect only send us?"

After their initial shock, the Holy Sect Disciples all wore puzzled expressions.

The Holy Sect might be treacherous, but it wouldn’t set up a death trap for its disciples. This wasn’t out of pity for their lives, but because doing so would be a complete waste of a long-term investment.

"There’s no mistake. I saw those ten Zombie Alliance True Cultivators with my own eyes, leading their Copper Armor Corpses as they slaughtered their way into the Marketplace."

"If not for a spare Array Disc hidden within the Marketplace..."

"...this place would have been completely wiped out."

As he spoke, Yuan Sea coughed violently a few more times. A patch of crimson faintly seeped through the front of his robes, a clear sign that he had also sustained a serious injury in the previous battle.

"Then there’s only one possibility..."

As the crowd frowned in thought, someone slowly began to speak. Qi Yun turned his head to look, his eyebrows instantly arching.

It was a familiar face.

"The Zombie Alliance did indeed bring ten True Cultivators, but that was before."

"After deploying this force, the Zombie Alliance must have suffered some kind of backlash, and the Holy Sect found out about it."

"That’s why the Holy Sect sent us here—to avoid repeating the Zombie Alliance’s mistake."

Laying out her speculation, Shen Fan lightly twisted a lock of black hair at her temple, her phoenix eyes gazing at Qi Yun, who stood nearby with his hands clasped behind his back.

’I never would have thought that the worthless commoner from back then would turn out like this today.’

’If I had known, I should have invested in befriending him back then to foster a good connection.’

’But... it seems it’s not too late now.’

"Some kind of backlash?"

Shen Fan’s words made the crowd hesitate. Yuan Sea, who had experienced it firsthand, had an even more complicated expression as he carefully recalled the details of the bloody battle, trying to grasp something.

Just as everyone was racking their brains, Qi Yun, who had been listening in silence, suddenly spoke softly.

"Was it... the Cyan Sect?"

The Cyan Sect?

A bolt of lightning flashed through the minds of the Holy Sect Disciples who heard the name.

That’s right!

The Cyan Sect! How could we forget about that bunch of lunatics?

It must have been them!

"Cyan Sect cultivators walk the line between righteous and demonic. Their path is to temper their Dao Hearts through life-and-death battles," a disciple immediately chimed in with a sudden realization, his words quickening.

"That insane saying of theirs, ’The mortal world is but a battlefield, and the Cyan Sect are the slayers of sin,’ gives both the Righteous and Demonic Daos a massive headache!"

If the Cyan Sect cultivators really did stumble upon the Zombie Alliance using its True Cultivators to ambush and besiege our Holy Sect Marketplace...

...they would, with ninety-nine percent certainty, use it as an excuse to fight the Zombie Alliance True Cultivators.

No wonder there wasn’t a single True Cultivator among the Zombie Alliance Cultivators who just ambushed us.

The one and only Copper Armor Corpse was being controlled jointly by those Zombie Alliance Cultivators.

The Cyan Sect cultivators must be watching from some corner.

Whoever dares to send out a True Cultivator Disciple...

"...they’ll cut them down!"

Once the train of thought was unlocked, all the scattered clues instantly connected, and a clear picture emerged in everyone’s minds.

"So, you’re saying that while the Zombie Alliance seems to have the upper hand, they’re actually in the same boat as us."

"That’s why they plotted so carefully, set up an ambush, and tried to surround and annihilate us the moment we landed," an Outer Mansion Disciple analyzed quickly.

"In that case..."

Having figured out the key point, a cold, knowing smile appeared on the faces of the Outer Mansion Disciples in perfect unison.

’Then don’t blame us.’

’We’ll be taking our revenge on the spot!’

...