"But rest assured, you saved me once, and I’ll definitely remember it and save you in return."

Qing Luan Hua hurriedly explained again.

"Whatever."

Ling Xiao still said indifferently, "But from now on, don’t get distracted. It will be even more dangerous as we move forward. You must stay alert."

Qing Luan Hua felt her face burning hot.

She had previously gone out of her way to find Ling Xiao, expressing that she would take the lead and that Ling Xiao and the other four should follow her.

But now the situation was a bit embarrassing for her.

It wasn’t Ling Xiao who was being protected, but her.

She had instead become a burden.

"I will lead the way; powerful Monster Beasts lie ahead, and you’re no match for them!"

With these thoughts, Qing Luan Hua rushed to the front and declared.

"Then I’ll leave it to you."

Ling Xiao did not object.

He knew that without letting Qing Luan Hua suffer a bit, this girl wouldn’t learn to cooperate with others.

Since Qing Luan Hua wanted to lead, he let her lead.

After all, he was following from behind. If they truly encountered life-threatening danger, it wouldn’t be too late for him to intervene.

Qing Luan Hua initially thought Ling Xiao would mock her and argue against her, but unexpectedly, Ling Xiao agreed so readily.

This made her even more embarrassed.

She vigorously shook her head, trying to shake off her wild thoughts, and cautiously released her Soul Power, moving forward at a reduced speed.

She could not compare to Ling Xiao’s terrifying Soul Power.

Even if her Cultivation Level was higher than Ling Xiao’s, it wouldn’t be possible.

Moreover, her strength might not even surpass Ling Xiao’s.

Half an hour later.

"Junior brother, why did you let that woman lead the way? She’s as slow as an old lady and almost got into trouble, tangled in those rotten corpses and thorns."

An Renfeng spoke forthrightly; this half-hour felt like years compared to the previous half-hour led by Ling Xiao.

Not only was the speed much slower, but they also frequently encountered danger.

Although they barely managed to avoid each one, it was quite a strain on the heart.

"Exactly, boss, you should lead. Maybe we’d reach Sky Demon Peak quickly without needing to fight."

Lin Yang couldn’t hold back anymore and chimed in.

"Qing Luan Hua, don’t you realize? When it comes to scouting, you’re no match for Ling Xiao. To pass the test quickly, let’s switch back, and you can be in charge of the fighting."

Cheng Feiying spoke even more directly.

Qing Luan Hua’s face turned bright red with embarrassment, but she had the good quality of correcting her mistakes once she realized them.

"You take over."

Qing Luan Hua frowned, and although she was very reluctant in her heart, she still stopped and gave the lead position to Ling Xiao.

"Wait a minute!"

Ling Xiao suddenly shouted.

"What’s the matter?"

The others were puzzled, Qing Luan Hua even thinking Ling Xiao intended to mock her, making her face turn dark.

But Ling Xiao didn’t even glance at her, instead closing his eyes and saying, "Someone’s coming, five people in total, forming a team, approaching from the side, and they’re very fast.

Set up the formation!"

As he spoke of the formation, An Renfeng, Lin Yang, and Cheng Feiying immediately moved into their positions.

Including Ling Xiao, a faint light appeared beneath all four, with inscriptions faintly flickering on it.

Only Qing Luan Hua was momentarily stunned; when Ling Xiao talked about the Battle Formation on the way, she hadn’t listened carefully at all, not knowing where to stand.

Even more perplexing was how Ling Xiao knew someone was coming when she hadn’t sensed anything herself.

As she was about to inquire, her expression suddenly turned solemn.

Because the enemies were closer, their aura became more pronounced, and she finally discovered them.

"Strange, could they have some special ability to pinpoint our location? How could they charge over without any hesitation?"

Ling Xiao felt somewhat puzzled internally.

The fog was so vast that even with his Soul Power, he could only sense a radius of five hundred meters.

Could it be that one of the five had a stronger Soul Power?

Or was there some other ability?

Something seemed fishy.

He looked at the Soul Lock Badge hanging around his neck, frowned, and quickly infused his Soul Power into it.

"Damn!"

This examination revealed something shocking, and Ling Xiao cursed out loud, "There’s an unknown powerful consciousness within this Soul Lock Badge, likely belonging to an expert from the Sha Clan.

It bears a strong resemblance to Sha Hai and Sha Diao."

"You handle the Soul Lock Badge issue; leave the enemies to me!"

At this point, Qing Luan Hua had regained her composure, seeing five enemies charging forward, who were the five experts from Red Immortal Mountain, one of whom had a First-Turn Second-Layer Hell Late Stage Cultivation Level.

They arrived without any unnecessary chit-chat and launched an attack directly.

Perhaps they wanted to strike first, believing that Ling Xiao and the others hadn’t yet noticed them.

In fact, they didn’t even look at Ling Xiao and the others, rather attacking Qing Luan Hua all together.

Qing Luan Hua was alarmed.

In an instant, she guessed the intentions of the opponents.

Within this team, she was the strongest and most difficult to deal with.

If she was taken down instantly or killed on the spot, the remaining four could be dealt with more easily.

Although she realized this, there was nothing she could do.

She could only shake the Longsword in her hand and step forward.

Fortunately, she discovered it in time, allowing her to prepare her moves more calmly.

If it weren’t for Ling Xiao’s warning and their sudden attack, she would indeed be doomed.

This time, she might even fail the test, perhaps even losing her life here.

After all, if they were truly intent on killing her, she might not even have been able to activate the Soul Lock Badge.

"Wind and Snow Heartless Sword—Bo Qing!"

Qing Luan Hua was grateful to Ling Xiao, but her hands moved quickly.

The terrifying sword move was unleashed in an instant, targeting the five enemies.

The five were momentarily stunned when they saw Qing Luan Hua strike back.

"Not good, that woman was prepared!"

As the alarming shout rang out, one of them was struck.

The cold Sword Qi instantly enveloped the person, causing their Soul Lock Badge to fall to the ground.

The setting of the Soul Lock Badge was quite interesting.

As long as a Martial Artist’s Soul was severely injured, it would automatically detach.

And the person’s body would be teleported out of Demon Mountain.

Seeing this scene, Ling Xiao understood that killing here was indeed not easy.

But it wasn’t impossible either.

A decisively fatal hit would surely do it.

All five from Red Immortal Mountain were not novices.

But Qing Luan Hua was stronger.

If Qing Luan Hua had been caught off guard by their ambush, they might have succeeded.

But now, the situation was different.

With Ling Xiao’s help, Qing Luan Hua spotted them first, preparing her moves and tactics.

Thus, with one strike, she took down one of them.

At the same time, she dodged the attacks of the remaining four, remaining safe and sound.

"Captain, this isn’t what we agreed on; they seem ready for us, and this woman isn’t easy to deal with."

One of them spoke with some fear.

"What are you afraid of? Besides Qing Luan Hua, the other four are just a bunch of weaklings. I’ll hold off Qing Luan Hua, you three, take care of those four, especially Ling Xiao; he must be killed on the spot!"

The leader spoke coldly.