Grabbing Ling Wuque, Chen Jingzhai activated the earth elemental technique.
At once, both of them disappeared.
Since Chen Jingzhai had perfected his mastery of the earth elemental technique, he could keep himself out of everyone's sight after performing the method in full force.
Bringing Ling Wuque along with him did not make much difference.
Even so, the ship had landed abruptly and uncontrollably.
In an instant, it crashed into the grounds of the Aspirant Cultivators Academy.
It was like a meteor that fell from the sky—an overpowering impact.
Most of the buildings and plants were smashed to smithereens.
The mighty gale from the impact flipped the ground, causing bluestone slabs to fly everywhere.
The ship had completely lost control.
The masters of the Aspirant Cultivators Academy had noticed it the first thing when it happened.
When they turned around, the aspirant cultivators could be seen screaming and running in all directions like headless chickens.
"Calm down!"
Master Ge showed up in the sky expressionlessly.
His voice was like a large bell that reverberated around the atmosphere, deafening the ears of the young cultivators.
"All Meditation Plane cultivators, bring the cultivators less than six years and seek shelter!"
"The rest of you, get away from the ship as fast as you can!"
"Masters of all the branches, half of you, rescue the students!"
"The remaining masters, follow me and find out the ship's situation!"
Right after he spoke, lights could be seen gleaming everywhere.
The masters activated their spells to rescue the aspirant cultivators, vanishing from sight in a flash.
Master Ge had taken the initiative to bring order to the chaotic situation.
All of the aspirant cultivators had begun escaping from the scene.
However, not all were fortunate enough. Those who could not make it had turned into a pool of blood and gore.
Not even their corpses could be preserved.
There was no question that the gigantic ship could pulverize the cultivators underneath with the overpowering impact.
So the surviving cultivators immediately felt a huge relief.
None of them wished to remain there, even for a second. They even prayed that they could grow an extra pair of legs to further flee from that place.
Chen Jingzhai brought Ling Wuque to a shed far away when they witnessed the ship's crash.
"To think that a sixteen-foot ship would plummet like that. It seems the Foundation Establishment Plane cultivator had been harmed by a powerful opponent.
"Even if they were still alive, their spiritual power would almost be depleted. They should be barely holding on to their consciousness.
"After arriving at the Aspirant Cultivators Academy, they felt relieved and could not hold it anymore."
Chen Jingzhai speculated solemnly.
"That person is a Foundation Establishment Plane cultivator! What sort of enemy could they have met?" Ling Wuque asked.
"Who knows?" Chen Jingzhai said, shaking his head. "But we are safe for now no matter what."
However, it was a little too early for him to say that.
Before they left the spot, Master Ge could be seen flying out from the ship with the other masters.
With a somber look on their faces, they had brought two kids in fancy clothing adorned with golds and silvers.
Master Ge had a grim expression as he twitched his lips.
More masters were seen flying in several directions in no time, trying to reach their branches.
Immediately after, all of a sudden the essence power of the atmosphere became more concentrated, filling the scenery with fog.
It was followed by the appearance of the illumination of multiple colors that covered the perimeter of the entire Aspirant Cultivators Academy.
"Did Master Ge activate the formation?" Ling Wuque asked, stupefied.
"It looks like things are worse than what we expected." Chen Jingzhai put on a stern look.
The formation in the Aspirant Cultivators Academy would not be activated under normal circumstances. Even if there were enemies, Master Ge would face them himself.
Most of the cultivators would not think of attacking the Aspirant Cultivators Academy.
After all, the academy was backed by a dozen cultivation sects in the Pulao Kingdom.
In a span of eight years, Chen Jingzhai had only seen the activation of the formation once.
At that time, a flaming sands ant from outside of the city had infiltrated the Aspirant Cultivators Academy and triggered the formation.
That was the first time Chen Jingzhai witnessed the might of the formation.
The flaming sands ant was reduced to dust by the formation, even though it was considered a supernatural being in the desert.
Master Ge had even used the pulverized monster to refine it into a medicinal herb and let the Meditation Plane cultivators consume it.
"Jingzhai, what should we do?" Ling Wuque questioned.
"Don't fret," Chen Jingzhai uttered. "The formation will not harm us. Let's return to our shed and pack our things. Take all the things that you can bring along with you. Then we'll look for a chance to escape from this place."
"We're leaving?" Ling Wuque replied in shock.
"This place is no longer safe," Chen Jingzhai expressed. "We'll talk about it after leaving."
Before Ling Wuque could say a word, Chen Jingzhai grabbed the former's hand and leaped.
[Spell: Light Feather Technique]
[Effect: The body is as light as a feather when jumping around.]
[Flaw: Carry a stone and jump down from the rooftop a hundred times.]
This skill was one of Chen Jingzhai's acquisitions from the library.
The flaw did not specify the size or weight of the stone.
So Chen Jingzhai got two pebbles and jumped down from the rooftop two hundred times and mastered the skill.
They both got back to their shed in the blink of an eye.
Chen Jingzhai only took two pairs of clothes to change and the money he received from his family.
After that, he went to Ling Wuque's room and noticed the latter packing a bunch of manuals.
"We don't need any of these." Chen Jingzhai shook his head. "We will only be away until the danger is over."
Under Chen Jingzhai's guidance, Ling Wuque finished packing his stuff in a panic.
With that, he followed Chen Jingzhai to an abandoned shed.
"J-Jingzhai, are you sure it's the right move for us to leave now?" Ling Wuque mumbled.
"We should always take necessary precautions and be aware of any potential dangers," Chen Jingzhai explained. "The enemy is powerful enough for Master Ge to activate the formation. The fight will be a difficult one. Besides, we are just some unremarkable cultivators. We may be turned into dust without warning."
"B-but we've never left this place before," Ling Wuque expressed his worry.
"We will just leave the Aspirant Cultivators Academy and look for a place to hide in the city," Chen Jingzhai said calmly. "We'll return stealthily once the threat has been contained. It wouldn't be a big deal even if the masters were to find out about us."
Was there any place in White Cloud City apart from the Aspirant Cultivators Academy?
It did not matter how powerful the enemy was since the Aspirant Cultivators Academy would remain in the exact location. It couldn't possibly grow legs and run away.
So people had to be adaptive to keep themselves from danger.
No matter what, Chen Jingzhai would never want to lose his life in the Aspirant Cultivators Academy.
His journey in cultivation had just begun. So he refused to die or take any risks before attaining immortality.
The two of them knew the layout of the Aspirant Cultivators Academy like the back of their hands. So they traveled across the abandoned shed and arrived beside the river in no time at all.
The best way to sneak out of the Aspirant Cultivators Academy would be through the river.
There were high walls and thorny bushes, including formations, around the academy grounds.
Hence, the river was the only way out as they could use their aspirant cultivator nameplates to leave this place.
These were the information Chen Jingzhai had learned from reading the books in the library.
The masters had never informed them about it. All the aspirant cultivators were told that the academy grounds were highly safe.
"How's your Mudflow Technique? Have you mastered it?" Chen Jingzhai murmured.
"I'm already highly proficient in this technique. I can perform it," Ling Wuque answered while lying in the bush.
"Good!" Chen Jingzhai nodded in satisfaction. "Once we've dived into the river, you should perform the Mudflow Technique to accelerate our speed... Why are you pulling me?"
Ling Wuque pulled the corner of Chen Jingzhai's clothes as he pointed his finger at the sky.
Raising his head, Chen Jingzhai caught sight of the clear sky covered with sand that appeared from nowhere.
Like raindrops, gravels fell from the sky at high speed.
For some reason, the colorful barrier formation seemed to be nothing more than decoration at that moment.
"Is our escape plan still on?" Ling Wuque asked with a wry smile.
"We shall wait for an opportunity." Chen Jingzhai pursed his lips. "Try not to use your spiritual power. Let's wait and see."
His heart sank when he saw a silhouette in the middle of the sky brimmed with sand.
It might look a little hazy, but one could easily make out its monstrous size. It was only slightly smaller than the ship.
It had a humanoid figure but a tail that constantly wagged from its rears.
Each swing from its tail would stir up a more violent sandstorm. The sand grains that hit the people's skin were painful.
"I am the Yellow Sands King!
"Hey, the chick from Soaring Clouds Clan, hurry and follow me back to our bridal chamber!
"Ah, what a cute and alluring lass you are! Guess I'll help myself with a taste of you!
"Hahahahaha!"
A sound of coarse laughter could be heard amid the sandstorm.
Just then, the sandstorm intensified and destroyed everything in the Aspirant Cultivators Academy.