"That would be great," said Mei Lin, feeling somehow pleased to hear his answer. Before they managed to say anything else, Xu Tian's voice was heard across the tea-house and a sudden shockwave struck him, propelling him backward into the tea-house along with the doors. Everyone on the first floor was taken aback. No one inside the tea-house anticipated that a second-stage QI Condensation cultivator would be knocked down in such a manner within Peng City. Many cultivators attempted to investigate the cause, but lacking a higher cultivation stage, their efforts proved futile. Explosions began to sound outside the tea-house with extreme ferocity.
Xu Yi and Xu Jie rushed to assist Xu Tian, helping him recover from the shock and picking him up from the ground. Upon regaining his senses, Xu Tian swiftly commanded everyone.
"Bandits from before are here. They are in the new caravan, which arrived here just now!"
The whole teahouse was full of cultivators, and all of them started to circulate their inner natural energy and prepare their weapons to fight. As everyone geared up, the slug house suddenly shook like crazy.
Screams erupted from the cultivators on the second floor as the entire third floor and part of the second floor were blown away. Panic set in, prompting the cultivators from the second floor to flee downward and away from the tea-house. However, as they began their escape, waves of arrows rained down upon them. Tragically, a few of the fleeing cultivators were killed in the onslaught as they left the tea-house.
*****
Explosions shattered the stillness, and terrified screams echoed through the streets as chaos engulfed the city. Along the path once taken by the merchant caravan, a fierce battle erupted, spreading like wildfire through the eastern and southern districts.
The bandits, seizing their opportunity, overwhelmed the newly arrived caravan and launched a coordinated assault on the city. Their brutal force surged forward like an unrelenting tide, their ranks bolstered by eight leaders, each at the early stage of the Core Formation realm.
With calculated precision, these leaders directed their forces to cut through the City Lord's soldiers, severing lines of defense and spreading fear in their wake. The city descended into carnage as the bandits slaughtered all who stood before them, sparing neither warrior nor civilian. The streets ran red with blood, the cries of the dying mingling with the clash of steel and the roar of cultivation techniques.
Mei Lin was sitting at the tea table and thought about how to collect as much blood from other cultivators as possible. She felt that such a great opportunity would be great to take advantage of, as she had no other way to collect blood inside the city without betting caught.
'I have a lot of clay pots for wine, so there will be no problem with storing large amounts. It will be good if the bandit and the rest of the cultivators in the city kill each other, so I will not need to kill them.' Mei Lin didn't try to protect tea-house, but to find the best strategy to collect blood.
Sensing the movement outside the tea-house, Mei Lin swiftly stood up from her position and approached Xu Yi to tell him what shewouldl do next. She was also not very eager to get out and start fighting with the bandits, but her plan was built on her going out and ancollectingct the blood.
"I need to find others. They are still in the city. Once I find them, we will also leave. If everything is right, I will to the Green Jade sect. I hope we will meet there again."
Xu Yi wanted to stop her and offer her to stay with them, but he didn't. Mei Lin was already determined to go back to see her friends and travel with them.
"Farewell, miss cultivator."
"We will surely see each other later on," said Mei Lin and approached one of the severely injured second-stage BT cultivators who had rushed here from the second floor. Swiftly, she used her crystal knife to stab him in the neck. A clay jar materialized beside her as the crystal knife vanished, and blood sprayed from the wound. With precision, Mei Lin positioned the jar near the injury, collecting the blood as it started to fill.
Mei Lin didn't study there for long and after the blood flow was not as intense, she withdrew the jar into her storage ring. Her clothes were now stained with blood, and once again, her white veil was adorned with red droplets. She revealed herself in her lust for blood once again.
Mei Lin stood up and went to the doors. Before she stepped out, she turned to Xu Yi. "Good luck."
Mei Lin was ready to leave, but as she approached the front doors, she noticed a crystal token jammed in them. The token looked identical to the ones she had absorbed to gain knowledge to read from her master. A strange feeling overcame her that taking the token might provide more clues to finding her master quickly.
'How is this possible? Did master place this crystal here, or someone else?' Mei Lin was excited and as she touched the crystal token, it exploded, sending her flying from the slug to the ground. The explosion was not strong, not weak, but except for Mei Lin, nothing else was in the slightest damaged or broken.
As the explosion unfolded, Mei Lin was enveloped in an ethereal sensation, finding herself in the enigmatic realm of dreams. Mei Lin was sitting in a strange place everywhere she looked saw crystal. Just like that, when she looked around, she saw her master in front of her, and she offered a respectful bow.
"Master, where have you been? I was trying to find you." Mei Lin tried to ask her, but the deity in front of her didn't even move. She was just sitting in front of Mei Lin like she was sitting there for eternity.
"Master, I was at the tea-house just before I appeared here."
"Your body is still where you were, but now we are in a dream. I placed this dream into the token so I can help you. I will give you something important. You will be able to find out what is it when you will be strong enough."
"Thank you, Master. I will be careful, so never be in this kind of problem." Just as Mei Lin was about to ask about what the master wanted to give her, the dream abruptly ended, and Mei Lin landed on the ground. Falling from a height of more than four meters, she felt immediate pain all over her body. Upon assessing her condition, she found that the token in her head had cracked and started to dissolve. The only remnant was a strange marble, transparent, and invisible. Had Mei Lin not known she was holding it, she might never have noticed. She carefully wrapped the marble in a sheet of paper and stored it away in her storage ring.
As Mei Lin looked around her, she saw that Xu Yi's tea house was half destroyed and everything around looked destroyed. Destruction was present everywhere she looked and as she looked, she saw, that Xu Yi's tea-house was already leaving.
Mei Lin cautiously navigated through the chaotic scene, keeping her senses sharp for any potential threats. The scent of blood and the sounds of battle filled the air as she moved stealthily through the aftermath of the skirmish.
Even as she tried to be stealthy, her exceptionally beautiful red clothes made her stand out everywhere. As soon as she reached the outskirts of the place, where the caravan was stationed, Mei Lin continued to assess the situation and plan her next steps.
After a little while of observation, Mei Lin discovered that bandits were flying in the skies above the houses without any flying swords, causing chaos among the caravan members. The devastation was evident, with slug houses destroyed and the battle intensifying.