Pathway

Earlier in the day.

Ju Feng, Lin Chenric, Fu Yingjie and Lin Da Xia, were standing at a safe distance from the area where elder Cao Wang Xiu was confronting the blue-robed blood cultivator. The four of them were watching the developing scenario with intense concern. When they thought it was safe, danger surfaced again. It was only a moment ago, when the grey-robed man suddenly left in a flash. And in their joyful state, they had been flash-stepping towards elder Cao Wang Xiu with eagerness. They were about to reach her position, when the blood cultivator appeared behind her making them stopped in their tracks. 

Slowly and cautiously, they had back-tracked their movement, and left the area to a safer distance.

As a full premier, a true Zhuji cultivator, Ju Feng could use his spiritual sight. Although his spiritual sight was still limited, he could see the vastness of the golden red aura emanating from the rogue blood cultivator. 

Although cultivators below the Zhuji stage wouldn't manifest a full spiritual aura, they could still display the partial traces of aura. The Zhuji stage was where manifestations of full aura began. 

On the mortal plane, after a cultivator reached the Zhuji stage, the aura displayed would be iron. At the Jindan stage which was the core formation stage, there were three aura's manifestations. The copper aura for the copper cores, the silver aura for the cultivators of the silver core and the golden aura displayed by the golden core cultivators. While that of the nascent soul was platinum. A nascent soul cultivator could manifest the platinum aura in relation with the elements of the Chi essence in the dantian.

For the aura of the Lang Hai, Ju Feng saw pure platinum-red mixed with the element of blood essence. It was truly a sickening sight which made his stomach churned. He glanced at elder Wang Xiu and saw the blinding platinum-white aura she had manifested. He quickly switched from the spiritual sight to his normal sight which couldn't see any aura manifestation. 

From the way elder Cao Wang Xiu's aura was exuding, the extent of her killing intent was glaring.

It was now becoming a dangerous situation. My Feng was trying to envision the thoughts of elder Wang Xiu to no avail. But he was certain of the fact that, the rogue blood cultivator too was out for blood which could result in mortal harm to any of the two. Although, it was elder Wang Xiu he was worried about. Would she be able to take care of herself? 

From the little he had seen of her, he knew she had the power to hold her own against such cultivator. Yet, something kept nagging at the back of his mind that the blood cultivator was extremely dangerous. He could be more than elder Cao Wang Xiu could handle.

A grievous situation, but with great optimism, he held the resolute conviction of elder Wang Xiu holding her own, if the need was to arise.

With his mind occupied, he didn't pay much attention to the troubling conversations which were going on around him. Especially to Lin Cheung who was trying to get Ju Feng's attention with his words.

"Ju Feng, Ju Feng!"

"Eh?"

"What's the matter with you? We're facing a serious situation,  and you're here,  daydreaming?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking." 

"Have you thought of what to do?"

"What are you saying?"

"What am I saying?"

Lin Chenric looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you with us, Ju Feng?"

"Yes, Cheung. What were you saying before?"

Lin Cheung stared at him and nodded.

"Okay. We've been thinking of what to do if it escalate."

Lin Cheung leaned closer towards them and glanced at their faces.

"As for me, I think we should flee, if it comes to that."

Fu Yingjie, who had been looking at the unfolding event in silence, suddenly began to speak.

"There's nothing we can do to help her here. Maybe, some of us should go and look for help while the rest stay to keep an eye on the situation?"

"Why don't we wait a little bit more before deciding. We don't want to do anything that'll put elder Wang Xiu in a more difficult situation."

Lin Da Xia said in a seemingly convincing way, receiving a nod from Ju Feng.

"Mm. I'll go with DaXia. I think we should first wait and see before doing anything that'll jeopardise the whole situation."

After further delibration, they agreed to wait at a distance where they would be watching the proceedings. If the situation began to spiral out of control, they would split into two groups. One group would go and look for help, where ever they could find it. While the their group would stay and do what ever they could to help.

Ju Feng continued observing the two golden cores cultivators as they faced off in a confrontation. He held a faint hope of them settling their differences amicably with no need for a fight. But the moment elder Wang Xiu took out her sword, he knew his hopes were simply a mirage. Reality quickly dawned on him. The differences between the two cultivators were beyond reconciliation. From the looks of it, the two golden core cultivators were on the path of the last one standing.

He watched on as elder Wang Xiua sent two blade lights towards the blood cultivator.  A fight between two golden cores was always grave news for the bystanders and their surroundings. He still had vivid memories of the legendary swordsman and swords he had read about which had caused utter destruction in some mortal worlds. Although they were still golden cores and not nascent souls, the dangers their powers posses to the mortal places couldn't be denied.

He looked around his surroundings and wondered whether they were safe at the distance they were standing. They would simply disintegrate if they were hit by an attack from a nascent soul cultivator. They might walked the path of reincarnation if they only died. But if their souls were to be obliterated in the course of the attack? That would be their existential oblivion.

He snapped out of his thought just as the two nascent souls were in a blur as they exchanged swords in clashes. This was on a different level of power compared to the one he witnessed displayed by the two genius core disciples at the sect's training ground. He tried to follow their movement but his eyes became dizzy and his head turned heavy. He closed his eyes as a banging headache arose in his head.

He opened his eyes at the same time as elder Cao Wang Xiu was sent flying backwards. All around him, the others were again deliberating on what to do.

"We can't just stay here, let's help."

"How can we help?

"We'll simply die if we try to intervene."

"If not for her, we would've died in the hand of the demon spider, anyway."

Although his mind was not on the conversation, Ju Feng could still hear their words. He too, had been thinking of ways they could help, but knew there was none. They were only Zhuji cultivators, after all. But no matter how it might seem, they had to help her. At least, they would've tried even if they didn't succeed. He looked at them and sighed inwardly. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, he was always walking in the shadows of death. Well, if that was it, then that was how it would be.

"Yes, we can't just stay here. We need to help out."

"By doing what exactly? Cut him up with your iron sword? You'll just die."

Lin DaXia observed her brother as she ruminated on his words. She knew doing anything would just get them killed, yet they couldn't allow their elder to get killed without doing something. Zhuji against Jindan? She laughed bitterly inside before speaking.

"You've got a point Chenric, but we can't stay put without doing anything. Maybe, we can even take him by surprise if we approach with caution. Who knows."

With a sad expression, Fu Yingjie nodded his head in agreement. It would be them walking to their certain death. He never planned to die here. Saving his parents still weighed heavily on his mind. If he were to die, how would he be able to save them? But still, the elder was in a dire situation and she needed their help. He looked up and sent a thought of a perfect afterlife to his parents. They wouldn't receive it, but it was good enough for him.

"We are who we are. Both in life and in death. We can't just stand still, and it's already too late to look for help. We do whatever we can to help now."

Not long after, they headed in the direction of the two battling golden cores. They were cautiously moving towards them, when elder Wang Xiu suddenly executed the Vermillion Divine which was blocked by the move of the blood cultivator. The impact launched them in a flight, several yards backwards, leaving them in a disoriented scramble.