Senior Brother Yun Tian looked up at the sky and said to the others, "I don't know if we're late, but since things are like this, we should do our best to prevent a bigger disaster rather than wallow in self-pity here. It's getting late now; let's find a suitable place to set up camp and rest."

Although the sky hadn't turned completely dark, some stars were already visible, and the entrance to Polo Cave looked even more terrifying under the dimming sky.

The area around Polo Cave was desolate and perilous, with hardly any open spaces. The most open spot was filled with bones, and by the time Ye Tianfan and the others found a clearing, it was completely dark.

After reaching this small clearing, Senior Brother Yun Tian asked everyone to stand aside. He stretched out his left hand, and Ye Tianfan and the others realized what he was going to do when they saw the ring on his finger.

Senior Brother Yun Tian wiped his other hand across the ring, which sparkled momentarily, and four tents appeared on the ground in front of them.

"Tonight, we'll take turns sleeping. One person stays on watch at all times," Senior Brother Yun Tian said after setting up the tents.

"Okay, I'll go first," Ye Tianfan said to the others. He began setting up the tent, knowing the Storage Ring had only a limited space, so couldn't possibly store pre-assembled tents. Though his Xuan Huang Tower could, he didn't reveal it.

"Fine, you go first, Bai Feng second, I'll take third, and Ma Feiyun will be fourth," Senior Brother Yun Tian allocated the shifts, taking the worst time slot himself, but he didn't mind.

Just as they finished organizing and were about to rest, Ye Tianfan suddenly heard a whistling sound in the air. Everyone looked up and saw several streaks of light—Ye Tianfan counted six—landing ahead of them moments later.

"Huh!" Ye Tianfan recognized a familiar figure. It was Yu Shan, whom he had met during a previous training session.

Yu Shan stood in the middle, his left flanked by two towering men with bushy eyebrows and great eyes. They looked formidable with giant sticks on their backs. If they hadn't come with Yu Shan, Ye Tianfan might have mistaken them for butchers. To Yu Shan's right were three people, including another bald man unfamiliar to Ye Tianfan, presumably a member of Yu Shan's sect, and two young individuals, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, who made a compatible pair. Knowing they were here to slay demons and eliminate evil, Ye Tianfan and the others might have thought they were out for a romantic outing.

The six looked at Ye Tianfan's group, noting their somewhat disheveled appearance with furrowed brows. The handsome man stepped forward before anyone else could speak. "You guys aren't from the Taichu Sect, are you?"

Ye Tianfan's group felt a flash of anger at his dismissive tone. "Who do you think you're looking down on?"

Ye Tianfan's group ignored him, but Ye Tianfan acknowledged Yu Shan.

"Master Yu Shan, I didn't expect to see you here! How are the townspeople?"

"So it's Junior Brother Tianfan, long time no see. The townspeople have recovered and returned to Snack Town," Yu Shan replied with a smile. He held Ye Tianfan in high regard and, sensing the awkwardness, began introducing both sides.

"I am Yu Shan of the Benevolent Sect. Beside me is my Junior Brother Yu Ping. Further next are standout Celestial Fragrance Sect disciples Tian Chun and Tian Yun," Yu Shan introduced to Ye Tianfan's group.

"To my left are the Dali Sect disciples, Wang Dali and Bang Dali."

Yu Shan then looked towards Ye Tianfan's group, indicating it was their turn for introductions.

Initially, Ye Tianfan didn't want to engage with Tian Chun, but respecting Yu Shan, he obliged, first pointing to Senior Brother Yun Tian. "This is Senior Brother Yun Tian of the Taichu Sect. This is Bai Feng, this is Ma Feiyun, and I am Ye Tianfan, all from the Taichu Sect."

After his introduction, Ye Tianfan nodded at the two from the Dali Sect and Yu Ping of the Benevolent Sect but directly ignored the pair from the Celestial Fragrance Sect.

Senior Brother Yun Tian and others also nodded at them, leaving out the Celestial Fragrance Sect members. Tian Chun's eyes flashed with malice at this sight, while Tian Yun could only shake her head in resignation, as if she were accustomed to it.

The conversation continued, with everyone ignoring the Celestial Fragrance Sect duo. Ye Tianfan figured something likely happened on their way. Otherwise, with Yu Shan's character and the honest demeanor of the Dali Sect pair, it was unthinkable they would entirely disregard the Celestial Fragrance Sect members.

Seeing the conversation progress and himself consistently ignored by Ye Tianfan's group, Tian Chun's face turned grim. He coldly interjected, "Isn't the Taichu Sect the foremost righteous sect under heaven? Famous for its unrivaled Immortal Techniques, yet you're all in such disarray. Did you fail against demons? Tell me, and I'll exact revenge for you."

Ye Tianfan's group, hearing this, looked displeased. They initially ignored the arrogant Tian Chun, but now he was overstepping. Ye Tianfan wanted to retort sharply, but Senior Brother Yun Tian spoke first. As the chief disciple of the Taichu Sect, he couldn't always let his juniors handle matters, especially since the Taichu Sect and Celestial Fragrance Sect weren't adversaries. Instead, they had good relations, and he didn't want one disciple causing a rift between the two sects.

"To be frank, on our way here from the Taichu Sect, we were subjected to over ten ambushes by Demon Sect disciples. We hoped to arrive earlier and assess Polo Cave's situation, but here we are now," he explained.

Upon hearing this, Yu Shan's group was immediately indignant, shocked at the Demons' audacity to launch daylight ambushes on righteous disciples. The Dali Sect duo's agitation led them to unsheathe their big sticks and swing them a few times to vent their frustration.

Tian Chun, upon hearing this, let out a cold snort and turned his head away.

This cold snort made Senior Brother Yun Tian's face fall. He held back initially, recognizing Tian Chun as a Celestial Fragrance Sect disciple, but this was crossing a line. If that's the way it was, then he wouldn't hold back with his words.