A heavy aura hit them first.
Jiang Huai, accompanied by Zhu Siyao, stood not far from the Martial Arts Discussion Platform, quietly watching the vast army of Xuanxian Immortal Sect return.
The first thing to catch their eyes were the disciples carrying coffins.
Their steps faltered, bodies smeared with bloodstains and dust now dark brown, faces only showing numb grief and endless exhaustion.
The coffins came not as one, but continuously, silently carried into the Sect—each representing a once vibrant life now forever left outside Ironwall Pass.
Following them poured the wounded, varying in severity, cries of sorrow echoing everywhere.
Many had lost limbs, but more were those whose faces had turned dark and pale from demonic energy corruption, groaning in pain.
Finally, surrounded by a group of battered but still fiercely maintaining the honor guard, the figure of Tang Zhaoxue appeared.
Absent for a month, this once unparalleled Sect Leader seemed to have become a different person.
Tang Zhaoxue still wore that deep blue Sect Master robe, but it looked worn and stained with blood dried to black.
Her face was pale as paper, her eyes no longer lazy or playful, but filled with unfathomable exhaustion, sorrow, and forcibly suppressed fury.
Her aura fluctuated unevenly, clearly bearing serious internal injuries.
Jiang Huai’s feelings were complicated as he looked at her.
A complex Sect Leader—strong-willed, even domineering and twisted at times—yet bearing the heavy responsibility of guarding an entire realm.
Beside Tang Zhaoxue, someone was being carefully carried on a stretcher by two disciples.
Looking closely, it was her True Disciple.
That disciple, once proud, then respectful, and finally resolute in rushing to the battlefield, now lay quietly on the stretcher, unconscious.
Her face was ashen, breath so faint it was almost undetectable, white cloth covering her soaked in blood, the exposed arms and neck covered with gruesome lacerations.
By all appearances, she was on the brink of death.
Tang Zhaoxue glanced sideways with eyes full of pain and anger—this was her chosen Successor!
The entire Sect seemed gripped by an invisible hand, immersed in a tragic and stifling silence.
No cheers, only the pervasive scent of blood, medicine, and lingering sorrow in the air.
Tang Zhaoxue’s gaze swept over the crowd that had come to greet them, over the coffins.
Finally, her eyes passed over everyone and locked precisely on Jiang Huai and Zhu Siyao standing under the corridor some distance away.
Her expression was complicated and inscrutable, filled with fatigue and pain.
“Are we going to the battlefield to resist the Xie Tide as well?” Zhu Siyao’s face turned pale as she stared at the hellish scene before her, her voice trembling slightly.
This was far beyond anything she had imagined.
Those vibrant, spirited female cultivators from a month ago had returned looking like this.
As a female cultivator of this world, would she also have to go to the battlefield? Would she also have to sacrifice her life for this world?
Jiang Huai shook his head at her.
“It seems the Xie Tide is far more brutal than we imagined.”
“I won’t let you go to fight the Xie Tide.”
No matter what, Zhu Siyao came to this world to hold him back.
Zhuxin had also reminded him before to take good care of Zhu Siyao.
Before leaving, he would never let anything happen to her, much less let her go to the battlefield.
“But—” Zhu Siyao was about to say more when Jiang Huai cut her off, unable to listen further as he went to meet Tang Zhaoxue.
He wanted to know the frontline situation—how long could Ironwall Pass hold?
Inside the secret chamber, Jiang Huai and Zhu Siyao waited in the room.
After a long while, the curtain of the inner room was lifted.
Tang Zhaoxue walked out.
She seemed to have just hastily washed up, her long hair damp and draped over her smooth shoulders, yet she came out without a stitch of clothing.
Water droplets slid down her voluptuous, pale, breathtakingly curved body as she walked with slender, fair legs.
She barely glanced at Zhu Siyao as if she didn’t exist.
With a nearly self-abandoning indifference, she walked straight to the large bench and lay down without any attempt to cover herself.
She even deliberately spread her legs, her delicate body leaning back.
Looking at Jiang Huai, Tang Zhaoxue’s voice was hoarse and magnetic: “Help me heal.”
As if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
Jiang Huai froze for a moment. He came to gather information and never expected Tang Zhaoxue to appear like this, in this way.
Even if it’s your own secret chamber, can’t you wear something?
Even a thin gauze?
Zhu Siyao’s face flushed bright red, pointing at Tang Zhaoxue, so angry she could barely speak: “You, you, you…!”
“How shameless you are!”
The woman just came out like this?!
Tang Zhaoxue seemed to have completely shed all pretenses and concerns, sneering with tired mockery:
“Shameless? I guess you didn’t come here for nothing either. Now, come heal me.”
Jiang Huai glanced at Zhu Siyao, who was trembling with anger, then looked back at the exposed figure on the bench.
After a moment of silence, he finally, as always, stepped forward.
Gently covering her.
The Chaos Dao Platform activated, Innate Primordial Qi swirling at his fingertips.
Zhu Siyao watched Jiang Huai’s hands cover that area while the other party shamelessly bared herself.
A powerful wave of bitterness and helplessness instantly engulfed her.
She could only watch helplessly, unable to change anything—protesting would be futile and ridiculous.
Powerless.
Tang Zhaoxue let out a soft, pleased moan, as if all her fatigue was melting away.
She found Jiang Huai’s spiritual energy quite effective for healing.
While maintaining the treatment, Jiang Huai asked in a low voice: “How is the frontline situation?”
Tang Zhaoxue tilted her head back, eyes closed, murmuring: “This Xie Tide is fiercer than any before.”
“They seem to have a clear target and are frantically attacking Ironwall Pass.”
Her voice carried lingering fear: “Before, after a few repulses, they would retreat.”
“This time, it feels endless, which is why…”
“That’s why the battle was so brutal. But I’ve already sent people to summon reinforcements from other Sects to resist the Xie Tide and prepare for a prolonged war.”
Jiang Huai’s heart tightened suddenly.
A target? Could it be that they’re aiming for him? That Demonic Fox?
Tang Zhaoxue did not notice his unease and continued matter-of-factly, her tone gradually carrying the bleakness of arranging for the future:
“You should take her and prepare to retreat.”
“I’m afraid Ironwall Pass won’t hold much longer.”
“And what about you?” Jiang Huai asked without stopping his movements.
“Me?” Tang Zhaoxue opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling of the chamber, a flash of resolute light in her eyes.
“Xuanxian Immortal Sect was established here, and our oath is to live and die with Ironwall Pass.”
“As long as the Pass stands, we stand; if the Pass falls, we perish.”
“Beyond the Pass lies open plains, no more natural defenses.”
“I will naturally fight to the last moment, just like my predecessors, fulfilling the Sect’s mission.”
Her tone was flat, as if stating an obvious fact: “It’s just death.”
She seemed to feel a more distinct wet warmth than ever before, making her heart itch.
This time, Jiang Huai did not hold back and almost poured all his strength into healing her.
That increasingly clear sensation seemed to ignite the last twisted desire buried deep in Tang Zhaoxue’s despair.
Tang Zhaoxue looked down at Jiang Huai’s efforts, her heart twisting continuously.
After all, she didn’t know when she would die.
Might as well… might as well…
Her little wife stood silently beside them, but it no longer mattered.