Every pore in his body was screaming, “Run!” Watching Gong Jiwang charge at him like a madman, every single cell in Lai Li’an’s body was blaring alarm bells.
But goddamn it, where was he supposed to run?
Lai Li’an felt like his heart was about to leap right out of his throat.
What did it mean when a Mid Nascent Soul Stage cultivator was fighting for his life?
Right now, Gong Jiwang’s eyes were bloodshot, his Spiritual Power boiling like a pot of scorching oil, and his entire body had turned into a crimson meteor, slamming straight toward Lai Li’an.
This was a fight to the death!
Lai Li’an’s brain was operating at maximum capacity in that instant.
The Taixu Life-Protecting Bead had just entered its cooldown period, and he didn’t dare gamble on whether his Diamond Indestructible Body could hold up.
In other words, if Gong Jiwang actually self-detonated, he was almost certainly dead.
And not just dead—dead with nothing left behind, not even ashes.
Lai Li’an rapidly sank his consciousness into the System Panel.
Nascent Soul Stage Grand Gift Pack! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
The words on the System Panel flashed before his eyes at lightning speed.
[ (Auto-learned)]
Lai Li’an’s gaze locked onto those words like nails.
Qiankun Shift Technique—a teleportation-type cultivation art.
No need to read the rest. This was it. This was the one!
Lai Li’an activated this newly acquired art almost instinctively.
The information was as if it had been carved into his bones. The moment his mind stirred, the Spiritual Power in his body began surging toward the palm of his right hand along some trajectory he couldn’t comprehend.
The Spiritual Power in his Dantian rushed through meridians that had never been opened before, racing straight to his right palm.
Lai Li’an raised his right hand, fingers spread wide, aimed at the crimson figure barreling toward him.
Before his voice even finished falling, a blinding white light burst from his palm.
“Qian…”
Gong Jiwang’s pupils violently contracted. He felt an irresistible force surging from that man’s palm, like an invisible giant hand clamping down on his entire body.
He couldn’t even struggle before his body was viciously yanked forward.
“Wh… What?!”
The two figures vanished simultaneously in the white light, as if they had never existed at all.
The white light faded.
The clamor of the battlefield fell silent in an instant.
No one spoke. No one moved.
Wu Zhengyang was the first to react. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his gaze fixed on the spot where Lai Li’an had disappeared, a storm of complex emotions churning behind those murky old eyes.
“Senior… he took that Nascent Soul cultivator away.”
He had carried an about-to-self-detonate Nascent Soul cultivator away from this battlefield.
Wu Zhengyang’s lips trembled slightly, and his eyes suddenly stung with heat.
Senior did it for them—to keep the shockwave of that Nascent Soul’s self-detonation from harming them, he chose to throw himself at that ticking bomb.
He had cultivated for centuries and seen too many scenes of people scattering when disaster struck.
But today, there was someone who stood up when they were at their most desperate, shielding them from all the storm.
Wu Zhengyang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the bitterness rising in his throat, and turned to face the surviving disciples of the Wuyue Sect.
He raised his sword, its blade gleaming with cold light under the moonlight.
“Senior… your great kindness… your great kindness can never be repaid…”
“Everyone!”
His voice exploded through the night sky.
“The enemy’s Nascent Soul cultivator is gone! This is our only chance!”
“Disciples of the Wuyue Sect!”
He inhaled deeply and roared out all the hatred burning in his chest.
“Charge with me!”
That roar was like a spark, igniting the last embers of bloodlust in the surviving disciples of the Wuyue Sect.
“Avenge our fallen brothers!”
“Slaughter these demon bastards!”
On the Blood Lotus Sect’s side, the moment Gong Jiwang vanished, their morale plummeted to rock bottom.
“Elder Gong!”
“Elder Gong is gone!”
“Th… who was that person? Where did he take Elder Gong?”
“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over. Are we finished?”
Yin Wuji stood among the crowd, his face ashen. His gaze was fixed on the direction Lai Li’an had vanished, his fingers cracking as he clenched them.
That man… what the hell was he?
“What are you panicking about?!”
A Golden Core cultivator bellowed.
“Even without Elder Gong, do those ragtag remnants deserve to stand against us?”
His gaze swept over the Blood Lotus Sect cultivators who had already started showing fear.
“Everyone hold the line! Kill them all! When we return, each of you gets a thousand Spirit Stones!”
Generous rewards always bring out the brave.
The Blood Lotus Sect cultivators who had been ready to flee immediately felt their terror replaced by greed at the words “a thousand Spirit Stones.”
“Kill!”
The clash of Spiritual Power rumbled like thunder, and the entire mountaintop trembled slightly.
Just as the two sides were locked in stalemate, a sword light streaked across the horizon.
That sword light dragged a long, water-blue trail through the night sky, like a meteor tearing across the heavens.
The sword light landed, and a young woman leaped off the Flying Sword.
Her features were exquisite, like a celestial maiden stepped out of a painting, but at this moment, her face was filled with anxiety.
The moment Su Wan’er’s feet touched the ground, her gaze swept across the entire battlefield.
Crumbled walls, scorched earth, bodies lying everywhere.
Her heart clenched tight.
“Master!”
She called out loudly, her voice echoing through the night sky.
No one answered her.
Only the rumbling of Spiritual Power collisions, only the furious shouts of cultivators.
Su Wan’er’s gaze searched frantically across the battlefield, trying to find that familiar figure.
But he was nowhere.
Her heart sank little by little.
But she had no time to dwell on it. A Foundation Establishment disciple of the Wuyue Sect was being surrounded by two Blood Lotus Sect cultivators, steadily losing ground, on the verge of collapse.
Su Wan’er didn’t hesitate.
Her Long Sword left its sheath, and a blade of Sword Qi shot out like a dragon emerging from the sea, straight for the two Blood Lotus Sect cultivators.
The two Blood Lotus Sect cultivators sensed the Killing Intent behind them and spun around in panic to block, but Su Wan’er’s sword was too fast. Before their defenses could fully form, the Sword Qi had already reached their faces.
“Boom!”
One cultivator was blasted backward, blood spraying from his mouth. The other barely managed to block, but the arm holding his Magic Artifact was trembling slightly as he stared in horror at this suddenly appearing young woman.
Foundation Establishment Peak?
No, that couldn’t be right. How was this Sword Qi so much stronger than an ordinary Foundation Establishment Peak?
Su Wan’er gave them no time to think. Her sword light wove like a tapestry, each strike faster than the last, each strike more vicious than the last, forcing that cultivator into a constant retreat.
She didn’t know why she was fighting so savagely. She only knew that if she wanted to find her Master quickly, she needed to clear out all these annoying small fry first.
Su Wan’er bit her lip, forcing back the sting in her eyes, and her sword moved faster still.
The Wuyue Sect Foundation Establishment disciple stared blankly at Su Wan’er’s back, only snapping back to reality after a long moment, then quickly matched her Rhythm.
Working together, they soon drove off the two Blood Lotus Sect cultivators.
“Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist!”
The disciple clasped his hands toward Su Wan’er.
“May I ask which sect you belong to, Fellow Daoist?”
Su Wan’er didn’t answer his question. Instead, she hurriedly asked, “Have you seen a man in a Dark Blue Robe? About this tall.”
She gestured with her hand.
The disciple was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. “No… I haven’t seen him.”
Su Wan’er bit her lip and turned, darting toward another direction on the battlefield.
She asked everyone she met, every Wuyue Sect disciple, every cultivator still standing.
“Have you seen a man in a Dark Blue Robe?”
“No.”
“Haven’t seen him.”
“Sorry, didn’t notice.”
Every answer was like a bucket of cold water dumped over her head.
Su Wan’er’s eyes grew redder and redder. She bit her lip, enduring with all her might, and kept asking, kept searching.
Before long, a low hum came from the horizon.
The hum grew louder and louder, closer and closer, and both sides on the battlefield instinctively looked up.
A massive Flying Shuttle broke through the clouds, descending slowly under the moonlight.
Its surface was carved with intricate array patterns, flowing with faint Spiritual Light under the moon, like a colossal beast that had stepped out of myth.
On either side of the Flying Shuttle stood several cultivators in identical uniform robes.
The cabin door of the Flying Shuttle opened, and one figure after another flew out from within.
Ruan Se walked at the front, her green dress gently swaying in the night breeze. Her gaze swept across the battlefield, and her brows furrowed slightly.
Ruan Qin followed behind her, arms crossed, her coldly beautiful face completely expressionless, but the Spiritual Pressure radiating from her made the surrounding air feel heavy.
Behind them, nineteen fully armed alliance cultivators filed out, every single one at Golden Core or above.
The moment Yin Wuji saw those alliance cultivators, his expression completely changed.
“People from the alliance… how are they here so fast?”
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but he had no time to dwell on them.
Ruan Qin raised her right hand, and a ball of cyan Flame condensed in her palm.
“The Blood Lotus Sect has committed countless evils, and now they dare to attack a sect under the jurisdiction of the Cangwu Righteous Alliance. Kill without mercy.”
The moment those words fell, the cyan Flame in her hand exploded, splitting into dozens of fire serpents that swept toward the Blood Lotus Sect crowd.
Those fire serpents were astonishingly fast, locking onto every Blood Lotus Sect cultivator with deadly precision. No matter how they dodged, they couldn’t escape the cyan flame.
A Foundation Establishment Stage Blood Lotus Sect cultivator was struck by a fire serpent, instantly engulfed in cyan flames. He didn’t even have time to scream before he was reduced to a pile of ashes.
Ruan Qin stood at the Flying Shuttle’s cabin entrance, not moving even half a step. She simply extended her hand, controlling those dozens of fire serpents.
Ruan Se watched quietly from the side, her gaze searching the battlefield for something.
Then, she spotted Su Wan’er.
Su Wan’er was standing in the center of the battlefield, covered in blood.
Ruan Se’s heart tightened slightly. She hurried toward Su Wan’er.
“Daoist Friend Su.”
Su Wan’er turned around. The moment she saw Ruan Se, her eyes grew even redder, her lips trembling slightly.
“Where’s my Master?”
Su Wan’er’s voice was strained.
“Have you seen my Master?”
Ruan Se shook her head. “I just arrived. I haven’t found him yet.”
Su Wan’er’s tears finally couldn’t hold back anymore. They rolled down one by one from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks, dripping onto the ground and soaking a small patch of dirt.
“I can’t find him…”
Her voice was shaking.
“I asked everyone… they all said they haven’t seen him… Is he… is he…”
“He won’t be.”
Ruan Se cut her off.
“Senior won’t be in any trouble. Let’s go find Elder Wu first. He’s the Steward here, so he should know where Senior went.”
Su Wan’er sniffled, nodded firmly, and roughly wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve before following Ruan Se to find Wu Zhengyang.
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