Luo Wuhen sped toward the Sword Sect at full speed.
No matter what those people intended, it was definitely nothing good.
Even if there was only the slightest possibility of her and her daughter getting caught up in it, Luo Wuhen would not allow them to be harmed.
“Have you reached Lin Muxue yet?!”
“No way, there’s been absolutely no response!”
“You all stay put, I’m heading over right now! Warn the Sword Sect to be ready—there might be a surprise attack!”
“Alright!”
As Luo Wuhen rushed forward with all her strength, she kept a close eye on the movements of those corrupted by the Heaven Abyss Power.
The closer she got, the more clearly she sensed their presence. Judging by their route, their target was indeed the Sword Sect.
At the Sword Sect, Su Qianqian received the news and immediately tried to contact Lin Muxue, but got no reply.
“Has she already encountered the Demon Clan and has no time to respond? Or has the Chuanxin been blocked?!”
Knowing it might be a trap, Su Qianqian grew increasingly anxious but was at a loss for what to do, her attempts to connect completely unanswered.
She furrowed her brow. With Lin Muxue unreachable, worrying here would accomplish nothing.
“Lingling, keep trying to reach Master. I’ll go warn the Sect to be on alert, and see if there’s any more secret means of contact within the Sect!”
With that, Su Qianqian mounted her sword and flew toward the main hall.
There, her Shizu, Lin Muxue’s own master, was overseeing the situation.
In her urgency, Su Qianqian nearly crashed to the ground, then dashed into the hall.
She saw a woman who looked a little lazy but was calmly and methodically directing Sect affairs.
“Shizu! Quickly, is there any way to reach Master? We need her back right now!” Su Qianqian shouted at the woman!
Shizu looked up, seeing Su Qianqian’s anxious face, and immediately sobered, gazing at her gravely:
“What’s happened? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Quickly, Master may have walked right into a trap! I can’t reach her at all! Also—quick, put the Sect on alert, there could be a—”
Boom——oh!
Before Su Qianqian could finish, a violent explosion struck the Guardian Sect Array!
……
Meanwhile, Lin Muxue led her disciples to the Demon Suppressing Cave at top speed, arriving just as some nearby Sects had gathered ahead of them.
After greeting the others with a nod, Lin Muxue had her disciples rest and regroup—an intense battle was coming.
Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Muxue tried to contact Su Qianqian, only to find the Transmission Stone completely unresponsive.
“Being interfered with? As expected, this Demon Clan territory is strange! I’ll have to wait until I return, but with Master holding the Sect, there shouldn’t be a problem…”
Facing an unknown Demon Clan, Lin Muxue suddenly wanted to talk to Su Qianqian one more time before battle, but it seemed impossible now.
The elders and disciples of the Sword Sect were ready for battle. Sects arrived one after another, soon filling the area around the Demon Suppressing Cave.
Here, the weakest cultivator was at the Golden Core Stage. All were elite forces from every Sect—this was nearly at the level of a race war!
Lin Muxue stood with her sword. Suddenly, she snapped her eyes open. “The array’s been broken! Prepare for battle!”
As soon as she spoke, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the air!
The sky was suddenly filled with winged Demon Clan, blotting out the sun as they rose like a swarm of locusts!
“Hold the array steady! Cannons charge, fire!”
Outside the Sect, a group of powerful cultivators from various Sects—who should have been stationed at the Demon Suppressing Cave—had gathered outside the Sword Sect.
Behind them stood a crowd of obviously abnormal disciples. Without a word, they launched a full-force attack!
Their attacks carried a sinister black energy, relentlessly corroding the array!
At first, Shizu thought these people were just shameless—willing to risk the world just to ambush the Sword Sect while its defenses were thin.
But now, it seemed things were far more complicated than she’d imagined…
“Heaven Abyss Power, is it? Still as disgusting as ever, and I can’t reach Muxue at all…” Shizu muttered.
When she was young, she’d spent a long time in the City of Broken Abyss as a successful disciple.
She hadn’t returned since, but seeing this aura again, even she found her breathing quicken.
“All disciples below the Golden Core Stage, retreat to the forbidden ground! Move the mortals at the foot of the mountain out as quickly as possible! The rest of you, prepare for battle!”
She knew very well—with that strange power corroding the array, it was only a matter of time before it broke.
When it did, it would be a fight for survival!
“I hope the Sect doesn’t end with my generation, or I’ll never be able to face my forebears.” Shizu irritably scratched her head.
After being a ‘civil official’ for so long, these people had probably forgotten just who once made them and their elders bow their heads!
Su Qianqian felt the unending assault outside, her brow furrowed. She had a premonition: these people were after her.
She didn’t want the Sect to suffer for her sake. Her parents, her sister, and her daughter were all here—if possible, the fight must not happen within the Sect!
“Don’t think too much. You and your family go hide with the other disciples.”
“Shizu, I—”
“I said, don’t think too much! You—you all are the Sect’s hope for the future. Since we took you as disciples, the Sect will protect you to the very last moment.”
Su Qianqian looked at Shizu’s face and nodded, crestfallen.
It seemed Shizu had already guessed something.
Even so, the Sect still chose to protect her.
Su Qianqian was touched, but that made her even more unwilling to let anything happen to such a Sect, to such elders, because of her.
“Hurry, go now. Leave it to us. These rabble are no match for us.”
Su Qianqian hesitated, then nodded, cupping her fist to Shizu before quickly leaving.
Right now, she was truly worried about her family—she had to make sure they were safe before she could relax.
Shizu watched Su Qianqian’s departing figure, shook her head, and went back to directing the Sect’s defenses, hoping the Guardian Sect Array would hold a bit longer…
“I wonder how Muxue is doing? If the Sword Sect is under siege at this moment, then it’s likely a trap over there as well…”
Still, she trusted her disciple’s strength and wisdom. She had to defend the Sect!
……
On the other side…
Lin Muxue carved a path with her sword qi. Any Demon Clan member it touched died instantly, creating a temporary vacuum.
Yet in a blink, more and more of the Demon Clan surged in, as if endless.
Because their target this time was the breach in the sealing array, the core Zhenfa Shi from each Sect were surrounded by joint forces, moving together into the depths of the Demon Suppressing Cave!
The descending tunnel was not narrow, but for a large force, it was hardly spacious.
Lin Muxue and the fiercest warriors led the charge, while the other disciples and defensive experts guarded the rear, catching any that slipped through.
Suddenly, Lin Muxue turned her sword and slashed behind her!
Before anyone could react, a flash of sword qi severed a disciple’s arm!
That disciple cried out in pain, as uncontrollable black energy erupted from his body! He went mad, attacking everyone around him indiscriminately!
Another streak of sword qi, and the ‘spy’ was immediately slain!
“This power again…” Lin Muxue frowned.
She’d just noticed the disciple sneaking up to attack the Zhenfa Shi in their group, but the situation was even worse than she’d thought…
She barely had time to think before an attack shot at her vital spot—a Sect elder who had just been fighting alongside her!
In an instant, what had been a united front was thrown into chaos.
Traitors within, Demon Clan attacking from without—the situation reversed in a heartbeat. Their advance was forced to a halt…
Lin Muxue scanned the battlefield. Acting on instinct, she dragged all the Zhenfa Shi out of the chaos!
Though none of them had started the mayhem, Lin Muxue didn’t believe they’d escape the corruption!
Just as she expected, the instant they were pulled out, their eyes went mad! But Lin Muxue gave them no chance to act. Her sword rose and fell, blood blooming everywhere…
At that moment, Lin Muxue was fighting on three fronts: protecting the Zhenfa Shi, clearing out internal chaos, and slaughtering Demon Clan by the dozens!
Suddenly, someone shouted:
“Sect Master Lin! Let your rage out while you can! Kill as you like! Even if you make it back alive, your Sect will already be leveled to the ground! Your hidden secrets will be stolen and sacrificed—hahahahaha!”
Lin Muxue’s heart went cold in an instant. Their true target was—
And just as she faltered, a mass of black energy surged into her body, trying to corrupt her mind!
But in just a moment, that black energy was devoured by a surge of pure white power—as if it had met its natural nemesis!
Lin Muxue immediately pretended to fall completely under its sway, acting as if her mind had been fully taken.
The corrupted ones, celebrating their apparent victory, actually started helping Lin Muxue fend off other Demon Clan trying to attack her—preserving her “corruption process.”
With Lin Muxue “assimilated,” they thought victory was assured. Those who’d been hiding in the dark all rushed out—far more than expected…
A flash of sharp light appeared in Lin Muxue’s eyes, and thousands of sword beams exploded from her, radiating in all directions!
The sword light avoided her allies, cleaving through one black energy–coated foe after another!
Soon, the traitors inside were swiftly dealt with, but the chaos left many wounded and killed.
Those betrayers had been a key part of their advance—their sudden betrayal greatly weakened their strength.
“Sect Master, we…”
“Set up a base, rest for a bit, and keep moving forward!”
“Trust in the disciples and elders guarding the Sect. We must complete our mission!” Lin Muxue said to the Sword Sect, to everyone, and to herself.
She was worried for the Sect, for Qianqian, for all her disciples—but she couldn’t let that doubt show!
For the sake of the world, the Demon Suppressing Cave’s seal had to be restored immediately!