“Don’t panic, everyone. I, Li Zhengshen of the Giant Spirit Gate, am here. The beast tide won’t touch a single hair on your heads!”
Li Zhengshen then soared up from the flying boat.
“Dharma Aspect, open!”
In an instant, a faint shadow appeared over Li Zhengshen’s body.
A nine-meter-tall giant materialized around the perimeter of Three Gold Village, its left hand condensing a battle-axe.
“Lu Li, I’ll draw the main force of the beast tide. You handle the small ones.” Li Zhengshen’s voice rumbled, mingling with the distant, approaching tide of beasts.
“Escort guards, the little are yours.”
“No problem!” Lu Li quickly drew his long sword and nodded in acknowledgment to the escort guards.
“Villagers, anyone with a weapon, take it out. Those without, hide in the cellar!” Li Zhengshen’s body transformed into a golden streak of light, flying into the distance, then he slammed the battle-axe heavily against the ground.
Boom!
Amidst a roar like the earth shattering, countless fragments of rock sprayed up from the darkness, along with the carcasses of demon beasts that had been knocked unconscious in an instant.
“Xiao Xi, go take shelter.” Standing at the village entrance, Lu Li, as a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, took his position.
The village had been built with the beast tide in mind from the start, surrounded by mountains on three sides and open to the main road on the fourth, which greatly reduced the pressure.
“Alright!” Xiao Xi glanced back at Lu Li. “Mister Lu, please be careful.”
“No problem.” Lu Li stared into the darkness. A faint pink tinge began to suffuse his originally brown eyes. “Hah… I’m already at Foundation Establishment.”
Even now, Lu Li remembered the moment his father had been swallowed by the beast tide.
That was when he had resolved to join an immortal sect.
And now, he possessed the power to fight the beast tide.
He had become an Immortal Master.
Behind him were the ordinary people his father had once wanted to protect—people just like his past self.
“Everyone else, guard the weak points, like the low-lying areas in the mountains.” Lu Li gradually realized he could make out certain things in the darkness.
“And then… here come the beasts.”
A continuous patter of footsteps, like rain striking the ground or hail pounding wildly, approached from the forest, accompanied by piercing, shrill howls.
Lu Li caught sight of a slavering demon beast leaping through the air toward him.
“Breaching Wind.”
The long sword cut across the night sky, flashing like a meteor.
Squelch!
The beast’s body split cleanly in two, its entrails bursting out as it crashed to the ground.
“Don’t be afraid. They’re all Qi Refining stage demon beasts.” After sweeping with his Divine Sense, Lu Li encouraged the escort guards.
“Those with weaker cultivation, group up. Use bows and arrows first. Prepare your magic techniques, and engage only when the beasts are close.”
“Yes!” Seeing Lu Li cleave another beast in two with a single sword stroke, the guards also felt their fighting spirit rise and took their positions.
“Thankfully, True Master Li is drawing away a lot of beasts.” Even from here, Lu Li could see the nine-meter-tall golden giant in the distance.
With every move, rocks shattered, trees were uprooted, and countless beasts were hurled high into the air by the immense force, only to fall to their deaths.
“Hah…” After another sword strike, Lu Li took a deep breath.
The ground on both sides before him was covered in beast corpses and blood.
“I’ve used up three-tenths of my True Yuan. The beasts aren’t strong, but when they pile up in numbers, it gets tricky.” Lu Li strained to channel True Yuan into his eyes, peering into the night.
“There shouldn’t be many beasts left in the forest. I just need to…”
“Lu Li!”
A sharp cry came from behind.
It was Xiao Xi’s voice.
“Lu Li, the cellar has… uh…” Before the words faded, a loud bang from underground cut her off.
“Damn!” With a thought, Lu Li stepped onto his flying sword and shot through the air, arriving near the mountain base.
Then he saw Xiao Xi collapsed on the cellar stairs.
Blood trickled from her mouth, and her abdomen was covered in dust, clearly struck.
“I’m fine… It’s downstairs—mostly mortals and low-level Qi Refining cultivators.” Xiao Xi struggled to pull medicine from her pocket. “Lu Li… that’s a Foundation Establishment stage enemy…”
“Alright.” Lu Li swept his Divine Sense and confirmed that Xiao Xi’s internal organs were only slightly damaged.
After she swallowed a pill, she began to recover slowly.
Without further observation, Lu Li quickly flew into the cave, where he heard a cacophony of shouts, screams, and the clash of metal.
“Run!”
“Those without cultivation, get out! Qi Refining ones, hold the line!”
“No… it’s a beast close to Elder level!”
“Call the Elder!”
“I’m already here!” With a long howl, Lu Li charged into the cave, but before he could even land, a tremendous force slammed into his chest.
“Mmph…” In his grunt, Lu Li understood why Xiao Xi had been injured.
The strength of this demon beast was not something a Qi Refining cultivator could withstand.
The Yin Yang Sword in his hand screeched, and even as it scraped against the beast’s massive body, it sent out blinding sparks.
“What kind of beast is this…” After steadying himself, Lu Li swept his Divine Sense and felt his scalp tingle.
The beast was only using its tail to fight him. Its three-meter-plus body was hidden inside the mountain, using the rock to shield its vitals, while its three iron-pillar-thick tails probed into the cellar.
If he didn’t break open the mountain, he couldn’t harm its main body.
“Get behind me.” Lu Li shouted, watching the three tails whipping around in the cave. “Breaching Void!”
As the people fled, he swung his sword, but when the sword qi hit the tail, it simply detonated.
“So it really is a Foundation Establishment stage beast. Its skin is too hard.” Once he confirmed everyone was behind him, Lu Li gripped his sword again. “Break—”
As if sensing Lu Li’s intent, one tail thrust straight at his chest, while the other two bypassed him and struck the mortals behind.
“Tch… Ten Thousand Swords!” Forced to use his right hand to wield the sword, a fierce gale made his chest tighten, while his left hand instantly condensed two shields to block in front of the crowd.
Clang!
The shields shattered instantly, but unexpectedly, some of the people neither screamed nor fled. Instead, a few picked up the fragments of the shields and stood close behind Lu Li.
“What are you doing?” Lu Li’s Divine Sense struggled to track the erratic tails.
“Immortal Master, you’re risking your life for us. We still have strength—how could we run away alone?” A middle-aged man picked up a hoe. “Immortal Master, I’m at Qi Refining Layer 1. I can still be useful!”
“That’s right, I’ve just entered Qi Refining.” A trembling old man grabbed a long sword. “Those without cultivation, hide behind us.”
“I… I’ll come too!” The little girl who had served meals earlier picked up a fragment, aiming it at the beast. “True Master Li said… I’m also a cultivator now.”
“We’ll join too!”
“Even without a Spiritual Root, we can lend a hand!”
“You…”
Lu Li’s throat tightened.
He had imagined many terrible scenarios, a habit from his youth as an escort guard.
These mortals would run. They would scream.
But he had never expected them to do something like this.
Li Zhengshen’s words from earlier echoed in his mind.
‘The roads of the world are ultimately paved by ordinary people, step by step.’
Those around Lu Li were not people who only ran and begged for mercy.
They knew they were weak. They knew they might die.
Yet at this critical moment, they chose to reach out and help.
Just as Lu Li was about to say something, the three tails suddenly conjoined, like sharp steel needles, stabbing straight into his chest.
Pth! Lu Li was sent flying by the immense force. His back hit the wall with a thud, and he became embedded in the stone.
“Buy time for the Immortal Master!” Seeing this, the villagers rushed forward instead, struggling to grab hold of the tails.
In the confined space, this actually worked.
By grasping the tails, they temporarily prevented the three-tailed beast from attacking again.
But amid its roars, the villagers’ tiger’s mouths split open, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Clearly, they couldn’t hold on much longer.
“Do you still have a way?”
An old voice sounded beside Lu Li.
“Ah… A Yi.” Lu Li felt the world momentarily lose its color.
But now, the pain in his chest and the blood seeping from his mouth seemed less significant.
“I do. I still have three ways.” Lu Li coughed up blood. “But how did you—”
“I felt the change in your Sword Intent. But these past days, you’ve come looking for me less often.”
Time seemed to slow down. A Yi’s figure passed through the crowd gripping the tails, and his finger gently tapped the center of the beast’s tails. “The Breaching Void technique I taught you before clearly isn’t enough anymore.”
“I agree. I’ll have to study hard from now on.” Lu Li struggled down from the wall and picked up his sword. “A Yi, do you have anything fresh and hot that I can learn on the spot?”
“Mountain Breaker.” A Yi casually swung his hand. “Your internal organs are damaged, but you still have six-tenths of your True Yuan.”
“Your previous Sword Intent was only to kill enemies.”
“Now your Sword Intent is to protect the people beside you.”
“Then can I learn that kind of Sword Intent?” Lu Li grabbed his long sword and slowly walked through the cave.
“Absolutely.” A Yi’s figure gradually faded. “I’ll wait for your next Sword Zen.”
“I will.” Lu Li closed his eyes.
His Divine Sense had locked onto the center of the beast’s tails.
The three tails were slowly slipping out of the villagers’ grip.
This state he had inexplicably entered—he didn’t know how long it would last.
So the next strike absolutely had to succeed.
“Hah…” He exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Carrying several mouthfuls of blood.
The True Yuan in his dantian, infused with lightning power, instantly surged through the Yin Yang Sword.
The sword, once warm, became scorching hot, even stinging as he gripped it.
“One strike…” In his mind, Lu Li still remembered the Sword Intent A Yi had shown him.
Not purely for tearing and killing.
But to carry the wishes of those behind him and protect more people.
“Mountain Breaker!”
The sword flipped, circling like the moon.
The once-impenetrable body of the beast now felt as smooth as lard.
Bang!
The beast’s three tails burst apart.
The body hidden within the mountain also split in two. A tide of blood gushed out like a wave, washing over the stunned villagers.
Then came an even more violent roar.
Crack!
The original cave suddenly split open with a fissure.
The starry sky above was visible.
Fresh, blood-laden air rushed into his nostrils.
“It’s over…” Lu Li closed his eyes.
This move had truly drained all the True Yuan from his body.
As his body fell backward, Lu Li felt lighter than ever before.
“…Leave him to me… Hmm?”
When darkness fully covered his vision, Lu Li heard a familiar voice.
It was Xiao Xi’s voice.
But for some reason, it carried a kind of dignity he had never heard from her before.
And Lu Li also found it strange.
Why was Xiao Xi’s final voice laced with such strong doubt?