Every sweep of Yun Lie’s sword now brought a spray of blood, filling the air with a sharp, foul wind.
He had originally intended to fight his way out gradually, but the demons arrived too quickly for him to carry out that plan.
Under the present circumstances, he still needed to find an opening and break free of the encirclement. Otherwise, what happened next would be impossible to predict.
Yun Lie was a veteran of a hundred battles. Even as he fought the demons, he divided his attention and transmitted a message behind him.
Xu Ziqing’s expression tightened as his senior brother’s words reached him.
“Ziqing, I cannot spare time to wait. Can you find a way to jump onto my back?”
“Give me just a moment, Senior Brother. Ziqing can do it!”
Xu Ziqing drew a deep breath. He knew that no matter how much strength he exerted, he could not contend with Golden Core demons unless he released Rongjin.
But if all he needed to do was get close enough for his senior brother to carry him, there might be a chance.
Even so, it would not be easy. Yun Lie moved and flew at tremendous speed while fighting, and merely tracking his movements was difficult. Finding the exact instant to leap onto his back was harder still.
If Xu Ziqing missed even once, he would land inside the circle of demons. Yun Lie might be unable to rescue him immediately, and in a single moment all the flesh and blood could be drained from his body.
Nevertheless, Xu Ziqing made up his mind. Better to risk everything than remain a burden to his senior brother. If he truly fell into danger, he could still release Rongjin. With demons everywhere around them, others might not even see who had done it.
Once he decided, Xu Ziqing’s resolve grew firmer.
He clenched his fist, sending the liquid essence in his dantian surging violently through the meridians of his entire body.
The thickened true essence he had only recently mastered became streams of formidable power. They rushed toward his Purple Palace and quickly condensed into a single mass.
His brow connected with the Purple Palace, where the Azure Cloud Needle was poised. It instantly absorbed all the power and burst into dazzling blue-green light!
Xu Ziqing uttered a sharp cry. “Go!”
The Azure Cloud Needle shot outward at the two demons beside Yun Lie!
Boom!
A tremendous explosion sounded. The qi of withered wood, carrying immense power, rushed toward the demons’ faces. The brilliant light checked their movements for an instant before they waved their hands and shattered the Azure Cloud Needle’s attack.
Yun Lie killed one demon with a backward sweep. Then he turned and slew the two whose movements had been interrupted.
The remaining demons prepared to rush forward, but an opening had appeared.
In that split second, Xu Ziqing summoned the last trace of his true essence and threw himself toward Yun Lie, colliding hard with his back.
Yun Lie immediately ordered in a low voice, “Hold tight.”
Xu Ziqing reacted swiftly. Without needing another word, he wrapped both arms and legs firmly around Yun Lie. He knew his senior brother was about to use a devastating technique. The closer Xu Ziqing clung to him, the more freely Yun Lie could act.
The two martial brothers had developed a fair measure of understanding between them.
Sensing Xu Ziqing’s movements, Yun Lie’s gaze softened a fraction. His sword cut down three demons in succession, and a light flickered between his brows.
Swish!
Amid blinding golden light, a gigantic sword several zhang high broke through the air and slashed downward!
An astonishing force spread in all directions. Vast waves of sword intent swept outward and tore more than ten demons who refused to retreat into fragments!
Sword qi crisscrossed the area, carving deep trenches into the earth. The once-level ground was ruined in an instant, and even Golden Core cultivators standing a little too close were affected.
The golden giant sword was Yun Lie’s divine ability. Its form was exceedingly simple, yet once released, it crushed everything around it with absolute dominance. Few cultivators at his level could match him!
After the first strike, the sword’s power did not end. It slashed three more times before the surrounding demons were cleared away. The more distant Golden Core demons were finally afraid and seldom dared provoke him as they had before.
Blood flowed across the earth in streams, giving off an overpowering stench.
Yun Lie looked up and saw the disciples of Wuling Immortal Sect ahead. Wielding his sword as he leapt forward, he fought rapidly toward them!
Before long, he had carved a bloody path through the enemy.
Xu Ziqing clung tightly to Yun Lie’s neck and quickly put a One-Origin Pill into his own mouth.
His power was weak, but he could not wait for it to recover naturally. He needed to refill his dantian as soon as possible rather than drag his senior brother down.
Meanwhile, the Golden Core cultivators of Wuling Immortal Sect were deeply concerned about their eldest senior brother. At Elder Qin’s command, they searched earnestly for him.
Ou Mubai had the highest cultivation among them. Searching carefully, he noticed sword qi suddenly surging from a rather secluded area. His heart stirred, and he looked in that direction.
Sure enough, a giant golden sword shot toward the heavens, wild and tyrannical, radiating overwhelming power. In the storm of sword qi, many demons were killed, blood spraying like a scene from purgatory.
Numerous demons no longer dared attack, and a gruesome bloody path opened before the sword.
In the next moment, a solitary, cold figure emerged, covering ground in great strides through the Shrinking Earth into Inches technique.
With every step, he slew another demon, walking through blood.
His white robes had become robes of crimson.
Ou Mubai was profoundly shaken, yet he could not help shouting, “Eldest Senior Brother!”
Everyone turned at his cry and was similarly astonished.
Even Elder Qin looked surprised. “What a powerful murderous aura this youth possesses!”
He had previously devoted himself to cultivation and had heard Yun Lie’s name without meeting him. Now that he saw him, he understood that the Sect Master had spoken the truth. If this young man could be supported until his potential matured, there would surely be a place for him in the immortal realm within ten thousand years.
The more convinced Elder Qin became of Yun Lie’s potential, the more importance he attached to him. Seeing Yun Lie approach in bloodstained robes with his murderous aura soaring only deepened his appreciation.
He promptly changed position, leaving the other four elders to guard the disciples while he advanced. With several resounding palm strikes, he shattered the demons blocking the path, relieving some of the pressure on Yun Lie.
Accepting this help, Yun Lie increased his speed and arrived before Elder Qin within a single breath.
Elder Qin pivoted and ushered Yun Lie inside the elders’ protective circle.
Ou Mubai spoke first. “Eldest Senior Brother, we can hold them off here. Please rest for a moment!”
He looked at Xu Ziqing, pale from exhaustion on Yun Lie’s back, and felt immense admiration for Yun Lie.
Ou Mubai had been the first to locate them, so he had seen the densely packed demons pressing in from all sides, so numerous that he could scarcely see what was happening within their encirclement.
Had he been trapped there himself, he would not have lasted a single breath. Yet Yun Lie had endured for quite some time, and had even protected his junior brother without letting him suffer the slightest injury. His strength was truly astonishing!
Because of this, whatever desire Ou Mubai once had to compete with Yun Lie was now replaced entirely by admiration.
The other Golden Core disciples, who usually knew Yun Lie only distantly, were equally convinced of his abilities after witnessing his strength.
Without realizing it, Yun Lie had won the complete acknowledgment of his peers as their Eldest Senior Brother.
Yun Lie stood perfectly straight. Although his dantian was nearly exhausted, he showed no sign of weakness.
Xu Ziqing, however, understood just how much power his senior brother had expended. Once they were safe, he immediately released his grip and slipped down from Yun Lie’s back.
Yun Lie turned, swept his gaze over Xu Ziqing, and asked, “Are you unharmed?”
Xu Ziqing answered calmly, “Ziqing is unharmed. Senior Brother, please recover your strength at once.”
Seeing the concern in his eyes, Yun Lie gave a small nod. A porcelain bottle appeared in his hand.
He flicked off the stopper and poured its contents into his palm. There were five high-grade Chief-Origin Pills, each possessing ten thousand times the medicinal power of a One-Origin Pill.
Yun Lie closed his fist. The pills instantly burst into fine powder, which he inhaled as a stream of air and swallowed.
The medicinal power surged through his dantian, rapidly restoring his true essence. Within just a few breaths, forty to fifty percent of it had returned. Without pausing, he took out another bottle of Chief-Origin Pills and repeated the process several times.
Nearly half the Jade Maiden faction of Ruyi Immortal Estate had been killed, yet the demons continued to rampage.
Suddenly a red light flared at the horizon. Several women in midair formed hand seals one after another, and thick clouds of blood drifted in from the distance, seemingly bringing still more demons!
The Pure Maiden elders had seized the opportunity to open the estate’s defenses and admit all the evil-path cultivators who had gathered outside!
Although countless demons had already been killed in the Immortal Fruit Garden, the casualties among the orthodox cultivators were even more grievous.
Now demonic-path cultivators arrived in still greater numbers, bringing rolling clouds of demonic qi and gusts of sinister wind.
Wherever they passed, celestial flowers and marvelous fruits blackened and died. Even the earth was corroded and pitted, a dreadful sight.
Elder Qin had the highest cultivation among the elders, approaching the Spirit Transformation stage.
Even so, his heart tightened at the sight of the many ferocious demons.
But he kept his composure. He retreated a step, left the fighting to his fellow elders, then came to Yun Lie and said urgently, “Yun Lie, bring out the Spirit-Communicating Treasure Mirror. These demons arrived prepared, and we do not know what other changes may come. We must inform the Sect Master at once.”
They had originally believed only one demon was causing trouble in the estate. Thus only these few elders had come, chiefly to protect the disciples of exceptional potential. But the situation was now far more serious, and even Nascent Soul elders might be unable to control it.
Yun Lie had by then recovered most of his strength. Stern-faced, he raised his hand and summoned the Spirit-Communicating Treasure Mirror.
The other core disciples reacted quickly and gathered beside him. Together they dripped their blood upon the mirror to activate it.
The moment the Sect Master’s profile appeared, Elder Qin stepped forward, pointed the mirror toward the battlefield between the immortal and demonic cultivators, and swept it over the scene while rapidly reporting everything that had occurred.
The Sect Master heard him out and left only a single order, “You must protect the disciples,” before vanishing from the mirror.
Everyone understood that now the Sect Master knew, he would take action and would not abandon the immortal sect’s disciples to die there. They only had to hold on a little longer until he arrived, and then they could be safe.
With this thought, everyone’s hearts steadied. The morale that had fallen when even more demons arrived rose strongly once again.