The battle between immortal and demonic cultivators grew ever fiercer.
Wave after wave of demons arrived, placing even greater pressure upon the Golden Core Perfected Ones who had barely begun to adjust to the fighting. Among the new arrivals were many powerful figures at Nascent Soul and above. The slaughter of the Jade Maidens accelerated, and more of the immortal sects’ outstanding disciples were drained of flesh and blood!
Xu Ziqing and several other juniors at Foundation Establishment and Essence Transformation were shielded at the center of their formation by the Perfected Ones. None of their faces looked particularly good. Yet, with so many elders guarding them, they were fortunate beyond measure compared with those who had died.
Some demons at Nascent Soul or higher gradually noticed Elder Qin and the others and converged upon them.
Elder Qin and his companions fought as hard as they could using their magic treasures, but the endless struggle gradually exhausted them.
Even so, they could not retreat. If their defenses collapsed even once, the vicious demons would turn all the Golden Core disciples behind them into food!
The Pure Maiden faction had truly been malicious to collude with the Blood God Sect.
Even among evil-path sects, the Blood God Sect possessed a notorious reputation. Its cultivators advanced rapidly in cultivation, but they were also extraordinarily bloodthirsty, scarcely different from man-eating demon beasts.
Had their enemies been ordinary evil-path cultivators, the situation would not have been so difficult. Nor would such opponents have so thoroughly disregarded the ties among the sects that they dared to invade and devour people openly!
As the elders struggled to resist the demons, the void changed once again.
The space there had already been shaking violently. Suddenly an exceptionally powerful streak of light flashed across it, slicing the void open as though cutting through the sky and stirring a terrifying storm.
Three figures emerged. Two white figures opposed a third, and as they moved, thunderclouds rolled and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged wildly, becoming tremendous waves and countless vortices.
The power was so overwhelming that huge stones on the ground cracked and nearby trees, flowers, and grasses were uprooted, only to be ground to dust almost at once.
Suddenly one of the white figures plummeted like a falling star, striking the earth and opening a deep pit. The surrounding ground split like a spiderweb, and a great portion of it collapsed.
Many cultivators and demons lost their footing and only escaped burial beneath the earth and rocks by using their techniques.
The other white figure descended almost simultaneously, darted forward, and caught the first person.
Only then could the onlookers see that the first person to fall was Mu Wuxin, her face deathly pale. Her hair was disheveled, parts of her sleeves and skirt had been torn, and she looked utterly battered. She still held a magic treasure that radiated an exceedingly dangerous aura despite its dimming light. Presumably it was the immortal artifact she had relied upon.
The other white figure was recognizable to those who had attended the birthday banquet. It was Lang Tianqi, the overseas unaffiliated cultivator who had arrived late alongside Yu Nongqing. His white robes were torn, and he now held Mu Wuxin securely in his arms, clearly protecting her.
The sight left everyone puzzled and only made the relationship between this man and the Estate Mistress more intriguing.
Yu Nongqing laughed wildly in midair. “Mu Wuxin, you’ve reached the end of your strength! Even with an immortal artifact, how many more times can you use it?”
Mu Wuxin wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand, her face icy. “Traitor! Even if I die here today, I shall kill you!”
Yu Nongqing snorted. She obviously still possessed ample strength. After a round of seductive laughter, her expression turned cold and she struck downward with one palm!
“Anyone can speak bravely! Everyone in the estate is going to die today!” she shouted. “Blame yourselves for coming to congratulate Mu Wuxin on her birthday!”
Before her words had faded, immense power condensed into a towering mountain and bore down viciously upon the earth!
Its target was everyone gathered on the grounds of the Immortal Fruit Gathering!
An overwhelming pressure descended, as though shackles had been bound around every cultivator.
The might of an unparalleled Mahayana expert was terrifying. With the slightest movement, such a cultivator could leave those of lower realms beneath her aura completely unable to resist!
At the same instant, Elder Qin cried, “This is bad!”
An enormous illusory shape appeared from between his brows, resembling a city and carrying seemingly boundless power. It rose high above his head to withstand the descending force.
The other four Nascent Soul elders did likewise, producing similar manifestations that enveloped and protected the disciples around them.
Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing were among those protected, but Xu Ziqing could clearly sense that even before the mountain had fully descended, the five illusory structures were creaking, as though they might shatter at any moment.
At that moment, a furious shout came from the distant sky. “Younger generation, how dare you!”
An enormous palm that seemed to hold up the heavens appeared from afar, crossed the distance in an instant, and struck the mountain aside!
Several more gigantic palms descended in swift succession.
A series of heavy impacts rang out. The Nascent Soul demons who had driven Elder Qin and the others to the limits of endurance were smashed flat!
Even their Nascent Souls failed to escape.
Xu Ziqing immediately lifted his head and saw an auspicious cloud approaching from afar.
Dozens of cultivators with vast, profound auras stood upon it. Every one was unfathomably powerful and radiated a world-shaking presence. Gathered together, they seemed capable of overturning heaven and earth.
A middle-aged man with a short beard was striking repeatedly with his palms. Each stroke was exquisitely controlled: he destroyed one Nascent Soul demon after another without harming a single immortal-path cultivator.
The gigantic palm that had struck away the mountain had plainly been his as well.
The short-bearded man had a fiery temper. His palm strikes boomed thunderously, while the many cultivators accompanying him allowed him to vent his fury without taking the lead themselves.
Within a few breaths, he had crushed more than ten Nascent Soul demons. The residual force of his blows also killed many Golden Core demons. His imposing might was in no way inferior to that displayed by the arrogant Yu Nongqing!
Yu Nongqing’s face changed drastically. “I expressly sent people to intercept the message talismans. How did you find out what happened here?”
The short-bearded man roared, “Demoness! Heaven’s net is vast. Its meshes are wide, yet nothing escapes! Did you think a mere junior like you could deceive the entire world?”
The newcomers quickly drew close and saw the terrible sight of Golden Core Perfected Ones reduced to bloody skin and bone. All were immediately enraged.
Those whose sects had suffered enormous losses, even losing every talented young disciple they had sent, were especially furious!
In the next instant, the powerful newcomers attacked together.
Boundless pressure swept across the area. The void groaned and cracked under the violent true essence, and countless tears opened in space like monstrous mouths.
No matter their cultivation, the demons were reduced to ash the moment even a trace of that true essence touched them. They could not even scream.
The enormous power, fueled by furious wrath, swept across almost everything in the blink of an eye. Demons howled helplessly, unable to resist.
Yu Nongqing’s lovely face went pale. Clearly she had not expected such a turn.
The force of the attacks struck her body. She struggled with all her might to resist, yet was driven backward again and again, utterly unable to retaliate!
At the same time, although the sect disciples and elders on the ground were not being attacked, they still felt the immense pressure released by those unmatched experts.
As that pressure struck, Xu Ziqing heard a buzzing sound in his head and plunged into darkness. His last impression was that someone seemed to catch him, but then his consciousness was completely extinguished.
He was not the only one. All the disciples at Essence Transformation and Foundation Establishment were knocked unconscious, and even some ordinary Golden Core Perfected Ones could not remain awake.
Xu Ziqing, unconscious in Yun Lie’s arms, did not see an exceedingly sharp burst of sword qi erupt between Yun Lie’s brows, slicing open a slender black fissure there.
When Xu Ziqing awoke, his temples throbbed and his thoughts were muddled. He could barely concentrate.
He opened his eyes. A blurry white figure stood not far away, but he instantly recognized its posture and aura as belonging to his senior brother, Yun Lie.
Relief immediately flooded him.
“Senior Brother…” Xu Ziqing called, only to find his throat sore and his chest aching.
Such symptoms were unmistakably those of serious injury.
At his voice, Yun Lie came over and sat beside him. “You’re awake.”
Xu Ziqing’s vision had cleared. He recognized the familiar surroundings after a brief glance: he had returned to his own cave residence.
He recalled that before losing consciousness he had been at Ruyi Immortal Estate, where Yu Nongqing’s collusion with the evil demonic path had led to repeated slaughter of the guests, while the Estate Mistress, Mu Wuxin, and her former lover had struggled to resist.
Then reinforcements from the immortal path had arrived to fight Yu Nongqing and her demons. Yet the power they unleashed was so fearsome that lower-level cultivators like Xu Ziqing could not withstand its pressure and had fainted.
Now that he was back in his own cave residence, surely the matter must have been settled.
As Xu Ziqing was thinking this, an urgent, worried eagle’s cry suddenly sounded from outside the cave.
He recognized it at once. “Chonghua…”
Seeing him try to rise, Yun Lie placed a hand on him and pressed him back down. “Your injuries are serious. You must cultivate and recover before moving around. Do not exert yourself.”
After speaking, he flicked out a thread of sword light, releasing the restriction at the cave entrance.
An exceptionally magnificent eagle immediately flapped its wings and rushed inside, making its way to the couch with plaintive cries.
Xu Ziqing’s whole body hurt and his meridians were damaged. He could only raise one hand with difficulty.
Chonghua lowered its head and rubbed against his palm.
Xu Ziqing gently stroked the eagle to comfort it. “I left you in the courtyard and was worried about your safety. I suppose Senior Brother must have brought you back.” He smiled toward Yun Lie. “That was thoughtful of you, Senior Brother.”
Yun Lie replied, “It was a small matter.”
Xu Ziqing was no longer so ceremonious with Yun Lie, so he did not offer further thanks. Instead, he asked, “Senior Brother, what happened after I lost consciousness?”