Chapter 104: A Mutually Destructive Battle

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: A Mutually Destructive Battle

"An accusation is easy enough to trump up! Yan Qi, if your Red Blood Mansion is truly determined to wage war on our Wuji Sect, then our thousands of disciples are ready to answer the call."

Yu Haiyuan could see clearly now. This whole "chief culprit" business was nothing more than an excuse the Red Blood Mansion had concocted to attack the Wuji Sect.

He couldn’t understand what madness had possessed Yan Qi. Why would he mobilize such a large force, knowing full well it would only lead to a mutually destructive outcome?

But, in front of the thousands of Wuji Sect disciples, how could he, as the Sect Leader, possibly compromise? Forget compromising; even a single word of concession would break the Wuji Sect’s backbone.

If that backbone were broken, how many generations would it take for the Wuji Sect to stand tall again?

Heads could be broken and blood could be shed, but their spirit must never be broken.

Not only must it not be broken, but he also had to ensure this spirit became even more deeply rooted in the hearts of his disciples, uniting them against their common enemy.

Even if they lost this battle, it had to be a battle that countless future generations of disciples would remember, a battle that would become part of the Wuji Sect’s legacy.

"Disciples of the Wuji Sect, hear my command!"

"We are here! Your orders, Sect Leader!"

"Our Wuji Sect was founded over five thousand years ago. We have weathered countless battles, and several times, our lineage was nearly severed. But our forefathers, disregarding life and death, paid any price to pass down the torch, giving us the Wuji Sect of today. Now, an enemy has invaded our home! We must follow the example of our ancestors and repel the invaders at all costs! My sons, do you dare face death?"

"We dare! We dare! We dare!" the disciples roared in unison, their voices powerful enough to shake mountains and rivers.

Seeing the formidable morale of the Wuji Sect members, Yan Qi felt a flicker of doubt for a moment. But the arrow was already on the bowstring. He didn’t dwell on that fleeting, incomprehensible suspicion.

"Disciples of the Red Blood Mansion, avenge our fallen brothers!" Yan Qi shouted, raising his arm to the men behind him.

"A debt of blood must be paid in blood!" the men of the Red Blood Mansion roared in unison.

The world-shaking battle between two major Sects of the Eastern Domain was about to erupt.

Qiao Tai immediately lunged toward Bao Zhishuang and Zhu Zishu.

"Qiao Tai, you made a name for yourself over a century ago! To think you’d disregard your status and attack your juniors—have you spent all these years living like a dog?"

Before Qiao Tai’s Palm Force could reach Bao Zhishuang and the other, it was intercepted by a silver-haired old woman.

"They killed my son! It is only natural that I take revenge for him. I don’t care about status, junior or senior!"

Qiao Tai had lost his son in his old age. His rage was beyond words. With his enemies right before him, how could he not give it his all?

Yan Qi also charged forward, but Yu Haiyuan immediately intercepted him, and the two clashed.

Below, the disciples erupted into a chaotic melee.

In terms of the average Cultivation and quality of their members, the Red Blood Mansion, having come prepared, was naturally superior to the Wuji Sect.

However, the Wuji Sect was fighting on its home ground and also had a slight advantage in numbers.

The battle was more or less evenly matched, and the outcome was difficult to predict.

Therefore, both sides knew that the victory or defeat of the few fighters at the very top would decide the entire battle.

At this point, Yan Qi felt like he was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off.

But there was nothing he could do. The situation was no longer under his personal control. He could only fight with all his might and hope that the Red Blood Mansion’s losses would be minimal.

The battle raged for a full three hours, with neither side gaining any advantage.

Qiao Tai, bent on avenging his son, refused to give up even when injured.

And the silver-haired old woman, fighting to protect her Sect? Forget being injured; as long as she had a single breath left in her, she would not stop fighting and allow an outside enemy to ravage the Sect.

And the disciples fighting below?

One side fought for revenge, the other to protect their Sect and their beliefs. Neither would compromise.

And so, they fought with a ferocity that seemed to darken the sky, and the casualties were innumerable.

Within three hours, both sides had lost more than half of their initial forces. Even several of the Soul Emergence Realm experts on both sides had fallen.

It wasn’t until the Wuji Sect’s Old Ancestor—an emaciated, ancient man who looked so frail it seemed a simple fall could kill him, his breaths shallow and weak—appeared that the Red Blood Mansion finally retreated with its remaining disciples.

"I have not concerned myself with worldly affairs for three hundred years. Do people now dare to bully our Wuji Sect within our own gates?" His voice sounded incredibly feeble, yet it drifted into the ears of everyone present.

Upon seeing this ancient man who seemed on the verge of death, Qiao Tai was so terrified he didn’t dare breathe. He decisively pulled back, turned, and fled.

Seeing Qiao Tai’s reaction, Yan Qi also made a swift decision and ordered a retreat. Abandoning the heavily wounded and fallen disciples of the Red Blood Mansion, he fled decisively with those who could still run.

He had to run. Seeing Qiao Tai’s reaction, Yan Qi had guessed the old man’s identity. ’Even if he looks like a fall could kill him, he’s a true Mahayana Realm master!’

’For one thing, if it really came down to it and that old man chose to self-destruct, not a single one of the thousands of people left here would survive.’

Therefore, from the moment that old man appeared, the Red Blood Mansion was destined to gain nothing from this fight.

Yan Qi even breathed a small sigh of relief in his heart. If the fight had continued, even if the Red Blood Mansion had won in the end, the losses would have been more than he could bear.

Even so, the Red Blood Mansion had already suffered a grievous blow to its strength.

This battle today was never part of his plan.

The men from the Red Blood Mansion fled, and the Wuji Sect did not pursue.

Yu Haiyuan was well aware of the Old Ancestor’s condition. Otherwise, the Old Ancestor wouldn’t have waited until now to appear.

If the Old Ancestor were to truly take action, even if the Wuji Sect ultimately won, he would expend the last of his life force and would surely die.

If the Old Ancestor didn’t act, he could continue to remain in seclusion for another three to five years. For those three to five years, his mere existence would serve as a deterrent to the other Sects.

As soon as the Red Blood Mansion’s forces retreated, the Old Ancestor said nothing more. He only sighed and immediately vanished.

Yu Haiyuan personally helped support the Supreme Elder, the old woman, who was also heavily injured.

For someone of her age, recovering from such injuries would be incredibly difficult.

"Haiyuan, what in the world happened here?" the old woman asked.

"Elder Mu, the Red Blood Mansion is inherently filled with wolfish ambition. They have long been eyeing the Six Sects and Eight Gates covetously. Elder Ling Zhexing of the Lingyun Sect and several of his disciples were also lured into an ambush and killed by the Red Blood Mansion. Over three months ago, our Wuji Sect lost three Elders and several Steward Elders in Nanling County. Perhaps the Red Blood Mansion thought our Wuji Sect was an easy target!" Yu Haiyuan’s words were not without his own speculation.

This claim that someone from the Wuji Sect killed a member of the Red Blood Mansion was utter nonsense—nothing more than a pretext for their invasion.

"Sigh!" The old woman let out a long sigh. She looked at the ravaged sect gate and said earnestly, "In the end, it is your generation that is in charge. You must not let our legacy be severed in your hands!"

After speaking, the old woman pressed a hand to her chest and turned, departing unsteadily.

How could Yu Haiyuan not be furious? A rough estimate told him that at least two to three thousand disciples had died, and they had lost several more of their already few Elders.

Half of the Sect’s grounds had been destroyed in the great battle.

This time, the Wuji Sect had truly suffered a grievous blow. Their overall strength was now even weaker than that of the Lingyun Sect.

After the battle, a pall of grief and sorrow hung over the entire Wuji Sect.

No one would ever forget this day. For the Wuji Sect, it was a day of humiliation.

And the Red Blood Mansion had become the Wuji Sect’s mortal enemy. From this day forward, any encounter between their disciples would be a fight to the death.