Chapter 381 - 209: Rout (2)

And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to land the blow.

An image from over a hundred years ago surfaced in his mind, unbidden.

Back then, he was still a spirited, middle-aged Elder of the Sect.

A little Daoist boy, only seven or eight years old with his hair in a topknot, adorable as if carved from jade, trailed behind him, calling him "Master" in a childish voice.

’Master, how do you read this character?’

’Master, I memorized another scripture today! My master praised me!’

...

The hand, raised high, finally, slowly, lowered.

Xu Zhouzi looked at the ashen-faced man on the ground. Within his domineering and majestic eyes, a trace of indescribable exhaustion and loneliness suddenly appeared.

’Forget it. In his state, he doesn’t have long to live anyway...’

In the end, his heart had softened.

"Get out."

He slowly turned away, leaving only a tall, lonely silhouette behind him.

"From this day forward, you are no longer part of the Cangyun Sect!"

"If you dare step foot in Cangzhou Prefecture ever again... I will ensure your Divine Soul is utterly destroyed!"

"GET OUT!!!"

Hearing Xu Zhouzi’s words, sprawled on the ground, Xie Songnian’s entire body trembled.

He didn’t waste another word.

He struggled to his feet and took a long, hard look at that tall, lonely back.

Then, he gritted his teeth, turned into a streak of purple light, and fled frantically down the mountain!

He ran for his life, and soon, he burst through the mountain gate, long since stained red with blood.

When he saw the great banner of the Qilin Army snapping in the night wind at the end of the mountain path, the flame of hope reignited in his eyes!

He scrambled over, falling before the Defender General clad in Profound Iron Armor, and roared hoarsely:

"General Long! Save me! Quickly, save me!"

"I’ve done so much for the Lord General! You... you promised you would protect me!"

However, to his surprise, the General Long Xiang, who had always been so courteous to him, was now merely looking down on him, watching him indifferently with eyes as cold as if staring at a dead man.

"Seditious lies!"

Long Xiang slowly drew the door-sized giant sword from his waist, its tip aimed directly at Xie Songnian’s throat. His voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.

"How dare you slander the Lord General here!"

"Men! Seize this Demon Sect remnant... now!"

The color drained from Xie Songnian’s face in an instant!

In that moment, all the hope on his face morphed into boundless horror and despair!

’It’s over...’

How could he not understand now?

’I’ve... been cast aside like a pawn!’

He knew Qin Fuhu was ruthless, and that betrayal was inevitable.

But he never imagined it would all... happen so quickly!

’Qin Fuhu! You despicable, shameless villain!’

A monstrous wave of hatred instantly drowned all his reason!

But he knew this was no time for resentment!

He looked at the few elite Qilin Army soldiers approaching him, and a vicious glint flashed in his eyes!

He abruptly pulled a blood-red Jade Talisman from his robes and crushed it fiercely!

"Blood Style Technique!"

BOOM!!!

A thick, dense mist of blood instantly erupted from his body!

Within the blood mist, his entire body began to shrivel at a visible rate!

In just a few breaths, he transformed from a sagely old Daoist into a horrific, desiccated corpse, as if all his blood and essence had been drained.

But at the same time, he gained an astonishing speed that surpassed even his Peak!

"You want to catch me? Dream on!"

With a roar, his entire being turned into a bolt of blood-red lightning. He forcefully tore a gap in the Qilin Army’s tight encirclement and shot through it in a flash!

"Damn it!"

Long Xiang’s expression changed. He never thought the old bastard still had this trick up his sleeve!

He roared, his body moving like lightning, about to give chase!

However, the blood-red lightning was simply too fast.

In the blink of an eye, it had vanished without a trace.

"Dammit! He got away!"

Furious, Long Xiang slammed his fist into a nearby rock!

However, neither the desperately fleeing Xie Songnian nor the thwarted Long Xiang had noticed.

High in the sky.

An inconspicuous black-feathered crow was silently beating its wings, tailing the bolt of blood-red lightning from a great distance.

...

Jiang Che threw a punch, instantly turning a Half-step True Master Realm Demon Sect Hall Master into a meat patty.

"Hoo..."

He let out a long, turbid breath and glanced around. Not a single Demon Sect demon was left standing.

’Looks like... I’ve killed most of them.’

After leaving Lingxiao Courtyard, Jiang Che went to Yunhai Courtyard and Yanluo Courtyard in succession.

The situation in these two courtyards was much better than in Lingxiao Courtyard.

Although they had lost some disciples of lower Realms, the main force was largely unharmed.

This was mainly because the high-level combatants from the Demon Sect invasion, aside from the Shadow Demon Mo Wuhen, were the three True Master Realm Demon Sect Guardians who had previously besieged Yue Lingfeng.

These three had been delayed for too long at Lingxiao Courtyard, and Yue Lingfeng had ultimately escaped them.

Before they could move on to hunt in the other courtyards, they ran head-on into a small team of Cangyun Sect’s True Master Realm experts!

It turned out this team was the one Yue Lingfeng had rapidly assembled after his escape!

After being saved by Jiang Che, he had immediately sought out other courtyard heads who could still fight, as well as True Master Realm Elders in seclusion. He was basically rallying everyone he could.

Soon, he had assembled a team of several courtyard heads and Elders, a force representing the Cangyun Sect’s true high-level combat power!

Then, he led this team of True Masters and precisely intercepted the three Demon Sect Guardians who were about to move to other battlefields.

This prevented the tragedy of the other branch courtyards being defeated one by one by the three Demon Sect Guardians.

After a world-shaking, vicious battle, the hastily formed team of courtyard heads proved superior and claimed victory.

Of the three Demon Sect True Masters, two were killed on the spot.

The last one, left with half a breath of life, frantically burned his blood and essence to escape with grave injuries.

It looked like he wouldn’t live for much longer.

As for the other Demon Sect remnants below the True Master Realm, they were almost completely wiped out after Jiang Che, this god of slaughter, joined the fray.

Just as Jiang Che was preparing to hunt down any other fish that might have slipped through the net...

Suddenly!

The crow, his little brother who had been monitoring Vice Sect Leader Xie Songnian, sent an urgent message!

Jiang Che was startled and immediately sent a sliver of his consciousness to connect with the crow’s vision!

’Xie Songnian... gravely injured... escaped?!’

Jiang Che’s heart leaped!

Immediately after, an incredibly bold and crazed thought flashed through his mind like lightning!