Chapter 227: The fall of Xu family.

The mist stirred once again as several figures slowly emerged from within it.

Xu Liang’s expression changed when he saw them.

The Peng cultivators who had chased them were returning one after another, but none of them looked unscathed.

Their clothes were torn, their faces were covered in blood, and several of them were clutching their wounded arms as they dragged themselves forward.

Yet despite their injuries, every one of them was smiling.

One of the Peng cultivators stepped forward and casually threw a head toward Xu Liang.

The head struck the ground with a dull thud before rolling to a stop.

Xu Liang’s eyes widened as he recognized the face.

Before he could say anything, another Peng cultivator threw a second head toward him, followed by a third.

The heads rolled across the dirt and stopped around the three Xu cultivators, deliberately surrounding them.

The Peng cultivators had not needed to do this.

They could have simply left the bodies behind.

Instead, they had brought the heads back and thrown them at Xu Liang’s feet as a blatant display of disrespect.

One of the wounded Peng cultivators wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered, “You Xu Family remnants really know how to run.”

Another laughed as he pointed toward the scattered heads. “Unfortunately, none of your friends were fast enough.”

Xu Liang’s fists slowly clenched.

His nails dug into his palms as he stared at the heads lying around him, his breathing becoming increasingly ragged.

They had sacrificed themselves one after another to buy him every second they could.

And yet he ended up getting caught, not only that, the Peng Clan had turned every sacrifice into an insult.

Peng Tianyuan watched Xu Liang’s expression with amusement before calmly saying, “You should be grateful.”

He gestured toward the heads with one hand and continued, “At least they managed to buy you enough time to reach this far.”

Xu Liang raised his head slowly, his eyes filled with grief and hatred.

Peng Tianyuan’s smile widened.

“But in the end, you still came right into my hands.”

Xu Liang’s eyes slowly turned red as he stared at the heads scattered across the ground.

His breathing became heavier, and his grip tightened until his knuckles turned pale.

The grief inside him was quickly being consumed by anger.

Xu Zi’s expression hardened as she stepped forward, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten as anger surged through her weakened body.

Beside her, Xu Mingyuan also clenched his fists and stared at the Peng cultivators with barely contained fury.

“You have already killed them,” Xu Mingyuan growled, his voice shaking with anger, “and now you mock them after they’re dead?”

The Peng cultivators laughed at their outrage.

One of them stepped forward and sneered, “What are you going to do about it?”

Xu Liang carefully lowered Zhaowen onto the ground behind him before slowly straightening his back.

His body was exhausted, his spiritual qi almost completely depleted, and his legs were trembling from more than a day of running but he still stepped forward.

It was no longer a matter of preserving his own life, even if he escaped from here alive, which is unlikely, he’ll end up definitely regretting not fighting for his friends honour today.

Xu Zi moved beside him, while Xu Mingyuan followed from the other side.

The three Xu cultivators stood shoulder to shoulder.

Peng Tianyuan looked at them and shook his head with a faint smile.

“Even now, you still don’t understand the difference between us.”

Xu Liang’s eyes remained fixed on him as he answered, “We don’t need to understand it.”

His spiritual qi erupted from his body.

Xu Zi’s spiritual qi also surged alongside his, while Xu Mingyuan gathered what little strength remained within his body.

Peng Tianyuan’s smile disappeared.

“Then die together.”

The moment his voice fell, the wounded Peng cultivators surged forward.

Xu Liang immediately rushed to meet them, his fist crashing against the first cultivator’s incoming palm with a violent impact that sent both of them staggering backward.

Xu Zi spun to the side and struck another Peng cultivator across the chest, but her weakened body could not generate her usual strength. The Peng cultivator endured the blow and retaliated with a vicious kick.

Xu Mingyuan intercepted him before the kick could land, blocking it with both arms as his body was forced backward.

Xu Liang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at the Peng cultivators surrounding them.

Peng Tianyuan stood behind the wounded Peng cultivators, watching Xu Liang’s furious expression with an amused smile.

“If looks could kill, I’d already be dead,” he mocked as he casually folded his arms.

Xu Liang’s expression darkened as he charged forward again, his fist cutting through the mist toward the nearest Peng cultivator.

The Peng cultivator barely managed to raise his arm before Xu Liang’s fist slammed into it, forcing him several steps backward.

Peng Tianyuan chuckled as he watched the exchange. “Is that all you have left after running for more than a day?”

Xu Liang gritted his teeth and attacked again, refusing to give the Peng cultivators any chance to surround him.

Xu Zi moved alongside him, striking another wounded Peng cultivator with everything she had left, while Xu Mingyuan guarded their flank and prevented the others from closing in.

Their movements were becoming slower with every exchange, but none of the three showed any intention of retreating.

Peng Tianyuan watched the three Xu cultivators with growing amusement as they struggled to keep the wounded Peng cultivators at bay.

“You three really are stubborn,” he remarked with a mocking smile before shifting his gaze toward the unconscious Lin Zhaowen lying behind them. “Still, I never expected the Xu Family to fall this low. You’ve gone from being a respected cultivation family to nothing more than a dog serving the Lin Family.”

Xu Liang’s expression twisted with anger, but before he could retort, a strange rustling sound emerged from the surrounding mist.

Peng Tianyuan’s smile gradually faded as the sound grew louder.

The wounded Peng cultivators immediately turned toward the noise, their expressions changing as the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.

Even the three Xu cultivators momentarily forgot their injuries and looked toward the mist, unsure of what was approaching.

Then, a massive serpent’s head emerged between the trees.

Its thick scales glistened faintly beneath the dim light, and its cold, vertical pupils swept across the battlefield before settling directly on Peng Tianyuan.

Before anyone could react, a second enormous serpent appeared from the opposite direction, followed by a third that slowly emerged from behind the scattered trees.

The three giant serpents were each large enough to crush an ordinary cultivator beneath their bodies. Their long forms slid through the forest, breaking branches and flattening undergrowth as they approached.

“W-What are those things?” one of the Peng cultivators stammered, instinctively taking a step backward.

The three serpents moved slowly, their massive bodies gradually forming a circle around Xu Liang, Xu Zi, Xu Mingyuan, and the unconscious Zhaowen.

Their heads remained raised above the ground, and their cold eyes watched the surrounding Peng cultivators without blinking.

Xu Liang tightened his fists, uncertain whether the sudden appearance of these beasts meant salvation or another disaster.

Given the strange mist covering the forest, Xu Liang had no reason to believe that even these enormous creatures would be friendly toward humans.

He could not help but laugh bitterly at the situation.

“Escaping the wolves’ den only to enter the tiger’s den,” he muttered to himself with grim amusement.

Meanwhile, all three serpents kept their heads turned toward Peng Tianyuan.

Their massive pupils remained fixed on him, their enormous bodies slowly shifting as they watched him without blinking and the atmosphere around the forest seemed to grow heavier beneath their collective gaze.

Peng Tianyuan stared back at the three giant serpents, his brows slowly drawing together as he tried to understand why they had appeared and why their attention was focused entirely on him.

One of the serpents suddenly opened its enormous mouth, revealing rows of curved fangs as thick as a human arm.

A low hiss rolled through the forest.

Peng Tianyuan’s expression hardened as he instinctively circulated his spiritual qi, but he was no idiot. He could clearly sense the terrifying aura radiating from all three beasts.

Each one possessed the aura of a Beast King.

Worse still, the strange mist surrounding the forest was constantly strengthening their bodies.

“Fall back!” Peng Tianyuan shouted as he immediately turned around and fled.

The wounded Peng cultivators did not dare hesitate and hurried after him, their earlier arrogance completely gone.

The three serpents remained still for several moments, simply watching the Peng Clan retreat into the mist.

Then, almost simultaneously, their massive bodies began to move.

The ground trembled beneath them as they surged forward, their enormous forms cutting through the forest in pursuit of the fleeing cultivators.

Peng Tianyuan looked back and felt his expression change because he noticed the distance between them was rapidly shrinking.