How Did It Come to This

"Ugh... ah!!!"

The True Yang Qi burned away half the evil creature's Yin Qi in an instant. Elder Yu seized the opening created by its waning Yin Qi, casting a technique to suppress it once more.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

Thwarted time and again, the evil creature was finally driven into a complete frenzy. No longer fixated on the mortal flesh within the town, it turned its boundless murderous intent toward the two of them.

Bearing the brunt of its fury was Gao Hui, the one who had crippled its Yin Qi.

"Town Chief Gao, be careful!"

Sensing the terrifying power erupting from within the evil creature, Elder Yu felt his technique verging on collapse and immediately shouted a warning.

"Haaah!!"

The evil creature let out a piercing shriek. Its body suddenly swelled to more than twice its original size, scattering Elder Yu's suppression technique in an instant.

The next moment, Gao Hui saw only a blur flash before his eyes. In the blink of an eye, the evil creature was already upon him!

Bang!

Sharp claws slammed down, caving the ground into a massive crater.

Relying on the power of the Divine Movement Talisman, Gao Hui narrowly dodged the strike, but a large swath of the True Yang aura clinging to his body was torn away.

"Rise!"

Without hesitation, Gao Hui drew out more spiritual energy, igniting a fresh surge of True Yang aura. In a flash, blazing flames wreathed his body once more.

A warm, sweet taste surged up his throat, but he forcefully swallowed it down.

"I can still endure this level of strength!"

A ruthless light flashed in Gao Hui's eyes. Lunging forward, he answered the evil creature with a palm strike of his own.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Relying on its tyrannical physical strength to withstand spiritual arts, the creature forced the battle to shift instantly from a clash of techniques to brutal close-quarters combat.

Relying on the True Yang aura's natural suppression of evil beings, Gao Hui forcibly held his ground against the creature head-on.

With every exchange of blows, a portion of the True Yang aura on his body would be shattered, only for the gap to be instantly filled by a fresh surge of spiritual energy.

Wreathed in roaring flames, Gao Hui stood like a war god before the evil creature, refusing to let it advance a single step.

"Urgh!-I have to hold on a little longer!"

His Dantian trembled; his Qi Nodes swelled painfully.

Every punch Gao Hui threw now brought agonizing, bone-deep pain. Blood he could no longer suppress trickled from the corners of his mouth.

"Just endure! I only need to hold it back for another quarter of an hour!"

He calculated the time in his heart. He and Elder Yu had already delayed the evil creature for nearly an hour. If they could just hold on for one more quarter of an hour, Yang Lingrui and the others, aided by Divine Movement Talismans, should reach Qinghe Town.

By then, the commoners would be evacuated, reducing the casualties to the absolute minimum.

Gao Hui anchored himself with this thought, his will unbending, but his mortal flesh was truly nearing its limit.

Under the evil creature's attacks, Gao Hui began to give ground step by step.

The True Yang aura could no longer replenish itself in time. The creature's attacks tore through his techniques, carving several bloody gashes across his body.

In mere moments, Gao Hui's robes were soaked through with blood.

"Cough... ha!"

Burdened by such grievous wounds and the severe drain on his spiritual energy, Gao Hui could no longer suppress the violent churning of his organs and spat out a large mouthful of blood.

His consciousness wavered for a fraction of a second. Seizing the opening, the evil creature suddenly intensified its assault, launching Gao Hui through the air with a single swipe of its claws.

Having landed its strike, the evil creature unhinged its massive jaws, lunging forward to swallow Gao Hui whole.

"Beast, how dare you!"

Right at that moment, Elder Yu emerged from the side. Simultaneously, a massive shadow loomed over the evil creature's head.

He had bided his time, concealing his presence so as not to draw the creature's attention. Now, having uprooted a massive boulder from the forest, he brought it crashing down from the sky!

Boom!

The boulder plummeted. The evil creature raised its arms to block, but the sheer weight pinned it firmly to the earth.

Elder Yu rushed forward to catch Gao Hui. Looking at his battered and bloody body, he shook his head. "Fellow Daoist! How did it come to this!"

Setting Tian Yu aside, even he had never imagined that Gao Hui would go to such desperate lengths just to protect the commoners of Qinghe Town.

If he were merely pursuing his Dao path, there was no need to fight with his life on the line. He could have simply trailed the evil creature and harassed it from behind.

The evil creature was at the seventh level of Qi Gathering, while Gao Hui was only at the sixth. Even if the creature ultimately broke through Qinghe Town, the Wangchao would not place a sliver of blame upon him.

At this moment, Elder Yu finally understood. Gao Hui's desire to advance in realm was never solely for the sake of power and status.

"Cough, cough..."

Gao Hui coughed up a few mouthfuls of blackened blood. He offered no explanation, only asking weakly, "Elder Yu... have we delayed it long enough?"

"It is enough! All told, we've bought enough time for Lingrui and the others to reach the town!"

"Then... that is good..."

Hearing this, the tension anchoring Gao Hui's spirit finally unspooled.

There was a hidden thought he had never shared with another living soul.

Twenty years ago, in Luofeng Town, Qiulu City.

Evil cultivators had invaded. The town walls fell, and roaring flames dyed the heavens red!

Had the town chief of that time not fought with his life, holding the line until Wangchao reinforcements arrived, every last commoner in the town would have likely perished.

Gao Hui survived, but his entire family was taken from him that night.

That was the true reason Gao Hui later chose to become a Wangchao Cultivator.

Not to seek stability, nor for authority and status. He simply hoped to do something-to ensure that such a tragedy would never be repeated.

He wanted to break through his realm, possessing the natural obsession of a cultivator, but more than that, he yearned to hold greater strength in his hands. Because only with strength could he accomplish more. Only then could he carve out safe havens for the commoners living under the Wangchao's rule.

Though Elder Yu did not know the inner truth, Gao Hui's actions moved him deeply.

Thud...

Thud...

A series of heavy tremors shuddered from beneath the boulder.

Hearing the sound, Elder Yu hurriedly hoisted Gao Hui onto his back and fled in the opposite direction.

"How can this evil creature possess such terrifying vitality?!"

Elder Yu cursed inwardly as he sprinted.

Gao Hui had utilized a life-risking method like Burning Spirit, and coupled with his mastery of the Blazing Sun path, the evil creature should have sustained heavy injuries by all logic.

Yet now, it showed not a single trace of weakening.

Boom!

The evil creature burst free from the boulder pinning it down. A pair of blood-red pupils locked onto Elder Yu's direction, and with a vicious kick of its legs, it gave chase.

It had completely abandoned all thoughts of mortal flesh. Its only desire was to slaughter the human cultivators who had dared to stand against it!

Elder Yu's expression darkened. One hand remained hidden within his sleeve, quietly pinching a Mountain-Splitting Talisman.

This talisman was exceedingly difficult to refine. Even Zhao Qi and the others did not possess one. Only the three Yang siblings and Elder Yu had each received a single copy from Chen Yang.

He was ready. If the Divine Movement Talisman could not shake off the evil creature, he would unleash this talisman to deal it a devastating blow!

Whoosh-

Crack!

Just as the evil creature was about to overtake them, and just as Elder Yu prepared to ignite the talisman, a crisp sonic boom echoed from afar.

Elder Yu glanced toward the sound, only to see a translucent Airburst Spell Orb rocketing toward the evil creature!

Squelch!

"Ugh... ah!!"

The evil creature, which had withstood Gao Hui's most desperate, life-risking attacks, had its body cleanly pierced through by the Airburst Spell Orb.

"Damn it! What era is it, for this kind of ghastly thing to still show up!"

A curse rang out, followed closely by a brownish-yellow steel whip.

Hearing the commotion, the heavy stone in Elder Yu's heart finally dropped. The Wangchao's reinforcements had arrived.

However, the voice of the newcomer left him feeling somewhat surprised.

The cultivator dispatched by the Wangchao this time was actually He Shenglai, the very same man who had visited the Yang family years ago to collect Demon Beast corpses.

Whoosh-

He Shenglai lashed out with his steel whip, wrapping it tightly around the evil creature's body. With a vicious yank, he slammed the monster hard against the ground.

As the man descended, Elder Yu hurriedly stepped forward to bow. "Greetings, Lord He."

He Shenglai's cultivation base had advanced once more, now reaching the eighth level of Qi Gathering. The steel whip in his grip clearly possessed extraordinary quality; once the evil creature was bound by it, the beast could not twitch a single muscle.

"Oh? You're here too."

He Shenglai still remembered Elder Yu, so he said, "I passed through Qinghe Town just now and saw those juniors of your family evacuating the commoners. Your family handled this matter well. I'll mark down a merit for you."

Hearing this, Elder Yu quickly pulled Gao Hui from his back. "Lord He, never mind whether my family deserves merit or not. Please, quickly save Town Chief Gao."

He Shenglai took one look and jerked in surprise, immediately cursing again, "Motherfucker, you're the town chief of Baishi! That Tian Yu from Qinghe already tucked tail and ran, so what the hell are you doing risking your life out here? Trying to play the hero, are you?!"

But despite his harsh words, he instantly retrieved a sub-grade Rejuvenation Pill from his pocket and shoved it into Gao Hui's mouth.

The Rejuvenation Pill was a healing pill meant for late-stage Qi Gathering cultivators. By all rights, a single pill should have awakened him immediately. Yet after swallowing it, Gao Hui only barely stabilized his fading life force, revealing just how devastating his injuries truly were.

Seeing this, He Shenglai knitted his brows, growing increasingly irritated. Looking back at the evil creature, he let loose another string of curses.

To vent his anger, he hurled the evil creature into the air and fired over a dozen Airburst Spell Orbs with his steel whip, completely turning the beast into a bloody sieve before he finally felt satisfied.

Once the evil creature's body was shattered, a blood-red pill rolled out from its Dantian region.

Laying eyes on the object, both He Shenglai and Elder Yu instantly recognized its origins.

A Blood Pill!

"No wonder this evil creature possessed such terrifying vitality. It had actually swallowed a Blood Pill!"

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