118: Chapter 77

Chen Xuan stood by the ship's railing, the northern horizon growing more and more distant.

That cluster of light was still flickering, but it had dimmed significantly.

He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

Liu Lili walked over, not speaking, just standing beside him.

Senior Sister Wen Yao was bandaging the wounded on the deck; her fingers were steady, but her face was pale.

Senior Brother Zhang Qian and President Liu Yishou stood by the railing, looking toward the north, saying nothing.

The flying boat traveled through the clouds, the gray Demonic Qi gradually thinning, and the moonlight finally shone through.

Chen Xuan looked up at the moon; the moonlight was cold, illuminating the bloodstains on his face.

He recalled the look in Liu He's eyes at the very end.

In those eyes, there was fear, regret, and despair.

And a trace of relief.

A Family, thirty-seven people, all gone.

Just because of a single word from him, Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan closed his eyes.

The world is unpredictable; one must accept the consequences of a lost gamble.

But the dead would not care about such things.

They only knew that it was because of him that they had gone to the north.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes, his gaze calming down.

He could not think about these things now.

What he needed to think about was how to bring reinforcements, how to save Revered Master, and how to fight his way back.

Guilt is something only the living can possess.

The dead have no such qualifications.

The flying boat flew for a day and a night, and by the evening of the second day, the outline of the Liuyang Sword Sect appeared in his vision.

Qingming Peak shimmered with golden light under the setting sun, and the bells of the Yanfa Hall echoed through the mountains.

Everything was the same as when he had left.

But Chen Xuan knew that everything had changed.

The flying boat landed at the spaceport.

Chen Xuan jumped off the flying boat and ran toward the Conquest Hall.

Liu Lili followed behind him, and Senior Sister Wen Yao also caught up.

The three of them passed through the Yanfa Hall, the Scripture Pavilion, and the Disciple residences, and the Disciples they encountered along the way all looked at them sideways.

Three people covered in blood, returning from the north.

Even a fool would know something had happened.

At the entrance of the Conquest Hall, a Foundation Establishment deacon stopped Chen Xuan.

"Nephew Yun, where is Master Chonghe?"

Chen Xuan pushed his hand away and walked into the hall.

"Revered Master is trapped in the northern part of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range; I need to see the other Golden Core Masters."

The Foundation Establishment deacon's expression changed.

He turned and ran toward the rear hall, with Chen Xuan following behind him.

In the rear hall, the incarnations of three Golden Core Masters were discussing matters.

Seeing Chen Xuan enter, their gazes fell upon him simultaneously.

The Golden Core elder of the Fusheng Sect spoke.

"Yun Qi, what happened at the front line?"

Chen Xuan stood still, took a deep breath, and recounted the events of the northern expedition in detail.

The snake Yao was killed, four dormant Golden Core Great Yao appeared, the number of the Yao Race far exceeded estimates, and with five against four, the False Core Revered Masters could not hold out.

Every word he spoke was clear.

The expressions of the three Golden Core Masters grew increasingly grim.

After Chen Xuan finished, the rear hall was quiet for a long time.

The Golden Core Master of the Qingcang Sect spoke, his voice hoarse.

"How are Fellow Daoist Chonghe and the others now?"

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"This Disciple does not know."

"When this Disciple retreated, I saw through the Heaven-Gazing Mirror that the battle was still ongoing."

"But the camp's protective formation has already developed cracks and cannot hold for much longer."

"If the protective formation shatters, the Cultivators in the camp..."

He did not continue.

But everyone knew what he wanted to say.

The Golden Core elder of the Fusheng Sect stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to the others.

"The second batch of reinforcements is already gathering."

"But it will take at least a day to arrive."

Chen Xuan's heart sank.

"A day?"

After a day, would Revered Master and the others still be alive?

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately did not speak.

The Golden Core Masters knew more than he did.

Even if he spoke, it would be in vain.

Chen Xuan withdrew from the rear hall and returned to his own Immortal Cave.

He took off his blood-stained Daoist robe, walked to the side of the Spiritual Spring pool, and washed the bloodstains from his body.

The water was very cold, and it stung somewhat when it washed over his wounds.

He looked at his reflection in the pool.

Time flies; his seventeen-year-old face now held a Soul that was centuries old, filled with exhaustion.

Chen Xuan washed for a long time before standing up from the pool.

He changed into a clean Daoist robe and sat down on the futon.

He did not cultivate, but just sat there, eyes closed.

His mind was filled with images of the northern expedition.

Master Liu Yun's sword, the Cloud-Swallowing Eagle's wings, the snake Yao's inner core, Liu He's eyes.

And those Cultivators who died in the Yao tide.

Face after face, pair of eyes after pair of eyes, flashed through his mind.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes; there was no fear, no sadness, only coldness.

With a thought.

He summoned the wordless heavenly book.

Golden tadpole-like characters appeared.

"[Today's fortune: Great Omen.]"

"[Today's heavenly secret: Army Breaker.]"

"[Today's destiny: Sword Cultivator.]"

"[Great Omen: In the northern part of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, three of the five Golden Cores have fallen. The False Core Revered Masters, their mana depleted, are being picked off one by one by the Golden Core Yao Kings. The False Core Revered Masters of the Fusheng Sect, the Qingcang Sect, and the Liuyang Sword Sect have all fallen. Master Chonghe is heavily injured and, along with another Golden Core Master, has retreated to hold the remaining formation; they are in imminent danger.]"

"[Medium Omen: The second batch of reinforcements will arrive in three days. By then, Master Chonghe may have fallen, but the Yao Race will also have suffered heavy casualties, with two Golden Core Yao Kings dead and the rest injured. A counterattack at this time can recapture the Tier 3 Spiritual Vein.]"

"[Small Luck: Chen Xuan sets out with the reinforcements and encounters a hunt by Foundation Establishment Yao Beasts during the melee. Using a talisman treasure to defeat the enemies, he is critically injured and near death, but in that moment between life and death, he comprehends the final turn of the Nine-Turn Sea-Steaming Method.]"

Chen Xuan finished reading and chose the first option.

A scene immediately appeared in his Divine Sense.

Mountains crumbled, and the earth collapsed.

The battle between Golden Cores was truly terrifying.

And the several Immortal Masters were indeed in precarious danger.

He retracted his Divine Sense.

The three False Core Revered Masters were all dead.

Revered Master was heavily injured.

Chen Xuan stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the moonlight was like frost, and the mountain shadows of Qingming Peak were layered upon one another.

He watched for a long time, then turned and returned to the futon, closing his eyes to cultivate.

He had to wait.

Wait for the reinforcements to set out, wait to fight back to the north, wait to rescue Revered Master.

He had to live.

Only by living could he take revenge.

The Conquest Hall lineage boarded the flying boat and gathered at the spaceport.

The second batch of reinforcements: five hundred Cultivators, three Golden Core Masters.

Chen Xuan led Liu Lili, Senior Sister Wen Yao, President Liu Yishou, Senior Brother Zhang Qian, and the others onto the flying boat.

Liu He's seat was empty.

No one mentioned him, but everyone saw that empty seat.

The flying boat ascended into the sky and flew toward the north.

Chen Xuan stood by the ship's railing, watching the clouds sweep by underneath.

His hand pressed against the hilt of his sword; his fingertips were very cold.

Liu Lili stood beside him, not speaking, just looking at him.

There was a trace of worry in her eyes, but more of it was determination.

Senior Sister Wen Yao was wiping her swords in the cabin; her twin swords were already unsheathed, the cold light on the blades reflecting onto the red lotus petal mark between her brows.

The flying boat flew for a day and a night.

By the evening of the second day, the outline of the outpost camp appeared in his vision.

The protective formation was still there, but the light shield was covered in cracks, like a mirror about to shatter.

Around the camp, the corpses of the Yao Race were piled up like mountains.

There were those of the Human Race and those of the Yao Race, mixed together, indistinguishable from one another.

The flying boat landed at the spaceport; Chen Xuan jumped off the flying boat and ran toward the outpost.

The camp was in shambles, most of the stone walls had collapsed, and the groans of the wounded lay on the ground.

Chen Xuan passed through the ruins and ran toward the rear hall.

In the rear hall, Master Liu Yun lay on a futon, his white hair disheveled, his robes covered in blood.

His left arm was gone, the wound wrapped in bandages, which had already been soaked through with blood.

Another Golden Core Master sat in a corner, eyes closed, his face as pale as paper.

The Conquest Hall lineage immediately knelt beside Master Liu Yun:

"Revered Master."