107: Chapter 106 Survivors

Deep within the ruins, the corpse demons were even more densely packed than outside.

Yun Ming killed as he walked, his Purple Heaven Divine Thunder almost never ceasing.

The corpse demons that lunged from among the broken walls and fallen debris often didn't even have time to roar before being struck into bloody gore by the lightning. Jiu Jiu circled above his head, and Crimson Glow Pure Sky would descend from time to time, incinerating any that slipped through the cracks into ash.

Passing through several collapsed streets and crossing several piles of scorched ruins, he arrived before an extremely deep alley.

The houses on both sides of the alley had long since collapsed, with bricks and rubble piled high, leaving only a narrow passage in the middle. At the end of the passage, a simple defensive wall built from broken walls and debris was faintly visible.

There were marks of combat on the wall—slashes from blades, scorch marks from fire, and large patches of bloodstains that had already dried and turned black. It was clear someone had fought desperately here, but ultimately failed.

Yun Ming did not stop and stepped into the alley.

Rounding the defensive wall, he found a small, relatively open space inside. Several crude sheds were set up on the clearing, with a dozen or so people either sitting or lying beneath them. There was the sound of children sobbing, adults' low-voiced comforts, and suppressed groans—the sounds of the wounded enduring their pain.

Suddenly, a voice reached his ears.

"We should escape." The voice was somewhat youthful and carried a hint of urgency; it belonged to a youth of fifteen or sixteen. "We can't stay here any longer! If we stay, once the corpse demons find us, we'll all die!"

Another voice was steadier, sounding like someone in their early twenties. "Go? Where would we go? There are so many wounded, and there are corpse demons everywhere outside. If we alert even one, thousands will swarm in. That's when we'll truly all die."

"Staying here is also death!" the youth said anxiously. "I'd rather go out and try; even if I die, it'll be a quick death!"

"Stop!"

The steady voice shouted sternly, but the youth ignored it, picking up a scarred longsword with a curled edge and rushing outward—

And then he ran into Yun Ming.

The youth skidded to a halt, his entire body freezing in place.

He looked up at the stranger who had suddenly appeared, his eyes filled with terror. The curled longsword rose instinctively, its tip pointing at Yun Ming, yet it shook violently.

"Who... who are you!"

Hurried footsteps came from behind as the steady-voiced man also chased after him. He was a young man in his early twenties, also holding a broken sword and staring at Yun Ming with a face full of wariness.

The two of them, one in front and one behind, sandwiched Yun Ming in the middle.

Yun Ming did not move.

His Divine Sense had already swept over this small hiding place—besides these two, there were a dozen others in the ruins. Most were children, the oldest no more than fourteen or fifteen and the youngest only seven or eight, sitting quietly together without noise or fuss, just watching with pairs of terrified eyes.

There were also a few adults similar in age to these two young men, all of them wounded. Some had bandages wrapped around their chests, blood soaking through several layers of cloth; some were missing arms, the stumps cauterized with red-hot iron, leaving hideous scars; some lay there motionless, unclear if they were unconscious or already dead. They were also sitting together, using their bodies to shield the children.

Yun Ming withdrew his Divine Sense, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.

How did these people manage to survive in Qingzhou City, where corpse demons ran rampant?

The strongest among them was only at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, and they were all injured. To have lived until today, it was likely that luck accounted for ninety percent of it.

He flicked his finger.

Two spring return pills turned into two streaks of light, landing respectively in the mouths of the youth and the young man.

The two were stunned; before they could react, the Medicinal Pills had already entered their stomachs. A warm current rose from their bellies, quickly flowing into their limbs and bones. The various wounds on the young man's body healed at a visible rate, and the youth's body shuddered as his originally pale face instantly flushed with color.

"This..."

The young man looked down at his hands, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The youth was also dazed, his mouth agape and unable to speak.

This single move alone had stunned the two; before they could process it, two healing pills had flown into their mouths. If those had been poison...

The wariness in their eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

The young man took a deep breath, pulled the youth behind him, and said in a low voice, "Senior's methods are profound; we are no match for you. But if Senior wishes to take our lives, we will certainly not sit still and wait for death!"

He tightened his grip on the broken sword, its tip still pointed at Yun Ming.

The children behind them were startled by the commotion and began to sob softly. The few injured adults forced themselves up, stumbling to shield the children. They had no weapons; some clutched stones, some held wooden sticks, and others were simply empty-handed.

A dozen gazes—some fearful, some despairing, some resolute—all fell upon Yun Ming.

Yun Ming looked at them and suddenly felt like laughing.

"I am not a demonic Cultivator," he said. "I'm here to find someone."

The young man's brow furrowed. "Find someone? Who?"

"Family." Yun Ming paused. "My mother and my Disciple."

The young man and the youth glanced at each other, a trace of complexity flashing in their eyes.

The young man was silent for a moment before slowly lowering his sword. "Senior, when Da Gan suffered its calamity, although Qingzhou City is close to the Sunset Glow Sect, it was also attacked by corpse demons. Your family... either fled with the people from the Sunset Glow Sect, or..."

He did not finish.

But the meaning was clear.

Either they escaped, or they were eaten.

Yun Ming's heart sank slightly, but he wasn't too surprised.

"The people from the Sunset Glow Sect fled?" he asked.

The young man nodded. "Yes. After the incident, the Sunset Glow Sect sent some people to Qingzhou to build several outposts to take in the commoners. This place was originally one of the Sunset Glow Sect's outposts. Later..."

He gave a bitter smile. "Later, reinforcements from the Sunset Glow Sect never came again. The Cultivators at the outpost grew fewer and fewer; some fled, some died. Eventually, we could only rely on ourselves."

Yun Ming understood.

The Sunset Glow Sect's Old Ancestor had been killed, the Nascent Soul had fled, and the Sect had been carved up by the Qingxuan Sect and the Danding Sect. Unable to even protect themselves, how could they have the energy to care for the commoners at these outposts?

He looked at these people, his gaze slowly sweeping across their faces. Those terrified eyes, those wounded bodies, those postures of desperately protecting the children—

"Were you all originally ordinary people?"

The young man nodded. "Yes. Later, when the Cultivators in the outpost died or fled, no one cared for us. A few of us who were older started to Cultivate the techniques left behind by those Cultivators. Although our Aptitude is poor, at least we can kill a few low-level corpse demons."

He pointed to the children behind him. "They are all people we rescued from various places. Some of their parents died, some were separated from their families, and some..."

He couldn't go on.

Yun Ming was silent for a moment, then suddenly waved his hand.

A black flying boat appeared out of thin air, suspended in mid-air and expanding upon meeting the wind, growing to about thirty feet long in the blink of an eye. The hatch opened to an empty interior; with a bit of a squeeze, it was more than enough to seat these dozen or so people.

"Get on," he said.

The young man was stunned. "Senior...?"

"I'm taking you away." Yun Ming had already stepped onto the flying boat. "Da Gan is no longer a place to stay. Where do you want to go?"