136: Chapter 135 The Defeat is Inevitable

The protective barrier trembled violently, its formation runes flickering on and off.

The Disciples on the Battleship turned deathly pale, some even vomiting blood from the shock.

Tu Gang threw another punch, then a third, and a fourth—each strike causing the barrier to dim a fraction more.

Granny Bone did not charge forward; she simply raised her bone staff and tapped it lightly against the ground.

The ground suddenly split open, and countless bone spikes erupted from beneath, dense as a forest, encircling the Battleship of the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion.

Those bone spikes continued to grow, winding around the Battleship's barrier and binding it tightly.

Tong Yao held her plush bear, tilted her head to watch for a moment, then let go.

The plush bear landed on the ground and instantly expanded, transforming into a three-zhang tall giant bear, its entire body radiating intense Death Qi.

The giant bear roared at the sky and slammed a paw onto the Battleship's barrier, causing it to crack open with a sound.

Cang Xuanzi did not move. He simply hovered in mid-air, hands clasped behind his back, watching the two Battleships coldly.

On the Battleship, True Lord Qingyue's face was ashen.

The Golden Core Elders beside her were deathly pale, some already succumbing to despair.

With four Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivators attacking at once, they only had two—herself and the one from the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion.

Two against four, how could they fight?

"True Lord!" a Golden Core Elder rushed over. "The barrier won't hold! The Disciples are suffering heavy casualties; if this continues—"

True Lord Qingyue raised a hand to cut him off.

She took a deep breath and summoned her Lifebound Treasure.

It was a silver longsword, its blade engraved with intricate runes, radiating a cold, lunar glow.

She gripped the hilt and looked toward the four terrifying figures in the distance.

The Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivator from the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion also stepped forward, summoning a Pill Furnace, within which flames raged, emitting a searing light.

The two exchanged a glance and attacked simultaneously.

True Lord Qingyue's sword light poured out like moonlight, slashing toward Tu Gang!

Tu Gang laughed wildly and met the attack head-on, fists flailing, clashing directly with the sword light!

Boom! The sword light shattered, and Tu Gang was sent flying back, but True Lord Qingyue was also forced back several steps by the impact.

The Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivator from the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion's Pill Furnace spewed a sky full of flames, burning toward the bone spikes.

The bone spikes crackled and shattered under the flames, but soon new ones erupted from the ground, endless and inexhaustible.

Tong Yao's giant bear lunged forward, swiping a paw at True Lord Qingyue.

True Lord Qingyue dodged, her sword light turning to strike the giant bear.

The giant bear howled and retreated, leaving a deep sword mark on its body.

Cang Xuanzi finally moved.

He simply raised his hand and pressed down lightly.

True Lord Qingyue's figure froze; an invisible force locked her firmly in place.

She gritted her teeth and struggled, only to find she could not break free at all.

There were gaps even among the Late Nascent Soul Stage, and Cang Xuanzi—was far stronger than her.

"True Lord Yueling!" the one from the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion exclaimed, wanting to come to her rescue, but was intercepted by both Granny Bone and Tu Gang.

True Lord Qingyue watched the black figure drawing closer, watching those four terrifying auras completely swallow the two Battleships, and her heart turned cold.

They had lost.

The defeat was sealed.

...

By the time Yun Ming carried Jiang Yueling back to her Immortal Cave, it was completely dark.

The Immortal Cave was not large, but it was exquisitely furnished—the inner room was a bedroom, the outer room a small reception hall, with landscape paintings hanging on the walls, a tea set on the table, and a small incense burner in the corner, with lingering incense still emitting a faint sandalwood scent.

It was clear that although this girl was only staying temporarily, she hadn't mistreated herself.

He placed Jiang Yueling on the couch in the inner room and pulled a thin quilt over her.

She remained unconscious, her face pale, her breathing weak, the punch mark on her face looking especially glaring in the candlelight.

Her hairpin was askew, her hair scattered across the pillow, and she only had one shoe left on her feet; the other was lost somewhere.

Yun Ming stood by the couch for a moment before turning to leave.

He searched the outer room but couldn't find any Medicinal Pill for healing.

Come to think of it, he had taken her storage ring, and most of her Magic Treasure had been shattered, so of course there wouldn't be any Medicinal Pill left.

He casually pulled a healing Medicinal Pill from his own storage ring, returned to the inner room, pried her mouth open to insert it, and poured a cup of water down her throat.

After finishing this, he sat down on a chair in the outer room, leaned back against the chair, and let out a long sigh.

This day had been more exhausting than a year spent in the Wanfa Daojun Blessed Land.

First, he had accompanied this Young Miss to hunt down demonic cultivators, only to run into ten Late Golden Core Stage ones; after barely escaping back, she had run out to court death again; he chased after her to stop her, only to be hit by her; after stopping her and fleeing back, they were chased by three more Late Golden Core Stage ones.

After all this tossing and turning, most of his Spiritual Qi was exhausted, his Divine Sense was severely overdrawn, and every part of his body ached.

He closed his eyes, intending to rest for a moment, but fell asleep without realizing it.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Yun Ming rubbed his eyes, stretched his stiff neck, and got up to check the inner room.

Jiang Yueling was still asleep, her complexion a bit better than last night; at least she didn't look as deathly pale as before.

He checked her pulse, which was much steadier, and felt her forehead; there were no signs of fever.

She shouldn't die.

He turned and went outside, standing at the entrance of the Immortal Cave for a while.

In the distance, the light of the Mountain Guardian Array was still flowing slowly, and occasionally a few patrolling Disciples flew by in the sky, nodding to him when they saw him, and he nodded in return.

The mountain gate area had already quieted down.

In last night's battle, the Qingxuan Sect had lost three Early Golden Core Stage Disciples and seven or eight were injured; on the demonic cultivators' side, one Late Golden Core Stage cultivator died, and four escaped.

The Old Ancestor finally intervened, capturing two, crippling their cultivation, and gifting them to the injured Disciples.

But everyone knew that this was just the beginning.

The real major battle was still to come.

Yun Ming withdrew his gaze and turned back into the Immortal Cave.

He sat in the outer room for a while longer, then got up to go to the kitchen, boiled a pot of water, and brewed a cup of tea for himself.

The tea wasn't particularly good; it was the wild kind from the Qingxuan Sect mountains, with a bland taste, but it had the merit of being clean.

He held the cup, watching the sky gradually brighten outside the window, but his mind never stopped for a moment.

The Heavenly Demon Hall had produced a Spirit Severing Cultivator and intended to expand their territory.

The Danding Sect and the Qingxuan Sect were the first to bear the brunt.

The Battleships of the Shenduan Sect and the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion were surrounded, and the news couldn't get out.

The message Jiang Yueling sent back would only arrive in three days.

Even if the Shenduan Sect sent people immediately, it would take at least ten days to half a month at the fastest.

During these ten days to half a month, the Qingxuan Sect would have to rely on the Old Ancestor alone to hold on.

And on the Heavenly Demon Hall's side, there was a Spirit Severing Cultivator, four Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, and tens of thousands of demonic cultivators.

How could they fight this battle?

Yun Ming thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any answers.

He set down the cup and got up to check the inner room again.

Jiang Yueling was still sleeping, her breathing even steadier than before.

He returned to the outer room, closed his eyes to regulate his breath, and circulated his Dao scripture to recover his Spiritual Qi.

His five Golden Cores rotated slowly, absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

Although the Spiritual Qi of the Qingxuan Sect could not compare to the Wanfa Daojun Blessed Land, it was still plentiful enough for him to recover slowly.

Two hours later, he opened his eyes; his Spiritual Qi had mostly recovered, and his Divine Sense was much better.

There was movement from the inner room.

Yun Ming got up and walked over, seeing Jiang Yueling struggling to sit up.

Her movements were slow, her arms supporting her on the couch, trembling slightly; clearly, her body was still very weak.

The punch mark on her face was still there, but it had faded a bit compared to before.