562: Chapter 562 A Deadly Situation Hides a Secret, Yet There's Still a Move to Make

Outside the tent, someone came scrambling in, lifting the curtain as they tumbled inside.

"Elder Fan, enemy attack—"

"It's the people from Xuandu Prefecture!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent turned pale, exchanging looks of disbelief.

"A surprise attack?"

"How dare Xuandu Prefecture do this? Are they not afraid that Zhenyue Palace will take advantage of the chaos to intervene?"

"Besides, several Elders are at the front lines. With only the few of us left behind..."

The sentence remained unfinished, yet everyone understood the implication.

For a moment, the people in the tent were restless and panicked.

Even Fan Yuan was no exception.

It was his first time in charge of such a behemoth, his first time in the midst of a slaughter on this scale; to say he wasn't panicked would be a lie.

But at the thought of the request his Master had made before his departure, he managed to suppress that panic.

Fan Yuan took a deep breath.

"It's not that they aren't afraid."

"On the contrary—they are terrified."

"They fear Zhenyue Palace will intervene, and they fear that if this battle drags on, they will eventually be exploited by that faction."

"Rather than wasting time waiting for someone to come and take a share, it's better to gamble on this."

"Launch a surprise attack at night, and before Zhenyue Palace can react, swallow us in one gulp!"

At this point, his gaze turned cold. With his resolve set, he no longer hesitated.

"Pass the order—gather our forces, scout the enemy's situation, find their weak point, and concentrate our efforts to break out!"

As the order was issued, everyone in the tent scattered to carry it out.

Zhou Heng stood to the side, his lips moving, but he ultimately remained silent.

He wanted to ask what would happen to the wounded still lying in the tents.

But the words died in his throat.

In the current situation, this was hardly the time to worry about such things.

"Zhou Heng! Listen well."

Fan Yuan suddenly turned around, grabbed his shoulder, and stared fixedly at his face.

"This is not a game."

"Stay close to me later. Don't worry about anything else, just follow me."

"When I tell you to run, you run—do you understand?"

Zhou Heng nodded heavily.

"Good lad."

Having said this, Fan Yuan lifted the curtain and stepped out first.

The scene outside the tent was even more tragic than imagined.

Flames shot into the sky, illuminating half the night sky in red.

People were shouting, horses were neighing, and everything was in chaos; there was no semblance of a military formation left.

Let alone gathering forces.

Even trying to gather people had become a luxury.

Zhou Heng felt his heart tighten at the sight, and he subconsciously looked toward a particularly fierce cluster of flames in the distance.

That direction...

It was the place where he had been tending to the wounded during the day.

So many people were still lying in bed, unable to move; what was their situation now?

He dared not think.

On the other side, Fan Yuan's steps slowed down.

He was weighing his options.

There were only two paths before him.

There were very few people accompanying him, and the one with the highest cultivation was Gu Hanshan.

But even Gu Hanshan was only an eighth-stage Cultivator.

Such combat power would be enough to hold the field in normal times, but since the enemy dared to launch a surprise attack, they must have been certain of victory.

If they really clashed head-on, they wouldn't even last a stick of incense.

If he only took Gu Hanshan and escaped in the chaos, with Fan Yuan's ability, it wouldn't be too difficult.

But if he left like this, the thousands left behind would be equivalent to being abandoned by his own hand.

The other path was to step out, rally the remaining troops, consolidate their forces, and fight for a path of survival head-on.

But the moment he showed himself, the attackers would immediately swarm toward the commotion.

A nine-in-ten chance of death.

There was no perfect solution.

At such a critical juncture, there was no time for detailed thought.

In an instant, Fan Yuan had made his decision.

He turned his head and commanded Gu Hanshan beside him in a deep voice.

"Gu Hanshan."

"You take this boy and leave."

Gu Hanshan furrowed his brows, instantly understanding Fan Yuan's plan.

"Elder Fan, how can this be?" His voice was extremely low, yet every word was urgent. "You are the backbone of Fuyao Tower. If you stay, it's a nine-in-ten chance of death."

"Say no more!"

Fan Yuan waved his hand to interrupt him, resolute and decisive. "This boy is more important than me."

"If he is gone, even if I return alive, I will have no face to see Master."

After speaking, he took one last look at Zhou Heng.

In that gaze, there was reluctance, but even more so, an unyielding resolve.

"Remember what I said just now."

"Run—don't look back!"

"Master..."

"Run!"

A sharp shout.

Zhou Heng wanted to say something, but his throat was so shaken by that roar that he couldn't make a sound.

Gu Hanshan also knew that every extra word now was a delay. He did not hesitate, grabbed Zhou Heng, turned, and dashed into the darkness.

Behind him, the remaining people gathered silently by Fan Yuan's side.

There was an old man with graying hair smoothing his cuffs.

There was a man in his prime gripping the sword at his waist, his knuckles turning white.

Not one person retreated.

Fan Yuan looked back at everyone and suddenly smiled.

"I am ashamed."

"Before I came, you were all perfectly fine."

"Now that I've come, I have to drag you all to face this dead end with me."

He gazed at the flames rushing toward them and spoke solemnly:

"I am sorry."

"Elder Fan, stop saying such depressing things."

"We knew this long ago. If we were really afraid of death, we wouldn't have joined Fuyao Tower in the first place."

"Exactly. I've long had enough of the intrigue within the Tower. This is satisfying—"

"Just one word."

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

The crowd roared in response, their voices almost drowning out the slaughter filling the sky.

"Good."

Fan Yuan nodded heavily.

The next moment, he suddenly raised his head.

The True Qi around his body surged, his robes billowed without wind, and he launched himself into the air, charging straight up.

"Fan Yuan of Fuyao Tower—is here!"

That sound, like a thunderclap, spread across most of the battlefield.

Zhou Heng, being carried by Gu Hanshan as they dashed away, looked back.

He only saw several streams of light rushing from all directions toward that solitary figure in mid-air.

He opened his mouth, wanting to shout.

But he only saw one glance.

The next instant, Gu Hanshan, who was carrying him, abruptly stopped.

Zhou Heng stumbled and looked up.

Without knowing when, several figures had silently blocked their path.

The leader looked Gu Hanshan up and down and suddenly sneered.

"Oh, oh, oh, I wonder who it is."

"Isn't this Gu Hanshan of Fuyao Tower?"

"They are calling for battle over there, and it's just the time for people to be used. Elder Gu, instead of going to fight, you are rushing over here—"

"Where are you trying to go?"

Gu Hanshan didn't answer, only silently shielding Zhou Heng behind him.

"I am not leaving."

His voice sank.

"Let this boy go."

"He is not a person of our Fuyao Tower."

The man's gaze swept over Zhou Heng indifferently for a moment.

Then he clicked his tongue, shaking his head with a mocking smile.

"Whether he is your person or not, I don't care."

"I also can't be bothered to guess what kind of medicine you are selling in your gourd."

"We came tonight for only one thing."

The slight smile on his lips vanished completely.

"Kill them all!"

Fan Yuan ultimately failed to break out.

Several figures surrounded him from all sides, trapping him in the middle.

True Qi surged, metal clashed, and the robes around his body were torn, flapping loudly.

He wanted to fight to the death, willing to seriously injure one or two, which wouldn't be a loss.

But just at this moment—

"Stop!"

Gu Hanshan was brought over, covered in blood, one arm hanging limply, clearly broken.

Zhou Heng, beside him, was also being forced to kneel on the ground.

The one holding them was a fair-skinned young Cultivator named Ji Changfeng.

"Elder Fan, look at what we've caught."

Ji Changfeng offered a fake smile, grabbed Zhou Heng from the ground, and pulled him forward.

"Elder Gu, with his dignified eighth-stage cultivation, while the battle is raging, instead of going to fight, he is risking his life to protect this nobody of a boy to break out."

"Tsk, if you say this child is not important, who would believe it?"

The True Qi surging around Fan Yuan suddenly stagnated.

That momentary loss of composure was seen clearly by the leader.

The man sneered and slowly paced forward.

This person was the leader of this group from Xuandu Prefecture, surnamed He, with the given name Ge.

He Ge stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at him condescendingly.

"Looking at Elder Fan's reaction."

"It seems we bet correctly."

He gestured with his chin toward Gu Hanshan and Zhou Heng.

"If you still want to spare their lives..."

"You had better surrender and obediently come with us."

"Despicable!" Fan Yuan gritted his teeth. "Using a child as a hostage, is that what Xuandu Prefecture is?"

"Hey, Elder Fan, that's too harsh." He Ge wasn't angry, but rather laughed. "When two armies fight, each uses their own means."

"Besides—"

He glanced at Zhou Heng on the ground and said slowly, "It was you who couldn't bear to let go, so you can't blame us."

Fan Yuan's chest heaved violently.

He looked at the blood-soaked Gu Hanshan, and at Zhou Heng, who was being held down on the ground.

After a long time.

The surging True Qi around his body finally dissipated little by little.

Seeing his True Qi dissipate, several Cultivators who had been waiting for a long time immediately swarmed up.

They twisted his arms behind his back and held him tightly, giving him no room to make a move.

Watching this scene, a trace of triumph flashed in He Ge's eyes.

But he didn't stop; instead, he lifted his chin, pushing for more.

"Just stopping isn't enough."

"Kneel!"