273: mess

Upon hearing this, Daoist Yunche didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt. Instead, he let out a low laugh and nodded frankly.

"If you wish to understand it that way, then so be it."

He raised his hand to straighten his collar and continued, "On the path of cultivation, the most taboo thing is to be stubborn. Only by planning ahead and assessing the situation can one build up advantages step by step, climbing higher and going further."

"Stubbornly defending a place destined for destruction is simply foolish."

"Furthermore, you should already know the true nature of those old fogies from the Five Elders Gate."

"Pah!"

The Elder in the middle could no longer suppress his rage. He spat violently on the ground and spoke with a harsh, stern voice:

"To speak of deserting for survival in such a high-sounding manner... you don't even possess half the integrity of the Xuanxu Tower Master!"

The smile on Daoist Yunche's face faded, but he wasn't angry. He merely gave the Elder a faint glance.

"Naturally, I cannot compare to the Xuanxu Tower Master. In terms of talent, he attained the Dao in a hundred years, a brilliant genius; in terms of Realm, he had already touched the Peak of the Void Refinement Realm, leaving me far behind; in terms of reputation, he fought the Yao Race repeatedly, and I am even further outclassed."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three Elders' increasingly unsightly expressions, and said slowly:

"But even for a brilliant genius like the Xuanxu Tower Master, what was the final outcome?"

"Was he not guarded against at every turn by those old fogies of the Five Elders Gate? His cultivation resources were completely cut off, forcing him to face the Yao Race army at the critical moment of his secluded cultivation to break through to the Body Integration Realm."

"Ultimately, it resulted in damage to the very foundation of his Great Dao."

The Elder was stunned and blurted out a follow-up question:

"What did you say?

The Xuanxu Tower Master being set up and ambushed by the Yao Race was the work of the Five Elders Gate's Sect Master?"

Daoist Yunche sneered, his face full of mockery:

"It was also thanks to this incident that I saw clearly: the Five Elders Gate is, in the end, only the Sect of those five people. As long as you stay in this Sect for a single day, your Great Dao must never step ahead of theirs."

He surveyed the three again and asked in a heavy voice, "I will ask one more time: are you willing to follow me to seek your own Dao, or will you stay in the Five Elders Gate and spend the rest of your lives in obscurity?"

The Elder in the middle fell silent for a moment, his expression resolute. "I will never grovel with these Yao Race beasts..."

Before he could finish, a mouthful of blood sprayed out. He turned toward his right in disbelief.

The burly Elder on the right had already retracted a dripping dagger and cupped his fists respectfully:

"This subordinate is willing to follow the Tower Master."

Daoist Yunche nodded with satisfaction. Then, his figure moved suddenly, striking out with a palm that instantly turned the remaining Elder into a mist of blood.

High in the sky, Chu Haotian, who was locked in combat with Yan Shu, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The layers of Formations of the Demon Suppressing Tower dimmed instantly. Immediately after, countless Yao Race members began to flee from the tower in all directions.

He immediately realized what had happened and cursed angrily.

"That beast Yunche!"

Yan Shu chuckled. "It seems time is just about up. I can only spar with you again next time, Fellow Daoist."

As the words fell, Yan Shu instantly transformed into a streak of spiritual light and fled far away in an instant.

Chu Haotian stood alone in the air, quickly weighing the pros and cons. He did not choose to pursue.

Even if he caught up to that beast, it would be difficult to take him down quickly. It would be better to first deal with the messy situation at hand.

He took out several message talismans. The Talismans ignited without fire, and the messages were instantly sent everywhere. Then, he concentrated his senses on the escape directions of those three Soul Transformation Realm demons.

The Demon Suppressing Tower was too close to Yunxi City. If these great demons were allowed to rush into the city, they would surely harm the innocent.

Having made his decision, Chu Haotian's figure flashed as he sped off toward the northwest.

At this moment, the Book Boy, who was escaping through the ground, suddenly felt a chill down his back.

Turning his head to look, a figure was rapidly approaching, scaring his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering:

"Damn it! Damn it! Why aren't you chasing those two? Why target me!"

The Book Boy cursed while pushing his escape speed to the absolute limit.

Inside the Demon Suppressing Tower, everything was already in chaos, with the sounds of fighting everywhere.

The Elders in the tower never expected that the stable Formations would suddenly fail, allowing a large number of the Yao Race to seize the chance to escape.

If they were to learn that all of this was done by the Tower Master himself...

...their hearts would probably go half-cold.

Why on earth would Your Majesty rebel?

Beside the ten thousand demon blood quenching pool, Yu Qingyan listened to the noisy commotion outside and opened her eyes irritably.

"What exactly happened? Why is it so chaotic?"

Just as she was considering whether to go out and investigate...

...with a loud 'boom', the heavy stone door was shattered by a palm strike.

Amidst the flying stone fragments, three figures enveloped in a bloody wind burst into the stone room.

The leading Bear Demon was as large as a small mountain, his muscles knotted. His gaze swept the room and instantly locked onto Ye Hao, who was sitting cross-legged in the blood pool, and Yu Qingyan by the poolside.

"Leave none alive!"

The violent roar caused dust to fall from the ceiling.

The Bear Demon was the first to attack. His giant, fan-like palm, carrying a wild wind, struck toward the blood pool, intending to take Ye Hao's life in one blow.

Bang!"

At the critical moment, Yu Qingyan's toes tapped the ground, and her figure soared out like a startled swan. With a flick of her delicate hand, a pale green spiritual energy barrier suddenly condensed.

The giant palm slammed heavily against the barrier, producing a dull, explosive boom.

"Stinking woman!"

Seeing his attack blocked, the leading Bear Demon glared at Yu Qingyan in a fit of rage.

The two demons behind him also approached: one was tall and thin with a long, narrow face like a fox, his fingertips glowing with an eerie blue demonic light; the other was broad-shouldered and thick-backed with a single horn on his forehead, his eyes fierce, hands clenched into fists that crackled at the joints.

Yu Qingyan quickly withdrew the faint smile from the corners of her mouth. A layer of frost covered her brow as she adopted a cold and detached expression.

The Bear Demon continued to shout, "So eager to die? Then we'll start with you!"

With a roar, his burly figure suddenly closed in. His fists, carrying massive demonic power, boomed out, the wind from the punches even carrying the sound of clashing metal.

At the same time, the Fox-faced Demon's figure blurred, transforming into several afterimages.

Spiritual energy condensed into needles at his fingertips, silently aiming at Yu Qingyan's vital points. The Unicorn Demon performed hand seals, the sharp horn on his forehead glowing with a dark red light, as a condensed demonic energy shockwave shot out directly, the offensive fierce and peerless.

Facing a three-sided pincer attack, Yu Qingyan did not retreat but advanced, her jade-like finger flicking lightly:

"Go!"

Two streaks of light suddenly flew from her sleeves, transforming into one white and one green Flying Sword, tracing elegant yet sharp arcs in the air.

The white sword went straight for the Bear Demon's face with a swift momentum, forcing him to retract his fists to parry; the green sword moved nimbly, slicing through the Fox-faced Demon's slender demonic needles one by one, the afterimages dissipating wherever the sword light passed.

All three demons were stunned, their large eyes full of disbelief.

Clearly, they hadn't expected this seemingly delicate woman to be so difficult to deal with!

One must know that all three were at the third layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, the exact same Realm as Yu Qingyan.

Furthermore, the Yao Race naturally possessed powerful physiques and overbearing demonic power. In a fight between those of the same Realm, the Yao Race usually used their physical advantage to suppress human Cultivators.

But they never imagined that this time they would encounter the favored daughter of the Heavenly Palace Pavilion!

A cold light flashed in Yu Qingyan's eyes. With a light wave of her hand, a pale purple streak of light flew from her sleeve and hovered in mid-air.

heaven-rank magic treasure—Illusory Feather Silk!

This silk was woven from ten-thousand-year-old celestial silkworm thread. It was as thin as a cicada's wing yet indestructible; it could be soft for entangling and binding, or hard to transform into a blade to cleave the air. Its form changed at will, making it a supreme treasure for both offense and defense, perfectly suited for a female Cultivator.

Having sacrificed a heaven-rank magic treasure, Yu Qingyan had only one thought in mind: end this quickly!