123: Chapter 123 The Time-Blocking Guy

The smoke of battle had yet to dissipate in the mountain forest where a clash had just ended, and the scent of blood mixed with the damp aroma of plants and trees permeated the air.

Sect Master Shen Yurong looked at the corpse of Sect Master Hu Wanshan on the ground. With a slight shift in her thoughts, she cupped her hands toward the burly man before her and said, "Senior, would you allow me to check this person's Storage Ring?"

Yuan Kun and the others had not arrived to rendezvous, and she had some ominous suspicions in her heart.

Upon hearing this, the burly man nodded slightly. He raised his hand and made a grabbing motion through the air, removing the Storage Ring from Sect Master Hu Wanshan's fingertip, then casually handed it to Sect Master Shen Yurong.

"Take it!"

Afterward, his gaze swept over the disheveled and terrified Luoxia Valley Disciples nearby, and he said in a deep voice, "The pursuers are not far away. There is no time to lose; we must set off immediately and head deeper."

As his voice fell, he personally gathered up some of the Mortal Realm Disciples from Luoxia Valley, signaled for the others to follow, and led the way himself, while instructing, "Do not release your Divine Thought, and exert all your effort to conceal your blood energy and Spiritual Qi fluctuations."

The burly man's voice was steady, bearing the seasoned experience of long-term combat: "From here on, we will travel along the edge of the Sixth-Order Monster Beast territory. High-level Vicious Beasts have keen senses; do not disturb them."

Under the leadership of this experienced Elder of Qiushan Sect, over the next two days of flight, the group was truly not caught by the people from Qiushan Sect.

They concealed their presence and snuck along the outskirts of the Sixth-Order Monster Beast territory the entire time, perfectly avoiding the traces of the pursuing forces behind them several times.

While on the move, they could often hear bursts of spiritual power roaring and spells exploding in the forest behind them, and the colorful light produced by the collision of Spiritual Qi in the sky could be seen from a great distance.

That was the fighting that erupted when the subsequent Qiushan Sect pursuers disturbed the Sixth-Order Monster Beasts in the forest during their search.

Amidst the sporadic battles, the pursuers were too busy to attend to anything else, and their search efficiency was greatly reduced.

The journey was fraught with danger, and after their tightly wound nerves relaxed slightly, Sect Master Shen Yurong could finally no longer suppress the doubts in her heart.

The group traveled to a relatively safe dense forest, and as they took a short rest, Sect Master Shen Yurong solemnly cupped her hands toward the two Elders of Qiushan Sect and asked, "The entire Luoxia Valley will never forget the debt of gratitude for saving our lives, Seniors. However, this Junior has always had an unresolved doubt in her heart. I do not know why the two of you would defy the Alliance's orders to step in and protect our Luoxia Valley?"

All the people of Luoxia Valley lifted their eyes, their gazes falling upon the two, their expressions filled with gratitude and confusion.

Upon hearing this, the burly man smiled lightly, turned his head to look at the middle-aged beautiful woman beside him, with a hint of tenderness in his eyes, and said, "You all should remember the incident where Lin Qing infiltrated the Qiushan Sect before, right?"

The Luoxia Valley group nodded in succession. It wasn't just the Qiushan Sect; back then, Lin Qing had also visited other top forces in Great Qi, and the matter had long since spread throughout the entire Great Qi.

"The two Sixth-Order Elders that Lin Qing secretly sought out when he infiltrated the Qiushan Sect back then were none other than my Junior Sister and me."

"At that time, his strength was overwhelming. He easily knocked the two of us unconscious, yet in the end, he showed mercy and did not take our lives."

The burly man's tone slowed as he continued: "That is only the secondary reason why we are willing to help you. After he knocked us unconscious that day, he also used the Soul Searching Technique on us."

He looked at his Junior Sister beside him with gentle eyes, his tone filled with wistfulness: "I harbored a secret myself, which was that I was a sleeper agent planted in the Qiushan Sect by the Xuanye Demon Court."

"Having been undercover for many years, I lived in fear day and night."

"After Lin Qing used the Soul Searching Technique, I feared he would reveal the secret I had hidden for so many years. Knowing I could no longer hide it, I simply confessed to my Junior Sister and laid out the whole story."

"It was only then that I learned my Junior Sister had long been suspicious of me and had developed a rift with me. After she learned the truth, she did not blame me, and I completely let go of my Heart Demon."

"It was Lin Qing who, quite unintentionally, resolved the rift between us. We keep this debt of gratitude in mind."

Speaking up to this point, the burly man's expression suddenly darkened, and his tone became incomparably grave: "But this is still not the main reason why the two of us came to protect you."

"The real reason is that this encirclement against your Luoxia Valley has been controlled by the Xuanye Demon Court from beginning to end!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in Luoxia Valley trembled, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Of the six top forces in Great Qi, all of them, except for the Sun Family, have now secretly defected to the Xuanye Demon Court!"

The burly man spoke each word with weight: "You do not understand the terror of the Demon Court's rule at all. In any territory controlled by the Xuanye Demon Court, the common people are displaced and starving, and Cultivators are reduced to Gu worms raised by the Demon Court, with no dignity whatsoever."

"I cannot bear to watch the entire Great Qi fall, to let innocent commoners fall into purgatory, and to let thousands of Sect Disciples become tools of the Demon Court!"

"I have had contact with Lin Qing. At the time, rumors outside claimed he could easily defeat Sixth-Order Cultivators. In reality, that was hardly an 'easy defeat'; Sixth-Order Cultivators simply do not have the qualifications to fight him."

"My Junior Sister and I weighed the options repeatedly and finally decided to take a gamble."

"We are betting that Lin Qing values relationships and righteousness, and will never sit idly by while Luoxia Valley is destroyed; we are betting that his heaven-defying talent will allow him to turn the tables and shatter the Demon Court's conspiracy to control Great Qi!"

He let out a long breath, revealing an expectant expression: "Now that we are protecting your Luoxia Valley, we only hope that if Lin Qing quells the chaos and takes control of the situation one day, he will, for the sake of this small favor, spare those innocent ordinary Disciples of the Qiushan Sect."

After hearing all the secrets, the gazes of the Luoxia Valley group toward the two Elders changed completely.

Beyond the overwhelming gratitude, there was even more admiration from the bottom of their hearts.

In these turbulent times, with the overwhelming tide of events pressing down, countless top-tier powerful figures were fawning over the strong and clinging to life, yet these two high-ranking Elders dared to go against the tide and hold the common people in their hearts.

But the peace was ultimately short-lived, and delaying was not a long-term solution.

Just as everyone was immersed in their emotions, a continuous series of loud noises came from the distance!

Densely packed, sharp streaks of light tore through the clouds and swept over!

The King of Great Qi, accompanied by the high-level officials of the various great forces of Great Qi, had finally arrived from the royal capital!

This time, those who came to encircle them were no longer mid-level forces like the Tiger Hall, but the true top-tier core combat power of Great Qi!

The King of Great Qi and the Sect Masters of the other four forces had all reached the Peak of the Sixth-Order, and they were followed by dozens of Sixth-Order Elders from various major Sects.

The high-level Yao Beasts in the Hundred Thousand Mountains perceived this extremely tyrannical pressure of experts and dared not step forward to block them at all.

From then on, the group of pursuers had no more scruples and searched wantonly through the forest, quickly catching up with the Luoxia Valley group.

In an instant, figures filled the sky, encircling them from the air and completely sealing off this patch of the forest.

Desperation descended once again.

And this time, the situation was a hundred times more dangerous than before!

On the Luoxia Valley side, there were only two Early Stage Sixth-Order Elders from the Qiushan Sect, plus Sect Master Shen Yurong, a Peak Fifth-Order Cultivator. The rest were all severely injured and exhausted Early Stage and Middle Stage Fifth-Order Cultivators, plus some True Disciples in the Mortal Realm.

Looking at the enemy side, five Peak Sixth-Order figures and dozens of Sixth-Order Elders surrounded them. The gap in combat power was like a chasm; there was simply no room to resist.

The burly man stepped forward, blocking in front of everyone, facing the five powerhouses in the sky, and angrily questioned: "King of Great Qi! You and your kind have been supported by the common people of Great Qi for generations, yet now you are willing to kneel and defect to the Xuanye Demon Court, bringing the calamity of demons into your homeland and placing the common people of the world in dire straits! How can your conscience be at peace!"

Many Elders who were still unaware of the situation had their expressions change suddenly, their faces filled with astonishment, as they looked suspiciously at the five leaders high in the sky.

The five great power-holders, who were usually high and mighty, were now, for once, slightly lowering their heads, their faces showing ambiguity.

The King of Great Qi's expression was cold, his voice hoarse and carrying a trace of numbness: "Since you know the inside story, you should understand that in the face of the absolute power of the Xuanye Demon Court, we have absolutely no choice."

The burly man laughed in anger and sternly rebuked: "No choice? What about the Sun Family? Why didn't the Sun Family collude with you?"

The King of Great Qi slowly shook his head and continued indifferently: "It is not that the Sun Family was unwilling to defect, but that the Xuanye Demon Court never recruited the Sun Family from the very beginning. Sun Shaoping is too close to Lin Qing; the Sun Family has long been marked for liquidation by the Demon Court. After the Luoxia Valley is destroyed, the next one will be the Sun Family!"

As his voice fell, his eyes turned completely cold, filled with killing intent: "Since things have reached this point, there is no use in saying more. The general trend is set; end your own lives, so as to avoid suffering!"

The five Peak Sixth-Order experts released their pressure simultaneously. The overwhelming and terrifying spiritual power crushed down. The people of Luoxia Valley turned pale, their hearts sinking completely to the bottom.

Just at this moment, from above the Nine Heavens, a brilliant, pure white stream of light fell down.

The speed was extreme, tearing through the sky and crushing the clouds!

Before the person had even landed, a terrifying Spiritual Pressure that crushed all things suddenly enveloped the entire mountain range!

Rumble—!

Violent winds raged wildly, ancient trees trembled violently, the roots of thousand-year-old trees shook, and their branches creaked, as if they were about to be snapped by force in the next second!

High in the sky, the five Peak Sixth-Order experts, who had originally possessed an overwhelming Aura, suddenly felt their bodies sink under this absolutely terrifying pressure. They fell from the sky in a wretched state, landed on the ground, and looked toward the horizon with faces full of horror!

Everyone locked their gazes tightly onto that stream of light.

As the stream of light dissipated, a tall, cool, and aloof youth stood in the Void Realm, arms crossed, looking down at the entire scene with an indifferent expression.

"Lin Qing!"

The moment they saw the face of the person who had arrived, Yun Nian and the other Luoxia Valley Disciples instantly had red-rimmed eyes, and their excited cries, filled with sobs, rang through the forest!

It is him!

Their only hope had finally arrived in this desperate situation!

Lin Qing nodded slightly toward the Luoxia Valley group, then lowered his gaze, looking down at the panicked King of Great Qi and the others at his feet.

However, he did not strike immediately. Instead, he lifted his gaze again and looked toward the depths of the dark and profound dense forest in the distance: "Come out!"