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Qing Xuanling watched with relief as the barrier of the five Qi Refinement forces began slowly but surely approaching theirs.
Strangely, the worshipful ghosts didn't seem very interested in the moving barrier—as if it weren't nearly as enticing as the hundreds of people in a mentally deteriorated state.
But she didn't grow complacent because of that. She noticed that some of the larger worshipful ghosts were glancing at the barrier more frequently than before. Qing Xuanling realized immediately:
'These damn things were waiting to gather enough strength to destroy the barrier!'
A chill ran down her spine. If the worshipful ghosts were amassing power to break the other barrier… didn't that mean the Young Master's barrier was also in their sights?
"Damn demonic cultivators—I swear I'll tear you apart if you lay even a finger on these kids!"
Qing Huomei shouted as she appeared above the Young Master's barrier. She suddenly pulled out a staff topped with several wooden rings forming a sphere. Bright points briefly flared within the sphere before a fire dragon clad in metallic armor surged upward—straight toward three figures clearly exuding demonic Qi!
One of the three demonic cultivators—a corpse-like figure—stepped forward and struck the dragon, destroying it effortlessly. He wore an arrogant smile, but his expression froze when he was suddenly surrounded by three red-mist figures.
"Bloodmist Envoy! Do you really have energy to waste on us?!"
Qing Xuanling watched the aerial battle with some fear. The shockwaves were so violent the very air seemed to ripple!
But what worried her most was that the three demonic cultivators appeared stronger than Elder Huomei and Elder Xuyun—who were clearly struggling to contain their opponents despite the help from the three blood mist figures.
"They need to hurry..." Qing Muyu voiced what most were thinking, trembling slightly as he watched the other barrier inch closer.
Fortunately, sensing the aerial battle's urgency, the five Qi Refinement forces quickened their pace.
They reached the Young Master's barrier in under three minutes.
The Young Master sighed in relief. The chance that the demonic cultivators might break free from Qing Huomei and Qing Xuyun's assault and attack them wasn't small—but luckily, it hadn't happened.
'After all, the clan elders remain the most trusted of all.'
He smiled faintly, projecting calmness, and quickly manipulated his water-based barrier to form a tunnel toward the other barrier. The other side did the same, connecting both tunnels.
The two barriers finally merged at that moment.
A large group passed through the tunnel. Li Fenyun led the way.
He held a disc of unknown material that glowed faintly as it absorbed Li Fenyun's Qi—which was clearly substantial amount, judging by his pale face.
Still, he managed a smile upon seeing the Young Master. "Fellow Yenglan, you don't know how relieved I am to see you. It's truly a blessing we made it here."
The Young Master showed no arrogance whatsoever and stepped forward to shake his hand. "It's the opposite, Patriarch Fenyun. I never expected you'd be lucky enough to bring a barrier artifact with the exact properties needed for this situation..."
Li Fenyun's body tensed slightly at the mention of the barrier artifact—but seeing the Young Master's clear, greed-free eyes, he relaxed and smiled wryly.
"I must've used up five generations' worth of luck today," he said incredulously. "I originally brought this artifact in case the Mo clan or Ink Sword Sect attacked us. Who knew it'd prove so useful now..."
The Young Master smiled. He wasn't surprised Li Fenyun had such precautions. In truth, the barrier was likely partly meant as insurance against the Qing clan too. After all, the five Qi Refinement forces had constantly received subjugation demands from the Ink Sword Sect and Mo clan—the Qing clan had even sent one, though far more reasonably than the other two.
Yet the Young Master found something curious: the other four Qi Refinement forces seemed extremely relaxed under Li Fenyun's protection—not at all like people living under another's roof who could be discarded at any moment.
'Either they're naive enough to believe Li Fenyun wouldn't abandon them... or they're certain he never would...'
The Young Master's eyes gleamed faintly.
Li Fenyun smiled helplessly upon noticing this. "No need to overthink it, Fellow Yenglan. If you're wondering whether these five present forces share a secret alliance—you're right. We've been allied for over five hundred years."
The Young Master's eyebrows rose. He'd suspected as much for a long time. After all, it was odd that the same five forces had survived unchanged for over three hundred years—since the city's sixth Qi Refinement force was destroyed.
Although that theory was popular and made a lot of sense, the five Qi refining forces had always had certain conflicts among themselves despite their apparent unity against the three Foundation Establishment forces of the city's. But it seemed that those conflicts were nothing more than an act.
"I assume you have a reason for revealing all this?" the Young Master smiled. He didn't believe Li Fenyun would be foolish enough to disclose such a secret without purpose.
Indeed, Li Fenyun's eyes filled with helplessness—but mostly determination.
"The war between Ziyu City's three great forces is about to begin. And we, as weak as we are, have already accepted we can't escape these turbulent waves. We'd decided beforehand to subordinate ourselves to one of the three great forces—but given the current situation, our options are..."
The Young Master smiled ironically. He understood Li Fenyun's thoughts perfectly. First, the Mo clan was never an option—they were racist bastards who treated anyone without green hair as inferior servants. Subordinating to them would mean becoming slaves.
So the real choices were the Ink Sword Sect and the Qing clan. But one option had just revealed dangerous ties to demonic cultivators...
Good and evil were fluid concepts in the cultivation world—shifting based on personal benefit—but one thing was certain: never maintain long-term relations with demonic cultivators.
They were like demons, seeking only to destroy you the moment you trusted them. Li Fenyun didn't want to spend his life watching his back just to serve the Ink Sword Sect.
Though this might seem like the Qing clan was merely the default choice after elimination, it wasn't so. Li Fenyun and the other alliance leaders had seriously considered subordinating to the Qing clan before.
Not only did the Qing clan treat subordinates exceptionally fairly, but their growth potential was far greater.
Their only hesitation was the Qing clan's recent enmity with both the Mo clan and Ink Sword Sect simultaneously. They weren't sure the Qing clan could withstand such pressure.
But things had changed now.
It wasn't about whether the Qing clan could endure the pressure—but what would happen if they failed.
Li Fenyun shuddered at the thought of the Mo clan or Ink Sword Sect becoming Ziyu City's supreme rulers. The image of demonic cultivators roaming freely through the city gave him chills.
The Young Master smiled happily upon hearing this. He wasn't offended that the Qing clan was chosen due to circumstance—he'd have done the same in Li Fenyun's position.
"Fellow Taoist Fenyun must've had a hard time," he said gently, "but don't worry—the Qing clan treats its own fairly, especially distinguished ones like you. But we can discuss details later. Right now, the situation is..."
He didn't need to finish for everyone to understand.
In fact, these two or three minutes spent talking were already wasted—considering the sky battle could tip against them at any moment.
But the Young Master felt no regret. Better to have a narrow bridge than an unreliable ally at your back.
Li Fenyun, now calmer thanks to the Young Master's courteous tone, handed him the unknown-material disc. "The Pure Light Disc is an artifact that can't be bound—just inject Qi to control it."
The Young Master wasted no ceremony and took the disc. The white barrier formed by the disc dissipated, startling the five-force alliance members—but the Young Master quickly expanded his barrier to protect them.
Sweat trickled down his forehead as he operated the disc, injecting his Qi into it. Fortunately, just as Li Fenyun said, the disc required no binding—Qi injection alone granted perfect control.
Quite mysterious. The Young Master had never encountered anything like it before.
A barrier suddenly erupted from the disc, first covering the Young Master before expanding to envelop the Qing clan members—and then the five-force alliance.
The Young Master's water barrier simultaneously vanished.
Qing Xuanling stared at the new barrier in awe. Her tense mind relaxed. She immediately realized even the Young Master's barrier hadn't fully dispelled the Spectral Madness Domain's effects.
This only proved how exceptional the Pure Light Disc was.
Even the Young Master smiled, pleasantly surprised. "This artifact is impressive! This barrier uses less than seventy percent of the Qi I spent on the previous one!"
Qing Tanwei watched the battle in the sky urgently. "Then we'd better hurry. The battle up there grows more intense by the second..."
Fireballs, air slashes, and various demonic energies exploded constantly—creating soul-shaking fireworks.
The Young Master wasted no more time and moved the barrier toward the domain's edge. People inside carried those who couldn't walk, advancing at a relatively quick pace.
Qing Xuanling even hoisted two people onto her shoulders, leveraging her body strength.
Though tense, the large group safely reached the domain's edge. Thankfully, none of the worshipful ghosts attempted to attack them.
Everyone stared grimly at the domain's boundary. They could feel deep energy emanating from it.
The West Sun Hall's master—the towering man—stepped forward. "Young Yenglan must conserve as much Qi as possible to maintain the barrier. So us elders should lead the attack to break this giant barrier."
Unaware they were inside a domain, he'd assumed it was an extremely powerful barrier formation from the start.
Li Fenyun and the other Qi Refinement force leaders stepped forward. Though their cultivation was only at peak stage Qi Refinement, Qing Xuanling sensed tremendous power from them—far beyond ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators.
It was a strange sensation.
Su Meiren was also in the Qi Refinement realm (by her own admission), yet she too exuded pressure and power that didn't match Qing Xuanling's understanding of Qi Refinement strength.
But unlike the five-force alliance leaders—who merely seemed to possess deeper, more refined Qi—Su Meiren's aura was as if she were on a completely different realm.
'Not Foundation Establishment... but not Qi Refinement either...'
That was the best way she could describe Su Meiren's aura. The truth behind it was beyond her comprehension—for now.
"Fellow Fenyun and the rest shouldn't be the only attackers," the Young Master suddenly said. "Though the younger members here aren't the strongest, enough ants can devour an elephant. Have everyone launch a massive group attack."
Li Fenyun nodded. "Very well—we'll lead the assault."
He began forming hand seals as green energy points converged around him. The ground trembled as he stopped sealing and pulled a one-foot-long wooden sword from his storage ring.
The sword floated from his hand, spiraling violently and whipping up fierce winds.
Li Fenyun's eyes blazed as he flicked his finger. The wooden sword shot forward at high speed while roots erupted from the ground, thrashing and charging at the Spectral Madness Domain with the same ferocity as the sword!
The other alliance leaders unleashed their own unique methods.
BOOOOM!
A powerful explosion shook the ground as the attacks struck the domain—but it held firm! Everyone's expressions, poised to continue attacking, immediately fell.
But the Young Master smiled. "Look closely! There's a tiny crack in the domain—except it's very small! Your attacks still have some effect!"
These words revitalized everyone, sending them into a spell-casting frenzy. Even early-stage cultivators launched their fireballs and earth spikes as many times as possible.
Qing Xuanling didn't join. Instead, she turned around—her eyes icy cold.
The worshipful ghosts were approaching the barrier.
"Sigh... I suppose it's my turn to act." She smiled faintly. "I'd rather fight than literally punch some kind of barrier anyway."
The Young Master glanced sideways at her. "Don't overdo it—and attack from inside the barrier. I still have enough Qi to withstand a few strikes from those ghosts. That goes for Muyu and Tanwei too."
They grinned upon hearing this and positioned themselves beside Qing Xuanling.
Qing Muyu beamed as golden fire enveloped him. "I guess our role as the clan's geniuses is still more important—and dangerous—than usual."
"Hide if you don't like it," Qing Tanwei replied indifferently, an earthen golden layer coating her body like armor. "We don't need a chatterbox who only talks, do we, Little Ninth?"
Qing Xuanling smiled bitterly and decided to ignore them. No time for bickering. She regulated her breathing—her Sword Qi surging from her body and wrapping around Memory. Just in time to strike the first worshipful ghost reaching the barrier's exterior.
She lunged forward and slashed—splitting the ghost in half!
The question of whether she could cut the ghost never crossed her mind! After all, sufficiently trained Sword Qi could slice through anything—material or immaterial!
The worshipful ghost roared in fury and tried attacking Qing Xuanling—but she retreated behind the barrier, making its strikes crash uselessly against an impenetrable wall.
More worshipful ghosts arrived, drawn by the first's shriek. Pressure on Qing Xuanling and the other two gradually increased until sweat streamed down their faces.
But none slowed their pace, patiently waiting for others to break at least part of the domain.
Their efforts paid off ten minutes later.
"It's broken!"
A lower-cultivation cultivator—who'd been casting his best spells—shouted excitedly as a several-meter-wide-and-tall hole appeared in the Spectral Madness Domain.
Qing Xuanling's eyes lit up. She spun around quickly—a smile spreading as she confirmed what she heard! Indeed, a gap had opened in the Spectral Madness Domain!
The Young Master seized the opportunity, peering through the hole at the seemingly calm city outside. "The youngest go first! Elders and seniors stay—to ensure the gap doesn't close!"
Qing Xuanling wanted to protest—but the Young Master's hand gesture made her float toward a group of youths rushing toward the exit. Most were from the five-force alliance—including Li Bing.
She gritted her teeth and turned immediately—but a smooth, soft hand grabbed her wrist with surprising firmness.
"Idiot! Where are you going?!" Li Bing shouted, her face pale and sweaty. "Do you think you're so strong?! Why the hell would you try returning?! Can't you see even those two senior brothers are running as fast as they can?!"
Qing Xuanling stared in slight surprise at Qing Muyu and Qing Tanwei, who were hastily running toward the gap.
Li Bing yanked her harder. "I-I don't know much—but my father always told me: youths, especially women, are the foundation of a powerful family! So we must preserve our lives unless ordered otherwise!"
Li Bing's words finally jolted Qing Xuanling awake. She wasn't some heroine or protagonist who could turn the tide at the worst moment. She was just a brat who needed to survive for the clan's future.
She clenched her teeth and quickly followed Li Bing—ready to escape this horrible domain.
But things rarely went as hoped.
"Hahaha! Idiots! Did you really think we'd let you escape so easily?!"
Cultivator Zhang's voice suddenly rang out with chilling malice as a body plummeted from the sky—crashing into the Pure Light Disc barrier!
CRACK!
The barrier couldn't withstand the impact for even an instant—shattering into thousands of floating specks.
The Young Master's face paled—not from the barrier's destruction. The domain's mental influence had weakened since the gap opened, so even lower-level cultivators could resist mental deterioration to some extent—especially with the tempting goal of survival just dozens of meters away.
What made the Young Master's expression darken was the identity of the falling body: Qing Huomei—missing her left arm!
Cultivator Zhang descended with an arrogant smile. "Foolish ants—thinking you have a chance to survive. Their fate will be much worse than they imagine after I finish killing this bitch!"
The Young Master reacted instantly, pulling a spear from his storage ring—but two long, pale arms suddenly wrapped around his body, immobilizing him!
Panic flooded the Young Master's face. He struggled to break free—but the arms were incredibly strong. Helplessness filled his eyes as he watched Cultivator Zhang loom over Qing Huomei.
The demonic cultivator sneered. "Normally I'd let you speak last words—but you were so disappointing I'm sorry to say you don't deserve any. I hope that in your next life you will try hard enough to be a human worthy of a good death~"
The Young Master roared in fury, finally breaking free—but it was too late. He was too far to intervene!
Cultivator Zhang seemed to relish the scream as he pressed his index and middle fingers together—stabbing toward Qing Huomei's heart!
"Die!!"
Puch!
A heart was pierced—but Cultivator Zhang's face froze.
He glared at the cultivator before him in contempt. "What the hell are you doing?!"
At the same moment, Li Bing's distant cry echoed:
"FATHER!!!"