The demon's rage was like a substantive storm, sweeping through the starry sky on the verge of collapse. The Shadow Snake Pavilion demonic cultivators' desperate pounce, the Flaming Sun Sect's crazy interception after being tempted, made Qingxu Temple's group like a lone boat in a raging sea, unable to advance an inch.
Mu Qingfeng's sword radiance was like a mountain, dead blocking the Silver-Faced Envoy's tricky and vicious demonic arts invasion. Every collision made his qi and blood churn, blood spilling from his mouth, but he didn't retreat half a step. Liu Yun alone fought the fallen Yan Feng and two elders. Sword light and flames made that starry sky flicker. Though her swordsmanship was superb, facing the siege of those disregarding life and death, she also appeared struggling, several charred holes already burned in her robes.
The other Qingxu Temple disciples were even more in bitter battle, both resisting Shadow Snake Pavilion demonic cultivators' sneak attacks and guarding against Flaming Sun Sect disciples' fierce attacks from the flank. The formation light halo violently swayed, ready to shatter at any moment. From time to time, disciples fell wounded with screams, their blood dying the ground condensed from starlight.
Xiao Qi was protected in the formation's center, his eyes about to split. He watched his senior brothers and sisters fighting bloody battles for him, watched his fellow disciples constantly falling, rage and grief intertwining in his chest. He tried to mobilize the newly gained imprint power in the jade pendant at his chest, but that power was too vast, incompatible with his current cultivation, like a child waving a giant hammer, difficult to precisely control. Forcibly mobilizing it would probably hurt himself before hurting the enemy.
He could only channel his late Foundation Establishment peak spiritual power to the extreme, the Crimson Flame Sword sprinkling paths of dark golden sword radiance containing protective sword intent, assisting defense, forcing back several Flaming Sun Sect disciples trying to break the defense line. The wok was even waved like a door panel, blocking several Shadow Throwing Knives and fireballs coming at him, the wok body humming, leaving white marks.
"Must break out!" Xiao Qi was extremely anxious in his heart. He could feel that this starry sky hall's collapse was accelerating!
As if to confirm his premonition—
"Crack... rumble rumble!!!"
A sound far greater than any previous noise, as if the entire world's foundation had broken, a terrifying loud sound suddenly came from the starry sky depths!
The "ground" condensed from starlight beneath everyone's feet, like a broken mirror surface, instantly covered with countless huge, bottomless cracks! The cracks rapidly spread, swallowing everything! Those floating pavilions and towers in the distance, like building blocks pinched by an invisible giant hand, disintegrated and collapsed one by one, turning into countless stone fragments and spiritual light fragments, swept into the newly born spatial turbulence below!
Above, that simulated deep universe, stars began to dim and fall one after another, drawing desperate trajectories. The law structure supporting this space was disintegrating at an unprecedented speed!
The inheritance being inherited by Xiao Qi as "guardian," the core Purification Essence's transfer, thoroughly broke the fragile balance the altar had maintained for eons! The seal core's collapse triggered a chain reaction. This small world opened by ancient powers, attached to the secret realm's core... began its final, irreversible collapse!
"Not good! Space is collapsing!"
"Run quickly!"
This time, not just Qingxu Temple, even the Shadow Snake Pavilion demonic cultivators madly attacking and the tempted Flaming Sun Sect disciples all changed color in horror! The threat of death overcame all greed and orders!
The Silver-Faced Envoy's eyes beneath the mask flickered violently. The demon lord's orders were certainly terrible, but if he died here, everything would be empty! He suddenly feinted a move, forcing Mu Qingfeng back, roaring hoarsely at his subordinates: "Retreat first! Leave this place then talk!"
The Shadow Snake Pavilion demonic cultivators hearing this felt like receiving amnesty, immediately abandoning their opponents, transforming into black smokes, fleeing desperately toward that already twisted and flickering starry sky entrance.
Yan Feng was also scared awake somewhat by this heaven-turning, earth-overturning terrifying scene, the crimson in his eyes slightly fading, revealing fear. He glanced at the Xiao Qi so close yet hard to capture, then at the constantly collapsing starry sky, grit his teeth, unwillingly roaring: "Flaming Sun Sect, retreat!"
He brought his remaining subordinates, no longer caring to intercept Qingxu Temple, fleeing in sorry state toward the entrance.
"Let's go!" Mu Qingfeng seized this fleeting opportunity, not lingering to fight, his sword radiance rolling up the injured disciples, together with Liu Yun, protecting Xiao Qi, raising speed to the extreme, rushing toward that only path of life—the starry sky entrance!
The entrance at this moment was no longer as stable as before. The light screen twisted and torn, with spatial fragments constantly peeling at the edges, filled with violent energy turbulence inside, like a giant beast's gaping, fang-filled mouth.
Cultivators fleeing were constantly swallowed by spatial cracks at the entrance, or torn to pieces by energy turbulence, issuing tragic screams before death.
This was a flight racing against death!
The Mysterious Mechanism Holy Land led by Mu Xue was comparatively calm, forming a sword formation, resisting turbulence, passing through the entrance with difficulty but in order.
The Flaming Sun Sect and Shadow Snake Pavilion people to get ahead first, had small-scale crowding and fighting at the entrance, losing several more people.
When Qingxu Temple's crowd rushed to the entrance front, the entrance had already shrunk by nearly half, and was extremely unstable.
"Quick! Pass one by one! Don't crowd!" Mu Qingfeng roared, standing with Liu Yun at the entrance sides, using their own sword radiance to forcibly prop open a relatively stable area, letting injured disciples and fellow disciples with lower cultivation go first.
Xiao Qi stayed at the rear to cover, the Crimson Flame Sword constantly chopping apart stone fragments and energy impacts flying from the collapsing starry sky.
Just as most disciples had passed, and Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun were also preparing to withdraw—
"Boom!!!"
A mountain-like huge altar fragment burning with demonic flames, as if deliberately guided by Void Nightmare's remnant soul, with a heaven-destroying, earth-extinguishing momentum, smashed down hard toward the entrance! If hit, not only would the entrance completely collapse, but Mu Qingfeng, Liu Yun, and Xiao Qi remaining behind would have no chance of survival!
"Big Brother! Third Senior Sister! Careful!" Xiao Qi's pupils suddenly contracted, wanting to rescue but already too late!
Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun also sensed that fatal threat, their faces suddenly changing, wanting to dodge, but behind them was the entrance about to close and disciples not yet completely withdrawn. If they dodged, the others would surely die!
Resolute light simultaneously flashed in both their eyes, and they unexpectedly chose together to... hard resist!
At this critical moment, the jade pendant at Xiao Qi's chest, that newly born essence imprint, as if sensing his extreme protective intent and crisis, for the first time... actively, uncontrollably, burst forth with a soft yet incomparably vast purification light halo!
The light halo centered on the jade pendant, instantly spreading, enveloping Mu Qingfeng, Liu Yun, and all Qingxu Temple disciples near the entrance!
"Dong—!!!"
The huge altar fragment smashed hard on the purification light halo, issuing a muffled sound like a giant drum! The light halo violently rippled, flickering unsteadily. Xiao Qi was like being heavily hit, suddenly spraying out a large mouthful of blood, his face instantly pale as paper, feeling all his meridians were about to break!
But... the light halo didn't shatter! It forcibly withstood this destructive strike!
Seizing this gap, Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun grabbed the last two disciples, forcibly pushing them into the violently fluctuating entrance, then themselves unhesitatingly rushed in.
"Xiao Qi! Quick!" Mu Qingfeng's voice came from the entrance's other end.
Xiao Qi forcefully lifted his last breath, retracting that purification light halo on the verge of shattering, the "Wandering Dragon Nine Turns" beneath his feet executed to the extreme. In the instant before the entrance completely closed and that space was completely swallowed by collapsing stars and demonic energy, like a stream of light, narrowly shot into that twisted light portal!
At the moment his figure disappeared, he seemed to hear the demon Void Nightmare's roar filled with ultimate malice and unwillingness, echoing through the entire collapsing universe:
"Tang Xiao Qi—I remember you!!!"
The next moment, the light portal annihilated, the entrance completely disappeared.
Behind was eternal, destructive darkness and silence.