Chapter 377 - 206: Hope

At the Sect gate.

Battle cries thundered as the stench of blood permeated the air.

Dozens of Cangyun Sect disciples, led by two Inner Sect Elders, formed a Sword Array and repeatedly charged toward the main gate in an attempt to break through.

At the gate, however, they were besieged by several times their number of Demon Sect Demons, who were closing in for the kill.

"Hold on! You must hold on!" the leading Elder roared, his voice raw. His hair and beard were in disarray, and he was drenched in blood. "Create an opening for Steward Liu!"

Behind him, a slim Steward from Liufeng Courtyard, known for his speed, gritted his teeth and waited for an opportunity to break through the encirclement.

"Now!"

The two Elders exchanged a look and let out a sudden, explosive roar. Simultaneously burning their lifeblood, they unleashed a brilliant flash of sword light, forcibly tearing a gap in the Demon Sect’s impenetrable encirclement!

"Go! Get help!"

Steward Liu didn’t dare hesitate for a second. Pushing his Body Technique to its absolute limit, he transformed into a streak of azure light and shot through the gap carved from flesh and blood!

He didn’t dare look back. He didn’t even dare to listen to the dying screams and enraged roars of his comrades behind him.

He had only one thought in his mind.

’Get out!’

’Get to the Taiyuan Sect! The Profound Sound Sect! The General’s Mansion!’

’As long as I can bring back reinforcements, the Sect... still has a chance to survive!’

He fled for his life, the mountain path beneath his feet seeming to blur and retreat.

Finally, after pushing his Body Technique to the limit and even damaging his own cultivation foundation, he saw the familiar outline of the foot of the mountain!

’I’m almost off the mountain!’

However, just as he was about to burst from the mountain path onto level ground...

He stopped dead in his tracks.

At the exit at the foot of the mountain stood a dense, dark formation of soldiers clad in Heavy Armor and wielding Long Halberds!

Their formation was stern and imposing, their killing intent soaring to the heavens!

A large black banner embroidered with a ferocious Qilin totem snapped in the mountain wind!

It was the Qilin Army, the protectors of Cangzhou!

"Thank heavens! It’s the Qilin Army!"

Seeing this hope for rescue, Steward Liu was moved to tears of joy.

He stumbled and scrambled forward, collapsing before a Defender General clad in Profound Iron Armor, and cried out hoarsely:

"General! Help us! The Demon Sect... the Demon Sect has invaded the mountain! The Sect... it’s about to fall!"

However, contrary to his expectations...

The Qilin Army’s Defender General merely shot him a cold glance, his expression as placid as still water, as if he were looking at an insignificant ant.

The Qilin Army soldiers behind him were like unfeeling statues, remaining perfectly still, turning a deaf ear to the thunderous battle cries and bloodcurdling screams from the mountain.

Steward Liu was stunned.

He looked up at the face, as cold and indifferent as a steel sculpture, and asked in disbelief, "Gen-General... you...?"

"Demon Sect spies are causing chaos within the Cangyun Sect. This is an internal affair of the Jianghu Sects."

The Defender General spoke slowly, his voice icy and devoid of any emotion.

"The Lord General has given an order. To prevent the Demon Sect Demons from escaping in the chaos and bringing harm to the common people, all descending paths from Cangyun Mountain are to be sealed immediately!"

"All unauthorized personnel... are forbidden from entering or exiting!"

Those last few words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over Steward Liu, chilling him to the very core.

The color instantly drained from his face. He stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.

’Unauthorized personnel... forbidden from entering or exiting?’

’We... are unauthorized personnel?’

’They’re... not here to save us?!’

A chill colder and more piercing than what he’d felt facing the Demon Sect’s blades shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his skull.

How could he not understand?

This wasn’t a blockade at all!

This was... a death trap, meant to confine the entire Cangyun Sect on this mountain to be annihilated!

The Qilin Army and the Demon Sect... they were in this together!

He didn’t dare say another word. Utterly crestfallen, he staggered back, step by step, into the sect gate that had become a living Hell.

...

At the Sect gate.

To create the opportunity for Steward Liu to break out, the two leading Inner Sect Elders had already sustained numerous wounds and were drenched in blood.

Yet, they fought on like a pair of wrathful guardians, battling the Demon Sect Demons with all their might.

Beside them, the few surviving disciples, all wounded, maintained a shattered Sword Array, barely holding on.

In their eyes was the fear of death, but also the grim determination to take the Demon Sect Demons down with them.

And beneath it all, the hope and expectation of reinforcements.

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed disciple spotted a familiar figure in the distance, running back up the mountain path toward the gate!

It was Steward Liu, the very man they had fought and died to send away!

"It’s Senior Brother Liu! He’s back!" the disciple exclaimed.

Hearing this, the attacking Demon Sect Demons turned. Upon seeing the returning figure, their faces twisted into cruel, savage grins.

"You fool! You actually dared to come back? Kill him!"

A Demon Sect sub-commander roared, and several elite Demons immediately broke from the main fray to intercept him.

"Damn it! Protect Steward Liu!"

Seeing this, the two Elders, already at the end of their rope, felt their eyes burn with fury.

They exchanged a glance, each seeing the same grim resolve in the other’s eyes.

"Bastards! Don’t even think about it!"

With a furious roar, they both once again burned their lifeblood, heedless of the cost!

BOOM!

Two resplendent beams of sword light erupted, forcing the Demons back several steps and tearing open another fleeting gap!

"Quick! Get in!"

Seizing the opening bought with their lives, Steward Liu pushed his Body Technique to its limit and rushed into the broken Sword Array.

The others closed ranks, protecting him in the center.

"What happened?! Why are you back so soon?!"

One of the Elders demanded, his voice a ragged gasp as he fought off the frenzied counterattack. "Did... did the Demon Sect block the base of the mountain?!"

Steward Liu looked at his comrades, soaked in blood and barely standing as they protected him. A smile more painful than a grimace spread across his blood-smeared face.

"No..."

"At the foot of the mountain... it’s the Qilin Army."

"Really?!"

The Elder’s spirits soared at the news. "We’re saved!" he roared in near ecstasy. "Are they on their way up the mountain?!"

At his words, a glimmer of renewed hope ignited in the eyes of the other struggling disciples.

But Steward Liu slowly, deliberately, shook his head.

His lips trembled as he hoarsely repeated the words that had been his own death sentence.

"...They didn’t move."

"They said..."

"All unauthorized personnel... are forbidden from entering or exiting..."

The words struck every person who heard them like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.

For a single, bizarre moment, the entire chaotic battlefield fell deathly silent.

Every Cangyun Sect disciple still fighting for their lives subconsciously paused.

Slowly, they turned to stare at the Steward, their eyes filled with dazed disbelief.

It was over...

This time...

They were completely, utterly finished.

The Cangyun Sect, today...

was doomed.

A bone-chilling despair washed over them, drowning every heart in its icy depths.

...

Inside the Level A Cultivation Room.

Jiang Che sat cross-legged on a cushion, as motionless as a boulder.

He had focused all of his concentration on breaking through the final acupoint: the Baihui Acupoint.

However, just as he was about to gather his Divine Thought for another attempt...

Something suddenly went wrong!

A warning, fraught with anxiety and danger, suddenly blared in his mind through the soul-bond he shared with the Shadow Iron Eagle, Xiaohei!

Jiang Che’s eyes snapped open, a sharp light glinting within them.

Without a moment’s hesitation, his figure flickered and he shot out of the Cultivation Room.

The moment he stepped outside, he was assaulted by the nauseatingly thick stench of blood.

It was followed by a cacophony of bloodcurdling screams and the clang of steel, coming from all directions.

He looked up to see the Sect engulfed in smoke and flames, the air thundering with cries of war.

Countless figures in black, exuding sinister auras—Demon Sect members—were rampaging through the grounds, burning, killing, and looting.

"Demon Sect?!"

Jiang Che’s pupils contracted.

Just then, several Outer Disciples fleeing toward the Cultivation Room were cornered by three Demons wielding Curved Sabers, about to be cut down.

Jiang Che frowned, and his figure vanished.

The three Demons saw only a blur. Before they could even register who had appeared, an irresistible, terrifying force slammed into their chests.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

With three dull thuds, the three elite Demons of the Refining Organ Realm were sent flying dozens of yards, their chests caving in as if struck by a battering ram. They died instantly, without even a chance to scream.

The disciples who had narrowly escaped death stared, shell-shocked, their minds blank, at the black-clad figure who had descended like a savior.

Jiang Che paid them no mind. With a thought, he switched his consciousness through their soul bond, seeing through the eyes of Xiaohei, who was circling above the Chief Courtyard.

After confirming that Jiang Ling was safe for the moment, he withdrew his Divine Thought and issued a command to Xiaohei.

’Xiaohei! Guard the courtyard! Protect Ling’er! Kill anyone who dares to get close, no questions asked!’

"SKREEE—!"

A high-pitched, murderous screech echoed from the distance in reply.

With the situation at home secured, Jiang Che’s gaze turned sharp and icy.

He surveyed the horrific scene of blood and fire ravaging his Sect and clenched his hands, which were covered in dark silver Gloves.

’Heh... I knew it wouldn’t be this simple...’

’So... this is what was waiting for me.’

Without any further hesitation, he transformed into a black bolt of death and charged headfirst toward the most intense sounds of slaughter.

...

Like a tiger pouncing on a flock of sheep, Jiang Che left a trail of blood and carnage in his wake.

It didn’t matter if they were common Demon Sect foot soldiers or elites of the Refining Organ Realm.

With his fists now bordering on the power of the True Master Realm, he didn’t even need to use any special techniques. Every strike was a one-hit kill; no one could withstand his assault.