Chapter 396: Melee

At this moment, Gu Jue could no longer look after Lu Sangjiu, only managing to say in a low voice, "Protect yourself."

Then he joined the battle.

Although Gu Jue was only at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul realm, he could still tie down a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator.

It was unlikely a victor would be decided quickly, but for the disciples of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect, this was already a huge help.

The Abbot, meanwhile, was fighting another Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator. However, with his severe injuries, he was having a hard time defeating his opponent.

Lu Sangjiu’s injuries were also quite severe at this point. At most, she could only exert half of her original strength.

Furthermore, the two Evil Cultivators were now mixed in with the disciples of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect, so she definitely couldn’t use her Immortal Demon Attraction. This effectively halved her combat power yet again.

So, even though she rushed forward to join forces with the Abbot, they were still unable to take down their opponent in a short time.

As for the battle between the Body Integration Realm experts, there was even less to be said. In short, all three battlefields were currently at a stalemate, with no clear winner emerging anytime soon.

Because the Great Array had been taken down, Communication Talismans could be used again. So, before she charged forward, Lu Sangjiu had contacted Xie Ningyuan.

Whether it was Xie Ningyuan or Duan Xingyun, if just one of them could make it back in time, it would be enough to change the entire situation.

However, before they could wait for either Xie Ningyuan or Duan Xingyun to arrive, the Tribulation Crossing Ancestor suddenly struck again.

A golden light shot out from the rear mountain. The Abbot was focused on his opponent, and because the disciples of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect were behind him, he hadn’t guarded his back. Caught completely off guard, the golden light struck him squarely in the back!

PFFT!

The Abbot violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his body thrown forward involuntarily by the force of the blow.

The Divinity Transformation Stage Demon Cultivator seized the opportunity and, without hesitation, landed another palm strike!

"Abbot!"

"Sect Leader!"

Countless cries of grief and indignation rang out. Lu Sangjiu’s heart clenched, and she hastily rushed toward the falling Abbot!

She took out healing Elixir Pills and desperately fed them to him, but she could still feel his life force fading away, little by little.

"Just hold on a little longer! Xie Ningyuan will be back soon!"

Lu Sangjiu knew the Abbot was also a very important elder to Xie Ningyuan. Whether for the sake of their plan or for Xie Ningyuan himself, she was genuinely putting her life on the line to save him.

But no matter how hard she tried, she found she was ultimately powerless... The Tribulation Crossing Ancestor’s strike had been aimed to kill, leaving him absolutely no chance of survival!

The Abbot’s face seemed to age even further in that instant. His gaze was somewhat vacant as he looked toward the mountain range where the Tribulation Crossing Ancestor was located.

His lips moved, and he murmured, "Why... Why must it be like this... Why do you refuse to see reason?"

In that instant, Lu Sangjiu felt as if she could see all his sorrow and helplessness.

Before taking his last breath, he struggled to press a storage ring into Lu Sangjiu’s palm.

He then opened his mouth, as if to give one last instruction, but before he could say a word, he closed his eyes forever.

For a moment, Lu Sangjiu was overcome with grief, but now was not the time for sorrow.

She squeezed her eyes shut, then immediately collected herself. After placing the Abbot’s body into her Storage Bracelet, she rejoined the fight.

The moment the Abbot fell, the disciples of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect had charged forward like madmen, desperate to avenge their Sect Leader.

In their frenzy, they had actually managed to hold back the enemy for a moment, at least long enough that Lu Sangjiu hadn’t been disturbed.

But no matter how bravely they fought, the vast difference in cultivation meant that many still died in that brief moment.

Originally, there had been five or six hundred disciples left guarding the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect. In just this short time, at least half of them had been killed.

Corpses littered the ground, and the stench of blood filled the air. It was like Purgatory.

Wielding her Domination Map Blade, Lu Sangjiu stood in front of the remaining Ten Thousand Buddha Sect disciples and once again confronted the Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator head-on.

At the same time, she yelled, "Disciples of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect, retreat at once! This battle is no longer one you can interfere in!"

The disciples below had cultivation levels that were far too low. If this continued, more would only die. Having them retreat was the best option.

Unfortunately, Lu Sangjiu clearly held no sway over them. Their eyes were red with rage, and they wanted only to kill the invaders, stubbornly refusing to leave.

It was only after Master Wudao also spoke that they finally calmed down and obediently chose to retreat.

With all three Demon Cultivators currently occupied, no one could spare a hand to deal with the low-level disciples, so their retreat was rather easy.

However, just as they were about to leave the sect, the Tribulation Crossing Ancestor struck once more!

He truly had no regard for his fellow sect members. A single attack flew straight into the crowd, and in an instant, screams of agony rang out as a swath of them fell dead or wounded!

Wudao watched, overcome with grief and indignation, and his concentration wavered.

He roared, "Ancestor! How could you!"

"They are all disciples of our Ten Thousand Buddha Sect! How can you bring yourself to harm them?!"

Unfortunately, the ancestor had no intention of answering him. Instead, his momentary distraction allowed Qin Miao to seize the opportunity and fiercely thrust his sword into Wudao’s body!

"Supreme Elder!"

The disciples cried out in anguish, completely unable to understand why this was suddenly happening.

’The one trying to kill us... is it really the ancestor we’ve always revered? But why? We’ll never understand, not even in death!’

At this time, Lu Sangjiu summoned Duoduo to fight the Divinity Transformation cultivator together, but they weren’t gaining any advantage. This was especially true for Lu Sangjiu, as the small amount of strength she had just recovered was draining away rapidly.

Before she knew it, her body was covered in new wounds, both large and small. If this kept up, she would soon be killed on the spot.

In this state, she was completely unable to protect the ordinary disciples, and Gu Jue and Wudao were in much the same situation.

Thus, despite their burning anxiety, they could only watch helplessly as the ancestor launched attack after attack, swiftly slaughtering every last one of the disciples who were trying to flee the sect!

Only then did the ancestor, who had been silent all this time, finally speak again.

"I originally had no desire to act personally. If you must blame someone, blame this meddler... Now that you know the truth, I cannot let you leave here alive."

As his voice fell, he struck again, this time aiming for Lu Sangjiu!

At the critical moment, however, a flash of light appeared, forcefully intercepting the attack for her!

"...Xie Ningyuan!"

Lu Sangjiu cried out in delighted surprise, "You’re finally here! Quick, help!"

Xie Ningyuan wasted no words. After blocking the attack for Lu Sangjiu, he immediately engaged the Divinity Transformation Stage Evil Cultivator.

That Evil Cultivator was naturally no match for him. Unable to withstand even a single blow, he was killed on the spot.

At that moment, however, Qin Miao seized an opportunity and ran his sword through Master Wudao’s chest!

"Elder!"

A sharp glint appeared in Xie Ningyuan’s eyes, and he immediately sent a palm strike toward Qin Miao.

But Qin Miao had already been on guard against him. He dodged nimbly, then landed another palm strike on Master Wudao before using an escape art to flee into the distance!

Xie Ningyuan had no time to give chase. He hurriedly rushed over to catch the falling Wudao.