Chapter 542 - 179: Born of the Same Root, Why So Eager to Torment Each Other? Li Ran Descends, the Dust Settles

But now, this once-populous and prosperous city had long since fallen to the Demons. Demonic Qi permeated the air, blanketing the sky like dark clouds. The city was a broken ruin, a scene of utter devastation.

Ancient towers and palatial halls, stretching into the distance, were being consumed by eerie black flames, letting out the sharp CRACKLE of splintering stone.

Black smoke lingered day and night, gathering high in the sky, as if carrying the wails of countless departed souls.

Down on the long streets, many Demons ran rampant. They were savage in appearance; some bore the traits of Fierce Beasts, resembling tigers and wolves, while others had the heads of the Human Race and enormous, black, bat-like wings, allowing them to circle low overhead, spewing black fire and viscous slime from their mouths...

SHINK, SHINK, SHINK...

High above the majestic city, a silver-white streak of light flashed past. With a sickening squelch, it pierced through a human-shaped Demon. Inky-black blood splattered, staining a cascade of resplendent silver hair a filthy shade.

Ao Yin descended, silver spear in hand. Her gleaming silver armor, once brilliant, was now caked with black bloodstains from the past few days of fighting, and it no longer shone.

She, who had once been a stickler for cleanliness, had already grown accustomed to the filth and stench.

"This city has fallen to the Demons. Staying here is a death sentence. You need to escape, now."

Ao Yin’s gaze fell on a family of three, trapped at an alley’s entrance by a horde of Demons. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled her spear. It shot out like a silver thunderbolt, instantly skewering all of the creatures.

"Thank you for saving our lives, Young Lady..."

"May I ask your name? If we have the chance in the future, we will surely repay you for saving our lives."

The man of the family was a middle-aged Loose Cultivator. He had a respectable aura, at the level of the Fifth Realm, but he was currently covered in wounds and utterly exhausted, on the verge of collapse.

He had been out training elsewhere when he heard news of the Demon invasion in his hometown. He had rushed back, nearly failing to save his wife and child.

In his current state, however, his chances of fighting his way out of the city through the encirclement of Demons with his wife and child were practically nil.

Still, he had gritted his teeth and persevered, getting them into the alley and shielding them with his own body so that they remained unharmed.

Ao Yin glanced at the man and, after a moment’s thought, tossed him a bottle of Healing Elixir Pills. "You don’t need to know who I am," she said. "You only need to know that it was Young Master Jiang Lan of the Prime Minister’s Mansion who ordered us to come here to save you."

"You can’t stay in Wumo City any longer. Take your wife and child and leave."

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure shot away like a streaking rainbow, plunging into a nearby torrent of Demons.

The middle-aged Loose Cultivator put away the bottle of Healing Elixir Pills as if it were a priceless treasure. He stood stunned for a moment, muttering softly to himself, "’Young Master Jiang Lan of the Prime Minister’s Mansion?’"

He didn’t dwell on it, however. He simply committed the debt of gratitude to memory and then ran with his wife and child toward a gate on the other side of the city.

"So, it looks like Ao Yin is genuinely planning to work for Jiang Lan now?"

"That woman is so proud and arrogant, looks down on every man alive. Who’d have thought this day would come? Guess it just goes to show, you have to be stronger than her to win her over. Tsk, tsk..."

Nearby, Jin Ming, Yuan Kong, and the others were also taking action, clearing out Demons together. Having overheard Ao Yin’s words, the two men couldn’t help but exchange a look, marveling at the situation.

Kong Xuan, however, had a vague idea of Ao Yin’s true thoughts and discreetly rolled her eyes at the two men.

’Being stronger than Ao Yin is just one part of it,’ she thought. ’Those two have no idea how dangerous and hopeless the situation was that Ao Yin and I faced. We had fallen into such despair that we were just silently waiting for death’s arrival.’

’Just as we were about to be suffocated by despair, a hand reached out when we least expected it, pulling us both to safety. Then he stayed behind to cover our retreat.’

’Honestly, it would be impossible not to be moved.’

’Women are, to some degree, more sentimental than men. Over the past few days, even she couldn’t stop replaying the scenes from that day in her mind, especially the image of the figure who had shielded them with his back.’

’But two days have passed with no news. We don’t know if he’s alive or dead... It’s truly worrisome...’

Kong Xuan sighed softly to herself.

Outside the Gongsun Family’s Little World, the scene had been staggering these past few days. Ancient Warships had arrived one after another with a deafening rumble. The Runes on their hulls flickered, gathering into terrifying beams of light that they fired relentlessly.

But no matter how the Helian Family attacked, no one from the Gongsun World emerged. It was as if they were hiding inside a turtle’s shell.

A faint radiance flowed across the Little World’s barrier, as brilliant as the Sun and Moon combined. It exuded a terrifying aura, making it seem like an impassable Thunder Pool.

Helian Rujian and Helian Yuansheng, two Ancestor Level figures, joined forces. They produced a banner-talisman that flickered with lightning. It was blurry and indistinct, as if it had been nurtured within a Thunder Pool.

This was the Thunder Element True Talisman, one of the Helian Family’s greatest treasures. It was a Rune refined by their Saint Ancestor long ago, capable of channeling the Nine Heavens Thunder Power, and it possessed a terrifying ability to shatter and tear through all kinds of Arrays and Restrictions.

At that moment, as the two unfurled the talisman, the sky outside the Gongsun World’s Little World suddenly darkened. Dark clouds piled up layer upon layer, resembling a majestic Ancient Continent.

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed within them. Dragons made of pure electricity darted through the clouds with a deafening CRACKLE, transforming the sky into an ocean of lightning. Orbs of raw power gathered, ready to plunge down at any moment and strike the Little World below.

BOOM!!!

In the next instant, the world was plunged into pitch darkness. A deafening, terrifying thunderclap exploded in the ears of countless living creatures and cultivators alike. A bolt of lightning as wide as a mountain range descended in an instant, submerging everything below.