Chapter 296: Fury

Inside the Immortal Cave on Qingxiao Mountain.

Li Qingqiu, who was currently cultivating, habitually opened his eyes and called up the dao lineage panel.

Ever since he learned of the full-scale invasion by Yao Race forces, he had been frequently checking the dao lineage panel every day to see if the number of Disciples had decreased.

“Hmm?”

Looking at the number of Disciples displayed on the dao lineage panel, Li Qingqiu discovered there were dozens fewer than an hour ago. Startled, he immediately clicked on the Disciple details to see which ones were missing.

Although the number of Disciples was now vast, as Li Qingqiu’s cultivation grew higher, his memory and insight had long since surpassed that of a mortal.

He quickly discovered that the avatars of several Disciples stationed in Zhongtian Immortal City had disappeared.

The place where the incident occurred was Zhongtian Immortal City!

Li Qingqiu immediately activated the Extreme Movement Technique, leaped out of his Immortal Cave, and flew toward Zhongtian Immortal City.

He flew on his sword while simultaneously using the Extreme Movement Technique, rushing there at full speed.

During this process, he checked the dao lineage panel from time to time and found that the number of Disciples was continuously decreasing, causing his heart to sink.

Zhongtian Immortal City was guarded by over a thousand Disciples and possessed substantial strength. For such a situation to occur meant the enemy was very strong, and there was definitely more than one person in the Spiritual Consciousness Realm.

Even though it was dangerous, Li Qingqiu had no intention of backing down. After all, he was the Sect Leader and had the duty to protect the Disciples of the School.

The distance from the Taikun Mountain Range to Zhongtian Immortal City was vast; even with Li Qingqiu constantly using the Extreme Movement Technique, it still took time.

Fortunately, after every immortal city was established, Li Qingqiu would visit personally for the purpose of remembering the direction.

After a while.

Zhongtian Immortal City finally appeared in Li Qingqiu’s vision. Heavy snow fluttered ahead, and he saw billowing demonic clouds shrouding Zhongtian Immortal City. Those demonic clouds were currently dispersing, which made his heart feel even heavier.

However, when he saw the figures of Disciples fleeing on the mountain, his expression softened slightly.

When facing an insurmountable enemy, Li Qingqiu would not hold it against the Disciples for fleeing; survival was the most important thing.

He quickly crossed the city walls and flew into the city, only to be met with a scene of utter devastation.

Buildings had been reduced to ruins, with flames and smoke rising everywhere. Corpses were scattered about—some human, some Demonic Beasts—and the pools of blood were too numerous to count.

Some Disciples lay dying, while others were sitting in meditation to heal their wounds; the entire immortal city appeared extremely demoralized.

Li Qingqiu had rushed here at full speed, but he hadn’t expected to still be a step too late.

Without hesitation, he moved forward quickly, repeatedly throwing out Rejuvenating Ghost Immortal Needles.

The Disciples who still retained consciousness showed expressions of excitement upon seeing his figure, though some felt ashamed and did not dare to meet his gaze.

There were many injured people in the city, scattered everywhere, and the number of deceased Disciples was not small either. Even without a careful count, Li Qingqiu realized this would be the largest casualty event in the history of the Qingxiao Sect.

As he moved along, Li Qingqiu threw out over a hundred needles.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression incredibly grim.

Following his gaze, there were ruins ahead, and in front of the ruins lay a corpse with its head separated from its body—it was the corpse of Yuan Qi.

Li Qingqiu immediately flashed to Yuan Qi’s side. He wanted to use the Soul Capturing Incantation, only to find that Yuan Qi’s soul had long since been extracted.

He took a deep breath, went to pick up Yuan Qi’s head, and placed it in front of the body. He did not immerse himself in anger, but continued on to help the other Disciples.

When the branch hall Masters and Elders in the city saw Li Qingqiu, they all lowered their heads in shame.

Oppressive, silent.

With Li Qingqiu’s arrival, the heavily injured Disciples stopped groaning in pain.

Zhongtian Immortal City was the very first branch city and held a special status. This was the first time it had suffered an attack, and for it to be so tragic on the first occasion made them feel they had failed the School’s nurturing.

Li Qingqiu, however, did not think that way. On the contrary, his heart was filled with self-reproach.

If he had checked the dao lineage panel a bit earlier, would the situation have been different?

After Li Qingqiu had applied needles to all the wounded, he arrived in front of the City Lord’s residence. The high-level members of the branch city arrived from various directions, but facing Li Qingqiu, they did not dare to speak easily.

“Tell me about the situation,” Li Qingqiu said.

His expressionless face brought immense pressure to everyone.

Qiao Dingbei, whose right arm was dripping with blood, stepped forward and said, “We were attacked by Demonic Beasts. They came too suddenly, and the qingxiao token was cut off, making external communication impossible. Shortly before you arrived, they suddenly retreated at extreme speed, as if they had received some kind of order.”

Li Qingqiu narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

Could it be that the moment he set out from Qingxiao Mountain, this group of monsters learned of it?

He suddenly thought of the Black Fiend Demon Monkey inside the Demon Suppression Pagoda; it seemed he had underestimated the Black Fiend Demon Monkey’s existence.

“Calculate the casualties.”

Li Qingqiu instructed. Qiao Dingbei immediately accepted the order and left, and the others followed suit.

One person remembered something, turned back to look at Li Qingqiu, and said, “Sect Leader, Zhao Zhen arrived earlier. If not for his arrival, the casualties would certainly have been even greater. He has gone to hunt down that group of Demonic Beasts.”

“I understand.”

Li Qingqiu responded. He could already sense Zhao Zhen’s Origin Qi permeating the air.

Soon, someone released a Cloud-Piercing Arrow to recall the Disciples who had scattered and fled.

Li Qingqiu’s arrival gave the Disciples in the city confidence and dispelled their fear. Life Qi gradually returned to the city as Disciples healed their wounds while discussing the previous battle.

So many Demonic Beasts was no accident. When did the Nine Provinces Land ever have such a Yao Race force?

Normally, let alone a Yao Race force, even seeing a Demonic Beast was not an easy task.

About half an hour later.

Zhao Zhen returned.

He carried a Demonic Beast corpse in each hand, both larger than himself, causing the Disciples along the way to stare at him in awe.

His left hand dragged the corpse of a bull demon that looked like a small mountain, while his right hand held a giant python. He was covered in blood, even his face, with only his eyes remaining clear. He looked as if he had fought his way back from Hell, radiating Killing Intent.

The Disciples were not afraid of Zhao Zhen in this state; instead, they looked at him with fanatical expressions.

“It’s Senior Brother Zhao Zhen. So powerful! Those two monsters were so strong, yet he killed them…”

“Indeed, he truly is the number one Genius of the School, the first Divine Ability Disciple.”

“Even if the Sect Leader hadn’t come, Senior Brother Zhao Zhen probably could have repelled those monsters, right?”

“Nonsense, maybe those monsters were scared away by him.”

Zhao Zhen remained indifferent to the voices of the Disciples as he walked toward the City Lord’s mansion.

When he appeared in Li Qingqiu’s sight, he quickened his pace.

He dragged the corpses of the two great demons to the open space in front of the City Lord’s mansion, released his grip, stepped forward, and knelt.

“Master, I was a step too late.”

Zhao Zhen said through gritted teeth. As soon as he entered the city, he had seen Yuan Qi beheaded, which had filled him with a heart-piercing fury, causing him to go on a killing spree.

He had killed at least a hundred Demonic Beasts, but that could not make up for anything.

Li Qingqiu walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and said, “I don’t blame you. On the contrary, you have performed a great service. From now on, you will be responsible for guarding Zhongtian Immortal City.”

“Yes!”

Zhao Zhen responded in a deep voice. Since experiencing his fated tribulation, he had become steady and composed, losing his youthful liveliness.

Li Qingqiu bypassed him and approached the two Demonic Beast corpses.

The cultivation of these two monsters was no weaker than that of the Black Fiend Demon Monkey. They died miserable deaths, clearly beaten to death by Zhao Zhen.

What Li Qingqiu found strange was that their souls were also gone.

Zhao Zhen walked to Li Qingqiu’s side and said, “Just as I killed them, a mysterious force dispersed their souls. I suspect a stronger demon left Demonic Qi inside them.”

Li Qingqiu thought of the Black Fiend Demon Monkey; there was another strand of Demonic Qi hidden within its body as well.

It seemed this enemy was even more cunning than previous ones.

What exactly did that fellow want to do?

Simply destroy the Qingxiao Sect?

Li Qingqiu noticed that the injured Disciples in the city showed no signs of being eaten.

In other words, these Demonic Beasts did not come to feed.

Li Qingqiu looked at the two corpses on the ground, his thoughts drifting… At dusk, the lingxiao bell rang.

The high-level members of the School arrived one after another at the Lingxiao Courtyard. Li Qingqiu was already seated at the long table, and the two massive Demonic Beast corpses were placed in the courtyard, causing everyone who entered to look sideways.

Everyone realized that something major had happened again.

They had not heard any commotion within Qingxiao Mountain, so it seemed the incident occurred elsewhere.

Once everyone had arrived, Li Qingqiu spoke: “Today, Zhongtian Immortal City was attacked by a large number of Demonic Beasts. Two hundred and thirty-seven Disciples were killed, and four hundred and fifty-two Disciples were injured.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s expressions changed drastically.

They never expected such heavy casualties; this was absolutely a tragedy that would shake the School.

“City Lord Yuan Qi has also been sacrificed,” Li Qingqiu continued.

Xiao Wuqing’s eyes widened, and the others were also shocked. Yuan Qi’s status was not simple; he was Li Qingqiu’s confidant who had handled matters specifically for Li Qingqiu before Xiao Wuqing.

Everyone felt the pressure.

True Man Qingxiao could not help but ask, “Has the origin of those Demonic Beasts been traced?”

Li Qingqiu shook his head and said, “No, but judging from this incident, they will likely attack other cities and outposts of the Qingxiao Sect. Their goal should be to break the Qingxiao Sect piece by piece.”

Zhang Yuchun frowned and said, “So far, my people have still not traced the gathering place of the Demonic Beasts. How can the tracks of these monsters be so hard to find?”

Wei Tianxiong speculated, “Perhaps there is a demon among them who understands Formations and has covered their tracks.”

The other hall Masters spoke up one after another, beginning to discuss how to deal with this group of monsters.

Li Qingqiu let them discuss freely while he himself thought about how to plan.

He appeared calm, but in reality, his heart was suppressed with an unprecedented fury. If not for the calming effect of the 【Vast Righteous Qi】, he would have exploded long ago.

“We cannot defend passively; if this continues, only more people will die. We must find a way to locate their lair!” Li Sifeng spoke up.

His words were met with agreement from Xue Jin, Cheng Canghai, Yang Jueding, and Chu Jing.

However, how to find it was also a headache-inducing matter.

“According to what the Sect Leader said, the number of these monsters is vast. So many monsters couldn’t all have come from the Northern Border; they must still be expanding their forces. In that case, why not send out the Demonic Beasts of our School to see if they can discover their tracks?” Wei Tianxiong proposed.

This method made everyone’s eyes light up, feeling it was feasible.

While they were discussing finding the Yao Race force, Ji Ya, far away in the imperial palace, was caught in a fierce battle.