The eerie mirror image before them left no room for contemplation. Fortunately, most of the beasts and monsters lingering at the first spirit wall had been swept away by the pull of the sea. Thunder clouds loomed over the East Sea as if gathering strength. The rumbling gradually subsided. Jun Sanghua decisively called out, “Continue laying the spirit net! Don’t stop!”
If the heavenly thunder kept retreating to gather strength before returning, when would it finally dissipate? Would it persist until they were utterly exhausted?
The thunderclouds hovered over the East Sea for a long while before starting to spread towards them again, accompanied by muffled thunderclaps that struck fear into everyone’s hearts. Sect Leader Gui Yuan pondered, “Why don’t we pull the spirit net back a few miles and see what happens?”
Jun Sanghua frowned and shook his head. “We can’t! It’s too late! There’s a lot of monster qi coming from the Central Plains!”
Monster qi from the Central Plains? The immortals were surprised. How could monsters and beasts, which should be frantically seeking shelter from this natural disaster, dare to come from behind to meet their doom? However, within moments, almost everyone sensed the bone-chilling monster Qi approaching. It drew nearer, with the momentum of thousands of troops, far outnumbering those trapped earlier at the first spirit wall.
Now everyone panicked. Thunder ahead, monsters behind – if the spirit net broke, who could escape the lightning strikes? As the elders began to lose their composure, with some even showing signs of wanting to flee alone, the sect leaders started berating them. But at this point, the scolding was useless and only made those experiencing the sea calamity for the first time more chaotic. Once hearts began to scatter, it would be nearly impossible to regain control.
Suddenly, Immortal Cui Xuan shouted sternly, “Where do you think you can escape to?! If the heavenly thunder reaches land, who can outrun it?! Fighting now still gives us a chance to survive. Those who want to flee alone are choosing death! If you don’t believe me, go ahead and leave!”
With a sweep of his long sleeve, a white light divided the countless immortals into two groups. “Those on the east, maintain the rear spirit net and kill all those monsters! Those on the west, maintain the front and top spirit nets! We must not let the heavenly thunder shatter them!”
At this critical moment, his firm and clear instructions calmed the chaotic immortals, who instinctively followed his directions. The white-haired Si Ming led the charge, flying to the rear and wreaking havoc among the tide of monsters. The other immortals followed, desperately unleashing various immortal techniques. After half a day of slaughter, they realized these monsters were recklessly charging at the spirit net without regard for their lives. No matter how they attacked, not a single monster fought back. The rear spirit net couldn’t withstand the monsters’ suicidal charges, and three layers shattered in succession.
Their goal was to break the spirit net. Immortal Cui Xuan understood instantly and roared, “It’s Jiang Li Fei! She’s controlling these monsters to break the spirit net! She’s here! She wants to escape to the sea in the chaos!”
His mention of Jiang Li Fei reminded everyone that she was accompanied by a Yaksha. The order they had just managed to maintain was disrupted once again. At that moment, the heavenly thunder struck the top spirit net once more, also breaking through three layers before retreating to the East Sea for the second time.
The enormous cracking sound pierced everyone’s ears as countless small fissures appeared in the densest and most solid spirit net above. It likely couldn’t withstand another strike of heavenly thunder. Now even some of the older generation of immortals panicked. Should they retreat dozens of miles to rebuild the spirit net, abandon the towns near the East Sea, or continue to hold their ground?
Seeing that no matter how Immortal Cui Xuan shouted, he couldn’t calm the panicked and agitated crowd, Jun Sanghua sighed deeply. His ethereal voice transmission technique echoed through heaven and earth: “Abandon the front and rear spirit walls. Channel all spirit energy into the top spirit net. Since these monsters aren’t harming people, let them be!”
Immortal Cui Xuan saw the immortals immediately abandon the spirit walls and turn to repair the broken top spirit net. He grew extremely anxious and cried out, “If we don’t erect the spirit walls, what if Jiang Li Fei and the others escape?!”
Jun Sanghua calmly replied, “Cui Xuan, look at the East Sea. The heavenly thunder is still there, and the sea of fire hasn’t arrived. Even if they came, they couldn’t leave. Don’t waste spirit energy at a time like this. Staying alive is the priority before we can discuss anything else.”
Without the protection of the immortals, the numerous spirit walls crumbled in an instant under the impact of the surging tide of monsters. They howled and cried out in fear, yet were compelled to charge forward as if sacrificing their lives. For many immortals here, being so close to monsters without engaging in battle was a first. The endless stream of monsters passed through the crowd of immortals, and everything was surprisingly calm and smooth.
Amidst the deafening sound of flapping wings and monster roars, Bai Li Ge Lin finally awoke. The earth and water barrier surrounding her three junior disciples had long been shattered. Her entire body ached as if she had been beaten with a large hammer. Her ears and chin were sticky with blood, and the bone-chilling, thick monster qi felt like countless needles piercing her marrow. It was a terrible feeling.
Lu Li pressed her down, shielding her tightly. Bai Li Ge Lin was still a bit dazed, staring blankly at the absurd and tragic scene before her. Was this the East Sea? Had she been brought back to the East Sea?
Memories from the prince’s mansion suddenly flooded back into her mind. She shuddered violently and forcefully pushed Lu Li off her, sitting up. Looking around, she saw monsters, beasts, and immortals all mixed. Gasping, she shouted, “Where are the people from Xing Zheng Hall?!”
Lu Li grabbed her. “Calm down. Now is not the time to discuss this. The heavenly thunder is coming. Quickly circulate your spirit energy to resist!”
Calm down? Bai Li Ge Lin almost laughed hysterically. Her family had been brutally killed by Ji Tongzhou, and there weren’t even bodies left. How could he tell her to calm down?!
“Let the heavenly thunder strike me dead! Get away!” She struggled fiercely to break free from his grasp.
She would never see her family again – that boy in the snowy alley who had bitten her hard and always claimed to be her brother, that sister who did as she pleased but always put her little sister first. They were truly fools, actually treating a demon as a close friend, worrying for him, rejoicing for him. If they hadn’t been concerned about Yue Kingdom’s affairs, they could have happily reunited in the Central Plains.
After six years, six years since joining the sect, they could have met often, stayed together, become immortals together, and never be apart. Now she was here, but where were they?
Bai Li Ge Lin spotted immortals wearing Xing Zheng Hall’s elder robes among the throng of monsters. Hatred welled up in her heart, impossible to suppress. She pulled out talismans from her bosom, about to throw them, when her wrists were suddenly restrained. She screamed, struggling desperately with all her might, but couldn’t break free.
Lu Li pinned her arms behind her back and said in a low voice, “If they’re not dead, and you recklessly throw your life away like this, what will they do?”
Bai Li Ge Lin looked at him with bloodshot eyes. “Do you believe they’re alright?”
She didn’t believe it at all. Ji Tongzhou had fallen and become a demon. He could even harm Li Fei, so how could he hesitate with her sister and Ye Xue?
“The key isn’t whether I believe it or not,” Lu Li said, staring at her steadily, his voice calm. “Ye Xue and Bai Li Chang Yue both know the power of that prince’s black fire. They wouldn’t fight head-on. As long as they don’t stubbornly resist, two people should be able to escape easily. That prince isn’t an immortal yet, just a cultivating disciple like you and me. I don’t think he could so easily kill two disciples who have also broken through three bottlenecks.”
His words were logical and well-founded. Bai Li Ge Lin stared at him, her violent struggles finally ceasing.
She should be calmer. Being easily agitated and prone to rash actions when facing problems had always been her character flaw. Bai Li Ge Lin lowered her head and took several deep breaths, allowing her pounding heart to slowly calm down. After a long while, she said softly, “Let me go. I won’t do anything rash.”
The thunderclouds lingered over the East Sea, not yet advancing. After the monsters had shattered all the erected spirit walls one by one, they began to fly back toward the direction they came from like a receding tide. Suddenly, black fire erupted fiercely among the monster horde. In the far distance, a white figure on a flying sword came speeding towards them. In his hand was a black flame blade several zhang long, mercilessly leaping into the monster horde to kill and burn.
Killing these monsters that didn’t fight back and only fled provided no sense of accomplishment, no different from slaughtering meat. But the newcomer didn’t seem to care. The black monster’s blood-soaked him from head to toe, instantly turning his white clothes black, yet he continued to kill frenziedly.
It could no longer be called slaying demons and eliminating monsters; this was a one-sided slaughter. Many immortals found it hard to watch. Immortals and monsters had always maintained a delicate balance, each taking what they needed to coexist through the long years. Such senseless killing was most repugnant.
Wu Zheng Zi suddenly shouted, “Tong Zhou! Come here!”
The figure soaked in monster blood paused, stopping amid the monster horde, allowing the tide of monsters to brush past him. He didn’t move, neither advancing nor retreating, just hovering silently on his sword in the distance.
Wu Zheng Zi felt both relieved and angry. While he was glad his prized disciple was safe and sound, seeing him in such a frenzied state, doing such inconceivable things, also infuriated him. The Yue Kingdom was safe thanks to Wu Yue Ting’s intervention, and he now understood the reasons behind it.
Pushing the person he loved into the underworld with his own hands, killing former close friends, and becoming a pariah – this was the current Ji Tongzhou. Was Xuan Shan Zi satisfied?
“Your Highness!” Princess Lan Ya exclaimed excitedly, immediately flying towards him. Unexpectedly, a vine suddenly wrapped around her waist. Caught off guard, she was forcefully pulled back and thrown backward.
Bai Li Ge Lin, riding her sword, flashed like lightning to reach Ji Tongzhou first. With a glint of cold light, she held a short knife to his throat. All the monsters she raised emerged in full force, surrounding him.
Ji Tongzhou didn’t move. Covered in monster blood from head to toe, his black and white eyes stared intensely at her, saying nothing.
Bai Li Ge Lin looked straight into his eyes and said coldly, “I ask you, where are Ye Xue and my sister?”