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As Xiao Yan and his allies gathered together...
The members of the Yun Lan Sect had also regrouped on the other side—including Yun Shan and that remaining Protector Tie.
They glanced at one another, taking in their battered appearances. Especially when they realized that nearly a third of their numbers were gone, their expressions grew even grimmer.
Compared to this raging fire, the loss of powerful fighters was undeniably the greater disaster.
After all, a mountain gate destroyed could always be rebuilt—as long as people remained. But the loss of cultivators, especially high-level ones? That wasn't something so easily recovered from.
Yun Yun, her hair slightly messy, swept her gaze over the survivors. When she saw how drastically their numbers had dropped, her heart sank like a stone.
She hadn't expected their losses to be this severe.
But at this point, Yun Yun didn't have the luxury to dwell on regret.
Because—today's events... were far from over.
Her gaze turned once more toward the mountainside.
The wild, unrestrained blaze surged upward, straight toward the sky. Its fiery light lit the entire heavens in red, casting a glow over Yun Yun's pale, beautiful face.
Deep inside, she couldn't suppress the rising fury—and a crushing wave of despair.
She looked to the front of the crowd.
There, Yun Shan stood beside the Protector Tie.
At that moment, both of their hearts were trembling with dread.
There was only one thought in both their minds now:
It's over.
Protector Wu was already gone. And now, Protector Mo had been completely vaporized—not even a trace left.
What were they supposed to do now?
They looked at each other, speechless, lost.
Their eyes turned upward, scanning the skies above. They searched the heavens with flickers of desperate hope, praying to see Protector Mo reappear.
But after a long time… nothing.
Their eyes, once filled with anticipation, slowly sank into utter hopelessness.
Deep down, they already knew the answer.
In that kind of apocalyptic explosion, and positioned right at the center of it—there was zero chance Protector Mo could have survived.
Unless… a miracle happened.
"Protector Tie…" Yun Shan looked over, a sliver of hope lingering in his eyes.
"No use. I'm the only one left." Protector Tie shook his head.
That single sentence shattered the last of Yun Shan's fragile hope.
There were no more Hall of Souls Protectors in the vicinity.
And even if, by some miracle, one was nearby...unless they were kicked in the head by a donkey, who would willingly rush here to throw their life away?
Even Protector Mo, a high-level Dou Zong, had been instantly erased from existence.
Who else would dare show their face?
Right now, Protector Tie was overwhelmed with deep regret.
He shouldn't have come.
Wasn't it perfectly fine just staying quietly in the Chu Yun Empire?
Why did he have to come meddling in the Jia Ma Empire?
Why come here to die?
At this point, it was pretty clear:
They weren't getting out of this alive.
Damn that Protector Wu!
Protector Tie stared up at that lone figure still standing in the sky, hovering effortlessly.
A cold chill began to spread throughout his body.
And as if in perfect timing—that figure in the sky lowered his head, gaze sweeping downward—meeting Protector Tie's eyes.
"..."
Protector Tie's entire body went stiff.
Yun Shan's face gradually turned ashen, his heart consumed by despair.
Even Hall of Souls couldn't be relied on anymore.
Did he regret it?
...Maybe.
But it was too late now.
"Cough, cough, cough…" The overwhelming despair in his heart, compounded by his injuries and emotional strain, triggered a violent coughing fit.
The entire plaza fell into absolute silence.
Other than the sound of the raging inferno in the background, the only other thing echoing through the scorched air was Yun Shan's increasingly harsh coughs.
Everyone just stood and watched quietly. No one said a word.
Even the remaining Yun Lan Sect members were filled with complicated emotions.
On the other side, Xiao Yan and his allies wore cold, indifferent expressions.
Pfft—!
Finally, Yun Shan coughed so hard that a flush of red surged onto his face—and then, he vomited a large mouthful of bright blood.
After spitting out the blood, his complexion visibly paled to a frightening degree.
His steps faltered, and he stumbled backward a few paces. His body hunched slightly, as though he had aged several decades in the blink of an eye.
His once-imposing aura as the leader of a major sect had now completely collapsed.
Chi chi chi…
A faint, crackling sound suddenly echoed.
The crowd instinctively turned to look.
The source?
That puddle of blood Yun Shan had just vomited onto the ground.
Those with sharper eyes gasped in shock.
From that blood, faint wisps of transparent flame were silently emerging, beginning to burn.
This caused that pool of blood to be quickly burned away by the fire.
Yun Shan slowly raised his trembling hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Then, he looked up—his gaze landing squarely on Xiao Yan across from him.
Xiao Yan, in return, simply stared back at him with a cold smirk on his face.
So it turned out, during that brief moment of sudden blindness earlier, Yun Shan had been caught completely off guard, falling into a split-second daze.
Xiao Yan, however, was different.
Having experienced this kind of phenomenon several times now, he had grown used to it. So he'd reacted quickly—seizing the opportunity to land a devastating blow on Yun Shan.
Realizing this…
"You..." Yun Shan's face, pale as paper, suddenly flushed red with anger. His eyes locked onto Xiao Yan with rage.
He'd been played.
But the flush of anger quickly faded.
Because Yun Shan knew—getting angry was pointless now.
Why waste the little energy he had left?
He took a deep breath and silently circulated his Dou Qi, trying to suppress and expel the strange, transparent flame still burning silently inside his body.
This scene caused even deeper despair in the hearts of the remaining Yun Lan Sect members.
Everyone understood what it meant.
At this point, Yun Shan was nothing more than a spent arrow. At least in the short term, he wouldn't be able to fight at the Dou Zong level anymore.
Just then, in the distant sky—Wei Yang began to move.
With each step, he slowly descended from the sky, walking through the air as though it were solid ground.
After carefully scanning the area and confirming that Protector Mo had indeed been completely vaporized, Wei Yang finally relaxed.
There had been no unexpected incidents.
Well, of course. How could there be miracles happening so often?
Under that kind of explosion, even a low-level Dou Zun might have perished if caught off guard.
Let alone someone like Protector Mo?
He wasn't some chosen son of destiny who could cheat death and conjure miracles at will.
Now, all that was left on the field was a single Protector Tie—the last one who could pose even a minor threat.
As long as Protector Tie was dealt with, the mission would be complete.
All eyes turned to Wei Yang as he stepped down from the sky.
The Yun Lan Sect elders, faces filled with fear and despair, looked up as well.
A moment later, they exchanged glances—and then, one by one, turned their gazes toward Yun Yun.
Although Yun Yun had stepped down from the position of Sect Master years ago, her years of leadership and her strength at the peak of Dou Huang made her the second-most powerful figure in the entire sect, behind only Yun Shan.
Naturally, her prestige in the Yun Lan Sect didn't need to be explained.
Even more so now—since Yun Shan had clearly lost the strength to fight, and was also the chief architect of the disaster befalling the sect.
So at this moment, the elders subconsciously looked to Yun Yun as the acting authority.
But Yun Yun paid them no mind at all.
She was well aware—Yun Lan Sect had reached an extremely dangerous turning point. Life or death—it wasn't an exaggeration to call it that.
But what could she do?
Without the absolute strength to influence the battlefield or turn the tide, all else was meaningless.
Facing Wei Yang's steadily approaching figure, Protector Tie felt an ever-increasing pressure in his chest. His heart was heavy—cold and bitter.
At this point, the once-mysterious aura around Protector Tie had largely dissipated. The strange black mist that had cloaked his body earlier had mostly faded away.
It was obvious that his earlier battle with Yao Lao had cost him dearly.
And when that Ten Sun Destruction had detonated, pouring down endless rays of black light—he'd felt as though the heavens themselves had decided to personally torment him.
Within just a few breaths of time, he'd burned through most of his strength.
I mean, seriously—why did it feel like none of the Dou Wang or Dou Huang experts on the field had suffered nearly as much as he had?
Clearly, he had been targeted.
Now, Protector Tie stood with his body shrouded in a wide black cloak.
From the shadows of his dark hood, a pair of eyes glowed faintly crimson red.
His chest was rising and falling more rapidly, and his slightly heavy breathing revealed the unrest in his heart.
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