Chapter 571: Unstoppable

Thunder rumbled above Black Wind Island.

"A Heaven-Man has intervened!"

Li Rui slightly narrowed his eyes.

From the residual qi leaking from the battle, he could confirm it was the Heaven-Man champions from both the orthodox and demonic sides locked in combat.

At the same time.

The demonic cultivators' assault grew even fiercer, taking on a desperate, do-or-die posture.

"The Demon Prince is dead—these people did it! Blood for blood!"

Suddenly.

A roar erupted from within the demonic cultivators.

Every Blood Demon Cult cultivator was forced to fight to the death.

With the Demon Prince dead, if they failed to avenge him, after the war ended, they would all become materials for their master's alchemical artifacts.

How could they dare not fight to the death?

In mere moments, countless orthodox and demonic cultivators fell.

Utterly brutal.

"Someone set a trap!"

Li Rui understood in an instant.

Today's entire affair—they were merely sewing garments for someone else.

The death of a Demon Prince was worlds apart from the death of a Fire Phoenix Immortal.

More than half of those on Black Wind Island were from the Blood Demon Cult.

The Demon Prince was dead.

How could these demonic cultivators possibly let it go?

If earlier battles had been mutual probes, today was outright mortal combat.

The cultivators surrounding the perimeter were still relatively safe.

Those from Fire Fengcheng who had already penetrated deep into the interior were likely facing nine deaths and one chance of survival.

"It's Bai Bai Renfeng."

It wasn't hard to deduce from the clues.

They had been tricked by Bai Bai Renfeng, turned into cannon fodder.

Worse still.

Even if they returned alive, they had nowhere to file a complaint.

After all, Bai Bai Renfeng had genuinely killed a Demon Prince—a great achievement, a triumph anywhere, and in war, as long as the goal was met, how many deaths were too many?

Moreover, among these Fire Fengcheng cultivators, almost none were important figures from the Profound Heaven Sect, White Jade Capital, or Suspended Sound Temple.

They couldn't stir up any waves.

In short.

Bai Bai Renfeng had precisely targeted them before making his move.

What a clever calculation.

Li Rui's gaze turned icy in an instant.

His punching speed increased rapidly.

In just three breaths.

He slew over a dozen demonic cultivators.

Killing with ruthless efficiency.

This sight instantly shocked the surrounding demonic cultivators and drew the attention of many Fire Fengcheng cultivators.

Soon.

Nearly fifty cultivators had gathered around Li Rui, including several Purple Mansion cultivators.

All of them understood: only by following Li Rui did they stand a chance of survival.

"All of you, break out together!"

A thunderous roar.

Li Rui raised his arm and shouted.

Then he charged straight toward the escape route he had already identified before the chaos began.

The others knew there was only one path left—to fight—and inspired by Li Rui's earlier ferocity, they followed him in a frenzy.

He unleashed divine power!

Along the way.

Nearly every demonic cultivator blocking his path was crushed by Li Rui's fist.

Not one could hold him for a single breath.

Even a Purple Mansion demonic cultivator who struck out was blasted back; one such cultivator was struck dead outright, his Nascent Soul too slow to escape.

The cultivators following Li Rui were almost all from Fire Fengcheng.

Many knew his origins.

So seeing this cultivator from the Small Cave Heaven so terrifyingly powerful, they were utterly stunned.

Some with sharper eyes realized.

Li Rui was clearly walking the Path of Strength, and he had advanced far along it.

It was widely known.

The Path of Strength made one invincible within the same realm.

This Small Cave Heaven cultivator had already opened his Purple Mansion; unless a cultivator who had already merged with the Dao and was preparing to cross the Tribulation intervened, no one could suppress Li Rui. But such cultivators were nearly half-Dao bodies—they wouldn't risk their cultivation by joining the Sixty-Year Purge of Demons.

Therefore.

On this battlefield, as long as no Dao Body appeared, Li Rui was nearly invincible.

Morale surged instantly.

Hope for survival appeared.

A hundred zhang ahead lay the edge of Black Wind Island—if they broke through, they could reunite with the allied forces and escape.

But just as the cultivators believed they were about to escape death—

An old, sinister man suddenly appeared.

Crash!

A skull talisman slammed directly into Li Rui's chest.

He was flung back several zhang.

Blood trickled from Li Rui's lips; his expression instantly dulled.

Seeing the old man appear, the other cultivators' spirits plummeted to the abyss.

"Dao Body realm!"

The Dao Body cultivator had finally noticed the situation—they wouldn't escape the island today.

Despair spread among the cultivators.

Li Rui stared at the demonic elder.

The injury had been feigned.

If all the Fire Fengcheng cultivators had already perished, he might have intervened—but now, it was unnecessary.

The thought had barely formed—

A general, drenched in blood, descended from the sky.

It was Yuan Yuan Dingting.

This was why he hadn't acted.

Yuan Yuan Dingting's condition was extraordinary: though his armor was shattered and he looked battered, his aura grew ever more terrifying, entering a profound, elusive state.

Similar to sudden enlightenment.

Yuan Yuan Dingting was now extremely strong.

The demonic elder's expression changed, a flicker of wariness appearing.

A martial cultivator, especially on a battlefield, was the hardest to deal with.

Yuan Yuan Dingting glanced at Li Rui behind him.

"Li Hou, lead the others out—I'll hold the rear."

"Understood."

Li Rui didn't hesitate, didn't stall, and didn't waste words about leaving together.

He swiftly led the hundred-odd surviving cultivators toward the allied forces.

As for Yuan Yuan Dingting—

This Soldier Saint wasn't the type to overestimate himself or sacrifice himself for others; since he had spoken, he must have at least an eighty percent chance of survival.

Better to worry about oneself than him.

A hundred zhang.

To cultivators, it was but the blink of an eye.

Extremely fast.

Li Rui and his group arrived among the righteous alliance forces.

They were saved.

Many of the Fire Fengcheng cultivators sat slumped on the ground, exhausted from the aftermath of survival.

Li Rui glanced around and quickly spotted Nie Nie Siming, Yuan Xiong, and several others in the crowd.

But he never saw Bai Bai Renfeng's figure.

As the sun rose in the east.

The righteous alliance forces had returned to the island.

Last night's battle yielded great results: Bai Bai Renfeng slew a Demon Prince, earning the foremost merit.

As for the Fire Fengcheng cultivators who died, no one cared.

Of eight hundred cultivators, only two hundred remained.

Even three Dao Body cultivators perished; countless others died as well.

Yuan Yuan Dingting's sixth adopted son died in this battle.

Though sorrowful, this was the fate of warrior cultivators: either rise through momentum and soar to greatness, or become nothing but a handful of yellow earth—there was no third path.

Rapid breakthroughs also meant swift downfall.

Death in battle was acceptable, but to die uselessly for someone else's gain was intolerable.

This grudge was firmly recorded by Meng Chong, Nie Nie Siming, and the other adopted sons.

One day, they would repay it.

Yet after this battle,

Yuan Yuan Dingting and Li Rui distinguished themselves in the Black Wind Island clash, and the name of Yu State spread among the cultivators of Taihuazhou.

Both received rewards from the Jiazi Extermination Elder Council.

(End of Chapter)