Chapter 88

At the same time, inside the gloomy Yunming City, dozens of elite disciples suddenly jolted awake.

Among them was Cang Li.

After Cang Li woke up, he jerked upright, and when his gaze fell upon the crowd lying haphazardly all over the ground, he couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

His attention was quickly drawn to the white-clad girl lying not far away; he stood up, hurried to her side, and checked her breath.

"Yao Yao?"

He called out softly.

Yuan Yao gave no response.

At this moment, Cang Li realized that his consciousness had been expelled by the nightmare beast.

He lifted his head and scanned the surroundings, soon spotting the figures of the eldest senior brother and second senior sister.

His heart sank; he hurried over, first kneeling beside the eldest senior brother and quickly reaching out to feel his pulse.

The pulse was extremely faint.

"Eldest senior brother..." Cang Li gazed at the eldest senior brother's face, now clearly turned ashen, and his spirits plummeted to the depths.

He understood that even if the eldest senior brother was still alive, his life hung by a thread.

Cang Li took out Soul‑Solidifying Pills from his storage space, feeding them one after another to Song Yan's mouth.

Afterwards, he went to check on the second senior sister's condition.

"Senior Brother Cang!" After waking, several elite disciples of the Carefree Sect hurried over to Cang Li.

Cang Li lifted his head, the playful look gone from his face, and with a solemn expression told them, "Bring everyone from the Carefree Sect here."

He wanted to confirm whether they were still alive.

"Yes, Senior Brother Cang!" The elite disciples replied solemnly.

They scattered, searching Yunming City for members of the Carefree Sect.

Cang Li rose, then went to pick Yuan Yao up and bring her over.

He placed her between the eldest senior brother and the second senior sister.

Cang Li stood guard here over them.

Gazing at the three unconscious individuals, he recalled the scene in the nightmare realm where they had jointly faced the nightmare beast, and he clenched his fists tightly.

He lowered his eyes.

Over the past ten years, he has become increasingly lax and weak.

He cannot match them.

During the battle in the nightmare realm, he clearly sensed that the distance between himself and them was growing ever wider; perhaps in another ten years he would no longer be able to fight side by side with them.

He once thought that even if he could not rival Wuji and the others, it didn't matter—at least he still had the company of his junior martial sister.

But now…

His junior martial sister has changed.

Watching her grow stronger bit by bit, he had put in a great deal of effort for that.

Cang Li's gaze shifted to Song Yan's ashen face.

He now couldn't even think of saving the eldest senior brother.

…

Inside the nightmare realm.

Yuan Yao raised her sword and slashed, using mental power to tear open the black mist, her face solemn as she said, "We cannot leave yet! If we do, those weak ones will have no way out!"

Upon hearing Yuan Yao's words, the nightmare beast snorted coldly, shifted its form, and instantly appeared before her.

Compared to the gigantic nightmare beast, Yuan Yao was no larger than its claw.

It thundered toward Yuan Yao, aiming to smash her with a single palm into serious injury, so she could not chatter with her little mouth, nor could she devour its mental power.

Yuan Yao tried to dodge, but was firmly locked in place by the opponent's spiritual pressure.

She had no choice but to raise her sword and meet the attack.

And just then—

Two sword cries rang out; the nightmare beast's skull shuddered violently, causing it to halt its attack.

Yuan Yao's heart jolted; seizing the opportunity, she quickly stepped back, then lifted her head to see a black-and-white figure.

It was Xue Jin and Ying Wuji!

One wore white clothes with pink hair, the other black clothes with black hair.

Both sword arts were inherited from the Thousand Mountain Immortal Lord, and in seamless coordination they continued to slash at the nightmare beast's skull.

At that moment, Xiao Lingwei, Zhai Qingye, Li Ji, and Nan Feiyan broke through the black mist interference, swiftly joined the battle, and together they entangled the nightmare beast.

"Flame Blade!" Xiao Lingwei stepped forward, swung her bone‑joint whip, lashing hard at the nightmare beast; the fire‑element‑infused long whip cracked, splitting its black‑mist body!

"Gentle Wind Falling Leaves!" Zhai Qingye swung his great blade; the edge passed like a light breeze, yet as it struck the nightmare beast's body it burst forth with an extremely formidable mental‑power blade!

Li Ji leapt forward, both palms thrusting out, "Palm‑Breaking Form!"

The palm prints were accompanied by holy light, striking toward the nightmare beast!

"Great Brahma Holy Arrow!" Nan Feiyan leapt up, clutching a massive thunder‑flame bow, planted one foot to draw the bowstring, and shot a huge thunder arrow at the nightmare beast's skull.

Swish—

The arrow tore through the air, carving a startling arc in mid‑flight, like lightning.

The nightmare beast blocked these attacks, then lifted its massive claw to swipe at them.

At this moment, its giant claw exuded a corrosive slime.

"Watch out!" Li Ji's face paled, and she quickly retreated a distance.

At that moment, the elders of the various sects exchanged glances, each gathering spiritual power, moving toward the four sides of the nightmare beast, and swiftly forming hand seals.

They want to lay a formation with cloth to trap the Nightmare Beast!

And the Nightmare Beast seemed to have guessed their intention, roaring at them; a terrifying mental power impact sent them flying, and their seas of consciousness were assailed by waves of stabbing pain!

Yuan Yao leapt up and swung her sword.

The enormous sword blade, wrapped in mental power, swept across like a meteor.

It easily blocked Yuan Yao's attack with a single swing of its arm; then it swiftly swung its thick arm like an iron hammer, smashing hard at Yuan Yao.

Seeing the Nightmare Beast's fierce approach, Yuan Yao's heart jumped and she hastily dodged to the side.

Just as she had dodged the opponent's fist, she discovered the Nightmare Beast unexpectedly sweeping backhand.

This change of move caught Yuan Yao off guard; she seemed about to be hit when suddenly a long whip flew from the side, accurately wrapping around her waist and pulling her hard out of the danger zone.

"Second Senior Sister!"

Xiao Lingwei nodded at her, then continued attacking toward the Nightmare Beast.

And at this moment, Yuan Yao regained her composure.

She quickly withdrew from the battle circle, then focused her mental power to attack the Nightmare Beast and disrupt its combat rhythm.

She clearly knew her spiritual power and combat experience were insufficient; at this moment, only her mental power could still contend with the Nightmare Beast.

With Yuan Yao's mental power interference, the Nightmare Beast's combat rhythm was disrupted, and it was hit repeatedly by them.

Although these wounds were not enough to seriously injure it, it grew increasingly irritated.

It turned to leave this place!

"Don't let it leave!" Yuan Yao's expression changed.

Hearing this, everyone instinctively blocked its path.

Who would have thought it instantly turned into a black mist, easily passing through everyone's barrier.

Seeing this, Yuan Yao unhesitatingly chased after it on her sword.

She absolutely could not let it disappear right under her nose!

If it truly vanished without a trace, no one could predict what would happen next; perhaps Eldest Senior Brother and the others would become its prey.

Therefore, as long as we keep an eye on it and give it no opening, we can best ensure the safety of Eldest Senior Brother and the others.

But as she pursued, she suddenly zoned out and sensed something.

She turned her head to look——

Second Senior Sister and the others had disappeared.

The scene before her changed again, the surroundings turning into the bustling Cloud Nether City at night, with her in the midst of the crowd, people coming and going.

She frantically scanned her surroundings, yet saw no familiar face.

She grabbed a person, about to ask what was happening, but that person gave her a look of disgust and harshly shook off her hand.

At that moment, a fierce buzzing like 'tick-tock' came from her sea of consciousness, the surroundings blurred, and the various noises gradually turned into echoes.

"Sleep." A familiar gentle voice came.

Master……

No no!

This is not the Master's voice!

The Master is not here!

Yuan Yao took a deep breath, quickly steadied her mind, focused her thoughts, and swept her gaze over everything present.

Only the crowd and bustling street gradually faded from her sight!

Not far away, a person's silhouette gradually became clear in her vision.

The youth seemed to sense something, turned, and looked toward her.

After Yuan Yao saw the youth clearly, she was startled, then narrowed her eyes at him and coldly said, "You're fake too!"

Xie Yan: "?"