Chapter 81: Save Me, My Lord

The sudden pause in the Angry Sword Elder's movement finally gave Hong Lei some relief.

He stepped back a few paces, adjusted his breath, and the palm holding his blade had gone numb from the sword qi.

Rustle—

In a single breath, more than a dozen chains instantly wrapped around the Silver-Haired Old Man's limbs and waist; the Golden Eagle Captains suddenly exerted their strength, seized this hard-won opportunity, and finally pinned him in place.

The Elder still appeared utterly unconcerned.

He simply lowered his head to gaze deeply at the long sword in his hand; facing this old companion that had accompanied him for three hundred years, a trace of hatred suddenly surged in those clouded eyes.

The two characters "Qingfeng" on the blade seemed like a nightmare stabbing at his heart.

"I should not have entered the Sword Pool to take you."

His voice was faint and hoarse, as if his throat had not touched water in a long time, carrying a heavy dose of self-mockery.

Hearing the name Sword Pool, many Captains showed strange expressions.

This precious land helped Qingfeng Mountain nurture numerous Golden Core experts, extending thousands of years of prosperity to become a famous great sect in Outside Qingzhou; even they had heard of it.

Hong Lei seemed to guess something; his gaze grew slightly complex as he looked over. The other party had colluded with demons and was about to exhaust his life force, nearly causing heavy losses to his group; originally, there was no need to speak further to a dead man.

Yet he could not help but speak: "Life in the Zhen Mo Si is bitter, with life hanging by a thread, but at least this cultivation level..."

His words cut off abruptly.

The Elder suddenly thrust the blade into the ground, then raised his palm to strike down resolutely, gathering his entire fierce momentum into his palm.

Crack!

The five-foot-long sword was snapped in half by the strike.

Sparse silver hair fluttered; that old face was withered to the extreme, clouded eyes covered by white cataracts, clearly devoid of life.

Below the cliff, a group of disciples holding torches who were hastily trying to flee gradually stopped their steps, their faces bitter.

The Elder had said that when he and the demons engaged the Zhen Mo Si, they should remember to run fast... yet they had just walked down the cliff via a small path when they witnessed the old man's suicide.

They looked far away at the sword qi hanging in the air; the gorgeous scarlet made their hearts uneasy.

The old man was using this method to remind them to stop.

That knife-carrying youth in the flowing black robe, so powerful that while fighting demons he could still suppress the Elder from such a distance, still had strength to spare; he would not mind summoning another storm of sword qi to crush them.

Just then, wailing echoed through the cliffs!

A figure that made one's scalp crawl charged out from the eerie flames.

Rather than saying his wounds were deep enough to see bone, it was more like a skeleton with a few pieces of flesh hanging on it.

The Tuolong's precious armor was less than one-tenth intact; its flat skull was missing nearly half, as if burned away by fire; in its eyes remained only that tall figure.

"Die!!!"

It ran forward quickly, using both hands and feet.

If it could just get closer, it could tightly strangle the opponent's body, turning its overwhelming rage into immense force to completely roll and tear the other apart.

Shen Yi's breathing was steady; watching the charging Tuolong, his feet suddenly spread apart.

His five fingers clenched tightly, tattered sleeves fluttering.

A fist smashed out! Directly aiming at the meridians surging on the Tuolong's body!

Boom! The demon stumbled; the spot struck instantly lost sensation! Boom boom boom! Fists like a violent storm hammered the Tuolong back repeatedly until, with a squelch, five fingers pierced its abdomen.

When pulled out, a blood-soaked demon core was clearly clamped between his fingertips.

The demon's form collapsed with a crash; until it drew its last breath, the remaining blood-evil demon fire on its body still licked its bones, making a sizzling sound.

【Slain Tuolong of the Jade Liquid Realm perfection, lifespan 1820 years, remaining lifespan 763 years, fully absorbed】

Since eliminating the river demon, Shen Yi had not seen such a prompt for a long time, feeling slightly familiar.

He then helplessly looked at his arm; several gashes faintly revealed white bone.

Not all demons charge straight ahead recklessly; the tail the opponent was hiding would, even for a martial artist of the same realm, cause instant death if one was not careful.

Fortunately, there was the Great Killing Weapon, the Heavenly Star Blood Evil; compared to himself in the initial realm, using this move now, the killing power was more than ten times greater... but the upper limit of Jade Liquid Realm martial arts was right there.

Shen Yi's desire for new martial arts increased by a few more degrees; once he returned this time, he must carefully select one.

Having thought this, he withdrew his gaze and looked at the group of Captains walking toward him.

"Brother Shen... truly terrified me."

Hong Lei's expression was complex; he tried his hardest to dig up words of praise in his belly, but in the end, he could not help but reveal the horror in his eyes.

What was there to praise?

Even if Lin Baiwei herself had come over, she could at most achieve this degree.

That Miss was the personal disciple of the Grand Marshal, the undisputed number one among the younger generation in Outside Qingzhou; yet in Hong Lei's eyes, this position already vaguely felt undeserved.

Because up to now, Shen Yi's condition still showed no sign of exhaustion...

Slaying a thousand-year great demon and shaking the Angry Sword Elder with a raised hand; taking either of these two events alone was extremely terrifying, let alone them happening simultaneously.

"I have some healing ointment here; use it first."

Hong Lei's face was strange; he had thought it was a certain-death situation, but unexpectedly, the only one injured was the opponent with the strongest power.

As his words fell, a thud suddenly came from behind.

The group of Golden Eagle Captains knelt on one knee, hands clasped in a fist raised above their heads; without speaking, a moment later, they all stood up in unison.

Those entering the inner camp all had family names recognizable throughout Outside Qingzhou.

Compared to ordinary outer camp Captains, they were more arrogant, but this outing, under Zhao Kanglin's leadership, had almost thrown their face away completely.

Hong Lei let out a bitter smile: "These rascals are truly disgusting when they get disgusting... grateful to you, yet they won't hide it."

"We are all colleagues; do not take it to heart."

Shen Yi took the ointment and applied it to his wounds, not caring too much.

The habits of the children of Outside Qingzhou could be seen from Li Mujin; when there is a matter, they truly give thanks and are not stingy, but the aristocratic manner deep in their hearts is hard to change; the things they bring out all carry the flavor of their families, and if one is not careful, one gets dragged in.

"Old Hong is a rough man; if you need anything, just call on me."

Hong Lei nodded and turned his gaze toward the group of Qingfeng Mountain disciples in the distance, leading the others over.

The young disciples hung their heads, their expressions Tianyan Siji.

"Go back already—are you waiting for me to invite you?"

Hong Lei waved his hand irritably; this damn business was truly beyond words.

More than a dozen Golden Eagle Captains died because Zhao Kanglin disobeyed orders and forcibly entered Guan Jian Gorge, causing their deaths.

Then Zhao Kanglin died.

He was killed for colluding with demons.

The Furious Sword Elder, who should have been held responsible, directly exhausted his life force… this guilt could only fall upon Qingfeng Mountain.

"My lord, save me..."

Some cowardly ones collapsed in terror, clutching Hong Lei's leg and refusing to let go.

"You yourself threw your essence into the Sword Pool, you yourself nurtured the sword, you took every benefit without giving up a single bit, and now you want me to save you?" Hong Lei gritted his teeth, yanked him up, and his voice suddenly lowered.

"General Chen didn't let you leave for a reason—I once served under him. If he didn't care about your lives, do you think he cared about mine?"

"Go back quickly—don't make this hard for me."

He patted the boy's back, his brows tightly furrowed.

…

(End of Chapter)