Chapter 184: Each Generation Has Its Own Duty (6k)

This sight left Yan Xiao and Lu Yaoyao stunned.

Soon, Yan Xiao snapped out of it and immediately drew his great knife.

"We've been ambushed by these bastards!" he shouted, raising his blade to charge in.

Mo Xingjian slapped him hard on the back of the head, then frowned toward the perimeter.

Many beast beasts were already fighting the five sect disciples—likely those that had broken out before the array activated.

"The array is now active—do not enter!" Mo Xingjian warned, then charged forward himself.

Zhou Qing pulled out his broken sword, met Lu Yaoyao's gaze, and immediately rushed to assist.

Blood sprayed everywhere, limbs and severed arms flew through the air.

Yan Xiao stood frozen, seemingly unable to process what was happening.

"Wait, what's going on?"

…………

Because Canglan Mountain spanned a vast territory, everyone could only conduct sweeps along its outer edges.

Swords and blades flashed, spells blazed into the sky.

By the time the beast tribes along the perimeter were wiped out, an entire day had quietly passed.

The five sect disciples, already bloodied and frenzied, rested briefly, then charged straight in without hesitation.

Mo Xingjian stood aside, watching as blood soaked the earth, thick and viscous, pooling into horrifying crimson streams that wound and flowed.

Inside the array, shouts, screams, and beast roars intertwined, echoing across the entire sky of Canglan Mountain, sending chills down the spine.

"Your uncle woke me because he feared you'd disobey and rush in—after all, if he used certain methods, there'd be no need for all this trouble. But he respected you. Do you understand?"

Mo Xingjian looked at Zhou Qing with gentle eyes and spoke solemnly.

Zhou Qing met his master's gaze, as if understanding something, and nodded silently.

Mo Xingjian suddenly reached out and gently patted both Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao on the head, a tender smile appearing on his face.

"Before we knew it, you've grown so big. Now that you're adults, you should listen. Do you hear me, my disciples?" Mo Xingjian asked softly, his eyes filled with hope.

Both men were moved, their eyes slightly red, and replied in unison: "We do."

Mo Xingjian beamed with satisfaction, nodding gently. "I trust you."

Then he slowly turned, his gaze fixed on the massive, mysterious array before him, his expression turning grave, resolute.

"Each generation has its own duty. Inside, are my kin, my old friends—my few remaining memories. How could I not be there?"

"Master…" Both men's eyes welled up.

Mo Xingjian turned to Yan Xiao and said seriously: "Third disciple, keep an eye on your younger brother. You've never been reliable—this time, I'm asking you to be."

Yan Xiao understood exactly what his master meant.

Inside the array, countless Soul Transformation experts were fighting—conditions were deadly. Fourth disciple, as a Four-Petal Crown, held limitless potential; he absolutely could not be trapped in danger.

"Don't worry, Master. I know what to do," Yan Xiao quickly promised, then slapped Zhou Qing's back and urged: "Say something!"

Zhou Qing clenched his fists tightly, as if gathering all his emotions into that grip, then declared firmly: "Master, I swear—I won't enter."

Hearing this, Mo Xingjian's lips finally curled into a satisfied smile.

As Mo Xingjian lifted his foot to leave, Yan Xiao shouted: "Master, after entering Canglan Mountain, can you first visit General Hou Shan's cave? That jade bed and all those spirit-rich mushrooms are worth a fortune—before anyone else finds them… Master…"

Before Yan Xiao finished, Mo Xingjian vanished in a flash, entering the array and disappearing.

Facing Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao's resentful stares, Yan Xiao cleared his throat and sighed: "You're still too young. I say this for a reason—inside, it's already a bloodbath. The Master wants to delay direct confrontation as long as possible."

Both of them let out hollow laughs.

To be safe, Zhou Qing led them to hide nearby.

Only then did Yan Xiao and Lu Yaoyao learn from Zhou Qing what had truly happened—both were stunned.

The incomplete Level Five 【Demon-Sealing Jiaoshazhen 】, the hidden Level Four killing array, the Nine You Lotus, the hope of Zhanling Realm, the five sects' elaborate schemes…

Without a word, how did they orchestrate such a massive operation?

And why did the Sect Master bring you along?

Also, when did you become a Level One Array Master?

We've always been together—how did you secretly gain such a coveted status without me knowing?

【Heart Mirror +8】

Yan Xiao's forehead tag 【Little Brother Who Wants to Pluck My Nose Hairs】 quickly changed to 【Little Brother Who Sneaks Ahead】.

Zhou Qing offered no further explanation—this was too complex to clarify in moments, and now wasn't the time.

Shiiii! Shiiii! Shiiii!

At this moment, other minor sects, having heard of the five sects' counterattack against the beast tribes, quietly arrived, cautiously approaching the battlefield's edge.

Under Zhou Qing's watch, these people crept forward, then frantically ransacked the corpses of the five sect disciples.

Greed gleamed in their eyes—they took storage bags, weapons, magic treasures, even the dead's clothes and boots.

As for the dead beast corpses, they eagerly and efficiently collected them; for larger ones, they expertly cut away the valuable parts.

Besides these low-level disciples, scattered Jin Dan and Nascent Soul cultivators also arrived.

They crept about, utterly uninterested in the loot—yet when they touched the array, they could pass through it effortlessly. This discovery thrilled them.

With the five sects in chaos and millions of beast beasts fighting inside, if they could slip in, storage bags, beast cores—anything they could grab was theirs for the taking.

Greater danger meant greater opportunity. Once the dust settled, they'd have no chance left.

They wanted this chaos—profit from the turmoil.

Once they decided, they prepared and plunged in.

Seeing these Nascent Soul and Jin Dan cultivators enter successfully, more sect ancestors appeared.

As Soul Transformation experts, they were far more cautious—fully cloaked, concealing every trace of their appearance, they entered one after another.

Zhou Qing and the others watched silently, offering no resistance.

In the Eastern Region, there were over a thousand sects, some with two or three Soul Transformation ancestors—though most were only early or mid-stage.

If united, they formed a force not to be underestimated.

The five sects were powerful because they had accumulated generations of strength, acting as one, not scattered.

Besides, with these people joining, the five sects' chances of victory would at least increase—and once inside, they'd be trapped, unable to withdraw.

"Entering is easy; leaving is hard. The entire Eastern Region consists of five great sects, countless minor sects, and these eighteen Demon Kings. Now they're all locked in slaughter. No matter the outcome, the Eastern Region's strength will be severely weakened."

Yan Xiao sighed beside him, his heart filled with unease.

Zhou Qing merely watched the blurred figures flickering within, the stench of blood seeping through the barrier—what kind of hell lay inside?

I hope the other three regions of Lingyun Prefecture don't take advantage of this chaos.

Fortunately, years of restraint—no Soul Transformation experts ever intervening—had set the stage for this extreme escalation, making it unlikely anyone anticipated such an unprecedented bloodbath.

If anyone had ulterior motives, by the time they realized it, this would already be over.

Days passed quietly, until a month later, Zhou Qing and the others had lost count of how many opportunists had entered—but not a single one had emerged.

The roars and battles inside continued, but had grown far fewer.

Another month passed. Fewer outsiders dared enter; occasional massive tremors still echoed from within, proving the slaughter had not ended.

With nearly all the Eastern Region's strength gathered, two months of relentless slaughter—no need to imagine; the scene inside was clear.

"I'm worried about Master and Senior Brother!" Lu Yaoyao, usually silent, suddenly spoke.

Where had Senior Brother Li Daoxuan gone?

Did he even know what was happening now?

Zhou Qing understood Lu Yaoyao's concern—under normal circumstances, he'd have rushed in already.

After all, his current combat power could match a standard Nascent Soul peak without losing ground, let alone those large, clumsy beast beasts.

Where the Broken Wind passed, you'd just bleed out slowly until you passed out.

But his master had warned him repeatedly—and he had promised.

"Should I go in and check?" Yan Xiao couldn't help asking.

Both turned to look at him.

Yan Xiao shrugged, indifferent. "Old Mo says I'm unreliable—what's one more time? But you don't go. I'll make hand signals from just beyond that barrier…"

Before Yan Xiao finished, a tiny, sweet fragrance suddenly filled the air—but after inhaling it, all three shivered violently, as if their souls had frozen.

All three immediately held their breath, alert and scanning the surroundings.

"Could the Nine You Lotus have truly matured?" Zhou Qing felt a chill.

BOOM!

The next instant, a deafening explosion erupted from within—as if a Soul Transformation expert had self-destructed.

The three jumped up, faces filled with dread.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

More explosions followed, one after another, making Zhou Qing's scalp tingle with fear.

Especially the array before them—now turned blood-red, with ghostly runes flickering wildly.

"I have to go in!" Zhou Qing immediately drew Broken Wind.

But Lu Yaoyao and Yan Xiao grabbed his arms on either side, stopping him.

"What good would you do going in?" Yan Xiao's face was anxious, pleading.

Lu Yaoyao nodded frantically, eyes wide with terror: "Senior Brother Zhou, don't go! If you're worried, I'll go in and scout for you."

Zhou Qing looked at them and reassured: "Don't forget—I'm an Array Master. If something goes wrong inside, I can still help…"

But before he could finish, a blinding light—so intense it hurt to look at—shot skyward from the northwest, erupting from the Demon-Sealing Strangling Array with the force of a collapsing mountain and surging sea.

In an instant, all of heaven and earth seemed to pause, followed by a deafening explosion.

The previously blood-red barrier shimmered violently, then tore open like fragile paper, revealing a massive gap.

Terrifying spiritual energy surged wildly, accompanied by piercing whistles.

One after another, disciples clad in Taiqingmen robes poured out in a frantic rush.

Their figures, bathed in light and spiritual energy, appeared desperate and disheveled.

The three of them rushed over at once.

Gazing through the gap, they saw countless Taiqingmen disciples packed tightly inside, every face etched with exhaustion and pain, their bodies drenched in blood—too mingled to tell whose was whose.

Yet even so, their eyes burned with fervor, as if they had glimpsed hope in the depths of despair.

Behind them lay countless corpses of demonic beasts, turning the stones and trees of Canglan Mountain crimson.

The stench of blood surged relentlessly through the gap.

"It's Zhou Qing! The Sect Master didn't lie to us!"

"He knew the Cangyan Dao Palace set a trap for us, so he came here ahead to meet us!"

"Zhou Qing! Zhou Qing—"

…………

The moment they saw Zhou Qing, countless disciples erupted in cheers, their emotions instantly reaching a fever pitch.

Ignoring their wounds, they waved their arms fiercely, faces radiant with the wild joy of survival.

Even those disciples behind them, unable to see the front, screamed hoarsely, chanting "Zhou Qing! Zhou Qing!"

Their voices merged into a thunderous roar that shook the entire Canglan Mountain.

Zhou Qing stood outside the gap, hearing the deafening cheers, his face filled with shame.

He could not imagine what the Sect Master had told them in that mortal peril to make them place their hope on him.

This sudden, overwhelming trust moved him—and filled him with guilt.

Yan Xiaohu, the first to react, quickly signaled Zhou Qing and immediately organized the escaping disciples to rest nearby.

Zhou Qing acted at once.

But soon, he noticed the torn opening was healing itself at a visibly rapid pace.

His face darkened; the disciples still pouring out froze in shock, panic spreading swiftly through the crowd.

Zhou Qing had no time to hesitate—he unleashed brilliant spiritual energy from his palms, slamming it into the closing gap, desperately battling the self-repairing force.

It only slightly slowed the closure.

At this rate, the gap would seal completely in mere breaths.

Shhh!

From beside him, a chilling aura surged forward, striking the opening. Zhou Qing turned to see Lu Yaoyao, her face set with stubborn determination.

As she swiftly formed hand seals, strands of ice-blue spiritual energy shot from her fingertips, wrapping around the edges of the gap, attempting to freeze the healing force with extreme cold.

Yan Xiaohu shouted at the top of his lungs: "Anyone still able to move—channel all your spiritual energy here! We must ensure every brother and sister gets out safely!"

"Yes!"

Dozens of newly escaped disciples, though exhausted, their spiritual energy nearly drained, immediately responded. Clenching their teeth, enduring their wounds, they unhesitatingly pooled their remaining spiritual energy and sent it toward the gap.

In an instant, a vast torrent of spiritual energy, forged by countless disciples, surged into the gap.

Colors of spiritual power intertwined, forming a colossal invisible hand that held the closing gap open with all its might.

Under this force, the speed of closure slowed dramatically.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing's heart stirred with hope. He shouted: "Hold on! Our brothers and sisters inside are still waiting!"

The disciples roared again, unleashing every last ounce of strength. Even those who had just escaped with only one arm or one leg were moved by the sight.

With a roar, they hurled their final breath of energy forward, then spat blood and collapsed unconscious.

On the other side of the gap, the Taiqingmen disciples inside watched this scene, tears streaming down their faces.

They supported each other, hastening their escape—and the moment they stepped out, they joined the effort.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

Cao Zhengyang and numerous Peak Masters, Elders, and Administrators, after using Zhou Qing's jade slip to open the gap, did not flee first. Instead, they used spiritual energy to form a protective barrier, holding back the assaults of the Four-Color Killing Array.

All of them were pale, swaying on the verge of collapse.

All they could do now was buy more time for the surviving disciples.

After all, they had brought these disciples in—they must bring them back.

At this moment, they saw Zhou Qing, face flushed, at the opening, and their expressions softened with relief.

"You don't seriously plan to groom my little brother as the next Sect Master, do you?" Mo Xingjian, drenched in blood, still radiated a bold aura as he laughed heartily.

Cao Zhengyang panted heavily, each breath causing violent heaves in his chest—a horrifying, gaping wound gushed blood intermittently from his abdomen.

Without hesitation, he replied: "Of course I do. That child's growth over the past few years—I've watched every step."

He paused slightly, as if lost in memory, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "From his naive, inexperienced arrival at the sect, to now standing out in crisis after crisis—every transformation he's made is astonishing. I can't even recall when I first had this thought."

"And this Four-Color Killing Array, and the jade slip that cuts the spirit—it all came from him. He saved us all." Cao Zhengyang's voice rose, trembling with uncontainable excitement.

If Zhou Qing hadn't warned them in advance, and if they hadn't stayed clustered under his command after entering the array, Taiqingmen would have been annihilated.

Mo Xingjian nodded slightly, then asked: "So that's why you told the desperate disciples Zhou Qing was waiting on the other side?"

"Hah! This kid has slain five prodigies of the Cangyan Dao Palace, and now he's saved us all—he's earned every bit of their trust!" Cao Zhengyang coughed violently after speaking.

Mo Xingjian grinned. "Brother, I'll make a bet with you?"

"What?" Cao Zhengyang asked curiously.

Mo Xingjian chuckled. "Taiqingmen is too small. The Sect Master's seat will only become a chain binding him."

"Hah! Seems your expectations for him are higher than mine. I'm curious—what heavenly qi did you have him refine?" Cao Zhengyang asked.

Mo Xingjian shook his head. "I gave him nothing. It was Second Uncle who gave it."

Cao Zhengyang froze.

His thoughts shifted, recalling past events—he sighed bitterly and shook his head.

Then Cao Zhengyang turned his gaze to the distant explosions, letting the subject drop. He let out a heavy sigh, his eyes filled with worry and helplessness.

"Mo brother, am I being selfish?" Cao Zhengyang asked, voice tinged with confusion and self-reproach.

Mo Xingjian also stared at the sea of corpses and blood, his expression complex, silent.

He understood Cao Zhengyang's state of mind—and his burden.

This two-month-long slaughter, coupled with the demonic kings' terrifying self-destructions, had claimed countless lives forever.

When everyone thought victory was near, the hidden Four-Color Killing Array suddenly activated. While Taiqingmen had prepared, the others were caught completely off guard.

Countless disciples were instantly reduced to dust beneath the terrifying crimson lightning.

The disciples of the Three Sects—no, the Four Sects, including Tianji Sect—whose meridians were already drained of spiritual energy—launched indiscriminate attacks.

As for the high-ranking officials of the Cangyan Dao Palace, they had quietly withdrawn long ago.

They had assumed Tianji Sect, as their lackey, must have possessed an escape method—but they, too, had been tricked.

Jin Leizong and Qingyu Immortal Sect each lost multiple Nascent Soul Elders who chose to self-detonate, hoping their sacrifice would carve a path to survival.

But all were in vain. All failed.

Items like teleportation scrolls were rendered useless under the powerful Four-Color Killing Array, as if bound by some mysterious force.

Cao Zhengyang did not stop Jin Leizong and Qingyu Immortal Sect disciples from attempting to save themselves.

Only when he saw they had exhausted every option and sunk into utter despair did he swiftly gather his own disciples and use Zhou Qing's jade slip to open a passage, granting Taiqingmen a sliver of hope.

Mo Xingjian looked at his brother, knowing his heart was torn—but who else could bear such a position?

Precisely because he understood, he would never let Zhou Qing face such a choice in the future.

After a brief hesitation, Mo Xingjian said: "Brother, you saw it—Sikong Yan isn't just Nascent Soul late stage—he's a Great Perfection. Your own path is still long. Now isn't the time to invite a demon into your heart."

"Besides, Jin Leizong and Qingyu Immortal Sect have preserved forty percent of their strength—that's already remarkable. I'll go call them to join us!"

After nodding to the other Peak Masters, Mo Xingjian vanished instantly.

Cao Zhengyang opened his mouth, then let out a bitter smile.

He still wasn't cruel enough—but if he were truly cruel, he wouldn't be Cao Zhengyang.

(End of Chapter)