Chapter 428

Beneath rolling darkness, the night wind howled over the walls of Nightwind City.

The cultivators tasked with defending the city gathered before a blazing bonfire, raising wine cups and using spirit wine to ward off the cold.

Only six hours had passed since their second great victory in defense; their faces still bore traces of exhaustion, but the wine began to ease their fatigue.

“I wonder when the Remnant will strike again—this peace feels like we’re counting the hours on our fingers.”

“They can’t get past the Sacred Artifact. I say we just give up.”

“The Remnant has nursed hatred toward the Sacred Artifact for a thousand years—how could they give up? But since their second assault failed, they’ll likely rethink their strategy and won’t return soon.”

As they spoke, one of the defending cultivators set down his cup: “You guys drink up—I’m going to piss.”

The others snorted in laughter: “Why’s your bladder so weak? You should see a physician in town.”

“Fuck you, your mouth spits nothing but filth.”

The cultivator cursed under his breath and rose to climb down from the wall.

But as he stood, he froze mid-step, his gaze fixed on the horizon ahead, eyes locking in place.

Far in his line of sight, amid the rolling blackness, a crimson glow emerged.

Instinctively, the cultivator held his breath, then sprinted along the wall.

The cultivators drinking beside him all leapt to their feet; the drowsiness vanished from their minds, their bodies tensing instantly.

“Enemy attack!”

“Enemy approach!”

Only six hours after the human race’s second great victory, before the euphoria could settle, a scream—raw, tearing at the throat—erupted atop Nightwind City’s walls.

Immediately, the watchtower’s alarm horn blared, piercing the entire city like an arrow.

In an instant, every citizen on the streets and alleys who had been smiling froze, then turned mechanically toward the wall; their smiles faded, replaced by boundless confusion.

“Where’s the attack coming from?”

“The Remnant…”

“Impossible—they just retreated! How could they return so suddenly?”

Amid the murmurs, eyes widened with disbelief.

The Remnant had only just withdrawn; in their minds, it felt like moments ago. Such a short time—they didn’t even know if the Remnant army had fully returned to camp.

They retreated because they knew they couldn’t achieve their goal—so why return now? What meaning could it hold?

In that moment, nearly everyone assumed the alarm was a false report—but less than a stick of incense later, the rolling black tide from afar shattered their illusions.

Countless crimson eyes, waves of crushing malevolence—all confirmed the alarm horn’s warning.

In the next instant, the Chen Clan’s disciples surged forward as streaks of light, swords drawn; the Shanhai Pavilion’s disciples followed like shadows, launching skyward!

Infinite spiritual energy, violently drawn in by the cultivators, converged like a hundred rivers into the sea, forming a roaring torrent of spiritual flow.

With the black night sky as its channel, it charged forward with unstoppable momentum, crashing head-on into the overwhelming malevolent aura.

A colossal roar echoed across the heavens, shaking the earth beneath Nightwind City once more.

At that moment, directly above the Remnant army, a figure suddenly appeared.

The Remnant’s royal minister, Esha.

Dressed in an ancient, tattered black robe, he flipped his hand—and boundless black light gathered in his palm.

In an instant, the black light swelled wildly, stretching and solidifying into a colossal black light cone, towering to the heavens, as if capable of piercing through the entire world, crashing downward!

Before the cone reached, a pure, annihilating force of terror descended.

Above Yongzhou, violent winds erupted, lifting ten-thousand-zhang of dust; the countless mountain peaks before Nightwind City, weathered by centuries, shattered instantly with thunderous booms.

“Awaken the Stele.”

As the black light sought to pierce the entire city, a silent thought echoed—Chen Luo and Chen Xi transformed into two streaks of emerald and white light, soaring upward.

Behind them, the White Jade Dao Stele—the core of the Chen Clan’s heritage—responded to their call, erupting in unprecedented brilliant divine light, slamming into the black light.

“DONG——！！！！！”

A sound like the splitting of heaven and earth exploded!

Pure white divine light and deep black cone clashed violently above Nightwind City!

At the point of impact, the earth shattered like fragile glass; violent winds swept through the entire void.

Countless nearby cultivators felt the crushing weight of heavenly authority, trembling uncontrollably; the Remnant vanguards were instantly blasted from the sky.

At that moment, the White Jade Dao Stele shuddered violently, emitting a grand, purifying resonance that shook the cosmos, radiating light rivaling sun and moon.

It was a supreme power—decreeing order, reshaping laws—that surged back, instantly crushing the black light cone to fragments.

But in that same instant, a cold killing light descended from the deeper heavens, locking onto the Chen siblings with lethal precision, hurtling toward them at impossible speed, roaring with explosive force.

“Worse—there’s another?!”

“How could this be? Are they targeting us now?!”

Chen Luo’s face, once calm, twisted into shock.

When the strange alarm sounded, they’d assumed the Remnant wouldn’t change tactics so quickly—likely still aiming for their old strategy: strike the flanks, kill the center.

But reality told them this time was different—two had come to this battlefield…

Before Chen Luo could react, his calmer sister Chen Xi yanked the Dao Stele back and slammed it hard against the void.

The killing light shattered—but the problem was, Esha, not far away, had already struck.

At such close range, they couldn’t reposition the Dao Stele in time to block again—even if they could, the one above them would strike once more.

As the black light exploded across the sky, a figure in emerald robes stepped down from the heavens.

In an instant, the chaotic airwaves from the collision were flattened; shattered rocks turned to dust.

On the verge of transcending life and infinity, held back by the rolling heavens, his body long decayed to its limit, the Shanhai Pavilion’s Grand Master Huo Jun finally accepted You Yingqiu and Yan Shuyi’s invitation.

With a decaying body, he fought once more for his chance at immortality.

A hum—then a gale surged forth.

Huo Jun snapped his hand—ancient, heavy Celestial Bell materialized from thin air, bearing the supreme will to suppress all heavens and shake the cosmos, becoming a chaotic beam of light that slammed downward.

Esha had been wary all along—but when he saw the emerald-robed figure, his crimson eyes narrowed sharply.

“DONG——！！！”

Like a death knell tolling!

The Celestial Bell struck Esha’s protective aura head-on; the aura twisted violently, flickering, then shattered in less than a breath.

The Remnant minister was blasted backward, the boundless heavenly authority within the bell crushing his body.

Only when he suddenly seized a corner of the night sky did he force the bell back—his nose and mouth gushed blood.

“He… personally intervened?”

Esha’s face was stunned, his crimson eyes trembling.

For the Remnant, the greatest threat to humanity was the Sacred Artifact—that’s why they awoke to seize it.

But their greater threat was the Sacred Artifact wielded by a human Linxian.

They’d assumed the last two Linxian, their bodies decayed, wouldn’t risk themselves—yet now one had acted. It was beyond his expectations.

But Huo Jun wasn’t looking at Esha—he was staring at the other figure in the sky, feeling the same unease as Esha.

Because this Remnant Linxian—he had never seen him before, nor heard of him from any battlefield reports.

This was a new royal minister…

HONG!!!!!!