Chapter 74: Ye Qingyu

From the Yun Kingdom hailed a mysterious master, who, with a flick of his wrist, commanded his Cloud Beasts to hold a corner of the defenses. Thus, when the beast tide tore through the walls, that section was left uncovered.

In the instant the stone fortifications crumbled, almost no cultivators on the frontline possessed the capacity to spare attention for the flanks. In a single clash, nearly half the cultivators fell, swallowed by the ravenous beasts, leaving not even a shred of bone behind.

And those Cloud Beasts, though fearless of injury and death, were guided only by primal combat instincts, devoid of true intelligence. Their complex movements depended entirely on the manipulator's will.

They could not possibly choose to sacrifice themselves for their master, nor was there an opportunity for such a feat in this chaotic maelstrom.

The more than a hundred Cloud Beasts, seemingly a formidable number, were instantly overwhelmed when the beast tide surged forth.

In truth, as those monstrous beasts bore down upon her, Ye Qingyu's mind became a complete blank.

She hailed from a family of distinction, had partaken of the finest meridian-opening elixirs, chosen the most harmonious cultivation technique, and had executed every step of her path with flawless precision. Her sortie on this mission was but a whim, a deliberate evasion of her elders' protective gazes, a desire to validate her own burgeoning strength.

Before this, she had never tasted the bitterness of a true life-and-death struggle. Nor had she perceived the need.

Thus, she never imagined that when a genuine crisis of life and death descended, the feeling would be so utterly shattering!

She could almost taste the foul stench emanating from the gaping maw of the monstrous beast, and almost glimpse the crimson hunger behind its razor-sharp fangs.

Then, she beheld a surge of sword light, imbued with a vast expanse of purple qi, sweeping forth.

Purple qi from the east, princes look to the west!

The surging purple qi disintegrated the monstrous beast before her. Jiang Wang arrived with the force of his sword, and with a flick of his foot, sent the woman, who stood dumbfounded, tumbling backward: "What are you waiting for!"

He flung out a flame bullet with a backhand, which exploded upon impact, and after a few bounding leaps, he reached another theater of battle.

When the beast tide breached the wall, he was one of the few who reacted and counterattacked immediately, but the collapse of the first line of defense was a foregone conclusion; he could not possibly recover the situation.

So he decisively retreated, then sprinted towards the direction where Zhao Rucheng had been in his memory. As for saving this mysterious cultivator from the Yun Kingdom, it was merely an act of convenience.

What truly gnawed at his heart was Zhao Rucheng. Though the lad possessed many secrets, he had, after all, only just opened his meridians, and might not be capable of handling everything.

......

Ye Qingyu was sent flying backward through the air for a moment before she finally reacted.

Her first thought: I'm saved!

Her second thought: I was... kicked?

She somersaulted and landed firmly, conjured two Cloud Beasts with a wave of her hand, then glanced around in alarm, finding that no one had the energy to spare her a second glance, and the fellow who had saved her – she couldn't even discern his retreating silhouette anymore.

She stood atop a Cloud Beast and withdrew, surveying her surroundings. All she could see were figures locked in bloody combat.

Only then did she feel her face burn with shame. With her cultivation, coupled with the techniques she had mastered and the secret treasures she carried, she should not have been so utterly helpless. Had she played her cards right, while it was impossible to carve a path through the beast tide, self-preservation would have been no issue.

And just moments ago, she had been on the precipice of death!

Thinking of this, she withdrew two golden beans from her sleeve and flung them forward.

The beans rapidly swelled and transformed in a burst of golden light, becoming two golden-armored warriors, each wielding a war blade, who then plunged into the beast tide.

The monstrous beasts gnashed their teeth, only to find them shattering against the golden armor. And the golden-armored warriors, with a single swing of their blades, dispatched a monstrous beast, cutting through them like melons and vegetables, running rampant.

Scatter beans into soldiers!

Aside from the difficulty and expense of obtaining the bean seeds, this technique had no other drawbacks.

Especially golden beans of this caliber – even Ye Qingyu felt a pang of heartache. One could say that scattering these two golden beans meant the mission was a loss, even if completed.

......

However, Jiang Wang continued his frantic gallop with his sword, slaying beasts and saving those in distress along the way, but his route was also shifting down the mountain.

Because the beast tide was rapidly descending.

This indicated that the second line of defense was also in dire peril.

Jiang Wang's heart was filled with anxiety, when suddenly his eyes lit up.

Wasn't that figure, retreating while fighting, looking relaxed and at ease, none other than Zhao Rucheng?

Though he was also withdrawing, he was not as panicked and reckless as the others, nor did he turn and flee wildly, but instead chose a remarkably peculiar route.

Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, and even occasionally forward.

But wherever he went, there was either a rocky outcrop for shelter or a convenient pit. In short, at no point were more than three monstrous beasts directly confronting him.

The combat power he displayed was not formidable, yet he seemed far more at ease than Jiang Wang. It was simply a leisurely stroll.

Zhao Rucheng saw Jiang Wang rushing over and repeatedly exclaimed: "Hey hey, don't come over!"

But Jiang Wang had already bounded forward, slaying the monstrous beasts in front of him with a few swift sword strokes, and even unleashed a binding vine technique: "Watch the third brother's moves!"

It stood to reason that with the two of them fighting together, they should have been more relaxed, but for some inexplicable reason, it seemed as though they had to face even more monstrous beasts, and the pressure intensified instead.

Zhao Rucheng turned his feet and angrily declared: "Follow me."

Jiang Wang pondered for a moment, then followed Zhao Rucheng's retreating rhythm, and indeed, the battle situation became relaxed once more.

"Third brother, you used to be quite fond of using your brain, why are you becoming more and more like Du Laohu?"

"Haha, I used to..." Jiang Wang slapped his head: "Who are you calling brainless, show some respect!"

"By the way, did you see Huang Azhan?" Jiang Wang asked again.

Zhao Rucheng pouted: "Flashed in front of me, couldn't even hold him back. Ran faster than anyone!"

That's good.

As for Li Jianqiu, there was no need for him to worry. If Li Jianqiu ran into trouble, he would be of no help.

Jiang Wang looked back, his gaze fixed on the direction of the City Lord of Sanshan City, Dou Yuemei.

If there was a backup plan, it should be time to deploy it.

......

When the yin and yang eagles appeared, it was Teams B and C who were on the first line of defense, and Teams D and E were the designated second line of defense.

And at this moment, even Team A, which had only recently withdrawn, had already stepped forward once more.

All the cultivators had advanced, yet Dou Yuemei's side seemed utterly still.

Something was amiss. Why was it suddenly so quiet?

Jiang Wang abruptly realized that the incessant shrieking of eagles had vanished.

This signified that the yin and yang double-headed eagle had been slain!

The Dean of the Taoist Academy of Sanshan City, at this moment, stood beside the eagle's corpse, and couldn't help but exhale a sigh of relief.

This scene was a mirror image of two years prior, when Sun Heng had single-handedly felled the yin and yang double-headed eagle, securing victory.

The beast tide seemed to pause in that instant, and then a cheer erupted among the cultivators.

But in the very next moment.

"Yi yi yi yi yi!"

"Gu gu gu gu gu..."

The cries of eagles, one after another, resounded once more, overwhelming the cheers of the cultivators.

The bright hanging light clearly revealed, from the direction of Yuhang Peak, a multitude of yin and yang double-headed eagles were approaching, casting a pall over the clouds and the moon.

"Yi yi yi yi yi!"

"Gu gu gu gu gu..."

These cries were malevolent and frenzied.

On Yuhang Peak, there was actually a veritable flock of yin and yang double-headed eagles residing!

The Dean of the Taoist Academy of Sanshan City was caught completely off guard and was torn apart in the initial onslaught!

The horde of beasts roared.

The mountains and rocks rumbled, and the ancient trees swayed and fractured.

A scorching and violent pillar of crimson light impacted head-on, and Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng separated to evade it.

Only a very small, exceedingly small number of monstrous beasts possessed the ability to unleash innate magic. And any monstrous beast that wielded innate magic was undoubtedly a formidable force among the beastly horde.

This beam of light passed between Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng, gouging a deep furrow in the earth.

And thus, Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng could no longer rejoin forces.

Because the surging beast tide had already engulfed everything!