Outside the Demon Realm, shortly after their arrival, the people of Lianhua launched another attack.
It was as sudden as before.
This time, however, the forces were led by Li Mou, while Lianhua was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing the man on the city walls opposite, Li Mou gritted his teeth and shouted, "Attack!"
He then led the charge himself.
The demons behind him followed suit.
However, just as the two armies were about to clash, Li Mou's mount suddenly went wild and threw him off.
The demons behind him, to avoid harming their leader, either stopped or veered sharply to go around him.
This caused their ranks to break.
Some demons, stopping too abruptly, were crashed into by those behind who didn't react in time. In this chain reaction, quite a few demons were trampled to death.
As for the demons who veered around, because the two armies were about to engage, they couldn't stop in time and ran right into the enemy, being instantly dealt with.
In the end, only a handful of demons remained.
Li Mou looked up and met the gaze of Fu Zi, who stood on high. Seeing him nod almost imperceptibly, he received his command, struggled to get up, and shouted in terror to the surviving demons: "Retreat!!!"
The battle had ended as quickly as it began.
This outcome was unexpected by everyone.
Especially by the brothers Shen Ziqian and Shen Jiayi. This was their first time participating in such a battle, and for a moment, they were speechless.
"...Brother," Shen Jiayi swallowed, pointed below, and turned to Shen Ziqian, "Are these demons... having some kind of problem?"
Honestly, Shen Ziqian felt the same.
How could an army be almost wiped out by its own side just because the leader fell off his mount?
However, as the elder brother, he maintained a semblance of composure. He cast a knowing glance at his foolish younger brother and said, "You wouldn't understand."
Then he turned and left.
Shen Jiayi stared at his brother's retreating back, utterly bewildered. How had his brother become so peculiar these past few years? He didn't understand a damn thing, he understood perfectly! He was a man of Chong Jian who always strived for strength!
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As for Lianhua, who was being speculated about, he was currently en route to Li Cheng.
Although this surprise attack was originally his plan, just as he was about to deploy his troops, he sensed an anomaly in the formation, and his cultivation began to show signs of weakening.
Ignoring Fu Zi, he rushed towards Li Cheng.
To defeat Fu Zi, his cultivation could not afford to be compromised.
But who, exactly, had found the place?
As if realizing something, Lianhua's eyes turned sinister.
Who else could it be but that woman?
Shen Jianxi, he hadn't even settled the score with her yet, and she was already rushing to her death.
"Heh!" Lianhua let out a cold laugh.
Since that was the case, he would grant her wish and send her to the afterlife!
......
After the primordial energy dissipated, Shen Jianxi and Lin Xinglan slowly regained consciousness.
Upon waking, the oppressive heat in the air had vanished.
Most astonishingly, the barrier around the formation was gone.
Shen Jianxi and Lin Xinglan exchanged bewildered glances, a strange silence falling between them.
"...Do you know what happened?" she asked.
Lin Xinglan shook his head. "...Let's break the formation first."
He then stood up, ready to act.
Shen Jianxi noticed his ears were red. Recalling their conversation before losing consciousness, she understood. He was probably feeling shy now that he remembered.
She didn't expose him. After all, the mission was successful, and feigning ignorance was the best course of action.
Her body was still weak, but she could certainly stand.
The two stood side by side, preparing to fly towards the formation to destroy it, when a palpable killing intent in the form of sword energy suddenly struck from behind.
Shen Jianxi quickly pushed Lin Xinglan away and dodged herself.
"Lianhua, long time no see," Shen Jianxi sneered, her sharp gaze fixing on the man standing behind them.
Lin Xinglan moved in front of her, sword raised, to prevent Lianhua from attacking.
Seeing the two of them, Lianhua suddenly burst into laughter. "My eldest disciple is still deeply in love with you. Does he know you're playing games with so many people?"
He had expected them to be embarrassed and ashamed, but seeing their complete lack of reaction, a flicker of annoyance crossed Lianhua's eyes.
He unleashed another surge of spiritual energy.
Lin Xinglan, with Shen Jianxi in his arms, dodged the attack. She noticed that Lianhua's spiritual energy was now subtly tinged with black.
"Little Xinglan," she murmured softly from his embrace, "...You go break the formation, I'll hold him off."
Shen Jianxi knew that until the mission was complete, she wouldn't be able to leave this world, so she felt confident in engaging him. Lin Xinglan, however, was different; he could die.
However, he seemed to have misunderstood, thinking Shen Jianxi intended to sacrifice herself to protect him. Disagreement flashed across his features.
Before he could say anything, Shen Jianxi cut him off, "Don't worry, I cherish my life. With your high cultivation, you're most suitable for breaking the formation."
Lin Xinglan pursed his lips, still unconvinced, but he couldn't argue with her forceful attitude.
While they were conversing, Lianhua's attacks grew more ferocious with each passing moment, and Lin Xinglan was beginning to falter.
Shen Jianxi watched anxiously. As another attack descended, she directly pushed him aside.
As Lianhua's strike was about to hit her, Lin Xinglan's eyes widened in horror, and his heart was instantly filled with pain.
Shen Jianxi pulled the protective artifact, originally given to her by Shen Ziqian, from her hair and blocked the blow.
"Quick!" she yelled back at the stunned Lin Xinglan.
Seeing this, Lin Xinglan wasted no more time. He flew to the edge of the formation, sword raised, ready to strike.
"You court death!" Lianhua also realized their intention and plunged a sword into Shen Jianxi's right shoulder, then unleashed a surge of spiritual energy towards Lin Xinglan. Su Dan Novel Network
Lin Xinglan saw this and did not dodge, allowing the spiritual energy to hit him. His movements did not stop as he cleaved his sword towards the half of the core within the formation.
Simultaneously, the core shattered, and Lin Xinglan vomited blood, collapsing to the ground.
Those who had received news from Li Mou rushed over.
"Little Junior Brother!"
"Sister!"
"Little Ci'er!"
Lianhua's body rapidly withered. He looked at his hands in disbelief, unable to accept what was happening. Upon seeing Li Mou, who had arrived with the others, his expression contorted. "I should have killed you long ago! I spared your life, and you dare betray me! I..."
Lianhua's eyes widened as he slowly looked down, watching with his own eyes as Li Mou withdrew his hand from his heart.
Li Mou leaned close to his ear and whispered, "A pity. Now, it is I who kill you."
Then, before Lianhua's terrified gaze, he crushed a bright red heart clutched in his hand.
No one paid attention to the feud between these two. Shen Ziqian carried Shen Jianxi on his back, while Cheng Wenyu and Qiu Tao helped Lin Xinglan, and the group hurried away, filled with regret.
They had believed this to be the safest place, never imagining it would be the cause of their misfortune.
Everyone was rushing to get them medical attention, and no one noticed Lianhua's soul, separating from his body, heading in a specific direction.