Chapter 144: Rescuing Xiao Leng

Within Long Yun's body, the power of reincarnation formed a vortex. Raising his right hand toward the sky, he channeled the essence of the moon to pour into his body. After being twisted and transformed by the power of reincarnation, it passed through his left hand directly into Xiao Leng's body!

It really worked! Long Yun had a flash of inspiration and thought of this method, never expecting that it could actually convert the lunar essence. His heart filled with immediate joy, and he pushed the power of reincarnation to its maximum, sending a continuous stream of lunar essence surging into Xiao Leng's body.

This speed was by no means less than what the Blood Qilin could convert. Moreover, Long Yun added a trace of the flavor of reincarnation into the mix, which further accelerated the recovery of Xiao Leng's internal injuries.

Seeming to sense Long Yun's assistance, the Blood Qilin gazed at Long Yun with its bell-like eyes, a flash of gratitude crossing its gaze.

Long Yun nodded toward the Blood Qilin, and the beast instantly understood. It completely ceased its treatment of Xiao Leng, its iron hooves stamping fiercely onto the ground and sending a massive boulder flying.

At the same time, it let out a thunderous roar. The blood-red diagram suspended in mid-air doubled in power, shattering the combined attack of the three men into scattering chaos!

Chen Chang and the other two groaned simultaneously, staggering backward as their blood churned violently. The looks they cast toward the Blood Qilin now carried a trace of newfound caution.

Long Yun had already dragged Xiao Leng down from the Blood Qilin's back. With his mind entirely free of distracting thoughts, he poured his all into helping Xiao Leng recover from his injuries. Since the Blood Qilin was at the Yin-Yang realm and was now fighting at full strength without any burdens, it would definitely be able to contend with the crowd. Thus, Long Yun had nothing left to worry about.

"Damn it, what a traitorous beast, actually helping this monstrous creature!" Rong Pian could not help but grit her teeth and curse. However, the moment her voice fell, a chilling, murderous intent enveloped her.

Rong Pian broke out in a cold sweat of terror. Following the source of the killing intent, she caught sight of Qu Chong's icy gaze, which scared her so much that she hurriedly averted her head, not daring to utter another word.

"If the rest of you still refuse to make a move, not a single one of you will leave this place alive!" Chen Chang said through gritted teeth, well aware that the young experts from the other factions were merely standing on the sidelines watching.

They, too, were waiting—waiting for someone else to make the first move so they could seamlessly follow suit.

Hearing Chen Chang's words, Xiong Bin was the first to charge forward, shouting in a resounding voice, "I will lend you a hand, Young Master Chen, but do not forget to honor your promise!"

With that, he whirled his giant axe and led the young experts of the Northern City to stand by Chen Chang's side.

Xiong Bin's action prompted the hesitating crowd to spring into action. After all, the temptation of the God-Breaking Pill was still immensely alluring to them.

"Everyone, attack together and kill this monstrous creature!" Chen Chang roared fiercely. His longsword emitted a crisp, resonant hum, and with a single thrust, a dazzling, azure blue light burst forth once more.

"A single sword breaks a thousand waves!" As the light flickered, countless blue rays condensed along the blade, shooting forward for over a dozen zhang to form a massive sword Qi.

The immense pressure caused the space to distort slightly, a terrifying display of momentum!

The others did not dare to lag behind either, pulling out their respective weapons. In an instant, colorful streams of true Qi soared into the sky, forming a dazzling array of rainbow streaks and launching the most ferocious wave of attacks yet against the Blood Qilin.

The Blood Qilin kicked off with its hind legs, rearing its upper body high into the air. From its jaws, it spat out a blood-red beam of light over a zhang thick—a beam saturated with a bloodthirsty and fiercely aggressive aura.

The continuous barrage of attacks from the crowd battered against this blood-red pillar, constantly wearing it down. Yet, the Blood Qilin's combat prowess was simply too formidable; despite the wave after wave of assaults from so many people, the beam showed not the slightest sign of weakening.

For a time, the two sides locked into a stalemate, neither yielding even an inch as they gritted their teeth and held their ground.

"Such formidable power from this Blood Qilin!" Inside the sedan chair carried for Liu Xiaoxiao, a small gap flickered open, and a pair of beautiful eyes peered out through the slit.

Her gaze finally fell upon Long Yun, and a complex look involuntarily flashed across her eyes.

"Perhaps I concealed things from you, but do you know? You are the only person in all these years who has made me feel warmth. I know I cannot truly hate you, yet I cannot forgive you either. The more I hope, the deeper the scars become. Long Yun, what kind of person are you really?" Liu Xiaoxiao thought to herself.

Helplessly closing her eyes, her long eyelashes trembled as two trails of clear tears streamed down her cheeks. Ever since leaving the Yin-Yang Spring, Liu Xiaoxiao had felt utterly despaired by the world.

She had wandered aimlessly until she reached the Xuantian Realm, only to be besieged by some righteous-path figures within it. It was eventually thanks to the experts of the Demonic Sect, who discovered her plight, that she was brought back.

Sensing the surging demonic Qi within Liu Xiaoxiao, those Demonic Sect experts were deeply moved. They revered her as the legendary descendant sent by the supreme demonic gods, honoring her as their Holy Maiden, highly respected by all disciples of the sect.

Liu Xiaoxiao's status skyrocketed accordingly. In this short period, with the unsparing assistance of the Demonic Sect experts, her cultivation broke through two successive tiers in a row, reaching the Connecting Heaven realm.

She was now even a level higher than Long Yun, and her bottleneck had long since loosened. It would not be long before she stepped into the Marrow-Cleansing realm, displaying a terrifying speed of cultivation.

She had thought her heart had turned to still water and died completely, but upon seeing Long Yun today, a sudden sense of suffocation gripped her heart. This made Liu Xiaoxiao realize that she could never truly banish that deeply engraved figure from her soul.

"Holy Maiden!" Rain Lun gazed at the battlefield with mounting anxiety. Not daring to address Liu Xiaoxiao by name anymore, he urged anxiously, "The Qilin Jade is something the elders demand we acquire. If we give up now, how are we supposed to explain ourselves to them?"

"Are you questioning my decision?" Liu Xiaoxiao asked coldly, her tone devoid of any emotion. Her words caused Rain Lun's expression to shift, silencing him instantly out of fear.

"Should the elders place the blame, I shall bear it entirely upon myself!" Liu Xiaoxiao continued, after which she gently closed her eyes and spoke no further.

Rain Lun's face turned a mottled shade of green and white. He was the strongest among the younger generation of the Demonic Sect—though admittedly, only within its outer forces; among the core disciples of the Demonic Sect, he was likely situated at the very bottom.

Yet, his status remained lofty. To be reprimanded so harshly by Liu Xiaoxiao in front of so many junior brothers who had once followed him—no matter how deep his romantic feelings for her were—left him grinding his teeth with bitter hatred.

"Hmph! To treat me this way? Liu Xiaoxiao, do not think that just because you are the Holy Maiden, I am afraid of you! Once I refine that pill, I will make you the very first to taste it. Once I break your virgin Yin, let's see how you can still act as this Holy Maiden! When that time comes, you will obediently submit to my control!" Rain Lun thought viciously, gnashing his teeth.

However, now was not the time to pick a fight with Liu Xiaoxiao. Swallowing his anger, he retreated to the side without another word.

Meanwhile, a different situation was unfolding on Qu Chong's side. Although the experts brought by Qu Chong were all cowed by his martial might, the temptation of the God-Breaking Pill left them feeling an intolerable itch in their hearts.

Seeing the experts from the other three cities making their moves only amplified their anxiety. One of them finally spoke up, "Qu Chong, by blocking us like this, are you harboring intentions of betraying the Eastern City? If we do not participate in slaying the Blood Qilin this time, when the other major families hold us accountable, I fear even your Qu family will not be able to bear the consequences!"

The speaker was named Shui Xiao, the most prominent disciple of the Eastern City's powerful families second only to the Qu family. His cultivation was on par with Qu Chong's—both having reached the Tribulation realm—though his combat prowess was slightly inferior to Qu Chong's.

Hearing Shui Xiao's words, Qu Chong frowned, his cold gaze sweeping across Shui Xiao as he said, "If you want to attack, I will not stop you. But once we return, I, Qu Chong, will become your mortal enemy!"

Shui Xiao was unafraid of Qu Chong. He let out a cold snort and retorted, "You may be acquainted with that kid, but there is no reason for us to be implicated as well. Even if you hold a grudge against me today, I will never back down. Brothers, anyone who wants to make a move, follow me!"

With that, his figure flashed, and he plunged directly into the battle zone!

Figures stirred around Qu Chong as well. Of the fourteen people he had brought, a full half actually joined the opposing camp and departed with Shui Xiao.

Qu Chong's eyes flickered; he knew these individuals were part of Shui Xiao's faction and naturally would not support him!

"Senior Brother Xiao Leng, come back to life!" Watching the Blood Qilin struggle so bitterly in battle, Long Yun grew increasingly anxious. For now, only younger disciples had arrived.

If any figures from the older generation caught wind of this and rushed over, even the Blood Qilin would likely fail to hold out. Therefore, he had to heal Xiao Leng as quickly as possible and leave with the Blood Qilin first.

He pushed the power of reincarnation within his body to its absolute limit, while the Power of Depriving Heaven completely enveloped Xiao Leng. He was going to blind the heavenly secrets and act in defiance of the heavens!