Chapter 40

A Sight Shy of the Goal

The world was hell, that much Yu Minge always knew--it was today, however, that he learned the sheer capacity for it.

Almost the entire Holy Blade Sect lay in ruins. The beautiful, gold-topped pavilions were pulverized into rubble, the majestic library was missing its top half, the medicinal hall had so many holes in it, it was more a passage than a building, and the countless homes of the Disciples and Elders were now just one pile of ash.

That, however much it hurt, was merely a monetary loss--it was temporary. The loss of life, however, was permanent and far more hurtful. There were so many bodies, and so many of which were disfigured, that it was difficult to even identify everyone.

On top of everything, Hae had lost both his eyes, Dark Night had their dantian cracked ever so slightly (even that little crack, however, was enough to set a cultivator back decades without immediate help), while Shen Rong lost both his legs. At least they were lucky to be alive, if nothing else; hundreds were sprawled on the ground, and those were just the ones they could see.

The attackers' bodies, almost immediately after they would die, would melt into a pool of blood and evaporate mysteriously, leaving behind no trace.

"Do you know who that kid they were chasin' is?" Hae asked, seated atop the rubble, recovering his Qi slowly.

"No," Yu Minge replied. There were simply too many guests--even if he could keep track of a lot of things, he wasn't omniscient. "How many got out?"

"Five, I hear," Dark Night replied. "Do you think...?"

"... the line was broken," Yu Minge sighed, rubbing his temples. All of his Sect's future was there, and if they died... "There is at least one Soul Ascendance devil among the pursuers. Even if they got a head start of a few dozen miles, they'll have at most bought thirty minutes. Tong." Yu Minge walked over to the withered, old man. While the loss of legs was crippling, what hurt far more than that was the sight of a body the man was 'kneeling' besides. It was a familiar face, one Yu Minge had seen countless times before--that of Shen Yu, the Sect Master of the Bloodmoon Sect.

There was a hole in his chest and the visible lack of heart therein; somebody had literally reached in with their fingers and ripped it out. No matter how strong and resilient a Soul Ascendance Cultivator was, they were still of a mortal body, one mailable by all ails as any other. Though they've had their fair share of differences and skirmishes and even wars over the years, Yu Minge felt a knot tie up his throat as he stared at the pale face of his old 'friend'.

"That attack," Shen Rong mumbled, his voice hoarse. "The cleaver. It was... it was an Immortal, wasn't it?"

"... not a fully realized one, but yes," Yu Minge confirmed.

"I thought there was a treaty, that everyone above Nascent Soul wasn't allowed to enter the Lower Ashlands."

"There is."

"Then... why?! How?!!" the old man exploded with grief and rage. Though Yu Minge wanted to give him answers, he didn't have any either. Somebody dared breach the treaty--if they were caught, it wouldn't matter that they were an 'Immortal'--they would be stretched by their limbs and ripped apart publicly, as to dissuade everyone else in the world from doing the same thing. "There shouldn't be any power that even has three Soul Ascendance bastards. And there was that pair of weirdos that roamed among the Disciples. That brute and a boy. What the hell is this?"

"..." Yu Minge had a thought, but he kept it to himself. Whether it was true or not, this was neither the time nor the place to share it. Though he wanted to leave and quickly go after the kids that escaped, he couldn't. Though he was the least hurt of everyone, he was also nursing quite a few broken bones, and just a barely functioning meridian system. "I apologize, everyone," he said. "This all happened under my watch. When I am done with repairing and reinstituting the Sect, I will offer my cultivation as a payment."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Save your sophistry for the old and broken who care," Shen Rong growled, turning toward him. "And use that body of yours to avenge all that was lost today.

The world was silent, nursing the wound that would never truly heal. Living Disciples, most of which were either those at Qi Condensation or a few at Foundation Establishment were roaming the Sect's grounds and searching for survivors, quickly carrying them over to the 'medicinal hall' where the few remaining alchemists were working like mad to try and concoct enough healing pills for everyone.

Those present knew that today would be permanently etched into the annals of history as one of the greatest tragedies to ever happen, and when the news broke tomorrow to the rest of the Lower Ashlands, the ire and fury would mount tall enough to eclipse the sun.

**

Lya stopped reluctantly. Even though her instincts were screaming at her to run, she couldn't--they had to stop and take a breather. Even Senior Brother Xiang was breathing somewhat heavily, having had to carry Song all this while. Senior Sister Qiu Mei also seemed barely conscious, and Elder Xiaoling was no longer able to keep up the façade.

Strangely, the young, Qi Condensation Ling'er was doing the best besides Lya, but largely because she was simply unhurt, unlike the rest.

Luckily, the road between the Holy Blade Sect and the Nameless Forest was largely flat, composed of plains and an occasional hill. There wasn't exactly a paved path, but the grass never grew taller than their knees, and as it was now past the dusk, the temperature was nicely cooling.

The group collapsed as Lya started taking out some water from her storage ring, handing it out to everyone. Despite being uncomfortable with being put in charge, she knew now wasn't the time to face those grievances. They were still at least half an hour away rushing from the Nameless Forest, and they seldom had a minute to spare.

"So, we really are going to the forest, huh?" Elder Xiaoling said and looked at her, prompting Lya to look away in shame. "Ha ha, don't be like that. The Sect is still in your heart, considering you are taking us there."

"... I, I don't know whether... we'll be helped," Lya said. She didn't want others putting complete faith into her, and wanted them to know that there was a chance this entire journey was for naught.

"There's hope, however faint," the Elder said, smiling faintly. "And so long as it remains, it will be the wind in our back. We have rested enough. Here," she tossed two pills to Senior Sister Mei and Senior Brother Xiang. "They're Qi-rush pellets. Took me an arm and a leg to buy those two, but it's no time to be a scrooge. I have an odd feeling in my chest, and that usually means there's death at our heels. So, chop-chop. We gotta speed it up."

They barely rested two minutes before they were back up on their feet, beginning their rush again. Having taken the pellet, complexions of the Senior Brother and Sister pair improved, but it was just a temporary measure. Soon enough, they will have spent themselves again, and their speed would decline.

Running so fervently reminded Lya of that day, when Song and her were being chased. They ran the same way then as they were running away now. Though she knew that a life of a cultivator was never calm and steady, she wondered whether she was cursed or something considering how quickly her life was endangered again.

It was bitter, the taste of death, and she swore if she survived this ordeal, she would become one of those 'indoors cultivators' as they were called, the ilk that locked themselves up in isolation chambers and spent years, if not decades, just cultivating. Even if the world was rife with opportunities, she had to be alive to take any of them.

When Lya saw the thick canopy of the trees appear at the horizon, she all but squealed. They were right there, and, as if per fate's design, they would be entering from the same point that Song and her did when they first came here. It seemed, luck was on their side.

Thus, she seemed to have jinxed them.

Everyone came to a screeching halt, including Elder Xiaoling, when immense pressure descended upon them like a tidal wave. The Qi in the surroundings churned and defied their wills, as there was a much greater force than them commanding it. They all collapsed in the end, unable to endure it.

Glancing back, Lya saw a figure appear behind them--it was a middle-aged seeming man draped in black robes. He had long, windy, crimson hair and a pair of red eyes. His forehead was aglow in red, a strange symbol etched into his skin. His face was thin and gaunt, nose long and ever so slightly crooked.

There was a strange grin on his face as he approached them.

Soul Ascendance Realm!!--it wasn't just Lya who realized that, everyone did. Beneath that pressure, they felt like tiny little ants. Perhaps, if she were at her peak, Elder Xiaoling might have been able to offer a bout or two before falling, but as she was teetering on the edge of absolute exhaustion, she could just barely keep her head up and meet the man's gaze.

"My oh my," the man spoke in an eerie, low tone. "How much trouble you kids have made me go through. And to think you've almost made it. I will have to exorcise some of the demons you've sown into me, so as to avoid them haunting me at inopportune times. Soon enough, you will wish you stayed behind with the rest of your cohort, choking on your fears and blood."