Against the Current

The battle flag flapped loudly in the youth's hand as Xu Xian was the first to step onto the wasteland beneath the long bridge.

Under the reflection of the blood-red light, the scorched earth resembled a mass grave where spirits returned at midnight, filled with a forest of white bones.

They could not fly, their divine sense was locked, and the human eye could only see less than a mile. Walking through it, one would likely struggle to distinguish North from South.

Fortunately, Shuer was still there, providing visual sharing so they would not lose their way.

There were Eight-Direction Platforms.

Xu Xian's was in the center, with two to the East and five to the West. The Little Book Spirit hovered in the sky, and near one of the long bridges, it used its high-altitude advantage to spot the blindfolded Lu Yuan at a glance.

"To the East, I see Lu Yuan, they're about to charge down as well."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xian made a quick judgment and waved the battle flag. "To the left."

The disciples didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief before they had to sprint off after him.

There was a ten-mile gap.

The ground was rugged, but as cultivators, even with only their physical strength remaining, they still ran very fast.

Xu Xian covered the ten miles of wasteland in just over a hundred breaths, which was less than three minutes, maintaining a steady speed of 120 mph...

Keep in mind, this was mountainous terrain with many ups and downs.

The other disciples were slower and were all left behind.

As they chased him for their lives, they couldn't help but secretly complain.

"The Little Grand-Uncle is truly fierce, even fiercer than a beast."

By the time Xu Xian arrived, Lu Yuan was leading the disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect off the bridgehead. Behind them, the crowd was endless, but it was more chaotic than the group from the Wendao Sword Sect.

From a distance, Xu Xian shouted at the blood-stained Lu Yuan.

"Lu Yuan, over here..."

Lu Yuan was originally struggling with what to do next, hesitating between going left or right, when he heard Xu Xian's call.

He looked over instantly, his face beaming with joy.

No one understood that sense of salvation. For someone with chronic indecisiveness, this moment was incredibly soothing.

Xia Chu Yi said excitedly, "It's my uncle."

She jumped up happily, waving her small hand. "Eleventh Senior Brother, we're here!"

Lu Yuan grabbed the little girl's arm and rushed toward Xu Xian.

"Let's go."

As the two groups merged, the disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect revealed relieved smiles. Once they found the Little Grand-Uncle, they were safe.

If even Lu Yuan was this fierce, then who could compete with Xu Xian?

"Little Grand-Uncle!"

"Little Grand-Uncle!!"

"Uncle, this is great, we reunited so quickly..."

Seeing Xia Chu Yi standing before him unscathed, one of the many stones weighing on Xu Xian's heart finally fell.

It was good the little girl was fine, otherwise he really wouldn't know how to explain it to his sister.

He rubbed her small head.

Without time for small talk, he hurriedly instructed Lu Yuan, "Take them to the East to pick up the disciples from that platform, then keep going East. Find a place to settle down and protect them. Any problems?"

Xu Xian acknowledged Lu Yuan's ability.

In this world, as long as no one was cheating, he couldn't think of anyone who could take this guy down.

An auspicious beast? That was thinking too small.

In his past life, this guy must have been at least a God Immortal of the four stages of immortality.

He could handle it!

Lu Yuan did not refuse, only asking, "What about you?"

Xu Xian glanced to the West and said, "I'm going to pick up the disciples from the other five platforms and meet up with you."

"Can you handle it?" Lu Yuan asked with concern.

Xu Xian smiled confidently and asked back, "Who do you think I am?"

Lu Yuan rubbed the bridge of his nose. He really was worrying unnecessarily.

"Alright!"

After giving everyone a few more instructions and a final word to Xia Chu Yi, Xu Xian prepared to move.

However, Lu Yuan pulled him back and whispered mysteriously in his ear, "That... that girl from the demon race is up there. Are you going to help her?"

Xu Xian was stunned and instinctively looked over, but Chi Ji was nowhere to be seen within his line of sight.

He thought to himself. Could it be such a coincidence?

Lu Yuan scoffed, "That girl's skill is pretty average. I'm afraid she might get killed."

Xu Xian fell into a dilemma.

On one side was Chi Ji, who had entered in his place, and on the other were the sect disciples—Kongkong, Lin Qianqian, Zhang Yang, Yao Xiaoxiao... and so on!

It was hard to let go of either.

But he had to make a choice.

Should he save the one nearby first, or go save those further away?

If possible, he wanted to save them all.

But right now, he had to choose one of the two.

It was clear that the situation for the Wendao Sword Sect disciples was not optimistic. Aside from his own platform, which currently had zero casualties.

Many of the people Lu Yuan was leading were injured, and a few had even died.

If Lu Yuan's situation was like this, the other platforms were likely even more severe.

Although death was inevitable in the struggle for cultivation, Xu Xian still wanted to do his best to minimize the losses.

It was a difficult choice, but he couldn't afford to hesitate.

After a brief internal struggle, Xu Xian gritted his teeth and said, "Just don't make a move against her. As for the rest, she'll have to fend for herself."

Lu Yuan teased, "Can you really bear it?"

Xu Xian rolled his eyes at him and said solemnly, "There's no time. Let's move."

With that, he didn't look back as he rushed back the way he came. His speed was even faster than before, and within a few leaps, he had disappeared.

Lu Yuan watched Xu Xian's back vanish and then looked back at the platform behind him, where the sounds of killing shook the sky.

He shook his head and sighed. "Sword cultivators have always been heartless since ancient times, sigh..."

Xia Chu Yi leaned in and asked, "Xiao Lu, what were you and my uncle whispering about so sneakily?"

Lu Yuan glanced at her and said flatly, "Children shouldn't ask about things they shouldn't know."

Xia Chu Yi was a little depressed, her eyes wide with indignation.

Seeing that everyone was gathered, Lu Yuan pulled out the Wendao Sword Sect battle flag Xu Xian had given him and waved it forcefully.

"Follow me!"

Under Lu Yuan's lead, the group charged toward the East in a grand manner.

On the other side, Xu Xian was like a hunter in the blood-red light, his afterimage moving like the wind, with the Little Book Spirit clearing the way from above and observing the situation.

It didn't forget to ask, "Master, are you really not going to care about that silly girl?"

Xu Xian remained silent. He didn't know how to answer.

"I don't think this is very good."

Xu Xian said bitterly, "It's fine. She is the demon son and is surrounded by members of the heavenly demon race. She won't die."

Jin Qing had told him that the Ten Great Demon Gods had privately instructed the heavenly demon descendants of the seven great families. In the Emperor's Tomb, they had to protect the demon son.

He couldn't guarantee she would be 100% safe, but Xu Xian felt that Chi Ji wouldn't be so unlucky as to be eliminated on the first day.

The Little Book Spirit said nothing more. It understood its master's predicament.

Life is often full of such difficult choices.

It only whispered, "Tsk tsk, I hope so. That girl is actually quite clumsy."

Soon, Xu Xian approached the first platform to the West. No one had landed at the bridgehead yet, but the bridge itself was crowded with people locked in a chaotic battle.

From time to time, he could even see people leaping directly off the high bridge.

Whether they jumped intentionally or were thrown off was unknown.

The Little Book Spirit took the lead, looking down from above to observe the battlefield on the long bridge.

"Master."

"Found them."

Through visual sharing, Xu Xian also saw the current situation of the Wendao Sword Sect disciples. They were being surrounded and blocked.

The situation was not optimistic.

A chill flashed in Xu Xian's eyes. With a flick of his hand, he silently took out another Wendao Sword Sect battle flag from the Divine Sword Pool.

He strapped it to his back.

Before he knew it, he was holding two swords in his hands.

The heavy sword, Wait, and the fast sword, Halt.

The youth held both swords as he stepped onto the bridgehead.

Moving against the current!