Defeat

The same old platitudes, the Buddha’s false compassion—anyone hearing them would find them only natural.

It was as if he were obligated to speak that way the moment he opened his mouth.

It was no different from a common village woman cursing a mother during a spat...

One’s ears grew calloused just listening to it.

Jiang Wanyin was naturally not surprised.

It was utterly laughable.

Everything happening today—which of you three can escape blame? Who among you didn't push things forward from behind the scenes?

Knowing the truth in her heart, she couldn't be bothered to waste words on him.

"Stop your blathering. Where are the other two old fossils? They arrived long ago. Tell them to come out and face me together, and we’ll settle this once and for all."

The golden Buddha’s eyes flared with wrath, and his voice boomed deep and heavy.

"Obstinate and incorrigible."

The golden Buddha raised a hand, and a massive, heaven-shaking palm crashed down toward the gate of the Wendao Sword Sect.

Buddhist power flooded the world!

Jiang Wanyin did not yield in the slightest. One of her water clones charged forward to meet the attack.

"The obstinate and incorrigible one is you. Today, I shall deliver you to your Buddha."

The thunderous booms continued, growing ever more intense.

With the Buddha joining the fray, the situation on the battlefield tilted once again.

The Wendao Sword Sect was left struggling to hold on...

...

Somewhere on the green mountains, the remaining two old men watched the scene from afar. The old Daoist’s eyes were filled with schadenfreude.

The scholar suggested, "We should make our move as well. Let’s end this quickly to avoid any complications."

The old Daoist refused. "I’m in no hurry. If you’re anxious, you go."

The scholar shook his head and remarked helplessly, "You truly are a case of 'let the fellow Daoist die as long as the poor Daoist lives.'"

The old Daoist shrugged and said frankly, "You don't have to go either. No one is forcing you..."

The scholar fell silent. He finished his tea and stood up. With a flick of his sleeve, a three-foot-long ferule appeared in his withered palm.

He cast a meaningful glance back at the old Daoist but said nothing in the end, choosing instead to join the battlefield.

The Confucian Immortal had entered the world.

Manifesting Sanctity before all.

He spoke in a gentle voice:

"Little Lady Jiang,"

"As you wished, I have arrived as well."

Jiang Wanyin’s brow furrowed deeply. "Good!"

The entry of two top-tier saints pushed the battle to an unprecedented peak.

Having fought bloodily for two days, Jiang Wanyin saw several of her dozens of water clones shattered within a few breaths...

The other monsters let out chilling, screeching laughs.

"Jie jie jie! The Wendao Sword Sect’s fortune has run dry!"

"Struggle! Hahaha!"

"Experience despair..."

The entrance of the Confucian Immortal and the Buddha was both expected and logical.

With both of them descending, the invading enemies and even the disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect couldn't see any possibility of Jiang Wanyin winning.

Given the current scale of the battle, even if Li Taibai were to return from the dead for one final strike, it would be difficult to resolve.

The entry of these two also forced the hands of those beings who had been hiding in the shadows, wavering in their resolve.

They manifested from the void one after another, charging toward the Wendao Sword Sect.

"The Confucian Immortal and the Buddha have acted. The Wendao Sword Sect is doomed today. Time waits for no one..."

"Strike!"

"Kill your way in..."

"Old grudges and new hatreds—settle them all today..."

The sudden surge of enemies and attacks immediately put the Wendao Sword Sect at a disadvantage.

Outside the mountain gate at One Sword Gorge, multiple sword arrays were torn apart in succession.

Several layers of the sect's foundations were also struck down.

Casualties mounted rapidly.

"Damn it!"

"To hell with this!"

"Requesting backup..."

"Elder, help me!"

The ferocious beast, the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow, took advantage of Jiang Wanyin’s water clones being pinned down by the Buddha and the Confucian Immortal. It broke free from the entanglement and headed straight for the Wendao Sword Sect’s gate.

"Hahaha! Little girl, I’ll slaughter your sect first... let’s see what you can do to stop me!"

The Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow came with overwhelming momentum. In just a few breaths, it tore through the great array, its wings slashing down inside the mountain gate.

"Quick, stop it!"

"A swarm of ants thinking they can block me? How arrogant!"

Ye Xianyu pulled away and flew back with her sword, her Extreme Cold Sword Intent freezing everything in its path.

"Vile creature, you dare?"

The Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow flapped its wings violently, sending shards of ice scattering across the ground. It mocked, "Another little girl. Has your hair even finished growing? You dare fight me?"

Ye Xianyu did not speak, gathering her strength for a sword strike.

The two clashed fiercely.

The Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow was forced back outside the mountain gate.

"Interesting. A mere early-stage tribulation transcendence is actually this fierce... I’ll have some fun with you."

Ye Xianyu continued her assault. Every elegant turn of her blade was accompanied by drifting frost and snow. "Chirp, chirp, chirp. You old bird, you’re annoying as hell..."

Other powerful experts followed the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow’s lead, seizing the chance to escape Jiang Wanyin’s reach. They charged toward the Wendao Sword Sect’s gate from all directions.

Nothing else mattered.

Killing people wasn't even the priority.

Destroying the mountain gate and reopening the Sky Gate was the ultimate goal.

After fighting for two days, they were truly annoyed and exhausted.

They didn't want to drag this out any longer, lest the fellows from the East Desolation and the North Sea arrived and caused even more chaos.

If that happened, no one would get any benefit.

Yuren and Qiaofu, seeing this, did not hesitate for a moment. They took the initiative to meet the enemy, engaging the saint-level experts.

Even if they were no match, they had to stall them.

At that moment, the Pavilion Elders were also forced to leave the protection of the sword arrays to hold back the invaders.

Li Qingshan was at the forefront.

Their objective was clear: stall. Stall for time...

They certainly couldn't defeat these old monsters. Their only hope lay in a variable appearing.

They pinned their hopes on Xu Xian finishing his seclusion soon, manifesting the Sword Tower, drawing the divine sword, and lending it to Jiang Wanyin to break the current deadlock.

Jiang Wanyin was trapped in the center of the battlefield, her clones shattering one by one.

She was forced to constantly reform them.

Seeing the dire situation at the mountain gate, she was consumed with anxiety and tried to pull away. However, her true body was seen through by the two old men, who joined forces to hunt her down.

She could barely protect herself and had no strength to spare.

"Damn it!"

A dark premonition of failure took root in her heart at that moment.

A similar scene was unfolding in the far north and outside Sword City.

On the hundred-thousand-mile ice field of the far north, Lei Yunche was protecting Lin Fengmian, fighting as they retreated...

In the wilderness on the eastern bank of the Wild River, Yao Xiqiao was also in a wretched state.

He was being chased, beaten, and kicked by the Water Qilin.

The mockery never stopped.

"Too slow."

"Too weak."

"Not enough..."

"Not enough..."

"Keep at it, young man..."

"This little fire is barely enough to stir-fry a dish. What’s the matter? Exhausted? Hahaha!"

By the second night after the war began, the Wendao Sword Sect was at a disadvantage on all three battlefields.

Winning or losing seemed to be decided; the rest was just a matter of time.

Beneath the mountain gate of the Wendao Sword Sect, Xu Xian, who had been awake for nearly half a day, was still strengthening the seal. An inexplicable sense of unease was spreading.

He desperately circulated his heart cultivation method, chanting silently in his mind.

"Faster, faster!"

...

As dawn approached.

Outside the Wendao Sword Sect.

The Longevity Bridge was broken.

The lamps in the Changming Pavilion were going out.

One by one, the lamps on the first, second, and third floors were extinguished. No one was there to tend to them, and no bell tolled...

On the Ancestral Peak, Yao Xiaoxiao and the others could occasionally see spirit swords, earth swords, and heaven swords flying toward the Sword Mound and vanishing into the Sword Gate...

But the old man who guarded the gate was no longer there.

They knew.

Many people had died.

The old Daoist still hadn't made an appearance, even though the Wendao Sword Sect was at its wit's end.

The old cow beside him nudged him, mooing in a hurry.

"Moo!"

"Moo?"

"Moo."

He remained unmoved, telling the old cow, "No rush, no rush..."

He had his own considerations and concerns. He had lived a steady life, compromising for ten thousand years.

He didn't want to ruin his reputation right at the finish line.

They said Daoists were good at divination. He had calculated that the Wendao Sword Sect still had a thread of fortune that had not yet been severed...

Outside One Sword Gorge, Li Qingshan was surrounded and attacked by two experts at the tribulation transcendence stage, struggling to cope.

In a moment of carelessness, a beast feather pierced through his chest.

Then, he was slammed into the ground by a mountain ape’s fist.

Just as he stood up,

Ten thousand sword intents whistled down toward his head.

"Die!"

Li Qingshan gritted his teeth as a sense of powerlessness spread through him.

Was he really going to die?

Then, a familiar shout rang out.

"Get out of the way!"

In the blink of an eye,

A graceful figure shielded him.

Boom! Boom!

The sword light fell, swallowing everything in an instant...