Leading the Crowd Eastward

The Little Book Spirit took the lead, flying eastward, its figure quickly swallowed by the tide of Dark Death Spirits.

Xu Xian withdrew his divine sense and looked at the woman in the red bridal gown from afar.

She was still standing there, but her hand had already dropped. Without thinking much, he leaped from the high peak and streaked across the sky, heading east.

Lu Yuan, Tu Sisi, the Twelve Demon Gods, and the three demon dragons followed behind him without the slightest hesitation.

"Go!"

"Forward!"

The tide of Death Spirits continued to contract. The hundreds of miles of open space from before had shrunk to less than a hundred in the blink of an eye. For experts, this distance could be covered in just a few breaths.

Their survival space was being squeezed.

The hundreds of experts from Fanzhou were already in a state of chaos.

No matter where they retreated, they could feel a suffocating pressure coming from every direction.

Some were driven to desperation; accustomed to being arrogant in the mortal realm, they charged forward recklessly.

They exhausted their divine abilities, and then...

Then, there was nothing.

They were swallowed by the sea of Death Spirits, leaving behind only a single, unwilling cry of defiance.

"Ah!"

"No!"

Death was already unfolding in this place.

Even those as strong as the tribulation transcendence stage, the giants of Fanzhou, were like mere blades of grass in this celestial realm's spirit tide.

This only made the survivors more terrified and panicked.

Was there really no way back?

Were they truly destined to die here?

Xu Xian's voice echoed through divine sense to everyone in the area. "If you want to live, follow me..."

Hearing this, whether they were saints or demon immortals, whether they hated or resented him, they all made a quick decision and converged toward Xu Xian.

"Follow him..."

"We're going too..."

"Move!"

One could call Xu Xian wicked or claim he was scheming, but one could never call him weak.

He was Fanzhou's finest, the man who had shattered the Sky Gate with a single sword strike. Moreover, he was the only one present who had transcended the Immortal Tribulation and attained a level above the saints.

If only one person was going to make it out alive today, that person would undoubtedly be Xu Xian.

There was no question about it.

At this moment, they had no ideas of their own. They were like headless flies; rather than bumping around aimlessly, it was better to follow him. Perhaps they really could fight their way out.

Even though they knew full well that Xu Xian hadn't called them out of kindness, but simply because more people meant more strength.

But if Xu Xian was using their strength, weren't they also using his?

The scattered crowd gradually gathered behind Xu Xian. Some hid in the middle, some charged near the front, and some intentionally lagged behind.

In short, everyone had their own hidden agendas.

The Ancestors of the Three Sects and several demon immortals came to the very front, nearly side-by-side with Xu Xian.

Some remained silent as they summoned their artifacts.

Others snapped back arrogantly, "Xu Xian, this debt isn't settled. I'll settle scores with you sooner or later."

Xu Xian smiled disdainfully. "If you want to settle scores, you have to stay alive first."

"Just make sure you don't die!"

Xu Xian chuckled. "Keep up..."

...

"Roar!"

"Awoo!"

"Screech!"

"Jie jie jie... living souls, such a sweet scent..."

"Mine, they're all mine!"

"No one else take them from me!"

"Little darlings, come into my mouth..."

The approaching tide of Death Spirits was right in front of them. The Sky Gate had completely collapsed, the fires had died out, and the world had returned to its original gloom.

Countless blood-red eyes shimmered, reflecting greed and hunger. They roared, they snarled, and they screamed, using all sorts of languages to convey the same arrogance.

Except for Xu Xian, the others couldn't understand what the Death Spirits were chanting at all. Only the overwhelming hatred in their eyes remained.

The old monk shed his usual gentleness. Like a powder keg ready to explode, he said impatiently, "What are these monsters chirping about?"

Xu Xian didn't answer. He kicked off the ground and shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, advancing with unstoppable momentum.

With a single leap, he plunged into the tide of Death Spirits ahead of everyone else.

From the others' perspective, Xu Xian's figure was swallowed by the Death Spirits in an instant. The monsters pounced on him like mad, piling on layer after layer.

The sight was extremely unsettling, even for saints and tribulation transcendence experts.

Just as they were breaking into a cold sweat for Xu Xian, a voice rang out through the world.

"Rise!"

Buzz! The space resonated. A brilliant white light burst forth, shattering everything as it bloomed amidst the darkness. Countless Death Spirits were sent flying, letting out shrill screams.

In the blink of an eye, the majestic Sword Tower stood tall before them.

Hundreds of feet high and twelve stories tall, its vigorous sword intent ravaged the surroundings. The charging Death Spirits were torn to shreds wave after wave.

Only a small number of them could withstand the ravaging sword intent and charge into the area covered by the tower's radiance.

The crowd watched as the youth drew his sword in front of the high tower.

As the sword was unsheathed, raging flames surged out, transforming into a sea of fire that scorched the landscape.

Shrill hisses mingled with the explosive crackling of the flames.

The Heaven-Burning Sparrow emerged.

The Sword Tower faded into the background.

Holding his sword, Xu Xian began to slaughter in every direction, forcefully tearing a gap through the tide of Death Spirits...

The people behind him couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

As the saying goes, comparison breeds resentment.

The gap between them and Xu Xian was far more than just a difference of a single realm.

"His abilities aren't being restricted by this world's laws?"

"What an overbearing fellow..."

"Is this the true strength of an immortal?"

Lu Yuan said coldly, "No, it's only because this immortal is named Xu Xian."

The other person was silenced and gave Lu Yuan a deep look.

Lu Yuan ignored them. His fists ignited with blood-red flames, his ribbons were incinerated by the fire, and a murderous intent lurked in his blood-red eyes. Following Xu Xian's lead, he charged forward.

Tu Sisi and the others refused to be left behind and attacked together.

Jin Qing reminded them, "If you want to live, give it your all. Otherwise, we all die."

Everyone gave their silent assent and unleashed their full power.

Following behind Xu Xian, they plunged headlong toward the east.

"Let's risk it!"

"My turn!"

"Sword, rise!"

"I burn incense and pray for divine generals to descend. First, I summon the gale; second, I summon the lightning..."

"Transform!"

"Activate the formation!"

"Mountains, rivers, and lakes, heed my command! Mountains, come!"

In front, fire lotuses bloomed in a straight line. Behind, various divine abilities and techniques painted the sky with ten colors and five lights as demon beasts and spirits revealed their true forms.

Though suppressed by the Heavenly Dao of the celestial realm, their bodies were only the size of small hills. Still, with several hundred of them charging together, the momentum and power were considerable.

However, the tide of Death Spirits was no joke.

They felt no pain and knew no fear. Seeing the Fanzhou beings resisting so fiercely only made them more excited.

They trampled over the corpses of their comrades and pounced forward in a frenzy.

Before the first one could fall, the next had already arrived.

Xu Xian had just cleared a path several miles wide, but it was quickly filled back in. Those following further back naturally suffered for it.

Death Spirits from other directions, seeing the intense battle here, ran even faster and charged even harder.

In less than the time it took to finish a cup of tea...

Their group of several hundred was completely surrounded by the tide.

Those who had been at the very back were being torn apart and eaten one by one. The scene was so tragic and bloody that it was hard to watch.

Tribulation transcendence stage? Beast gods?

Dying just like that?

It was almost absurd.

This forced them to fight even harder to push forward and keep up.

On this battlefield, charging fast didn't guarantee survival, but charging slowly meant certain death.

Their numbers were too great.

Moreover, there were many within the Death Spirit Tide whose strength rivaled that of the tribulation transcendence and saint stages. Except for Xu Xian, the disparity for the others was immense.

The Little Book Spirit hovered in the high sky, looking down to scout the way.

From its perspective, the ground was a sea of black, and the air was filled with a chaotic cacophony.

The red lotus sword intent released by Xu Xian was like a flickering star in this tide of Death Spirits.

Compared to the vastness of the sky, it was insignificant.

The commotion they caused was practically negligible.

Xu Xian shared this synchronized perspective, and his heart grew heavy. The situation seemed even more dire than he had imagined.

In contrast, on the other side, those four figures were moving forward steadily, with Death Spirits falling in swathes.

They were like a steamroller clearing a path across a map.

The Twilight Emperor walked in the center like a sovereign, his clothes spotless and his hair unruffled. He didn't even deign to lift a finger.

Even the three clearing the path had the leisure to watch the show elsewhere.

Water Qilin said gloatingly, "Your Majesty, that kid seems to have been buried in there."

The Twilight Emperor gave an arrogant smile and said insincerely, "Born like a blade of grass, yet dreaming of shining like the stars? A pipe dream..."