"Let's go together. Whether it's a Martial Dao Ninth Level beast or a True Martial Realm beast, I'll go with you."
Tie Haitang said with a smile.
Lin Bai stood silently where he was. After thinking for a while, he said, "Haitang, I know how you feel, but I'm sorry. We... aren't meant for each other."
Thump.
Hearing those words, Tie Haitang looked as pale as if she had been struck by lightning.
"My path doesn't lie in the Azure Spirit Mountain Range. It lies somewhere much farther away," Lin Bai said.
"No matter how far it is, even if it's to the ends of the earth, I'm willing to accompany you," Tie Haitang said, her voice trembling slightly.
"There's no need," Lin Bai said firmly.
A crystal-clear tear slipped from the corner of Tie Haitang's eye. "I hate you, Lin Bai. I hate you!"
With tears streaming down her face, Tie Haitang ran out of the Life and Death Cave, sobbing loudly.
"Ah."
Lin Bai let out a quiet sigh. He glanced at the map, marked out the route to his chosen next destination, and left the Life and Death Cave.
Outside the Demon Slayer Alliance, there was a small river with clear water, where little fish swam merrily.
A black-robed man stood by the river with his hands clasped behind his back, his thick black hair fluttering in the wind and his bearing extraordinary.
Lin Bai walked over with an unchanged expression and stood beside him.
"What you did—wasn't that a little too heartless?" The black-robed man was none other than Tie Feng, the Demon Slayer Alliance's leader.
"When something must be severed, hesitating only invites trouble. Since I know we're impossible, why continue entangling ourselves?" Lin Bai said quietly.
"But what you did wounded her heart," Tie Feng said, displeasure showing in his voice.
"Time will erode all pain. In seven days, I'll be leaving the Demon Slayer Alliance. Once I'm gone, she won't have to see me anymore, and it won't hurt so much."
Lin Bai said.
"Leaving? Didn't you intend to break through to the Martial Dao Ninth Level before leaving? You're only at the Martial Dao Eighth Level now. Are you confident you can break through to the Martial Dao Ninth Level within seven days?" Tie Feng asked in confusion.
"Whether I break through to the Martial Dao Ninth Level or not, I have to go back," Lin Bai said.
Over the past half month, Lin Bai had hunted monsters like a madman and finally raised his Martial Dao cultivation to the Martial Dao Eighth Level.
Lin Bai had been out for nearly two months already. The day he had promised Lin Zier was almost here, and the tournament to accept disciples was about to begin as well.
Lin Bai had to return and defeat Lin Zier in front of everyone who had mocked him!
He had to wash away every humiliation he had suffered.
"I'll leave first. The road to my next destination is still a little long."
Lin Bai said this, turned around, and walked away along the river.
"Ah." Tie Feng let out a quiet sigh and walked back to the alliance. He saw Tie Haitang return to her cave dwelling and immediately shut the door tight. Leaning against it, Tie Feng could faintly hear Tie Haitang crying inside.
Night fell.
In the mountains east of the Demon Slayer Alliance, six or seven hundred people sneaked in.
Before long, a figure hurried out of the Demon Slayer Alliance and joined them.
"Qi Sheng, has Lin Bai returned?" Qin Xiangtian asked.
This group was none other than the warriors of the Soaring Heavens Alliance.
This time, the warriors of the Soaring Heavens Alliance had come out in full force, determined to wipe out the Demon Slayer Alliance and Lin Bai.
Qi Sheng was precisely the deepest agent the Soaring Heavens Alliance had planted inside the Demon Slayer Alliance.
Qi Sheng said, "He did return this afternoon, but who would've thought the brat would run out again in the blink of an eye? I don't know whether he went out to hunt monsters or found out about something, but he just left."
Qin Xiangtian gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "Damn it, he got away again. If he really has left, we'll have to learn his origins from Tie Haitang and Tie Feng."
"The arrow is already nocked; it must be loosed. Men, follow me and storm the Demon Slayer Alliance!"
Qin Xiangtian roared.
Whoosh—
In the dark forest, torches suddenly blazed to life, outnumbering the stars scattered across the sky.
Carrying the torches, the warriors of the Soaring Heavens Alliance charged into the Demon Slayer Alliance.
The warriors of the Demon Slayer Alliance, still lost in dreams, were caught completely off guard by the sudden assault from the Soaring Heavens Alliance.
"Kill!"
"Kill every one of these Demon Slayer Alliance curs!"
"Leave no one alive! Kill them all!"
A fierce battle unfolded in the Demon Slayer Alliance's gorge.
Before long, blood dyed the gorge red.
Half an hour later, the battle ended. The Demon Slayer Alliance had been reduced to ruins, with hundreds of warriors lying dead where they fell.
Scholar Li captured Tie Feng and Tie Haitang.
"Tie Feng, long time no see!" Qin Xiangtian sneered smugly.
Tie Feng's mouth split into a bitter smile. "If that bastard Qi Sheng hadn't drugged me with Carefree Powder, how could you have invaded the Demon Slayer Alliance so easily?"
"Qi Sheng, I saw through your ill intentions long ago. But I still took pity on how hard it is for living beings to cultivate, so I didn't kill you! Ah, it seems I was wrong after all." Tie Feng spoke with regret.
Qi Sheng sneered. "Old thing, if Alliance Leader Qin hadn't ordered me to lie low, I would've killed all of you long ago."
"Enough nonsense. Tie Haitang, I'm asking you—where is Lin Bai, the fiend who killed my son?" Qin Xiangtian asked fiercely, glaring at Tie Haitang.
"Lin Bai? Heh heh, he left," Tie Haitang said with a bitter laugh.
"Left? Where did he go?" Qin Xiangtian pressed urgently.
"I don't know." Tie Haitang shook her head.
"You don't know? I think you refuse the wine only to be forced to drink a toast! Men, beat her!" Qin Xiangtian roared.
As he spoke, three or five warriors moved to surround her.
"Stop, Qin Xiangtian, you idiot! If you beat them to death, how are we supposed to find the murderer who killed our son?"
Just then, a woman's voice came from within the crowd.
It was Qin Xiangtian's wife, Zhao Rong.
Zhao Rong said coldly, "If this wretch refuses to talk, I'll throw her into the Thunder Swamp and let her suffer the agony of being struck by heavenly lightning. Let's see whether she talks then!"
"Qin Xiangtian, have your men clean up the Demon Slayer Alliance and lie in wait. If Lin Bai returns, capture him immediately!"
"You can't even handle such a simple matter. How did I end up marrying such a useless man?"
Zhao Rong said furiously.
"Yes, yes, yes, Rong'er is right. Do as Madam says at once," Qin Xiangtian said, obeying Zhao Rong in everything.
"Yes."
The warriors of the Soaring Heavens Alliance immediately set to work, restoring the Demon Slayer Alliance to its original state.
"Stop dreaming! Lin Bai has already left. He won't come back again. He won't come back! What you're doing is pointless." Tie Haitang roared.
"Your son Qin Xiang was killed by me. Whatever grudge you have, lay it all on me, Tie Haitang!"
"This has nothing to do with Lin Bai!"
Tie Haitang said furiously.
Zhao Rong sneered. "You? You can't bear such a heavy crime. Come with me to the Thunder Swamp."
Zhao Rong grabbed Tie Haitang and sprinted straight toward the Thunder Swamp.