Gore took a step forward, making the ground tremble. His rock-solid fists clenched with a grinding sound.
His massive body became a gray cannonball, charging at Long Xuanye with tremendous force!
But just as his heavy fist was about to come crashing down—
A soft sigh drifted through the battlefield.
A white-robed figure had appeared in front of Long Xuanye at some point. He casually raised a hand and easily blocked Rock Demon Gor's earth-shattering punch.
Boom—
A shock wave burst outward, kicking up clouds of dust.
The white-robed figure didn't budge, while Rock Demon Gor staggered backward.
Ignoring Gore's look of shock and confusion, the white-robed figure turned to the boy swaying behind him, his voice steady.
"You should realize it by now."
"You two can't live together in peace."
"You're too weak. The slightest disturbance could leave you beyond all hope of salvation."
He paused, then continued, "I can help you deal with this fifth-order Rock Demon. But afterward, you must part ways with Cai'er."
Long Xuanye said nothing.
He merely watched the man before him in silence, then reached out and slowly, firmly pushed aside the arm shielding him.
The white-robed figure was at a loss for words.
Why bother?
In that split second of distraction, Rock Demon Gor seized his chance!
"Die, human!"
Roaring, it brought its fists down like a torrential storm, every blow channeling the power of the earth!
Kill this human genius!!
Even if he died... it would still be worth it!
Long Xuanye's pupils narrowed. He turned his blade around and raised it to block.
Clang!
A tremendous force struck him. The short blade nearly flew from his hand, and he was blasted backward, slamming hard into the wall of the Thatched Hut.
Pfft—
He spat out another mouthful of blood.
The difference in strength was simply too great.
Gore's attacks came one after another, giving him no chance to catch his breath, let alone activate "Chaos Begins."
All he could do was rely on his battle instincts, scrambling, rolling, dodging, and barely holding on.
Each block made his bones groan under the strain.
The white-robed figure stood to one side, frowning as he watched.
He raised his hand several times, only to lower it again.
Just as Long Xuanye was struck by a sweeping punch and sent flying like a kite with its strings cut, about to be finished off by Gore's next attack—
The white-robed figure finally made up his mind to intervene.
But just then—
"Xuanye!"
A sharp, urgent cry rang out from the direction of the forest path!
A gray blur shot into the battlefield at a speed too fast for the eye to follow!
It was Cai'er!
A faint Reincarnation Halo shimmered around her. Her gray-white eyes were empty, yet... murderous intent gleamed within them!
At almost the same moment she appeared, Long Xuanye—already terribly weak, his consciousness beginning to blur—relied on the muscle memory forged through their earlier cooperation and made the perfect move.
He forced his body to roll to one side, clearing the best attack path for Cai'er.
No words. No glances.
Saint Cai'er moved close to Rock Demon Gor like a ghost and lightly swept her gray dagger across it—the initial form of the Reincarnation Sacred Sword.
Where the dagger passed, Gore's vaunted rocky defenses dissolved without a sound, like writing erased by a rubber.
A fatal opening appeared.
Now!
The last light flared in Long Xuanye's dark eyes.
He poured the last of his Spiritual Power, along with his overdrawn vitality, into the Chaos Spirit Furnace!
"Chaos Begins!"
Chaos Power, condensed to its utmost, gathered in his right hand. He drove it straight through the breach the Reincarnation Sacred Sword had torn in the defense and pressed it in with all his might!
"Urgh..."
Rock Demon Gor's massive body suddenly stiffened.
It lowered its head and stared at the hand pressed against its chest.
The next second, black cracks began spreading wildly across its rocky body, radiating from that hand.
Chaos Power erupted within it!
It drained away its Spiritual Power, turning it into countless blades that pierced through it!
Boom!
The fifth-order Rock Demon Gor shattered into a rain of rubble.
The world spun before Long Xuanye's eyes, and all he could hear was a ringing in his ears.
His last bit of strength, along with the final glimmer of light, was swallowed by darkness.
His body went limp and pitched forward.
A pair of slender but strong arms caught him securely.
It was Cai'er.
She held him tightly in her arms. Her usually calm, placid face was filled with panic and pain.
"Xuanye..."
The boy could no longer hear her. He had fallen into a near-comatose state, and only the faint rise and fall of his chest showed that he was still alive.
Just then, two figures emerged from the forest and landed beside the white-robed figure.
They were the two assassins who had tracked Saint Cai'er earlier.
One of them was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. He looked toward the distant woods.
Several demonic auras were closing in rapidly from all directions.
"This is bad," one of the assassins said gravely.
The white-robed figure protecting Cai'er, their fellow, merely sighed helplessly.
He raised a hand and casually swept it through the air toward the direction from which the auras were coming.
In the distant woods, several running figures abruptly froze, then silently turned to ash.
Instantly slain.
Only after that did he turn back to the boy and girl in each other's arms and shake his head.
"Why must you do this?"
"Even if you can defeat this fifth-order Rock Demon..."
The other assassin picked up where he left off, his voice tinged with regret. "You still can't deal with stronger enemies. You should know there's a sixth-order demon watching you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the corner of the white-robed figure's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
A sixth-order demon?
Before he'd even gone to find Cai'er, he had already quietly dealt with every Demon Race Squad searching the surrounding area.
He'd only intended to use the pressure from this fifth-order Rock Demon to make the two children face reality and get Cai'er to obediently come back with him.
He would never truly let anything happen to them.
But now, it seemed the outcome was much the same.
After going through a battle for their lives, they ought to understand what true desperation was.
The white-robed figure stepped forward, took a jade bottle from his robes, and poured out a pill that gave off a sweet fragrance.
He crouched down, preparing to feed it to Long Xuanye.
This time, Saint Cai'er didn't stop him.
She simply held the boy in her arms and watched him in silence, his figure reflected in her gray-white eyes.
The pill melted in his mouth. Its gentle medicinal power quickly spread through Long Xuanye's limbs and bones, repairing his damaged meridians and internal organs.
The boy's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
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