The ancient phantom that awakened from Chi Qingyue's body, the single word "Get out" that shook all the heavens and myriad paths to a standstill, and the unsolvable divine power that completely erased and rendered ineffective the last six True Annihilation Realm · Peak cultivators under the "Final Abolition and Establishment"... All of this completely overturned the two's previous understanding of this junior sister of the Chi Lineage.
Especially now, with Chi Qingyue standing quietly before them, her brows and eyes still as serene and peaceful as ever, indifferent to conflict, the supreme majesty that had just dominated heaven and earth and made all laws bow down had been completely concealed, not revealing the slightest bit. The Ultimate contrast made the two of them even more shaken and unable to recover.
Shen Qingchen's lips moved slightly, his voice hoarse. "Junior Sister Qingyue, you..." Before he could finish speaking, several sharp and urgent sounds of air being torn apart suddenly came from the deep forest in the distance.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More than ten figures of Chi Lineage disciples swept through the towering treetops, rushing to the aid following the abnormal fluctuations warned of by the patrolling Yu Jian. The moment the leaders landed, they saw the devastated forest and the seriously injured Shen Qingchen and Su Qingyuan lying on the ground, and their expressions changed drastically.
"What happened?" A disciple rushed forward, his voice urgent. "How could our two senior brothers and sisters be so seriously injured? What happened here?"
The other disciples quickly dispersed, first guarding the surroundings and checking for any remaining enemy traces in the forest. Only after confirming there were no hidden dangers did they gather around. Chi Qingyue slowly rose. Despite experiencing the awakening of her bloodline and the earth-shattering battle, her brows remained calm and aloof, without a trace of arrogance or impetuosity, her mind as clear as ever.
"We were just ambushed by seven men in black." Upon hearing this, the disciples' expressions all turned grim, and they felt a chill run down their spines.
Chi Qingyue spoke calmly and reported truthfully, "All the attackers have been killed, except for the leader who escaped. Senior Brother Shen and Senior Sister Su were severely injured by the enemy's secret technique, and their Fate Soul essence has been corrupted by evil power. They are unable to heal themselves and need to return to their clans immediately for treatment."
Upon hearing the gravity of the situation, everyone stopped asking about the details of the battle and immediately took on their respective duties. Two male disciples quickly stepped forward and carefully helped Shen Qingchen up; two female disciples also stepped forward, gently supporting Su Qingyuan's arms and steadily supporting her weak body.
"There's no time to lose, we'll escort the two Hui people immediately." As Shen Qingchen was helped to his feet, waves of excruciating pain surged through his chest. He endured the pain and remained impassive, turning back to give Chi Qingyue a deep look before leaving.
Their eyes met, and without a word, their gazes were filled with deep gratitude and respect. Su Qingyuan leaned weakly against her fellow disciple, and before leaving, she also looked back. Her usual indifference faded from her beautiful eyes, leaving only genuine and warm gratitude. She nodded gently in acknowledgment.
Chi Qingyue watched the two quietly, nodded slightly, and responded calmly. The escorting disciple raised his hand and tore open the void, creating a narrow spatial rift. He carefully helped the two step into it. Several figures disappeared into the depths of the rift in an instant. The next moment, the void slowly closed, and the forest returned to peace.
The remaining Chi Lineage disciples immediately bent down to examine the surrounding battlefield traces and count the points of abnormality.
A disciple approached Chi Qingyue's side, his gaze sweeping over the triggered restriction nodes and then looking at the devastated forest. He asked, "Have you preserved all the records of the anomalies here, Junior Sister?"
Chi Qingyue took out the patrol jade tablet from her waist, and after carefully confirming that it contained complete records of the abnormal restrictions, ambush areas, and all the details of the battle, she nodded slightly. "Yes, everything is recorded perfectly."
She carefully put away the jade tablet, her gaze fixed on the location where the masked man in golden robes had fled. Her voice was steady. "That escaped leader should have completely left the Azure Wood Divine Forest by now. This matter is far-reaching, and the hidden dangers remain. After returning to the clan, I will personally report the entire story to the Elders' Hall."
The disciple nodded in agreement, "That's as it should be." He looked around again to make sure there was no further disturbance in the area, then said, "This matter is settled. Let's continue patrolling the rest of the areas."
"Alright." Chi Qingyue responded, and the remaining disciples quickly reorganized their ranks, each verifying their patrol jade tablets. The leading disciple raised his hand and tore open the air—crack! A smooth spatial rift slowly unfolded, awaiting everyone's passage.
The disciples stepped into the void one after another. Before leaving, Chi Qingyue glanced back at the devastated forest, her gaze lingering briefly on the restriction node that had first triggered the anomaly. Then she turned and calmly stepped into the rift.
In the blink of an eye, the spatial rift closed completely Wuhen, and the northern part of the Azure Wood Divine Forest returned to tranquility. Only the broken ancient trees, the disordered ley lines, and the unresolved Dao traces silently preserved the earth-shattering battle of the Great Dao that had just taken place, waiting for time to slowly smooth over all traces.
The last patrol area of Azure Wood Divine Forest is now nearing the deepest edge of this vast divine forest.
Chi Qingyue, along with more than ten disciples of the Chi Lineage, traversed through layers of ancient forests. Upon arriving at this place, the surrounding scenery was vastly different from the areas they had previously patrolled.
Ancient trees, their gnarled branches intertwined, their towering canopies obscuring the gloomy sky. Layers of ancient roots, clinging to the earth, carved a winding, deep path ahead, obscuring its direction. The Dao patterns of heaven and earth, which had originally flowed steadily along the Chi Lineage's protective barriers, now...
At this moment, Ultimate subtle turbulent fluctuations arose, and countless ancient Dao seals embedded in tree trunks, rock walls, and underground flickered with light and shadow. The remaining eerie aftershocks spread far and wide along the veins of the forest.
The deeper they went, the more deathly silent the forest became. The faint rustling of leaves that had been heard earlier vanished completely, and even the sound of their footsteps echoed without their usual resonance, creating a dull and oppressive atmosphere.
The leading disciple of the Chi Lineage, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped. He raised his right arm sharply, spread his five fingers, and made a gesture to silence him. The disciples behind him stopped instantly, and no one dared to move.
The leading disciple did not rush to speak, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surroundings: from the deep, dense forest on the left to the ancient rock wall on the right, then looking up at the sky completely obscured by the dense branches, before finally fixing his gaze on a core restriction node in front of him.
His expression gradually hardened, his mind tensed to the Ultimate, and his Fate Soul force quietly circulated and spread throughout his body, taking in every subtle movement in the forest.
"Attention everyone." He lowered his voice, his tone grave. "The restriction here has been triggered." As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the dozen or so Chi Lineage disciples changed drastically. Clang!
A long, narrow divine weapon was the first to burst from its sheath, its cold gleam flashing. Then, clang! Clang!
A series of sharp flashes of sword light pierced the darkness of the forest. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, some holding them horizontally in front of their chests, others lowering their stances to gather their weight, and two disciples immediately darted to the left and right flanks, forming a pincer movement with the central group, supporting and defending each other.
Having experienced the previous ambush and bloody battle, no one regarded the unusual movement of the restriction as an ordinary phenomenon. Chi Qingyue stood at the rear of the group, her beautiful face calm and composed, her gaze calmly fixed on the road ahead. She seemed relaxed and at ease, but her right hand had already quietly landed on the divine weapon at her waist, ready to strike.
The leading disciple bent down to examine the restriction patterns closely. Within the originally closed, orderly, and steadily operating restriction patterns, there remained a faint yet strangely unfamiliar trace. Someone had been here.
The group exchanged glances, all seeing solemnity and vigilance in each other's eyes. The leading disciple slowly straightened up, not rashly touching or releasing the damaged restriction, but simply raising his hand to make a very light gesture for moving forward.
The group moved forward steadily again, one step, two steps.
The distance between the group gradually decreased as everyone extended their life Fate Soul perception, locking onto their respective assigned areas. Chi Qingyue walked slowly forward, her gaze constantly scanning the surrounding trees and rock walls. In an instant, she realized that the anomaly here was no longer limited to the one triggered restriction.
A strange color quietly appeared in the air, initially just a wisp, extremely faint and pale, almost blending into the dimness with a dark red.
It slowly drifted out from behind an ancient tree dozens of feet away, light and ethereal. The next moment, a second and a third wisp appeared in succession. In just a few breaths, wisps of dark red mist seeped out from the gaps in the trees and the ravines in the rock walls from all directions, flowing slowly along the ground, around the branches, and down the rocks, the color changing from light to dark, layer upon layer.
The leading disciple's pupils suddenly contracted, and he shouted sharply, "Retreat, quickly!" Boom!
More than ten figures simultaneously retreated rapidly, instantly withdrawing a hundred feet away. Upon landing, they dispersed and quickly took their positions, all the sharp edges of their divine weapons aimed at the core of the anomaly ahead. Chi Qingyue's clothes were fluttering in the invisible airflow, her toes firmly planted on the ground, and she did not move an inch further, her eyes fixed on the ever-spreading crimson mist.
The red fog ahead continued to rise rapidly, whoosh—
Thick, scarlet light spread wildly along the ground, then surged upwards against the current. Strangely, this red mist had no effect on illumination; wherever it passed, trees, cliffs, and shadows were all swallowed up, and the world became even darker and more gloomy.
The towering silhouettes of ancient trees gradually disappeared into the blood-red mist. The once clearly discernible roads, rock walls, and restriction patterns melted away and vanished layer by layer, until finally, the entire road ahead was nothing but a surging, dark crimson expanse.
The entire arena fell silent. The dozen or so disciples of the Chi Lineage held their breath, their minds tense, none daring to make the slightest move. The next instant—from the depths of the red mist, a pitch-black figure slowly emerged. At first, it was merely a hazy, indistinct outline, ethereal and indistinct, its form impossible to discern. Then, the outline slowly rose, solidifying, ten feet, a hundred feet, a thousand feet...