Front Line of the Beast Tide, Part 28

In just half a day, the situation had undergone a drastic change.

Yan Yun self-detonated, at the cost of her life and cultivation, resulting in one Song family Spirit Transformation cultivator dead and one injured.

Immediately after, the inner world of the Myriad Beast Forest was forcibly opened by the power of the self-detonation.

Deng Mingjian led a thousand Sword School students to assist.

To avoid direct confrontation, Song family’s Taihe Zhenren chose to leave first, fleeing into the inner world to seek the demonic bone’s opportunity.

The remaining people intended to give chase but were blocked by grass filaments.

From then on, the rift to the inner world was completely closed.

However, the crisis was not over.

For some unknown reason, surges of aftershock suddenly erupted from within the forest, as if a trapped beast had escaped its cage, once again triggering a new round of beast tide riots.

Though the reason was unknown, the Myriad Beast Forest had been driven to a desperate state.

Yan Chi had a premonition that its final, desperate struggle was this very riot.

She could foresee that this beast tide would be larger and more ferocious than ever before.

Correspondingly, more lives would be lost, and more blood and tears would flow.

And all the Yan family sought was to allow this blade, poised over everyone’s heads, to safely land with the smallest possible cost.

Yinlan City had already lost Yan Yun, lost the Heart-Protecting Mirror. Any further turmoil would only incur a cost of blood.

Although she never wanted to take this path, it ultimately led to the worst outcome.

The predecessors were gone. Even though the successors were filled with grief and indignation, they had to consider the bigger picture and not act rashly. This was not the time for action.

Yan Chi’s gaze swept over the Song family’s Spirit Transformation cultivator, who stood far off to one side, clearly ready to retreat if the situation turned unfavorable.

Her brow twitched violently, and the red marks at the corners of her eyes were so ferocious they almost bled.

But she ultimately, after all, reined in all her emotions, transforming back into the City Lord of Yinlan City whom everyone trusted.

She straightened her body, her armor gleaming silver. Her voice, though hoarse, was powerful, her gaze sharp and irresistible, making people dare not meet her eyes. “Everyone—”

“I observe that this beast tide riot is by no means ordinary. To stand here bare-handed would make resistance difficult. I ask everyone to retreat with me to Zhenyao Pass first, and then we will plan our strategy.”

The Yan family had been rooted here for many years.

With Yan Chi speaking, the remaining people naturally had no objections.

In fact, they all noticed the abnormality here, and retreating first was the wise move.

Lin Hebai looked at Yan Chi with faint concern, but said nothing. This was far from the time for tears. S

he looked at the Sword School students, who were still somewhat slow to react, and said in a deep voice, “Form into teams, return to the city!”

But the students had not forgotten the purpose of their journey. They asked one after another, “What about the ninety-seven missing Sword School students?”

Xu Ruyi was always better at calming people than Lin Hebai. She stepped forward and explained.

“The inner world has closed. Even staying here would be useless. Besides, the Heart-Protecting Mirror is not shattered; we are not yet in a desperate situation. They still have a glimmer of hope.”

“Moreover, who said retreating meant safety? The dangers awaiting you and me are not necessarily less than theirs. The lives of millions in Yinlan City rest on us. All of you, hold your swords and advance. Do not hesitate here, do not stop.”

Xu Ruyi had come here under the orders of Sect Leader Wang Quan of the World Sword School and had personally participated in all the events. She had already clearly understood that this complex struggle was roughly divided into three layers.

The first layer was the Yan family army, thousands of Sword School disciples, tens of thousands of rogue cultivators, and the largest beast tide riot in history that Zhenyao Pass and even all of Yinlan City were about to face.

The second layer was the contest for authority between Xiaocao and the forest spirit, the ‘Forest Soul,’ that arose in the inner world of the Myriad Beast Forest.

This layer was a struggle between two naturally born spiritual beings to determine who would gain dominion over this land.

The third layer was the spiritual world guarded by the Heart-Protecting Mirror, the invisible confrontation within the Eternal Night world.

From the first layer to the third layer, the deeper it went, the less information Xu Ruyi knew.

For the first layer of battle on the surface, she had a clear understanding of the situation: which faction and sect was involved, how many forces were in the city, and the strength the Sword School could deploy—she knew it all.

For the second layer of battle, she somewhat knew that Xiaocao, among the new students, came from the back mountain and was very likely a life-form near a divine being. Therefore, it was not surprising that he could contend for authority with the forest’s spirit body.

But by the third layer of battle, who was fighting, and on whom the Sect Leader had placed his bet, she was completely ignorant, beyond the vague words “they.”

Thus, all she could do was trust and wait: trust the decision made by the Sect Leader, trust the person who had taken on this great responsibility, and wait for her to bring about a new situation.

These three layers of battle were interconnected.

Each link had a critical impact on the others. A slight misstep could lead to a wrong move and a complete loss of the game.

Of course, the converse was also true.

Thinking of this, Xu Ruyi looked at these still young students.

She patiently said in a clear voice, “I understand everyone’s concern for their fellow disciples, but precisely because of this, it is even more important to remain steadfast. Because your victory is also paving the way for them. The Sword School, united, stands together.”

These words were spoken with great sincerity and great realism.

The students gradually fell silent, convinced by their teachers’ decisions.

Tian Ning glanced at the massive ancient tree.

With her current cultivation, she couldn’t open the inner world again. She said softly, “I can’t do it.”

Tang Yueling took a deep breath, “I know.”

As Xu Ruyi said, the only thing to do now was to handle their own matters first, then wait and believe.

Now, she felt a bit of regret. If she had known Su Qing was so unlucky, she should have, when Su Qing lost all her cards and didn’t win a single game, realized something and clad her from head to toe in life-saving artifacts.

After the Sword School teachers quickly calmed the students with a few words, it was time to return to the city.

The situation was urgent, and almost all Sword School students chose to gather into teams and return to the city by sword.

Yan Chi whistled, and a pitch-black horse stepped forth, riding the wind. Yan Chi and her personal guards behind her quickly mounted.

Before retreating, she took one last look at the illusion of the Heart-Protecting Mirror before the ancient tree.

The blazing white light there had spread more than halfway, forming a stalemate with the dark demonic energy, like a tai chi symbol simultaneously governing yin and yang.

She hoped Wang Quan’s promise to her was true.

She hoped everything was still in time.

Soon, the horses, like arrows released from a bowstring, galloped away in the blink of an eye, raising a cloud of dust and disappearing into the vast mountain forest.

Because Taihe Zhenren had successfully entered the inner world, the remaining Song family Spirit Transformation cultivator considered his mission complete.

And with the beast tide riot imminent, he decisively abandoned further combat, feigning a leisurely departure on a Luan Yin bird.

As the only Spirit Transformation cultivator present, and with the situation so tense, he wanted to leave, and no one had the mind to stop him.

Unfortunately, he made his own choice, only sending out his clone from afar, while his true body remained hidden in the Myriad Beast Forest, wanting to assist Taihe Zhenren.

This trick of deceiving the heavens and crossing the sea could fool everyone, but it couldn’t fool the “craven and timid” Array School’s Deng Mingjian. However, he smiled faintly, said nothing, and left with the main group. If someone sought their own demise, why should others dissuade them?

As for the rest of the accounts, the Sect Leader would personally settle them with the Song family.

Su Qing, who bore this great responsibility, didn’t even know she bore it.

Of course, even if she knew, she wouldn’t be grateful for the attention. She would only curse Wang Quan as a dog, for not communicating beforehand.

In fact, she could barely remember who she was now.

Because at this very moment, ever since entering the Eternal Night Forest, all the accumulated heart-fire was converging upwards, finally gathering within the Heart-Protecting Mirror, all pouring into her own heart-fire.

The heart-fire, like a surging river, scoured her narrow meridians.

Su Qing’s spirit was unprecedentedly strong, powerful enough to cover the entire forest.

Every tree, every plant, every branch, every leaf, and even the traces of Soul Beasts and the movements of people, were all reflected in her mind.

But she had no time to spare. The immortal bone within her body was humming and vibrating at a frantic frequency, converting Ye Mingshi’s spirit and all the demonic bone aura parasitizing her into precious vitality.

This was originally a good thing, if only that transfer station, or rather, filter, wasn’t Su Qing herself.

Excessive vitality surged within her body, turning into scorching magma and overflowing, dissolving her form into a series of curves. Inside, it was even more chaotic.

She couldn’t find herself, and seemed to be forgetting what she was doing.

The light, still surging at an indescribable speed, made the surface of the Heart-Protecting Mirror dazzlingly bright, almost melting into a drop of pure white silver liquid.

Finally, even the mirror surface couldn’t contain the overly intense light.

A crisp “crack” echoed, and thousands of cracks appeared from the center of the mirror to its edge.

This magical artifact, which had endured for thousands of years and could even defend cities and repel enemies, thus turned into countless silver fragments, like fireworks, instantly covering the entire sky.

At this moment, the darkness was completely dispelled.

The ominous clouds above the Eternal Night Forest began to dissipate, and a vast expanse of light broke through layers of black veil, scattering upon every inch of this forest.

Simultaneously, Su Qing’s own spiritual boundary was forcibly diluted, like a faded painting of a person, about to merge into this light domain in the blink of an eye.

This was an extremely dangerous situation.

A slight misstep could turn her into nourishment for vitality.

The last time Su Qing had such an experience was beneath Pure Water Island in the Dragon Boat Secret Realm.

She should have noticed, but unfortunately, her consciousness was too blurred to even recognize danger.

She only felt herself in a world of pure white, thinking of nothing else.

But fortunately, Su Qing always seemed to have some luck on her side.

Just like this time, someone suddenly grasped her hand.

The other person’s voice was very soft, like a dream. In fact, she had indeed just woken up from a nightmare.

Ye Mingshi opened her eyes. She pulled Su Qing’s hand, and together they floated in the light.

The heart-fire was guided to flow into her chest, burning away the black shadow on her.

Slowly, she gained strength, and her voice became clear.

“At this time, you need to think about small things, whether it’s one thing or one sentence. As long as you find a point of support, it won’t be difficult to get through.”

Ye Mingshi’s figure finally gradually separated from the darkness.

She floated in the air, points of scorching flames drifting from her chest.

The black root-like veins that were deeply embedded in her body and drew nourishment were swept away by the flames, turning into black ash and dissipating.

And that tiny black demonic bone, in round after round of purification, gradually turned a faint white.

This was a manifestation of the demonic energy being purified.

Su Qing felt her cold yet soft hands. Like a drowning person finding driftwood, she found the only support in a vast ocean.

She heard her own voice, a little shaky, but finally coherent, “Then what have you been thinking about all these days?”

In these more than ten thousand days, what had Ye Mingshi relied on to endure?

“I’ve been thinking,” Ye Mingshi’s figure became clearer and clearer, she said, “There’s a little girl named Bayin. She said I’m not a demon, I’m human. I’m her Batal. I can’t lose.”

Su Qing suddenly smiled knowingly. She had also said the same thing to her.

A child’s strength is truly invisible and great. Bayin would never know that a single sentence from her would allow Ye Mingshi to protect her original heart in endless darkness.

Perhaps it was because they originally had similar backgrounds, both orphaned and helpless, both living in temples to survive.

They were both unwelcome; one was endlessly hunted due to an innate demonic bone, the other was ostracized due to a birthmark on her face. Ye Mingshi even first discovered Bayin inside a statue.

Ye Mingshi felt they were very similar.

She wasn’t someone who cared about others’ dispositions, but she took Bayin’s words to heart because they were like the words of a kindred spirit.

Su Qing suddenly realized that perhaps Bayin was the long-awaited fate of this Eternal Night Forest, after all, her full name was Noribayin.

Light flowed from their bodies, illuminating the entire land, as if they were the suns of this world.

The dark forest shed its mist and gloom, the wailing vengeful souls turned into peaceful specks of light, and the fading humanoid figures gained new vitality.

The sun should finally rise.