Falling Cloud Sect, once a powerful mid-grade sect that dominated the southern region, had now become an abandoned ruin.
In an open space, as far as the eye could see, there were dense mounds of earth.
In front of the mounds, stood two figures, one large and one small.
Both were covered in dirt, their faces smudged with grime, and their hair disheveled.
The elder one had a pale complexion, looking frail and weak, occasionally coughing a few times.
The younger one carried two cleavers on her back, their blades level with her heels, making her look extremely awkward.
Xu Miao knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times, then stood up and said in a hoarse voice, "Let's go."
She took Fan Xiaomei's hand and walked down the mountain.
Over the past month, the two of them had relied on each other and had heard news of 54 sects being destroyed.
After Xu Miao learned of it, despite her fragile body, she climbed mountains and waded through rivers to rush back to Falling Cloud Sect. Upon seeing the ground covered with corpses, she shed tears while silently digging pits to bury them.
The two had stayed in this place for about ten days, only finishing with all the corpses today.
"Sister Xu Miao, do you hate Hua Xia Sect?" Fan Xiaomei asked the question that had been buried in her heart for days.
Xu Miao's eyes dimmed, and she offered a faint smile, "No hatred. This is what Falling Cloud Sect owed him."
"Him, are you referring to the Hua Xia Sect's Sect Master?"
"Yes."
"Sister Xu Miao, are you very familiar with him?"
"An old acquaintance. He was once the person sister liked."
"Why do you say 'once'? Don't you like him anymore?"
Xu Miao remained silent, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
The two walked along, unconsciously reaching a main road.
Gradually, large numbers of refugees began to appear nearby, their faces sallow and gaunt, walking forward like walking corpses.
"Giddy up, giddy up!"
Just then, a burst of hoofbeats sounded, and a golden carriage approached from a distance.
"Get out of the way!"
A furious shout came from behind. Fan Xiaomei quickly shielded Xu Miao and moved aside.
Some people who failed to dodge in time were directly knocked flying, crashing into the cold earth.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted, revealing a pointy-nosed, monkey-faced individual, "Bah, a bunch of lowly commoners, delaying this Prince's path to immortality. Death is too good for them!"
The carriage sped away without slowing down, leaving behind only sounds of mournful cries.
Five people were killed in the collision: three elderly individuals and a woman holding a baby.
Beside the corpses, red blood flowed across the ground.
Several refugees knelt beside the bodies, sobbing and wiping away tears.
The others merely shook their heads in regret and continued to walk forward numbly.
Fan Xiaomei watched everything silently, ripples forming in her heart, brewing a sense of hatred.
As if sensing Fan Xiaomei's change, Xu Miao tugged her small hand and whispered, "Let's go."
After walking about ten miles along the main road, incomplete corpses suddenly appeared ahead.
In a pit, a golden carriage was split in half, and a headless corpse lay nearby.
At this moment, a crowd of refugees rushed to the corpses, tearing at their clothes violently, trying to find valuables.
Fan Xiaomei walked to a corpse, looked at the bite marks on it, her expression suddenly changed, and she said gravely, "Sister, there are demonic beasts, and more than one."
Xu Miao's brows furrowed.
With the Star Sect's destruction, various rogue cultivators and demonic beasts from all directions wanted to occupy this place, which would slowly become the center of power struggles.
"Leave here quickly!" Xu Miao shouted at the crowd.
But at this moment, a large number of refugees remained unmoved, still rummaging through the corpses.
Suddenly, from the secret forest on both sides, sounds of fighting erupted, followed by the appearance of several cultivators and more than a dozen demonic beasts in everyone's sight.
The aftermath of the battle stirred up a violent hurricane, breaking trees and sending stones flying everywhere.
All the refugees were scattered, one by one falling to the ground, crying out in pain.
The battle was extremely chaotic, making it impossible to distinguish which faction was which.
Fan Xiaomei ran in front of the crowd, using her body to form a protective shield.
"Hurry up and go!"
All the refugees scrambled to their feet, limping and stumbling as they fled down the mountain.
And just then, a demonic beast suddenly opened its bloody maw, targeting everyone.
A huge suction force appeared, and cracks began to appear on the refugees' bodies, turning into wisps of blood that surged into the demonic beast's mouth.
In addition, a red bead flew into the sky, sucking away the lives of the refugees.
Seeing the crowd fall in swathes, Fan Xiaomei decisively abandoned them, flashed to Xu Miao's side, and pulled her to retreat quickly.
Bang—
An explosion sounded, and the battle suddenly stopped, with all factions surrounding everyone.
"Oh, such a young age to have Qi Refining Stage cultivation." Someone exclaimed in surprise.
"Little one, which sect are you from?"
"Hua Xia Sect." Fan Xiaomei looked at the group vigilantly, saying coldly.
"Hahaha... This is the most common phrase I've heard during this period." A middle-aged man showed a playful expression.
More than a dozen demonic beasts let out roars, their eyes revealing a bloodthirsty desire, and they collectively pounced towards Fan Xiaomei and the others.
They didn't have as much nonsense as humans; devouring these mortals to replenish their strength was the most important thing.
"Evil creatures!"
The middle-aged man reprimanded, pulled out a black jar from his embrace, and threw it towards the crowd.
The other few people also successively brought out different weapons.
For a time, some were sucked into the jar, some had their lives absorbed by the red bead, and some had their heads severed by bloody flying swords.
The most terrifying were still those demonic beasts; with one open mouth, several people died.
These people treated life as dirt, cold and merciless.
Rogue cultivators are generally mostly evil cultivators, because of their poor talent, they often find another way, slaughtering a large number of mortals to supply their own cultivation.
However, with righteous individuals present, these people could only secretly cultivate in the dark; once discovered, the only outcome was death.
Originally, they wouldn't be so blatant, but during this period, the cultivation world of Jizhou fell into chaos, and these people took the risk to come out and disregard human lives.
Fan Xiaomei desperately protected Xu Miao, dodging wave after wave of attacks.
She had only just stepped into the Qi Refining Stage and was powerless to stop it.
"Xiaomei, don't mind me, hurry and go!"
Xu Miao supported the tottering Fan Xiaomei, while she herself stood in front.
A blood sword changed direction and flew towards her.
Clang—
At the crucial moment, Fan Xiaomei pulled out the two cleavers from her back, blocking the blood sword's attack.
"Pfft..."
A mouthful of clotted blood spewed from her mouth, and she herself crashed into the ground.
Before Xu Miao could help Fan Xiaomei up, two demonic beasts turned into afterimages, rushing towards the two of them.
At the critical juncture, two rays of rainbow light suddenly plummeted at extreme speed, accompanied by streaks of sword qi.
Swish swish—
The two demonic beasts were cut into several pieces.
"Who is meddling?"
The expressions of several rogue cultivators turned solemn, and they quickly retrieved their weapons. The other demonic beasts also retreated, looking vigilant.
"Hua Xia Sect, Qin Zhenhua!"
"Hua Xia Sect, Lin Ye!"
As these words were spoken, the entire scene fell silent.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves.
Drops of sweat dripped onto the ground, making faint pattering sounds.
