Chapter 249: Chapter 127: Secret Cave

“Sect Leader!”

Everyone present recognized the old man and bowed, calling out to him.

The newcomer was none other than the Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sword Sect. Zhao Rui had met him once when he first came to the mountain with Daoist Yu.

Even back then, he had seemed frail and on the verge of death, as if afflicted by some illness.

Looking at him now, the aura of impending death was even stronger. His face was as pale as paper, completely devoid of color.

The Sect Leader nodded, then turned to look at Zhao Rui, a relieved smile on his face. “The Sword Guardian truly lives up to his reputation. If not for your help, young friend, I fear the Qingcheng Sword Sect would not have survived. On behalf of everyone in the Qingcheng Sword Sect, this old Daoist thanks you…”

He was only halfway through his sentence when he broke into a violent coughing fit, a trickle of blood even seeping from the corner of his mouth.

“Sect Leader! Sect Leader!”

Yu Zhengnan and the others rushed forward, ready to support him.

The old Sect Leader raised a hand to stop them, then shook his head. “This old Daoist’s oil has run out and my lamp is dry. No medicine can save me. All disciples, remain calm.”

Zhao Rui’s face twitched, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure whether he should curse the man.

’After all, the old Daoist is a bit of a bastard for letting me and the others charge ahead while he hid in the back to deliver a sneak attack.’

’To put it nicely, you could call it “assessing the situation.” But to put it bluntly, wasn’t he just using me as cannon fodder?!’

But seeing the old Daoist in such a state, Zhao Rui could only give a helpless, wry smile.

The situation had forced his hand. There was nothing to be done.

If the old Daoist hadn’t held back and waited to deliver that critical blow, even Zhao Rui would have had a hard time escaping unscathed.

Hearing the old Sect Leader’s words, the surviving Daoists felt a wave of sorrow. Witnessing the tragic state of Qingcheng, they all began to chant, “Boundless Celestial Venerable!”

“CRASH! RUMBLE!”

Just then, the sudden sound of falling bricks and stone came from the hole in the nearby wall.

A chill ran down everyone’s spines as they instantly turned to look.

They saw a hand shoot out from the pile of rubble, and a slender figure could be vaguely seen slowly pushing the debris away.

“What are you all standing around for? Are you just going to wait for her to get up?!”

Zhao Rui was the quickest to react. In an instant, he dashed forward, channeling all his Force into his Great Strength Vajra Leg, and swung it in a wide, diagonal kick.

“AH!”

The woman’s body was sent flying, crashing violently into the ground with a piercing shriek.

“I’ll kill you!”

“We’ll see who kills who!”

Before she could get up, Zhao Rui shot forward and launched a fierce assault on her.

The woman forced herself up and suddenly dodged, meeting Zhao Rui’s attack.

In the entire hall, the Sect Leader was too weak to fight, Yun Hao’s arms were broken, and only Zhao Rui was still at full combat strength.

The woman was no fool. She fought as she retreated, and in a flash, the two of them leaped out of the great hall, their battle continuing into the distance.

Daoist Yu and the other Grandmaster Realm experts who had arrived later quickly gave chase.

The old Daoist, his face filled with sorrow, said to Yun Hao, who was sitting cross-legged and healing, “These Demons are endless. If the Court doesn’t intervene soon, all the sects of the Martial Arts will be in grave danger!”

“While the Demon is occupied, take the disciples and scatter. Do not show yourselves. Preserve a sliver of hope for Qingcheng.”

“Sect Leader!”

“Go, quickly!”

Enduring the severe pain in his arms, Yun Hao nodded. He called over a few Sword Sect disciples, gathered their people, and fled toward the path on the back mountain.

Seeing them leave, the old Daoist walked dejectedly to the Dharma Aspects of the Three Pure Ones in the center of the hall, dropped to his knees, and spoke in a choked voice:

“Ancestors, your disciple has failed. In this era of great conflict, I have failed to lead Qingcheng back to its former glory! Instead, we had to rely on an outsider to save us!”

“This great Qingcheng… your disciple is ashamed!”

His aged voice echoed slowly through the ruined hall.

「Inside Qingcheng Temple!」

Zhao Rui and the Female Demon fought their way across the grounds. Their powerful True Qi blasted the surrounding buildings into rubble, and even the rocks lining the mountain path were shattered.

By now, Zhao Rui had gone all out, pushing his Heavenly Demon Illusionary Sound Technique to its absolute limit. Sword Qi flowed endlessly from the Peach Wood Sword in his hand.

“You traitor! If the Old Ancestor finds out, he will never forgive you!”

The Female Demon had sensed the nature of his Demon Sect Power, and she was both shocked and enraged.

She had assumed he was a disciple left behind by the Illusionary Sound Old Demon.

“My master never mentioned you! You’re the one who tried to kill me!”

“If you hadn’t tried to kill me, why would I have attacked?!”

Zhao Rui played along with her line of thinking, his words already laced with the Demon Sound Piercing Ears technique!

“Then this is all a misunderstanding. Shall we stop fighting?”

The Female Demon had taken the full force of Zhao Rui’s Seven-Star Palm Force, as well as a palm strike from the old Daoist. By now, her internal organs were in ruins.

If not for her potent True Qi and the bizarre nature of her Demon Skill, she would have long since perished.

“Fine. You’re the elder, you stop first!”

A cold glint flashed in the Female Demon’s eyes. After a long moment of hesitation, she still didn’t dare do as Zhao Rui said.

“See? You don’t trust me, and I don’t trust you. So let’s just keep fighting!”

Zhao Rui wasn’t anxious at all. Inside his mind, the copy progress on his status panel was steadily increasing.

Zhao Rui had activated the copy function the moment they started fighting back in the great hall.

Fighting the Female Demon to the death was not a typical martial arts demonstration; she wasn’t going to use her Martial Arts one set at a time in a predictable sequence.

Instead, she combined several top-tier Demon Skills, unleashing Techniques at will, whenever she pleased.

Therefore, Zhao Rui was copying multiple items—eight of them in total.

Each one was an incomparably powerful Cultivation Technique, such as the Charming Maiden Formless Celestial Demon Great Method, the Residual Image Falling Star Finger, and the Bone-Softening Palm.

Unfortunately, after fighting for so long, he had only copied a little over thirty percent.

In the past, he would never have dared to be so arrogant as to get entangled with a Female Demon like her. After all, Demon Skills were bizarre, and one careless mistake could lead to disaster.

But now that he possessed the Heavenly Demon Illusionary Sound Technique, it was anyone’s guess who was playing whom.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep