The great battle, after consuming a full two hours, finally concluded.
Except for Mo Chen and Lin Chu, the remaining forty-two demonized individuals were all slain. The disciples from various factions also suffered heavy losses.
Xuan Lei Sect: Five survivors.
Lian Shen Sect: Seven survivors.
Liu Ming Palace: Six survivors.
Ti Sect: All survived, with only Qiu Mu and Jia Wei injured.
The heaviest losses were undoubtedly suffered by Xing Yun Hall. Out of the initial ninety-three people, only seventy-five remained.
The injured from the three sects, one palace, and one hall numbered as many as thirty-seven.
Everyone stopped to rest and heal, none noticing the blood seeping into the ground.
As time passed, Li Xuan's brow suddenly furrowed. Soon after, Qin Tai, Gao Han, and others also frowned and exchanged glances. Clearly, Gao Han and the others had also sensed something was amiss.
"Everyone, be on guard!"
Gao Han's low command echoed, his aura instantly spreading. Hearing this, everyone rose, their nerves taut once more.
"Senior brother Yu Heng, try to stay together," Li Xuan retracted his divine sense and then said to the seven disciples of Yu Heng.
"Alright." The seven disciples of Yu Heng nodded and then consciously formed a defensive circle, back to back.
Bang!
Soon, a resounding bang was heard. Everyone looked on as the earth began to crack open. With these fissures appearing, a malevolent aura immediately permeated the heavens and earth.
"Such delicious blood, truly delectable." A hoarse voice emerged from beneath the ground. Upon hearing this, everyone's expression drastically changed. For at this moment, all of them could feel the terrifying malevolent aura, and a dreadful pressure also swept towards them.
"Escape!"
Seeing this, Li Xuan did not hesitate for a moment and transmitted his voice to the seven disciples of Yu Heng. As the words left his lips, his figure rapidly fled towards the distance.
The seven disciples of Yu Heng were momentarily stunned but quickly reacted and hurried to follow Li Xuan's path. Yu Heng and the others' actions naturally caught the attention of Gao Han, Qin Tai, and the others, but before anyone could react, a colossal figure crawled out from beneath the earth.
"This... this is the Demon Lord's primordial spirit!"
Gao Han's face was filled with horror, not only because it was the Demon Lord's primordial spirit but also because its aura had already reached the Life and Death realm!
At this moment, Gao Han and the others finally understood why Li Xuan had led the Ti Sect disciples to flee madly. How could beings at the Life and Death realm be something they could contend with?
Soon, the disciples from the other factions also began to flee. However, it was clearly too late. Before these individuals could fly a hundred meters, a black mist materialized out of nowhere and dragged them back. Their bodies instantly turned into a rain of blood, scattering downwards.
Yu Heng and the seven disciples, who had already flown tens of thousands of meters away with Li Xuan, looked back with immense shock in their eyes. While stunned, they were also filled with gratitude. Had it not been for Li Xuan's telepathic message, they would likely have met the same fate.
"This place is not suitable for lingering!" Li Xuan, who had been observing the Demon Lord's primordial spirit with his divine sense, was shocked as he watched disciple after disciple being devoured. After uttering a sentence, he once again darted into the distance.
The seven disciples of Yu Heng hurriedly followed, their hearts already clear. Everyone who had entered this space this time, save for those of the Ti Sect, would likely perish. Once the Demon Lord's primordial spirit absorbed the flesh and blood of Gao Han and the others, their next target would undoubtedly be them.
After flying for a full two hours, they were already over a thousand miles away from the Demon Lord's primordial spirit. At this moment, Li Xuan finally stopped.
"Junior brother, can we leave this space?" Yu Heng, after catching his breath, immediately asked when Li Xuan stopped.
Li Xuan shook his head slightly and replied, "No. And even if we could, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to get out."
"Then what do we do? Once that Demon Lord's primordial spirit finishes with them, it will likely come looking for us," Jing Yi said, her brow furrowed.
Li Xuan sighed helplessly and said, "All we can do is wait."
"Wait?" Song Tao and the others looked at Li Xuan with some confusion.
Li Xuan nodded slightly and replied, "We cannot defeat the Demon Lord's primordial spirit. Therefore, we can only wait for someone who can."
"But the Third Star Master said that this space can only accommodate spiritual masters below the Yin-Yang realm. Moreover, that Demon Lord's primordial spirit possesses the strength of the Life and Death realm..." Mu Ye interjected.
Li Xuan's expression grew even more solemn. "Actually, we, no, not just us, but even Peak Master Mo Xian and the others, were likely all deceived by that Third Star Master. The one hundred and sixty-eight of us were probably meant to be sacrifices to that Demon Lord's primordial spirit."
"And this space can absolutely accommodate experts above the Yin-Yang realm. Otherwise, why would the Demon Lord's primordial spirit be completely unaffected?"
As Li Xuan finished speaking, the faces of the seven disciples of Yu Heng turned pale. If Li Xuan's words were true, then this was a massive conspiracy. In fact, Li Xuan had another clue that he hadn't shared: the Heavenly Dao Pen had told Li Xuan that even experts in the Heavenly Mystery realm could enter this space.
"Junior brother, if your guess is correct, what do you mean by waiting, as you said earlier?" Song Tao pondered and asked.
Li Xuan replied, "Senior brothers and sisters, do you remember that when we joined the Ti Sect, we went through an enrollment procedure?"
"I understand, junior brother. You're referring to the soul lamp!" Qiu Mu's heart stirred and he immediately said.
Li Xuan nodded slightly. "When our Ti Sect disciples join the sect, we leave a soul lamp at the sect. Once something happens, the soul lamp will extinguish, and the sect will naturally be alerted. I believe the disciples of Xuan Lei Sect, Lian Shen Sect, and Liu Ming Palace are also the same. By now, their respective sects should have discovered something."
"Junior brother, do you think this matter is the act of the Third Star Master alone, or a conspiracy by Xing Yun Hall?" Yu Heng pondered and asked.
Li Xuan gave a wry smile. "If it's a conspiracy by Xing Yun Hall, we likely won't survive. But if it's the personal scheme of the Third Star Master, we still have a slim chance of survival. For now, we can only gamble that it's the Third Star Master's personal plan."
"However, senior brothers and sisters need not worry too much. I suspect it's nine times out of ten the Third Star Master's personal scheme. At least, it won't be the entire Xing Yun Hall involved. Otherwise, Xing Yun Hall wouldn't have dispatched one hundred and twenty-eight outstanding disciples into this space." Perhaps sensing the Yu Heng seven's tension, Li Xuan spoke again.
The seven disciples of Yu Heng finally relaxed. Li Xuan's analysis was logical. If it were truly the doing of Xing Yun Hall, there would be no reason to needlessly lose so many outstanding disciples, as cultivating a disciple to the Qiankun realm requires immense resources.
After a moment of silence, Jing Yi looked at Li Xuan and asked with some confusion, "Junior brother, since you suspect it's the Third Star Master's personal plan, why does your expression look even more grim than before?"
Li Xuan fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly. "I'm worried that Xing Yun Hall might still have the Third Star Master's allies within. If Xing Yun Hall has already sensed something is wrong, and then sends those allies, the consequences..."
Although Li Xuan didn't finish his sentence, the seven disciples of Yu Heng all understood the implication of the latter half.
The situation was extremely grim.