“Xuanyuan Dao, you’re the only one left in the sect. When the formation is broken, the ghoul kings, Feng Qingyu, and Dugu Jin will split you up. You’ll see. You’re about to die!"

Jian Wuyi shook his sleeves and left. Although he was wounded, it wouldn’t be that easy for Xuanyuan Dao to kill him as the two were on equal levels. Xuanyuan Dao also had more important matters to deal with.

As expected, Jian Wuyi soon discovered he had no pursuer.

"Wufeng, Qingyuan, wait for me to avenge you...."

He stood on the snow and looked around. This was the sect where he had grown up and lived for nearly two hundred years. But now he had betrayed them, and personally sent his home to hell. Was he right or wrong? His heart was filled with stormy waves.

“Perhaps one day, I’ll miss the snow in Taiji Peak Lake. But at least I’ll have gotten my wish, right?”

He pierced the ground with his bloodstained sword, clutching his chest and roaring with laughter as he looked up to the sky.

Five layers out of the Ninefold Formation had been shattered and the remaining four were on the verge of collapse. Obviously, the Archaion Sect was finished.

He heard the tragic sound of Nonahall’s ruthless killing and his acquaintances still desperately fighting to protect this place. Blood soaked the battlefield. He seemed to have seen this magnificent snowy landscape being swallowed by blood and corpses in just half an hour.

“Although it’s a pity, good things will eventually come to an end. Goodbye, Taiji Peak Lake!"

Scooping up snow with both hands, he smeared it on his bloody face. The pain made him scream, but he was happy inside.

“Today is the most wonderful day of my life. My only regret is not being able to get my hands on the Hexapath Sword Insight Rock for the time being. But he and the rest of our clan are waiting for me.”

Jian Wuyi looked toward the east with a joyful smile, his blue robes almost blending with the snow. Gathering speed, he rushed toward the place he longed for.

At that moment, a young man in black appeared in front of him. He wasn’t very tall and looked ordinary except for a pair of strange eyes with four pupils.

"Are you Nonahall’s secret weapon? Since you’re here, that means the formation can’t hold up much longer. You’re fast indeed.”

Narrowing his eyes, Jian Wuyi had a hunch that once the two ghoul kings perished, Jiang Wuxin would be a great enemy to the Jian clan.

“Is Xuanyuan Lake up ahead?”

Jiang Wuxin’s gaze was vacant, his voice somewhat inarticulate.

“Are you going to attack Xuanyuan Lake? I’ll go with you!”

His hopes of obtaining the Hexapath Sword Insight Rock were rekindled.

“Yes.” Jiang Wuxin nodded.

Jian Wuyi turned to lead the way, but at that moment, he sensed a deadly threat from behind. In that instant, he felt a chill. He drew his sword, then turned around and swung his weapon.

The sword pierced through flesh and blood, stabbing Jiang Wuxin's shoulder blades. Sword ki erupted and tore out a gaping wound. However, Jiang Wuxin’s fist landed in Jian Wuyi’s face. The impact practically flattened his head. His facial features were twisted from this one punch.

Jian Wuyi fell to his knees, exhausting all his strength just to breathe. His hands trembled as he reached out to grab Jiang Wuxin’s trousers.

“W-why?”

It took all his energy just to utter this word.

“No reason. My masters say that I can kill everyone in this world, except for the three of them."

Crouching down, Jiang Wuxin grabbed Jian Wuyi’s head with both hands.

“Your lifebound beasts are very strong. I want to eat them.”

As soon as the words left his lips, he twisted Jian Wuyi’s head a hundred and eighty degrees. Jian Wuyi’s body slumped to the ground.

Blood dyed the snow red. In the pool of blood, the black-haired man’s reflection showed him slaying Jian Wuyi’s swordbeasts with the Firmament Godsword.

Corpse after corpse landed next to Jian Wuyi’s body. The blood had formed a river. Of his four swordbeasts, three had fallen by his side.

As the cold wind blew, springtime suddenly seemed a little chilly. Perhaps it was about to start snowing again.

……

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At Xuanyuan Lake, Xuanyuan Dao summoned a third-origin tribulation elder after putting away the Photondragon.

“Xuanyuan Yao, notify the Tribulation Tower and Ninefold Formation of my orders!”

“What are your orders, House King?” Xuanyuan Yao said solemnly.

"First of all, let the Tribulation Tower make an all-out effort so the fourfold formation is operating at maximum capacity to temporarily stop the enemy. Secondly, the tribulation elders within the formation are ordered to leave the formation and return to Xuanyuan Lake. This includes our allies from Triflair, Pentaphase, and Octagram. Lastly, get our compatriots in Taiji Peak Lake to withdraw and escape from the sect. Our enemies don’t have an army; they only have powerhouses, so their goal is us. They don’t have the resources to deal with the masses, so they can evacuate.”

Xuanyuan Dao issued three orders at once.

“House King, are you asking us to give up the fourfold formation and make our last stand at Xuanyuan Lake?!"

Xuanyuan Yao was dumbfounded.

“Yes. We’ve managed to gather the sect’s resources in Xuanyuan Lake, and the remaining layers of the Ninefold Formation won’t last long. Once we’re forced into retreat, we’ll suffer heavy losses. Time is running out. Get to it now!”

Xuanyuan Dao was determined.

“Yes! House King, you are courageous indeed!” Xuanyuan Yao said with reverence. Giving up the formation in order to protect their people in such a situation took a lot of courage.

“Go.”

Xuanyuan Yao left immediately.

Xuanyuan Dao stood on the edge of Xuanyuan Lake. Now that they were all returning to Xuanyuan Lake, he didn’t have to leave. Taiji Peak Lake was trembling; the sect had reached the moment of life and death.

Xuanyuan Dao closed his eyes.

“Ancestor, are you watching? We’ve remained standing through two hundred thousand years. I don't want to see our house annihilated! If my death can save us from this catastrophe, I’m willing to sacrifice myself for Xuanyuan!”

……

Xuanyuan Dao's orders were quickly announced. After giving up the Ninefold Formation, the people of Archaion, Triflair, Pentaphase, and Octagram urgently retreated to the Nine Dragon Formation. Xuanyuan Lake was their last refuge; now, it would protect everyone.

This was the right decision. Now that the four sects were weak and scattered, they would be wiped out one by one. There was still hope as long as they retreated to the Nine Dragon Formation, even if it meant losing Taiji Peak Lake.

The first to receive the news was the Tribulation Tower. They had to trap the enemy’s army in the dregs of the Ninefold Formation to buy time for their people to retreat. This wasn’t very difficult to do. Even if Jiang Wuxin and the others managed to break into the formation, the other powerhouses of Nonahall would still be restricted.

Next up was a race between life and death.