After all the preparations were complete—
Outside the sect gates.
Demonic energy surged, and cold winds howled through the night. The Demon Clan, skulking and sinister, had finally arrived at the foot of Tianxing Sect's mountain gate. Though they had tried their best to stay hidden, the demonic aura was detected in advance by Tianxing Sect.
Now—
The sect's grand protective array had already been activated. The demons responded with a direct and violent assault. The situation on the Demon Sovereign's side was still unknown. If the true hiding place of the Demon Sovereign was Tianxing Sect, they couldn't afford to let it go unscathed.
Better to kill by mistake than to miss their target. The Demon Clan unfurled their formation banners and began breaking the protective array.
Inside the sect, hearing the commotion—
Several Grand Elders sneered coldly.
"Split up. Yue Zhao, Si Wan Ning, Yu Song Nian, Gu Jing Hong. You four, gather all the disciples. Everyone must assemble in the central plaza."
"The grand formation should still hold for a while longer. But tonight, there's no avoiding a brutal battle."
"This fight will be bloody beyond measure."
"No one retreats. Everyone goes forward."
There was grim determination etched into each of their faces.
The Demon Clan had launched such a loud and overt assault that the Demon-Slaying Alliance would certainly be alerted soon. These demons were already on a path to death. And yet, they still came, fully aware they would die.
That only proved there was something inside Tianxing Sect they had to obtain. And what the Demon Clan wanted, they absolutely could not have.
So be it.
They would fight to the bitter end.
"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.
"Yun Jin, we owe you for this. If you hadn't cured us of the poison, the situation would be even more dire now," said a female Grand Elder gently. "From now on, just call me Sister Yin Jun."
Yun Jin nodded obediently. "Sister Yin Jun."
Fairy Yin Jun gave a small smile, then introduced the others. "These two are Nie Hai and Zhang Xin. You've rendered great merit this time. If we survive the night, the three of us will report your contributions. Based on what you've accomplished, you should be able to receive a Tier-One Demon-Slaying Order directly."
"Thank you, Elders," Yun Jin replied sweetly.
"Everyone else, come with us to meet the enemy," Fairy Yin Jun said solemnly.
Everyone responded without hesitation.
Yun Jin quietly followed behind them.
Fairy Yin Jun paused for a moment. She had originally intended to tell Yun Jin to stay with the other disciples—her cultivation was still too shallow for the front lines.
But then she recalled how Yun Jin had taken down Zhao Wuji in a single strike.
In the end, she said nothing.
Truth be told—
Yun Jin's combat strength likely already surpassed that of her own master. Among everyone in Tianxing Sect, aside from a few at the very top, Yun Jin now ranked in the top three without question.
Night deepened, and the entire sect sprang into rapid motion.
Under the orders of Yue Zhao and the others, disciples poured into the central plaza. When they learned that the invaders were demons, many of their expressions changed.
The Demon Clan…
Most of them had never even seen one before. Even when they ventured down the mountain for missions, the enemies they encountered were merely from the demonic path—not true members of the Demon Clan. That was an entirely different tier.
It was said that true demons were ruthless monsters who drank human blood and devoured human flesh. And tonight, they were going to face such horrors directly?
Some were afraid. Some were eager. Others burned with hatred, desperate to rush out and fight.
"Look! Up in the sky!"
Someone suddenly cried out.
Everyone looked up—and saw Grand Elders, Peak Masters, and all the sect's Unity and above cultivators assembled in the skies above.
There was only one oddity—
Yun Jin, following behind them.
"Senior Sister Yun! When did she return?"
"Are you dumb? Senior Brother Yue and the others came back. Of course she returned too."
"But she's up there with the Elders…"
"That lineup—everyone there is at least in the Unity stage."
"Senior Sister Yun only just broke through to Divine Transformation. Don't tell me she's already reached Unity?"
"Enough with your nonsense. Our Goddess Yun's power isn't something you mortals can guess at."
"In front of the Goddess, we're all mortals."
As the disciples chattered—
From the direction of the Scripture Pavilion, an elderly figure sighed softly. Step by step, he rose into the sky.
"Senior Ming," Fairy Yin Jun and the others greeted him in unison.
The old man gave Yun Jin a long look, his expression tinged with pride. She had truly become someone remarkable. But this was no time for nostalgia. He gave a firm nod. "I'll go too."
He hadn't fought in many years, but he could still offer his strength.
A moment later—
A man in white soared in with beating wings. As he folded them away, he nodded at Ling Fei below.
"Senior Bai Yu. You've come as well."
Bai Yu Long spoke calmly. "I promised to protect Tianxing Sect. Since the sect is in danger, how could I turn away?"
Their race had always valued promises above all else.
"Too bad Elder Jian is out traveling. We would have seen his swordplay again," Lin Ya said with a laugh.
"No need for him. We can't let him steal the glory of demon slaying. Sword cultivators are too fast when it comes to killing," Fang Mingyue chuckled.
"True enough."
"Then let us earn the credit ourselves."
Laughter echoed lightly among the high ranks.
But beneath their smiles, they all knew—
This battle would not be easy.
They turned their eyes to the demons assaulting the protective array outside. And what they saw chilled their hearts.
These demons were terrifyingly adept at concealment. They had made it all the way to the base of the mountain before the Tianxing Bell had even detected them. And judging by their cultivation, there were seven at the Tribulation stage alone.
Over a dozen more at Unity.
Dozens more at Divine Transformation and Nascent Soul.
Anything weaker simply wasn't there.
In sheer numbers, Tianxing Sect still held the advantage.
But—
The problem was the Tribulation stage demons.
Tianxing Sect had only three elders at the Tribulation stage. Even if each of them held off one opponent, that still left four Tribulation demons unchallenged. Those four alone could slaughter the entire sect. And that wasn't even accounting for the other powerhouses.
Was Tianxing Sect truly going to fall tonight?
No one dared say it aloud, but despair quietly crept into their hearts. In terms of raw strength, demons of the same rank were already stronger than human cultivators. Even a one-to-one matchup favored the demons. And now, they were outnumbered four to seven at the Tribulation level.
How could they possibly win?
A sense of dread and sorrow began to spread across the crowd.
Even the high-ranking elders felt it. The disciples below only grew more anxious. They had pursued cultivation for long life and immortality. To die here, at the hands of the Demon Clan—they couldn't accept it.
But—
With such a force bearing down on them, did they have any hope at all?
The grand array still held, but its glow was already starting to dim.
It wouldn't be long before it shattered completely.
And when that happened—
The demons would charge in.
A full-scale war would erupt.
Could any of them survive?
These demons… were they mad?
How dare they come into human territory to commit such slaughter?
What could they possibly gain from killing everyone here?
Wouldn't the Demon-Slaying Alliance just wipe them out afterward?
What was it that they wanted so badly?
Some disciples couldn't help but waver.
No matter what the demons wanted… couldn't they just give it to them?
Wasn't life more important than any object?