Previously, the journey to the nearest cultivator city—Cloudveil City—had taken Chen Xuan several hours.

Yet, unleashing the full speed of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he traversed this distance in less than half an hour.

The moment he arrived, the sound of slaughter reached his ears, accompanied by mournful sobbing and shrill cries of agony.

As he lowered his altitude, Chen Xuan was left stunned.

Blood stained everything. Wherever Chen Xuan looked, bloody red was all he saw.

The once-luxurious, elegant multi-story buildings built by cultivators had been reduced to rubble, while bloody corpses littered the ground.

There were faces among them whom Chen Xuan could recognize, having interacted with them only hours ago.

The Foundation Establishment guard that he had given a Spirit Stone to, the rogue cultivators he had seen drinking in the tavern...

Even several clerks of the Myriad Weapon Pavilion could be seen among the corpses. Terror and fury remained etched across their faces.

Raising his head, Chen Xuan stared at the culprits behind all of this.

A group of green-clad cultivators was commanding an army of ferocious, grey-skinned zombies, besieging the remaining survivors of Cloudveil City.

’Heaven’s Fang Sect.’ The name surfaced instantly.

It was simple to recognize them just based on their characteristics.

They were the only nearby sect engaged in the practice of corpse refinement and necromancy.

Their presence here confirmed Qian Lingxue’s earlier report.

The demonic forces along the border had indeed formed a coalition, teaming up to attack the righteous forces.

While some held the sect cultivators at bay, others had been dispatched to target rogue and neutral cultivators.

Chen Xuan’s arrival went unnoticed, as if he were a ghost.

The cultivators engaged in battle could not detect him until he finally took action.

He did not hold back.

The Great Yin-Yang Dao Origin was unleashed, manifesting as a storm of weapons that rained down upon the demonic cultivators.

Before the enemies could even register what was happening, they were engulfed by a sea of weapons.

Both the cultivators and the ferocious undead under their control were torn apart.

They had no chance to resist. Even the leading Core Formation cultivators were the same.

They didn’t even have the chance to scream before the Yin-Yang energy shattered their Dantians and crushed their Cores into dust.

The entire exchange lasted only a breath.

By the time the cultivators of Cloudveil City woke up, their enemies were already gone.

They didn’t relax just yet.

Having just experienced a life-and-death situation, it was natural for them to stay cautious.

They looked up at Chen Xuan with a mixture of apprehension and fear, wondering whether he was an ally or not.

Chen Xuan saw their reactions and opened his mouth to explain, but a woman suddenly stepped out from the crowd.

It was the clerk he had met in the Myriad Weapon Pavilion.

Seeing his figure, her eyes lit up.

"Everyone, please calm down," she called out, "This is a high-ranking member of our Myriad Weapon Pavilion. He must have heard of the attack and rushed to our aid."

The Myriad Weapon Pavilion had an impeccable reputation across the Tianxuan Domain. Combined with the sight of the dead demonic cultivators, the woman’s words were quickly trusted.

The tension in the air broke, replaced by a wave of relief.

"Thank you, Your Excellency, for saving Cloudveil City!"

"I am eternally grateful! I shall never forget this grace!"

Cultivator after cultivator stepped out and expressed their gratitude to him.

At any other time, Chen Xuan would have been happy, but looking at the ruins of the city below, he was in no mood to act mysterious.

He waved his hand, ordering the crowd to step back.

Then, he turned toward the female clerk and began questioning her.

The woman soon explained the entire situation to him. It perfectly matched his own suspicions.

The clerk claimed that a group of demonic cultivators had long infiltrated Cloudveil City.

Upon receiving a signal, they summoned their refined zombies and wreaked havoc from within.

This answered the biggest doubt in Chen Xuan’s mind: where were the city’s leaders?

The answer was simple. They had been assassinated before the battle even began.

Having lost their support, the defense of the city had instantly collapsed.

’The entire city would have been razed to the ground if I had been just a few minutes late,’ Chen Xuan thought, waving his hand to dismiss the female clerk.

Now was not the time to chat.

Pulling out the small mirror, he poured his divine sense into it.

As Qian Lingxue’s outline shimmered into view, he reported his findings.

A heavy silence settled between them before she finally spoke.

"Junior Brother Chen, please investigate the other border cities. I know your task is to guard the Spirit Stone mine, but..."

"Don’t worry, Sect Leader," Chen Xuan interrupted. "I will do what I can. As for how many I can save... that will depend on fate." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Qian Lingxue did not say thank you or anything like that. Time was of the essence for both of them.

She had to think of ways to deal with the situation, while Chen Xuan had to get going.

--

Cloudveil City was the closest settlement to the Stone Spirit mine.

By the time Chen Xuan reached the next city, the attacks had been raging for quite a while.

The result of his late arrival was obvious.

If the situation of Cloudveil City seemed grim originally, then the following cities made it seem fortunate by comparison.

Smoking ruins, mountains of corpses, and total devastation—these were the sights Chen Xuan faced.

Only a few scattered locations were slightly better off, saved by the intervention of other righteous cultivators.

The more he saw, the grimmer Chen Xuan’s expression grew.

By the time he reached the final city, only to find not a trace of life remaining, his face had turned completely dark.

He took a final, sweeping look below, preparing to leave and report his findings.

But just as he turned to soar away, a faint, muffled cry suddenly reached his ears.