Chapter 1457: Chapter 1457: Never Abandon, Never Forsake

Is this the Innate Ability of the Qiongqi Divine Beast? No wonder Qiongqi is known as one of the Four Great Fierce Beasts, there was indeed a reason behind it.

If those surrounding us weren’t Sword Spirit Puppets but normal human cultivators or Exotic Beasts, one can imagine what a scene of carnage and bloodshed this would be?

Imagining the sky full of dismembered bodies turning into a shower of flesh and blood mingled with bone fragments, Mu Hanyan finally couldn’t bear it, retching heavily twice.

No matter the nature of Qiongqi, just this bloodthirsty and brutal Innate Ability is enough for it to overpower beasts and earn its place among the Four Great Fierce Beasts.

Mu Hanyan noticed that it wasn’t just her, even Qiongqi itself showed some reluctance in its eyes, perhaps recalling some unpleasant past events. It seems it’s not making empty claims; although this legendary beast has an extremely brutal and bloody Innate Ability, its nature is not inherently malicious.

Though Sword Spirit Puppets feel no fear of pain or death, they possess the same level of thinking ability as normal humans, showing far more adaptability in battle compared to the Death Spirit Sword Slaves Fourth Miss Zhao once refined. Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, they immediately retreated.

With the enemies retreating, Xia Youchen’s spirit relaxed, and he felt as if all his strength was drained from his body, his vision blacked out as he fell to the ground.

Little Qiongqi flashed over, came to his side, and used its mighty and powerful body to support Xia Youchen.

"Why have you come back again? Didn’t I tell you to go as far away as possible and never come back?" Xia Youchen opened his eyes, first stunned at the sight of Little Qiongqi, then shouted in both urgency and anger.

"Woo..." Little Qiongqi whimpered in grievance, turned its head to point at Mu Hanyan and the others, then excitedly let out a few cries, its face showing a look of accomplishment.

Only then did Xia Youchen see Mu Hanyan and the others, but his face showed no trace of joy.

"Sigh, I told you to go, just honestly go; why did you bring them here too?" Xia Youchen stamped his foot, speaking in a fit of anger.

Upon hearing his words, Mu Hanyan and the others understood what was happening. Presumably, Xia Youchen, seeing the situation unfavorable and knowing his chance of survival was slim, had instructed Little Qiongqi to leave, the further the better. Little Qiongqi did leave, yet it did not abandon him but rather went to plead to Mu Hanyan for help. Exotic Beasts typically have much stronger Six Senses than cultivators of the same rank, and Mu Hanyan happened to be at Beining Pass, just at the edge of the Longyan Mountain, so it was not surprising that it could sense Mu Hanyan’s aura.

"Young Master Mu, these Sword Spirit Puppets are too formidable; you are no match for them. Quickly take Qiongqi and leave." Xia Youchen urgently said to Mu Hanyan and the others.

"Aw..." Little Qiongqi buried its head in Xia Youchen’s chest, its eyes shimmering with tears, yet its expression remained resolute.

"It says if you don’t leave, it won’t leave either." Mu Hanyan said.

In the past, she thought Xia Youchen, after much toil, ended up with such a Sword Pet that seemed as though bad luck had followed him for ages, but she no longer felt that way now. Little Qiongqi was not afraid of death; it simply did not wish to fight others due to its nature. In fact, if it did fight, it would be extremely bloody, and perhaps it itself wasn’t willing to use such Innate Ability.

Yet, for Xia Youchen’s sake, it still used that bloodthirsty and brutal Innate Ability, even knowing the terrifying strength of these Sword Spirit Puppets, it still refused to abandon him.

"I won’t leave either." At this moment, Ye Yanran emerged from behind Mu Hanyan, tearful eyes imploring.

"Yanran, you came too." Xia Youchen’s entire body shook.

Ye Yanran was self-aware, so she didn’t act recklessly but hid behind Mu Hanyan and the others, which was why Xia Youchen didn’t notice her. Seeing her here now, left him anxious beyond measure.

"Hanyan, I beg you to save my mother." Ye Yanran pleaded to Mu Hanyan, and then, looking at the elderly woman on the altar, tears streamed down like rain.

"She is your mother!" Mu Hanyan and the others were all taken aback. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Seeing that elderly woman with a head full of silver hair and a face full of wrinkles, everyone thought she was, after all, seventy or eighty years old, yet unexpectedly she was Ye Yanran’s mother. But soon, they understood the reason behind it, noting how the altar was so similar to that of the Guiyu Clan’s, evidently used to extract and condense the bloodline of Guardian of the Gods from Ye Yanran’s mother.

Although, aided by that strange Evil Spell, the continuous influx of Heaven and Earth Power filled her body with vital force, her vitality still kept depleting, making her age decades in appearance.

"Yanran, don’t put Young Master Mu in a difficult position, you all leave immediately. I will do my utmost to rescue your mother, she... she is my descendant." Xia Youchen spoke resolutely.

Saying this, Xia Youchen took a deep breath, and with his longsword, approached the altar with Little Qiongqi by his side, baring its teeth and growling in aggression.

Those Sword Spirit Puppets, aware of Little Qiongqi’s power, didn’t launch an assault, instead forming two rows, standing before the altar.

Black sword gowns, black veils, exposing only a pair of emotionless hollow eyes, instilling an inexplicable sense of heavy oppression.

"Intruders in the forbidden land, to be executed!" Suddenly, a cold and mechanical voice issued from beside the altar. Just like the hollow eyes, the voice bore no emotion, as though emanating not from a human being.

The voice was somewhat familiar; a long-lost figure flashed through Mu Hanyan’s mind.

Without giving Mu Hanyan much time for thought, more than a dozen Sword Spirit Puppets ahead of Xia Youchen had simultaneously raised their longswords.

Behind, hundreds of black-clothed men surrounding the altar began to chant in deep voices, a golden light shot out from the Blood Pool right onto the majestic palace gate. The entire palace and stone wall trembled violently, then countless runes appeared upon the gate, and it seemed as though the palace was bathed under the glow of the setting sun, emitting a faint golden light.

Under the illumination of that light, the momentum of the dozen or so Sword Spirit Puppets surged immensely. The "shaa", more than a dozen longswords simultaneously slashed down, the Sword Light converged into a unified force, slicing down at Xia Youchen.

This sword stroke had such grandeur as if to open heavens and earth.

Sword Saint! The power of this sword stroke could absolutely rival that of a Sword Saint.

Mu Hanyan has seen Combined Attack Skills that could greatly enhance combat power, but such enhancement actually has limits. Typically, even the most exquisite Combined Attack Skills could never bridge the vast gap between a Ninth Rank Sword Master and a Great Sword Master, nor the chasm between a Great Sword Master and a Sword Saint.

Even the sword technique taught by Feng Qingyu to Mu Hanyan and the others relied on those four Heavenly Destiny Star Plates and the Ruyi Hair Crown to elevate Mu Hanyan’s combat power to the Sword Saint Realm.

Moreover, the more people deploying a Combined Attack Skill, the harder to achieve harmony of intentions; sometimes adding an extra person not only fails to enhance the power, but it could significantly reduce the effectiveness.