Supreme Emptiness

Spirit Beast Sect.

Rain fell from the sky.

The muddy mountain path was being washed by the rainwater overflowing the stairs, streaming down noisily.

But it was different.

Today's rainwater was unnaturally red.

Gong Caiyi's palm trembled, her eye corner twitching uncontrollably.

Gripping Jiang Fan's arm, she pleaded in a near-begging tone:

"Jiang Fan, please tell me, they're all okay."

Her nails dug in hard.

They pierced into Jiang Fan's arm, tiny streams of blood seeping through the black fabric.

Unfazed, he wrapped his arm around Gong Caiyi's slender shoulder and said:

"Later, don't look at the ground."

"Find anyone still alive; save as many as you can."

In an instant.

He turned to the Spirit Beast Sect disciples behind him and ordered, "Go far away, hide yourselves."

"Don't follow!"

"Brother Ren, Senior Sister Wu, help me rescue people."

"Afterward, I'll give each of you a Bodhi Pill."

Wu Manyue shot him a cold glare.

With a flick of her sleeve, she sped up the stairs, rushing toward the mountain peak.

Ren Guhong also cast him a detached glance and said, "Who are you looking down on?"

Jiang Fan's heart trembled slightly.

He cupped his fists in apology: "I'm sorry."

Though their methods might be ruthless and cunning during normal resource disputes,

When faced with great righteousness,

They stood straighter than anyone.

Bringing up the Bodhi Pills as an incentive during this crisis—

Was undoubtedly an insult to them.

Killing intent surged in Jiang Fan's heart.

He turned to the trembling Gong Caiyi in his embrace and said, "It's time."

"Don't look at the ground, rescuing lives comes first."

If anyone could still be saved, that is.

*Rip!*

Summoning the Thunder Dragon, he took her and rode it upward.

In an instant, they arrived at the peak of Spirit Beast Sect's mountain.

In front of the once-spacious Task Hall, countless fragmented corpses lay scattered.

Under the rain's wash,

The water-logged ground resembled a pool of blood.

Jiang Fan didn't look but instead sharpened his ears to listen for sounds nearby.

*Clang!*

The distant sound of combat reached him.

Under normal circumstances,

A sudden noise of fighting would make one's heart tighten.

But amidst the deadly silence here, it brought a sense of hope.

Like the cries of a newborn baby,

It heralded new life.

"Where there's fighting, it means there are survivors."

Jiang Fan murmured.

Light sparkled in Caiyi's eyes.

She broke free from Jiang Fan and rushed toward the fighting.

In front of the treasure hall.

Yuan Zhiyu clutched her severed arm, standing before the treasure hall's grand doors.

A massive earthy-yellow light barrier emitted by an array enveloped her and the treasure hall behind her.

Around her lay several elders of the sect, collapsed and bleeding out excessively.

The treasure hall behind her was even more crowded with injured survivors.

As for their injuries…

Yuan Zhiyu was the only one still able to stand.

The disaster struck unexpectedly.

Without warning!

A group of mysterious Martial Artists descended from the heavens.

With instructions from several traitors of the Spirit Beast Sect, they precisely blocked every path down the mountain.

Then, they prioritized killing all flying Spirit Beasts.

What followed was a merciless massacre.

They didn't kill people directly; instead, they drove them toward gigantic monstrous beasts.

Allowing the beasts to shred the sect members like tofu, scattering their remains everywhere.

Everything had been meticulously planned.

What they hadn't anticipated was this:

During the Boundary Mountain battle, the Spirit Beast Sect used the merit of their efforts to exchange for an array from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion's treasury.

Capable of resisting attacks from someone with Ninth Layer Perfection.

The Sect Master had secretly placed it in the treasure hall.

It was this array that became the last refuge of the survivors.

But only temporarily.

*Boom!*

A monstrous, sinister claw slammed against the earthy-yellow light barrier.

Making it tremble vigorously.

Before it could stabilize, another claw struck it heavily.

And then came the third, fourth, and fifth claws!

Outside the barrier.

A total of five monstrous beasts relentlessly attacked.

Causing the light barrier to weaken at a visible rate.

*Crack.*

A faint sound of fracture rang out.

Looking upward, a wrist-thick crack appeared at the center of the barrier.

Yuan Zhiyu's heart sank.

Their demise was inevitable.

She gazed at the drizzling rain above, smiling bitterly:

"Master, your disciple will join the sect members soon."

*Crack.*

*Crack.*

The barrier shattered completely, dissolving into countless sparkling shards.

The five beasts roared and lunged at the crowd.

Yuan Zhiyu shut her eyes.

Facing the incoming gust of foul wind, she clenched her teeth.

Her mind replayed the horrifying images of her comrades being chewed alive by the monstrous beasts.

However.

The pain she was anticipating did not arrive.

Instead, a clear voice rang out:

"Vile beasts!"

Soon after,

An overwhelming, scorching presence surged forward.

Accompanied by agonized roars and the stench of charred flesh.

She opened her eyes.

And the sight before her shocked her.

The five gigantic beasts—some reduced to a single charred skull,

Some left with only their legs and hindquarters,

Others with their front and back burned away, leaving a gaping void in their middle.

An unknown force akin to heavenly wrath had burned through their bodies.

And melted the ground into a trench stretching hundreds of meters, filled with rolling black-red magma.

At the trench's origin.

Jiang Fan, clad in black robes, held a fiery red Jade Talisman that was dissolving into particles.

"Jiang… Junior Brother Jiang?"

Yuan Zhiyu froze for a moment.

Then she stumbled forward, tears streaming down: "Junior Brother Jiang, our Spirit Beast Sect…"

Jiang Fan soared forward.

Before she fell, he caught her.

Gazing at her horrific severed arm, he instantly took out a Revitalizing Pill and placed it in her mouth.

Looking at the injured elders and disciples in the hall,

He felt the weight on his heart lighten somewhat.

Though the loss was heavy,

It was better than complete annihilation.

Most importantly, the elite disciples had been led away by Gong Caiyi, escaping the carnage.

Once the next generation grows, the Spirit Beast Sect could potentially return to its peak.

Gong Caiyi also arrived by this time.

Looking at the remaining elders, including the Supreme Elders,

Her suppressed emotions broke loose, manifesting as tears cascading down her cheeks.

"You're still alive… That's so good… so good…"

"I thought I'd be the only one left…"

Jiang Fan stepped forward and gently patted her arm:

"The situation isn't entirely hopeless."

"Distribute these Revitalizing Pills to them."

Gong Caiyi stared at the bottles of Revitalizing Pills Jiang Fan handed her.

Looking at the fading powder of the Nascent Soul Jade Token in his hand.

She resembled a drenched, homeless girl in the pouring rain.

Suddenly, someone had opened an umbrella overhead, shielding her from the storm.

Giving her a sense of reliance.

At that moment, her fragile self could no longer maintain the composure she had in the past.

She threw herself into Jiang Fan's arms, sobbing uncontrollably:

"Jiang Fan~ Thank you."

"Thank you for saving my disciples, thank you."

If not for Jiang Fan, who used the precious Nascent Soul Jade Token to eliminate the monstrous beasts in time,

The Spirit Beast Sect senior members would have been wiped out, leaving only Gong Caiyi.

Jiang Fan gently held her trembling figure.

He kissed her forehead softly and said, "Between us, there's no need for thanks."

"Quickly distribute the Revitalizing Pills and lead them to safety."

Gong Caiyi lifted her tear-streaked face and asked, "What about you?"

Jiang Fan's eyes turned cold:

"Someone needs to answer for the souls we've lost."

At that moment,

Ren Guhong's urgent voice echoed:

"There's a hidden passage here!"

Without a doubt.

It led to the Earth Phoenix Great Sage's tomb passage!