WBICDPH Chapter 129

Chapter 129: A Broken Axe and Cracked Halberd

The square-faced sword cultivator’s words exploded in everyone’s ears like a thunderclap.

In the middle of the battle, everyone instinctively stole a glance toward the main battlefield. Sure enough, at some point the number of demons and monsters there had multiplied several times over. From a distance, the battlefield looked like a vast black tide. Compared to it, the human cultivators seemed pitifully few in number, utterly insignificant.

“The enemy numbers keep increasing… what’s going on?”

The Jianxin Sect’s Grand Elder’s pupils trembled, panic rising in his heart. He nearly failed to dodge the attack of the demonic cultivator in front of him.

The demon cultivator sneered.

“Stop struggling uselessly. What difference is there between you lowly humans and insects trying to stop a cart with your arms? Mist Pavilion is ours for the taking. All you’re doing by defending this mountain is delaying your deaths.”

“Silence, demon!”

The Grand Elder drove the demon cultivator back with a sword strike and raised his arm, shouting:

“Disciples of Jianxin Sect, hear my command! Our duty is to guard the southern mountain pass. The main battlefield has nothing to do with us. Other sects will handle matters there. What we must do is trust our sect and trust our allies! Our position is critically important—do not let the demons’ schemes shake your resolve!”

But his words failed to calm anyone.

Everyone knew that if the main defensive line collapsed, it would only be a matter of time before the demonic cultivators surrounded and slaughtered them.

The atmosphere quickly descended into chaos. Several disciples clearly became distracted, and within moments many of them were already wounded.

“They’re all liars! This is all a trap!”

At that moment, the square-faced sword cultivator suddenly broke down and shouted hysterically:

“There are so many sects participating in the Sword Trial Convention, so why was it our Jianxin Sect that got sent to guard this southern path?! The main pass has open terrain for both attack and defense, but we have no retreat at all! Our only choices are to hold the line or die—there’s no third option! And if the people at the main pass decide to retreat when things go bad, what are we supposed to do?! We have nowhere to run! Do you really think they’ll come save us?! Impossible! We’re nothing more than expendable pawns trapped in a dead end!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!”

The Grand Elder immediately tried to silence him, but it was already too late. Most of the people present had already taken his words to heart.

“I knew that brat girl couldn’t be trusted!” shouted the Jianxin Sect’s Sixth Elder. “Who knows what San Zongyu was thinking, letting some little girl command such an important battle?! Now the main front is collapsing—are we really supposed to sit here in this narrow mountain path and wait to die?!”

If the square-faced sword cultivator had merely planted a seed of unease in everyone’s hearts, then the Sixth Elder’s words caused that seed to sprout instantly, completely shaking everyone’s confidence.

He was an elder!

If even a leading figure like him was afraid, then what reason did the others have to keep fighting?

Battles relied heavily on morale, and now Jianxin Sect’s morale had plummeted. More and more disciples made mistakes and suffered injuries. Screams echoed continuously through the southern mountain path. At this rate, its fall was only a matter of time.

Watching disciple after disciple die before his eyes, even the steady and composed Grand Elder began to feel panic creeping into his heart.

The disciples who had come to participate in the Sword Trial Convention were all personal disciples of the sect leader and various elders. These children were the future of Jianxin Sect, the foundation of the sect’s continued prosperity.

Could it really be that today, because of a disaster that had fallen upon them from nowhere, these children would die in this narrow mountain path far from home?

If they lost this battle, Jianxin Sect would suffer devastating losses and lose its future entirely. Even if they won, the casualties would still be catastrophic. And when that happened, all the glory would belong to others.

Who would remember the people who had given their lives for it?

“…”

After a brief inner struggle, the Grand Elder seemed to make an important decision.

At once, his entire aura became firm and resolute. Flames erupted from the heavy sword in his hand, and spiritual light burst from his eyes.

“Grand Elder!!!”

The nearby disciples cried out in shock.

What had they just seen?

The Grand Elder had ignited his spiritual sea!

Unless driven into a desperate corner, no cultivator would ever choose to burn their spiritual sea. Although it granted terrifying combat power for a short time, the damage it caused was irreversible. Not only would it shorten one’s lifespan, but afterward the cultivator would be unable to use spiritual energy for a very long time. They would need years of recovery, and no amount of heavenly treasures could fully restore them to their original state.

This was a last resort—a suicidal technique used only when cultivators intended to perish alongside their enemies.

Yet now, the Grand Elder ignited his spiritual power without hesitation.

Holding his heavy sword, wrapped in blazing spiritual light, he charged through the battlefield.

He moved with incredible speed and overwhelming force. In this state, no demon or monster could stand against him.

He rescued dying disciples from the hands of ghost cultivators.

He reclaimed the nameplates of fallen disciples from demon beasts and avenged them with his sword.

By himself, he blocked every enemy at the southern mountain pass, carving a bloody path straight through the battlefield.

Seeing the situation turn bad, the demon cultivators immediately ordered a retreat.

Clashing head-on with a cultivator burning their spiritual sea was foolish. Though the technique granted immense temporary power, its duration was short and the backlash severe. All they had to do now was wait for the old man’s berserk state to end and for his spiritual power to run dry.

The demons of Mingzhu Heaven retreated three miles back to the entrance of the southern mountain path. For a brief moment, only the disciples of Jianxin Sect and a handful of reinforcements from other sects remained within the pass.

The Grand Elder gripped his heavy sword and turned back toward the battlefield.

Some people were weeping over the corpses of their fellow disciples.

Some were treating the wounded.

Others leaned against their swords, exhausted and sighing heavily.

When they first arrived, everyone had been harmonious and full of anticipation, eager to make a name for themselves at the Sword Trial Convention.

But now they were facing death and separation here.

To put it coldly… what did this battle really have to do with them?

The entire Jianxin Sect consisted of sword cultivators. What did the lives of those alchemists and artifact cultivators matter to them?

The Grand Elder drew a deep breath and looked toward the still-crowded main battlefield before shutting his eyes in pain.

After struggling internally for a long moment, he finally made what seemed to be an unbearably difficult decision.

“Disciples of Jianxin Sect, hear my command!”

His voice wasn’t loud, yet everyone heard it clearly.

“Take your swords. Protect the bodies of your fellow disciples. I will lead you out through a path of bloodshed. I…”

A trace of despair lingered in his voice.

“…I will take you home.”

Using the last remaining spiritual energy in his spiritual sea, the Grand Elder led the Jianxin Sect disciples out of the southern mountain path.

The demons of Mingzhu Heaven did not stop them too aggressively. They merely made a token effort before allowing the cultivators to break through the encirclement and flee the Penglai Mountains aboard flying artifacts.

Once they were gone, the leading demon cultivator looked at the now-empty southern mountain path and curled his lips into a smile.

“Our lord truly is brilliantly calculating. The trust between humans isn’t nearly as unbreakable as they claim.”

He raised a hand and gestured to his subordinates behind him.

“Move out. To Dengwen Sword Pavilion. I hear there are still plenty of little lambs hiding there.”

—

Front lines of the main battlefield.

Xiao Yunkong was surrounded by numerous great demons and Heavenly Demons. Wielding Yuxue, his sword radiated icy cold as he defended against attacks coming from every direction. Fatigue had already begun to show between his brows.

Nearby, San Zongyu and Liu Xun were not faring much better.

Sword light and rune light collided repeatedly. After another violent clash, San Zongyu caught Liu Xun as she was sent flying by the Two-Faced Fiend and steadied her.

Liu Xun let out a breath of relief and casually thanked him.

Most of the famous great demons and evil spirits of Mingzhu Heaven, along with many of the highest-ranked members of the Twelve Guards, had gathered here. These bastards had resorted to sheer numbers to pin them down.

Though the three of them still had enough strength to hold the enemy back and prevent them from breaking through to massacre the weaker disciples behind them, they themselves were also trapped in place, unable to leave and support the other battlefields.

“This can’t continue.”

Liu Xun waved her fan lightly as strands of hair beside her face fluttered in the wind.

“I wonder what’s happening in the rear. Senior brother, did you hear the distant konghou music earlier? I suspect Mingzhu Heaven’s Bewitching Sound Bone Spirit has arrived. If that’s true, the disciples in the rear won’t be able to withstand it. Old Yu is still guarding the eastern side alone, and the pressure on him can’t be small either. Hopefully his contracted beasts are durable enough.”

“No need to worry. With the Taotie Beast there, guarding the eastern side alone won’t be difficult for Old Yu.”

San Zongyu frowned slightly and looked toward Xiao Yunkong in the distance, just in time to see a streak of rune light flash beside his ear.

For some reason, a bad feeling rose in his heart.

What urgent matter could require a voice transmission in the middle of such a critical battle?

Sure enough, after the rune light disappeared, Xiao Yunkong’s attacks suddenly became fiercer. He quickly forced back the enemies around him with his flying sword and seized the brief moment to transmit a message to San Zongyu.

“Master, something’s happened at the southern mountain path. A disciple just reported that Jianxin Sect may be preparing to retreat.”

“What?!”

Even someone as steady as San Zongyu couldn’t help exclaiming aloud.

But he quickly calmed himself and, after brief consideration, said:

“The southern mountain path leads directly to Dengwen Sword Pavilion. Yunkong, leave this place to us and go protect the pavilion. The area around it is filled with disciples below Foundation Establishment and noncombatant alchemists and artifact cultivators. If they encounter demon cultivators head-on, it’ll be a one-sided slaughter. There absolutely cannot be any mistakes.”

“Yes.”

Xiao Yunkong didn’t hesitate. He drove back the enemies in front of him with a sword strike, while San Zongyu stepped in to block the pursuing enemies and Liu Xun used a high-tier rune to open an escape route for him.

Once Xiao Yunkong withdrew from the front line, none of the enemies behind the leading Heavenly Demons could truly threaten him.

He flew across the battlefield, even taking the time to use his summoned swords to assist nearby allies as he passed.

Xiao Yunkong rushed toward the southern mountain path at top speed.

But despite all his haste, by the time he arrived… it was already too late.

The mountain path was empty.

The traces of battle were still fresh, but both Jianxin Sect and the demons were gone.

Xiao Yunkong spread out his spiritual sense, and just as expected, the demon cultivators were already heading straight toward Dengwen Sword Pavilion.

On the cliffs opposite the pavilion were hundreds of low-level disciples, alchemists, and artifact cultivators. The only things protecting them were a few artifact-refining elders and several defensive treasures.

But under a coordinated assault by demon cultivators, those treasures would not last long.

And now, the demons were about to discover the cultivators’ hiding place.

Not a single moment could be wasted.

He had to move faster.

Xiao Yunkong withdrew his spiritual sense and formed a hand seal, sending Yuxue ahead first to intercept the demons while he followed behind at full speed.

In a situation like this, every moment of delay increased the danger. Every second lost could mean another disciple dying beneath demonic claws.

Xiao Yunkong didn’t dare pause for even an instant.

But at the critical moment, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from below, screaming at him with heartbreaking desperation:

“Senior brother! Save me!!”