Of course Flower Ancestor would not actually hold a grudge against a junior, yet her gaze swept back and forth between the two of them before finally settling on You Shisi with a deeply meaningful smile. That smile sent a chill running straight up the soles of You Shisi's feet, making his scalp go completely numb...
Is this old fox plotting some crooked scheme?
He could barely handle Huayue Le; this old fox was definitely even more troublesome than Huayue Le. Better not provoke her, better not provoke her.
At this thought, he instinctively hid behind Bai Luoqing, which only made Flower Ancestor smile even more brightly.
You Shisi: "..." What is wrong with this person?
Fortunately, Bai Luoqing rescued him in time, allowing You Shisi to let out a sigh of relief. Of all things in life, he feared the foxes of the Hua family the most—each one was more cunning than the last.
"Senior guests, Gong Yutian and Ye Shiqi are currently very safe as well. They are in Zhongdu City right now, and they have also informed me of their next plan. Thus, all we need to do is this..."
While the people in Yunshuijian were discussing how to suppress the Heavenly Demon King and expose the Human Emperor's conspiracy, outside Wuling City, a young man and a girl in red were relentlessly cutting down the invading Heavenly Demons.
"Brother Xicheng, as more and more commoners die, the power of these demons seems to be growing. If we cannot completely wipe them out within an hour, I'm afraid Wuling City won't hold." Qingning and Ning Xicheng fought back-to-back against the demons invading the city, especially since some Blood Demons were mixed among them, throwing Wuling City into even greater chaos.
Moreover, Wuling City was originally one of the seventy-two prefecture cities, but the Heavenly Demon King's slaughter had grown increasingly aggressive.
Although the Heavenly Demon King's primary target was not Wuling City, the aftermath generated by a demon king surpassing the Divine Emperor realm was something ordinary martial artists simply could not withstand. Coupled with the Blood Demons controlled by the mastermind behind the scenes, the original garrison commander had long since fallen in battle.
Only a handful of people remained to stubbornly defend the city, hoping that by holding on, they might still find a chance to survive.
Because the cities surrounding Wuling City had already completely fallen; even if one fled from here, there was no road to heaven and no door into the earth.
Staying here at least offered a glimmer of survival, for this was the hometown of Shi Wuling, and the central square of Wuling City housed the divine statue of Shi Wuling.
Ning Xicheng was drenched in blood. Aside from the two of them, every single living martial artist had joined the battle.
The elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled—those without combat capability—had long since been evacuated to the central square.
And unlike the people of other cities who were ungrateful, the commoners here were united as never before!
"Brothers! Follow me to the death in defending Wuling City! As long as we draw breath, we will never allow these fiends to invade! Do you have the courage to fight to the death?"
"We do! We do! We do!"
"I am Shi Rong, thirteenth-line descendant of the Wuling Patriarch, and I swear to defend Wuling City to the death! Lads, follow me and charge!"
"Kill, kill, kill!"
Countless wounds covered every person's body, and some even had missing arms, yet they were still fighting!
The ground had long been stained crimson with blood and littered with countless corpses. Not a single one of those bodies remained intact, simply because those Heavenly Demons fed on human flesh.
Ning Xicheng's eyes were red-rimmed, and he cursed himself over and over for not being strong enough.
This Three Realms Heaven had once been protected by his master with his very life, but now...
"Qingning, if the city falls, you must survive." Ning Xicheng gritted his teeth, his mind made up.
The once down-and-out youth had grown up; his master's mission would now be inherited by him.
Hearing this, Qingning wiped the blood from her face and said, "Brother Xicheng, are you planning to leave me behind alone?"
"I just don't want you to die in vain."
After slaying a lunging Heavenly Demon with a single sword strike, Qingning declared, "Wherever Brother Xicheng is, Qingning is too! Didn't you say this world was protected by Master? I know you want to guard the city for Master, so you can guard it for Master, and I will guard it for you."
"I am not afraid of death!"
"Although I am not human, ever since I met Brother Xicheng, I seem to have understood the meaning of living. I refuse to be a coward who clings to life, and I can be just as brave as Master. So, Brother Xicheng, don't even think about leaving me behind alone. If you die, Qingning will not survive alone."
Ning Xicheng laughed in spite of himself and stopped trying to persuade her.
"Very well. In that case, let us protect this world together for Master!"
Fight!
One martial artist fell after another, and the warriors behind rushed forward to take the place of the fallen.
Ning Xicheng could only do his utmost to block the front lines. Because he carried a Demonic Seed, compared to ordinary martial artists, though his cultivation was not top-tier, he possessed a distinct advantage: he was immune to demonic Qi and could even use demonic Qi to replenish his consumed Xuan Qi.
As more and more martial artists died, the gates of Wuling City shattered, and Qingning transformed into her true form to attack.
A red blur darted back and forth through the black mist, her single tail crushing a string of fiends in one sweep, but their numbers were simply too great, and soon she was swallowed up by the black mist once more.
"Xicheng, lad, take that girl and fall back to the central square first!" The battered Shi Rong suddenly rushed in front of Ning Xicheng and shouted, "The outer city can no longer be held. We cannot all die here, and I hope you can take my place as the new garrison commander to protect the inner city."
Clearly, Shi Rong had already resolved himself to die.
Wuling City had seen one garrison commander after another, but until now, the position had always been taken up by martial artists from the noble clans. As of today, Shi Rong was the very last living martial artist of the Shi family.
"Senior, we cannot do that."
Ning Xicheng urged, "Wuling City cannot do without your leadership. Since the outer city has fallen, we will retreat to the inner city together."
"It's useless. If we all retreat together, I'm afraid everyone will simply die here. Death is not terrifying. What I fear most is that if we all perish here, there will be no one left to garrison the inner city." Shi Rong let out a bitter laugh. "So, I leave it in your hands!"
With those words, Shi Rong charged ten miles forward and roared, "Where are all the city guards?"
"Here!"
Fifty martial artists immediately rushed to Shi Rong's side, lining up in a single row.
"Gentlemen, follow me to a brave death, to leave a thread of hope for the inner city. Do you fear it?"
"We fear nothing!"
"Good, good, good! There are no cowards in Wuling City!"
Shi Rong laughed three times and bellowed, "Ning Xicheng! I appoint you as the new garrison commander! Take everyone and retreat to the inner city!"
Watching the people behind him rapidly fall back, Shi Rong, who had fought in battles all his life, finally shed tears, his voice choked with emotion: "City guards, follow me and fight these pieces of trash to the death here! Even if we have to detonate our cores, we will drag them down to hell with us!"
"As you command!"
...
Led by Ning Xicheng, the retreating martial artists quickly entered the territory of the inner city. The sounds of slaughter behind them grew steadily fainter, followed by one muffled self-detonation after another reaching their ears. A group of grown men finally wept.
From the moment Shi Rong had been willing to accept Ning Xicheng, they had been willing to trust the garrison commander they supported.
It wasn't as if they hadn't heard the rumors about Ning Xicheng, and some had even witnessed Qingning's true form with their own eyes—but what of it?
Qingning, a magical beast, and Ning Xicheng, reborn with a Demonic Seed, were willing to follow them in a fight to the death to defend the city, whereas His Majesty the Human Emperor, who fancied himself a righteous and orthodox protector of the realm, had been the very first to pull out all the high-level experts and leave them to fend for themselves.
So, what truly was righteousness? What was evil?
"Ning Xicheng, I hand over the mission of guarding Wuling City to you!" A despairing shout rang out, immediately followed by a massive explosion.
Boom!
Everything seemed to return to peace...