Chapter 108: Lin Ze's Hesitation

Even though Helin had long been prepared in his heart, he was now struck with terror at the vast, sky-darkening horde of demons before him.

The somber gloom atop Soul-Break Cliff was as dark as midnight. Even cultivators who had lived for decades or centuries had never witnessed such a spectacle. Instinctively, they trembled and stepped back several paces.

Yang Shulong was the first to react, shouting hoarsely, “Form the formation!”

Fang Yuying was shaken to full alert and bent down to retrieve his Dao sword, his voice trembling as he stammered, “Form... form the Forty-Nine Azure Sky Formation...”

A grandmaster at the pinnacle of Foundation Establishment, he could not even hold the hilt steadily now. This alone showed how deeply the demon horde had shaken him.

The cultivators forced themselves to steady their minds and, legs weak, stepped forward, tracing lines of profound azure light.

Once within the formation, their spiritual energy could nurture one another, flowing endlessly. Nearly forty Foundation Establishment cultivators could easily hold back hundreds of demons of equal rank. Given enough time, they could exhaust the demonic energy within these beasts, even slaying them all.

But the problem was the immense numbers: nearly a thousand demons hovered above Soul-Break Cliff, and over two thousand lesser demons waited below, ready to surge upward at any moment.

Even disregarding those in Qi Refinement stage, the Foundation Establishment demons numbered no fewer than four hundred.

This overwhelming disparity in numbers made the demons utterly dismissive of the cultivators. At the front, a rat-like demon stroked a smooth orb in its paw, gathering all the scattered streaks of light in the air into its grasp before crushing them mercilessly. Its large, crimson eyes glared coldly downward as a low voice hissed, “Kill!”

Before the words had faded, various demons leapt from the eagle’s back, surging like a torrent toward the barely-formed square of cultivators.

A piercing howl suddenly erupted!

A small demon with the head of a goat and the body of a man charged at the forefront, but was instantly cleaved into pieces by several Dao swords, blood splattering. Its severed head rolled to Fang Yuying’s feet, still wearing a sinister smile. Its huge eyeballs stared blankly at the cultivators, chilling them to the bone.

Crack!

The skull was crushed beneath the trampling crowd behind.

Fang Yuying, seeing the fierce faces mere feet away, suddenly unleashed his artifact, smashing it forward!

Though he was an elder steward at the peak of Foundation Establishment, suppressing his fear, when he truly fought, he was far from helpless. In the blink of an eye, he took two or three more lives, catching a bloodied artifact flying back toward him. Yet no joy appeared on his weathered face.

It was customary for the Heavenly Demon Sect to send Qi Refinement demons ahead to open the path, in stark contrast to the East Mountain Sect, where disciples below Foundation Establishment were forbidden from joining such calamities, forced to remain within the sect.

Only when their spiritual energy was nearly exhausted would the Foundation Establishment demons strike.

Despite the overwhelming numbers, the Heavenly Demon Sect seemed unwilling to abandon this tradition.

The cultivators understood but were powerless, forced to desperately cut down the lesser demons that had reached them.

Yet what happened next stunned them.

When the lesser demons fully surrounded the formation, the Foundation Establishment demons simply strode arrogantly past on both sides, showing no intention to engage the East Mountain disciples. Their sole goal was to cross Soul-Break Cliff.

At this realization, Fang Yuying suddenly understood.

The demon horde had gathered here not merely to deal with the thirty or forty Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Relieved by this thought, he tossed out his artifact again, killing several lesser demons in succession, putting on a show of fiercely slaying demons while deliberately ignoring the Foundation Establishment demon cultivators crossing the cliff’s edges.

These beasts must fear the East Mountain Sect’s reaction, so they wasted no time. They simply intended to cross, allowing the cultivators to survive unharmed and avoid sect punishment.

After all, Fang Yuying had been slaying demons and had not fled—he was simply powerless.

Zhao Jinian, standing closest, admired this. No wonder this elder steward was nicknamed “Old Turtle.” Emulating him, Zhao roared and swung his Dao sword at the lesser demons.

“Die!”

Several Foundation Establishment demon cultivators glanced over with mocking smiles, shaking their heads as they turned briskly toward the mountain’s descent.

At that moment, two Dao swords clanged sharply, blocking their path.

Before the demons could speak, Fang Yuying snapped in anger, “What do you two think you’re doing?”

The two who struck out were none other than the two stewards from Huayang Peak.

They stared unflinchingly at the demons, who remained silent, while the rest of the disciples cast strange glances at Fang Yuying.

Having lived decades or centuries, none failed to see the elder steward’s thoughts.

Though fearful, no one truly wished to stand by and let the beasts cross Soul-Break Cliff unchallenged.

Feeling the contempt hidden in their gazes, Fang Yuying flushed, snorting coldly and venting his anger on the lesser demons before him, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “There are over a thousand demons. How many can the two of you possibly stop together?”

“Uncle Fang… is there another way?” Zhao Jinian also panicked. He saw the fools behind him already swinging their swords to intercept the demon cultivators—throwing their lives away in vain and endangering himself in the process!

There were nearly four hundred Foundation Establishment demon cultivators. That they ignored the cultivators was already a mercy; these fools should know when to quit.

Sure enough.

The rat leader glared and commanded, “Take them down first!”

Before the words had fully fallen, nearly a hundred demon cultivators decisively turned, blending into the lesser demons and charging at the cultivators.

Zhao Jinian felt the pressure surge. Frustrated and anxious, he dared not plead, knowing if the sect found out, he’d be stripped of his cultivation and sent down the mountain.

…

…

At the mid-mountain slope behind Soul-Break Cliff, two figures stood; the smaller one hesitated.

Yu Huan heard the deafening battle cries from above, her face pale as she bit her lip, struggling to believe, “There are really so many?”

Before, she had doubted the cultivators’ warnings, but now she grasped the gravity of the situation.

Lin Ze sneered slightly, quietly withdrawing his spiritual perception.

He too had been momentarily shocked by the number of demons—after all, he had never witnessed it firsthand in the simulator.

Fortunately, he had left early. Now all he needed was to use Lightness Technique to safely return to the sect, fitting perfectly with his prior plan. It was a pity he hadn’t managed to take both old men with him.

What surprised him more was that none of the cultivators on the mountain seemed to be fleeing downward in haste.

“Stubborn fools,” Lin Ze sighed. “Better to keep your life than to throw it away. Killing a few more demons later will be far more worthwhile.”

Suddenly, he noticed Yu Huan was no longer beside him.

Turning back, he saw her standing dumbfounded, staring at the mountain path.

Like a flood, the demon horde was furiously rushing down toward the foot of the mountain, heading for the East Mountain Range.

They moved as one, wasting no time on the two nearby figures. Even if they had noticed, Lin Ze was confident he could escape. Without a Golden Core stage demon, no one could hold him back.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and run!” He reached out to grab the girl’s hand.

Yu Huan dodged aside, her palm resting on the twin sword auras at her waist, her face pale as she turned back, “It’s not just that we didn’t see them coming... they’ve already reached right in front of us...”

…

Lin Ze suddenly recalled something: Though she resembled his simulator self, she was still a native of this world.

In other words… this girl’s mindset was no different from that of Helin and the others.