Hundreds of cultivators began flying towards the northeast, essentially fleeing.

Yan Baiyi felt quite helpless. He dared not pause; as soon as he stopped, he would be trapped within the mountain demon horde. On this outing, he clearly felt that the main force of the Yuan Yi Mountain Demons was not here; otherwise, he would not have been able to hold on until now. But even under such circumstances, Long Shan and Lao Du showed no intention to engage in battle, not due to a lack of understanding of tactics, but because the two of them were engaged in a battle of wits and strength.

The three great Daoist sects of the Northern Territory—Heartless Dao's Lao Du, Yan Sect's Pang Shan, and Zhao Sect's Chixia Zi—did not take the beast tide too seriously. To them, the more important opponents were each other, and none of them were willing to easily weaken their own strength.

However, shouldn't driving out demon beasts be the most basic responsibility of every cultivator?

When faced with a real choice, preserving oneself and ignoring mortals became the unspoken consensus for everyone.

The truth was disheartening, but they had to continue fleeing. These mountain demons behind them seemed to view them as the last big feast, and after devouring them, would likely return to Yuan Yi.

During this process, cultivators were continuously intercepted. Yan Baiyi finally realized his mistake. His intentions were right, but he forgot about the qualities of the people he brought along. They lacked powerful offensive capabilities and superhuman speed, making his plan to restrain the enemy in battle quite laughable.

These people didn't even have a unified Daoist lineage.

Perhaps Pang Shan Daoist was correct. He had long seen that the cultivators in Zhenbei City were unlikely to unify, which is why he was reluctant to step out.

After two hundred years of cultivation, he stumbled this badly. At the same time, he understood why Pang Shan Daoist had entrusted him with this task.

In the Yan Sect, his prestige was the highest among the Golden Core cultivators, subtly posing a threat to Pang Shan Daoist. Because he was a native cultivator, sincere and fair in his dealings, he had earned the admiration of many brothers. With him there, it was difficult for Pang Shan Daoist to have the final say in the Yan Sect.

He was obstructing others' paths.

Unfortunately, he was always reluctant to engage in such matters and understood it all too late.

Yan Baiyi fell to the rear, struggling to fend off the mountain demons' obstruction and saving one stranded companion after another, but for the entire group, his efforts were only a drop in the ocean.

He held no resentment in his heart, he blamed no one; the gap between him and Pang Shan Daoist was vast, not just in skill inheritance, but also in mindset. Pang Shan Daoist was more suited to leading a sect.

He also didn't blame those master-uncles and master-brothers with whom he had shared so much time. From their pained expressions, he could see their predicament. If they had to choose between two people, one being the honest and impulsive person they watched grow up, and the other being an Upper Realm emissary with deep roots and a strong grasp of the art of perseverance, the choice was clear.

If he were the Yan Sect Master, he would choose Pang Shan!

Two hundred years of cultivation, and the result was becoming a hindrance for others, an obstacle to sect development. While this realization pained him, it also stirred a sense of frustration.

At the very least, he could still do something for these brave small Daoist cultivators. Due to his recklessness, he not only endangered himself but also dragged these innocent people down with him.

They could have been safely awaiting victory and then venting their anger on the demon clan during the pursuit.

But his personal efforts could not change the overall strength disparity of the group; these people varied widely in Daoist lineages, many being from small sects or loose cultivators. After the passion fades, the harsh reality remains — they couldn't run fast, they didn't have strength superiority in battle, and they lacked cooperation. He wondered how he even thought of bringing these people along initially…

Was he mad? When he thought of the unfathomable glimmer in Pang Shan Daoist's eyes back then, it was as if a demon controlled his thoughts. He began to understand that the Upper Realm Daoist is true to its reputation—pushing people into peril without a trace of human warmth.

But crucially, he himself indeed harbored such thoughts, so he couldn't blame others for playing along...

The entire group gradually came to a halt, unable to escape. Nearly ten thousand mountain demons surrounded them, leaving no gaps. Even the few dozen grassland sword cultivators couldn't break through under such circumstances.

Companions died every moment. He felt as if knives were stabbing into his heart because it was all his fault!

The mountain demons weren't in a hurry. They had received the information and were preparing to return to Yuan Yi Mountain Range, something hard for the usually brutal demons to accept. The main force had already withdrawn in batches; this unwilling part consisted of nearly ten thousand beasts.

If Yan Baiyi and the others hadn't emerged, this group of demons would have soon left as well. They were sensible enough to avoid fighting with human cultivators with just ten thousand beasts, but the appearance of these hundreds of human cultivators provided them with one last joyous occasion.

Slowly torturing them to death.

Gathered in a clump, no one dared to recklessly charge out. In the encirclement of nearly ten thousand demon beasts, individual power was meaningless.

One after another fell, then another took their place. When they came out, there were more than four hundred, but now there were fewer than two hundred.

Many cultivators had a look of despair on their faces, only those from the grasslands still shouted as they fought fiercely. Yan Baiyi felt apologetic as he came to Shi Zhu's side,

"Sorry, I shouldn't have called you to join."

Shi Zhu wiped the blood from his face, indifferent, "Brother Yan need not mind. Even if you hadn't called us, we would have followed out anyway. How can it be that the Sect Hierarch personally comes, yet his underlings wait in the city? Of course, we must meet him."

Yan Baiyi felt somewhat lost, truly envious of Hou Niao for having such a loyal group of followers. Unfortunately, even though they were in the Northern Territory, he could never win over these grassland people.

Shi Zhu chuckled, "It is we grassland people who should apologize for not helping you. But we are the weakest of the Dushan Sword Lineage. We weren't even included in Lihai's campaign. If we had Dushan's elite, what fear would we have of ten thousand demons? We'd make seven entries and exits on them just the same!"

Boasting at the last moment, let it be if the sword cultivators were happy. Yan Baiyi just smiled, not exposing them.

Shi Zhu pointed behind him, "Your banners are down to just one!"

Yan Sect cultivators practice with a portable Eight Diagrams Flag, not easily damaged. But this time it was too difficult, and Yan Baiyi had resolved to fight to the death, making no backup plans for himself.

Having one flag left from eight is equivalent to losing ninety percent of two hundred years of cultivation, but he didn't mind, "As long as the fight is enjoyable, what does it matter how many flags are left?"

As he spoke, the last remaining flag unfurled, wrapping a dozen demon beasts within, and exploded with a bang…

At another time and place, he would never use his treasured flag like this, but now, it didn't matter.

Without a flag, there are still fists.

Just then, in the distance, sharp cries began to echo, resonating in his ears. He had no time to react, but the nearby Shi Zhu heard clearly and shouted sternly:

"Everyone, rally, our Sword Lineage reinforcements have arrived!"

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