Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 210 - Die Protecting

The Xu Clan’s fearlessness only further provoked Shao Dongli’s group. Shao Dongli continued his brutal torture of the captives, swinging his sword relentlessly.

The surrounding cultivators could no longer bear to watch the ruthless actions of Shao Dongli’s group.

“Stop!” Xu Yilin roared, attempting to halt Shao Dongli. “I will become your hostage. They’re innocent, please don’t hurt them!”

As Xu Yilin spoke, he took out the jade pendant and walked out from the array.

“Patriarch, no!” Deacon Lan and others tried to stop Xu Yilin. They didn’t know Shao Dongli’s group's objective, and it was dangerous to leave the array recklessly. No one could harm them as long as they hid in the array.

“Patriarch, what will we do if something happens to you!” The other deacons lined up, expressing their concerns. The Xu Clan had come a long way and couldn’t afford any mishaps.

“If my life is important, aren’t their lives important too? Get out of my way!” Xu Yilin, releasing his Marrow Cleansing Realm aura, pushed back the crowd as he pointed at the guards.

Every life was a precious gift from their parents, and he couldn’t bear the thought of innocent lives being lost because of him. The guards kneeling outside were moved to tears, witnessing their patriarch’s willingness to become a hostage for their sake.

“Patriarch, don’t come outside! We would rather die!” A guard stood up and smashed his head against a stone pillar. He would rather die than become a captive of Shao Dongli’s group and use them to threaten Xu Yilin.

“Death is a luxury in my presence.” A wave of pressure descended, immobilizing the guard on the spot. When the guard collapsed to the ground, his knees were shattered, leaving him incapacitated.

Xu Yilin was filled with self-loathing for his inability to protect his people. He wept tears of blood as he stepped out of the spiritual array. With each step he took, the murderous intent he radiated intensified.

Shao Dongli smiled, knowing that capturing Xu Yilin as a hostage would enable them to send a message to Liu Wuxie, demanding the return of the Fire Spiritual Bead.

“Who are you people, and why are you all attacking the Xu Clan?!” Bi Gongyu stood before the Xu Clan’s gate and stopped Xu Yilin, preventing the latter from falling into their trap. If Xu Yilin fell into their hands, his life and death would be beyond his control. He didn’t recognize these people and had no idea why they were targeting the Xu Clan.

“Who are you?! Get lost!” Shao Dongli swung his sword, unleashing a powerful sword aura that forced Bi Gongyu to retreat. After all, Shao Dongli was in the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Relam, and there was a massive gap in their cultivation.

“I am the pavilion master of Azure Billow City’s Treasure Pill Pavilion, and the Xu Clan has a partnership with the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Are you sure you want to make yourselves enemies of the Treasure Pill Pavilion?” Bi Gongyu disclosed his identity, hoping to intimidate the attackers.

“We might have been fearful if you were the pavilion master of the Treasure Pill Pavilion in the Imperial City, but you’re merely the pavilion master of a branch. How dare you stand in our way? Don’t think that I won’t kill you.” These people had some backing and weren’t intimidated by the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Shao Dongli even brandished his sword at Bi Gongyu, confident that no one could thwart his objective.

Bi Gongyu had no way to dodge and could only draw his sword to take Shao Dongli’s attack head-on. A powerful shockwave was produced when their swords clashed, and the loud impact made many people cover their ears. The reverberation felt as though their eardrums were about to burst.

The force of the impact pushed Bi Gongyu several steps back, a trace of blood trickling down his lips. He had been injured in the clash.

“Pavilion Master Bi, I appreciate your goodwill. But this is a matter concerning my Xu Clan, and we should handle it ourselves,” Xu Yilin intervened, stopping Bi Gongyu, who wanted to continue the fight. This issue had nothing to do with the Treasure Pill Pavilion, and there was no need for Bi Gongyu to continue battling.

Xu Yilin slowly walked towards Shao Dongli’s group. The enemies were formidable, and Bi Gongyu would only die if he carried on fighting. Xu Yilin didn’t want to involve too many people in this matter. He found it worth it if he could use his life in exchange for everyone’s safety.

The guards kneeling on the ground yelled out at Xu Yilin, but he ignored them and stood before Shao Dongli.

Without any warning, Shao Dongli struck Xu Yilin in the chest with his palm, causing him to cough up blood. The scene caught everyone by surprise. Didn’t Shao Dongli say that he wanted to use Xu Yilin as a hostage? So why did he suddenly attack Xu Yilin?

“I’ll kill you all!” Yang Zi lost her rationale and charged out upon seeing her husband injured. She swung her sword at Shao Dongli and was ready to sacrifice herself to drag him down with her.

“You’re courting death!” Shao Dongli was furious and pushed his palm forward. Yang Zi was only in the Xiantian Realm, and there was no way she could withstand an attack from Shao Dongli.

In the nick of time, Xu Yilin rushed forward, taking Yang Zi’s palm strike on his back. His blood stained his clothes a deep red.

Shao Dongli had controlled his strength well because he didn’t want to kill Xu Yilin. He still wanted to use Xu Yilin and Yang Zi as hostages to threaten Liu Wuxie, and it would be pointless if they died.

Xu Yilin and Yang Zi lay at the gate of the Xu Clan. Blood dripped from Xu Yilin’s lips, painting a pitiful picture. He was only at the first level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm and could barely put up any resistance.

“Patriarch...” The Xu Clan’s deacons and guards charged out from the Xu Clan and formed a protective circle around Xu Yilin. Even if they were to die, they would rather die together.

“Protect the patriarch with our lives!” Deacon Lan yelled as hundreds of guards took a formation.

Before leaving, Liu Wuxie had imparted knowledge about spiritual arrays to Deacon Lan. After several months of diligent study, Deacon Lan had made significant progress in understanding spiritual arrays and could even set up a formation.

“Since you’re all so eager to die, I’ll oblige!” Shao Dongli left an afterimage in his wake as he plunged into the crowd, his sword swinging wildly. Deacon Lan and the other guards at the front were repeatedly sent flying. Some had their limbs severed, while others were slain by Shao Dongli’s sword aura.

In just one exchange, the Xu Clan suffered heavy losses, with over twenty people dead.

“All of you, retreat!” Xu Yilin commanded as he struggled to his feet. All the guards obeyed his order and withdrew, not daring to defy him.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Xu Yilin’s gaze became terrifyingly calm as he etched the seven of their faces into his heart.

“What grudge do you have with the Xu Clan that you’re doing this?!” Xu Yilin practically spat out the words through gritted teeth. The Xu Clan was known for its peaceful resolution of conflicts and avoidance of unnecessary fights. They wouldn’t harm innocents, and the events of today had earned them the sympathy of all.

“I’ll be generous and tell you. As long as we capture you all as hostages, we will be able to force Liu Wuxie to hand over the Fire Spiritual Bead. It’s that simple.” Shao Dongli smiled and gave his companions a signal as two of them charged toward Xu Yilin.

As long as they managed to capture Xu Yilin and his wife, they would have accomplished half of their plan. All they would need to do was wait for Liu Wuxie to fall into their trap.

Everyone finally understood why Shao Dongli’s group had attacked the Xu Clan. It turned out that they were unable to do anything to Liu Wuxie directly and had decided to target his family instead.

“I see!” Xu Yilin finally understood why these people wanted to take him hostage. They intended to use him and his wife to threaten Liu Wuxie. He watched as the two experts approached to capture them.

“Surrender obediently because no one will come to save you!” Hu Yang laughed sinisterly and reached out to grab Xu Yilin. He was in the fifth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and his claw easily tore apart Xu Yilin’s defenses, reaching his shoulder.

But all of a sudden, a powerful blade aura descended from the sky. Hu Yang’s arm was severed before he could even react, and his blood splashed on Xu Yilin’s clothes.

“ARGHHH!” A scream echoed as Hu Yang’s companion swiftly retreated and went on high alert. Their plan was disrupted just as they were about to achieve their goal, naturally infuriating Shao Dongli.

“Who is it?!” Shao Dongli scanned the area where the blade aura had originated from. He saw a man and a woman rushing over in their direction.

“Seize them both!” Shao Dongli bellowed, eager to capture Xu Yilin and his wife before they could retreat into the array. After all, they had expended considerable effort to force them out of the array, and it would all be for naught if they managed to retreat back into it.

“Protect the patriarch!” Deacon Lan ordered as the guards rushed forward, attempting to thwart Shao Dongli’s group.

“Get lost!” An expert at the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm took action, sending the Xu Clan’s guards flying with a sweep of his palm, instantly killing more than ten people. The Xu Clan’s guards were risking their lives to protect their dignity, and in an instant, they lost over forty people, causing Xu Yilin immense grief.

But the Xu Clan’s guards didn’t stop. The second wave charged forward, prepared to use their bodies to shield Xu Yilin.

Right then, two streaks descended from the sky along with a boundless blade aura. The two Marrow Cleansing Realm experts who had charged forward were forced to retreat, giving the Xu Clan time to catch their breath.

At that moment, a woman dressed in white descended from the sky. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stood before Xu Yilin.

“Father! Mother!” Xu Lingxue threw herself into her parents’ embrace. Her eyes were radiating with murderous intent when she looked at their injuries. She had never wished to kill someone so fervently in her life.

She was about to take action when she swept her gaze over Shao Dongli’s group. However, Liu Wuxie stood in front of her, wielding the Heretic Blade, his eyes bloodshot.

Liu Wuxie’s timely arrival had potentially averted a disastrous outcome. The guards of the Xu Clan had risked their lives to buy him time, and any delay could have had severe consequences.

“Liu Wuxie, I didn’t expect you to return to Azure Billow City!” Shao Dongli narrowed his eyes. Their initial plan was to capture Xu Yilin as a hostage to force Liu Wuxie to return. However, Liu Wuxie’s unexpected return had taken them all by surprise.

“How dare you harm my father-in-law and mother-in-law, let alone kill the guards of my Xu Clan. I will use your blood to wash away the humiliation that the Xu Clan has suffered today.” Liu Wuxie’s tone was calm, but the calmer he appeared, the more intense his fury seemed. He was like a volcano on the brink of eruption.