The cultivator beside him who had warned him and even tried to shield him from the attack was also pierced through the lungs, but he was instantly drained, leaving only a piece of withered bone that was thrown out.

"Hahaha, do you think I'm just focused on devouring? What I want is your life, the father of the chosen one. You've offered your life up, wouldn't I be a fool not to take it?" The skeleton continued to laugh, its voice cold and filled with boundless resentment.

It sensed the Elder's powerful heartbeat emanating from his bones, and then, as his cultivation weakened, it couldn't wait to devour the pure energy within the Elder's body.

"You...you won't succeed." The elder was speechless as a tremendous force pierced his heart, devouring all the spiritual energy and vitality within him.

\"puff......\"

The Grand Elder coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his body swayed a few times, and then...

He finally collapsed and couldn't get up.

His eyes were wide open. In the moment before he died, he seemed to see Wei Wenru's figure. The little girl was struggling to wield her sword, tenacious and unyielding, just like his... lover.

"Father, I will become the most powerful person in the future, just like Mother and Father."

Unfortunately, he can't see it.

"Elder!"

"The Forbidden City Immortal!"

The remaining seven or eight cultivators swarmed forward, wanting to avenge him: "You demon, why must you harm the human world!"

"Hehe, you'll have to ask your ancestors what they did to wrong me. I might as well tell you. I am the white dragon you revere most, from ten thousand years ago."

So, I've returned for revenge? With that, he slaughtered all the cultivators.

The bright red blood spilled on the ground, swept over by the black mist, and turned into a black, gooey substance.

And on the ground...

The countless skeletons testify to the horror of this calamity.

Xiyin looked at the firelight in the border town and the swarming monsters, her heart pounding. She clenched her fists and cried out, "Great...Great Elder!"

Everyone knows that this firelight represents...

Those predecessors couldn't hold onto their posts in the border towns, nor could they survive there.

Wei Wenru, far away at the Heavenly Mystery Sect, suddenly felt a tightness in her heart and a sharp pain. "Father... Father? No, Father is the Forbidden City Immortal, he can't be in trouble!"

Wei Wenru dropped the meteor sword in her hand and ran towards the door, falling down several times with a clatter.

Song Yan was left behind by her.

"Wenru, Wenru, calm down! We'll go find the sect leader now and check on Master's soul lamp. Don't worry, Master will be alright!" Song Yan picked up Wenru but she broke free and then disappeared before his eyes.

The sect leader rushed to the Soul Hall. He also sensed something and, upon arriving, heard Wei Wenru's heart-wrenching cries.

"Ah! Impossible! How could it have gone out? Father couldn't be dead." Wei Wenru knelt on the ground, holding the extinguished soul lamp that was now shattered all over the floor.

"Sect Master, take a look! There must be something wrong, right? My father is the Forbidden City Immortal, how could he be dead?"

"Waaaah, tell me, it's all fake! It's fake!"

Wen Ru was almost frantically clutching at the fragments of the soul lamp, ignoring the cuts and blood flowing on the ground.

The sect leader was heartbroken; it was his brother, his master's most prized disciple.

They didn't die in the battle to annihilate the demons, but in the abyss, and... there's a very high chance their remains will never be found.

“Wen Ru, the Soul Lamp couldn’t possibly be wrong. All the people sent to the Abyss are dead, and the reinforcements are dying in droves. I’m afraid, I’m afraid…” The sect leader couldn’t say the words. He covered his face, wanting to cry but unable to utter a sound.

The sect still needs him to hold it up; it cannot collapse.

"Ah!!!" Wei Wenru's painful screams echoed throughout the entire Tianji Sect.

But no one had time to grieve.

...

Border towns.

Sorrow instantly spread among the survivors, but they too were wounded and could hardly fight again. But if they didn't fight, who would protect the innocent people behind them?

The reinforcements arrived, but they consisted only of disciples and elders from the five major sects: Tianji Sect, Guixu Sect, and so on. The number of them was less than the initial number.

It's obvious they were ambushed quite a bit on their way here.

With tears streaming down her face, Xi Yin stood up and found a disciple of the Heavenly Mystery Sect: "This is what your Grand Elder... entrusted to me before he died, asking me to pass it on to your Senior Sister. Now, please take it back immediately."

"Since we've come here, there's no way we'll leave alive. Please, you must take this back with you."

After saying that, she grabbed her natal magic weapon and rushed forward.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Xiyin?" The disciple's eyes reddened as she looked at the jade. She recognized this senior sister and returned it after reporting to her.

Before them lay countless demons, and behind them were mortals and wounded cultivators; they had nowhere to retreat.

She also had to bring back the news of the Grand Elder's death in the border town, because there was no one left here to send messages.

Everyone was fighting fiercely and couldn't spare the time to go out and send messages.

The reinforcements from other sects arrived very late.

Apart from the Tianji Sect, Echo Valley, Guixu Sect, Sun and Moon Valley, and Xuanwu Sect, these five major sects spent a full six days.

Over the course of six days, each of the five major sects sent two groups of people, while the sects in between...

Everyone is running away.

Furthermore, those who emerge from the sect are all righteous individuals who care about the world and the common people, while the rest hide and eke out a living.

When they arrived, apart from the hundred or so people who were still struggling to resist the demons, the rest had become withered bones on the ground.

The Tianji Sect was among the first to arrive with some support, but even with more people coming, it was only enough to fill a small gap.

Throw it in, and it's gone.

"Cough cough..." Xi Yin coughed up several mouthfuls of black blood, still holding the front line and refusing to retreat, her body covered in unscathed flesh.

The black mist relentlessly eroded her life force, and no matter how much the purification artifact in her hand absorbed and purified it, it couldn't keep up with the speed at which the dense black mist devoured her.

She's about to give up.

After struggling for another six days, only four people remained by her side who had been there from the beginning; the second and third waves of supporting cultivators were long gone.

Xi Yin's eyes were red and swollen, her eyes flashing with madness and despair. She alone could neither protect her junior brothers and sisters nor save the world.

She had no relatives by her side when she died.

"Xiyin, Xiyin!" Just as she was about to close her eyes, Xiyin heard someone calling her.

The voice was warm, urgent, and familiar, and she barely managed to open her eyes.

"Senior Sister Wei?" Xi Yin murmured hoarsely, unable to believe her eyes. "I never thought that the person I would see before I die would be Senior Sister Wei. I can die without regrets."

Wei Wenru's eyes were red: "Thank you for passing on my father's jade for me, thank you. I'm sorry, I can't save you, I'm sorry."