Someone must live.

For some reason, Qin Wu suddenly faced a critical moment of promotion during the duel.

At this moment, within that array space, his opponent was Zhuang Luo from the Huishan Sect.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Zhuang Luo's eyes flashed with surprise, but he did not take advantage of the situation. When the first bolt of heavenly lightning, carrying the power of heaven and earth, struck down with a deafening roar, he almost instinctively flew forward, trying to shield Qin Wu, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground with disordered breathing.

However, he greatly underestimated the terrifying power of the heavenly lightning!

"puff--"

Just being grazed by the edge of the lightning, Zhuang Luo felt as if his internal organs had been struck by a giant hammer. His blood surged, and he felt a sweet taste in his throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the edge of the formation. His vision went black, and he almost fainted.

Qin Wu, at the eye of the storm, was in even more critical condition. He sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly closed, veins bulging on his forehead, struggling to suppress the almost out-of-control spiritual energy surging wildly through his meridians and internal organs—a sign of impending qi deviation!

Although sword cultivators and saber cultivators are the most powerful offensive cultivators, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Their excessive pursuit of ultimate attack and power also makes them the type of people most prone to developing inner demons.

However, the heavenly tribulation gives no one time to prepare. The second bolt of lightning has already condensed and formed in the dark clouds, and it looks like it's about to strike again!

Zhuang Luo barely managed to support himself with his sword, half-kneeling as he raised his head. Gazing at the terrifying lightning, and then at Qin Wu so close at hand, a sense of despair rose in his heart: at such close range, if this bolt of lightning struck, he feared he would die here along with these Cangmin Mountain disciples…

At this critical moment!

A pale figure flashed by like a startled swan, instantly appearing before Qin Wu. Yun Qian's gaze was solemn. Her right hand gripped the seemingly ordinary wooden sword tightly, holding it horizontally above her head. Her left hand moved swiftly, channeling her spiritual energy into the sword.

"boom--!"

The second bolt of lightning struck the wooden sword fiercely, unleashing a blinding light and a deafening roar. Yun Qian's body swayed slightly, and the tiger's mouth gripping the sword instantly split open, blood sliding down the hilt. A slightly metallic taste welled up in her throat, which she forcibly swallowed.

She glanced up, her gaze sweeping across the jade platform high in the sky. Those high-ranking figures seemed to finally notice the strange occurrence on the Wuji Platform, their faces showing surprise.

However, an even bigger change occurred!

The next moment, an invisible array pattern exuding an ominous aura suddenly appeared from the ground of the Wuji Platform, and quickly spread out, not only enveloping the ten disciples who participated in the final battle, but also trapping the eight sect leaders and elders on the platform.

Thick, inky demonic energy surged forth from the edge of the array like a burst dam, instantly filling the entire space!

"Demons! It's demons!"

Below the Wuji Platform, some disciples finally recovered from their shock and let out a shrill scream.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

The demon spies who had been hiding among the disciples of various sects now tore off their disguises and sprang up like mushrooms after rain, attacking ruthlessly and mercilessly. Some disciples who had not yet figured out what was going on did not even have time to cry out before they fell into pools of blood.

Sili stood on the high platform, his face solemn and his voice cold as he commanded, "Disciples of Tianyan Mountain, heed my command! Form an array and fight against the demons together!"

But Yunqian had no time to spare for anything else at that moment.

The third bolt of heavenly lightning, carrying the force of destruction, struck down!

"puff--"

Unable to suppress the surging blood and qi within her chest any longer, Yun Qian spat out a mouthful of blood. She was horrified; no wonder her master had strictly forbidden her from descending the mountain easily—the power of the heavenly lightning below was several times stronger than that within Cangmin Mountain!

Qin Wu's advancement this time should be a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage. Yun Qian looked up at the increasingly thick dark clouds in the sky, her heart heavy. Judging from this, it was probably at least a nine-fold, or even a ten-fold, tribulation of lightning!

At this moment, Bai Chuan's figure also flashed to Qin Wu's side. He didn't pay attention to Yun Qian, who was enduring the heavenly lightning, but quickly squatted down and placed his fingertips on Qin Wu's wrist to check his pulse. His medical instincts made him check his junior brother's condition immediately.

"Senior Sister! Xiao Wu's pulse is in complete disarray, and his spiritual energy is rushing and colliding in reverse through his eight extraordinary meridians. It is indeed a result of his sudden advancement causing his spiritual energy to go berserk, and he is already showing signs of going into qi deviation!" Bai Chuan's voice was filled with rare anxiety.

His diagnosis was almost identical to Yun Qian's guess.

Yun Qian frowned deeply as the fourth bolt of heavenly lightning tore through the sky with unstoppable force and crashed down!

Forced down the metallic sweetness that welled up in her mouth, Yun Qian said urgently, "Baichuan, give Xiaowu an antidote pill first!" She keenly sensed that there was definitely something wrong with that strange sweet smell.

Upon her reminder, Bai Chuan immediately recognized the exact same smell as in the Li Kingdom's palace. He quickly took out a pill from his Qiankun bag, wrapped it in spiritual energy, and fed it to Qin Wu.

"Senior Sister, you should take this too!" Bai Chuan stood up and stuffed a pill into Yun Qian's hand. Yun Qian quickly swallowed the pill before the fifth earth-shattering lightning tribulation struck.

Bai Chuan took one pill himself, and didn't forget to flick one to Zhuang Luo, who was pale from injury and demonic energy attacking him not far away.

Zhuang Luo took the pill and swallowed it, but his gaze remained fixed on the woman who had withstood the heavenly lightning with a wooden sword, yet still stood tall like a pine tree.

Are these the disciples of Cangmin Mountain? They've become so powerful! He himself was severely injured after absorbing the residual force of a single heavenly lightning bolt, while Yun Qian has already withstood five bolts head-on! What profound cultivation does that require?

However, Zhuang Luo was unaware that Yun Qian was also at her limit. The power of the lightning tribulation outside the mountain far exceeded her expectations, and each lightning bolt was stronger than the last. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

Right now, we must get Baichuan out of this most dangerous area first.

"Baichuan." Yun Qian's voice was slightly hoarse due to the turmoil in her blood and qi.

“Senior Sister,” Baichuan replied immediately.

Yun Qian swallowed the blood that rose in her throat again, her tone resolute: "Take Zhuang Luo and leave the center of the lightning tribulation immediately. The lightning tribulation here... is far more dangerous than in the mountains."

A hint of hesitation flashed across Bai Chuan's face, prompting him to leave his senior sister and junior brother at this moment...

As if seeing through his thoughts, Yun Qian's voice carried an undeniable power: "Listen, Cangmin Mountain now... only the four of us remain. If we all perish here today, Cangmin Mountain will truly be finished!"

Bai Chuan's body trembled violently.

If it were a hundred years ago, he would never have abandoned his fellow disciples in a time of crisis. Back then, they had the courage to live and die together, and they would overcome even the most dangerous situations together.

But not now.

It wasn't that they had lost their courage, but rather that they carried too heavy a burden on their shoulders. On Cangmin Mountain, some were dead, some were wounded, their master's dying wish remained unfulfilled, and the hope for the sect's revival rested on their shoulders. Some things, someone had to live to do!

They cannot die before their mission is accomplished, at least not all of them can die here.

"...Yes, Senior Sister!" Bai Chuan responded heavily, suppressing the bitterness in her heart. She pulled up Zhuang Luo, who was still somewhat dazed, and used her movement technique to quickly escape from the core area locked by the heavenly lightning.

At this moment, above the barrier of the Boundless Platform, where the demonic energy was most concentrated, the figure of the Demon Lord quietly appeared. He looked down at the place where lightning flashed below with great interest, his scarlet tongue licking his lips, his voice filled with a chilling greed: "It seems that today is the perfect time to come. The true essence of a cultivator who has just advanced to the Nascent Soul stage is the most delicious tonic."

To his left, behind him stood a man in a black robe whose face was completely obscured by a hood. He remained silent in response to the Demon Lord's words, like an emotionless shadow.

The Demon Lord seemed to have long been accustomed to his silence and didn't care. He formed a claw with one hand, and the dense black energy in his palm rolled and condensed like a living thing. Then he slowly poured it into the huge array beneath his feet, making the array's light even darker and more eerie.

"Let's go, Wuchuan." The Demon Lord let out a low, arrogant laugh. "Come with me to meet these old friends!"

Before he finished speaking, the Demon Lord's figure had already turned into a wisp of black smoke and merged into the formation.

The black-robed man known as Wuchuan did not immediately follow. He remained where he was, his expression hidden in the shadow of his hood. Only his deep gaze could be felt, piercing through the pervasive demonic energy and raging lightning, lingering on the pale-faced figure who was bracing against the lightning tribulation with a wooden sword.

The eighth bolt of heavenly lightning is gathering devastating power in the clouds, and is about to strike.