The pillar of spiritual light pierced through the sky, its brilliance even more intense than the blazing sun overhead.
The shockwaves of its power were contained by the formation. Though the overflowing spiritual pressure was enough to make one's heart race, it caused no actual harm.
The situation was now clear enough.
If the Supreme hadn't chosen to blow up his own stronghold just to watch a firework, then this was almost certainly a case of their base being destroyed by an enemy force.
And the scale of this operation was far beyond what any ordinary sect could pull off.
Even if the Eighteen Immortal Gates hadn't personally intervened, there must have been their backing and assistance behind it.
Rather than saying Dong Gua herself had been set up, it would be more accurate to say the entire East Victorious Divine Continent headquarters had been the target all along.
Dong Gua glanced at the Pig Mask, noting his dazed expression.
Had this been earlier, she might have been stunned as well. But perhaps because Cui Hao had tormented her recently, and she had walked the line between life and death several times over, her state of mind was now remarkably calm.
Dong Gua spoke: "Right now, the entire East Victorious Divine Continent headquarters is probably down to just you and me. Your cultivation is higher than mine, so I'll follow your lead."
"What do you plan to do now?"
The Pig Mask looked back at her.
Those above had paid an enormous price to establish this headquarters. Now it had been reduced to absolute nothingness.
As for what to do next, he genuinely had no ideas.
He was an executor, not a strategist.
With the East Victorious Divine Continent headquarters' location having been leaked, he couldn't determine whether Dong Gua was still trustworthy or compromised.
He also couldn't fully probe her body for restriction spells. What if he led her straight to the main headquarters, and the same thing happened there? Who would he complain to then?
Dong Gua watched the Pig Mask staring at her in silence. After waiting a moment, she finally lost patience.
"If you don't have a plan, you'd better take me and run far from here first. Once this spiritual energy settles and the top-tier human cultivators above sweep their divine senses over, we'll both end up keeping this Supreme company in death."
The Pig Mask reached out and grabbed Dong Gua, continuing their rapid retreat.
At the main position of the Bai Li Flowing Clouds formation.
Xu Jin gazed with disgust at the rapidly fleeing figures of Dong Gua and the Pig Mask.
"Should I go and eliminate them both?" asked an elder standing beside him.
"No. They likely have other uses," Xu Jin shook his head slightly, turning his gaze back.
"Let's focus on the post-formation search instead. Don't let anyone escape, or the other sects will laugh at us."
The elder looked at the pillar of spiritual light piercing the heavens and spoke in a somewhat odd tone.
"I think being able to survive at all is impressive enough. Anyone with the energy to run is probably out of steam."
The battle at the Silent Bone Forest had completely subsided.
After confirming there would be no further reinforcements, the concealed cultivators had joined the assault as well. In mere moments, total victory was secured.
The backup forces the Goat Mask had mentioned were also entirely suppressed.
Not a single one of them was left alive.
Once defeat became certain, they had all chosen to self-destruct their source power.
But self-destruction wasn't something just anyone could pull off. It depended on cultivation level.
At the very least, Half a Melon wasn't quite at that tier yet.
First, Li Xingtian had used his blood aura to seal his meridians. Then, a master cultivator had thoroughly locked down Half a Melon's spirit sea and spiritual energy.
Half a Melon didn't put up any pointless struggles. He simply waited in silence for judgment to arrive.
"Melon."
At the sound of his name, Melon opened his eyes and found Cui Hao approaching — alone, having even moved a distance away from Li Xingtian, who had been standing nearby.
This was apparently at Cui Hao's specific request.
Cui Hao asked calmly: "Is there anything you'd like to say?"
"Just kill me." A smile appeared on Melon's face as he replied with equal calm. "I don't have any useful intelligence."
"That's not what I want to ask about."
Cui Hao crouched down, looking directly into Melon's eyes.
"I've always known you were very clever. You had more capabilities than Dong Gua, but as I observed you along the way, you always gave me the impression of someone who didn't want to live."
"You probably didn't even warn Dong Gua much even when you knew something was wrong. What was your reason for that?"
The smile remained on Melon's face, but he said nothing.
"Then let's make a deal." Cui Hao's expression turned completely serious.
"Tell me, and I'll let you die. Otherwise, you'll keep on living — hung at the gates of Ta Dao Sect, living very, very well."
At those words, the smile on Melon's face finally cracked. His expression settled into stillness.
"You don't seem like the type to do that. The greatest sense of dissonance you give me, actually, is that you've always seemed like a good person."
"Dong Gua sees everyone as a villain, so she never felt that disconnect from you."
Cui Hao shook his head slightly, his tone sincere.
"I just want to be a good person most of the time. But when there's no other choice, I'll play the villain too."
"Being too hung up on questions of righteousness makes it easy to fail at protecting even the people beside you."
"I've followed my master for so long. The thing I've learned most from him is probably his protectiveness toward his own."
"Even though I'm the one he protects the least."
Melon regarded the earnest-faced Cui Hao before him with an indecipherable expression. After a long moment, he finally spoke.
"Because the most important person to me is in the Heavenly Beyond. Only if I die — only if my mission truly ends — will they not be implicated."
"As for where the Heavenly Beyond is, that's not something I'm in a position to know."
"I'm nothing but a disposable pawn. Spending time on me would be a waste."
Cui Hao nodded in understanding, then rose to his feet.
"Alright. Get some good sleep here, then."
With those words, Cui Hao turned and walked away, giving a slight nod to the person standing nearby.
He didn't look back, making his way toward Li Xingtian and Lin Luoyu.
Lin Luoyu glanced in Melon's direction but didn't intervene, instead asking Cui Hao:
"Are you alright?"
A smile spread across Cui Hao's face. "I've made a major contribution this time, Junior Brother. What could possibly be wrong?"
Li Xingtian didn't say much, simply patting Cui Hao on the shoulder.
Neither of them pressed Cui Hao on what he had asked or why he had acted without seeking their master's permission.
Sometimes, trust answered all questions.
Chu Xingchen stood a short distance away, watching his three disciples.
He saw Cui Hao once again wearing that deferential expression, seemingly flattering Li Xingtian.
Lin Luoyu looked faintly displeased, though a smile broke through moments later.
Li Xingtian didn't smile. His expression was resigned, and he seemed to agree to something at the end.
"The world isn't that beautiful. Some things, you have to let your disciples face themselves eventually. The road ahead is one they must walk on their own."
"That Cui Hao is your fifth disciple, right? His heart is still a bit too soft. He could use some tempering."
Daozi Yuyang stood beside Chu Xingchen, his gaze following the disciples as he spoke.
"Your second disciple, though — he seems to have real promise."
Chu Xingchen shot Daozi Yuyang a sideways glance, his tone less than friendly.
"Keep talking and I'll have my second disciple eat you."
Daozi Yuyang shrugged, utterly unconcerned.
Chu Xingchen was absolutely defensive about this — embarrassed and angry. His disciples were without question his only weakness.
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