Chapter 14: Attack

"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist White Stone is on our side now. He wouldn't dare to do anything to you in the future," Han Li said with a smile as he rose to his feet, taking a subtle glance at Daoist Master White Stone as he did so.

The elderly daoist priest shuddered upon hearing this, and he hurriedly nodded insistently to pledge his loyalty, while his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

Liu Le'er's expression eased slightly upon seeing this.

"Let's get out of here."

Han Li latched onto Liu Le'er's hand and made his way over to the stone door of the secret chamber before pressing his palm against it.

Right as he was about to push the door open, he suddenly stopped what he was doing, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Liu Le'er could sense the slight change in Han Li's demeanor, and she raised her head to look up at him with an inquisitive expression.

"What a coincidence!" Han Li chuckled before pushing the stone door open and making his way outside.

The sky outside was quite dark, indicating that it was already nighttime, but from the island, one could see that the entirety of the Yu Manor was as bright as day, having been illuminated by flames.

Sounds of battle could be heard ringing out from the front yard, interspersed with booming explosions.

Dense smoke was rising up from all over the Yu Manor like a series of black demonic dragons ascending into the night sky.

Even though Han Li's trio was situated on the island far away from where everyone else in the Yu Manor was, there was still a remarkably strong scent of bloodshed in the air.

"What's going on?" Liu Le'er asked as she swept her gaze around the Yu Manor with an incredulous expression.

"Do you know what's happening?" Han Li asked as he turned to Daoist Master White Stone.

"I'm afraid not, Senior. Perhaps the Yu Family is being attacked by its enemies," Daoist Master White Stone replied in a hesitant voice, then fell silent with a respectful expression, awaiting further instructions.

Han Li took a glance at Liu Le'er to find that she was also looking up at him, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "I suppose I owe Yu Qi a favor for waking me up from my prior state, so I can't just leave without doing anything. Let's go and take a look."

With that, the three of them emerged from the daoist temple, then traveled toward the front yard of the Yu Manor.

The closer they drew to the front yard, the clearer the sounds of battle became. By the time the three of them arrived at that circular archway, they were greeted by the sight of a hellish scene.

The small courtyard beyond the archway was laden with piles upon piles of mangled bodies, most of which were wearing the armor assigned to the guards of the prime minister's manor, while only a very small proportion of them were wearing black assassin garments.

The courtyard was illuminated by fire, and there was a white light barrier in the corner of the courtyard that was closest to the front yard, which was keeping around a dozen black-suited figures at bay.

Right at this moment, a spiral-shaped cone of fire shot up from the group of black-suited figures, and upon reaching an altitude of several dozen feet above the light barrier, it suddenly descended from above, swooping down like a rapidly revolving fiery dragon.

A resounding boom rang out as the cone of fire struck the light barrier, and having already been struggling to hold itself together, the light barrier instantly shattered upon impact.

Immediately thereafter, a deep voice rang out. "Kill them!"

The dozen or so black-suited figures immediately charged toward the corner with their weapons raised.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Stop them," Han Li ordered in an indifferent voice.

Daoist Master White Stone immediately stepped into the courtyard before opening his mouth to release a burst of black light.

The ball of black light contained the same serpentine flying sword from before, and it arrived above the black-suited figures in the blink of an eye.

A sharp screeching sound rang out as the flying sword shuddered, releasing several dozen bursts of black sword qi that shot down rapidly from above.

The sound of flesh and bones being punctured rang out incessantly within the courtyard, accompanied by agonized howls.

All of the black-suited figures were instantly killed on the spot, with the exception of one with a short beard who managed to react quite quickly and rolled several dozen feet away.

"Who's there?" the black-suited man asked in an aggressive voice.

Daoist Master White Stone offered no response as he swept a hand through the air, and the flying sword that was hovering in mid-air instantly came swooping down, hurtling directly toward the man's chest.

The black-suited man's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he hurriedly swept a sleeve through the air to release a small blue shield, which quickly expanded to form a giant shield that positioned itself in front of him.

At the same time, he raised his other hand, and the flames of the cone of fire reared up as it sped rapidly toward the black flying sword.

A resounding boom rang out, and flames scattered in all directions as the cone of fire exploded, falling down from above as balls of fire.

As for the black flying sword, it pierced directly into the black-suited man's chest. The giant blue shield had also been punctured as if it were nothing more than a papier mache structure, posing no resistance to the flying sword at all.

"You're... a Core Formation cultivator..." the black-suited man gurgled as blood poured out of his mouth and nostrils.

Daoist Master White Stone drew his flying sword back to himself with a wave of his hand, then scoffed in a disdainful voice, "To think that a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to oppose someone as mighty as myself..."

Before he finished his sentence, he abruptly shut his mouth, then stole a fearful glance at Han Li.

Han Li didn't react to his arrogant proclamation at all. All he did was make his way over to a corner of the courtyard, where two people were huddled together.

One of them was a young man in a bloodstained azure robe with a head of disheveled hair. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but his aura was quite feeble, and it was clear that he was close to being a spent force.

Behind him was a young woman in servant's clothing, curled up into a ball. Her entire body was stained with blood, and she was trembling with fear, not daring to raise her head.

Liu Le'er faltered slightly upon identifying the young woman, then called out, "Sister Xiao Wu?"

The young woman's body stiffened upon hearing this, and she slowly poked her head out from behind the young man. In the instant that she caught sight of Liu Le'er, she immediately burst into tears.

Liu Le'er hurriedly rushed forward to help her to her feet.

The young man hesitated momentarily, then also struggled to his feet before imploring, "Daoist Master White Stone, please save the young mistress... Hurry!"

Daoist Master White Stone faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he offered no response. Instead, he took a glance at Han Li.

"Where is the young mistress?" Han Li asked.

The young man clearly didn't recognize Han Li, so he was rather taken aback by this question, but he still replied, "When Xiao Wu and I were sent to request reinforcements from the island, the young mistress was being protected by the other elders at the main estate, but given how fearsome the enemies are, I don't think they'll be able to last much longer."

"Stay here and treat your own wounds. Xiao Wu, you're most familiar with the layout of the Yu Manor, lead the way to the main estate," Han Li instructed in an indifferent manner.

At this point, Xiao Wu had stopped crying under Liu Le'er's consolation, and she turned to Han Li with a perplexed expression, wondering why the man who had been mentally handicapped just a few hours ago had suddenly started issuing orders to everyone.

The young man was also rather bewildered.

It was clear to him that Han Li was the leader of the group. Daoist Master White Stone was one of the most respected figures in the Yu Manor, yet he seemed to also be content to follow Han Li's lead.

"Alright, come with me."

Xiao Wu took a moment to collect herself, then rushed toward the front yard, followed closely by Han Li's trio.

Some time had already passed since the Yu Manor was first attacked, and the entire front yard of the manor was laden with bodies, some of which were guards, while others were servants. It seemed that the black-suited figures were intent on slaughtering everyone in the Yu Manor.

Liu Le'er was horrified by the sights that she beheld along the way. Even though she was already aware of the cruel and bloodthirsty nature of humans, the scenes presented to her still made her develop a completely new understanding of the human race.

Aside from the piles of bodies everywhere, they also encountered several groups of black-suited figures, but almost all of them were killed by Daoist Master White Stone in mere moments.

Occasionally, they would encounter some Foundation Establishment cultivators, but they were no match for Daoist Master White Stone, either.

Thus, the four of them passed through a corridor and continued to rush toward the main estate.