Chapter 873: Making Another Move Pt.2

“Yanlin Ju?! Is he still alive?!” A complicated light flashed in Yanlin Jue’s eyes. He was feeling nothing but shock at the moment.

On the platform, Shang Xia’s clone heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the hesitation on Yanlin Jue’s face. The smile on his face widened as he continued, “That’s right! Ever since Yanlin Ju chose to save the race, there were 17 Martial Ancestors who also chose to give up fighting. There are close to a hundred cultivators of your race in the Third Order of the Primary Realm and many more of lower cultivation realms. However, all of their cultivations have been sealed at the moment and they are quietly living in the Yanlin Holy Land. We made an oath such that after we leave, they will definitely regain their freedom.”

Pausing slightly, Shang Xia seemed to be giving Yanling Jue a chance to take in the information. After some time, Shang Xia continued, “After all, our goal isn’t to exterminate your race or to carry out a massacre. It holds more meaning to us. Moreover, we won’t be here for long!”

Shang Xia’s clone seemed to reveal a lot of information in the short conversation with Yanlin Jue, and he also understood the meaning behind Shang Xia’s words.

Yanlin Ju was still alive!

He was the most promising junior of their clan. As long as he was alive, there would still be hope for their Yanlin Race. Moreover, Yanlin Ju was already a Martial Sage and he was part of the clan’s foundations.

With the exception of Yanlin Ju, there were many low-level cultivators of the clan still alive! Their lives, along with the existence of the Yanlin Clan’s complete inheritance would ensure that their clan’s legacy had a chance to live on!

One had to know that after the city fell, Yanling Jue had been trying to gather all surviving members of the clan.

However, those in the city were either slain or were in bad shape. One had to know that the clansmen in the Yanlin Holy Land consisted of more than 50 percent of the clan’s foundations! No matter how hard Yanlin Jue worked outside the city, those he could save, or had already saved, were far from being able to revive the clan! That was because of those he saved, most of them were ordinary citizens. There were barely any cultivators. If those were all of the Yanlin Clan that remained, their days as one of the 3 strongest factions of the Azure Flame World were over!

Yanlin Jue knew the implications, and that was why he was willing to be used by Yuancang Ming and the others as they besieged the city. He chose to be part of the vanguard for a chance to take revenge for his clansmen. He was even prepared to sacrifice himself to get rid of the grand formation and drag a few Outsiders down with him.

Now that he entered the city, he heard that a good portion of his clansmen were still alive! They were trapped in the Yanlin Holy Land and his dying heart was reignited with hope.

Naturally, he wasn’t worried that the other party was trying to lie to him in order to buy them some time. After all, no one would lie with a blood oath on the line. The higher one’s cultivation was the greater the impact of them breaking an oath.

That wasn’t all. What shocked him even more was the fact that the Yanlin Holy Land was still intact!

What does this mean...

The reason the Yanlin Clan was able to maintain their spot as one of the 3 strongest factions of the Azure Flame World and to monopolize the Southern Yanlin Continent was because of their foundations of 8 Martial Sages, and also the presence of their Holy Land!

They might have suffered a massive setback due to the invasion of the Outsiders, but Yanlin Jue was a peak-tier expert of the Yanlin Clan and he was still alive! Yanlin Ju, their most promising junior, was also alive and well. If those injured Martial Sages of their clan could recover, along with the low-level cultivators of the clan... The Yanlin Clan would be able to retain their status of a second-tier power in the Azure Flame WOrld!

If they managed to retain control over their Holy Land... It wouldn’t be a dream for them to regain the glory of the past!

Ignoring the cries of the 2 who should be keeping an eye on him, Yanlin Jue took half a step back. Even though his heart was stirred, he maintained his calm. He asked in a low voice, “Why are you doing this?”

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Shang Xia might seem relieved, but he didn’t relax even though he managed to calm the other party down. He replied seriously, “It’s simple. I believe all of you can already tell that we’re trying to buy time. Once we’re done with what we need to do, we will leave your world. When that happens, the restriction on your clansman will be released and they will regain their freedom.”

“Even though I don’t know your goal, even if you keep your promise, do you think the other factions will allow us to regain our strength after you leave?” Yanlin Jue sneered.

Shang Xia’s clone remained silent on the platform.

He could see the entire situation clearly. The Yanlin Clan might be one of the 3 strongest superpowers of the Azure Flame World, but the other factions wouldn’t give them another chance to make their rise. Once they left, it was entirely possible that the Yanlin Clan would be eaten up and split up by the various powers.

Shang Xia’s clone could have easily said that it wasn’t his problem, but that would definitely infuriate Yanlin Jue. He didn’t know how to answer.

His silence clearly pissed Yanlin Jue off, and his voice rang in Shang Xia’s ears again. “I’m afraid your companions won’t be able to hold them off for long!”

Shang Xia’s clone snapped back to reality as he stared at the battle that was taking place. Those Formation Grandmasters might be in the Martial Dipper Realm, but they were far too weak. Even with the help of formations, they were forced back repeatedly by their opponents. They would be defeated at any second.

With his heart trembling slightly, Shang Xia asked, “What do you propose then?”

Waving his hand towards Shang Xia’s clone, Yanlin Jue muttered, “As long as you swear a blood oath to destroy the entrance of the Holy Land when you leave, I’ll accept.”

Shang Xia’s clone didn’t understand what was going on, and he asked, “Oh? Why is that?”

“All you need to do is to make the oath. You don’t have to concern yourself with anything more. After all, it concerns a secret of our race.” Yanlin Jue growled.

Shang Xia's clone didn’t quite know what to do, but the third soul Martial Sages who had been held back earlier felt a little uneasy after seeing everything that was going on. The moment Yanlin Jue made an agreement with the Outsiders, the 2 of them would most likely be killed when Yanlin Jue turned against them.

“Yanlin Jue, do you know what you’re doing?! They created the Beast Tide and destroyed your city! They’re the culprits who massacred your clansmen!”

“Yanlin Jue, you’re falling for their trap!”

No matter how hard they screamed, Yanlin Jue didn’t seem moved. All he wanted to do was to ensure the safety of the 80,000 clansmen in the Yanlin Holy Land. After all, they’re the foundation that would ensure the rise of the Yanlin Clan again.

For the 80,000 clansmen that consisted of thousands of cultivators, Yanlin Jue could do anything!

“There should be another entrance to the Yanlin Holy Land, am I right?” Another voice came from the skies above.

Yanlin Jue’s expression changed and he raised his head to see a figure appearing from the void. He gritted his teeth and growled, “Sage Kou, it really is you!”

Kou Chongxue had been rampaging about the Azure Flame World for dozens of years and there were many people who recognized him. It could be said that ‘Sage Kou’ was actually the culprit who caused their world to be invaded!

When Shang Xia’s clone saw Kou Chongxue, he finally managed to calm himself down.

However, he soon became curious. He didn’t know if there was really another entrance to the Yanlin Holy Land. From the look on Yanlin Jue’s face, it was probably real.

For there to be another entrance to the Yanlin Holy Land...

Why didn’t Yanlin Jue bring the experts from the Azure Flame World into the Yanlin Holy Land from the other entrance? Wouldn’t it make taking back the city a lot easier?

Kou Chongxue nodded once at Yanlin Jue and continued, “This old man can make the blood oath to leave behind the last trace of hope for your Yanlin Clan. I also promise not to destroy the Yanlin Holy Land. We will also destroy this entrance when we leave.”

Yanlin Jue stared at Kou Chongxue and muttered, “How would you like to deal with the 2 of them? Are you planning for me to help you?”

Kou Chongxue chuckled in response. “There’s no need for that. In order to prevent suspicion, I can deal with them for you.”

Kou Chongxue didn’t bother hiding his discussion with Yanlin Jue. After hearing their conversation, the third soul Martial Sages forced their opponents back before turning to run.

A soft laugh came from Kou Chongxue’s lips. His figure disappeared into the void and 2 miserable cries came next. The sign of 2 Martial Sages being slain appeared in the skies above the city, causing some chaos outside the city.

There were several Martial Sages struggling against the Martial Dipper Realm experts making use of the formations in the city, but there were already 40 Martial Extermination Realm experts holding them back. From how things were looking, they were afraid they would have to leave their lives behind.

The death of the 2 third soul Martial Sages behind them caused their emotions to be greatly affected.

A massive commotion broke out outside their encirclement the next second. A blood-soaked Yanlin Jue broke through the encirclement and grabbed them. “Hurry and run! This is a trap! A supreme expert from the other side is hiding in ambush!”

With the fear of their third soul Martial Sages being slain filling their hearts, they saw how bad of a state Yanlin Jue was in. There was no hesitation as they followed behind Yanlin Jue to escape the city.

The next moment, a cold sneer came from the fluctuating space where the 2 Martial Sages fell. “Do you really think it’s going to be so easy to escape the trap I laid down?”

“Oh no!” Yanlin Jue roared and he stopped to cover for those who were escaping. “Hurry and run! I’ll hold him back!”

“Brother Yanlin...”

Yanlin Jue didn’t even turn back as he cried, “If I die, I hope you guys will take care of the Yanlin Clansmen I left behind. Now... Run! Leave me! As long as any of you manage to escape, my death will not be in vain!”

Cupping their fists towards Yanlin Jue, they rushed towards the weakest point of the protection formation which was at the south of the city at the moment.

As they were about to reach the edge of the city, a mind-numbingly powerful sword intent appeared in their divine will. Yanlin Jue’s miserable cry rang through the skies next.

They stepped out of the city successfully, and when they turned back to look, they saw a distressed Yanlin Jue turning into a streak of blood light that was forced out of the city. He tilted his head over to them and forced a smile before passing out.

Grabbing the heavily injured Yanlin Jue, the 2 of them started to make their escape. However, they discovered that Yanlin Jue’s cultivation had already dropped back to a third soul Martial Sage. Clearly, he sacrificed a clone to get away from the supreme expert earlier!