Once again, Xiang Shaoyun turned invisible to flee. This time, there was no Beiming Tianpeng’s mirror to reveal him, allowing him to focus on fleeing. He traveled through space at his top speed. He did not know where he was heading, but he didn’t care as his only goal was to distance himself from those Saints.
After an indeterminate amount of time, when he finally felt safe, he dove down toward the mountain ridge ahead of him. He had to find a place to recover his strength and heal his wounds. Otherwise, the energy in his body would remain chaotic, and it wouldn’t be beneficial for him.
He looked extremely miserable. Even with the devil core’s energy helping him heal, terrifying wounds were still visible on his body. Fortunately, the wounds were all rapidly healing. The rapid healing speed was not only due to the devil core he had dissolved but also due to his powerful devil blood.
All his blood had been changed by the devil leeches during his time with the Imperial Nether Clan, ensuring that he only had pure Imperial Nether Clan bloodline in him. The Imperial Nether Clan bloodline had incredibly powerful healing capabilities. It might not be as powerful as the Undying Devil Clan’s, but its healing prowess still couldn’t be underestimated.
Xiang Shaoyun circulated his energy, nourishing his wounds with the energy from the devil core. At the same time, the devilish energy was also entering his devil pearl and incessantly enhancing his devil pearl. Eventually, he reached peak second-stage Devil Saint Realm.
His rapid advancement wasn’t surprising, as he was dissolving cores from Devil Saints. These cores were the ones he had obtained from killing imperial nether devils and dark devourer devils during his time at the Devil Domain’s seventh layer.
At this time, Beiming Tianpeng’s group had assembled yet again. Of the initial 81 people, only 38 were left. In other words, 43 Saints had perished. If news of the deaths of so many Saints spread, it would shock the entire world. This was a calamity of Saints, one that even the world would weep for.
The path to becoming a Saint was an arduous one. Every single Saint had become a Saint through bitter training, having eventually changed one’s fate and gained supreme strength.
In the span of one day, 43 Saints had perished. This was a great loss for humanity. The surviving 38 Saints had low morale. After witnessing Xiang Shaoyun’s dreadfulness, they no longer had any interest in the devil extermination operation.
“Holy son, I wish to withdraw from the devil extermination operation. I’m too weak to be of any help against that devil,” said someone.
Before Beiming Tianpeng could say anything, someone else said, “That’s right. That devil is too powerful for us to deal with. Holy son and the other lords, we can only trouble you to deal with the devil. As for us, we really can’t be of any help.”
Next, more and more people requested to withdraw from the operation. These were the people whose confidence was shaken after witnessing Xiang Shaoyun’s strength. They believed that if the operation continued, they would be the next to die.
“Anyone else?” asked Beiming Tianpeng coldly.
After a short while, a few more cultivators declared their withdrawal. Of the 38 survivors, 13 had withdrawn, leaving only 25 people.
“Fine. I didn’t force anyone to come, neither would I force anyone to stay. But when we succeed in exterminating the devil, those who had withdrawn won’t have a share of the merit,” said Beiming Tianpeng with a disappointed look.
The Saints who had withdrawn looked shameful. One after another, they flew off the chariot and left by themselves.
“These cowards!” someone cursed.
“No wonder they can only reach this far in their cultivation. With such weak willpower, how can they hope to become Great Saints or even enter the Rebirth Realm in the future?” said a different person.
At this time, the scholar Hua Ruren looked at Beiming Tianpeng and asked, “Holy Son Tianpeng, do you plan to continue the operation?”
“Uncle Lai is still with us. He can sense the Sky Measuring Ruler’s location. Thus, it is only natural that we continue the operation. But I hope that the three lords will make a move immediately the next time we find him. We can’t give him the chance to use his Imperial Nether Clan abilities,” said Beiming Tianpeng.
After setting off with such a large group, if he had to return empty-handed, he would be reduced to a laughing stock. He was unwilling to accept failure.
“We will naturally do our best. But everyone, keep in mind to not hold back anymore. Otherwise, all of us will perish in the devil’s hands,” said Madam Yu Huan.
Beiming Tianpeng nodded and said, “Ok. We won’t hold anything back. We must slay the devil!”
And thus, the lotus chariot started moving again, heading in Xiang Shaoyun’s direction. But before they could go far, a figure appeared noiselessly before them, alarming everyone on the chariot. Nobody weaker than the Great Saint Realm would be able to approach them undetected.
When Beiming Tianpeng saw the newcomer, he hurriedly saluted and said, “Greetings, lord protector.”
The White Lotus Sect had 12 protectors in total. Each protector was a Great Saint, possessing high status in the White Lotus Sect. Even Beiming Tianpeng had to show them respect.
“The devil extermination operation ends here,” said the newcomer coldly.
“What?” everyone on the chariot exclaimed in shock.
After losing so many of their members, they had finally regained their confidence with much difficulty. They were just about to resume the operation, but now the operation was going to end? Was that a joke?
“Lord protector, wh-what’s the matter? We’re about to start the second round of the operation,” said Beiming Tianpeng.
“This is the order passed down from the sect. All organizations worldwide will receive the same news too. Xiang Shaoyun is the sole disciple of a lord guardian. He is not a devil. He had merely refined some devil blood in the past and learned some devil abilities,” said the protector.
Everyone was stunned.
They all cursed in their hearts, The hell? Is this even possible?
Everyone was already sure that Xiang Shaoyun was a devil. He had become a public enemy, but suddenly, his identity had changed, and he was no longer a devil. What in the world was going on?
“Lord guardian? Which lord guardian?” asked a confused Saint.
The status of the so-called lord guardian that even the White Lotus Sect feared was evident. They were only curious which lord guardian it was.
“In the dominion, the number of lord guardians can be counted on one hand. They are the strongest guardians of humanity. This lord guardian in particular hails from the Dragon Phoenix Academy,” said the protector with a look of reverence.
All the Saints were alarmed. As one of the few lord guardians in existence, Xiang Shaoyun’s master was most definitely at the very peak of the God Realm. It was no wonder that he had such a terrifying influence.
