"You're told to kill, yet you don't dare. What kind of sect elder are you???" Li Xiaoyao sneered mockingly, then turned around and swung his sword, severing the head of a giant snake with razor-sharp precision.

Seeing Li Xiaoyao's sinister and cold smile, Rush become even more cautious and dared not make a rash move. He had already begun to believe Li Xiaoyao's words. Similarly, Xie Yun also hesitated to take any risks himself; the dark shadow that had once loomed over him left too strong an impression, and he still hadn't fully recovered from the psychological trauma it caused.

The beast horde grew increasingly ferocious, while more and more disciples from Canghai Sect arrived as reinforcements. Each of them entered the fray with fierce determination, charging into the mass of demonic beasts and starting their slaughter, as if they themselves were the true beasts.

Zhao Xinyi also arrived and saw Li Xiaoyao moving through the horde as if nothing could touch him. Every time his sword flashed, blood from a monster splattered. What's more, Li Xiaoyao wasn't even using his Spirit Martial Realm strength, only showing the power of the ninth level of the Qiwu Martial Realm. His swordplay had clear form and technique, but each strike was incredibly powerful.

Li Xiaoyao's swordsmanship had reached a level of complete control—fast, accurate, and ruthless. Even without using sword techniques, his strength was undeniable. The crowd couldn't discern just how powerful he truly was.

"Damn thing!" Zhao Xinyi cursed in her heart, drawing her bow and releasing an arrow. It shot through the air and directly killed the demonic beast Li Xiaoyao was about to deal with.

Li Xiaoyao looked back, meeting Zhao Xinyi's icy gaze. He gave her a casual smile, entirely unbothered.

"Roar!" Just then, an enraged roar echoed, accompanied by the sound of galloping hooves, and the ground began to tremble. Everyone felt as if the ground would collapse beneath them, their expressions changing slightly.

"A powerful demonic beast is coming. Fall back!"

Many people began retreating as a terrifying aura surged into the sky. A dark mist started pressing in from a distance, and the trees along its path withered in an instant.

"So terrifying..."

Everyone retreated rapidly. this level of beast is at least at the Spirit Beast level, which would spell certain death for any outer disciples who attempted to confront it.

Li Xiaoyao could feel the overwhelming demonic aura surging into the sky. He kept retreating, He didn't have the confidence to think he could fend off the beast horde alone. The group of beasts he had encountered earlier was just a minor skirmish.

However, just as Li Xiaoyao was retreating, a powerful force pressed down on him from behind, pushing him forward and holding him in place, preventing him from moving back.

"You're such a fucking brute!" Li Xiaoyao shouted angrily, his expression cold and his eyes fixed furiously on Elder Xie Yun behind him. He didn't need to guess who was responsible; only Elder Xie Yun possessed such a strong, oppressive force that could stop him from retreating without even lifting a hand.

Hearing Li Xiaoyao's furious shout, Xie Yun remained indifferent, sneering internally. He felt humiliated by an outer disciple's words and had been stewing over it. The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off. How could the possessor of the Shadow Martial Soul have followed Li Xiaoyao around constantly? Xie Yun had carefully observed the surroundings and hadn't spotted any extra shadows.

Well...obviously , Xie Yun couldn't be entirely certain that no one else was there, so he decided to test Li Xiaoyao with this method.

The demonic aura grew closer, and it felt as if the ground was about to overturn. In the distance, a dense black fog rolled toward them, surrounded by various powerful demonic beasts, each one exuding an aura that sent chills down the spine.

"It's over...it's over...... Elder Xie Yun is deliberately giving him trouble—he's doomed."

Everyone had retreated behind Xie Yun, while Li Xiaoyao alone was blocked. They could clearly see that this was Xie Yun's doing, and many cursed Li Xiaoyao inwardly for his lack of awareness, this was the price of offending an elder.

"This demonic aura is extremely strong—if I stay here, I'll die for sure."

With his keen senses, Li Xiaoyao felt the danger and let out a furious shout. His figure flickered as he attempted to sidestep Xie Yun and retreat.

"Hmph, it seems the Shadow Martial Soul guy isn't with him after all," Xie Yun thought, sneering to himself. But he spoke aloud, saying, "As a disciple of Canghai Sect, how dare you to flee in the face of the enemy? You disgrace our sect!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a thick vine shot out from Xie Yun's body, massive and lightning-fast, and in an instant, it reached Li Xiaoyao.

Li Xiaoyao's already immobilized body trembled as the vine coiled around him like a giant python, binding him tightly and leaving him unable to move.

"Martial Soul—this is Elder Xieyun's Vine Python Martial Soul!"

The crowd shuddered. It was clear that Xie Yun was determined to kill Li Xiaoyao. An outer disciple daring to defy an elder—his fate was sealed.

Some among the crowd secretly looked down on Xie Yun for this; after all, it was petty of a sect elder to go after an outer disciple. But they only dared to keep these thoughts hidden, as no one would risk angering Xie Yun in this situation.

"You baseness!!!!!!" Li Xiaoyao shouted furiously, his sword flashing as he struck with all his strength. But his powerful sword strike only managed to cut a small gash in the Vine Python Martial Soul, it was impossible to break free.

Li Xiaoyao was exceptionally talented, easily defeating opponents of his level and even able to take on those of higher realms. However, Elder Xie Yun was a powerful inner sect elder, and the difference in their strength was too great. Talent alone could not bridge the gap. Facing Xie Yun's shameless tactics, Li Xiaoyao was completely at a loss.

"A dignified inner sect elder, and you have no shame！！！".

At that moment, a cold voice rang out, catching everyone's attention. It was Zhao Xinyi, a beautiful and sought-after outer sect disciple.

"Hmm?" Xie Yun frowned and cast a glance at Zhao Xinyi, letting out a cold snort. He dared not act against her, knowing well who she was. Although Zhao Xinyi's father shared the same name as his own father, Xie Canglan, whenever the name "Canglan" was mentioned in the Canghai Sect, it was Zhao Canglan who came to mind first—a man of the younger generation and a legendary figure known as the "Divine Archer," who once stood side-by-side with the current sect master, Nangong Shang, as unmatched talents of their time.

With her arrow spirit awakened, the silver Xuan Bow firmly in her grasp, Zhao Xinyi drew back six arrows and aimed them at the Vine Serpent Spirit.

Zhao Canglan possessed a spirit of righteousness, and Zhao Xinyi had a deep-seated hatred for injustice. Although she had a grudge against Li Xiaoyao, she despised Xie Yun's shameless behavior even more.

She knew the arrows would be useless, but Zhao Xinyi released them anyway, only to confirm that they indeed could not shake the Vine Serpent Spirit.

Li Xiaoyao's eyes held a hint of irony. Of all people, he hadn't expected Zhao Xinyi to be the one to stand up for him.

"Human hearts are treacherous; I was too careless," Li Xiaoyao sighed inwardly. He had not expected to encounter Xie Yun here, nor that Xie Yun would stoop to such despicable means.

Moreover, with Xie Yun's overwhelming strength, he alone called the shots here. No one dared to resist him. Zhao Xinyi was an exception, yet her defiance was to no avail.

Suddenly, a swarm of beasts charged forward with incredible speed, roaring as a black mist swept through, devouring everything in its path with terrifying might.

"What a powerful Phantom Demon Beast; it must be at the seventh level of the spirit beast," Xie Yun thought to himself, sensing the creature's ominous aura. A level-seventh spirit beast was equivalent to a Spirit Martial Realm seventh-tier expert, and with the natural ferocity of beasts, an ordinary Spirit Martial seventh-tier cultivator would stand no chance against it.

As for Li Xiaoyao... Xie Yun's eyes gleamed with a murderous intent.

"Xie Yun, how dare you!" A thunderous voice rebuked him, echoing like rolling thunder. The figure had yet to arrive, but the voice reached them first.

Xie Yun's face darkened as he scowled and, in a sudden move, used his Vine Python Martial Soul to fling Li Xiaoyao's body straight toward the horde of beasts.