Chapter 69: Bloodshed

Liao Yan and the old man Situ Chuan had not been gone from the foot of the mountain for even a quarter of an hour when three elderly men, dressed in dark robes, swiftly descended. On the mountain slope, hundreds of disciples of the Netherworld Palace were also rapidly descending.

"Who did this, do they want to die?!"

On the mountain path behind the Purple Mist Hall, the three revered outer sect elders of the Netherworld Palace looked at the scene before them, their eyes filled with rage. The three old faces were grim and fierce, exuding a chilling aura.

In front of them, the ground was in chaos. Seven or eight attendants, including Lei Song, lay dead in various corners, drenched in blood, clearly having been recently slain. This sight made the three men lose control, their anger reaching its peak!

Their group had been on the pursuit, and wherever they went, the local forces had always greeted them with utmost respect, like obedient servants. Now, in such a minor sect, someone dared to attack their people. Even if the ones killed were just some unimportant attendants, it was still a challenge to the dignity of the entire Netherworld Palace, an unforgivable act!

"Whoever did this, we will first wash this sect in blood! To dare desecrate our palace, they deserve death!" The old man with a youthful face and white hair shouted, his sleeve sweeping out, shattering a corner of the Purple Mist Hall's eaves. "How hateful, I never thought that little thief would actually be here, we almost fell for Liao Yan's trick!"

Although Lei Song had crushed the jade token before dying, sending the message up the mountain, the three men were no ordinary individuals. The scene before them and the empty surroundings left no room for doubt!

Clearly, at this point, the three men had seen through Liao Yan's deception. They were all filled with deep hatred and rage.

What kind of status did they hold, yet they almost fell for a trick here? Now that they knew everything, they all wished to turn this land into a bloodbath to vent their anger!

"Kill!! Any living thing in this sect, even a dog, must not be spared today!"

The hunched old man, who had been sitting in the center of the lecture hall on Yunlan Peak, spoke coldly. The three outer sect elders clearly followed his lead. As soon as he was enraged, the air was filled with an intangible killing aura, foretelling a storm of blood and rain that would soon descend upon this sect!

Soon, the hundreds of Netherworld Palace disciples also rushed down the mountain. Seeing the scene before them and the elders' faces filled with anger, they too were filled with murderous intent, like a group of demons unleashed!

"Kill! Wash this land in blood, let those ants know the consequences of challenging the Netherworld Palace!" The group shouted, none of them were good people. Having spent so long in the Netherworld Palace, they had developed an extremely dark and insane craving for blood!

"Old Ghost Youfeng, you lead the people to chase those who have fled down the mountain. I and Old Ghost Youze will chase in the direction of the forest. There are two figures that just escaped in that direction, and I suspect the little thief also fled that way!"

A moment later, the hunched old man continued coldly, his eyes filled with a thick shadow. Liao Yan and Situ Chuan had just fled in the direction of the forest, and with this old man's terrifying cultivation, he could still catch a faint trace of their presence.

From this, the old man concluded that the little thief they were tracking likely fled in that direction as well, as normal people would protect their important targets with their main force.

"Go, Old Ghost Youfeng. Isn't the bone magic staff in your hand in dire need of fresh blood for its ritual? This is a good opportunity. I and Old Ghost Youkuang will catch the little thief and then join you!" The old man with a youthful face and white hair sneered, a cold aura emanating from his brows. He was the Youze mentioned by the old man, and now, in his anger, his face was as cold as ice, like a demonic swamp ready to swallow the living.

"Good, everyone follow me. We will chase and kill, leaving no one alive!" Youfeng, the old man who had been sitting on the right, shouted. The hundreds of Netherworld Palace disciples immediately followed, their faces filled with murderous intent.

They were going to kill, to wash this sect in blood. Although the disciples and members of the Flowing Cloud Sect had already fled and scattered a few hours ago, there were only three paths out of the Cloudy Mist Mountains. This group of demons, now in pursuit, would inevitably lead to the slaughter of many of Shen Chen's former comrades!

This was a disaster of unimaginable scale. In the face of the Netherworld Palace, a massive entity, there would be no suspense. From today on, the entire Flowing Cloud Sect would be erased from this land, and all the hard work of generations of disciples would be reduced to ashes...

Behind the Purple Mist Hall, the two outer sect elders Youze and Youkuang of the Netherworld Palace exchanged a cold glance and then rushed towards the forest.

This forest was the same one used for the first round of the Flowing Cloud Sect's competition, but at the time, Liao Yan and others had only used a small area on the outskirts. Behind the competition site, there was a vast primeval forest, connected to the Cloudy Mist Mountains.

Liao Yan and Situ Chuan, staying behind, had rushed into it, using the complex terrain of the primeval forest to buy more time for the disciples and Shen Chen, though they both knew the risks involved...

...

When Liao Yan and Situ Chuan successfully diverted the main force of the Netherworld Palace, on one of the mountain paths leading out of the Cloudy Mist Mountains, Shen Chen and his group were also fleeing, their teeth clenched. Situ Ya's eyes were already red from crying, and with every step, she couldn't help but look back, her eyes filled with sorrow, no longer the seductive woman she once was.

She had grown up in the Flowing Cloud Sect, and in over fifty years, she had left the mountains only a few times. Everything around Yunlan Peak was deeply etched in her soul. Now, with the Flowing Cloud Sect gone, her father and the sect leader's fate unknown, the pain in her heart had pushed her to the brink of collapse. If not for the lingering hope in her heart, this seductive middle-aged woman would have already turned back to fight.

Besides Situ Ya and Xiao Zhenhai, Chen Fanghao and Lu Hao, who had successfully dispersed the disciples, quickly caught up, along with several other high-ranking hall masters and enforcers of the Flowing Cloud Sect.

Although the group looked small in number, they were all elites of the Flowing Cloud Sect. The other disciples had been dispersed by the two elders, instructed to flee in the direction of the thorny and overgrown areas.

In such a large-scale escape, the four sect elders could not take care of too many people. Now, their only hope was to protect these two young disciples, whom Liao Yan considered the greatest hope for the sect.

In fact, not only was Situ Ya in deep sorrow, but everyone in the group was heavy-hearted. Shen Chen's fists were clenched, his fingers bleeding, as if only the intense pain could help him remember everything that was happening!

"Over there..."

After crossing a hill, the group stood on the