Chapter 225: Chapter 170: Song Clan’s Yulong

"I’ll be back soon."

With just a few steps, Song Changsheng transformed into a streak of light and shot off into the distance...

In a long, narrow canyon, Song Yulong’s expression was grim as he watched the black-robed figures relentlessly pursuing him from behind.

"Brother, what do we do now?" a woman beside him asked worriedly.

They had already exhausted many of their trump cards along the way, but their opponents—with a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator wielding a Spiritual Artifact, plus several other Foundation Establishment Cultivators—completely overwhelmed them in every respect.

"If there’s no other choice, we’ll have to use that item. When the time comes, I’ll stay behind to cover our retreat. You take Qing’Er and that other cultivator and leave first," Song Yulong said in a heavy tone, his voice filled with resolve.

Song Yushi’s eyes immediately reddened. "This is all my fault," she said, blaming herself. "I shouldn’t have saved her. If I hadn’t, this group never would have targeted us."

"It’s not your fault," Song Yulong said, shaking his head as he glanced at the still-unconscious woman. "We were bound to run into them when we chose this route. Even if we hadn’t saved her, they still would’ve tried to kill us to silence us."

They had disembarked from a Golden Crow Sect Flying Ship not long ago and had heard about the current situation in the Daqi Cultivation World. An Elder from the Golden Crow Sect had been ambushed and killed, and a Direct Lineage disciple traveling with him was now missing. The Golden Crow Sect had already mobilized its forces to search for them.

To that end, they had deliberately chosen a more remote route to avoid getting caught up in the affair. Initially, the journey had been smooth, without any unusual incidents.

That was, until a day ago. While passing a small stream, Song Yushi discovered someone lying in the water.

Such scenes were common—usually the result of being robbed and killed for one’s treasures, or an ambush by an enemy. Song Yulong had no intention of getting involved, but Song Yushi felt a stir of compassion. Deciding to just check, she went to investigate and found that although the woman was heavily injured and unconscious, her life was not in danger.

Initially, Song Yulong had planned to treat her wounds, find a hidden place to leave her, and be done with it.

He hadn’t expected that while Song Yushi was inspecting the woman’s wounds, she would discover an Identity Jade Token of a Golden Crow Sect disciple on her—and one that suggested a high status, at that.

At that point, Song Yulong already had his suspicions about her identity. In his heart, he was unwilling to bring her along, as he bore the heavy responsibility of escorting the [Foundation Establishment Pills] back to his clan.

Before he could make up his mind, a group of furtive, black-robed figures appeared and attacked. The moment they revealed themselves, they made no attempt to conceal their killing intent toward Song Yulong and his group.

Forced to defend themselves, they could only counter-attack, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. In the end, their only option was to take the unconscious woman and flee.

After a full day and night of being pursued, their resources were severely depleted. The distance between them and their pursuers was steadily closing. If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before they were caught.

Song Yushi bit her lip, her heart filled with immense guilt. No matter how she looked at it, this whole situation was her fault.

"Watch out!"

Just then, Song Yulong shoved her aside. A crimson beam of light instantly grazed past her shoulder and slammed into a nearby hill, causing it to collapse.

Song Yushi broke out in a cold sweat. If Song Yulong hadn’t pushed her, she would be dead right now.

"Don’t lose focus. There’s something strange about the Spiritual Artifact they’re using," Song Yulong said, his expression grave.

"Where are we headed next?"

"We’ll stick to the route we planned. I’ve already sent a call for aid to the clan. As long as we can hold out a little longer, the clan will definitely send people to reinforce us," Song Yulong said with conviction.

With the three [Foundation Establishment Pills] in their possession, the clan would never abandon them. The only question was whether they could hold on long enough!

"Lord Steward, we must end this quickly," one of the black-robed assassins said to the black-robed Steward. "We’re about to enter the Wutong Mountain Range. There are two Foundation Establishment Families there. If our targets escape into their territory, it will put us at a great disadvantage."

A ruthless glint flashed in the black-robed Steward’s eyes upon hearing this. ’Although I don’t fear those two ant-like Foundation Establishment Families,’ he thought, ’this isn’t our home turf. A direct confrontation would be a major headache.’

After a moment’s hesitation, he took a miniature sword from within his robes. It was barely an inch long, pitch-black, and radiated a dense Evil Qi.

A pained expression crossed the black-robed Steward’s face. ’This is a treasure I’ve nurtured for a very long time,’ he thought grimly. It had already reached Tier Two Top Grade, and he had intended to save it for a life-or-death situation. But now, he had no choice but to test its blade on this group.

"[Demon Evil Flying Sword], Slay!"

The miniature sword in his hand instantly transformed into a jet-black Sword Light that shot out, aimed straight for the center of Song Yulong’s back.

Alarm bells screamed in Song Yulong’s mind as he flew at high speed. He immediately tried to evade in mid-air, but the Sword Light stuck to him like a leech; no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake it off.

Feeling the potent Evil Qi contained within the Sword Light, Song Yulong’s heart sank.

SHRIIIP!

The jet-black Sword Light struck the center of Song Yulong’s back. A layer of faint blue light manifested around his body, attempting to block the fatal blow.

But it only held the Sword Light at bay for an instant before being torn to shreds. The jet-black Sword Light plunged into Song Yulong’s body, rampaging wantonly and destroying his organs and Meridians.