My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times-Chapter 114 - 96: Fellow Daoist, Why Have You Come?

The concrete of the Lower City District was soaked in blood, and the alloy bricks of the Upper City District were mottled with bloodstains. No matter how hard or heavy the downpour, it couldn’t wash the blood away, couldn’t rinse it clean.

At this moment, the cleanest, most orderly place was ironically the once-despised shantytown. Though the mud still reeked of a sour stench, the torrential rain had washed much of it away, and more importantly, there was no sign of blood.

"Keep pushing forward!!"

The shout was accompanied by a hysterical roar. Ji Bochang’s left arm had been completely severed, but his right hand still clutched a nicked longsword. With slash after slash, blow after blow, he cut down the Cultists who swarmed forward relentlessly, like walking corpses.

City Hall sat in the very center of East Sea City, next to the city’s largest public square. Simple defensive fortifications had now been erected there.

Inspectors, members of the Martial Arts Alliance, and a number of independent Cultivators all fought fiercely around the fortifications.

Modern firearms had been mounted at several key chokepoints. While useless against truly powerful Cultivators, they could still hinder anyone who hadn’t reached the Celestial Human Level, or even those who weren’t Grandmasters.

The roar of gunfire mixed with the glint of flashing blades. Bullets and streams of Sword Qi repeatedly tore through the curtain of rain, only for it to be instantly replaced by the endless, pounding downpour.

The Cultists were practically no different from the rain itself. For every one that fell, three more surged forward to take their place.

There were even Celestial Human-level Cultists overseeing the battle, each one suspended in mid-air. Their Spiritual Wills manifested outwardly, becoming dazzling beacons within the heavy curtain of rain!

Lu Xiuyuan guarded one of the chokepoints, wielding his Broken Blade. Even though his Dao Foundation had been shattered and the Acupoints throughout his body had collapsed, he still fought with a valor that could hold off ten thousand men.

With every rise and fall of his Broken Blade, a spray of blood would erupt as a string of heads was lopped off!

The Celestial Humans among the Cultists hadn’t yet made a move, as if they were waiting for something. For now, the assault consisted of Jade Tower-level Cultivators, and even some Cultists with no cultivation whatsoever.

But even so, many at this chokepoint had already lost their lives. Lu Xiuyuan’s stamina was completely drained; his body’s reserves were spent, leaving him utterly exhausted.

’It’s no use. There are just too many of them. Far too many.’

’Killing one is fine. Killing ten is manageable. But after a hundred, my hands are numb. And that’s not even counting the other Grandmaster-level Cultists among them!’

"Hold the line!" Not far away, Ji Bochang roared at an Inspector whose resolve was wavering. Gripping his weapon in his one remaining hand, he swung it again and again.

Standing beside him was Chen Tianhua, the man who had once brought Lu Xuan breakfast in the interrogation room. Now, he was covered in wounds and soaked in blood. A long spear was pinned through his chest, yet he was still fighting.

"Hold the line... hold..." Chen Tianhua’s consciousness was already fading, growing hazy. Blood poured from his mouth as if it cost him nothing.

Finally, he couldn’t hold on any longer. A Cultist’s longsword lopped off one of his arms. The shock of it jolted Chen Tianhua back to his senses. He let out a pained hiss, wanting to say something, but no words would come out.

A longsword swung horizontally, taking his head. Another splash of crimson stained the ground.

"For our master!" the Cultists roared once more. The defensive line at this chokepoint was on the verge of collapse. Ji Bochang, too, was nearly spent. Covered in wounds, he was on the brink of death.

"There are just too many of them..."

Far in the distance, Ao Chengzhong watched with a grim expression. He stayed close to Yan Jiangxue, not daring to intervene again.

’Those giant eyes in the sky have clearly locked onto me. If I start killing wantonly, I’ll probably be struck dead on the spot, to say nothing of getting Xiaoyan out of here.’

"Young Miss..." he said wearily. "We should go."

"But..." Yan Jiangxue said, her voice wavering. "But there are so many people here..."

She looked around. The underground shelters were already packed. Those who had arrived late were now crowded into the massive square, pressed tightly against one another, shoulder to shoulder.

At a glance, it was impossible to count them all.

"If we don’t leave now, it will be too late."

Ao Chengzhong sighed softly.

"That unknown, powerful being in the sky is watching this place. I cannot act again. That being will show Chairman Yan some deference, so I can still get you out of here before the grand ritual officially begins. But if we wait until it’s fully underway..."

Yan Jiangxue stood in the downpour, the rain blurring her cool, elegant face and her exceptionally beautiful eyes.

"What about Xiaolu? What’s going to happen to him?"

"Don’t worry. As long as he stays inside the ruins and doesn’t come out, he’ll be fine. It’s a high-level ruin, after all—suspected to be the tomb of some Ancient Celestial Venerable or Ancient Buddha. The grand ritual won’t reach it."

"But..." Xiaoyan said, her voice filled with despair, "when Xiaolu comes out and looks around, all he’ll see are corpses everywhere, blood that can never be washed clean, and an entire empty city... How devastated will he be?"

"It’s better than being dead," Ao Chengzhong sighed again.

As they spoke, the tide of Cultists swelled, growing larger and larger...

Li Xiaosang, Chen Qishou, and Zhang Tiandong, who were defending another chokepoint, were all covered in wounds. They were smeared with blood—their own, that of the Cultists, and that of their fellow defenders.

This chokepoint was being defended by the city’s Longque Technology Branch. The branch’s general manager, a Grandmaster, was already dead. The head of the security department, who had temporarily taken command, roared:

"We can’t hold them back! Fall back! Fall back for now!"

"No!" Li Xiaosang blurted out instinctively. "If we fall back, the Cultists will pour in... The civilians are right behind us!"