Li Qiye waited in the ruins for the incoming darkness. He knew that this underground ent.i.ty wouldn’t be slumbering for long. It will appear again at the next target - Mingluo City.

He patiently sat despite the rains and winds since they didn’t affect him in the slightest. Three days pa.s.sed by just like that.

A series of urgent footsteps resounded along with ragged breathing, prompting him to open his eyes.

A while after, a figure rushed in, stumbling back and forth before falling in front of him.

“Save… save our sect…” The quivering girl begged, lacking the strength to even get up.

It was Lin Xiyue, bloodied and wounded. She has clearly been part of a tough battle.

He gently sighed and placed his hand above her head, pouring grand dao power into her.

She suddenly became spirited and full of life like the return of spring. Her wounds instantly healed without needing ointments and medicines.

“Young n.o.ble, please, please help Stoneclearing!” She hastily beseeched since he was her last hope.

“What happened?” He remained emotionless.

“Luo Faction surrounded our sect, wanting to kill us all.” She anxiously said.

Li Qiye raised his brow in response.

“Master wanted to leave Mingluo and was ready to bring the citizens along. Some have heard about the news and agreed to leave with us, but Luo Faction suddenly surrounded our sect and accused us of spreading disruptive rumors…” Her voice trailed off towards the end because she had also accused him of doing so before, fully aware of the irony.

So it turned out that Youzheng didn’t only gather his disciples, he also tried to convince the inhabitants in the city to leave.

Stoneclearing was one of the strongest sects in Stone Harmony. If Luo Faction was considered to be number one, then Stoneclearing could be among the top five, perhaps even the top three.

Wu Youzheng himself was one of the few Grand True G.o.d in Stone Harmony.

He had a prestigious status in Mingluo, loved and respected by the people. That’s why when he said a disaster was coming on top of evacuating his sect, many other inhabitants agreed to follow.

Everything happened smoothly until Luo Faction decided to interfere, wanting to take down Stoneclearing.

Their reason was very simple - that Stoneclearing wanted to disturb the peace and orders of Mingluo. This was affecting the very foundation of the city.

There was obviously another reason. As the saying goes, one mountain can’t accommodate two tigers. This faction already harbored similar ideas in the past.

However, Stoneclearing was here before Luo Faction and had the trust of the citizens. Wu Youzheng was also very powerful.

That’s why Luo Faction didn’t dare to do anything in order to avoid killing one thousand enemies while losing eight hundred men.

This event gave them the perfect opportunity. Plus, Stoneclearing didn’t have their defenses ready either.

They were weaker in the first place on top of being caught off guard. Hastily rus.h.i.+ng into battle left them at a great disadvantage.

Youzheng and his fellow disciples fought while retreating at the same time. Eventually, they were forced inside their most resilient fort. Meanwhile, the Luo completely surrounded the area, ready for a siege.

Youzheng felt despair because of the failed evacuation on top of this unexpected attack. He suddenly thought of Li Qiye during this hopeless moment.

Because of this, they tried to break through several times and Lin Xiyue finally made it out to run here.

Li Qiye looked at her After hearing the full story, unmoved.

“Please save our sect…” She sobbed after seeing his expression since he was the only one who could save them.

Li Qiye gently sighed after seeing her tears and nodded: “Let’s go.”

“Really?” She became ecstatic and found herself in the air already, carried by Li Qiye.

Mingluo might seem like a large city to normal people, but Li Qiye only needed one step to appear on the battlefield.

There were several thousand disciples in black surrounding the fort. Their uniforms emitted a black l.u.s.ter under the sun. Their weapons had a cold glow as well, full of murderous intent. Any spectator would shudder at this sight.

These were the elites of Luo Faction. They were truly going all out in order to destroy Stoneclearing.

“How can Stoneclearing get out of this?” A neutral cultivator quietly said.

“I see Yang Tingyu personally presiding over this. He’s the only one who can suppress Sectmaster Wu. But, really, Sectmaster Wu is really strong for surviving Tingyu’s imperial arts.” Another replied.

“Shh, call him Faction Lord Yang, not by his name.” His friend immediately reminded him.

“Faction Lord Yang will be able to unify Stone Harmony soon.” An older cultivator said: “He’s still a disciple of Puresword True Emperor, so young yet already the strongest in the system. It makes sense for him to lead Stone Harmony.”

“He’s only a disciple in name.” Another old cultivator unhappily snorted.

“So what? He’s still a disciple.” The former responded: “Just that status alone is enough to threaten all of Stone Harmony. Who dares to oppose him?”

The other had no response.

Yang Tingyu was the current sect master of Luo Faction, also the greatest genius in the system - perhaps its strongest expert as a Grand True G.o.d.

Remember, Grand True G.o.ds were the strongest existences in Stone Harmony. Only five or so were in this area.

The others were old men on the verge of death but Tingyu was still young and vigorous. Most importantly, he was a True Emperor’s disciple, albeit in name only.

During an outing in the past, the emperor took a favor and taught him a thing or two. Though he didn’t pa.s.s down any merit law, Tingyu could still be considered a disciple in name. The emperor himself implicitly agreed with this.

This achievement alone was enough for Tingyu to brag about for a lifetime in Stone Harmony.

After all, a True Emperor was untouchable. Being able to meet one was a glorious matter but Tingyu actually took it a step further.

That’s why despite his young age, he was on a path to become the leader of Stone Harmony. People praised him above his actual abilities.

The guy was also very ambitious and wanted to unify the system. Destroying Stoneclearing was a very important step in his conquest.