The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

Wu Minghuang was also stunned.

She had heard of Pei Hanchuan's name and knew that he was the leader of the ancient sword path, but she never expected him to be... this strong!

"Pei Hanchuan, do you really intend to make enemies of the demon race?!"

The Taotie roared, "If you leave, I'll pretend today's events never happened!"

"Otherwise, the demon race will fight you to the death!"

Pei Hanchuan sheathed his sword and looked at Wu Minghuang: "Can you still fight?"

Wu Minghuang wiped away the blood and held her spear horizontally: "I can."

"it is good."

Pei Hanchuan nodded, "I'll hold off Taotie and Taowu. You and Taiqingzi should join forces to kill Qiongqi and Hundun as soon as possible."

"Remember—quick and decisive, my sword intent won't last long."

Wu Minghuang felt a chill run down her spine.

It turns out Pei Hanchuan was just putting on a brave face!

That sword strike, "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin," looked powerful, but in reality, it had consumed most of his true energy!

"Understood."

Wu Minghuang's eyes were resolute. "Within half an incense stick's time, I will surely slay one of these villains!"

The great war has begun again!

Pei Hanchuan, alone with his sword, stopped the strongest Taotie and Taowu!

His swordsmanship was exquisite, and every strike was just right. Although his true energy was insufficient, he made up for it with his sword intent, and managed to hold off the two villains!

Wu Minghuang and Taiqingzi join forces to attack Qiongqi and Hun Dun!

"You old bastard, I didn't kill you earlier, now I'll make up for it!"

The Qiongqi's single horn emitted a jet-black beam of light.

This time, Taiqingzi no longer resisted head-on. He stepped on the Seven Stars and moved erratically, using the "Taiqing Soaring Dragon Step" with his heavily injured body to narrowly avoid the beam of light!

At the same time, he flicked out his whisk, and three thousand white threads wrapped around Qiongqi's right front hoof!

"Now!"

Taiqingzi roared.

Wu Minghuang is already poised to strike!

She burned the last 30% of her lifespan, the phoenix mark between her brows emitted a dazzling light, and her whole body transformed into a blood-red meteor, her spear like a dragon, piercing straight into Qiongqi's heart!

This shot is a gamble with everything!

"roar!!!"

It wants to trade its life for its own, forcing Wu Minghuang to return to defend!

But Wu Minghuang neither dodged nor avoided!

"Pfft!"

The crimson spear pierced through Qiongqi's heart! Phoenix flames surged along the spear shaft, instantly incinerating the heart and spreading to every part of its body!

"ah!!!"

Qiongqi howled in agony, its body writhing wildly in the phoenix flames. Three breaths later, it exploded into a cloud of blood mist!

Qiongqi, one of the Four Fiends of Antiquity, fell!

But Wu Minghuang also paid a price.

As Qiongqi was dying, it launched a counterattack, leaving a penetrating wound on her left abdomen with its horn, tearing the flesh of her right arm with its claws, and snapping three of her ribs with its tail.

She knelt on the ground, coughing up blood continuously.

"His Majesty!"

Taiqingzi quickly helped her up.

Upon seeing this, Chaos's eyes flashed with fear, and he turned and fled!

"Trying to leave?"

Wu Minghuang gritted her teeth and stood up. With her left hand, she grabbed the wound on Chaos's severed tail with her bare hands and pulled hard!

"Sizzle!"

Its entire tail was ripped off! Chaos howled in agony, its speed greatly reduced!

Taiqingzi seized the opportunity to transform his whisk into a sword and pierced the back of Chaos's head!

A burst of azure Daoist energy shattered its demon core!

Chaos's body froze, then it crashed to the ground.

Another culprit has died!

But on the other side, Pei Hanchuan had reached his limit.

His face was pale, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his blue robe was torn in several places by the Taotie's Devouring Heaven Divine Power, and his left shoulder was scratched by the Taotie's tiger claws, leaving deep wounds that exposed bone.

"Pei Hanchuan, you can't hold on any longer!"

The gluttonous beast laughed wildly, "Is it worth burning your life essence to hold on? To sacrifice your sword path for an empress?"

Pei Hanchuan stood leaning on his sword, his breathing disordered, yet he remained calm: "Whether it's worth it or not, I'll decide."

He looked towards Wu Minghuang and saw that Qiongqi and Hun Dun were dead. He smiled slightly and said, "I underestimated you... You killed two villains in less than half an incense stick's time."

Taotie roared, "Kill him! Avenge Qiongqi and Hundun!"

The Taotie's double pupils were deep and dark, and the Devouring Vortex expanded once again. This time, it wanted to completely devour Pei Hanchuan's sword intent and cultivation!

Desperate situation reappears.

Wu Minghuang was seriously injured, Taiqingzi was on the verge of death, and Pei Hanchuan was exhausted.

On the other side, there were two more ferocious beasts—Taotie and Taowu, who, though also injured, still retained their fighting strength.

"It seems... I'm still going to die here."

Taiqingzi smiled bitterly.

Wu Minghuang gripped her spear tightly, preparing to burn the last bit of her lifespan for a final gamble.

Lingxiao Headquarters, Command Center

The air was so heavy you could wring water out of it.

On the projection screen, the energy fluctuation curve of the Southern Frontier battlefield plummeted, indicating that the vital signs of Wu Minghuang, Tai Qingzi, and Pei Hanchuan were all on the verge of collapse.

"The Empress's true energy is exhausted, more than 90% of her lifespan has been burned, she has a penetrating wound in her left abdomen, her right arm bones are shattered, and her internal organs are damaged in multiple places..."

"Taiqingzi's Golden Core has developed a crack, damaging his Dao foundation. If it is not treated in time, his cultivation will permanently fall below the Golden Core level..."

"Sword Master Pei forcibly burned his essence blood, and the backlash from his sword intent has damaged the very source of his divine soul..."

The medical team's reports struck everyone like heavy blows.

An elderly man with white hair slumped down: "It's over... The three pillars of the human race are likely to perish in the southern borderlands today."

"We shouldn't have let Ye Li go and invite Sword Master Pei out of seclusion. That way, at least one of our prodigies could have been saved..."

"What's the point of saying all this now!"

Another senior official, his eyes red, said, "The most urgent task is to find a way to save them!"

"Save them? How?"

Someone gave a wry smile, "Although the Four Fiends' Heaven-Locking Formation has been broken, tens of thousands of demon soldiers still remain deep within the Southern Frontier. The people we send now can't even get into the outer perimeter!"

An atmosphere of despair was spreading.

No one noticed that Lin Xiaoman quietly left the command center from the corner.

She walked quickly to the end of the corridor, pushed open the door to the emergency exit, and after confirming that no one was around, took out a specially made satellite phone from her pocket.

I took a deep breath and pressed the number I had already memorized.

"Beep...beep..."

Every waiting tone felt like a pounding on her heart.

........

Qingcheng Mountain, Taoist Temple Courtyard

Three dishes and a soup were laid out on the stone table.

Lu Yao, wearing an apron, was ladling rice into a bowl: "Senior brother, try today's braised pork. I stewed it for two hours."

Chen Xuan sat at the table, toying with the cracked Netherworld Token in his hand, looking thoughtful.

"Senior brother?"

Lu Yao pushed the bowl in front of him. "What's wrong with you? You've been distracted since this morning."

"It's nothing."

Chen Xuan put down the token, picked up his chopsticks, and said, "I was just thinking about some old things."

He picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth. The meat was tender and juicy, the sauce was rich, and the cooking time was just right.

"Is it tasty?"

Lu Yao asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Um."

Chen Xuan nodded, "It's even better than what the Imperial Chef of Tianfeng made."

Lu Yao immediately beamed with joy.

Just then—

"Buzzing..."

An old-fashioned flip phone in Chen Xuan's pocket started vibrating.

This phone was left to me by Ye Li three months ago, saying that I could contact her in case of emergency.

He casually set it so that only specific numbers could call him, and then forgot about it.

Who would call at a time like this?

Chen Xuan put down his chopsticks, took out his phone, and flipped it open.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number, but the encrypted identifier at the end of the number indicated that it was Lingxiao's internal line.

He pressed the answer button but didn't say anything.

On the other end of the phone, a girl's hurried and nervous voice came through:

"Sir? I am Lin Xiaoman."

Chen Xuan frowned slightly: "What is it?"

"Something's happened in southern Xinjiang!"

"Empress Wu Minghuang, the Patriarch of Taiqing Temple, and Sword Master Pei Hanchuan are being surrounded and killed by the Four Fiends in the Blackwater Swamp!"

"The Empress is critically injured and on the verge of death, her lifespan almost exhausted; Taiqingzi's golden core is shattered; Pei Jianzun is completely drained... They can't hold on any longer!"

Lin Xiaoman's voice trembled: "Sir, I don't know if you are Prime Minister Chen, nor do I know what your relationship with the Empress is."

"But... I just want to tell you that something bad is going to happen to her."

"It's very likely it will perish."