Chapter 124: Reinforcements from Afar

Most of the people in the grand hall did not recognize the man who had just rushed in.

However, upon seeing him, Shen Qianzhong’s expression shifted slightly. "Ruoxuan, what has happened? Why are you in such a panic?"

The young man addressed as Ruoxuan was covered in wounds. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face deathly pale as he gasped, "The demons of the Eastern Region... they’ve gone mad! They are launching an all-out assault on the Red Flame Sect. The sect masters of the Narcissus Gate, the Spirit Origin Sect, and the Bliss Sect, along with their elders and direct disciples, are currently leading the defense, but they are barely holding on!"

"What!"

Qiu Yingying, Qing Xi, Wang Shuiling, and even Mu Yue stood up, visibly shocked.

The demons had withdrawn their forces collectively just a few days ago; how could they have launched a sudden attack now?

Although it was the Red Flame Sect under siege, when facing an invasion by an alien race, human sects usually set aside their grievances to face the common enemy. Furthermore, they all understood the logic that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold; they could not stand by and watch the demons annihilate a sect ranked as a star-level power.

Reinforcements!

This was the first thought that flashed through the minds of Qing Xi and the others.

The young prodigies present also felt a surge of fervent fighting spirit.

"There is no time to lose; we must head to the Eastern Region to provide support immediately!"

The warm-hearted Xiao Wusheng, the third direct disciple of the Purple Firmament Sect, stood up. He walked over to Qing Xi and the others, saying, "As fellow human sects, we must stand united against the enemy. With such a massive crisis, the sect masters of the various schools must be aware of it by now, and some may have already departed. We cannot afford to be left behind."

Xiao Wusheng glanced at Qing Xi, feeling a sense of familiarity, though he couldn't quite place where they had met.

"I also believe we should depart at once," Shen Qianzhong said. "I have spirit boats; they are quite swift. If you all wish to join, you may travel with me."

Shen Qianzhong retrieved seven shuttle-shaped spirit boats from his storage bracelet. Each could carry ten people, and once low-grade spirit stones were inserted, they could fly at high speeds just above the ground. Although the Eastern Region was ten thousand miles away, with these boats, they could arrive safely in less than half a day.

Qiu Yingying had originally intended to fly by sword, but that would consume a great deal of energy. Since a fierce battle was inevitable upon reaching the Eastern Region, conserving strength and true energy was essential. Thus, she chose to board the spirit boat.

Apart from a few, the vast majority of the New Star Rank prodigies chose to board the spirit boats, while others returned to their own sects to relay the news. Feeling embarrassed to simply borrow Shen Qianzhong’s vessels, the group tacitly contributed their own spirit stones to serve as fuel.

"Whoosh!"

Once the spirit stones were inserted, the spirit boats hovered about ten meters above the ground and then shot forward with incredible speed, disappearing into the distance with a roaring sound.

***

Aboard the first spirit boat, Qing Xi frowned slightly. He did not yet know the full situation in the Eastern Region, but he could guess the general state of affairs.

In the entire Eastern Region, only four sect masters were known to have stepped into the Spirit Gale Realm, and the strongest among them, the master of the Narcissus Gate, was only at the Origin Gale Realm. Yet, Ruoxuan had mentioned seeing more than seven Spirit Gale Realm demons, not to mention those who might still be hiding in the shadows.

Qing Xi found it curious that Mo Kongxiao, the envoy from the Purple Firmament Sect mentioned in Ruoxuan’s report, had remained in the Eastern Region to unite the four sect masters against the demons. On second thought, perhaps Mo Kongxiao had been sent as reinforcements from the Purple Firmament Sect all along.

Throughout the journey, everyone remained silent by mutual agreement. A sense of unprecedented gravity hung over them. As prodigies, they were no strangers to training and had fought powerful demonic beasts, hovering between life and death. But this time was different; they were facing the formidable demons from beyond the heavens.

The spirit boats moved with extreme speed. By the latter half of the night, the group had crossed the boundary between the Central and Eastern Regions. From afar, they could already smell the scorching air—a faint, bloody stench mixed with the scent of scorched earth and incinerated vegetation.

Not far ahead lay a continuous mountain range, centered around a perpetually burning volcano, with numerous buildings hidden among the clouds. This was the location of the Red Flame Sect: the Red Flame Mountains.

Yet, at this moment, the once-serene mountains were filled with the ceaseless sounds of battle. Groups of hideous demons from beyond the heavens were using earth and stone to manifest as giants, relentlessly pounding the Red Flame Sect’s protective formation. The transparent web of the barrier trembled violently, on the verge of shattering. Across the mountains, human experts were locked in bitter combat with the demons.

"Grandfather!"

From a distance, Qiu Yingying spotted Qiu Mingzi being pincered by two Spirit Gale Realm demons. Her eyes reddened, and she surged forward, her Gold-type Sword Soul enveloping her as she broke through the air. With a flash of sharp golden sword light, the two demons, comparable to the peak of the Innate Realm, were sliced in two.

Qing Xi immediately unleashed his ultimate technique, "Blazing Sun Arrows," firing five arrows in an instant, simultaneously eliminating five demons of the peak Innate Realm.

"So strong!"

Many prodigies glanced over in surprise. None had expected this youth, whom Qiu Yingying addressed as a junior brother, to possess such terrifying strength. Especially upon sensing his cultivation at the peak of the late Innate stage, even the top ten super-prodigies narrowed their eyes.

Xiao Wusheng watched Qing Xi’s receding figure, his eyes bright. He exhaled and muttered, "So it was him!"

The playful young woman recognized Qing Xi as well and exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Brother, so that 'Fire Man' was actually a disciple of the Spirit Origin Sect... Since when did the Eastern Region produce so many peerless prodigies?"

First Qiu Yingying, then Wang Shuiling, and then Mu Yue. And now, this young Qing Xi, a terrifying genius who could ring the Heavenly Venerate Bell and send its sound over twenty miles away using only physical strength. All of this left the girl in awe. As an inner-sect disciple of the Purple Firmament Sect, she had once believed that only those from her own sect could be called geniuses, but traveling with Xiao Wusheng had shown her how shallow her perspective had been.

She turned to see Xiao Wusheng’s handsome face.

"I have told you before," he said, "never underestimate the heroes of the world... Now, let me take you to slay the enemy!"

Xiao Wusheng flicked the tip of her nose, pulled her close, and leaped from the spirit boat. The crystal sword on his back unsheathed itself, and he swung it, unleashing dozens of sword lights. A large group of demons had their skulls pierced and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, the others felt their fighting spirit soar. The tenth-ranked New Star prodigy, the "Crystal Swordsman" Xiao Wusheng, truly lived up to his reputation!

As one New Star Rank prodigy after another landed and unleashed shocking combat power, killing several demons in an instant, the pressure on the Eastern Region defenders was greatly relieved.

"Look, the Senior Sister is back!"

"Junior Brother Qing Xi is back too!"

The members of the Spirit Origin Sect were invigorated by the return of their two prodigies. The sect master of the Red Flame Sect, seeing the dozens of New Star Rank prodigies arriving to help, was moved to tears. But at that moment, a loud "bang" echoed—distracted, he was struck in the chest by a Spirit Gale Realm demon and sent flying, coughing up blood.