Li Shuang, following the main group, had already burst out of the barrier.
At that moment, she heard Su Mu's voice.
Li Shuang was instantly entranced.
She thought that her Tai Shang Wang Qing Jue (Supreme Emotion Forgetting Art) was clearly not perfected. Why at this moment, could she not block out this bone-deep pain?
"Senior Su! Senior Su!"
"Are you still there?"
"There's something, I want you to give it to me personally."
"Senior Su, Senior Su!"
Li Shuang called out repeatedly. But that lazy voice did not respond to her again.
"Xiao Shuang! What's wrong with you!" Luo Mingyue grabbed Li Shuang, who was standing still. "Quick, run! Escape from the Cangyuan Sect area first!"
Li Shuang pressed her lips tightly.
Yes.
Escape from here.
They still had hope.
The reinforcements from the Central Continent would come. The cross-continental teleportation array was also being built behind the Sword Sect mountain.
They had every hope of surviving.
But...
What about Senior Su?
What exactly did he do?!
What was his current situation?!
Li Shuang wished she could immediately check the jade slip.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't stop here, she couldn't drag others down.
Li Shuang gritted her teeth.
At this moment, she didn't even have the right to be sad, and she rushed out with the crowd. Yan Zhong and the others were still in pursuit.
Inside the Cangyuan Sect.
Yu Jin was about to breathe a sigh of relief. The moment she turned around and saw the giant tree's expression, her demeanor changed slightly.
What was going on?!
Li Shuang and the others had clearly escaped. But the giant tree's face actually showed a hint of mockery. He wasn't going after them, yet he wasn't anxious at all.
Why was this?
Yu Jin's thoughts raced, and she suddenly shouted, "Be careful!"
The moment her voice fell, everyone's hearts trembled.
However, the next moment, a compass suddenly appeared in the center of the crowd.
"Qianji. Reversal," a cold voice rang out.
The moment the compass appeared, a huge formation emerged. In just a few moments, everyone was sent back into the barrier.
The gap that had just been made closed back up in that instant.
Li Shuang's eyes flashed with a hint of blood red.
Senior Su Mu must have paid a tremendous price to send them out. Yet, in just a few breaths, Senior Su's efforts were all in vain. All their efforts were also in vain.
They had become caged birds again.
And all of this was because...
An old man holding a compass slowly emerged from the void. Behind him, all the strong cultivators from the Qianji Sect stood silently.
Among the Qianji Sect!
More than half of the strong cultivators had actually fallen to become demon spawn lackeys!
"Elder!!"
"Master!"
"What are you doing? What are you doing?!"
The remaining disciples of the Qianji Sect couldn't help but show expressions of despair.
Li Shuang's expression was cold.
So.
Whether it was the Liuyue Sect, or the Badiao Gate, they were merely superficial pawns.
The Qianji Sect, one of the Six Sects, was the true hidden assassin.
"Why! Hong Zhen! Why do you also betray us?!"
Cangyuan Sect's Patriarch Yun Rong looked at Hong Zhen with disbelief. He and Hong Zhen had been friends for many years. Along their journey, they had always shared the same aspirations.
In their youth, they fought demons together. In their middle age, their talents were equally astonishing. Although they joined different sects, it was due to their different cultivation methods.
They were close friends in their youth, and eventually, they even reached the tribulation period together. How rare and destined was this? The person who laughed and drank with him, who fought demons with him, how could he become a traitor?
It wasn't just him.
So many people from the Qianji Sect!
Why did they all do this?
Patriarch Hong Zhen was silent for a moment.
Behind him, all the strong cultivators of the Qianji Sect also showed a glimpse of pain. Why would they want to betray?
But they had no choice.
"City Lord Yu, how about this move of mine?" The giant tree laughed.
Yu Jin's face darkened.
A Super-Grade Demon Seed was indeed much more intelligent and difficult to deal with.
"Speak up! Why did you betray us!" Yun Rong, with his hot temper, was already raging.
Seeing his friend in despair, Hong Zhen lowered his eyes, his voice deep.
"What do you know? If there was even a shred of hope, why would I choose this path?"
"Explain yourself clearly," Patriarch Yun Rong said coldly, looking at him.
Hong Zhen looked up, and said expressionlessly, "Qianji disciples are skilled in deduction. The future is unpredictable, and each deduction requires a great price. However, the Venerable One possesses supreme magic power, and with his help, I repeatedly saw the future."
Patriarch Yun Rong said incredulously, "How can his words be believed? His words are all false!"
Hong Zhen gave a bitter laugh, "I am skilled in the way of deduction. I can still tell whether it is a real deduction or a fabricated outcome."
"I have repeatedly deduced the future of the Nanlan Continent. I deduced it the first time: the Nanlan Continent perishes."
Patriarch Yun Rong said angrily, "Is that your reason for betrayal?"
Hong Zhen shook his head. "Then, I deduced it a second time, a third time..."
Yun Rong was stunned for a moment.
Hong Zhen looked at him, and slowly said, "I deduced it over and over again, a hundred times."
As his words fell, his raven hair instantly turned white, and his face was etched with many wrinkles. His straight back also instantly stooped.
Hong Zhen coughed a few times. "In the last few deductions, I added my own lifespan, hoping to secure a future for humanity."
"However, in a hundred deductions, there was only one outcome: the Nanlan Continent perishes. In the worst case, all cultivators on the Nanlan Continent are killed. In the best case, a group of people who followed the Venerable One survived, thereby preserving their legacy."
The giant tree couldn't help but laugh. "Yes. In deduction after deduction, Hong Zhen also saw that for those who surrender to me, I will not only not kill them, but I will also share glory with them. Of course, those who are stubborn and persistently oppose me, I will naturally kill them all, one by one!"
"Hong Zhen, among these people, only Li Shuang, I must kill. As for the rest, as long as they surrender to me, all past grievances will be forgotten. From now on, with me as the leader, the Six Sects will still be the Six Sects, and they will still be the controllers of the Nanlan Continent."
The giant tree's voice was full of endless temptation.
"Yes," Hong Zhen responded respectfully. Then, he said to everyone, "I am not a traitor to humanity. On the contrary, what I am doing is to preserve the legacy of humanity. In the future I saw, the Venerable One did indeed keep his promise. Anyone who surrendered was able to live well. As for those who refused to surrender..."
A hint of sadness flashed in Hong Zhen's eyes. "There is only one path: their souls scatter."
Why would he want to surrender?
He had tried many different directions of deduction, hoping to find a glimmer of hope for humanity.
But he couldn't find one.
He couldn't find it.
He couldn't find any possibility for humanity to win!
In one possibility, even a clone of Yu Jin descended.
But what then?
The City Lord's arrival was only a Dharma body, not an opponent for the Venerable One at all.
There was also a time when humanity escaped the barrier.
But it was still useless.
The Venerable One's influence was heaven-reaching. Escaping could only delay death for a little while. In the end, the cultivators of the Nanlan Continent still couldn't escape their demise.
They couldn't wait for reinforcements to arrive at all.
He just wanted to live.
He just wanted the Qianji Sect's legacy to be passed down.
He just wanted to preserve as many cultivators as possible.
Was he wrong?