The Endless Promise

84. Atonement

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Back at the clearing, Kai Zhen waved a hand to remove his shield, and he vanished before Lord Huo or Lord Mo were clear-headed.

'What happened?!' Lord Huo regained his senses first, but didn't hesitate to hit Lord Mo's chest with a qi severing technique, which sent him flying into a tree.

Lord Mo fell on all fours, vomiting blood, as he tried to channel his qi to no avail.

Lord Huo looked around in confusion, unsure of what happened in the trance-like state, but he shook his head and grabbed Lord Mo's collar.

"Let's go." He said, and with a swift quickstep, they were back in the arena.

"Senior!" Xu Fengyan called out, running over to Lord Huo, who flung Lord Mo across the arena's platform.

"Senior, are you okay?" Xu Fengyan asked, studying his mentor, but it was a panting Lord Mo who responded...

"Heh, you have time to worry about him? Shouldn't you worry about your Yue City?! By now, it should be nearly levelled!"

But Xu Fengyan and Lord Huo shook their heads.

"If you can secretly plot against us, can't we secretly put countermeasures in place?" Xu Fengyan asked. "Sect Leader Huo wasn't the only surprise guest I invited!"

The anonymous tipster had warned him that Lord Mo had shady intentions, but had also mentioned a possible attack on Yue City, warning him that immortals or demons might be involved.

This had made Xu Fengyan sceptical...

But rather than blatant disbelief, he had opted for preparing, just in case... If nothing came of it, he would lose a ton of wasted resources, but if the anonymous tipster was right and he ignored it, he would lose the entire Sect!

So in addition to laying several of Luoyin's traps around Yue City, Xu Fengyan had burned more than a few high-level teleportation talismans, bringing in five other Sect Leaders, including Lord Huo, and four high level members of the Wulin, each with at least three elders accompanying them...

Lord Mo's so-called rogue army stood no chance, and Yue City was back under control.

All their plans happened in under two days, so parts of the city couldn't escape destruction, but most of the invaders had been captured, and the rest had fled the city, still being pursued by the other Sect Leaders.

"Impossible!" Lord Mo yelled, then bent over, coughing up more blood.

"Don't bother struggling." Lord Huo warned. "There's no escape for you."

But Lord Mo laughed, suddenly holding up a talisman. "Heh! I don't intend to go down alone, nor can I spare you all for this insolence!

"Aren't you forgetting something?!" He struggled to his feet, grasping his chest. Then he turned to Xu Fengyan.

"Both of you should destroy your own cores, or I'll burn this talisman, destroying the Hunting Grounds with your disciples in it!" He smirked. "Even if you ignore your adopted daughter and son-in-law, your only son is in there as well, right?

"Believe it or not, they are trapped within, and an army of rogue cultivators are in there as well! There's also a formation which can destroy them along with the hunting plains!"

Xu Fengyan's eyes had widened. "Are you crazy?! Isn't this asking a tiger for its skin!"

"Stop it now, before you're beyond redemption!" Lord Huo's voice thundered, but Lord Mo simply smirked.

"I'm already beyond redemption!" Lord Mo yelled. "Heh, I already knew you hypocrites might not sacrifice your precious cores to save children... So I will destroy them at least!"