Silence spread across the battlefield.

An Earth Immortal had fallen.

For a brief moment, no one moved.

No one breathed.

Cultivators—mortal and immortal alike—stared at the place where Li Zhenhe had stood only moments ago.

There was no corpse. No shattered bones. No lingering soul that could be revived either.

Nothing!

As if he had never existed.

"He… he's dead?"

A trembling voice broke the stillness from somewhere on the battlefield.

That single sentence was enough.

Panic rippled outward.

Li Zhenhe!

The Grand Elder of the Li Clan.

An Earth Immortal who had stood at the pinnacle of the Desolate Heaven Empire for centuries.

A figure whose name alone could suppress sects and intimidate enemies.

Gone—just like that.

For many of the Immortal Realm cultivators present, Li Zhenhe was not a distant legend. He was someone they acknowledged and had even fought.

They knew his strength.

They knew that the Heaven and Earth Obliterating Thousand-Mile Spear was not merely powerful—it was destruction itself.

A technique spoken of with awe, something believed capable of heavily injuring even Earth Immortal peers.

And yet—

It had barely injured the half-Qilin.

That realization struck harder than any physical blow.

"If… if Grand Elder Li couldn't do anything…"

A sect master's face turned deathly pale.

"What chance do we have?"

Despair erupted within the Li Clan's ranks.

"No… Grand Elder…!"

A hoarse cry rang out as several Li Clan elders stumbled forward, eyes bloodshot, faces drained of all color.

Others stared blankly into the distance, their minds refusing to accept what their eyes had seen.

Li Zhenhe was not merely a Grand Elder.

He was a pillar of the Li Clan.

A living foundation that had protected them through countless storms, internal strife, and external threats.

Now—

That pillar had collapsed.

"Impossible… This has to be an illusion… As long as Grand Elder's soul is still intact, we can revive him!"

One Li Clan elder muttered, his voice shaking as he desperately scanned the battlefield, hoping—praying—to sense even the faintest trace of Li Zhenhe's soul.

But there was nothing.

No residual Immortal Qi.

"He's… really gone…"

Another elder's voice broke as tears streamed down his face.

An Immortal Realm cultivator—someone who had lived for centuries—was openly weeping, his Dao heart cracking under the weight of reality.

The Li Clan disciples fared even worse.

Many froze where they stood, weapons slipping from numb fingers.

Some collapsed entirely, sobbing as fear and grief overwhelmed them.

Their strongest protector had died in an instant.

What hope did they have left?

At the center of it all, Li Jianhong stood rooted to the ground.

His body trembled.

Not from fear alone—but from shock so deep it felt as though his very foundation had been shaken apart.

(Grand Elder Zhenhe… lost?)

He remembered the countless times Li Zhenhe had guided him, corrected his mistakes, and reminded him of the dignity and responsibility of bearing the Li Clan name.

Li Jianhong clenched his fists so tightly that blood seeped from his palms, yet he felt no pain.

(If even he couldn't stop it…)

His gaze drifted toward the towering half-Qilin, and for the first time in his life—

True fear took hold.

Around him, Li Clan elders struggled to maintain order, but their voices lacked conviction.

"Hold your formation!"

"Don't panic!"

Their commands rang hollow, drowned beneath the weight of despair.

However, they didn't have time to mourn. They still had to deal with their opponents—or end up dead, as some already had from letting their guard down.

Despair took root—not gradually, but violently.

The morale of the battlefield collapsed in an instant.

Even Immortal Realm cultivators felt it.

Zhao Wujin stood frozen, his mind blank.

His ears rang, drowning out the sounds of battle.

He could still hear Li Zhenhe's voice from moments earlier.

"Now!"

His hands trembled uncontrollably.

(That attack… did nothing.)

Yu Xuande felt his throat tighten.

Cold sweat ran down his back as a terrifying truth settled into his bones.

(This beast was never something the three of us could defeat.)

He reckoned that they might need at least five or six Earth Immortals if they wanted a shot at defeating the half-Qilin.

And even that was by no means assured.

The half-Qilin stood amid the devastation, its massive form radiating calm indifference.

Blood still dripped from the shallow wound on its chest—a wound so insignificant it might as well not exist.

Its gaze swept across the battlefield.

Wherever it looked, fear followed.

Zhao Wujin swallowed hard, forcing his stiff body to move. He quickly informed Minister Xiu through telepathy.

"Minister Xiu! We can't hold him back!"

Zhao Wujin clenched his teeth as he steadied himself.

"Li Zhenhe is dead. Yu Xuande and I—" he paused, forcing the words out, "—we are not enough."

His words carried the weight of absolute certainty. After all, even with Li Zhenhe, they had been struggling.

After his death, it was certain they couldn't do anything to stop the half-Qilin.

Minister Xiu Yucheng's heart sank.

For a moment, his sharp mind—one that had guided the Desolate Heaven Empire through countless crises—went completely blank.

Minister Xiu slowly clenched his fists.

"Reinforcements?"

Zhao Wujin pressed, desperation creeping into his voice.

"The other Earth Immortals—can they arrive?"

Minister Xiu's lips parted… then closed.

His silence was answer enough.

After witnessing the half-Qilin's power, he realized they would need far more and had already asked for reinforcements—but those reinforcements wouldn't arrive so quickly.

Who would have thought that Li Zhenhe would be killed so quickly, so easily?

That alone showed just how severe the crisis truly was. Unfortunately, they weren't prepared for such a scenario.

"It might take a few hours at the earliest."

Zhao Wujin's heart sank.

Hours?

They wouldn't last minutes.

Minister Xiu turned his gaze across the battlefield, searching for options—any option.

But what he saw only deepened the despair.

Bai Chu was locked in a brutal clash with Mó Zūn, neither able to disengage.

The other two Earth Immortals were engaged with their own Earth Immortal demonic beasts. They were clearly struggling and couldn't withdraw.

He couldn't ask Immortal Ascension Realm Grand Elders to help—they would only get in the way.

The only hope was Bai Ren. While he too was busy fighting Gou You, he held overwhelming advantages.

The only one Minister Xiu could ask was Bai Ren.

***

On the other side of the battlefield—

CLANG! CLANG!

Swords and demonic blades collided violently as Bai Ren continued to press Gou You back.

Every strike was heavy.

Every exchange forced Gou You to retreat further, his demonic Qi growing increasingly unstable.

And then—

The cannon-like roar echoed across heaven and earth.

BOOOOM!!!

Bai Ren's eyes flickered.

For a split second, his blade slowed.

So did Gou You's.

Both of them felt it.

That overwhelming, annihilating pressure.

They turned almost simultaneously, their gazes snapping toward the distant battlefield.

And what they saw—

Silence.

A vast stretch of devastated land.

And the unmistakable absence of an Earth Immortal's presence.

Gou You's pupils shrank—then slowly widened.

"Heh!"

A grin crept onto his face.

A cruel, satisfied grin.

"Hahaha! Li Zhenhe has fallen. Looks like it's only a matter of time before you all follow him."

Gou You said, his voice dripping with mockery.

He let out a low laugh, demonic Qi swirling around him like smoke.

His gaze slid back to Bai Ren.

"So, cease this useless effort, Bai Ren. Your side can't win!"

Bai Ren's expression darkened.

CLANG!

He knocked aside Gou You's weapon with a sharp twist of his wrist, forcing him back several steps.

"Talk a lot for someone getting beaten like a dog," Bai Ren replied flatly.

His sword pointed forward, Immortal Qi surging steadily around him.

"You should worry about your own life first."

Gou You's smile faltered for just a fraction of a moment.

Bai Ren stepped forward.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Another flurry of strikes exploded forth, forcing Gou You to retreat again, sparks flying as his defenses screamed under the pressure.

Yet—

Despite his words—

Bai Ren's heart was not calm.

(Li Zhenhe… dead?)

Li Zhenhe was an enemy and he didn't feel much about his death. However, it was true that his death left a hole in their formation.

(That half-Qilin…)

Bai Ren's grip tightened imperceptibly.

If even Li Zhenhe's Heaven and Earth Obliterating Thousand-Mile Spear had only left a scratch—

Then Zhao Wujin and Yu Xuande wouldn't last long.

Bai Ren's gaze sharpened.

(If they also fall… the battlefield collapses.)

Gou You noticed the flicker in his eyes and laughed loudly.

"Haha! What's wrong?" he taunted. "Scared?"

"Realizing that no matter how strong you get—today is still your end?"

Bai Ren's response was immediate.

SLASH!

A terrifying sword arc tore through the air, forcing Gou You to hastily defend.

CRACK!

Gou You was sent skidding backward, his arm numbed from the impact.

Bai Ren stepped forward again, his voice low and dangerous.

"Enough nonsense. If you want to see how I die—"

His eyes burned.

"Live long enough first!"

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