Martial Universe: Inherit the Future, Quickly Become a Martial Ancestor!

Chapter 116 A sword comes from the west, furiously cleaving through the life force!

The border of the Immortal Dynasty, Tianbei City.

On the boundless plains of Chibi, gusts of sandstorm raged, and the blood-red sunset hung low on the horizon. Pale red light spilled down, draping the land in a thin crimson veil, giving it an air of pervasive bloodlust.

Tianbei City is located at the border of two great dynasties.

Legend has it that in ancient times, this place was a battlefield where two super sects clashed. Countless powerful figures perished here, their blood soaking the earth, and their resentment lingering for years.

This is why the air above this place is perpetually filled with an extremely dense aura of bloodlust. Even ordinary Nirvana Realm experts dare not easily come into contact with this aura; once it enters their bodies, they will either lose their minds or go insane on the spot.

It is precisely this natural blood-fiend barrier that makes Tianbei City a natural fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At this moment, inside Tianbei City.

Inside the Central City Lord's Mansion, in an exceptionally magnificent hall, more than ten people sat on either side, yet no one uttered a word. The entire hall was shrouded in a heavy silence, as if the air itself had solidified.

In the center of the main hall was a round wooden table with a detailed topographical map spread out on it.

A woman in armor stood ramrod straight in front of the map.

She appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, with a slender and graceful figure and an exceptionally beautiful face. Most striking were her bright, sparkling eyes, slightly upturned at the corners, exuding a natural, alluring charm. Yet, her gaze was clear and resolute; these two contrasting qualities blended strangely in her eyes, making her unforgettable.

This person is none other than Xin Li.

Within the War King's Mansion, in terms of rank, aside from the Mansion Master and the Young Mansion Master, she would undoubtedly be ranked fourth, right behind the old steward, Lan Zhong.

Despite being born a maid, no one dared to look down on her in the slightest. After the mistress left, she single-handedly raised the young Lanhe; over the years, she has handled countless affairs both inside and outside the Zhanwang Mansion.

With the Tianyuan Dynasty invading, Lan Zhan was seriously injured and unable to get out of bed. Lan Zhong stayed behind to guard the palace, so she took on the responsibility alone and sat in Tianbei City, the front line.

Xin Li raised her eyes, her gaze slowly sweeping over the assembled generals, her voice clear and crisp: "Gentlemen, the probing attack by the Tianyuan Dynasty is almost over."

She paused, her tone becoming heavier: "The deterrent effect of Elder Mo Yun's actions half a month ago has begun to fade."

After he finished speaking, the hall remained silent.

After a moment, an old general with graying temples sighed and spoke first: "Miss Xinli, it's not that we're trying to boost their morale. We all saw Elder Moyun's impressive feat of repelling the enemy a hundred miles away with a single sword strike that day. But she is, after all, an elder of the Nine Heavens Taiqing Palace. It's already a great favor that she was able to help us once. We can't expect her to guard Tianbei City forever."

Another middle-aged general chimed in, "If Elder Mo Yun doesn't intervene again, with our limited forces—to be honest, we're more than capable of defending the city, but going out to fight would be extremely dangerous. The Tianyuan Dynasty has almost twice as many Nirvana Realm experts as we do."

In my opinion, the only option is to defend the city.

Another person said in a deep voice, "There is a blood-fiend aura over Tianbei City, so they dare not launch a strong attack from the air. As long as we hold the city gate and continue to drag it out, we can wait for Lord Zhan Wang to recover from his injuries, and then cooperate with Elder Mo Yun to make another move. If we find an opportunity to severely injure one of their Sheng Xuan Realm cultivators, we may be able to force them to retreat."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and they nodded in agreement.

This is a wise and experienced opinion, and it is indeed the safest strategy at present.

Xinli listened quietly, her expression unchanged, but her gaze darkened slightly. Just as she was about to speak, suddenly...!

A deep horn sound came from outside the city, penetrating through the walls and reaching the main hall.

That was the horn signaling an enemy attack.

Everyone's expression changed simultaneously.

Xinli suddenly looked up, her gaze sharp as a knife: "The Tianyuan Dynasty has begun its siege."

She grabbed the sword from the table, turned and strode towards the hall's exit, her voice resolute: "Gentlemen, follow me out to meet the enemy!"

The crowd responded enthusiastically, stood up, and followed closely behind.

Tianbei City Wall.

A pale red aura of bloodlust surged and permeated the air above the city walls, forming a natural barrier. Above the city walls, layers of pale golden light flowed continuously, a sign that the city's protective formation had been activated.

Xinli led her people to the top of the city wall and looked out over the city.

On the boundless plains of Chibi, a dark mass of troops surged like a tide. The war drums thundered, each beat seeming to strike the very heart.

Within the army of the Tianyuan Dynasty, beams of light shot into the sky, marking the formation of battle arrays being assembled by the cultivators. Some arrays transformed into ferocious beasts, others condensed into giant swords of light, and still others formed thick shields of light, slowly approaching the city walls.

In the air, dozens of figures stood suspended in mid-air, all of them Nirvana Realm experts. They looked down at the city wall, their eyes filled with icy killing intent.

The leader, dressed in black robes, had a sinister expression. He gazed towards the city wall, his eyes landing on Xin Li, a playful smile playing on his lips: "A member of the War King's Mansion? Quite a beauty."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd behind him burst into laughter.

Xin Li's expression remained unchanged, but a cold glint flashed in her eyes. She raised her hand and waved it, her clear, cold voice echoing across the city walls: "Activate all formations!"

"Cultivators at the Nirvana Realm and above, follow me to guard the city walls!"

As orders were issued, the defenders on the city walls quickly took their positions. Swords were drawn, bowstrings were drawn taut, and as Yuan energy surged, the entire Tianbei City seemed like a sleeping behemoth, slowly opening its eyes.

Outside the city, the sound of war drums grew increasingly urgent.

The army of the Tianyuan Dynasty began to move.

This battle raged from dawn till dusk.

The army of the Tianyuan Dynasty surged in wave after wave, only to retreat again in the glow of the city's protective array. On the city walls, every brick and stone was soaked with blood—blood from both the enemy and the defenders.

The light of the city-protecting array gradually dimmed under countless impacts, and the pale golden light shield was covered with fine cracks, as if it would shatter at any moment.

Xinli stood at the forefront of the city wall, her longsword already chipped, her armor stained with bloodstains, some her own, some of her enemies'. Her gaze was resolute, and she never retreated a single step.

"This is the fifth time," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the Tianyuan army that had once again gathered below the city.

Throughout the day, the Tianyuan Dynasty launched five large-scale attacks, each of which was repelled by the defending troops fighting desperately. However, the cost was heavy; of the original 30,000 defenders on the city walls, less than 20,000 remained standing. On the Tianyuan Dynasty's side, although they also suffered heavy losses, their reinforcements continued to arrive in droves.

"Miss Xinli."

A lieutenant wiped the blood from his face and said hoarsely, "You should go and rest for a while. We'll take care of things here."

Xinli shook her head, her voice hoarse but firm: "I'm not tired."

Before she could finish speaking, her pupils suddenly contracted.

Behind the Tianyuan army, a figure slowly rose into the air.

It was an old man in black robes, thin and withered, his white hair sparsely plastered to his scalp. A suffocatingly terrifying aura emanated from him, a pressure unlike any of the Nirvana Realm cultivators who had attacked before.

The Mysterious Realm of Life!

On the city wall, all the defending soldiers turned pale.

"That is—" an old general said in a trembling voice, "The Human Demon Elder, one of the Three Elders of Tianyuan!"

The Tianyuan Dynasty is one of the ten super dynasties. Similar to the Immortal Dynasty, it also has three cultivators at the Shengxuan Realm who are known to the outside world as the Three Elders of Tianyuan.

The old man in black robes before them was one of them, the Human Demon Elder. Legend has it that he was bloodthirsty in his youth, with countless lives on his hands, which earned him the title "Human Demon." Even in the Tianyuan Dynasty, he was a notorious figure.

The old demon stood in mid-air, his cloudy old eyes slowly sweeping across the top of Tianbei City, finally landing on Xinli. A chilling smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse and grating: "Little girl from the War King's Mansion, you've done your duty guarding for so long. It's time to go."

He slowly raised his withered hand.

In that instant, it seemed as if all the primordial energy in the world was grasped in his palm. A gigantic black handprint materialized out of thin air, carrying a world-destroying force, and slammed down fiercely onto the city's protective formation.

boom!

The entire city of Tianbei trembled violently. The light of the city's protective array flickered wildly, and the cracks on the already cracked light shield spread instantly, emitting a teeth-grinding cracking sound.

"Oh no! The great formation is about to shatter!"

Hang in there!

The defenders frantically poured their Yuan energy into the array's core, but the gap between the Life Profound Realm and the Nirvana Realm was simply not something that could be bridged by numbers alone.

The old demon sneered, raised his hand again, and the second strike followed immediately.

Click!

The city's protective array shattered with a deafening roar. Fragments of pale golden light scattered in all directions, like a shower of stars. A terrifying shockwave swept outwards, and countless defenders on the city walls were sent flying backwards, coughing up blood.

Xinli let out a muffled groan, staggering backward, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. But she gritted her teeth and stood firm.

"Miss Xinli!" The lieutenant rushed forward, grabbed her, and said urgently, "The great formation has broken; it can't be held any longer. You must leave quickly! You are a member of the War King's Mansion; you cannot perish here!"

"Yes, you should leave quickly!" Several more generals surrounded them. "We'll hold him off!"

Xinli's eyes flashed sharply: "What will you do if I leave?"

"We are soldiers; dying on the battlefield is our duty!"

The lieutenant hissed, "But you're different. You've watched the young master grow up since he was a child. If anything happens to you, how can we face Lord War and the young master!"

"Miss Xinli, hurry! Go!"

The crowd practically shouted it out.

Xinli looked at the blood-soaked soldiers before her, her eyes welling up with tears. But she still shook her head, her voice low yet firm: "Before she left, the Mistress entrusted me with the care of the War King's Mansion. Now that the War King is gravely wounded and the Young Master has not returned, if I abandon the city and flee, how can I face the Mistress?"

She broke free from the adjutant's hand, slowly straightened up, and looked up at the black-robed figure in the air, her eyes filled with determination.

"If I'm going to die, I'll die here."

The old demon looked down from the city wall, taking in the entire scene. A cruel smile appeared on his withered face: "A loyal girl, indeed. Too bad, loyalty can't buy survival."

He raised his hand again and reached out to grab Xinli from afar.

In that instant, Xinli felt as if the space around her had frozen, and an irresistible force surged toward her.

She gritted her teeth and suddenly threw out the longsword in her hand, which was already dulled. It was the last Heavenly Rank spiritual treasure she possessed.

The sword light whistled as it hurtled towards the old man, the demon.

The old man, the demon, didn't even lift his eyelids, and casually waved his hand.

boom!

The celestial-grade spiritual treasure exploded in mid-air, shattering into countless fragments that scattered in all directions. The recoil force surged back and slammed into Xinli's chest.

puff!

Xinli spat out a mouthful of blood, her body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the city wall.

"Miss Xinli!"

The generals cried out in alarm, trying to rush forward, but they were firmly suppressed by the oppressive aura of the Life Profound Realm, unable to move at all.

Xinli struggled to get up, but found she had no strength left. She leaned against the cold city wall, panting heavily, her vision blurring.

In a daze, a gentle figure appeared in her mind, softly holding her hand and gently instructing her: "Xinli, take good care of Xiaohe and the War King's Mansion for me—"

Xinli's eyes welled up with tears.

Mistress, Xinli is incompetent —

She slowly closed her eyes, awaiting the fatal blow.

The old demon's chilling laughter reached her ears, growing louder as it approached, like the footsteps of death, each step crushing her heart.

However, the expected death did not come.

Just as the old demon's withered hand was about to clench down...

call out!

A sharp, incomparable whistling sound came from the sky, tearing apart the clamor of the battlefield. The sound was piercing and ear-piercing, so fast that it seemed to tear the sky apart, making people's eardrums hurt.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

Suddenly, a golden sword light appeared on the horizon like a thunderclap, tearing through the sky and arriving in an instant.

The sword light was dazzling, and ripples spread through the space wherever it passed. A faint dragon's roar emanated from the sword, majestic and domineering, as if an emperor had descended and all things were in submission.

In that instant, it seemed as if only this sword light remained between heaven and earth.

The old demon's pupils constricted sharply, a sense of unprecedented crisis surging into his heart. He could no longer afford to attack Xin Li, and hastily raised his hand to condense a black light shield in front of him.

However, it was too late.

The golden sword light arrived in an instant, carrying a world-destroying power, and slashed fiercely at the black light shield.

Click!

The light shield shattered instantly, and the shattered black light scattered in all directions, like a broken mirror.

The old demon groaned, as if struck by a heavy blow. He was sent flying backward, tumbling dozens of feet through the air before finally regaining his footing. Looking down, he saw a deep gash in his black robe, blood gushing out. Had he not reacted quickly, that sword strike would have cleaved him in two.

"Who goes there!"

He looked up in shock and anger, his cloudy old eyes filled with horror and disbelief.

On the horizon, a figure in white robes was descending through the air. It was a young man, wielding a golden longsword whose blade shimmered with iridescent light and emitted the faint sound of a dragon's roar—it was clearly a pure Yuan treasure!

The young man's face was cold and aloof, his eyes gleaming with a chilling light. He didn't even glance at the old demon, and in a flash, he landed on the city wall, bending down to gently embrace Xinli, who was leaning against it.

"Sister Xinli, I'm late."

"His voice was low, tinged with heartache and guilt."