This Is a Necessary Sacrifice

"What kind of joke is this?"

"When? Just when did this happen?!"

"Where did they come from? And why do they all look exactly the same!"

As more and more figures surged out of the mist, the panic among the Mo family disciples reached its peak. They drew their long swords one after another, holding them protectively before their chests, trembling as they pointed at the growing number of silhouettes, their voices quivering.

"Don't... don't come any closer..."

One disciple finally couldn't take it anymore and slashed out with his sword.

A flash of sword light passed, but the figures neither dodged nor avoided, letting themselves be cleaved in two, turning into a pool of mud.

And almost at the same moment...

"Ahhh!!!"

Screams kept coming from the outskirts. Many disciples had already fallen in pools of blood, just like the sword-wielding disciple earlier, melting into pools of gore.

But even more terrifying was...

Gurgle, gurgle...

Those pools of melted blood churned and bubbled. Gradually, a strange thing rose slowly from the blood, a slime-like gelatinous mass that vaguely took on a human shape, and faintly discernible was the face of the disciple who had just died.

That face twisted within the slime, yet wore a hideous grin, reaching out toward the nearest disciple.

"Ah!!!"

"No! Don't come near me!!!"

Countless disciples screamed in terror, their pupils trembling.

The greatest fear of man is the unknown.

Monsters as numb and lifeless as female ghosts, people dying weirdly and inexplicably around them, and the disgusting slime-men resurrected after death.

Every single scene assaulted everyone's mental defenses.

"Run! I need to run!"

Finally, someone couldn't take it anymore. He shouted and turned to flee back the way he came.

Where there was a first, there was a second, a third...

Panic spread like a contagion, rapidly sweeping through the crowd.

Ye Shu, however, remained relatively composed.

He had already recognized these techniques.

"The Seven Poisons Sutra... the Paper Puppet Art. Who else could wield both of these methods at once?" Ye Shu murmured softly, his gaze fixed straight in a certain direction, as if piercing through the endless mist to see, on a distant cliff, a woman draped in mourning white standing there quietly, looking down from above at the chaos below.

"Xia Hanmo..."

Ye Shu withdrew his gaze and refocused on the Mo family members.

Now that her identity was confirmed.

There was even more reason not to let these people harm her.

"Everyone, don't panic!"

Mo Wuyan, hovering mid-air, bellowed in a deep voice. He suddenly swept his sleeve, and a surge of vast spiritual power erupted from him, expanding outward and shattering the slime men and paper figures.

"These are merely puppetry and poison arts!"

He shouted coldly, trying to calm the crowd.

But it was too late. Countless people had already rushed into the mist, disappearing without a trace, leaving only a few brief screams before they fell silent forever.

Mo Wuyan's face turned utterly grim.

"A pack of useless fools!"

He stared at the mist around him, his expression exceedingly ugly, and roared, "Do you think these paltry tricks can stop me?"

"These paltry tricks naturally cannot."

A clear, cold voice suddenly came from deep within the mist. Mo Wuyan paused, his sharp gaze locking onto a certain spot.

There, a figure slowly emerged from the mist.

Unlike the others, this figure was also draped in mourning white, but was completely hidden under loose, coarse linen clothes, her face unseeable, only a pair of long, fair hands extended from the sleeves, fingertips pinching a piece of emerald green leaf, idly twirling it in the air.

This newcomer was—the Little Fairy Doctor.

"But the moment you stepped into this valley, you had already lost all hope of victory."

She stared at Mo Wuyan, her voice icy.

"The entire valley is saturated with my poison. Even an Empyrean Realm expert cannot withstand a single breath of it, and you've stayed here so long, it's already seeped into your marrow—beyond cure."

"What remains is merely a matter of time."

"All of you will die."

As she spoke these words, several more Mo family disciples dissolved into puddles of gore.

Hearing this, Mo Wuyan's face changed. He coughed up a mouthful of blood: "As expected of one who could kill a sub-lord of my Soul-Seizing Hall—truly extraordinary. However..."

"Do you really think I came completely unprepared?"

He suddenly flung his hand and shouted loudly, "I request the Medicine God to make his move!"

No sooner had he spoken than a figure slowly stepped forward.

It was that inconspicuous little old man.

He stood with his hands behind his back, smiling amiably at the distant Little Fairy Doctor, his expression gentle: "Heh, Chaos Plague Body—truly a rare constitution. But unfortunately, you've met me. Although my cultivation is shallow, I am skilled in the way of medicine..."

"You think you can neutralize my poison?"

The Little Fairy Doctor looked coldly at the little old man. "Are you worthy?"

"Of course this old man is not worthy."

The Medicine God stroked his beard and shook his head. "But often, perfection is unnecessary. For instance, now, just letting Brother Wuyan regain his fighting strength and capture you is enough."

With that, he stomped his foot.

Hum!

A golden formation instantly spread out from beneath the Medicine God's feet, enveloping everyone present.

"This old man has no other skills, but this ability to neutralize poisons is something I can take pride in."

The Medicine God said with a smile.

As the formation expanded, the purple mist was instantly isolated, pushed outside the formation.

Xia Hanmo's expression turned somewhat grim.

"Since you have such means, why didn't you use them earlier, letting those people die in vain?"

"Hahaha!"

Mo Wuyan laughed heartily, his laughter brimming with mockery.

"If I had used them earlier, what if you had run away? Those useless fools die when they die."

"You!"

Xia Hanmo seethed with anger.

She had never imagined that there could be people in this world who valued human life so little.

"These are your clansmen, after all!"

"Hmph!"

Mo Wuyan said coldly, "The old fox is still the cleverest—these are merely necessary sacrifices!"

"Enough talk. Prepare to die!"

Mo Wuyan sneered, condensing a glaring spiritual light in his palm, which he ruthlessly struck toward Xia Hanmo. Xia Hanmo's expression hardened, and she flicked the emerald leaf in her hand, sending a jade-green light soaring to meet the spiritual light.

Boom—

The two forces collided midair, unleashing a violent boom. Xia Hanmo staggered back several steps, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Though she was skilled in poisons and possessed the Chaos Plague Body, her cultivation was ultimately only at the Returning Void middle stage, pitted against a Void Refinement peak master's full-powered strike—it was still somewhat beyond her.

"Little girl, give up."

The Medicine God looked at her with a smile, a hint of greed in his eyes.

"Your Chaos Plague Body, wasted on you—what a shame."

"How about..."

Before he could finish—

Thud!

Blood splattered everywhere!

A large hand with clearly defined joints pierced through the Medicine God's chest from behind, grabbing his heart, and then... crushing it fiercely!