Leave No One Behind

At that moment, a few disciples of the Blue Emperor Immortal Sect, tasked with receiving cultivators from lower realms captured by the formation, were lounging against stone pillars by the formation, chatting and joking idly.

"What do you reckon—how many lower-realm cultivators will we catch today?"

A tall, skinny cultivator yawned, leaning boredly against the railing.

"Hope we get a few with decent talent. At least then we can report back without the elders chewing us out."

"Hard to say. In the past few days, we've only grabbed two or three, and their talent was mediocre. They'll probably end up as mine slaves."

Another plump cultivator waved his hand lazily.

"Let's hope some good-looking ones show up."

A third cultivator chuckled slyly, his eyes gleaming.

"That one we caught last month? The elder took her away before I even got a proper look."

"You've got no ambition."

The group burst into laughter.

They had spent years at this reception platform, seeing countless cultivators ascend from below.

Every single one of those newly ascended cultivators believed they had finally attained immortality. Their faces would glow with that triumphant smile: "I made it!"

Then, the moment they realized they were trapped in the formation, unable to move a muscle, that smile would vanish from their faces.

That shift in expression, from heavenly bliss to utter despair, was the greatest amusement these guards had.

"Come to think of it—"

The tall cultivator suddenly furrowed his brow and looked up at the sky.

"Is the formation looking a little too bright today?"

The plump cultivator also looked up, squinting.

"...Yeah, maybe a bit."

"You don't think something's wrong with the Grand Reception Array, do you?" the tall one muttered.

"Let me check it out—"

But before he could finish his sentence, the Grand Reception Array erupted with a blinding, dazzling light.

"What—what's going on?!" the tall cultivator's eyes widened.

The plump cultivator's mouth gaped wide enough to swallow a fist.

The other guards stood frozen in shock. They had witnessed the formation activate countless times at this platform.

But never once had its light been so intense.

The light faded.

And then, they saw them: nearly a thousand silhouettes.

Dense as locusts, blotting out the sky.

The aura of every single one was at least at the Earth Immortal realm. And the man in the dark blue robe leading them—his presence was so overwhelming the guards couldn't even sense his cultivation level.

The tall cultivator's legs went weak.

The plump cultivator collapsed onto the ground.

The third one's mouth was still hanging open, but no sound came out.

What... what's happening?

Why are there so many cultivators all at once?!

What is this team of nearly a thousand Earth Immortals?!

The guards' minds went blank. Their bodies instinctively began backing away.

But it was too late.

Gu Changyuan hovered midair, looking down from above at the massive formation below and the ant-like cultivators of the Blue Emperor Immortal Sect.

He raised his right hand.

A black longsword materialized in his palm.

"Cultivators of the Blue Emperor Immortal Sect—"

He lifted the sword, its tip pointing downward.

"Leave none alive!"

With a single command from Gu Changyuan, nearly a thousand figures plunged toward the endless expanse of towers and palaces below.

Ye Qingxue charged ahead, her form turning into a streak of lightning. Her Supreme Voidless Sword Body was fully unleashed; her sword light pierced heaven and earth. All scattered swords, broken blades, and formation swords across the Blue Emperor Immortal Sect trembled uncontrollably, levitated, and turned skyward. A cacophony of sword hums thundered in the air, pressing down on everyone's hearts until they felt like they might shatter.

Lin Jingyu took a single step forward, his sword intent erupting all around him. Countless delicate sword notes coalesced into elegant blue lotuses, drifting slowly down from the sky.

The lotuses seemed gentle and serene, but the moment they sensed hostile cultivators nearby, every petal instantly sharpened into razor-edged blades, crisscrossing and slicing in all directions. Any Blue Emperor disciple caught by them was shredded to pieces in an instant.

Gu Changyuan had already sealed off the entire realm. An invisible, boundless barrier enveloped the entire sect. Space itself froze solid—neither wind nor rain could pass, and no one could tear open the void and escape.

From the very moment the battle began, the disciples of the Blue Emperor Immortal Sect had no retreat.

Today, this place would be the sect's grave.

Ye Qingxue and the others were now at the peak of Earth Immortal cultivation. But their combat power far exceeded that realm.

Years of refinement in the Nine Heavens Realm, divine techniques bestowed by Gu Changyuan, and the enhancement of their unique physiques meant their strength was enough to challenge those above their cultivation level.

Even if they faced a Celestial Immortal of the lower grade, they had full confidence to fight and contend. Crushing ordinary sect cultivators was like tearing through withered weeds—devastatingly effortless.

The Blue Emperor Immortal Sect, with ten thousand cultivators, enjoyed modest fame in the Eastern Continent for its foundation. Its strength was formidable. And at its peak, five True Immortal ancestors cultivated in seclusion within the highest palace on the main peak.

The earth-shaking sounds of slaughter below, combined with the sealed sky, immediately alarmed the five secluded individuals.

Five beams of light shot up from five cloud-shrouded palaces.

Each beam was over a hundred feet wide, piercing straight into the clouds, dyeing the surrounding cloud layers gold.

The fearsome True Immortal auras spread out from those beams like five mountains descending from the heavens, crushing down upon the entire Blue Emperor Immortal Sect.

Five figures flew out from the cloud palaces, hovering in midair.

Five elders, all at the True Immortal realm.

The one leading them wore a golden Daoist robe, with white hair and a severe expression. A faint golden light surrounded his body.

His gaze swept across the battlefield below, where blood flowed like rivers. His pupils contracted sharply—at least thirty percent of the sect's disciples were already dead.

His face darkened.

"Who dares to invade my Blue Emperor Immortal Sect?!"

His voice boomed like thunder, echoing across the sky, carrying the crushing pressure of a True Immortal, spreading in all directions.

The other four ancestors flew out as well. The auras of five True Immortals intertwined, forming an oppressive force that could suffocate anyone.

The Blue Emperor disciples who were being slaughtered below, upon sensing those five auras, instantly transformed their terror into wild elation.

"The ancestors have come out of seclusion!"

"Five ancestors! They're True Immortals!"

"Those ants from the lower realms—what are they in the face of True Immortals?!"

The disciples roared with renewed vigor, their despair replaced by hope, their crumbling morale reignited.

They frantically channeled their spiritual energy, trying to fend off their enemies while waiting for the ancestors to crush these invaders with a single blow.

Gu Changyuan raised his right hand.

His movement was slow, slow enough for everyone to see clearly.

His hand lifted from his side, palm facing downward, fingers slightly spread, as if grasping something invisible.

Then, a giant hand appeared above the Blue Emperor Immortal Sect.

That hand was so vast it blotted out the sky.

The five True Immortal ancestors, along with the five cloud palaces behind them, were all covered by that hand's shadow.

The hand was not made of flesh—it was formed from the purest immortal energy.

But the purity of that immortal energy far exceeded anything the five True Immortals had ever known.