Chapter 41: Dilemma

Demon Beast Haven Realm. Purple Spirit Forest.

Gu Ran's figure that was shooting towards Ji Wuyan paused and turned towards the advancing auras.

'Dammit!' His expression turned increasingly sombre as he stared at the six incoming figures. 

He knew he should have checked Ji Wuyan's state to see if he was truly dead. But he had simply assumed that Ji Wuyan would not be able to last - especially when he was hit with so many powerful attacks. Ji Wuyan's aura had disappeared, so he had simply assumed he was dead. 

'It seems these few years of peace have blunted my vigilance. Moreover, I still hold arrogance in my heart because this is a Lower Realm. These things led to such amateurish decisions.'

But he truly did not expect this fellow to be so tenacious and ruthless. He actually managed to suppress his aura and send a message to his partners despite the horrendous state their attacks had left him in! If Gu Ran weren't in such a predicament because of it, he would have admired the tenacity he showed!

'Dammit.' He cursed again.

He sent a qi transmission to the disciples to all the disciples of the Purple Spirit Sect informing them of the situation and telling them to send a distress signal through their tokens as soon as possible.

Barely had he completed sending the message when the Demonic Cultivators had arrived.

Ignoring all the weaker Demonic Cultivators, he focused on the leading six that had surrounded them.

The three closest to him were two women and a man and they had come together from the same direction - either they had partnered up or were from the same Sect. Knowing the distrustful nature of Demonic Cultivators, he assumed they were from the same Sect.

The woman in the lead looked barely past her teens. She had short, shoulder-length black hair. Her coal-black eyes impassively glanced at him as though looking at a worm, before sweeping past him and fixing on Jun Meiling who was facing two other Demonic Cultivators. Apparently, she did not see him as a threat due to his Yang Disaster Cultivation. There was indeed a huge gap between the 7th and 8th Disaster - it was incredibly difficult to bridge

She casually gestured to a handsome grey-robed man and another woman who barely seemed to be suffering the worst wardrobe malfunction in history and spoke indifferently, "I'll give this one to you. He is pretty powerful, you two should be satisfied."

The grey-robed man nodded excitedly as he leered at Gu Ran lecherously, "Keke, yes, yes, yes. Thank you very much, Saintess candidate!" 

Feeling the terrific gaze of the grey-robed man which seemed to be disrobing him layer by layer, Gu Ran clenched his butt. A shiver went up his spine, 'Fuck! What is wrong with this fellow?! Are all Demonic Cultivators so terrifying nowadays?'

The grey-robed man licked his lips, "Little Sister, how about I go first this time? You had your fill last time, didn't you?"

"Sure," The scantily-clad woman giggled seductively, almost causing her loose Daoist robe to slip off her chest, "But you must leave some for me later, okay? I haven't seen such pure and vigorous Yang Essence in a long while! He'll make a great cauldron."

"Kekeke, of course, my dear Little Sister, I'll share him with you." The man chuckled obscenely as he floated towards Gu Ran.

Gu Ran, who was disdained, disregarded and seen as a piece of meat by some puny 7th and 8th Disaster Cultivators in just a few moments, felt his blood pressure spike so much he could feel his ears pound. A vein near his temples throbbed rapidly as he breathed deeply, trying to contain his wrath. 

It had been millennia since someone dared insult him to this degree! He really wanted to grab hold of these two and teach them the pain of being refined into Corpse Puppets!

He still forcefully maintained his calm, however.

'This pair of siblings should not be too powerful, given their mottled Qi and age. They are probably nothing more than peripheral members of the Demonic Path.' Barely 8th Disaster at around 27 meant that there was basically no chance for them to achieve Nirvana before 30. 

'That black-robed woman, however, is completely different. She should be a core member of one of the Demonic Sects.' Gu Ran glanced at the black-robed woman who had ignored him and sped towards Senior Sister Jun Meiling, apparently intent on fighting her. 'However, Senior Sister Jun should not be able to take on three of them at once. Especially since she won't be able to use the Spirit Transformation Art for a while.

'Thankfully the two facing Senior Sister Jun don't seem to be all that powerful. She should be able to barely hold on even if she's at a great disadvantage. 

'So, as long as I manage to block this pair of siblings and that black-robed woman, she'll be fine.

'The only problem is that fellow,' His gaze landed on the tall young man with blood-red eyes who was moving towards the other disciples. 'Even though he's rather weak now, he is not something the other disciples can withstand.' Gu Ran felt a headache coming on. Even though the pallor on his face suggested that he was quite severely injured, the 8th Disaster was not something the rest of the disciples could face.

His thoughts went to Xiao Hong, 'If only Junior Sister Xiao had reached the Divine Sea peak or activated her Physique. With the Stellar Primordial Body, even if it was only the initial-stage activation, it would be enough to deal with this trash!'

He sighed in regret, thinking it was not a good idea to have kept this from her. He had been thinking of striking a deal with her: in exchange for information about her Physique, she would help him once. Who knew Demonic Cultivators would pop out of thin air?

Gu Ran tossed his thoughts to the back of his mind. What was done was done, there was no point or need in regretting it. 

'I can only forcefully take on more!'

His muscles tensed and Cultivation Base roiled, ready to fight. His eyes blazed with Killing Intent. 

He could easily run away, but he chose not to. He was different from the trash he fought with in his previous life. He would fight together with his Sect mates, even if it meant dying again! He was a true man, not some cowardly trash!

On the other side, Jun Meiling's eyes widened in shock when she felt so many aurae rushing towards them. 

Looking at those six Eight Disaster aurae rushing towards them, she felt her heart constrict in fear. One Demonic Cultivator had already put them in such a bad situation, much less six of them! 

Jun Meiling smiled bitterly when she received Gu Ran's qi transmission - what was the point in sending a distress signal? She was doubtful they'd last long enough - even the closest ones were too far away. 

'They are more likely to find our shrivelled corpses.'

However, she shook her head and a fierce glint appeared in her eyes as she looked at the incoming Demonic Cultivators. 'It doesn't matter if I die, I will at least drag a few down with me.  A member of the Jun family will never compromise!'

***

The rest of the disciples despaired when they saw the small army of Demonic Cultivators that was rushing towards them with a soaring aura. Their compounded aurae seemed to form into a gigantic Rakshasa Demon, howling and roaring at the sky, threatening to tear it apart!

Xiao Hong felt her heart pounding against her chest almost painfully. 

'Dammit!' Xiao Hong's eyes widened as she saw the red-eyed young man make his way towards them, his aura billowing. A suffocating aura pressed down on the Purple Spirit Sect's disciples causing them to feel suffocated. Xiao Hong felt her knees go weak under the immense pressure exerted by the man. 

A saturated metallic taste like that of blood filled her nose and mouth.

"The Blood Sea Scripture?" A Demonic Cultivator exclaimed in surprise, "Xue Hun of the Blood Sea Sect?" He looked up at the 8th Disaster Demonic Cultivator in apparent shock.

'Dammit, we're done for!' Xiao Hong's face was drained of blood. The Blood Sect was one of the major Factions of the Demonic Path, equivalent to the Super Factions! And its main hereditary Scripture was the Blood Sea Scripture - an incredibly potent and cruel Cultivation Method that required endless sacrifices of living beings - be they human or not. The Cultivators that used this Scripture used humans, simply because there would be fewer side effects.

This meant that the man would definitely not let them go - Immortal Path's Cultivators were the greatest tonic for them, after all.

Sure enough, the man did not say a single word and directly attacked!

Xue Hun made a hand seal and a Flying Sword shot out towards them, turning into a blood-red phantom that sliced through several Cultivators in a few breaths. 

Wherever the Sword went, screams of terror and cries of anguish echoed. 

The attacked cultivators tried to resist by attacking Xue Hun, but it was utterly futile - as a massive red-coloured bell inscribed with black patterns hovered over his head protecting him behind a thin, yet incredibly sturdy layer of transparent Essence Shield. 

It was a half-step Magic Treasure!

Terror gripped Xiao Hong's heart as she saw the blood that was spilt fly up to the Xue Hun who took a deep breath and inhaled the blood! Immediately, his face showed a comfortable expression and his somewhat pale face became rosier. His aura also spiked by nearly 20 percent!

Xue Hun's gaze settled on the remaining cultivators who were attacking him with all their might, releasing powerful Spells and Techniques but were unable to make a single dent. A malicious smirk carved itself onto his face. He raised his hand again, while slowly making hand seals. It was almost as if he was mocking them - 'Look, I'm making my hand seals so slowly, but you trash can't do anything to me.'

A sect disciple next to Xiao Hong whispered, his voice quivering, "There is nothing we can do… That Defensive Artefact is too strong…"

Similar despairing thoughts passed through the Cultivators present.

Xue Hun's smirk widened when saw the looks of despair in his victims' eyes.

Xiao Hong slowly retreated from the battlefield, thoughts of escape emerging from the depths of her mind.

'I cannot face a cultivator of that level now, I will definitely die if I face such a powerful opponent!' She took a step back, her breath coming in frantic gasps. She knew she would die if she stayed here.

'I can't die here, I have yet to see the World. I have yet to enjoy this new life. If it all ends here, what's the point?' She took several more steps back. She had to run away. She could easily do so…

Yet, even as she did, her gaze fell upon a disciple. It was the moustached disciple she'd saved at first. He fought with all his might, swinging spell after spell at the Xue Hun, only for them to cause nothing more than a ripple. Then the Flying Sword chopped him in half.

The upper half of his body rotated as it fell. Perhaps by sheer coincidence or by perhaps it was preordained by fate, the upper half of his body landed directly facing her. The expression on his face was bewildered as he saw her retreating. Then his expression relaxed as a smile came over his face.

And in that moment, Xiao Hong saw him mouthing, 'Run, Senior Sister.'

Xiao Hong froze in her place.

She had expected disappointment, resentment, wrath or even contempt.

Disappointment that the Senior Sister whom he thought was strong was retreating when he, a weakling, fought.

Resentment because she did not dare to even raise her hand to resist.

Wrath because she did not protect the disciples like she was supposed to.

Those looks were ones that her previous incarnation was used to for a long time - he was never good at anything he tried and received looks of disappointment. It was the reason he had become an unscrupulous manager in the first place - since he did not have talent of his own, he would leverage others' talents to rise!

Dealing with resentment and wrath was his bread and butter.

She was more than used to it. So, she would not mind that.

But she did not expect this.

At the same time, like time rewinding, she recalled how her Sect mates had stood up for her when she was to be used as merchandise to be traded.

'They are your Sect mates! You should stand by them! Like they did for you!' Part of her wanted to stay back and fight with her Sect mates. Even if she rarely interacted with them, they were still the ones who stood by her.

'So what? So what if they supported you? Does that diminish the value of your life? No! You will die if you don't run!

'Moreover, wasn't it a so-called Sect mate that put you in such a situation in the first place?

'And would they stand by her if they were on their own? If it weren't for the fact that all of them were clamouring together, they would never stand up to an Inner Disciple!'

  Some part of her that wanted to escape whispered.

'Besides, if it really troubles you that much, you can just take revenge later, when you're stronger!'

She felt like her heart was tearing apart. Xiao Hong stood frozen, not knowing whether to struggle or run.

Just as she was stuck in a dilemma, she felt a powerful aura erupt in the distance! It was so powerful it almost rivalled the cumulative whole of the small Army of Demonic Cultivators!

'Gu Ran?! Was he always so powerful?!' Xiao Hong was shocked for a bit before her eyes widened in disbelief, 'No… He's using a Cultivation Burning Secret Technique?!'

A Cultivation Burning Secret Technique was simple - more power in exchange for regression in your Cultivation Base. It was a Technique to gain greater power during critical times.

'But why?' Xiao Hong could not understand. 'Why would he sacrifice his Cultivation Base despite having a limitless future ahead of him?!' 

By sacrificing his Cultivation Base he'd have to work much harder to make up for the lost Cultivation Base. This was especially the case since he was in the Disaster stage. 

The drop in Cultivation Base is not merely falling from the 7th Disaster to the 6th Disaster. It was a direct blow to his Foundation. The quantity and quality of his Zhenqi would drop. Having passed eight Disasters, he would not only have to refine the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth into Zhenqi once again, but also he had to wait until the newly refined Zhenqi gained the properties his original Zhenqi did through the Disasters, making it that much of an ordeal. It was a massive blow to his chances of achieving Nirvana before 30.

So, why would he do something like that? Especially when she knew very well that he had an Escape Technique that was even better than hers! It made no sense to her.

Another abnormally powerful aura erupted in the distance, 'Jun Meiling?'

She saw Jun Meiling facing the two 8th Disasters with a firm, determined expression.

Suddenly, Xiao Hong felt inferior in their presence. So what if she had a system? So what if she was talented and beautiful? Could she compare to these people who fought with their lives on the line? 

The answer, she felt, was a resounding no.