Whether it should be this way or not, the reality was laid bare before Su Luo, leaving her no choice but to accept it.
Still, it wasn’t too big of a problem—or so Su Luo consoled herself. It wasn’t like she could just strike her own cultivation down, right?
Besides, she wouldn’t even be able to if she tried.
What puzzled her, though, was the catalyst for her breakthrough.
She shouldn’t have encountered the right conditions for it yet…
Unable to make sense of it, Su Luo decided to put it out of her mind and focus on the task at hand—dealing with the beast tide.
Suddenly, a thought struck her.
"Where’s A’Yun?"
"No idea. She disappeared after giving me instructions," Little Yu replied.
"How odd… Well, no matter. She must have her own business to attend to."
Su Luo mused that she’d truly adopted a carefree mindset by now, before turning her attention back to fighting alongside Little Yu against the monstrous horde.
Meanwhile, amidst the chaos of battle, Nangong Xiyun caught sight of the explosions and knew Su Luo had arrived. Unconsciously, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.
"Distracted? You must think very little of us," General Qingyi sneered, spreading his massive wings before sweeping them forward.
A tempestuous gale tore toward Nangong Xiyun.
With a single slash of her sword, she cleaved through it. "Is that all you’ve got?"
General Qingyi crossed his arms behind his back, gripping his own wings before yanking them free with brutal force.
Now clutched in his hands were two bloodstained weapons—no comedic flourish, but his most formidable armaments.
"Hmph. Today, I’ll show you the true might of a beast general!"
Unfazed, Nangong Xiyun replied coolly, "I’ve already seen it. General Blackhorn died on my blade."
"So it was you!" General Qingyi and General Chilin seethed with fury.
The battle escalated into a frenzied clash.
Su Luo surveyed the battlefield. Even with her assistance, the situation had only improved marginally—far from a decisive turnaround.
The beast tide was still under the effects of the Grand Priest’s preemptive spell, fighting with their very lives burning away.
There was, however, a way to break this spell. The Grand Priest couldn’t maintain it while engaged in combat, so he had substituted himself with a skeletal beast skull artifact to sustain the enchantment.
And this artifact was precisely what Lin Xuan had been meant to destroy. Using his Insight Eye, he had noticed an invisible red thread connecting the beasts’ heads.
Tracing it would have led him straight to the skull—allowing him to shatter it in one decisive strike.
At that moment, the Grand Priest would have panicked, shouting for Lin Xuan to stop.
Only after the deed was done would he dramatically explain the skull’s purpose, earning Lin Xuan widespread acclaim and soaring reputation.
But now, as Su Luo scanned the battlefield, there was no sign of Lin Xuan’s arrival.
It seemed waiting for him was pointless. She’d just have to do it herself.
Su Luo orchestrated a series of explosions—not personally, of course, as that would be too conspicuous. One blast after another tore through the battlefield, "accidentally" reaching the skull before detonating it.
No one would be the wiser.
Well, except the Grand Priest, who frantically erected a barrier to shield the artifact.
The distraction, however, gave Li Hongtao, at the Mahayana stage, an opening to wound the Grand Priest.
Even so, Li Hongtao dared not glance at what the Grand Priest had been protecting. The latter was stronger, and any lapse in focus could be fatal.
The Grand Priest cared little for his injury—so long as the skull was safe.
Yet when he looked, it was already in pieces.
"Why? Why did it shatter? Who—who did this?!"
His barrier should have protected it!
Fuming, the Grand Priest abandoned Li Hongtao entirely, scouring the battlefield for the culprit.
But no matter how he searched, he found nothing. Meanwhile, Li Hongtao refused to let him leave unchecked, closing in to intercept.
Su Luo smirked.
[What You See is What You Boom] meant that merely looking at something was enough to trigger an explosion. That transparent barrier had been a joke—maybe next time, he should make it something flashy.
"Who caused these explosions?!" the Grand Priest roared.
"You think I’d tell you?" Li Hongtao retorted.
Not that he knew either—but it was clearly a good thing.
The Grand Priest channeled his fury into overwhelming Li Hongtao, battering him relentlessly.
Then, in a dazzling entrance, Di Haoran arrived—with Lin Xuan in tow.
"Hold fast, everyone! Reinforcements are here. The time to counterattack is now!"
Di Haoran’s voice resonated across the battlefield.
In truth, only he and Lin Xuan had arrived ahead of the others. The rest were close behind, but these two had outpaced them.
Di Haoran had received word that the Northern Heavenly Gate required aid, prompting him to abandon pursuit of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Along the way, he’d coincidentally encountered Lin Xuan.
Due to the intelligence Lin Xuan had provided about the totem altar, Di Haoran remembered the younger man well—especially since his own son, Di Haoao, was on good terms with him.
Initially, Di Haoran had urged Lin Xuan to rest, given his injuries, but Lin Xuan refused, delivering a speech about how the beast tide still raged and rest could wait.
Impressed, Di Haoran had brought him along.
Su Luo could only sigh internally. *You show up right after I handle everything? Perfect timing, huh?*
Then again, it wasn’t Lin Xuan’s fault—the beasts had attacked earlier than expected.
As the Mahayana experts took to the skies, Di Haoran and Nangong Xiyun teamed up against the two beast generals, overwhelming them instantly.
Yet the generals were no pushovers, holding their own despite the pressure.
Seeing this, the Grand Priest disengaged from Li Hongtao and joined the fray, casting priestly buffs to empower the generals.
The effects were immediate and potent.
Now facing three opponents, Di Haoran’s group found themselves barely holding the line.
The Grand Priest wasn’t ready to retreat yet—he needed to buy time for the beast tide to inflict as much damage as possible.
If they left now, the remaining beasts would be swiftly annihilated by the Mahayana cultivators, rendering their sacrifices meaningless.
Lin Xuan, meanwhile, carved through the battlefield. Spotting the explosions, he realized Su Luo was here.
He didn’t know whether to be relieved or exasperated. *Just hours ago, you nearly killed me, and now you’re already here ahead of me?*
*Always one step ahead, aren’t you?*
For the allied sects, the tide seemed to be turning in their favor.
But then, as expected—where there was chaos, the Heavenly Demon Sect would never miss the party.
The Left Envoy and Right Envoy joined the aerial battle, tipping the scales once more.
More Heavenly Demon Sect disciples descended upon the allied forces, plunging the battlefield into further disarray.
With their arrival, Emperor Heaven Sect’s reinforcements suddenly felt far less impactful.
Still, overall, the allied sects held a slight edge.
"What a lively gathering," the Left Envoy remarked with a smirk.
Di Haoran glared. "I planned to settle with you later, but since you’re here, we’ll deal with you now."
The Grand Priest snarled, "One day, humans, our beast tide will trample you all beneath our feet!"
Nangong Xiyun’s gaze flicked to the Heavenly Demon Sect envoys. "And you’re just going to ignore that?"
The Right Envoy responded coldly, "Our path is ours alone to walk—no matter the cost, and regardless of who stands in our way."
Di Haoran’s sword flared with azure light. "Enough talk. Whether it’s the beast tide or the Heavenly Demon Sect—today, you’ll all pay."