Chapter 1536: Chapter 1536: If You Can’t Win, Run
"Why did you come back?" Seeing Zhuang Ping’an and the others turn back halfway, Han Yan asked in surprise.
"Didn’t you say it yourself? We’re companions. If we really have to die, then we’ll die together." Zhuang Ping’an smiled as he spoke.
"If we just watch you die for our sake, then even if we survive, we’ll never be able to live with ourselves." Sang Qinghe added.
They had already been deeply ashamed, and when they said these words, there wasn’t the slightest hint of falseness.
Han Yan, however, smiled bitterly to herself. The reason she stayed behind wasn’t entirely to buy time for Zhuang Ping’an and the others, but because she knew that once they reached the bottom of that cliff, their strength would be heavily suppressed and they simply wouldn’t be able to escape. If they panicked and scattered, then were surrounded and picked off by the Exotic Beasts, they would only die faster.
On the contrary, staying in the center of the basin meant the suppression was weakest. With Huayue and the others’ assistance, she could forcibly raise her strength to the Sword Saint Realm. Most crucially, she still had the Beast God Contract. Even if she couldn’t subdue these Exotic Beasts, she could greatly intimidate them. Weighing everything, gathering Huayue and the others for a desperate battle here gave them a better chance, while at the same time truly buying an opportunity for Zhuang Tianping and the others to escape.
She hadn’t expected this move to move Zhuang Ping’an and the others so deeply that they would risk their lives to fight at her side. That was an unexpected gain. But no matter what, seeing them turn back to help, Han Yan still felt somewhat moved.
From this moment on, they could probably be considered companions who entrusted their lives to one another.
"Be careful." The Exotic Beasts opposite them were roaring madly, pressing closer and closer. Han Yan had no time to explain much, nor any time to persuade them to leave; she could only give a brief warning.
"Rest assured, Young Master Mu, we’ll be careful." Zhuang Tianping and Sang Qinghe knew the young people behind them varied greatly in strength; they didn’t act recklessly and instead led everyone into formation behind Han Yan.
Yet as they spoke, they couldn’t help but smile bitterly. They had also taken part in the great battle with the Exotic Beasts some days ago. This formation was something they had learned in the army: it looked simple, but was actually solid as an iron wall. He could indeed hold out for a while. But they only had a little over a hundred people, while the Exotic Beasts opposite them numbered in the thousands, with no shortage of Great Sword Master–level powerhouses among them. What use was holding out for a while? What use was being careful?
But since they had already come back, they had no regrets. Each gripped their Longsword and stood firmly behind Han Yan.
Closer, ever closer. Along with the trembling of the Earth, that torrent of Exotic Beasts surged to within less than three zhang of them. Everyone could already see the blood-red veins in their eyes and the wild slaughter intent within.
Exotic Beasts were, in the end, Exotic Beasts. No matter how gentle their temper might normally be, once enraged, their instinctive bloodlust was no weaker than their counterparts in the Longyan Mountain.
Everyone’s bodies tensed, and a fine layer of sweat seeped from the hands gripping their sword hilts.
"Star Fall, Eight Desolates!" At last, Han Yan struck.
The Sword Saint Realm’s sword power reappeared before everyone’s eyes. In an instant, Heaven and Earth lost all color. That Sword Light was like a streak of ghostly blue lightning tearing Heaven and Earth apart, its flickering radiance like countless falling stars plummeting from the Nine Heavens.
Because her cultivation was too high, after arriving at Holy Sword Peak Han Yan hadn’t advanced by leaps and bounds like the young people of lower cultivation. But her cultivation had not been in vain: her Qi was far more condensed than before, and with Jian Wuchen’s careful guidance, her comprehension of the Sword Dao had reached a new level. The power of this sword was much stronger than when she’d fought Wei Xiaotian.
Though it wasn’t their first time seeing it, Zhuang Ping’an and the others were still shocked by the might of her sword, even dazed for a brief instant.
The Exotic Beasts opposite them might have been in a Frenzy, but they were powerhouses whose intelligence was no less than humans’. Instinctively aware of the terror of this strike, they subconsciously slowed their steps.
With a thunderous boom, the Earth before them was split by a single sword, a trench several zhang deep opening up, spanning between Han Yan’s group and the Exotic Beasts.
All the Exotic Beasts were startled out of their wits, stunned for an instant.
An opportunity missed will never return!
"In the name of Aolai, I rule the beasts of the world. Those who follow me shall prosper; those who oppose me shall perish!" Han Yan hadn’t expected this sword to be so powerful. Seizing the opportunity while the beasts were stunned, she hurriedly chanted the Beast God Contract.
The ancient might of the Divine Beast once again shrouded Heaven and Earth. As that inherited memory awakened again and again, this Divine Beast might had grown much stronger than before. The Exotic Beasts opposite them already had their Mental State shattered; under this Divine Beast pressure, their whole bodies trembled, terror appearing in their eyes as they no longer dared take a single step forward.
"Go!" Han Yan lowered her voice and spoke to Zhuang Ping’an and the others.
Her original plan was to first pour everything into Star Falling Eight Sword to suppress these Exotic Beasts, then use the Divine Beast Contract to intimidate them and search for the best chance to escape. The outcome was far better than she had imagined. Whether it was Star Falling in Eight Desolates or the Contract might of the Aolai Divine Beast, both were much stronger than before. If they didn’t run now, when would they?
Zhuang Ping’an and the others had thought there would be a bitter battle, that they had eight or nine chances in ten of dying here. They hadn’t expected Han Yan to suppress the Exotic Beasts before them with just a single sword and one obscure chant. Astonished, they were filled with even greater admiration for Han Yan.
Only upon hearing Han Yan’s words did they wake as if from a dream, realizing that their coming back only made them a burden, and hurriedly retreated.
"In the name of Aolai, I rule the beasts of the world. Those who follow me shall prosper; those who oppose me shall perish!" Han Yan continued to recite the Divine Beast Contract while leading Huayue and the others in a quiet retreat.
Speaking of it, she had no enmity with these Exotic Beasts. If not for the earlier accident, they wouldn’t have turned on each other at all, so she had no interest in fighting them to the death... Of course, the disparity in numbers there was obvious; even if she wanted to fight, she couldn’t.
The cliff drew ever closer. Overawed by the Divine Beast Contract of the Aolai Divine Beast, the Exotic Beasts still trembled in place, not daring to move. Han Yan and the others finally let out a sigh of relief. As long as they crossed this cliff and left the Prohibition behind, even if the Exotic Beasts gave chase, they would have a chance to escape with their Lives.
"I invited you in out of goodwill and even promised to let you choose any Sword Pet you wanted, yet you ruined my great plan. I’ll kill you!" At that moment, Elder Sang’s furious roar resounded.
The Exotic Beast that had been standing in the center of the Beast Soul Pool once again transformed into human form and lunged toward Han Yan and the others!
Strands of white hair fluttered as his face became even more aged and haggard than before. Bloodshot veins filled his eyes, grief and rage mingled within, almost dripping blood and tears. Yet the might of his aura, no weaker than a Sword Saint’s, was even more irresistible.
Under that pressure, Zhuang Ping’an and the others felt their hearts violently quake, their steps suddenly turning incomparably heavy. Some of the younger cultivators with weaker cultivation were struck as if by lightning, vomiting blood on the spot.
