“Everyone, retreat quickly!
I will hold them off!”
Yao Haoxuan made a prompt decision.
He released his Spirit, and his physique instantly swelled, charging directly to the front to use his own flesh and blood as a wall.
Unfortunately, even though his Spirit was considered top-tier in defensive power among those of the same level, it was simply not enough to face the explosion of hundreds of corpses.
Yao Haoxuan took the first wave of attacks head-on, his body instantly reduced to a bloody mess, with half of his body even obliterated.
“Haoxuan!”
Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Gongyang Mo, and Xixi all let out desperate roars at this moment, their eyes turning red.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were also furious to the point of their eyes splitting.
But in the current situation, they had absolutely no way to deal with it, because the next wave of attacks was coming.
“Run quickly!”
Ma Xiaotao roared in anger, and the Evil Fire Phoenix behind her let out a cry.
Although it knew it might die, it was still prepared to block this wave of attacks itself, buying a glimmer of survival for its companions.
“You truly don’t shed tears until you see the coffin.”
The Death Messenger hid in the shadows, the corners of his mouth curling up, as if he could already see the scene where these people were wiped out and then turned into his corpse slaves.
But it was at this very moment.
Suddenly, a sacred figure with six wings on his back appeared in the cave.
This person wore a white robe, had golden hair and golden eyes, and a face as handsome as jade.
His whole body radiated a sacred aura, as if an angel had descended into the human world.
“Second Spirit Ability, Angelic Light Shield.” Qian Daoliu waved his hand casually, directly casting golden light shields over Ma Xiaotao and the others, insulating them from the corpse explosion damage.
Immediately, his gaze locked onto a patch of shadows, his voice icy: “You scoundrel, how dare you slaughter innocent civilians and desecrate their corpses!
Get out here at once!”
This last sentence carried spirit power.
The Death Messenger in the shadows, who was originally in a daze, felt his spirit power spiraling out of control upon hearing this, as if it were being scorched by raging fire.
“Ah!”
He let out a miserable scream, stumbling out of the shadows with a ferocious expression.
His gaze fell upon Qian Daoliu, and seeing the golden wings, his eyeballs instantly burst, and he fell to the ground, rolling around and howling.
“Ahhh!”
The Death Messenger knew he couldn’t sit and wait for death, so he endured the pain and summoned his twelve corpse slaves, roaring: “Kill everyone here!”
Qian Daoliu did not give him a chance.
With a cold snort, he flicked twelve beams of golden light from his fingertips, instantly killing the twelve corpse slaves and purifying them in the process.
Feeling the connection between himself and his corpse slaves severed, the Death Messenger was scared out of his wits.
He hurriedly scrambled up from the ground, but because he couldn’t see anything, he had no idea where to run.
“Fallen Ones must be executed!”
Qian Daoliu showed no mercy, flicking another beam of golden light that pierced through the Death Messenger.
“No…”
The Death Messenger lowered his head, looking at his pierced chest, eyes wide, before falling straight down, wisps of black smoke drifting from his body.
Seeing the leader of the Death’s Hand Bandit Group die just like that, Ma Xiaotao and the others were incredibly shocked, followed by a feeling of gratitude—a deep, intense gratitude.
They all looked at Qian Daoliu in unison.
If it weren’t for this Senior intervening in time.
Something terrible would definitely have happened.
They might all have died today!
“That is enough.”
Qian Daoliu turned around and waved his hand to withdraw the golden light shields around Ma Xiaotao and the others, his face revealing no joy or anger: “Little ones, when you are out and about, you must be careful in everything you encounter.”
“I see that most of you are at least Soul King level.
Having such cultivation at such a young age makes it very easy to be blindly arrogant, but you were almost wiped out by a Fallen One who had only just reached the Soul King level.
I truly don’t know what to say to you.”
Hearing this, everyone looked at Yao Haoxuan, who lay dead on the ground with only half his body left, all of them wearing expressions of regret.
They had indeed been too arrogant, thinking they could easily deal with the Death Messenger, and it was precisely because of this arrogance that Yao Haoxuan was blown to death while trying to protect them.
“We have been taught a lesson, Senior.” Ma Xiaotao was the first to recover from her grief, bowing solemnly to Qian Daoliu: “Thanks to you just now, Senior, otherwise we would not have escaped this disaster today!”
The others saw this and also bowed repeatedly to express their thanks.
Qian Daoliu waved his hand, but his gaze remained fixed on Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao felt uncomfortable under his gaze: “Senior?”
“You little girl actually have enough perseverance.” Qian Daoliu’s eyes flashed with golden light: “The top-tier Spirit, Evil Fire Phoenix, has produced many powerful Fallen Ones in the past.
That you can persist until now without completely falling shows good Heart-Nature.”
As he spoke, Qian Daoliu changed the subject, his expression serious: “I hope your perseverance can support you to keep going.
If one day you become a Fallen One, I will kill you with my own hands.”
Ma Xiaotao listened to these words.
She understood the general meaning.
Except for the term Fallen One, which she didn’t quite understand for a moment.
Perhaps, it referred to Evil Soul Masters?
“Rest assured, Senior.”
Ma Xiaotao nodded heavily: “Although I cannot control the evil fire within me at this stage, I have already found a lead.
I will absolutely not become an Evil Soul Master!”
Hearing this, Qian Daoliu was also slightly puzzled about what an Evil Soul Master was, but after thinking about it, he understood.
The Fallen Ones of this era should be called Evil Soul Masters; they did not retain the old terminology.
“By the way, may I ask for your name, Senior!”
Ma Xiaotao spoke again: “We all come from Shrek Academy.
I believe you must have heard of it, Senior.
If there is ever anything you need us for in the future, we will be at your beck and call!”
Qian Daoliu had never heard of any Shrek Academy.
However, these little ones in front of him, who all seemed to be under twenty years old, had actually Cultivated to the Soul King or even Spirit Emperor level.
A Shrek Academy capable of nurturing them must be a very famous academy in this current era.
“I am…”
Qian Daoliu had just wanted to say something.
Just at this moment, two hurried figures ran in from outside the cave.
The person in the lead was disheveled and was holding a half-eaten chicken leg in his hand.
“What is going on here?!”
Elder Xuan’s eyes darted around, finally locking onto the already deceased Yao Haoxuan.
The chicken leg in his hand dropped to the ground, and he stood there, completely stunned.
Why?
It was clearly just meant to be the annihilation of a bandit group.
The Shrek Seven Devils were all deployed.
It should have been a direct, crushing victory.
Why did Yao Haoxuan die?
“Ma Xiaotao!”
Elder Xuan clenched his fists, veins popping on his forehead.
He turned his head to look at Ma Xiaotao, questioning her: “How on earth did you act as the captain?!”
“A mere, insignificant bandit group, with a maximum combat power of only a Soul King—shouldn’t you have completed the mission easily and without a scratch?!”
“Why did Yao Haoxuan die?!”
“Answer me, was it your decision-making error?!”