If Mi Lu were still at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, he might have been able to join Jing Tao and Shi Fang in their fight.

But now, after Hulü Yan drained his energy, he had regressed to the early stages of Qi Refining.

Moreover, he had been busy rushing around for the past few days, with no time to cultivate, meaning he would be of little use in battle and probably just a burden.

Thinking this over, Mi Lu’s gaze naturally drifted toward Wei Sheng.

Wei Sheng had just managed to get to his feet, only to meet Mi Lu’s thoughtful expression. In that instant, he realized what the young master was scheming. His face immediately paled as he stammered, “My hands are gone! Going out there is suicide. You’re from a noble family, how can you push someone to their death like this?!”

Hearing this, Ni Wenhui and Yu Ying looked over as well.

Mi Lu pressed his lips together and, making sure they couldn’t see his expression, stared calmly at Wei Sheng. “Senior Brother, what nonsense are you spouting? Would I ever do such a thing?”

Wei Sheng thought, utterly distressed: Aren’t you exactly that kind of person? Stop pretending!

Yu Ying, worried that the “senior brothers” might start fighting at such a critical moment, quickly interrupted the conversation. “You don’t need to worry. The number of beasts is limited. We can handle them.”

Despite her words, the situation with Jing Tao and Shi Fang was clearly not looking good.

Unlike solitary beasts, beasts that lived in packs knew how to cooperate. They weren’t just recklessly charging at them but were gradually closing in, tightening their encirclement.

The wasteland was scorched by the Red Fire Wolves’ flames, cracks forming in the ground as the air warped from the intense heat. The fire consumed the scattered rocks and dried grass, and the searing breath of the flames faintly crept into the protective barrier.

Jing Tao and Shi Fang’s figures were shrouded in the blazing firelight. At first, their silhouettes were still vaguely visible, but soon they disappeared entirely from view.

Ni Wenhui and Yu Ying’s anxiety grew, unease creeping into their hearts.

Shi Fang was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Normally, two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators should be able to handle thirty to forty low-level beasts like the Red Fire Wolves and Eight-Eyed Chickens, even if it wasn’t an easy victory. Yet, they were being overwhelmed.

As time dragged on, it seemed increasingly likely that Jing Tao and Shi Fang would be wiped out by the Red Fire Wolves and Eight-Eyed Chickens.

Suddenly, several streams of water struck the protective barrier, casting heavy shadows and causing the once sturdy barrier to dent inward.

Luckily, Mi Lu had brought out plenty of defensive magical artifacts.

The barrier quickly restored itself.

Water from the Eight-Eyed Chickens flowed down the sides of the barrier, seeping into the cracked ground and producing hissing steam.

Even through the barrier, the sound made Mi Lu’s teeth ache.

“They won’t hold out much longer,” Mi Lu said to the two girls. “These aren’t ordinary beasts. They’ve lived in a pack for a long time and know how to cooperate. Add their numbers to the mix, and we’re no match for them.”

As Mi Lu spoke, the sound of wings flapping came from above.

They all looked up—

Ten or so Eight-Eyed Chickens were circling above them, their sharp talons repeatedly attempting to strike through the barrier. Fortunately, the barrier held each time.

Each Eight-Eyed Chicken was as large as a Golden Retriever, with long legs and hooked talons. When they spread their wings, they cast a heavy, oppressive shadow over the group, making it feel like the sky could collapse on them at any moment.

Under their relentless attacks, the barrier was starting to thin.

Ni Wenhui, who had been protected by her mother and others since childhood, had never faced such a situation. Her eyes filled with terror as she frantically asked Yu Ying, “What do we do now?”

Yu Ying opened her mouth to respond but coughed up a mouthful of blood instead.

The continuous attacks from the Eight-Eyed Chickens had caused a backlash, sending her spiritual energy into disarray. Yet in this critical moment, she had no time to meditate and recover; she had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue pouring energy into the barrier.

Ni Wenhui, holding her sword, couldn’t help in this situation. All she could do was anxiously wait.

The truth was, everyone inside and outside the barrier understood the situation clearly—they were in this mess because of Mi Lu and his group.

If Ni Wenhui and the others hadn’t taken Mi Lu and his companions aboard their carriage, they wouldn’t have headed in this direction and wouldn’t have encountered the Eight-Eyed Chickens.

If they weren’t busy protecting the non-combatants like Mi Lu, they could have broken through the encirclement already instead of wasting time here.

Even though Ni Wenhui was at the peak of Qi Refining, with the protection of three mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, escaping would not have been difficult.

But with Mi Lu’s group dragging them down, it was a different story.

Although Ni Wenhui had already used a communication talisman to call for help, there was no way their reinforcements could arrive immediately.

Above them, more and more Eight-Eyed Chickens gathered, their wings flapping and screeching, filling the barrier with the noise of their attacks.

The Red Fire Wolves’ flames spread out like a blazing sea, radiating intense heat that turned the air a deep, suffocating red.

Waves of heat passed through the barrier, scorching their skin. The ground beneath their feet felt like a boiling cauldron.

Yu Ying was visibly on the verge of collapse.

At the same time, Jing Tao’s gasping voice came from outside the barrier. “I can’t hold on much longer! There are too many of them, I can’t kill them all!”

Shi Fang echoed, “Me neither!”

“Get out of here!” Jing Tao’s words were clearly directed at Ni Wenhui and Yu Ying. “If we keep this up, all of us will be left behind!”

Yu Ying hesitated for only a moment before gritting her teeth and turning to the others inside the barrier. “We have to go.”

Ni Wenhui protested, “But Jing Tao—”

“She’ll be fine!” Yu Ying quickly cut her off before she could reveal more. “We’ll head west and find a place to hide while we wait for them.”

Ni Wenhui didn’t want to abandon Jing Tao and Shi Fang, but at this point, they had no other choice.

Yu Ying was about to say more to Mi Lu, but she was interrupted when Mi Lu suddenly spoke up. “You should go with them. My senior and junior brothers and I will stay behind.”

Yu Ying was shocked and turned to look at Mi Lu.

It was then that she noticed Mi Lu had already picked Hulü Yan up from the ground. His beautiful face was expressionless—there was no panic, no fear, no dread of death.

Of course, if Yu Ying and Ni Wenhui had observed more closely, they would have noticed that Mi Lu’s hands, which held Hulü Yan, were trembling.

He was human after all. How could he not fear death?

He was just putting on a convincing act.

Before Yu Ying could say anything, Ni Wenhui blurted out, “You’re not leaving? You can’t possibly fight those beasts. Staying behind is certain death!”

“The fact that you three remembered us in this time of crisis is more than enough for me to be grateful. We can’t continue to drag you down.” Mi Lu spoke quickly. “If you leave now, there’s still a chance for survival. But if you take us with you, the beast horde will catch up in no time.”

Ni Wenhui was at a loss for words.

How could she not understand the logic behind this? She just couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Mi Lu’s gaze shifted from Ni Wenhui to Yu Ying. “There’s no time to waste. Go now. We’ll stay behind to buy you some time.”

Yu Ying quickly made her decision. She bowed to Mi Lu. “Take care.”

Mi Lu nodded.

Yu Ying placed her fingers in her mouth and blew a sharp whistle, then grabbed the hesitant Ni Wenhui and rushed out of the barrier.

Seeing this, Wei Sheng tried to hop after them, but Mi Lu kicked him back to the ground.

Wei Sheng cursed, “Damn it, are you crazy? Why are you choosing to die instead of escaping? If you want to die, go ahead, but why drag me with you?”

The blazing firelight reflected off Mi Lu’s pretty face, and he smirked faintly. “You’re going to die either way if you follow them. You might as well stay and be of some use.”

The anger on Wei Sheng’s face quickly turned to fear. “W-What are you planning to do?”

As soon as Yu Ying left, the protective barrier disappeared. Mi Lu’s magical artifacts couldn’t hold off the beasts for long.

The beasts that had trapped Jing Tao and Shi Fang immediately shifted their focus and followed Yu Ying and Ni Wenhui.

Jing Tao and Shi Fang broke through the encirclement with relative ease, leaving Mi Lu, Hulü Yan, and Wei Sheng surrounded by the beast horde.

Mi Lu’s plan was simple.

First, from the way Ni Wenhui had accidentally revealed Jing Tao’s name, he had deduced their true identities.

If his guess was correct, Ni Wenhui’s reinforcements were undoubtedly from the Yunyan Sect. In the original storyline, the Mi Family had many conflicts with the Yunyan Sect, and the sect had shown great interest in Hulü Yan. They might speed up Hulü Yan’s dark transformation after discovering his true identity—a result Mi Lu wanted to avoid.

Second, he genuinely didn’t want to drag down Ni Wenhui and the others, and, from another perspective, he didn’t want to owe them anything.

After all, Ni Wenhui was the Young Sect Master of the Yunyan Sect, which had played a significant role in the downfall of the Mi Family.

Third, he suddenly wanted to see if his and the male lead Hulü Yan’s unexpected deaths could change the predetermined plot and possibly end the cycle of reincarnation.

As long as the cycle was broken, whether or not he returned to the real world, his goal would be accomplished.

However, deciding to die was easy. Facing death wasn’t as simple as he had imagined.

As the beast horde began to break through the barrier created by the magical artifacts, Mi Lu couldn’t help but feel a rising tide of fear. He placed Hulü Yan on the ground, fumbling to pull out more defensive artifacts from his storage pouch and treasure bags.

All around them, the fire raged, lighting up the night sky.

The sounds of wings flapping, fire crackling, and water hissing as it met the flames grew louder and louder.

It filled the air until it felt like there was no room left to breathe.

Just as Mi Lu exhausted his last defensive artifact, fear got the better of him. He followed his original plan and left Wei Sheng behind to buy time, grabbing Hulü Yan and making a break for it under the final cover of the artifact’s barrier.

But what he hadn’t expected was that Wei Sheng would bite down on his pant leg.

Wei Sheng’s face, illuminated by the fire, was twisted into a hideous grimace, like a vengeful ghost from the depths of hell.

With hatred and despair in his eyes, Wei Sheng bit down on Mi Lu’s pant leg, a look of venomous malice slowly creeping into his expression.

You want to die?

Then don’t even think about running away. Let’s die together!

Just as Mi Lu kicked Wei Sheng away, the beasts finally broke through the barrier.

All Mi Lu could see were the Eight-Eyed Chickens and Red Fire Wolves rushing at him. His vision was filled with a sea of red.

His eyes widened.

In that moment, Death’s scythe swung down.

—

Ni Wenhui and the others hadn’t run far before they stopped. The beast horde hadn’t chased after them. Instead, they had all turned their attention to the three who stayed behind.

Jing Tao, who had sustained multiple injuries, leaned on her sword for support, barely able to stand. She frowned deeply, staring silently at the fire in the distance.

After a moment, Jing Tao spoke heavily, “The protective barrier has broken. There’s no way they survived.”

Hearing this, Ni Wenhui’s tears fell uncontrollably, filled with both sympathy and guilt for her powerlessness.

Jing Tao gently patted Ni Wenhui’s shoulder in consolation and sighed. “Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Yu Ying suddenly exclaimed. “Look! Over there!”

Ni Wenhui and the others turned to look.

In the next moment, they were shocked by the scene they saw, one that would be forever etched in their memories.