Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the winter month had passed, and the twelfth month was already halfway through. New Year's Eve was getting closer.

...

On this day, the sky was clear and everything was bright.

However, Shen Nanqi's mood was gloomy.

At this moment, he was located in the east of Tangshe Town, probably on the West Mountain. It should be very close to the abandoned Xiaolin Town.

But he couldn't be sure. He had already lost his way.

Although he could clearly see the directions of east, south, west, and north, he always ended up back here after circling around a few times.

Shen Nanqi didn't dare to take any more risks, especially since several junior disciples were already seriously injured and unable to move on their own.

There were a total of five companions, and now only he and another junior disciple could still move. As for those who could still fight, there was only him left.

Looking at the entire Fenglin City, the West Mountain was located in the northeast, but he didn't know how it got its name.

Previously, a group of bandits had occupied this area, but they were wiped out by Jiang Wang, who was still an outer disciple at that time. After that, it had been peaceful here for a long time.

Shen Nanqi led the team into the Qichang Mountains to hunt and kill the demonic beasts. It was originally a routine training task, but they were attacked outside Tangshe Town.

They fought their way through all the way, calculating the distance, they should have arrived at the West Mountain because they had been heading east all along.

But after arriving here, the directions had lost their meaning.

He didn't know much about formations and couldn't abandon his junior disciples to take risks.

Those hidden forces of the Left Path seemed to want to slowly wear him down. They would only launch occasional attacks instead of going all out.

At this point, all he could do was wait. The distress signal had already been lit by him at the first opportunity.

Now, he could only wait and see if reinforcements arrived first or if he would collapse first.

...

He couldn't count how many times they had been attacked, and their reserves of Dao Yuan were almost depleted.

The last standing teammate also fell down, but he survived because of his burst of power. However, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he died if he couldn't receive timely treatment...

The rotation of the Dao in the Tongtian Palace was brewing the birth of new Dao Yuan. But Shen Nanqi didn't know if he could wait until that moment.

No, he definitely could.

Shen Nanqi didn't look back. He knew who was behind him. They were his teammates.

And he, Shen Nanqi, would never abandon his teammates.

Never!

He grabbed a sword at hand and faced the enemy who was charging towards him. He didn't have much Dao Yuan left, so he tried to use it sparingly.

Although he had never practiced the Transcendent Sword Scripture, his cultivation at the Tongtian Realm was enough to display a certain level of combat power. Of course, it was still not as good as his years of immersion in the Daoist system.

After a few exchanges, Shen Nanqi retreated, and his opponent fell to the ground with a hole in his heart, continuously bleeding. It was caused by the Golden Light Arrow.

He had to use his Daoist skills again reluctantly.

Finally, completely depleted.

Is it over? he wondered.

In his field of vision, more and more people from the Left Path emerged.

These people didn't conceal their faces because they didn't plan to let anyone go.

The sunlight filled the mountains.

In the bright forest, a figure moved swiftly.

A long knife swept across.

The knife light reflected the sunlight as the figure passed through the shadows.

Blood splattered, and heads flew.

The Fast Snow Knife... Wei Yan appeared.

The Left Path demonic beings who had just gathered dispersed in an instant and disappeared after a few turns.

In this kind of formation, they could attack and defend at the same time.

"I didn't expect it to be you who came to save me," Shen Nanqi said.

Wei Yan glanced behind him and spoke in a indifferent tone, "You're still the same. If you were alone, you would have left long ago."

"Don't talk nonsense. When will the others come? With just the two of us, we can't break through this formation," Shen Nanqi took the opportunity to catch his breath and recover as much strength as possible.

"It's just the two of us," Wei Yan said, "There are no other people."

"What?" Shen Nanqi exclaimed.

"They couldn't catch up, so I came alone," Wei Yan replied.

Shen Nanqi took a deep breath and said, "Then call for reinforcements now. If we join forces, we can hold on for a while."

"Don't you understand? These people from the Left Path want to surround us and attack our reinforcements. We can't add fuel to the fire. These people have made things so complicated, there must be a big conspiracy. If the City Guards suffer heavy losses, Fenglin City will be in danger," Wei Yan made a decisive decision and turned with his knife, "Come with me, the two of us still have a chance to break through."

"What about them?" Shen Nanqi angrily asked.

Wei Yan glanced back and casually summoned four long swords, accurately throwing them beside the four heavily injured disciples of the Daoist Academy.

Clang!

These four disciples decisively held their swords horizontally, regardless of gender.

They had been waiting for a long time and had watched Shen Nanqi hold on alone for a long time.

Wei Yan's words didn't hide anything, and he directly told them that there was no hope.

Not dragging Shen Nanqi down was the best outcome.

"Don't!"Shen Nanqi stepped forward to intervene, but was held back by Wei Yan.

How could his exhausted body break through Wei Yan's restraint?

Watching his four junior brothers and sisters commit suicide right in front of him, Shen Nanqi's eyes turned red: "Wei Yan! Are you here to save people or to kill them?"

It was as if he was back on that night.

That bloody night.

Both he and Wei Yan were present then.

And it was Wei Yan who made the same choice.

That night, their mutual friend died tragically in front of them, reduced to ashes.

No remains were left.

"Save if you can, why waste time if you can't?" Wei Yan coldly turned around: "If you want to avenge them, follow me."

"Wei Yan!" Shen Nanqi's voice was more of a wail than a roar.

"If you have the energy, why not kill more heretics, so they can rest in peace." Wei Yan gripped his sword, cutting down a tree.

After examining the tree rings, he moved on.

"The formation can deceive our eyes, but it can't deceive the trees. Because trees don't have eyes, they only have the instinct of life."

Shen Nanqi, holding back his tears, followed silently.

He knew in his heart that suicide might not be a bad choice for his junior brothers and sisters. At least they could avoid more painful experiences. But emotionally, he couldn't accept such an outcome.

He had tried so hard, persisted for so long. Yet he hadn't saved anyone.

Not a single one.

He was on the verge of madness.

Along the way, the heretics launched two large-scale attacks, but they were repelled by Wei Yan and the almost insane Shen Nanqi.

However, until they reached the foot of the mountain, the experts Wei Yan had anticipated did not appear.

Tangshe Town was to the west, and the disoriented Shen Nanqi began to head west.

"Go south." Wei Yan said.

Shen Nanqi turned and followed without asking any questions.

But Wei Yan still explained: "On the way here, we ran into a group of disciples from the Daoist Academy who were also coming to help. They haven't shown up yet, they must be trapped somewhere. We need to go check."

Shen Nanqi turned to look at him, his eyes slowly regaining their spirit, but it was anger: "You said no one else would come to help?"

"It's too late." Wei Yan said indifferently: "If we stay there and continue to bleed, you will die, and I may not survive either."

He added: "And as you can see, this group of rescuers has also been trapped."

"You always make choices like this." Shen Nanqi gritted his teeth: "I hope one day, when you are put in such a choice, you will relish it!"

Wei Yan simply moved forward, leaving all the sunlight behind him.

"No need to wish me well. I was chosen like this when I was five."