He Yu's cold expression gave everyone watching goosebumps.

"Go!", she ordered harshly as she turned to face the rest of the enemies.

Before Jian Li could even react, Chen Zhen had already grabbed her hand and began running past the opening He Yu had created.

"Do not let anyone of them leave alive! We'll rebuild Banmian!"

"You won't escape us!", one of the attackers yelled out.

"We will catch up to you and kill you!", said another, pointing his spear at them.

Some of the cultivators left the encirclement, chasing the group of disciples that had just broken through.

But unfortunately for them, a crisp crackling sound rang behind them.

"Engulfing Lightning Fist!", He Yu yelled, rushing forward to stop the enemies from chasing the disciples.

A thunderclap was heard as her vicious attack tore through the air and hit the cultivators hard in their backs, leaving them charred.

One fist was all it took for He Yu to wipe out yet another group of cultivators.

She gave a hesitant nod to the disciples before turning her attention to the remaining attackers that were coming at them from behind.

A different aura rose from He Yu's back as she valiantly stood tall against the attackers. Fiercer than anything Jian Li had seen.

"Come on, we can't get in her way! We have to let her focus!", Chen Zhen said as he continued dragging Jian Li.

All they could hear was thunderclap after thunderclap as He Yu fought relentlessly against the enemy.

The trio continued running, avoiding the enemies by taking every turn they could find.

But as they continued to run, Jian Li began to lose her energy. Still spent from the battle with Zhang Yan, she could barely keep going.

"Hang in there!", Chen Zhen yelled as he picked her up bridal style.

Jian Li looked at her exhausted friend and sighed. She wanted to say something else but could only mumble weakly, "You can carry me..."

Chen Zhen nodded at her.

"If you can hold on, I will carry you back."

Jian Li looked at her friend and smiled weakly. She didn't really expect him to actually carry her but she wasn't able to move on her own any longer.

She wrapped her arms around Chen Zhen's neck and held on tightly, trusting in him that he would take care of her.

"Alright," Jian Li said as she closed her eyes.

The trio ran on and on, their strength waning with each passing second. The enemies were closing in from all directions, threatening to cut them off.

"We can do this. I am sure we can make it back to the sect.", Jian Li said as she focused on holding on for just a little bit more.

Chen Zhen smiled gently and nodded, reassuring her that he was confident too.

Jian Li looked at her friend as she held tight to his neck. She could tell by his determined face and the light in his eyes that he would never give up.

She couldn't either.

"Thank you.", she whispered softly.

Chen Zhen smiled back at her gently before he turned his attention to their pursuers again.

His breathing had grown heavy as the three of them ran tirelessly down the street. Their pursuers were relentless, unwilling to give them a single moment of rest.

Jian Li couldn't believe how many of them they had seen and how well organized the whole thing seemed.

It felt like a scene straight out of a nightmare where they were being chased by a group of gloating demons. The fact that there was so much commotion around them made her realize that the situation was getting worse with each passing second. Everyone they came across were being attacked.

It was everyone's problem now.

The only thing she could do was regain her strength as soon as possible to stop being a burden.

As if on cue, they saw another group of cultivators approaching them.

"Don't let them escape!"

"Kill them all!"

They had lost count of how many cultivators they had encountered so far but it had already reached double digits a long time ago.

"Wu, none of them have reached the Earth stage!", Chen Zhen said.

"I got it!", Hao Wu said proudly.

He then took the lead and charged while Chen Zhen followed closely behind with Jian Li in his arms.

None of them could stand in front of Hao Wu as his spear struck down several of the cultivators in a flash. A single strike from his spear would be enough to end the lives of dozens of them.

Soon enough, the rest of the cultivators were unable to resist the same fate. After all, Hao Wu was known for being a Core Disciple of the True Sword Sect for a reason.

"Let's keep moving! We'll get there soon!", Chen Zhen yelled, unflinchingly stepping through the fresh corpses.

--------

The entire city of Banmian was in turmoil as more attacks erupted throughout the city. The streets were full of screams and chaos as the cultivators fought against cultivators.

Many cultivators were caught by surprise in their homes as the attackers swarmed their neighbourhoods, attacking them. While others were able to take advantage of the chaos to sneak into innocent homes, steal their valuables, and even kidnap them.

Without warning, the attackers were everywhere...