Decaying World Novel Chapter 219:

Chapter 219:

The steady rumble of wheels carried from outside the carriage.

Lin Xiaoliu nestled in her mother Liu Shenglan's arms, half-listening as she recounted the history of Tuyue. She couldn't quite focus, though. Her attention kept drifting to the two figures sitting cross-legged across from them.

One was her older sister, Liu Xiao, who had just co rushing from the Inner City—sent by their eldest brother to escort the family convoy during the evacuation.

The other was Xia Si, eyes tightly shut in cultivation.

Xia Si had only recently joined the Rain Palace. Theoretically, she should have remained in the Inner City. Yet the mont she sensed sothing was wrong, she had made straight for him without a second thought.

"With you here, the evacuation will be much easier," Liu Xiao said softly.

"The real question is where we're evacuating to. At a ti like this, nowhere is truly safe," Xia Si replied with a faint smile.

"Nowhere in particular. Eldest Brother's idea is to find a place in the Mist Zone to lie low and return once the fighting in the Inner City ends. Tuyue can't actually fall—it's rely a question of how much collateral damage there will be," Liu Xiao answered.

"You're that confident?" Xia Si asked, surprised.

"It's not confidence; it's an assessnt of actual strength. Top-tier experts are involved in this invasion, yes—but masters of that caliber won't truly risk their lives in a fight to the death. This is more of a sudden raid, taking advantage of the fact that so of the Blood Ancestors aren't in the city to reap as many benefits as possible." Knowing that Xia Si had only recently joined the Rain Palace and was unaware of many inside details, Liu Xiao explained carefully.

"So this attack only feels sudden because the scale and montum of the invasion aren't actually as massive as they appear?" Xia Si said thoughtfully.

"Exactly." Liu Xiao nodded. "So we don't need to worry. We take a wide detour and then head back."

She turned to look at Lin Xiaoliu. "Xiaoliu, are you scared?"

Lin Xiaoliu glanced at Xia Si, then back at Liu Xiao. "Is Third Brother here?" she asked.

"He is. He's with the Clear Wind Dao convoy in the rear—he has quite a few sect mbers to settle down," Liu Xiao replied.

"Then I'm not scared," Lin Xiaoliu said earnestly.

Liu Xiao was speechless. She hadn't expected Lin Xiaoliu's trust in Lin Hui to run quite so deep.

…

anwhile, at the rear of the procession, the large Clear Wind Dao contingent stretched out like a long snake, pressing to keep pace with the Lin Manor's convoy.

Lin Hui rode on horseback, advancing side by side with his father, Lin Shunhe. Through the inner wall of the air cavity held open by the Tranquil Incense above the convoy, bright daylight filtered down. The dazzling sun could be faintly glimpsed rising through the haze.

The two rode in the middle of the procession—the main force of the Lin Manor ahead, the Clear Wind Dao contingent behind—a perfect position for commanding and coordinating.

Lin Shunhe glanced at his son, choosing his words carefully. "Your side seems well-inford."

"We got lucky. I actually just found out myself—a friend from the Inspectorate Division tipped

off," Lin Hui nodded.

"The Inspectorate Division itself was attacked this ti and suffered heavy casualties," Lin Shunhe pointed out.

Lin Hui had nothing to say to that. He'd reflexively used Hong Ling as a shield, only to find the excuse had failed him.

After a brief pause, sothing struck him. "Wait—old man, how do you know the Inspectorate Division was attacked and suffered heavy casualties?" He looked at his father, equally at a loss.

"My business is vast. Naturally, I have my own channels," Lin Shunhe said in a deep voice.

"I have dozens of sect mbers. Naturally, I have my own channels too," Lin Hui imdiately returned.

"You brat, you pick up the deflection fast enough when it suits you," Lin Shunhe said, exasperated. "Forget it. If you won't say, you won't say. With things blowing up like this, I feel the Outer City isn't safe anymore either. But I'm not willing to move to the Inner City—it isn't exactly a good place."

He sighed. "I've spent my whole life rooted here, decades of it. Even if I wanted to leave, I wouldn't know where to go."

"Xingdao? It's the closest urban district," Lin Hui suggested.

"I've dealt with that place plenty on rchant runs. It's worse," Lin Shunhe shook his head. "Black Cloud, on the other hand, is quite nice. Peaceful, stable, and its ruling powers are extrely formidable—far less nonsense than here."

"You're thinking of moving to Black Cloud?" Lin Hui asked.

"I've been turning it over since last year and even started making arrangents—hired people to open a small shop there and bought a courtyard residence, so we'd have sowhere to land if it ca to that. The trouble is that all our properties and storefronts are here. Walking away isn't easy; we'd be leaving too much behind," Lin Shunhe sighed.

"Why are you telling

this? You want the Clear Wind Dao to relocate as well?" Lin Hui said. "You know that's not realistic. Almost all the disciples are locals from around here."

"I know. But think about how many of them truly have a real sense of belonging to your sect—it's actually quite few. Once they're settled on their own, you could head straight over. As long as your core team goes with you, starting fresh won't be hard," Lin Shunhe argued.

"You're not wrong." Lin Hui gave a slight nod. In his heart, though, he knew it was out of the question. His backup base in the maze ruins was already under construction—with that kind of investnt, simply walking away was impossible.

"Ah Hui." Lin Shunhe let out a long sigh. "Actually—" He opened his mouth, on the verge of revealing a portion of his true identity to put his son at ease.

He had already successfully applied for the position of Branch Hall Master in the Benevolent Heart Sect and could be transferred laterally to Black Cloud. That was why he was raising this now. The Benevolent Heart Sect's branch hall here would soon be handed over to a successor, and all the corresponding businesses along with it—on the surface, nothing more than an ordinary sale of storefronts.

Right at that mont, the Mist churned.

In the distance, at the rear of the convoy, faint howling sounds cut through the air and rapidly drew closer.

Lin Hui turned toward the sound. "Soone is chasing us."

"We're an ordinary civilian convoy. Even if soone is in pursuit, it won't be anyone significant. Don't worry." Lin Shunhe tried to reassure him. "Besides, don't we still have Xiaoxiao and Xia Si?"

"True," Lin Hui nodded.

In the very next second, the door of a carriage up ahead slid open. A figure shot out and vanished toward the rear of the convoy like a bolt of lightning.

"Xiaoxiao has moved," Lin Shunhe noted. "Correct approach. The commotion can't be too large—if the enemy thinks we're transporting soone or sothing important, it'll draw stronger opponents. Having Xiaoxiao strike first while keeping Xia Si in reserve as a hidden trump card is the right way to handle this."

"Everyone else, keep moving forward!" Lin Hui raised his hand, amplifying his voice with Internal Force.

…

At the very rear of the procession, two tall figures in pure white masks materialized behind the Clear Wind Dao contingent. They stood atop two small mounds, gazing down at the carriages with cold contempt.

One wore a flowing cyan robe, an erald-green jade flute held loosely in hand.

The other had a head of white hair and an aloof, imperious bearing. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, dressed in a black brocade robe draped with a black fur cloak.

The cyan-robed man scanned ahead, his eyes settling quickly on the rapidly approaching Liu Xiao. "Here cos one. You first, or ?"

"Liu Wujun killed my older brother and slaughtered many of my fellow sect mbers. His family and friends must all die—the order doesn't matter," the white-haired man said coldly.

"Then you go. There's another one hidden in the convoy; I'll handle them," the cyan-robed man said flatly.

With tasks divided, white light flared around the white-haired man's hands as transparent Void Force coated them. His figure blurred, charging straight at Liu Xiao.

They gave no thought to the ordinary people. In tis like these, eliminating the pillars of strength was enough—countless hungry wolves would descend on their own to deal with the rest. Just as had happened to the Tao Clan once before.

In an instant, the white-haired man and Liu Xiao both surged their Void Force simultaneously. Their palms t.

Boom! Layer upon layer of transparent shockwaves exploded outward, ripping up the surrounding topsoil.

On the other side, the cyan-robed man vaulted into the air and swooped toward the panicked Clear Wind Dao convoy.

"Attention!" Wang Hongshi, mounted on horseback, raised his longsword high and barked the order.

Every Clear Wind Dao disciple gripped their sword, eyes locked on the diving figure with drawn, tense expressions.

Against an expert at the level of a Divine Officer, their strength was pitiful. Even with superior numbers, they were lambs at the slaughter. The only thing they could do was pour everything into their cultivation. Even if they fell, they would not fall without a fight.

"Everyone, ready!" Wang Hongshi roared.

The ring of swords being drawn sounded as one. Silver light flashed—like fish scales catching the sun on the surface of a lake.

"Wind!" Wang Hongshi bellowed.

All the Clear Wind disciples channeled their arts simultaneously and hurled their longswords with everything they had at the diving figure. A dense volley of over a hundred flashes of sword light erupted from the ground. Shooting out in a tight cluster, they rged into a rain of blades that blanketed the cyan-robed man's path for dozens of ters.

"Useless!" The cyan-robed man laughed loudly. His hands churned with both Void Force and Internal Force, forming a ring of ripples that swept all the incoming swords aside. Every blade that touched his Void Force was twisted, shattered, and ground to splinters.

But just as he was about to swoop down and begin the slaughter, he unexpectedly t a pair of large, beautiful eyes staring straight back at him.

"Xia Si?!" The cyan-robed man's eyes went wide. His entire body tensed, and he rapidly reined in his force and pulled back.

"Isn't it a little late to think about leaving?" Xia Si smiled. Her figure blurred—she was beside him in an instant, sword already swinging.

Clang! The strike was deflected head-on by a black curved saber.

The saber's owner casually seized the cyan-robed man and hurled him clear, then turned and swung again to et Xia Si's lightning assault.

"Hey—aren't you even going to let

announce myself?!"

"What use does a dead man have for a na?" Xia Si laughed. Her longsword flashed, dissolving into a spread of silver specks that rained down on her opponent.

By now, her sword style had grown vastly different from Lin Hui's. It was ethereal and dense, flickering in and out at extre speed—and paired with her trendous strength and velocity, it bore far more resemblance to the path of an assassin.

"You won't be able to kill

alone," the Black Saber laughed heartily.

As the two sides tangled in combat overhead, the Clear Wind Dao convoy accelerated hard to clear the area—sothing Xia Si had instructed them to do well before they set out. Every disciple had prepared three longswords for this journey.

…

anwhile, within the convoy, a blurred figure moved without hurry through the crowd, weaving past horses and ox carts, walking in a straight line toward the center.

That was exactly where Lin Hui and his father, Lin Shunhe, were.

Lin Shunhe was busy settling the panicked convoy and restoring order.

Suddenly, Elder Du, riding just behind him, sat bolt upright.

"Master, Young Master Hui—soone is coming. It would be best if you two sought cover. This old man will draw them away first."