The atmosphere of despair spread rapidly.

Originally holding on with their last breath, those who had hope lost it, and their final breath dissipated just like that. They slumped to the ground, hysterical.

"Why won't you let us live!"

"Not letting us in is making us food for the demons."

"Too cruel, how can you do this."

At this moment, a Golden Core Zhenren flew out from within the array, covered entirely in the Power of Thick Earth, with a stern expression, and said coldly: "The mountain cannot accommodate so many of you. Only those with abilities are allowed in; the rest must stay outside."

He ignored the crowd's dissatisfaction and looked at Shen Wang: "Junior Brother Shen, don't be soft-hearted. The current situation is not us being deliberately ruthless."

"Letting these outsiders be eaten by them is actually assisting the enemy."

Shen Wang said.

"We can't let it become people eating people."

Hong Xingliang shook his head: "If we let them all in, within days, people will resort to cannibalism due to insufficient food. We can only pick the best from the group."

Shen Wang also understood the difficulties faced by the Celestial Travel Sect. He said to Han Wan'Er and Shen Chuxue and the others: "Go inside and rest."

He was not soft-hearted. Bringing these people from the second line of defense here was already the best he could do. He owed them nothing.

"Alright."

Shen Chuxue was not an ordinary person, so naturally, she wouldn't have excessive sympathy. Han Wan'Er wouldn't interfere either, nor did she have the ability to do so.

The remaining cultivators flew up, heading towards the entrance.

Hong Xingliang nodded, thankful that Shen Wang hadn't stubbornly insisted on letting those people in; otherwise, it would have been difficult to manage later.

"Immortal Master Shen, don't abandon us."

"Please save us."

Seeing Shen Wang about to leave, a group of people knelt, pleading. This was the last straw they could grasp.

"I can't save you."

Shen Wang said blandly. Individual strength here was severely weakened. Even a Nascent Soul Cultivator dared not claim they could save these people, let alone his avatar.

He entered the array, leaving behind the desperate crowd.

"Why abandon us!"

"What did we do wrong!"

"You so-called Immortal Masters are all heartless and unjust."

The broken crowd started to blame the heavens and others. Knowing their survival was unlikely, they no longer feared, hurling curses openly, cursing the fierce beasts outside and the cultivators present.

Shen Wang listened to the many vulgarities, his expression unchanging.

The words of the weak were no different from ants' whispers to the strong, holding little sway.

He owed these people nothing; instead, they owed him, so his conscience was clear.

Numerous fierce beasts circled in, and the people outside had no time for cursing, doing their utmost to survive together.

Some gave up the struggle, becoming food for the beasts.

No cultivators went out. Under such circumstances, everyone feared for themselves; whoever went out, died.

And those who entered were mostly unwilling to allow more people in. After all, one more person meant less future resources to share.

"Disciple, come here."

Shen Wang, disguised as the Five Elements True Monarch, spoke.

The avatar brought his daughter over naturally.

"You stay next to this old man and rest."

Shen Wang arranged for his daughter to stay by his side, ready to leave when the opportunity arose.

His true self stood amidst the cloudy sea, overlooking the situation afar.

Scattered people from other branches also retreated, but only those with certain cultivation could enter.

Specifically, those with some combat capability, able to handle a fierce beast alone, were allowed; ordinary people and talented young ones were not wanted, as they neither could defeat fierce beasts nor had time to be nurtured, and they could not be accepted by the resource-depleted Celestial Travel Sect.

The situation at Celestial Travel Sect had reached an extremely critical stage, and Shen Wang could clearly sense the atmosphere was subtly changing. Perhaps some within the sect might flee first.

Shen Wang saw that those he brought here, after a period of collapse and chaos, finally had someone stand up to reorganize the crowd against the beasts, nodding slightly.

"Heroes emerge in troubled times; even ordinary people can become outstanding figures."

Shen Wang thought of the days and nights when his Dantian was damaged, watching the struggling mortals, feeling a bit empathetic.

"There are still nearly a million people. Surviving this stage is commendable."

Shen Wang looked at the crowd of mortals, thought for a moment, then raised his hand and pressed it into the void.

The next moment, winds surged, and colorful lights appeared in the void, runes flowed, and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered, then transformed into a giant hand spanning over a thousand feet.

The powerful aura stirred up a gale, shaking the heavens and earth, causing the array of the Main Vein to glow.

The sky-covering giant hand caused the strong of both sides to narrow their eyes in shock, looking towards where Shen Wang was.

"What's he doing!"

Cyan Leaf flew up, extremely wary. He feared this person might act recklessly and attack their array.

Fortunately, after the five-colored giant hand appeared, it roared outside, not attacking their own.

Outside, all along waiting for a chance to ambush Shen Wang but never getting one, the White Tiger Emperor, seeing this hand, was terrified.

"Did he discover me?"

He was so scared he turned to flee; this hand was even scarier than the last attack, and he feared he would be crushed if he ran late.

But then he realized the hand did not attack him, but instead descended upon those ant-like mortals.

In the retreating troops' area, over a million people were being slaughtered by fierce beasts when suddenly colorful clouds appeared above them, followed by darkness, and an enormous hand fell.

These mortals, having never seen such a terrifying hand, turned pale with fear.

The most crucial thing was that the terrifying pressure brought by the descending hand rapidly increased, forcing them to sit on the ground.

Boom!

The giant hand pressed onto the ground, cracking it, the fingers plunging into the earth, while the palm did not fall completely, leaving a space of over a hundred feet.

A large circle of nearby fierce beasts was killed by the aftermath of the giant hand, leaving thousands of corpses.

The shockwaves blew away many remaining fierce beasts, clearing the surrounding area for a while.

Mortals, who thought they would be crushed by the giant hand, opened their eyes amidst the dust, seeing the mountain-like hand protecting them, were dumbfounded.

"Mortals are also people; this old man gives you a chance to live."

Shen Wang, disguised as the Five Elements True Monarch, spoke, glancing coldly into the distance: "If anyone has an objection, come out now for a few rounds with this old man."

On the demon's side, each Great Demon Emperor showed skeptical expressions.

They didn't care about these mortals at all and felt this move might be deceitful, not ideal to act now, uncertain if the Celestial Travel Sect's core Killing Array was ready, waiting for them to venture out.

No Demon Emperor came forth, leaving Shen Wang slightly disappointed.

He was ready to slay a Demon Emperor to establish dominance, just like his avatar, so that when leaving, these Demon Emperors, out of fear, wouldn't easily target him.

Now, these cautious creatures knew to hide in the shadows, requiring longer planning to leave, for sailing out meant truly facing challenges alone.

"Fellow Daoist Wu Xing, it's unexpected how much you care for these mortals."

Celestial Cloud True Monarch laughed heartily: "With your Divine Techniques protecting them, they won't be entirely wiped out."

"Who here didn't grow up from being a mortal? These people are also brought in by my disciple; if he can't manage, I must take care."

Shen Wang said blandly: "No need to thank this old man, a mere lift of the hand."

Celestial Cloud True Monarch was speechless. He had no intention of gratitude; on the contrary, he was dissatisfied with the energy wasted on a group of mortals, which he deemed not worthwhile.

"Fellow Daoist, conserve some energy, for surely a tough battle awaits."

Celestial Cloud True Monarch reminded: "These demons are accustomed from youth to survival of the fittest, liking to ambush prey, or wait until the prey is so exhausted before striking. They are likely to attack when these little brutes have depleted our mana, which will be truly dangerous."

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