Chapter 190: 190. Chapter 190: Dao Companion Xiao Is Truly Steady

190. Chapter 190: Dao Companion Xiao is truly steady

The Seven Star Sword Sect originally sent a Golden Core Elder disguised as a stranger cultivator to take part in the siege of Liyang Zhenren City, and he was ultimately decisively beheaded by his master.

In these years, although the Seven Star Sword Sect, fearing the threats spoken when Liyang True Immortal departed and finding it unreasonable, has not troubled Liyang Zhenren City, it is still impossible to ask the Seven Star Sword Sect's Nascent Soul True Lord to help Liyang Zhenren City suppress and seal the demon.

As for Xingyue Palace…

Gu Zongyuan glanced at Su Wushuang but said nothing.

If the incident ten years ago where Zhu Qingyun disguised himself as Liyang True Immortal had not occurred, it might have been easier.

Baihua Valley and Xingyue Palace already have a certain rapport, and with Su Wushuang's and Zhu Qingyun's decades‑long "friendship," it is more likely that Baihua Valley could request the Nascent Soul True Lord of Xingyue Palace to come aid.

At most, Liyang Zhenren City would have to pay a certain price and offer benefits, simply to prevent Xingyue Palace from acting for free.

Moreover, Liyang Zhenren City is, after all, a part of the Da Yu Cultivation World and a relatively important one. If a powerful demon truly revives here, Liyang Zhenren City could face annihilation and become a dead city, which would be a huge loss for the entire Da Yu Cultivation World.

Unfortunately…

Now that Zhu Qingyun is involved, Su Wushuang cannot go to Xingyue Palace to call for reinforcements.

Even though ten years have passed without Zhu Qingyun reappearing, Su Wushuang has not loudly publicized the events of that year, nor has she completely broken ties with Xingyue Palace and Zhu Qingyun.

But for something that is obvious, how could one still seek help?

Gu Zongyuan feels the same; ten years ago Zhu Qingyun, for reasons unknown, disguised himself to assassinate Su Wushuang, and several of his Liyang Guard were also killed. He has kept that grudge in his heart, hoping to avenge it someday.

How to now ask Xingyue Palace? Of course, if we wait for Gu Zongyuan's master, the Liyang True Immortal, to achieve Nascent Soul and return, the problem would be solved.

But no one knows when the Liyang True Immortal will return.

Originally he and Xiao Zhangqing agreed on a thirty‑year term; only ten years have passed now. With twenty years left, even without Yin San Gongzi's assistance to accelerate, he could awaken fully at any time.

Moreover, whether the Liyang True Immortal can truly become a Nascent Soul True Lord is full of uncertainty; one could even say the hope is not great…

"Brother Xiao, where is this demon currently sleeping?"

Gu Zongyuan clenched his teeth, as if making a decision, and asked through gritted teeth.

"It's still in that ruin. However, when this demon falls into a sleeping state, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot sense its presence; a special method is needed to detect it," Gu Zongyuan said, then, with a hint, looked at Xiao Zhangqing and asked, "Brother Gu, are you thinking of going to see whether, with our power, we can seal this demon?"

Gu Zongyuan did not deny, "I have that thought. Besides, even if we cannot seal it, going to see and understand it at least gives us a sense of the situation."

Xiao Zhangqing nodded.

He also wanted to get a glimpse of this white‑clothed female demon.

But based on the answer he obtained by interrogating Yin San Gongzi, he does not harbor any hopeful illusion that the three of them alone could seal the demon.

It's not even for Liyang Zhenren City's sake…

He simply wants to first witness the demon.

Until now, aside from Mu Renjie's half‑human, half‑demon state back then, he has never dealt with a true demon.

And now, within the Southern Wilderness, demons are reviving on a massive scale; who knows how the Da Yu Cultivation World will evolve thereafter.

Knowing earlier what the demon is about will prevent future helplessness and lack of experience.

"Go take a look, though I think the effect will be limited. If we want to preserve Liyang Zhenren City, avoid the slaughter of living beings and forced relocation, we will probably have to temporarily set aside grudges and ask Xingyue Palace and the Seven Star Sword Sect's Nascent Soul True Lords to intervene…" Xiao Zhangqing looked at Gu Zongyuan and Su Wushuang and said, "Deal with each matter as it comes. I believe that as long as we explain the stakes clearly to Xingyue Palace and the Seven Star Sword Sect, they, being leaders of the Da Yu Cultivation World, cannot ignore this."

"First go see and then decide," Su Wushuang said with a composed face and a cold voice.

She also does not want the demon's revival to bring annihilation upon Liyang Zhenren City.

Nowadays, although most disciples of Baihua Valley 'cohabit' in a second‑tier spirit vein and have not entered Liyang Zhenren City, she herself, along with Baihua Valley's Golden Core and pseudo‑Golden Core elders, can cultivate in the third‑tier spirit vein grottoes of Liyang Zhenren City.

It's a bit troublesome; for a respectable Foundation Establishment sect, it is somewhat stifling.

But given Baihua Valley's unwillingness to rely on others, this is already the best option.

After a hard‑won stability of over ten years, Baihua Valley has barely recovered from the setback of its mountain gate's destruction, and some aspects have begun to get back on track.

If this white‑clothed female demon fully revives, comparable to a Nascent Soul shock, she would have to lead Baihua Valley to become displaced again.

Thus she now stands on the same front as Liyang Zhenren City, advancing and retreating together.

Even her protective thoughts toward Liyang Zhenren City are more sincere and proactive than Xiao Zhangqing's.

……

The three agreed to first investigate the white‑clothed female demon's situation before making any plans.

But they did not set out immediately.

Instead, they first returned to Liyang Zhenren City, waiting until dawn the next morning to depart.

First, to make a brief adjustment and rest; second, to carry out some preparatory work.

Now this white‑clothed female demon has not fully revived, but the process is already more than half complete; a mid‑Foundation Establishment cultivator who is careless could still fall victim, causing great trouble.

After all, the demon's methods are too bizarre, impossible to fully guard against.

Among the three, even Xiao Zhangqing does not dare to be careless.

Indeed, although his strength is great, with almost no weakness, he can be called a fully‑dimensional hexagonal warrior, yet he is only at late Foundation Establishment level, not yet at Golden Core, which is a vulnerability he cannot ignore.

Items like the Demon‑breaking Talisman and the Spirit‑Settling Talisman, which have remarkable effects on demons, are better in greater numbers.

……

The next day at noon.

When the sun was at its zenith, its light most dazzling, Xiao Zhangqing and the two others gathered at the city gate, and under the respectful gazes of the defending cultivators, they transformed into three streaks of vanishing light, soaring straight toward the white‑clothed female demon.

After roughly one hour, the three landed amidst a cluster of steep mountains.

"What a gloomy aura."

Xiao Zhangqing thought to himself.

It is midsummer now, just after noon, and the outside weather is scorching; mortals would be seeking shade, the sun baking the ground as if heat waves rose. Yet when the three arrived over this forest, before even entering the trees, they felt the temperature drop sharply.

This cooling is not a simple temperature drop, nor the physical chill brought by ice.

Rather, it is a psychological sense of being 'chilled to the bone'.

Or perhaps.

This isn't cold qi, but yin qi!

"Let's go, downwards."

Xiao Zhangqing inhaled deeply and said to the two of them.

Among the three now, he has become the leader and decision‑maker, and the other two obey his commands and orders.

Not only because he personally interrogated the Yin Third Young Master and knows the most about the white‑clothed female evil spirit, but also because his strength is greater; his divine sense perceives everything far beyond the other two.

Very quickly the three of them fell beneath the towering ancient trees.

The number here has grown for an unknown many hundreds of years; giant trees dozens of meters tall are common.

Near the ground, sunlight is completely blocked by the ancient trees, hardly even a speck of light can fall, and the illumination instantly becomes dim and gloomy, as if noon suddenly turned to dusk.

And the hair‑raising yin qi becomes even heavier.

"Have you got everything ready?"

Xiao Zhangqing first took a stack of Demon‑breaking Talismans and Stabilizing Spirit Talismans from his storage bag and put them into his pocket, just in case.

Gu Zongyuan and Su Wushuang, seeing this, likewise took out the prepared Talisman Scripts.

Although retrieving these Talisman Scripts from the storage bag is instantaneous, it hardly affects the battle.

But talismans like the Demon‑breaking Talisman, besides being activated by a cultivator's mana to strike foes, also serve "prevention" and "scouting" functions. For example, if evil spirits surround you, or the yin qi is too strong, or when an evil spirit attacks you, the Demon‑breaking Talisman will ignite automatically to repel the spirit.

However, if such talismans are kept inside the storage bag, they cannot exert their active effect.

Against evil spirits that can threaten the mid Golden Core stage, being overly cautious is never too much.

Fear that even that may not be careful enough!

After the three had completed their preparations, Xiao Zhangqing finally gathered his mana and slapped forward with a palm.

Like a mud ox sinking into the sea, Xiao Zhangqing's surprisingly destructive palm did not cause any earth‑shaking tremor; instead a barrier appeared, resembling a mirror on the water's surface. From outside one cannot see the interior clearly, only faint outlines of pavilions and towers that seem to have collapsed.

This is the ruins' Guardian Formation.

According to the earlier Liyang Guard's investigation results and the information obtained from interrogating the Yin Third Young Master, this ruin's formation was originally rather impressive, at least reaching the third tier.

But under the erosion of time and after being probed and damaged by countless cultivators, the formation's killing power has long been reduced to less than a tenth, almost nonexistent.

Even a Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivator can pass safely, posing no threat.

However, the formation's illusionary camouflage effect remains quite good.

Without accurate information, one could never discover this ruin.

Even though he already has the Yin Third Young Master's testimony and the Liyang Guard's investigative experience, Xiao Zhangqing still did not rush straight into the ruin.

Instead, he pulled another puppet from his storage bag, sending it in first to sense whether danger lies ahead.

Of course, it was just an ordinary second‑tier superior‑quality puppet.

These years, Xiao Zhangqing, in his spare time from cultivation, occasionally spent ten days to half a month forging a puppet.

By now, the third‑tier puppets he holds are no longer just one.

But a full three!

Because his puppet‑craft has become purer, the latter two third‑tier puppets are of slightly better quality than the first, truly reaching the third‑tier middle‑grade level.

Forging third‑tier puppets is not easy; the required materials are exceedingly rare. Even when Xiao Zhangqing had Gu Zongyuan gather them, sparing no expense and mobilizing the entire Liyang Zhenren City's network, over the past ten years they have only managed to collect two sets of materials.

Thus, although Xiao Zhangqing now holds three third‑tier puppets, they are kept as reserves and not used lightly.

However, second‑tier puppets are no longer precious to him.

Even a second‑tier superior‑quality puppet is not hard to assemble in Liyang Zhenren City.

Xiao Zhangqing even earned many Spirit Stones by forging second‑tier puppets; the profit is very high.

Now he keeps a dozen or so second‑tier puppets for his own use.

At Xiao Zhangqing's current level, second‑tier puppets are rarely useful, except for cultivators at the false‑core stage like the former puppet demon lord, where they can still serve a purpose.

Now the second‑tier puppets Xiao Zhangqing keeps are meant to be used as cannon fodder in such situations.

"No danger. We can go in."

After waiting a full incense‑burning's worth of time, estimating that the second‑tier puppet had surveyed the entire ruin, Xiao Zhangqing finally said to Gu Zongyuan and Su Wushuang.

Gu Zongyuan was already accustomed to this.

After all, the two have known each other for years and are very familiar; he has long understood Xiao Zhangqing's character and way of acting.

Su Wushuang, however, experienced Xiao Zhangqing's style for the first time.

But she neither mocked nor looked down on him.

Although her face showed little expression, remaining cold, in her heart she thought silently, "Dao Companion Xiao… truly steady!"

"From now on, I must learn more from him."

In the Cultivation World, besides talent, one must also be sufficiently cautious and prudent to live longer and go farther! (Chapter End)