Chapter 117: The Stabbing Demon Reappears (Part 1)

"Too late!" Cheng Xin the monk muttered.

As soon as the monk finished, the red‑clothed woman's body vanished, and a black vortex half the size of a room suddenly appeared.

Deep within the vortex, a monster could be faintly seen rushing toward the vortex mouth; the nearer it got, the larger its body became.

It had a huge, comical hedgehog‑like head, and its slender body sprouted countless constantly swaying tendrils, like seaweed waving in the ocean.

Wei Yuning and Monk Cheng Xin both summoned all their strength and ran toward the courtyard. In a short span, the speed of their floating technique was far slower than sprinting on land.

A golden talisman paper flew from Master Cheng Xin's sleeve and transformed into a talisman bird.

While running, the monk quickly said to the talisman bird, "Master Uncle, get ready to act!"

Just as the talisman bird spread its wings to take off, a "woo‑woo‑woo" sound of something tearing through the air rang from behind the two.

Three black tendril‑like creatures passed over the two and coiled around the talisman bird. The golden talisman bird was struck by a tendril, staggered, and as it seemed about to be encircled, its body suddenly swelled, then shrank, and it slipped through the gaps between the tendrils, turning into a flash of golden light and vanishing.

"Master, your master uncle has arrived? Does that mean we're saved?" Wei Yuning said with great joy.

Cheng Xin, irritated, gave Wei Yuning a cold stare and said, "I'm just leaving a final word."

"Boom," the entire space jolted suddenly.

The courtyard and the surrounding shops instantly turned into rubble and broken stones; within a radius of several dozen zhang, aside from the mountain rocks, nothing stood upright.

Wei Yuning and Cheng Xin were both hurled by the shockwave, landing far away.

At this moment, in addition to the original white mist of Nine Clouds Peak, a vast black fog enveloped the area, reducing visibility to less than an arm's length, and the two completely lost each other's trail.

Wei Yuning staggered to his feet in a daze, feeling warm fluid streaming from his mouth, nose, and eyes. He had no time to be afraid, because a fierce wind rose behind him.

"Cold Winter!" he whispered to himself.

The Plant Domain instantly manifested around them. Various evergreen plants pierced the black fog, dispersing the surrounding darkness. Among the flora, a massive golden ancient pine stood out the most, radiating golden light like midsummer sunshine, while the black fog resembled winter snow, retreating with a continual sizzle, and faint, eerie chirps could be heard emanating from the fog.

At that moment, Wei Yuning recalled his first meeting with Master Tai Chong; Tai Chong had once mentioned that golden visualization objects suppress evil entities, and today he finally verified this in real combat.

However, the good situation lasted less than two breaths.

"Boom," a massive elongated black shadow slammed onto the Plant Domain above, causing the golden ancient pine to sway but not fall, yet the ocean of spiritual liquid inside Wei Yuning instantly dried up, leaving only phosphorescence.

Without the support of spiritual liquid, the Plant Domain vanished outright.

The Stabbing Demon's massive head, like a mountain, appeared above Wei Yuning, its deep violet eyes radiating merciless light.

"Wait a moment, old demon head!" Wei Yuning suddenly shouted loudly at the Stabbing Demon.

"Hehe, child, what do you have to say? Rest assured, I'll spare you out of respect for Dao Ling!" The Stabbing Demon surprisingly spoke human words, its voice like a muffled thunder.

Wei Yuning thought, "I'll believe nothing of you! Why should I trust you, just because of your shameless hair?"

Though the Stabbing Demon spoke, it did not idle; countless black tendrils fluttered, weaving an impenetrable giant net that tightly sealed the surroundings. Clearly, it had already trapped Wei Yuning like a turtle in a jar.

"Hehe, that's it!" Wei Yuning gave a faint smile and vanished on the spot.

Currently, Wei Yuning can only place a star sphere up to fifty meters away; using the star sphere for positioning, he can perform instantaneous movement far beyond the Plant Domain's range. Within the Plant Domain, his limit is ten meters.

At a distance of fifty meters, Wei Yuning's body barely entered the Mountain‑Guarding Formation of the Half‑Mountain Annex.

Seeing Wei Yuning disappear, the Stabbing Demon let out an angry roar.

"Damn!"

However, it quickly recovered, its nearly hundred‑meter body abruptly turned, and its head appeared over the Half‑Mountain Annex.

Wei Yuning's rocket‑like movement reached its peak as he surged toward the teleportation array inside the annex.

"Boom," a deafening crash as the Stabbing Demon's hammer‑shaped massive tail struck the protective formation of the Half‑Mountain Annex. "Clack clack clack," the invisible magical shield rang like shattering glass.

"Boom," another massive bang, "crack," the protective formation shattered completely.

A flash of white light streaked across the teleportation array, and Wei Yuning vanished.

"Moo‑ao…" the Stabbing Demon's roar, filled with resentment and fury, reverberated for dozens of miles.

Wei Yuning appeared on the teleportation array of Ke Lai Peak; his feet never stopped as he immediately sprinted eastward toward the array leading to Lotus Peak.

"Dong dong dong…"

The worst‑case scenario indeed unfolded; the Stabbing Demon did not give up. After running only about two li, the Mountain‑Guarding Formation above Ke Lai Peak violently trembled.

The attacks came densely, like a sudden storm.

The sect's Mountain‑Guarding Formation was incomparable to the Half‑Mountain Annex's protective array; after it shook densely hundreds of times, Wei Yuning had already dashed to the teleportation array heading to Lotus Peak.

At this moment, almost everyone on Ke Lai Peak was alarmed, and simultaneously, other peaks of the Cloud Hidden Sect also felt the formation's tremor.

In the several thousand years since the founding of the Cloud Hidden Sect, such an event had never occurred.

At this moment, Lotus Peak, Hundred Spring Peak, Mysterious Lady Peak, and the Secret Realm—places where sect masters gathered—were in chaos. Though the sect's Mountain‑Guarding Formation contained a spiritual stone vein, for now there was no immediate fear of collapse; however, the Stabbing Demon was no ordinary demon. Though not a Great Demon, it was a peak‑stage Mid‑Demon comparable to a Great Demon. Under such relentless attacks, the vein's spiritual energy would eventually be insufficient, risking the formation's destruction.

Lotus Peak, Snowfall Hall.

Dao Min sat on the main seat, his expression cold as water, scolding, "Isn't Dao Ling, that old thing, trustworthy to the Stabbing Demon? The Cloud Hidden Sect is already on the brink of being dismantled, and he still hides like a turtle with its head withdrawn?"

Most of the elders from outside the Secret Realm were inside the hall, the lowest among them still being Fusion‑stage masters. Elder Tai Feng of the Dao Ling lineage stood at the center, his face as black as a pot bottom, yet he only bowed his head, unwilling to speak.

Suddenly, a flash of gray‑white light at the hall's ceiling, and a person stepped out.

"Big sister, I'm here!" the newcomer wore a wide‑sleeved robe, a high crown of purple hair, exuding great aura, yet his appearance was exceedingly ordinary, even ugly—nose, eyes, mouth, broken eyebrows. If that were all, it would be tolerable, but his forehead was unusually broad, as was his chin; these odd features combined to give an indescribably profound impression.

The newcomer was indeed one of the founding ancestors of the Cloud Hidden Sect, Dao Ling.

"Dong dong dong…" another wave of dense attack sounds, and the Mountain‑Guarding Formation trembled again.

"Fine, since you emerged from the Turtle Cave, then… what shall we do?" Dao Min continued to scold without reservation.

"Big sister, this time the Stabbing Snake's rage cannot be blamed on it!" Dao Ling said calmly, unperturbed by Dao Min's words.

"Stabbing Snake? Huh! Haha, what an affectionate nickname. I'd like to hear how you plan to excuse it," Dao Min said coldly.