Chapter 369

369. Chapter 363: Shangqing Demon Snake Vine

Fanru gazed at the distant four-direction ghostly aura about to surge forth, his aged face collapsing instantly, looking worse than having eaten a dead rat.

He now utterly despises the Shangqing Sect, whether Qingwei or Song Ze and others—all are simply too wicked.

Even after roaming the Universe Cultivation World for hundreds of years, he has never been trapped so miserably as this time.

Fanru's facial muscles twitched involuntarily.

He grandly led the disciples of Luyan Valley to arrive in person; although he surrounded the Shangqing Sect, the sect-protecting grand formation was too strange.

The three thousand Earth Yuan realm cultivators of Luyan Valley could easily trample a third- or second-rate power, yet when attacking the newly founded Shangqing Sect, they couldn't even breach a single hair.

Luyan Valley's disciples couldn't enter and were passively beaten, and now the sect's dignity cannot be preserved. Luyan Valley, Fuyang Sect, Bibo Palace, Zifu, and Tianlongmen are all utterly disgraced in both the Universe Cultivation World and the Primordial Spirit Realm.

"Four old codgers of Luyan Valley, the ones who will send you to the Western Heaven have arrived—you might as well tidy up and quickly slit your throats to commit suicide, lest you end up with souls scattered and spirits vanished."

Qingwei Daozhang sensed the aura of the distant Ten Thousand Ghost Banner, realizing that Earth cultivators were about to arrive; the distant four-direction ghostly tide surged forward, aiming to encircle the Luyan Valley cultivators.

And at this moment.

Fanru and the other cultivators had taken the antidote to the stinking liquid bomb's poison, which Sun Ze had swapped; after consumption, it causes explosive diarrhea. Seeing Fanru, Liao Qing, Wei Jian, and Zhu Bi clamping their legs tightly, they must have already soiled their pants.

Qingwei Daozhang merely thought of it and was already overjoyed—he founded the Shangqing Sect to spread teachings in the Primordial Spirit Realm to Universe cultivators, yet Luyan Valley first seized the Earth cultivators' business and then sought to destroy the Shangqing Sect; even if Earth cultivators justify themselves by claiming to be the base of the Slaughter Ghost Sect, it won't do.

Luyan Valley is simply arrogant to the extreme, considering itself numerous and powerful as a great sect of the Universe, thus arrogantly bullying the Shangqing Sect—were it not for the sect-protecting grand formation, improved by the Demon Master and brought from Earth, the Shangqing Sect's cultivators would have suffered a terrible massacre.

"Luyan Valley's rabble, surrender quickly—rest assured, the Shangqing Sect is merciful; for the rare breed of pregnant men, we will certainly treat them specially."

Song Ze's eyes flickered with a hint of teasing, he hehed with laughter, the positions of chopping board and fish meat instantly reversed—needless to say, he was overjoyed.

During this period, because Luyan Valley attacked the Shangqing Sect, he was so depressed he wanted to die; unable to fight back, he could only hold his breath within the Shangqing Sect's protective grand formation, occasionally engaging in guerrilla skirmishes with Luyan Valley cultivators.

Earth cultivators arrived wielding Ten Thousand Ghost Banners, completely sealing off Luyan Valley's retreat in Yin City, yet Song Ze did not rush to act—Luyan Valley's three thousand cultivators are mid-to-late Earth Yuan realm or higher, their strength formidable, their attack methods extremely strange.

Although the enemy was poisoned by the stinking liquid bomb, causing massive combat loss, their dying counterattack could unleash extraordinary power; moreover, these are all Luyan Valley's selected genius disciples from Universe cultivators.

The Shangqing Sect must wait for Earth cultivators to arrive on the scene to launch a full counterattack; otherwise, a strong retaliation would cause heavy casualties to the sect.

"After this, we must also properly increase the number of souls within the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner."

Song Ze spoke truthfully.

Earth cultivators each hold a Ten Thousand Ghost Banner, yet he followed Qingwei Daozhang into Shangqing Guan for cultivation, his heart's good and evil too clearly divided, resulting in combat power far inferior to other Earth cultivators.

This time he finally understood the Demon Master's painstaking efforts—the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner, though an evil artifact, depends on who uses it and for what purpose; artifacts have good and evil, and so do people.

Earth cultivators' cultivation time is too short; if this were in the Universe Cultivation World's reality, they could hardly resist extraterrestrial cultivators—were it not for the Demon Master discovering the extraterrestrial Heavenly Sect's transmission tower setup and making ample preparations for Earth in advance, the people of Xia would surely suffer losses as heavy as other nations' peoples.

The Demon Master ordered Earth cultivators to each hold a Ten Thousand Ghost Banner, precisely to take an unconventional path, to open a new route for Earth cultivators to find a way to rapidly enhance their strength, preparing them in advance to resist extraterrestrial enemies.

"You old immortals of Luyan Valley, I advise you to surrender quickly—do not make futile struggles; otherwise, when my golden body descends upon your Universe headquarters, I will dig up the bones of all your ancestral founders from their graves and boil them into soup."

Fifth Lord's face showed a gloating expression, his whole spirit high as he gazed at Fanru and the other leading cultivators of Luyan Valley, feeling immensely satisfied.

It is heard that the Universe Cultivation World has strong cultivators' graves standing like forests, with many treasures; if one could obtain enough to serve as a sect's foundation, one could enjoy countless ages—he had long wanted to go dig and excavate.

However, his strength is not like the Demon Master's heaven-piercing, earth-shaking methods that can traverse the universe, so Fifth Lord must rely on the Primordial Spirit Realm to rapidly enhance his strength, preparing for future entry into the Universe Cultivation World to excavate strong cultivators' graves.

Liao Qing's face twitched involuntarily, yet the odd sensation in his buttocks was basically imperceptible to Fifth Lord's words.

He walks with legs tightly clenched, each step laborious; resentfully, he fears the thing stuck in his pants might fall out.

Liao Qing lifted his head to look around Yin Duan City—there were still many Universe cultivators nearby; if they knew he had soiled his pants, his reputation in the Universe Cultivation World would surely be ruined.

He glared, appearing ready to devour the opponent—this time he was utterly ruined by the Shangqing Sect cultivators; not only did the tens of thousands of heavenly essence one-piece antidote pills go to waste, but he and all three thousand Luyan Valley disciples had their heavenly essence completely swindled away.

Liao Qing's inner turmoil was great—had he known, he would not have followed Fanru to attack the Shangqing Sect; now that the Shangqing Sect has no survivors, these Luyan Valley disciples who came are in extreme danger.

"Fellow Daoists, if I tell you, we've attacked the wrong sect."

Do you believe it?"

Wei Jian's face turned iron-green, hesitating a moment, then spoke with a smiling face but not a smiling heart.

They are about to be completely surrounded by the surging disciples of the Slaughter Ghost Sect.

Wei Jian felt chills—he had heard the Slaughter Ghost Sect possesses a secret method to utterly eradicate souls and spirits; this is also why Luyan Valley personally led disciples to encircle and annihilate the Shangqing Sect—to force the Slaughter Ghost Sect's base to surrender their secret method.

But now it's impossible?

We Luyan Valley cultivators have become objects for others to slaughter—we are in danger.

"Reporting to the four elders, the Tianlun Shuttle has arrived."

At this moment, a figure from Luyan Valley descended before Fanru and the four elders, causing their hearts to jolt violently.

The Tianlun Shuttle is a Luyan Valley treasure specialized in breaking formations; upon its arrival at Shangqing Sect, the protective grand formation will surely be broken.

Zhu Bi gazed at the entire Shangqing Sect, fists clenched tightly, and instantly formed an idea in his heart.

Their only chance now is to quickly break the Shangqing Sect's protective grand formation, capture Qingwei, Song Ze, Fifth Lord, and other cultivators, then negotiate with the supporting Slaughter Ghost Sect disciples.

After consulting, the four elders of Luyan Valley all agreed it was feasible—this might be the only chance to break out of the encirclement.

Boom—

As Fanru and others poured Spiritual Power into the Tianlun Shuttle, it emitted a blinding light, like a great heavenly cone, tilting downward and ringing with a clear sound, scattering endless runes.

For a moment, the entire sky above Yin Duan City was drenched in crimson; the distant Universe cultivators watching were all startled, their faces filled with shock.

It is heard that Luyan Valley once slew an ancient ferocious beast, the Giant Peng Blood Roc, and the Tianlun Shuttle was forged from its sharp beak—extremely sharp, capable of swiftly piercing even the hardest objects.

Some Universe cultivators recognized the Tianlun Shuttle's existence, muttering to themselves.

The Tianlun Shuttle is usually a secret device rarely used; once Luyan Valley takes it out, it will surely result in rivers of blood.

"It's over—this time the Shangqing Sect is truly in trouble?"

The Tianlun Shuttle has been activated; the sect-protecting grand formation probably can't withstand it."

"Alas, a pity the Slaughter Ghost Sect's supporting cultivators arrived too slowly; Luyan Valley, knowing escape is impossible, is like a cornered dog jumping over a wall—capture the Shangqing Sect cultivators and negotiate with them."

"Wait and see; if it fails, we'll intervene—after all, the Slaughter Ghost Sect's supporters are already nearing arrival; afterward, we might as well defect to the Slaughter Ghost Sect."

"This method is feasible; previously Yin Duan City was sealed, and intervening would mean nine deaths and no life—but now it's different, the Shangqing Sect's Slaughter Ghost Sect backing is already nearing arrival; we have a retreat."

……

There were Huanyu cultivators who had once received the favor of the Qingwei Daoist of the Shangqing Sect, their fists clenched tightly as they discussed earnestly.

Qingwei Daoist, Song Ze, and the Fifth Lord gazed at the impending fall of the celestial cone from the lower heavens, their faces solemn.

The runes surging upon that celestial cone were strangely extraordinary, exerting an inexplicable influence on the great formation, causing the Shangqing Sect's protective formation to ripple and fluctuate incessantly.

"Is the second plan already prepared?" Qingwei Daoist asked with a solemn expression; they only needed to hold out for a while longer, and the cultivators sent by the Shagui Sect would truly arrive, after which the crisis could be automatically resolved.

"Qingwei Daoist, the central plaza of the Shangqing Sect and the underground areas of all major buildings have been completely pierced through, where sharp Xuan blades have been buried, and much universal glue has been filled within the trenches.

We are merely waiting for the cultivators of Luyan Valley to enter."

Song Ze clenched his fists tightly, his eyes bloodshot; Luyan Valley intended to drain the pot from below, and they would surely launch the most ferocious attack to save their lives.

If the Shangqing Sect's protective formation were to break without other preparations, the disciples of the Shangqing Sect would certainly suffer heavy casualties and be unable to block the enemy's iron hooves.

"Order all disciples to retreat entirely into the underground palace; we only need to endure for a while longer, and the crisis will resolve itself automatically."

Qingwei Daoist spoke with a firm expression.

As he gave the order, all Shangqing Sect disciples gathered together, rushing toward the underground palace.

Before the Shangqing Sect's protective formation was broken, they could clearly see the movements outside the sect, while the enemies outside could not discern their actions.

Bang.

The Tianlun Shuttle pressed upon the Shangqing Sect's protective formation, a colossal dragon-turtle roared toward the heavens, and terrifying Spiritual Power surged violently from its body, aiming to shatter the Tianlun Shuttle outward.

Yet the Tianlun Shuttle was excessively hard and immensely heavy, its violent rotation like a giant inverted top, frenziedly drilling downward, distorting the void as it spun.

"Haha, good!"

Fan Ru exclaimed joyfully; truly, as the formation-breaking secret device of Luyan Valley, breaching the Shangqing Sect's formation was effortless, and it should penetrate their protective formation within less than half an incense stick's time.

Then he and the other four elders led the Luyan Valley cultivators in frantically seizing the Shangqing Sect's rulers; as for those with low cultivation, they were all made into tripods, supplying the Shangqing Sect disciples with cultivation enhancement.

Crack.

A fissure appeared upon the Shangqing Sect's protective grand formation, and the dragon-turtle formation spirit emitted a mournful shriek before exploding violently in midair.

Boom—rumble—rumble.

As the Shangqing Sect's protective formation shattered into fragments, the three thousand Luyan Valley cultivators immediately received orders and surged forward in a rush into the Shangqing Sect's interior.

"A bunch of ants—this time, let's see how you still manage to escape!"

"Hateful cultivators, you waste words insulting us; now we harvest your tongues."

"Those powerful cultivators of the Earth Origin Realm, do not contend with me for the tripods—I still need ten Earth Origin Realm tripods to fully break through to the Heavenly Spirit Realm and enter the next layer of the Giant Spirit Realm."

The three thousand disciples of Luyan Valley spoke of their rampant destruction within the Shangqing Sect.

"Report to the four elders: no one in the major buildings." Suddenly, several cultivators hurriedly delivered the report.

The four elders exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with cold smiles; they did not believe the Shangqing Sect disciples had already fled.

"No path in heaven, no gate on earth.

Even if we dig three feet deep, we must find those wretches."

Fan Ru suppressed the anger in his chest and roared fiercely.

Creak—creak—creak…

At that very moment, the sound of mechanical turning echoed from all sides; the Luyan Valley cultivators felt a heaviness beneath their feet, then discovered the ground collapsing beneath them.

From the vast collapsing pit, strands of emerald-green vines shot forth like poisonous snakes, bursting from the earth and suddenly coiling around their bodies, swiftly dragging them toward the ditches.

Thud—thud—thud…

Everywhere were cries of agony and heart-rending shouts; cultivators who had just fallen into the pit saw their companions' miserable state and were so frightened they lost control of their bowels and bladders.

Within that deep ditch lay individual Xuan blades, all inserted blade-upward, covered by a mysterious crystalline liquid.

Those emerald-green vines emerged from within the liquid, crisscrossing through it; once they coiled around a cultivator, they would violently yank them into the ditch with lightning speed, directly impaling their bodies on the Xuan blades.

Those cultivators struggled to climb upward to escape, but the crystalline liquid possessed strong viscosity; the more they struggled within it after being pierced by the Xuan blades, the more their wounds were torn apart, leading to a quicker death.

Bang—bang—bang…

The horrifying scene continued to unfold; all buildings of the Shangqing Sect collapsed, and a glue river covering a hundred mu appeared before everyone's eyes.

Within the glue river stood vertically tens of millions of Xuan blades, many with Luyan Valley cultivators' bodies impaled upon them.

Countless green vines whipped across the glue river like tentacles, occasionally lashing out to ensnare Luyan Valley cultivators, as if they had eyes—the vines' accuracy was extremely high.

The Luyan Valley cultivators, overwhelmed and unable to disengage, would instantly meet their doom upon being struck.

"Come out, you wretches—come out for me."

Fan Ru's aged face twisted like a mad dog's as he screamed hysterically.

From the breach of the Shangqing Sect to their deep penetration, less than half an incense stick's time had passed, and the Luyan Valley cultivators brought along had already lost one-third of their number.

Those hundreds of mu of glue river had been soaked red with blood; cultivators who had completely lost their strength still twitched unconsciously on the blades.

This extraordinarily bloody scene continued to unfold on the glue river; Fan Ru, Liao Qing, Wei Jian, and Zhu Bi wore grim expressions.

"Hmph, you dare destroy my Shangqing Sect—this is the price."

Qingwei Daoist gazed upon the projection crystal within the underground palace, a chilling coldness appearing on his face as he spoke resentfully.

When the Shangqing Sect was built, they opened the glue river underground, within which they placed upright Xuan blades to nurture the demon serpent Teng.

Now it finally took effect.

They are merely buying time; once the Shagui Sect's supporting cultivators arrive, he will ask to go out fully and engage Luyan Valley in battle. (End of chapter)