Chapter 172

"Wait! Let Elder Alice come!"

"The Snow Hou and the Fire Qilin Beast are sworn enemies! Killing it with fire-attribute techniques might divert their attention!"

Hearing this, Zhongli stopped immediately and looked at Alice.

The Great Demon seemed to have heard some grand joke and looked up to the sky, laughing loudly.

"Elder?"

"Hahahaha..."

"Elder? A mere female cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation?"

"Good, good, good. The grand Shushan Sword Sect, a giant of the immortal cultivation world, has actually fallen to the point where a mere late-stage Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation cultivator serves as an Elder?"

"The King was right! Shushan’s glory is truly gone!"

"It makes me laugh! To hear such news before I die is enough to satisfy me for a lifetime!"

The Great Demon laughed weakly a few times, then looked coldly at Alice.

"You want to use my death to provoke the King and that trash Fire Qilin into a war? Ridiculous!"

"I would rather die than frame the King!"

"Shushan disciples, let us go to the Yellow Springs together!!!"

An extreme sense of crisis surged from the Great Demon, and the sound of its heartbeat reached everyone's ears.

Everyone was stunned for a moment; although they didn't know what was happening, it clearly wasn't good.

Jiang Yan’s divine sense appeared instantly, and he said in a deep voice:

"Run! It’s going to self-destruct!"

In an instant, everyone was terrified.

Venti was the fastest; he whipped up a gust of wind and, risking his life, carried everyone away in the opposite direction.

Zhongli, still feeling unsatisfied, pulled out a flying sword and used it to strike deep into the Great Demon’s body.

The group had just escaped several tens of thousands of meters when a violent explosion erupted behind them.

The surging power turned into a shockwave that swept away everything; the indestructible tall trees were wiped out in an instant.

Violent spiritual energy pushed toward them. Seeing they couldn't escape, the three of them combined their efforts to build a True Essence shield and held their ground.

But after all, it was the self-destruction of a Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation Great Demon.

Even though they were late-stage Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation cultivators, caught off guard, they were still blown away for tens of thousands of meters.

After a long while, the dust finally settled.

Ningguang and the others looked back at the center of the explosion with lingering fear.

Within a radius of several hundred kilometers, everything had been reduced to ashes, leaving only a huge, bottomless crater.

All signs of life had vanished.

This was the first time everyone had perceived the terror of a Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation cultivator.

A self-destruction had actually leveled such a large area.

If this were in Teyvat, half of Liyue would likely be gone.

And this was only at the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation?

"Still ran too slowly. It seems I need to learn an escape technique."

Venti sighed. The Great Demon’s self-destruction had only caused his True Essence to fluctuate.

After all, it was only the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation.

If it had been the middle stage, he would likely be seriously injured now.

"What a terrifying immortal cultivation world... what is this nonsense about self-destructing at the slightest disagreement!"

Venti complained unhappily.

"Hmph!"

Zhongli looked angrily in the direction of the Great Demon’s self-destruction. Zhongli cared deeply about the Great Demon constantly insulting Mo Yixi.

"It was my mistake. I fell for the demonic beast’s provocation. I should have acted faster!"

Zhongli sighed, and Alice shook her head, comforting him:

"We didn't expect the opponent to self-destruct either. Just be more careful next time."

Alice also felt some self-reproach.

Having read many immortal cultivation novels, she naturally knew about the ultimate move of self-destruction.

But just now, immersed in a real battle in the immortal cultivation world, she had forgotten about it.

It was truly inexcusable.

"What a pity, the body of a Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation Great Demon should be very valuable."

Cloud Retainer clicked her tongue.

Suddenly, Jiang Yan said in a deep voice:

"What you should be considering now is not whether it's valuable or reflecting on your mistakes."

"Before the three-headed demon bird self-destructed, it was stalling for time to send a message to the Snow Hou. Moreover, the commotion of the self-destruction has attracted more demonic beasts."

"If you don't run now, your expedition this time will be forced to end."

Hearing this, everyone was shocked, only then remembering that the opponent had also contacted the Snow Hou.

Immediately, they couldn't care about checking their status or looking at the spirit fruit.

They threw Ten Thousand Mile God-Travel Talismans onto Venti without hesitation, and Venti risked his life to carry everyone away at high speed.

After running for a full several hundred thousand meters, Venti finally stopped, looking somewhat exhausted.

"Sect Master, at this distance... should... should be enough, right?"

Jiang Yan did not reply. After a long while, he said faintly:

"You had better pray that the Snow Hou won't detect your tracks and pursue you."

"Otherwise, at this distance... no matter how far you run, it's useless."

Now, everyone was worried.

This exploration of the Nine Netherworld Secret Realm to find spirit fruit had been a failure at every turn, full of loopholes.

For a moment, everyone’s mood was a bit low.

"It seems we are still too naive, thinking of the immortal cultivation world too simply. This exploration was full of mistakes; it is our problem."

"We have disgraced Shushan. I am sorry, Sect Master."

Ningguang lowered her head in shame, not daring to look directly at Jiang Yan.

"It doesn't matter. You have only just begun immortal cultivation, so it is reasonable that you don't understand the situation in the immortal cultivation world."

Jiang Yan shook his head and comforted them softly:

"The immortal cultivation world is full of disputes, and there are countless methods."

"Be cautious in the future, especially in the Nine Netherworld Secret Realm, where demons run rampant; it is truly an extremely dangerous place."

"Furthermore, you don't know much about demonic beasts. In the next lecture, I will focus on telling you about the demons and monsters in the immortal cultivation world."

"When you come to explore again in the future, you will be able to recognize many of them yourselves."

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

"After you are safe, you can summarize the mistakes made in collecting the spirit fruit this time. Many low-level errors should not have been committed."

"The most important point is..."

Jiang Yan paused and said helplessly:

"Dealing with common demonic beasts is one thing, but in the future, you will inevitably have to explore the true world of cultivation."

"You must abandon all womanly benevolence; when killing an enemy, you must ensure their soul is also extinguished."

0 (Requesting flowers)

Hearing this, everyone was shocked and looked at Jiang Yan with difficulty.

A moment later, Venti said hesitantly:

"Sect Master, isn't that a bit vicious?"

"Vicious?"

Jiang Yan shook his head.

"The immortal cultivation world has always been like this. If you don't destroy them, they will destroy your souls when they kill you."

"In the immortal cultivation world, you cannot judge whether an enemy has a massive power background behind them."

"If you don't eliminate them completely, the forces behind them will come to investigate, and if you are not careful, you will be hunted down by an entire faction."