Chapter 466: Direct Disciple of the Lingyun Sect (4K4)

The high platform is surrounded by mountains on all four sides.

Far atop the mountain peaks, two figures, one tall and one short, quietly watch what lies below.

They wear plain white robes, with only an exquisite auspicious cloud pattern at the collar.

Any cultivator in Yu Nanhong with a shred of insight would feel their heart skip a beat upon seeing these robes.

The Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong, the Xian Sect, the robes of a direct disciple.

The shorter one is a youth with red lips and white teeth, his appearance quite well-behaved, though his figure is rather round and slightly stout.

He opens his mouth slightly, taking in everything happening below: "Miss Wei, what just happened?"

The youth's cultivation is only at the sixth layer of Killed Fanxu; although he could also shatter that Red-Bearded Blood-Claw Puppet in an instant, he absolutely could not do so so casually.

"..."

The taller Miss furrows her brows slightly, a few traces of confusion appearing on her pretty face.

After pondering for a moment.

Wei Yuanling softly spits out a few words: "Tianyan Sijiu."

"He has actually already learned a technique of Spirit Law?" The youth widens his eyes, exclaiming in surprise: "I recall that Brother Wei did not achieve this so quickly back then?"

"What are you thinking? This person merely got lucky and entered the door."

Wei Yuanling glances at him: "My elder brother is not someone anyone can compare to."

Even among direct disciples, there are distinctions of high and low.

Like this junior brother Li Yu, who only recently became a direct disciple, his cultivation is naturally much lower, whereas Wei Yuanling herself has already ascended the palace seven times, breaking through to the eighth layer of the Killed Fanxu realm.

As for the "Brother Wei" mentioned by the two of them.

He is a direct disciple of the Xian Sect's Shen Zongzhu, a famous figure who has set foot on Bai Yujing.

"Miss Wei, we acted on our own authority, and someone even died... won't Brother Wei scold us when we return?" Li Yu looks somewhat cowardly; he had only come along to see the excitement.

"What is there to fear? If you don't speak and I don't speak, how would he know?"

"Besides, I merely told that surnamed Yang that the General Nanyang Sect cannot protect them; I borrowed their heavenly treasures and earthly gems as they should have, so why did he have to take action? I just wanted to ruin this matter; couldn't I say it privately? He had to put on a show of ghosts and gods in front of the General Nanyang Sect people."

Wei Yuanling glares at the youth in a warning manner, then withdraws her gaze: "My elder brother waited in vain for so many years for a treasure land of Harmony with the Dao, only to have it snatched away halfway by some unknown nobody; how can I be content?"

"..." Li Yu looks over earnestly and says softly: "Brother Wei is naturally the heir to the Xian Sect's treasure lands; he does not need to struggle with others for anything; he only needs to wait for Shen Zongzhu, his senior uncle, to fall... pfft!"

"Anyway, I just can't stand it." Wei Yuanling recalls the whispering of the person beside her, and a nameless ghostly fire surges in her heart.

Why must those with greater strength merely waste their lifespan in vain?

Yet some can rely on luck to ascend to heaven in a single step, obtaining things that countless cultivators of Bai Yujing dream of getting, and even make the former bow respectfully and prostrate themselves before him.

"If you dare speak of this matter, do not blame your senior sister for being ruthless." Wei Yuanling extends her hand, clenching her fist in a threatening manner.

"It's not over yet?" Li Yu is startled, looking over in shock.

"Of course it's not over."

Wei Yuanling smiles strangely, then suddenly extends her hand and taps the youth's fingertip.

She transforms him into the appearance of a fat, white pig demon.

"You will infiltrate the demon crowd for me, give that young man a lesson... and also control the situation, do not let those demons truly commit any acts of slaughter."

"If you lose, you know the consequences."

Looking at the expression on Wei Yuanling's face.

Li Yu spreads his two pig trotters and says blankly: "Then what if I injure him? He is the Shen Zongzhu!"

Even after witnessing Shen Yi's actions with his own eyes, he could still ask such a question.

It was not arrogance.

Rather, a prodigy born of the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong and an ordinary cultivator are fundamentally not beings of the same level.

In the eyes of the two, there is an essential distinction in cultivation.

While ordinary cultivators are still striving with all their might, risking their lives, just to break through one layer further.

The gaze of these direct disciples has long been set upon the perfection of Killed Fanxu, or even upon Bai Yujing.

All their reserves are prepared to walk this path of Yuan Tongtian.

"Just make that young man lose face in front of these people; do not go all out." Wei Yuanling ponders for an instant, somewhat hesitant, but quickly steadies herself: "What Shen Zongzhu? Before the Grand Assembly of the Seven Sons is convened, it does not count!"

"Anyway, I cannot defeat you; you decide; if trouble arises, you bear it yourself." Li Yu shrugs dejectedly, then a certain fervor wells up in his eyes.

Having cultivated for so many years, he has never truly fought a Spirit Law cultivator.

Li Yu also very much wants to see whether the so-called Tianyan Sijiu is truly as profound as rumored.

Gui Sect.

Several old men approach trembling: "We report to the Xian Sect official: half a month ago, demons from outside Yu Nanhong attacked; we resisted with all our might, yet we were still defeated by the enemy who destroyed the Red-Bearded Blood-Claw Puppet; fortunately, Daoist friends from Qinghai Prefecture passed by, not only helping us temporarily repel the demons but also returning to request numerous reinforcements from the Zhao family and Qinghai Prefecture."

"It was Yang Lin who found heavenly treasures and earthly gems elsewhere to repair this Spirit Puppet, which allowed us to withstand the demons' counterattack and hold out until allies arrived."

"Therefore..."

The old men still wished to explain something, but when facing the youth's pitch-black eyes, they suddenly lost all desire to dissemble.

The matter is actually not complicated.

The fact that the Gui Sect has been abandoned by the Xian Sect is established; Yang Lin's ability to find treasures elsewhere indicates he has leaned on Dashan.

Where would they dare offend the other party? Their hearts also inevitably ponder whether they can find a new path out by taking advantage of this opportunity.

Upon the high platform, everyone holds their breath.

The ink-robed youth's previous actions could be said to have made people's hands and feet turn cold.

Looking again at his youthful appearance.

Can a declining sect cultivate someone like this?

Compared with the other prodigies among the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong, he was not outdone in the slightest.

"Reporting to the immortal lord!"

Just then, the old man from Qinghai Prefecture who had argued with Yang Lin earlier actually walked out once more and performed a full kneeling bow: "We are situated in Yu Nanhong, supported and sheltered by the Qidaxian Sect. Upon suddenly hearing of such an upheaval, our unease is only human. Added to that, we were beguiled by that Yang Lin. We hope the immortal lord can give us a chance to mend our ways."

"We will surely devote ourselves wholeheartedly to sharing the burdens of the upper sect!"

"Hiss."

Several clan elders of the Chen family glanced over in silence.

They suspected this man might have something wrong with his head.

Earlier, when the Gui Sect held the upper hand, he had insisted on speaking up for General Nanyang Sect. Now that the Gui Sect had run into trouble, he was again pleading for the remaining people, even going so far as to drag all of Qinghai Prefecture into it.

For Qinghai Prefecture to end up with such a person in charge, their ancestral graves really must be billowing green smoke.

He wouldn't feel comfortable unless his clan wasn't exterminated.

"……"

Shen Yi's gaze swept over, sizing up the speaking old man from head to toe.

The man's strength was not bad—Void Returning sixth layer, his aura thick and steady—but he probably wouldn't be much stronger than the Red-Whiskered Blood-Claw Gui. Placed among the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong, he barely had half a foot over the threshold of an outer-gate elder.

"What's your name?"

"Reporting to the immortal lord, Jing Jingsong of Qinghai Prefecture."

The old man coughed lightly twice. The moment Shen Yi asked his question, his earlier confidence instantly vanished, and his voice dropped considerably.

He looked like a man who was afraid, yet still forcing himself to hold on.

"Where are the demons?"

Shen Yi rose to his feet, actually skipping right past that topic.

Jing Jingsong was stunned for a moment, then heaved a great sigh in his heart. Truly worthy of a prodigy of the Xian Sect.

Even in a situation like this, he still kept public and private matters strictly separate.

By contrast, that fool Yang Lin—even when demons had come knocking at the door, was still there fighting over power and profit. Short-sighted to the last. Truly died a well-deserved death.

Thinking of this, Jing Jingsong hurriedly stood up: "Reporting to the immortal lord, we have already set up a great formation and held them outside North Yan Mountain. The reason we gathered just now was to discuss how to repel them at the smallest cost."

"Now with General Nanyang Sect's aid, it's all the more a sure thing."

"I'm afraid the moment you show yourself, they'll naturally flee at the mere wind of your arrival."

Although Jing Jingsong was a bit simple in the head, flattery of this caliber was still a breeze for him.

But he never expected that once those words left his mouth—

Shen Yi simply reined in his aura, turned his gaze sideways, and said: "Lead the way."

"……"

Jing Jingsong froze for a moment, not quite able to make sense of it, but still quickly came to his senses, then forcefully swept his sleeve: "What are you all still waiting for? Hurry and follow the immortal lord to subdue the demons!"

In the span of those words, the dense crowd on the high platform all rose into the air.

Several hundred figures, together with all manner of spirit guis, actually made for an awe-inspiring display, among which even several auras at Void Returning sixth layer appeared!

Before the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong, these forces were mere vassals.

But placed outside, any single one of them was a major power that would make loose cultivators' blood run cold.

At this moment, under their escort—

Shen Yi stood in the air, and actually came to possess a few parts of the bearing of a Yu Nanhong overlord.

The Zhao family members, whose presence had never been prominent, were now quietly observing this young immortal lord.

To them, the name General Nanyang Xian Sect had truly become extremely foreign.

This was probably the first time in a hundred thousand years they had come into contact with true cultivators of General Nanyang Sect… they could only infer the current state of General Nanyang Sect from the other's strength.

The group swiftly streaked toward North Yan Mountain.

At this moment.

Outside the demon lair thick with the stench of blood, among the hundred-plus demons, at some unknown point a conspicuously out-of-place plump white pig demon had mixed in.

"Make way… don't shove me…"

Li Yu rolled his eyes and shoved aside the tiger demon beside him, which stank of body odor.

He stood brazenly in the middle of the demon horde.

He wasn't afraid of being recognized by the demons at all.

In this stretch of land and water, the demons who dared to provoke the forces sheltered by the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong fell into only two kinds.

Either their background was truly deep, even tied to the aquatic clan.

But with that kind, once they struck, they wouldn't give the Gui Sect any chance to catch their breath at all.

The other kind was the greenhorns who had fled here from outside Yu Nanhong.

The three sworn brothers at Void Returning sixth layer inside the cave were clearly of the latter sort—a band of routed soldiers who had suffered setbacks at the hands of several Gui Sect forces, their morale nearly shattered.

The reason they still remained here—

was really just because they had no other retreat.

One had to say, things outside seemed rather chaotic lately, and such incidents were growing ever more frequent.

"Hm?"

Li Yu raised his pig head and looked toward the horizon.

He saw a dark, dense mass suddenly appear above, and at the same time, the demons' heavy breathing rose and fell in his ears.

One figure after another gripped the weapons in their hands tightly, striking a pose to fight to the death.

Inside the cave, two black rhinoceros great demons, burly as small hills, stepped out with ferocious expressions and bellowed: "What's the panic! Protect my third brother—if he so much as gets a scratch, I'll have your lives!"

With those two black rhinoceros great demons speaking up and stepping to the very front, the remaining demons immediately steadied.

"Tch."

Li Yu stood among the demon horde, watching the situation in the sky, and shook her head instinctively.

Still not quite good enough.

Let alone being a sect master, even an ordinary outer-gate elder handling affairs would absolutely never let the forces under their command be led in such a scattered, disorderly fashion.

It looks imposing enough, but in reality there's no plan at all.

No idea how they arranged any of it.

Just then, Li Yu's eyelid twitched slightly as she noticed Shen Yi suddenly break away from the crowd.

Under the stunned gazes of the other three families.

He actually charged alone, straight toward the demon lair!

"Don't care what tricks they're playing! Everyone grip your weapons tight!"

The two great Black Rhinoceros demons stared calmly at the ink-robed figure rapidly approaching in the sky.

These cultivators are always full of schemes; better to do our own job and respond to all changes with constancy than be led around by others.

"Yes!"

A deafening roar of response exploded through the mountains of North Yan.

Accompanied by the furious howls of over a hundred demons and monsters, blood-red demonic qi shot straight into the clouds, turning heaven and earth dark.

Those who could escape from outside to Yu Nanhong and still keep their lives have all fought their way out of life and death—each and every one is an elite, battle-hardened veteran!

They stared fixedly at the sky.

Then their pupils suddenly shrank.

There were no imagined schemes or tricks—only within the blood-red clouds filling the sky, specks of golden light suddenly appeared.

Immediately after, amid the sound of puffing, those specks of golden light suddenly ignited, transforming into a line of fire connecting heaven and earth, then sweeping downward at a speed visible to the naked eye!

That was not a single line.

It was an ocean, a resplendent ocean of golden flames!

The all-encompassing blood-red demonic qi was swallowed in an instant, not even a single ripple rising.

Ahead.

Shen Yi stepped upon the surging waves of fire, the golden flame at his brow growing ever more solid.

The aura belonging to the sixth layer of Killed Fanxu spread outward.

"Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible True Body?"

Li Yu raised an eyebrow slightly; among the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong, many of their arts were shared in common.

This Spirit Body technique was a fairly ordinary one—not even a rare art—and disciples like them who received personal transmission rarely wasted time on such techniques.

Who would have thought that once cultivated to perfection, it would actually look quite imposing.

The realms of the two great Black Rhinoceros demons were clearly no weaker than Shen Yi's, but beneath the heavy sea of fire pouring down, their expressions gradually grew solemn, and even a hint of panic crept into their eyes.

"Third Brother! Aid me!"

The two demons roared simultaneously; judging by their experience, this fiend was far stronger than that group of cultivators playing with puppets—by no small margin!

Before the words faded, two streaks of blood light suddenly surged out from within the cave dwelling, pouring respectively into the bodies of the two great Black Rhinoceros demons!

"Hm?!"

The two demons did not feel that familiar bloodline augmentation.

They finally shifted their gazes away from that figure in the sky, turning their heads back in confusion.

Only to see that the ink-robed youth had somehow already appeared behind them, casually flicking his sleeve to intercept those two streaks of blood light, transforming them into the appearance of refined blood, and casually collecting them into his thumb ring.

"You—"

The elder Black Rhinoceros glared in shock and fury; the other instinctively looked up at the sky, only to see a breeze sweep past and scatter that tall figure treading upon the waves of fire.

Before it could even turn its head back.

Both demons had already taken a heavy palm strike to their backs!

It should have been a contest between those of the same realm.

Yet crisp cracking sounds rang out simultaneously from the bodies of the two great Black Rhinoceros demons.

Their massive, mountain-like figures, without even the strength to resist, were sent flying.

Can't see clearly! Can't dodge! Can't block!

Bolstered by the perfected Heavenly Phoenix Indestructible True Body, Tianyan Sijiu had once again reached a new height.

Boom—

The sea of fire finally came pouring down; the demons that had been standing in solemn readiness, under that suffocating pressure, were instantly seized by instinct and scattered in all directions.

The two great Black Rhinoceros demons took a palm strike head-on.

Their sturdy demon bodies nearly shattered on the spot; instinctively they wanted to first steady themselves and reveal their true forms.

Their bodies swelled violently in the wind, and two colossal demons spanning across North Yan Mountain appeared outright.

But strangely.

Their heads remained at their original size.

Because before them, an additional tall figure in an ink robe with sleeves slightly swaying had appeared, his Bai Xi slender five fingers quietly pressing against their brows.

That utterly unremarkable palm seemed to transform into an endless night.

It blocked the two demons' field of vision.

Leaving only a pair of clear, limpid eyes in their gaze.

(End of this chapter)