Chapter 157: The Situation Worsens

"Silence!"

Following a long shout from Sect Leader True Person Long Yang of Yuqing Hall, which was infused with rolling Yuan Qi, the entire plaza instantly fell quiet again, yet everyone's emotions remained incredibly shaken.

Although Demon Beasts possess formidable strength comparable to cultivators, they are, after all, merely mutated and evolved versions of wild beasts and have not completely departed from the category of beasts; their combat power is still primarily manifested in their physical bodies.

For instance, their bodies are stronger, their claws and fangs sharper, their flight capabilities more powerful, and they can even utilize Spirit Qi during combat to launch certain instinctive attacks. Occasionally, some Demon Beasts may develop skills similar to Magic Spells due to the awakening of ancient bloodlines, but these skills are innate and cannot be enhanced through cultivation; they only improve gradually as their strength increases, and their usage is not as free as that of a cultivator, but rather a form of instinctive release.

However, these mutated Soul Beasts are actually able to evolve attack capabilities similar to Immortal Dao Magic Spells by devouring and assimilating cultivators, which is truly terrifying.

It is fine for low-level cultivators, but if a Soul Beast were to devour and assimilate a Danyuan Realm powerhouse, it would no longer be the strength of a simple Third-Tier Demon Beast, because a Danyuan Realm powerhouse knows at least dozens of Magic Spells, all of which are immensely powerful. If a Soul Beast could learn and apply them all, it would be nothing short of a disaster.

Yuqing Hall was the main force in suppressing the Soul Beasts at Black Wind Ridge back then; nearly three hundred inner and outer sect Disciples went, and at present, there are still about a hundred stationed in Wild Wolf Valley, who will continue to stand guard in rotations year-round.

The number of Soul Beasts that poured out when the Array gap was first opened was in the thousands and tens of thousands. For this reason, the entire Great Song Immortal World paid the price of over a hundred cultivator casualties in just a few short days before finally managing to slowly exterminate these Soul Beasts and stabilize the Array seal once more.

Although many Soul Beasts ultimately escaped, in the eyes of all cultivators, these were already of no great consequence. Even if they entered the mortal realm, they would not cause massive casualties, not to mention that there are still many rogue cultivators and immortal cultivation families among the common people. Although their strength is lacking, they would still carry out exterminations upon encountering them, and if they truly could not resist, they would notify nearby Immortal Sects to handle it.

As for the Soul Beasts, the feelings of everyone in Yuqing Hall are the most profound and clear.

After all, the casualties of Yuqing Hall can be said to have never been so painful in hundreds of years.

One Elder at the Danyuan Late Stage, two inner sect Core Disciples, and eight Zhenyuan Realm Disciples were collectively severely wounded under a powerful Black Spider Soul Beast. If not for Xu Chen arriving in time and True Monarch Xuan Chen making an emergency move, all of these people would have died.

But even so, Xu Chen was unable to save those eight Zhenyuan Realm Disciples.

The strength of that Black Spider Soul Beast should have been less than Third-Tier; this is a reasonable deduction made after a post-incident review.

The strength of the Black Spider Soul Beast lay in its robust body and sharp hooked claws, and its most terrifying skill was the Black Spider Silk it sprayed. Almost no one below the Danyuan Realm could resist it; once touched by the spider web, one's Soul would instantly scatter.

There are many such bizarre abilities of Soul Beasts, which had already made all cultivators feel restricted and difficult to deal with. If Soul Beasts could also evolve skills similar to Magic Spells by devouring cultivators, then it would basically be impossible to fight.

They know what cultivators know, and they also know what cultivators do not know, especially since their bizarre Soul power is exactly the weakness of low-to-mid-level cultivators.

With the tides turning, the situation might soon be reversed.

By then, it would not be Immortals exterminating Soul Beasts, but Soul Beasts beginning to hunt down Immortals.

Therefore, True Monarch Yuyang's simple sentence can be said to have stirred up stormy waves in the hearts of all the cultivators in Yuqing Hall.

Xu Chen was no exception; this intelligence far exceeded his imagination. Connecting it to the current rampant state of Soul Beasts in the Eastern Wasteland, the Wu Kingdom, and the Ming Kingdom, he felt that the situation seemed to have far exceeded the control of the Immortal Worlds of various nations.

"Currently, a large number of mutated Soul Beasts have appeared in the surrounding countries. Among them, those with formidable strength are no less than the strength of the Danyuan Mid Stage. The Wu Kingdom, in particular, has suffered attacks from a large number of mutated Soul Beasts from the Eastern Wasteland; the casualties of Immortal World cultivators are heavy, and the deaths of mortal commoners are countless. Many cities have already been occupied by Soul Beasts and turned into nests; one cannot see a single living person or wild beast for hundreds of miles. The capital of the Wu Kingdom has already begun to suffer attacks from Soul Beasts. Additionally, in the various counties on the border of the Great Song, a large number of Soul Beasts and mutated Soul Beasts have also begun to appear..."

True Monarch Yuyang gave a brief report on the situation of his recent visit, and finally, with a grave expression, he transmitted his voice to all cultivators:

"All Elders and Disciples, heed my order: starting from today, Yuqing Hall will arrange for a large number of disciples to descend the mountain to clear out Soul Beasts in various places and maintain the peace within the Song Kingdom. I, along with Senior Brother Baiyun, must also contact other Immortal Sects to act together, while also assisting the Immortal Worlds of neighboring countries to jointly suppress the Black Wind and clear out high-level Demon Beasts. If this is allowed to develop, perhaps in just two or three years, the entire human world will become a place where Soul Beasts run rampant, with hundreds of millions of casualties. To eliminate demons and defend the Dao is the responsibility shouldered by cultivators of our generation; it conforms to the Heavenly Dao above and saves the common people below, and it cannot be shirked."

"We obey the order of Supreme Elder Yuyang!" A group of Elders and Disciples shouted in unison to accept the order.

Yuyangzi stepped back, and True Monarch Baiyun stepped forward and said: "Although we old fellows no longer interfere with the affairs of the mountain gate, this matter is of great importance. The lesson of the Black Wind Ridge incident is still fresh in our minds, so there must not be the slightest slack. The strength of mutated Soul Beasts is bizarre and different from ordinary Soul Beasts, making them even more difficult to deal with. Therefore, when you disciples descend the mountain to clear out Soul Beasts, you must be well-prepared with more pills and Magic Treasures. Thus, the Alchemy Hall, Qi Hall, Array Hall, and Talisman Hall must take emergency action to step up the storage of pills, Magic Treasures, and Spirit Talismans. As for other unrelated industries in the outer sect such as Spirit Tea and wine brewing, all are to be suspended, and manpower is to be diverted to other critical halls..."

"We obey the order of Supreme Elder Baiyun!" After Baiyunzi finished speaking, the entire plaza erupted in another roar of response.

Caught in the middle, Xu Chen suddenly had a different realization regarding his previous sense of contempt for Yuqing Hall.

Although Yuqing Hall has a strict internal hierarchy and various sects and halls fight for power and profit, appearing indifferent and unconcerned with one another, in reality, when faced with urgent and major events, the power they display is extremely strong and united.

Moreover, in the two matters of exterminating Soul Beasts and suppressing Nether Qi, Yuqing Hall has indeed achieved a level of selflessness from top to bottom, disregarding life and death.

It is precisely because Yuqing Hall can shoulder such morality that the Great Song's immortal and mortal worlds have escaped a great catastrophe.

In fact, the one that should be most grateful to Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain is the Taiyuan Sect.

The two places where Nether Qi leaked in the Great Song territory are both near the Taiyuan Sect; even if it went out of control and suffered an impact, the first to suffer would certainly be the Taiyuan Sect.

And Yuqing Hall, which is the furthest away, could remain almost unscathed; after all, the two sects are separated by a full ten thousand miles.

It seems that this is the greatest foundation of an Immortal Sect that has been passed down for thousands of years.

The two words "morality" are the true core that allows a sect to carry on its legacy.

For a moment, Xu Chen felt some shame and guilt.

During his time at Yuqing Hall, he seemed to have been too selfish, not diligent in alchemy, and only remembered to fish for various benefits.

Not to mention the countless inherited knowledge he learned from the Scripture Pavilion, at present, he alone has over a thousand types of Spirit Medicine obtained from Yuqing Hall. In addition, he won various treasures worth over ten thousand Spirit Stones in alchemy gambling matches. When visiting other outer sect industries, he took advantage of the situation to eat, take, pilfer, coerce, and lure to get many more good things. Spirit Tea and Spirit Wine, things that simply did not exist at the Taiyuan Sect, were naturally stuffed into his arms as much as possible; he almost packed up the orchards and tea plantations too.

Of course, guilt is guilt, but it is absolutely impossible to make him spit them out.

While Yuqing Hall's shouldering of morality to eliminate demons and defend the Dao is worthy of his worship and reverence and causes a shock to his soul, Yuqing Hall still took the lion's share of the benefits in the end.

Ultimately, effort and harvest are proportional.

The Dao Scripture says: "The reason why Heaven and Earth can last long is that they do not live for themselves, so they can live forever. Therefore, the sage puts himself behind and is ahead, puts himself outside and survives; because he is selfless, he can achieve his own self."

Because Yuqing Hall does not consider private interests and steps forward to exterminate Soul Beasts to maintain peace and tranquility in the human world, it will ultimately obtain the greatest harvest.

This kind of harvest is not just wealth, but also reputation and strength.

Because by exterminating Soul Beasts, not only will they obtain a large number of Soul Beads, but a large number of disciples will also strengthen their power through this tempering, and they may even discover the reason for the mutation of Soul Beasts, thereby uncovering some secrets related to Nether Qi and finding a brand new path of cultivation.

Thinking of this, Xu Chen suddenly remembered the situation of the Taiyuan Sect raising the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus underground; his heart jumped, and his brows locked tightly.

Did the Taiyuan Sect back then also discover something amidst the rampant Soul Beasts before finally starting to study the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus?

If this is really the case, will Yuqing Hall also embark on this path in the future?

For a moment, Xu Chen felt inexplicably uneasy and nervous.

"Daoist Friend Xu, you don't need to worry; the Taiyuan Sect and the Song Kingdom are currently still very safe!" Lan You thought Xu Chen was worried that the situation would change to a point where it would be difficult to manage, so she whispered a transmission to comfort him.

Xu Chen could only nod and say: "With the three True Monarchs and various Elders of Yuqing Hall making a move, and so many fellow Daoists descending the mountain, I think the mutated Soul Beasts will soon be brought under control. However, I am thinking of Senior Wuyazi, whom I met last time; if he cannot capture that Ancient Fierce Beast as soon as possible and suppress it back into the Netherworld Passage, I wonder how long the Soul Beast disaster will last?"

After hearing this, a trace of nervousness appeared on Lan You's cold and pretty face. She nodded slightly and said: "That is indeed the case, but it is useless for us to worry about such things. This time, I will definitely have to descend the mountain to exterminate Soul Beasts, and I am afraid I will no longer be able to accompany Daoist Friend Xu. Fortunately, Daoist Friend Xu has already finished reading all the Scripture Pavilions during this time, so it was not a wasted trip."

Xu Chen grinned and said: "Yes, this kind of thing is indeed not something we should consider. The True Monarchs and the Danyuan Realm seniors will naturally handle it comprehensively; let's just do whatever we are told. Daoist Friend Lan, you must be very careful when you descend the mountain. You saw the mutation of the Soul Beasts last time with your own eyes; it was very bloody and terrifying. If there are Soul Beasts that have evolved Magic Spell skills, I am afraid they will be even more difficult to deal with, so do not be careless."

A feeling of inexplicable sweetness and happiness rose in Lan You's heart. She lowered her head, blushing, and nodded gently: "Daoist Friend Xu, you must also be careful in everything. I don't know when we will meet again!"

Xu Chen could not help but let out a long sigh: "Yes, who knows when this Soul Beast disaster will end? Looking at it now, it seems to have just begun!"

(End of chapter)