Chapter 237: A Place of Quiet

Southern Border of the Song Kingdom.

Ever since Xu Chen and that powerful giant octopus beast fell into the breach of the Five Elements Great Array, the array had remained calm for nearly a month before its restlessness intensified; the eruption of black mist suddenly accelerated, and several powerful giant beasts appeared one after another, causing unprecedented turmoil in the array. Even though all the cultivators did their utmost to suppress and stabilize it, it had already been riddled with holes by the Nether Beasts and was teetering on the brink of collapse.

Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley are connected to each other; if one suffers, both suffer.

Therefore, as the Five Elements Great Array continuously decays, the Eight Extremes Great Array suppressing Spirit Fox Valley is likewise in violent turmoil, with black mist surging into the sky like a tide, rolling and spreading deep into the Southern Border.

Now, several more months have passed, and the range of the black mist's encroachment is less than ten miles from the Taiyuan Sect. Standing on the mountaintop, one can see the sky in the northeast, southwest, and northwest directions as if stained with ink; the black mist churns as if the Demon World has descended, and the roars and howls of Nether Beasts within rise one after another. Dark figures dash out of the black fog from time to time, dragging rolling thick smoke as they fly in all directions, a terrifying sight that chills the heart.

The cultivators guarding the two great arrays are caught in endless slaughter almost every day. Low and mid-level cultivators have suffered heavy casualties, and even several Danyuan Realm powerhouses are gradually feeling overwhelmed. Every day, they lead teams composed of various cultivators to take turns entering the two great arrays to fight and kill Soul Beasts, trying their best to maintain the operation of the arrays so they do not collapse.

But everyone knows that the collapse of the two great arrays is only a matter of time.

The Great Song is about to face an unprecedented human catastrophe.

The several outer sect strongholds built by the Taiyuan Sect in Wild Wolf Valley and at the foot of the mountain have all fallen, and all outer sect disciples have retreated to the sect.

The temporary station responsible for guarding Black Wind Ridge has likewise been abandoned, and a large number of cultivators have all retreated to Nanyang City to station themselves and organize personnel to continue the resistance.

The situation is this critical, yet the two great Immortal Sects, Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain, are unable to provide aid.

Compared to the situation near the Taiyuan Sect, the circumstances in the surrounding countries are even more dire. Among them, Dongwu has suffered the most violent impact from the Nether Qi and Nether Beasts. By now, the black mist has encroached upon more than half of Dongwu's territory, and the activity range of the Nether Beasts has spread throughout all of Dongwu. The defense line composed of the Immortal Sects of the Eastern Wasteland and Dongwu has collapsed repeatedly and is completely unable to resist; the defense line has retreated hundreds of miles into the territory of the Great Song, and several counties in the southeast border of the Great Song have already fallen and become the home of the Nether Beasts.

A large number of Nether Beasts have begun to devour human and animal flesh to mutate and evolve, and at the same time, after a large number of cultivators were cruelly devoured by the Nether Beasts, they evolved various inconceivable Magic Spell attacks.

With one side growing and the other waning, the manpower and strength of the Immortal World are constantly weakening. Now the situation is completely out of control; the defense is stretched thin, and a counterattack is even more impossible. They can only retreat step by step amidst round after round of brutal slaughter, suffering more and more casualties.

A sense of death and despair, never before felt, shrouds the mortal world.

Those Immortal cultivators who used to be high and mighty, riding the clouds and mist, are now all panicked and at a loss, unable to see any hope at all.

The few great cultivators who were like pillars of stability are now even more harried, rushing back and forth through the areas filled with black wind and ravaged by Nether Beasts, doing their utmost to kill those powerful Nether Beasts, barely maintaining a weak balance to try and delay time and slow down the speed and range of the Nether Beasts' expansion.

As for the common people, no Immortal Sect can spare the effort to care for them anymore. When it is truly impossible to block or delay, they will retreat as quickly as possible, leaving tens of thousands of mortals to fall into the black wind and become blood food for the mutation and strengthening of the Nether Beasts.

A thousand miles of land can turn into a living hell in a single day.

Wherever the black mist covers, not a single living thing can be seen anymore; animals and plants are all dead.

Compared to the changes in the surrounding countries, the situation in the Song Kingdom can barely be considered a place of peace. Now, more than half of the territory is still safe, and apart from a small number of escaped Nether Beasts causing chaos, the human world has not yet completely collapsed or fallen.

However, even the Immortal World is extremely pessimistic about how long this peace and tranquility can be maintained.

Because as time passes and the situation develops, various news is constantly being transmitted. At this time, whether it is large or small Immortal Sects or independent cultivators among the people, everyone knows the current situation. Hearts are panicked and restless, and on the faces of all cultivators, not a hint of relaxation or a smile can be seen anymore.

Taiyuan Sect.

After experiencing a brief period of grief throughout the sect, Xu Chen's disappearance was soon forgotten.

Because news of the violent turmoil of the two great arrays and the worsening situation in various countries kept coming, the entire sect was extremely busy and depressed.

Apart from a few Elders and disciples of the inner sect who occasionally thought of that disciple and junior brother who had encountered a fortuitous event, no one cared whether Xu Chen was dead or alive.

After all, looking at the current situation, everyone has a sense of panic about their precarious existence.

Even many recruited outer sect disciples are constantly and quietly leaving the sect, fleeing deep into the Southern Border, or to places in the southeast, west, and north that have not been encroached upon by the black mist and Nether Beasts, just wanting to find a place to settle down before this unprecedented catastrophe arrives.

However, under this unprecedented black terror, it is not all despair.

The Taiyuan Sect's Third Elder, Xuanfeng Zhenren, successfully formed his Golden Core after experiencing the Small Heavenly Tribulation, becoming the second Danyuan Realm Elder of the Taiyuan Sect, which also injected a shot of adrenaline into the teams of cultivators guarding the two great arrays.

In addition, a large number of cultivators from various large and small Immortal Sects and independent cultivators participating in the defense of the two great arrays have also achieved breakthroughs during the day-and-night brutal slaughter with the Nether Beasts. Almost every few days, one can hear of someone successfully reaching Foundation Establishment or improving their realm.

Therefore, amidst the heavy casualties, these good pieces of news are also constantly stimulating everyone to fight even harder.

Compared to the completely out-of-control and hopelessly rotten state of the surrounding countries, the task of guarding the two great arrays of the Taiyuan Sect seems much safer.

At least here, there are no signs of complete loss of control so far. Although the expansion speed of the black mist is alarming and the number of Nether Beasts is increasing day by day, it is still under control, and they have not lost their footing.

The situation outside is too severe, and the Xuanchen Zhenjun responsible for guarding the Taiyuan Sect cannot sit in the sect for long. Therefore, he returns about every half month to inspect the situation of the two great arrays, while also killing some powerful Nether Beasts that have rushed out. After staying for three to five days, he leaves again, his mood cold and stern, seemingly carrying an inexplicable suppression and anger.

As for the four True Monarchs of Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain—Chixia, Baiyun, Yuyang, and Taiwu—they are completely nowhere to be seen. Since Xu Chen disappeared, they have not returned even once, and now they are all harried and rushing about outside.

Amidst the panic and busyness, the Taiyuan Sect still has a place of peace and tranquility.

The place where Xu Chen used to live, a dilapidated small wooden house, stands alone, nestled on the lush cliff.

An Escape Light flew over from the foot of the mountain and landed in front of the small house in the blink of an eye.

A young girl in a green dress jumped down from her Flying Sword. Covered in black mist and exhaustion, she put away her Flying Sword with a pale face, then gathered her skirt and sat on the lonely stone in front of the door, staring blankly at the surrounding mountains and the roaring, churning black fog in the distance.

"Wu ya~"

A snow-white fox jumped over from the direction of the Medicine Garden behind the mountain like a streak of white light, pouncing into the girl's arms and nuzzling back and forth with extreme intimacy.

A trace of affection appeared on the girl's pale face. She hugged the fox in her arms, gently stroked its fur, and whispered, "Xiaobai, perhaps we will have to leave here before your master returns!"

"Wu ya!"

The white fox seemed to understand; a pair of ruby-like eyes flashed with extreme sadness and reluctance.

"Junior brother is a blessed person; he won't die. It's just that he fell in and went missing again, just like last time. I think he will come back, don't you?" The girl lowered her head and murmured.

"Wu ya, wu ya!"

The white fox nuzzled against the girl's chest, letting out soft whimpers one after another.

"It's a pity I'm too useless; I actually failed to reach Foundation Establishment twice. If he comes back, he will definitely laugh at me. Do you think I should hit him then? I feel like the Spirit Pill he refined was too poor..." As the girl spoke, two lines of clear tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably, and she hugged the white fox in her arms even tighter.

"Wu ya!" The white fox struggled hard to break free from the girl's embrace and bit her skirt, pulling at it.

The girl wiped away her tears and stood up, shaking her head with a sorrowful expression, "Alright, I'm not in the mood to go to the Medicine Garden today. You go play by yourself; I still have to go back and practice. I have to go kill Nether Beasts tomorrow."

The white fox did not let go; instead, it pulled with even more force. The girl was helpless; she bent down, lowered her head, and rubbed the white fox's head, saying, "Alright, stop pulling. Look, you're going to tear my skirt. I'll go take a look with you!"

"Wu ya!"

The white fox happily let go, then hopped and skipped along the rugged path, which was almost completely covered by thorns and weeds, toward the back mountain.

The girl followed behind, walking neither fast nor slow, her eyes scanning the surroundings, and tears flowed down uncontrollably again.

Before long, the person and the fox arrived at the Medicine Garden.

The churning waterfall hitting the pool made a splashing sound, and the cool water mist seemed to make the girl's mood improve instantly.

The Medicine Garden before her was still obscured by an Illusion Array, looking no different from the surrounding wilderness to the naked eye. However, the moment she walked inside the fence of the Medicine Garden, a patch of colorful, strange plants appeared before her eyes.

These bizarre-looking plants had now grown to be enormous, especially the purple grapevines climbing on the dead Soul Returning Wood; the vines were as thick as an arm, and between the lush branches and leaves, clusters of golden flowers were in bloom, some of which had already sprouted green fruits the size of beans.

In addition, the most numerous purple-red plants, over a zhang tall and resembling rice, had already headed and produced some rice-like grains, though it looked like a long time remained before they would be mature.

Many of the leaves of these plants were riddled with holes by strange, chubby, silkworm-like insects, and at the same time, a rustling sound of chewing could be heard, as if silkworms were eating mulberry leaves.

At the base of some of the rice leaves, there were also many colorful silkworm cocoons, each the size of a fist, with spiritual light flickering inside, making them as astonishing as luminous pearls.

And among these plants, there were also a few shrub-like plants interspersed, some of which had begun to bloom and bear fruit.

In the Medicine Garden, there were also various Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine, all with thick stems and leaves, flickering with intense spiritual light.

The entire Medicine Garden emitted a fragrance of flowers and fruits that seeped into the Soul, intoxicating the mind and spirit.

(End of this chapter)