Chapter 187: The New Squad

Shi Ran's complexion turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye, yet her gaze was extraordinarily bright and determined. That arrow of light grew increasingly condensed, and the pressure it radiated turned the surrounding demons' roars into fearful whimpers. The ink-green waters of the Corrupt Poison Pool churned violently as if boiling under this golden light, billowing forth great clouds of white vapor being purified.

The Single-Horned Demon Viper sensed a fatal threat; it abandoned its entanglement with Gu Yusheng, its crimson snake pupils locking dead onto Shi Ran. Its massive body churned the pool water as it charged at her with reckless abandon, its huge maw opening wide, brewing an even more terrifying demonic Yuan Qi impact!

"Dream on?!" How could Gu Yusheng allow it to interfere? He let out a long howl, the spiritual power within him erupting without reserve. His sword seal guided the sword, and Zhu Yue Qing Ming rang out clearly, differentiating into dozens of sword shadows condensed like substance, forming a grim sword array — "Moon Shadow Chasing Radiance!" Sword shadows crisscrossed vertically and horizontally, like a cage trapping the Single-Horned Demon Viper firmly in place. Sharp sword qi continuously sliced at its scales, leaving wounds deep enough to reveal bone.

The demon viper struggled frantically; demonic qi and sword qi collided fiercely, emitting a piercing tearing sound.

On the other side, facing the demon tide driven even more frantic by the threat to its source, Mei Ruoxue's delicate brows knitted tightly. She bit her fingertip, and a drop of vermilion essence blood fused into the You Ge Long Sword suspended before her. The long sword hummed, its cold qi surging instantly; her whole being seemed to have turned into a domain of absolute zero.

"Profound Ice Burial!"

Her clear, cold voice was like judgment. With her as the center, extreme cold spread in rings. Wherever it passed, whether pouncing demons, surging mud, or miasma in the air, all froze instantly! Dozens of demons maintained their lunging postures, turned into lifelike ice sculptures, their dissipating demonic qi frozen within as well. This strike nearly drained most of her spiritual power; her complexion also turned deathly pale, but the effect was remarkable, buying the most critical time for Shi Ran!

At this very moment, Shi Ran finished gathering power!

"Patrol Heaven Slay Demons, Break Evil!"

She cried out clearly, hands making a guiding gesture. That golden light arrow, condensed from all her strength and bearing the vast righteous qi of the Patrol Heaven Token, like a meteor chasing the moon, yet also like heavenly thunder punishment from the ninth heaven, tore through the dim swamp sky, ignoring spatial distance, instantly shooting toward the source of that flashing dark red light on the islet in the pool center!

Where the light arrow passed, demonic qi collapsed, filth purified, as if cleaving a pure channel of light through the chaotic darkness.

"Ao——!!!"

The instant the light arrow struck its target precisely, a sharp shriek — neither human nor beast, filled with pain and venomous resentment — rang out from the islet, stabbing straight at the divine soul! Even Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue felt a stab of pain in their divine sense.

Simultaneously, that dark red light suddenly swelled, then like a punctured balloon, violently fluctuated and flickered uncertainly, finally exploding with a boom! A stream of demonic qi far purer and denser than before spread out from the islet like a shockwave, but immediately after, it was tightly entangled by the purification power contained in the Patrol Heaven Slay Demon Arrow, frantically worn away.

The churning of the Corrupt Poison Pool reached its peak, then began to gradually subside. Those demons spawned by demonic qi all around, as if their power source had been sucked away, instantly saw their movements become sluggish, the red light in their eyes dimming, their strength greatly reduced.

And that Single-Horned Demon Viper trapped in the sword array let out an unwilling, despairing roar. Its massive body withered and shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if the core supporting its existence had been snatched away. Finally, under the grinding slaughter of Gu Yusheng's sword array, it crashed to the ground, turning into a pool of filthy black water, merging into the marsh.

The crisis seemed temporarily resolved.

The moment the light arrow shot out, Shi Ran fell backward, drained of strength. The light on the Patrol Heaven Token also dimmed, falling back into her hand. Her breath was weak; both divine soul and spiritual power were overdrawn.

"Shi Ran!" Mei Ruoxue was closest; enduring her own weakness, she flashed over to support her, inputting a stream of pure ice-cold spiritual power into her body to help stabilize her injuries.

Gu Yusheng also withdrew the sword array, landing back on the ground. Looking at the messy battlefield where demonic qi was slowly dissipating, he let out a long breath. He walked to the two women's side, first checking Shi Ran's condition. Confirming it was only exhaustion and no danger to life, he looked at Mei Ruoxue: "Ah Xue, how are you?"

"No matter, just consumed a lot." Mei Ruoxue shook her head, but her gaze looked toward the islet in the pool center. "The source doesn't seem to have been completely cleared."

Gu Yusheng nodded with a heavy expression: "That strike just now only destroyed its external manifestation. The core of that pure demonic qi... seems to still be there. We need to go onto the island to investigate."

He took out a few spiritual power recovery pills, swallowed one himself, and handed one each to Mei Ruoxue and the barely mobile Shi Ran.

"I can still hold on." Shi Ran swallowed the pill, feeling the spiritual power slowly recovering in her body and the faint warmth transmitted from the Patrol Heaven Token. She struggled to stand straight. "The Patrol Heaven Token's sensing of that place is still strong. It must be thoroughly purified, otherwise demonic qi will keep spawning."

After resting a moment, waiting for their conditions to recover slightly, Gu Yusheng once again summoned the flying boat. This time, the Corrupt Poison Pool was much calmer. Though demonic qi still lingered, that feeling of an endless stream welling up had vanished. The flying boat smoothly crossed the pool surface, landing on that small islet.

The islet was entirely blackish-brown; the soil emitted a fishy stench. In the center of the islet stood a crude altar built from black stones. Above the altar, where dark red light had originally flashed, now remained only a pitch-black hole roughly the size of a human head. Wisps of pure demonic qi slowly seeped out from within. And beside the hole, half a golden light arrow was inserted — the residual power of the Patrol Heaven Slay Demon Arrow, slowly dissipating, mutually neutralizing and wearing away against the demonic qi seeping from the hole.

Around the altar lay scattered some shattered bones and twisted rune fragments, obviously a man-made demonic dao array.

"Man-made after all!" Gu Yusheng crouched down, picking up a rune fragment, sensing the residual yin-evil aura on it, his gaze icy. "Judging by the traces left by this array and the purity of the demonic qi, the array layer is at least the work of a Golden Core stage demonic cultivator. The anomaly of the Corrupt Poison Pool was deliberately caused by someone, using this place as a node to gather and breed demonic qi, catalyzing demons!"

Mei Ruoxue condensed cold qi at her fingertip, touching the edge of that pitch-black hole. It immediately emitted a "sizzle" sound; the cold qi was eroded by demonic qi. "This hole... seems like a spatial rift? But not very stable, like a passage forcibly opened."

Guided by the faint indication of the Patrol Heaven Token, Shi Ran walked to the front of the altar. She could clearly feel that deep within the hole, it connected to a source filled with filth and depraved aura — that was the true target the star marker pointed to.

"Behind this hole is where the main body of the demonic qi source lies. My Patrol Heaven Slay Demon Arrow only temporarily sealed its exit and purified most of the power that leaked out, but the root is not severed." Shi Ran said solemnly.

Gu Yusheng stood up, surveying the surroundings: "We shouldn't stay here long. The array is broken, the rift temporarily sealed, the demonic qi spawning speed greatly reduced. Our main mission counts as complete. But this matter involves a Golden Core demonic cultivator; we must report to the sect immediately, requesting elders to decide whether to send people into the other end of the rift to investigate, or directly seal this place."

He looked at the hole still seeping demonic qi, and the golden light still contending with it: "Shi Ran, can your power reinforce the temporary seal on it?"

Shi Ran nodded, forcibly mobilizing the Patrol Heaven Token to release purification golden light once more. Like gilding, layer upon layer it covered the surface of the pitch-black hole, fusing with the residual Slay Demon Arrow power, forming a relatively stable golden seal. The speed of demonic qi seepage instantly became extremely slow.

"This is all I can do. This seal can last a few months at most. Without subsequent reinforcement or thorough purification, demonic qi will still break through." Shi Ran said breathlessly.

"A few months is enough for the sect to react." Gu Yusheng nodded. "We'll clean up the battlefield immediately, collect evidence, then withdraw."

The three moved swiftly, stowing away the altar fragments, some demon core materials, and the Single-Horned Demon Viper's horn — items of value or usable as evidence. Afterward, Gu Yusheng also set up a concealment and alarm array around the islet to prevent other cultivators or demons from accidentally entering this place.

With all this done, the three boarded the flying boat, leaving this Corrupt Poison Pool that was gradually returning to dead silence but still harbored hidden dangers.

The return journey was much smoother than the arrival. Perhaps because the source was temporarily sealed, the demonic qi activity in the outer swamp obviously decreased, and demon ambushes were far fewer. After several days, the flying boat rushed out of the Black Wind Swamp's range, returning once more to the clear, bright sky of fresh spiritual qi.

Feeling the long-lost fresh spiritual qi, all three let out a breath of relief. Continuous high-intensity battles and the erosion of the demonic qi environment had left their bodies and minds doubly exhausted.

Returning to the Patrol Heaven Division to hand in the mission. When Gu Yusheng submitted the mission report, collected evidence, especially the speculation about the suspected man-made demonic qi rift in the Corrupt Poison Pool and possible Golden Core demonic cultivator involvement, it immediately drew the serious attention of the Patrol Heaven Division's upper echelons. Merit evaluation would take time, but basic contribution points had already been issued in full.

One month later.

It was already heavy snow flying, the year's end approaching. Several disciples of the Floating Dream Sect had all gathered together.

After a month of recuperation, Shi Ran's overdrawn divine soul had fully healed. Even a blessing in disguise — after pushing the Patrol Heaven Token to its limit, her connection with the token grew even tighter, and her cultivation faintly showed signs of advancement.

"The Heavenly Gate Sect's elders have already gone to investigate the Corrupt Poison Pool." Gu Yusheng brewed spiritual tea and spoke. "They confirmed that behind that rift connects a fragment of a Demon Abyss about to decline and perish. Indeed a Golden Core demonic cultivator used this land's environment to set up an array to steal the Demon Abyss's origin power, intentions unknown. They have dispatched array masters to reinforce the seal and decided to regularly send disciples to patrol. As for that demonic cultivator, the Law Enforcement Hall is pursuing the investigation."

He looked at Shi Ran, revealing a faint smile: "For this mission, the three of us share indispensable merit. The Patrol Heaven Division's evaluation is out. Besides a large amount of contribution points, each of us also gained a chance to enter the 'Dao Comprehension Pavilion' for three days of comprehension."

Dao Comprehension Pavilion! What kind of place is that?

Shi Ran's face showed puzzlement. Luo Changfeng explained: "The Dao Comprehension Pavilion is the Heavenly Mystery Sect's forbidden ground. It is a cultivation holy land that core disciples of our seven sects all dream of. Inside remain the comprehension imprints of sages of past generations, greatly beneficial for breaking through bottlenecks and comprehending the profound mysteries of techniques. This reward cannot be considered anything but generous."

He was a bit envious, sincerely congratulating them: "Didn't expect the first ones to go to the Dao Comprehension Pavilion would be you lot. You used to fight irreconcilably before; looks like it was all a joke?"

Not exactly. Mei Ruoxue raised an eyebrow. After all, she had truly liked Shi Ran before, and truly hated her before. But after a trip through the mortal world, she understood, saw through it. Regarding romantic love, she would no longer be entangled.

Naturally, the way she looked at Shi Ran wasn't the same anymore.

Shi Ran didn't think much of it, but seeing Eldest Senior Brother so happy, she felt quite glad in her heart. However you put it, this adventure was worth it.

"Additionally," Gu Yusheng paused, looking at Shi Ran, his tone carrying a formal invitation. "Shi Ran, through this mission, Ah Xue and I both believe you are a partner worthy of trust. The two of us wish to form a fixed Patrol Heaven squad. Would you be willing to join?"

Mei Ruoxue also looked at Shi Ran. Though she didn't speak, her eyes expressed the same meaning.

A fixed Patrol Heaven squad? This implied more tacit cooperation, more efficient mission completion, and more reliable reliance.

Several people's gazes coincidentally looked toward Shi Ran.

Shi Ran almost didn't hesitate, breaking into a smile, cupping her fists: "Shi Ran is honored!"

Gu Yusheng's smile grew broader; Mei Ruoxue also nodded slightly.

"Good! Since that's the case, we are the first batch of members of the 'Patrol Heaven Squad'!" Gu Yusheng raised his tea cup. "Using tea in place of wine, may we henceforth advance shoulder to shoulder, slay demons and exterminate devils, patrol and guard heaven and earth!"

"Side by side, we patrol heaven and earth!" Mei Ruoxue and Shi Ran also raised their cups in response.

"Eh? How can only the three of you drink this tea?" Xiao Muyu also raised his cup. "We are your senior brothers too; for such a joyous occasion, we absolutely must join in!"

Qi Chengshuang hadn't spoken much since entering, and had already downed quite a few cups of tea herself; hearing this, she could only helplessly raise her cup as well.

Luo Changfeng heartily clinked cups with Shi Ran. "May the prosperous age be peaceful, and the New Year bring peace and joy!"

The clear tea flowed down their throats, sweet, mellow, and crisp; the few of them exchanged smiles, as if also heralding a brand new journey about to begin.