Chapter 254: Sword Swings, Mountain Breaks

Under the gloomy sky, rain dampened the soil.

In the Southwest border region between Central Province and Fengzhou, near the direction of Yunzhou, amidst the rolling Shangnan Mountain Range, illumination artifacts embedded with spirit stones continuously released light, brightening the mountain forest.

Officials from the Immortal Supervision Bureau were currently at Wang Yue Town, thirty miles to the west, and arriving along with them were the major noble families from the nearby areas.

Such as the Shen, Liu, Tang, Yu, and Qiu families of Central Province.

The group sat together, gazing toward the northeast, their expressions solemn.

Since the spring of this year, the Qingyun world had seen frequent strange phenomena: first, a month of continuous torrential rain, then the blood mist over the Profound Sea, and the sudden heavy snow in the Northern Territory.

Although these phenomena made people feel uneasy, what was truly terrifying were the Evil Seeds that appeared afterward.

The first Evil Seeds discovered were just a few washed out by mountain floods after the torrential rain.

However, because no ruins had been opened, this matter still triggered alarm, so the Immortal Supervision Bureau conducted another search and investigation, resulting in the discovery of "corpse nests" along the border lines of every province.

"Corpse nest" was a newly invented term, signifying a place where Evil Seeds gathered.

The borders between the Nine Provinces were mostly surrounded by mountains; this was not a coincidence, but because in the era of chaotic warfare among the human kingdoms, natural barriers were basically used as national borders.

And it was in these deep mountains and old forests that, unknowingly, countless Evil Seeds were already wandering.

No one knew where they came from, nor did anyone know when they appeared.

The Evil Seeds discovered in the Shangnan Mountains of Central Province were the most concentrated and numerous group.

The Inspection Division of the Immortal Supervision Bureau rushed over overnight, and Inspector Mu Jing was currently at Wang Yue Town, discussing with the Central Province noble families how to handle the situation.

Evil Seeds only displayed their bloodthirstiness when they smelled human scent, so for now, they were just wandering and pacing in the mountains, not yet causing any consequences.

According to the decision of the various cultivation noble families of Central Province, these things had to be killed as soon as possible; they would not allow these Evil Seeds the possibility of entering the cities.

But the problem was that if such a quantity of Evil Seeds were not all killed within a short time, some would certainly surge out of the valleys because their ferocity had been activated.

And surrounding the Shangnan Mountain Range were all villages and farmlands; a large portion of the common people would certainly suffer death or injury because of the Evil Seeds.

The Immortal Supervision Bureau naturally did not wish to see such a scene and proposed thinking of other methods, but after much thought, many methods were very difficult to implement.

In their view, if a great expert could take action and suppress them directly in the mountains, it certainly wouldn't be this troublesome.

But the reclusive ancestors within each family, how would they be willing to act easily because of such matters?

Of course, these Central Province noble families would not give them any other choice.

After all, the longer this matter dragged on, the higher the potential risks would be.

These noble families were actually not existences that could cover the sky with one hand in Central Province, but they were still people with immortal status, while the Great Xia Dynasty was merely a tool in the hands of immortals to rule the mortals; even if the Immortal Supervision Bureau had the heart to protect the people, they could only obey orders.

"Actually, if there were a way to trap the Evil Seeds in the mountains and block the southwest mountain path, they could be cleared one by one; this approach is the most secure, but unfortunately, these noble families do not consider the common people."

"My lord, haven't you long known that cultivators don't care about mortals? Although we are officials of Great Xia, in reality, the ones who make the decisions are the immortals."

Inspector Mu Jing of the Inspection Division fell silent upon hearing this, then added: "Before the operation begins, send people to blockade the outer perimeter of Shangnan Mountain; try not to let too many Evil Seeds slip out; this is all we can do."

The officers of the Inspection Division showed a troubled expression upon seeing this: "My lord, the Shangnan Mountain Range is too vast; we don't have enough manpower."

"I only said to try, not that it's certain, but being able to have a few less is always going to be much better..."

After finishing his words, Mu Jing added: "I suddenly understand the meaning of that sentence from Brother Xiang before leaving the capital."

The officers of the Inspection Division looked at each other: "What did Inspector Xiang say?"

"He said we are not here to exterminate the Evil Seeds, but to protect the common people under the hands of the noble families."

"My lord, Inspector Xiang of the Reception Division is young but rigid; this is actually not a good thing."

Meanwhile, countless disciples of immortal sects gathered under the bright moonlight, intending to follow along later to watch the excitement.

Qiu Hanyue, the daughter of the Qiu family, was also among them, along with several cousins from her family; at the same time, Tang Jingming, who had awakened after being injured at the Heavenly Dao Assembly, was also there.

After more than half a year of recuperation, Tang Jingming, who already possessed a formidable cultivation base, had now recovered to his original state.

These immortal sect disciples actually all had the desire to take action, especially since the incident at the Heavenly Dao Assembly had far-reaching influence, giving them quite a feeling of "I can do it too."

However, Evil Seeds were not wooden stakes standing there to be chopped; the time two years ago when a large batch of Evil Seeds surged out of the ruins still felt like yesterday in the eyes of many, making people feel terrified just by recalling it slightly.

Therefore, these noble disciples would not go deep into the mountains; their only interest was to clear out some on the edges.

Just as everyone was chatting, a group of Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples dressed in white arrived on the scene.

Leading them was Liu Qichen, a disciple of the Liu family of Central Province; they had been invited by the Immortal Supervision Bureau to clear the Evil Seeds, and their arrival at the scene attracted a wave of attention.

At this moment, the person he looked at was Tang Minghao of the Tang family, and Tang Minghao was also looking at him at this time.

Although Liu Qichen was born in Central Province and was somewhat related to many people here, he was actually not familiar with Tang Minghao.

However, it was not strange that he looked at Tang Minghao upon arriving here, because they had both lost to the same person.

In the Heavenly Dao Assembly qualifiers, Liu Qichen, clad in a magic robe of the Realm of Merging with the Dao, was defeated by Ji You in three sword strikes, while Tang Minghao was severely injured because of Ji You.

"It is said that some time ago, people began to emerge from the Sages' Holy Land one after another, and some even broke through to the next realm immediately upon coming out."

"I heard that too; Chen Luo of the Chen Immortal Clan even entered the Realm of Responding to Heaven; he is truly worthy of being a direct disciple of an Immortal Sect."

"Then have you heard about Ji You's matter?"

"Naturally, I know; those who returned from the Sages' Holy Land have spread the matter, saying that Ji You stayed in the Sages' Holy Land for more than half a year and is still in the Realm of Profound Understanding, without the slightest improvement."

"I didn't expect it to be like this; it's truly strange, given how fierce he was at the Heavenly Dao Assembly..."

"Perhaps it's a limitation of talent; in the end, one will always encounter a bottleneck."

"Then has Ji You come out now?"

"Others have come out, but he seems not to have; he probably still wants to wait until he reaches the Realm of Merging with the Dao before coming out; if it were me, I'm afraid I would also make that choice."

In the ghostly blue light under the night, the noble disciples waiting to watch the excitement discussed among themselves.

Many things had happened in the Qingyun world over the past half year or so, shifting everyone's gaze, but as geniuses emerged from the Sages' Holy Land, many gazes turned back once again.

The Chen family disciples were the first to walk out of the Sages' Holy Land; Chen Luo breaking through and entering the Realm of Responding to Heaven also made people sigh with emotion.

Because Chen Luo was the youngest among the direct disciples, but his speed in entering the Realm of Responding to Heaven was not slow.

However, it was not he who spread the news that Ji You was still in the Realm of Profound Understanding; in fact, after the Chen brother and sister came out, they didn't even mention Ji You's matter, but after returning to their sect, they read many records regarding body refinement.

The ones who truly spread that Ji You was still in the Realm of Profound Understanding were those who came out afterward.

Actually, this matter was in doubt, because many people didn't quite believe it.

Back then, Ji You slashed in all directions with his sword, unstoppable; in everyone's view, such a performance should have meant he reached the Realm of Merging with the Dao even outside, let alone having entered the Sages' Holy Land for a full eight or nine months.

But since everyone who came out afterward said so, it must not have been fabricated.

Thus, some began to bring up the limitation of talent.

The matter of cultivating the Dao is incomparably mystical; many who cultivate extremely fast in the early stages become indistinguishable from the crowd once they reach the stage of enlightenment; this is not a rare occurrence.

Tang Minghao actually knew about this matter too, and in his heart, he carried some mockery.

Because in his view, Ji You purely wasted an opportunity to enter the Sages' Holy Land; if it were him, entering the Sages' Holy Land to cultivate for more than half a year, he could at least reach the Middle Realm of Merging with the Dao.

Amidst the discussion, some also looked at Qiu Hanyue, the daughter of the Qiu family.

Everyone knew that originally, Qiu Hanyue was to be married to Ji You; although it ended abruptly in the end, in everyone's hearts, she was ultimately a person related to Ji You.

Qiu Hanyue realized everyone was looking at her, and she understood why in her heart, but she did not speak.

Actually, after returning from the Heavenly Dao Assembly, she had indeed been silent for a long time because Ji You was unstoppable and took the top spot in the Realm of Profound Understanding.

Women ultimately admire the strong; having seen with her own eyes that person suppress the entire realm, it would be a lie to say she had no longing.

At that time, her family arranged for her to meet other young talents, and even though those people had decent noble families behind them, she lost interest.

However, it was fortunate that she herself never hoped her husband could be how strong, only hoping she could marry into a stable noble family, so this emotion only remained for a few months before being digested in her self-consolation.

Just as the outside world said, an individual's strength is ultimately not as good as a powerful noble family.

And regarding the matter of Ji You entering the Sages' Holy Land but failing to break through, she had also heard of it a few days ago.

For her, this was not a bad thing; at the very least, he hadn't become that strong, so it wouldn't make her feelings fluctuate.

Just at this moment, a monitoring squad with long knives tied to their waists hurried over under the night.

Seeing this, many noble family heads and officials of the Inspection Division turned their heads to look at them.

"Have you found out clearly, how many Evil Seeds are there in the mountains?"

"Estimated to be over a hundred, but the valley is secluded, and it's unclear under the night; we were afraid that our aura would trigger their ferocity, so we didn't dare get too close and could only estimate." "With such a large quantity, it looks like it will be a fierce battle..."

Under the bright silver glow, the Inspection Division of the Immortal Supervision Bureau, with the coordination of the Central Province noble families, led the squad mobilized by the Zhenbei Army to enter the mountains together.

In the Shangnan Mountain Range, the vegetation was dense, and the humidity in the air was extremely high.

As the group of over a hundred entered the scope of the mountain forest, the killing intent under the dark night gradually began to condense, invisibly whipping up a cold mountain wind.

Actually, their nerves were slightly tense at this moment, especially those young disciples, who couldn't help but slow their pace after entering the mountain forest.

Evil Seeds indeed had no thoughts, but their physical bodies were extremely sturdy; once their ferocity was triggered, their speed and agility were also far beyond that of the human race.

The most critical point was that these dead things were not afraid of death; their only goal was to eat humans, and even if injured, they would not stop the slaughter, which made them even more terrifying.

After going deep into the Shangnan Mountain Range, the group decided to start clearing this batch of Evil Seeds along the mountain ridge; on one hand, they could use the terrain to limit the range of movement of these Evil Seeds, and on the other hand, they hoped that no large batch of Evil Seeds would take advantage of the chaos to escape the Shangnan Mountain Range.

However, things often would not go as smoothly as expected; as a wave of bloody scent drifted over, a whistling sound suddenly appeared in the valley.

Before the group entering the mountains could prepare, the silent Shangnan Mountains suddenly began to stir.

The group, who were planning to go up along the mountain, instantly felt their hearts tremble and immediately drew their knives; within their line of sight, the figures of Evil Seeds were already sprinting outward, and the baleful aura all over their bodies filled the entire mountain path in an instant.

The sudden impact caused everyone's expressions to change drastically.

The first to react was the squad from the Zhenbei Army, who had already drawn their knives the moment the Evil Seeds surged outward.

"What happened?"

"Woodcutter..."

"?!"

"The ferocity of the Evil Seeds has been triggered; they are rushing out of the mountains."

The cultivators sent by the Central Province noble families reacted quite quickly; seeing that things were not right, they took action instantly, and those with higher cultivation were already plunged into the slaughter.

The most panicked were those young disciples who originally wanted to watch the excitement, especially those young ladies who were only thinking of getting married; what they originally thought of was just watching, and now seeing the Evil Seeds suddenly appear in front of them, their faces instantly turned pale.

Clang!

An iron knife slashed down, colliding with that withered flesh, and sparks flew instantly.

But on the other side, another dry hand, black like a withered branch, had already pierced through the wind, "pfft," piercing through the chest of a soldier from the Zhenbei Army.

In one encounter, the bloody scent had already begun to spread everywhere.

Amidst the fluttering of skirt hems, Qiu Hanyue and the sisters beside her turned pale, completely losing the mindset of watching the excitement, and had already begun to dodge in a panic; but during the escape, an Evil Seed was flying and pouncing from the mountain slope.

These noble ladies, who didn't have very high cultivation to begin with, had no ability to counter risks, and seeing this scene, they instantly let out a scream.

However, it was fortunate that their position was very close to the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan group; following the clean strikes of Liu Qichen and the others, that Evil Seed was instantly chopped and sent flying at the waist.

But what made everyone feel shocked was that the sharp swords of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples could not truly cut through the body of that Evil Seed.

After the chopped-away Evil Seed fell to the ground, it immediately flew and pounced again; its hideous face made Qiu Hanyue's face lose all color.

However, it was fortunate that the elders sent by those families were not pushovers, and fighting the Zhenbei Army year-round was not an empty reputation; amidst the slaughter along the way, they instantly blocked the charging momentum of the Evil Seeds.

But the problem was that the Evil Seeds were still surging out one after another.

The investigation squad sent by the Inspection Division said there were an estimated hundred in the mountains, but exactly how many was an unknown number; the key was that the skin, flesh, and bones of these things were incomparably hard and could not be killed in an instant.

Then very soon, these Evil Seeds that were hard to kill would drown the entire mountain path.

Now everyone was crowded in the mountain path, so the ones facing the gathered slaughter instead became them.

Tang Jingming had already killed three Evil Corpses at this moment, but his hand bones had already begun to ache faintly.

"It's very hard to kill; I estimate that if there are more, people will definitely die; retreat quickly!"

"The Evil Seeds have already had their evil nature triggered; if we retreat now, the Evil Seeds will definitely rush out of the Shangnan Mountain Range."

Although they came together to exterminate the Evil Seeds, their positions were different, so their decisions regarding this matter were bound to be different.

The people from the Immortal Supervision Bureau still wanted to try; even if they couldn't exterminate the Evil Seeds in the mountains, they had to stop these Evil Seeds from escaping the Shangnan Mountain territory.

And the negative factor that had the greatest impact on combat power was actually the lack of unity in people's hearts.

These Central Province noble families planned to retreat first and talk later, so if only the Immortal Supervision Bureau and the Zhenbei Army remained, it would have no meaning at all.

However, right in the midst of this chaotic slaughter, as one dried corpse after another fell to the ground, the Evil Seeds rushing over afterward suddenly became fewer.

Roughly glancing at the corpses, there were only twenty or so on the ground.

Mu Jing suddenly sheathed his knife, unable to help but look forward along the mountain path, and suddenly felt a vigorous momentum pouring out from the mountains, pressing the wild grass in the mountain forest to bend.

Just at this moment, a sword aura condensing in the air suddenly rose, brighter than the moonlight.

All the cultivators gathered in the mountain path felt a vast sense of oppression, whistling along the mountain path like a tidal wave.

The next instant, that sword aura rising from deep in the mountains slashed down in front of everyone; the incomparably sharp aura made everyone feel a sense of suffocation, and even the spiritual sense they subconsciously released felt a needle-like pain.

Boom!

The moment the sword fell, the mountains seemed to be trembling.

Trembling along with it were the spirits that hadn't been retracted in time, as if they had received a blow to the head.

Following that was a strong tremor, accompanied by the huge booming sound of collapse, shaking even the gravel under everyone's feet to jump along with it.

Everyone instantly circulated their spiritual energy, blocking the dust waves surging out from the forest in front of them.

After a long silence, the hissing sounds of Evil Seeds still echoed continuously in the night in the mountain forest, but not a single Evil Seed rushed out along the mountain path anymore.

Everyone was stunned for a long time, unable to help but look at each other, a trace of astonishment flashing in their eyes.

"A great expert in the mountains took action to assist?!"

"It must be..."

"But... it seems there are still Evil Seeds ahead."

After standing still for a long time, confirming that no Evil Seeds suddenly appeared, the people from the Inspection Division began to walk toward the mountain slope.

No matter which high expert took action to assist, they should take this opportunity to investigate the situation in the mountains clearly.

The cultivators from Central Province also couldn't help but follow; following up the mountain were those noble disciples who had been scared out of their wits earlier.

They no longer had any curiosity, but the reason they didn't leave was because they had been scared to the point of having no courage to return alone from the dark mountain forest.

Along the road was a large patch of Evil Seed corpses chopped at the waist, numbering over a dozen.

The cuts on them were smooth, and the biting sword aura still remained without fading.

Among the Central Province noble families, there were those good at using swords; looking at the cuts on several corpses at this time: "It was slashed in one sword; what a sharp sword aura."

"One sword?"

"All the Evil Seeds, only one sword; this is a sword Dao master."

Amidst the discussion, the group continued up the slope, and when they reached the top of the slope, they suddenly saw a mountain range that had been slashed.

That was a short peak located on the south side; the broken mountain top fell into the valley bottom, blocking the entire mountain path.

Those Evil Seeds in the valley were all trapped inside, hideous and hissing, but had no way out.

Actually, this was the plan the Immortal Supervision Bureau had thought of earlier: block the south mountain path, let these Evil Seeds all be trapped in the mountains, and then exterminate them.

The significance of doing this was not great, it was just that it could prevent the Evil Seeds from escaping the mountains and harming the common people.

However, most of those who cared about this were people from the Immortal Supervision Bureau; the gazes of others were gathered on that mountain top that had been slashed flat.

Standing under the broken mountain and the silver moon was a figure; it was a young man, standing under the moonlight panting slightly, the long sword in his hand still ringing continuously, while the blood aura all over his body seemed to be boiling.

Liu Qichen opened his mouth slightly: "Ji You..."

When they saw the appearance of that person by the moonlight, everyone was instantly stunned on the mountain slope, as if they had been frozen, unable to return to their senses for a long time.

One sword slashed down half a mountain peak, directly cutting off the entire mountain path, trapping all the Evil Seeds.

Everyone originally thought a great expert had taken action to assist, but no one could have imagined that the one in the mountains would be him.

In fact, even if they saw it with their own eyes, they were somewhat afraid to recognize it, because that sense of oppression made it hard for them to believe it originated from his body.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 255 =====