With the deafening roar of the black-robed man's self-destruction, a world-destroying force spread wildly outwards from him. Wherever the dark power reached, space distorted, and rocks turned to dust. However, the protective shield formed by the soft light emitted from the five-colored beads in Lin Yang's hand acted like an indestructible barrier, steadily resisting this powerful impact.
Inside the protective shield, everyone watched nervously as the dark forces raged outside, their hearts filled with relief at surviving such a catastrophe. The light and dark forces clashed, emitting hissing sounds, like a silent battle. Gradually, the power of the black-robed man's self-destruction began to weaken, the light from the multicolored beads gained the upper hand, and the dark forces were slowly dissipated.
As the last trace of dark power dissipated, the protective shield slowly vanished. Lin Yang looked at the five-colored bead in his hand, his heart filled with emotion. This bead not only carried powerful sealing energy, but it had also saved everyone's lives at a crucial moment.
"Lin Yang, we owe you so much for this, and for this five-colored bead. Otherwise, we would all be dead here." Xuan Fengao stepped forward and said with a grateful expression.
Yanlong nodded in agreement: "Yes, if Lin Yang hadn't acted decisively and guided us to strengthen the seal, the entire cultivation world would probably have been plunged into disaster once this evil power was released."
Ling Feng, Su Ran, and Qin Yue also gathered around, casting admiring glances at Lin Yang. Lin Yang smiled and waved his hand, "Everyone contributed. If it weren't for everyone's concerted efforts, I wouldn't have been able to complete the seal. Moreover, the mysterious force behind this incident has not yet surfaced, so we cannot let our guard down."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned solemn. They knew that this incident was just the tip of the iceberg, and the mysterious force behind it, which was attempting to unleash evil power, must have other conspiracies.
"It seems we need to inform all the sects about this as soon as possible and raise their awareness," Xuan Fengao said.
Yanlong nodded in agreement: "That's right. At the same time, we must also strengthen the defenses of our own sect to prevent retaliation from the mysterious forces."
After discussing the matter, everyone decided to leave this dangerous place first. Lin Yang carefully put away the five-colored beads, and the group slowly walked out of the valley along the passage behind the stone gate.
Upon returning to their respective sects, Xuanfeng Ao and Yanlong immediately recounted their experiences in the valley to their sect leaders. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, each sect strengthened its defenses. The Xuanfeng Sect deployed layers of wind-elemental defensive arrays around its territory, which would trigger alarms should any external enemies invade. The Yanshen Sect arranged for its disciples to patrol day and night within the sect, while also increasing the crafting and stockpiling of fire-elemental magical artifacts.
Lin Yang's sect was no exception. Upon learning of the incident, the sect leader summoned all elders and core disciples for an emergency meeting. "This incident has revealed the ambition and methods of the mysterious forces. We must prepare for the future and strengthen our sect's power," the sect leader said solemnly.
Lin Yang stepped forward and recounted in detail what he had seen and heard in the valley, as well as his speculations about the mysterious force. "Based on my observations, this mysterious force has been plotting for a long time, and seems to have a strong interest in ancient seals and powerful magical artifacts. We must not only guard against them trying to steal the Five-Colored Beads again, but also be wary of them targeting other potentially dangerous forces."
The elders nodded in agreement. One white-haired elder said, "Lin Yang is right. We can take this opportunity to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other sects and jointly fight against this mysterious force."
After some discussion, the sect decided to strengthen internal cultivation and improve the strength of its disciples. At the same time, it would send envoys to other major sects to discuss the establishment of an alliance to jointly deal with the mysterious forces.
However, just as the various sects were actively preparing to deal with the crisis, some strange things began to happen in the cultivation world. In some remote towns, cultivators frequently disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead. Some small sects were suddenly attacked by unknown forces, their sects were looted, and their disciples suffered heavy casualties.
These events caused panic in the cultivation world, with various speculations and rumors spreading. Some said it was a mysterious force retaliating in secret, while others said it was the rise of a new evil force. But whatever the explanation, it cast a shadow over the entire cultivation world.
Lin Yang was deeply worried after learning this news. He knew that these events were likely related to the black-robed man and the mysterious force. In order to find out the truth, he decided to go with Su Ran, Ling Feng, and Qin Yue to the places where the strange events had occurred to investigate.
They first arrived at a place called Qingfeng Town. It used to be a bustling gathering place for cultivators, but now it was deserted. The streets were deserted, most shops were closed, and occasionally a few residents with panicked expressions could be seen hurrying by.
Lin Yang and his companions found an elderly man in the area who was somewhat familiar with the affairs of the cultivation world and inquired about the situation. The old man said with a solemn expression, "Fellow immortal masters, Qingfeng Town was fine before, but recently, for some reason, cultivators have been frequently disappearing. At first, no one paid much attention, thinking it was just ordinary people going out for training. But later, more and more people disappeared, and even disciples from several small sects disappeared en masse. That's when everyone realized something was wrong."
"Do you know where these missing people were last seen?" Su Ran asked.
After pondering for a moment, the old man said, "I heard someone say that they saw some strange dark figures in an abandoned mine outside the town. It seems that most of the missing people never returned after approaching the mine."
Lin Yang and his companions exchanged glances, a plan forming in their minds. "Looks like we need to check out that abandoned mine," Lin Yang said.
The group bid farewell to the old man and headed towards the abandoned mine outside the town. As they arrived at the mine, a sinister atmosphere enveloped them. A thin layer of mist hung around the mine, obscuring the view inside.
Ling Feng, holding a long sword, walked cautiously ahead: "Everyone be careful, this mine looks very strange."
Lin Yang nodded, circulating his Star Power to sense the surrounding aura. Suddenly, he frowned: "I sense a faint fluctuation of dark power inside the cave, somewhat similar to the dark power on the black-robed man earlier."
Su Ran and Qin Yue were both on high alert. Su Ran focused her ice spirit power, while Qin Yue prepared various runes. The four of them slowly entered the mine, an unknown adventure about to begin. Whether they could uncover the truth behind these mysterious events remained to be seen. The mine was dark and damp, with eerie lights occasionally flickering on the walls. They ventured deeper into the narrow passage, their footsteps echoing sharply in the silent mine.
As they walked, a spacious cave suddenly appeared ahead. In the center of the cave was a huge black array, covered with strange runes that flickered with a faint black light and exuded an evil aura.
"What kind of formation is this? It looks so evil," Qin Yue said warily.
Lin Yang carefully observed the formation, trying to find some clues: "I have never seen this kind of formation before, but judging from the aura of the runes, it is inseparable from the mysterious forces. Perhaps this formation is the key to the disappearance of the cultivators."
Just then, a group of dark figures suddenly emerged from around the cave. The figures were blurry, but their humanoid forms were discernible, and they wielded black blades. The figures let out low growls and charged towards Lin Yang and the others.
"Prepare for battle!" Lin Yang shouted, and the Starry Golden Sword instantly appeared in his hand. A beam of starlight sword energy shot towards the dark figure. The sword energy struck the dark figure, who let out a scream and vanished into a cloud of black smoke.
Ling Feng unleashed the swordsmanship of the Spirit Sword Sect, his sword flashing, and streaks of sword energy crisscrossing, repelling the approaching shadows. Su Ran then used ice magic to create an ice domain within the cave; the shadows slowed down upon entering it. Qin Yue swiftly threw out runes, which exploded in mid-air, the resulting shockwave blasting the shadows to pieces.
However, the shadowy figures seemed endless, surging forward wave after wave. Lin Yang and the others gradually became overwhelmed, and they discovered that these shadowy figures emitted a peculiar smoke after death, which seemed to weaken their spiritual power.
“This can’t go on. We need to find a weakness in the formation as soon as possible and destroy it. Maybe then the shadow will disappear,” Lin Yang said.
While fending off the attacks of the shadowy figure, the group searched for a flaw in the formation. However, the formation was extremely complex, with runes intertwined, making it difficult to find the key point for the time being.
During the fierce battle, Su Ran suddenly noticed that a rune on the edge of the formation was darker in color than the other runes, and that the rune's light would flash more intensely whenever a shadow appeared.
"Lin Yang, look at that rune, could it be the key?" Su Ran asked, pointing to the rune.
Lin Yang looked over and a thought struck him: "It's possible. Qin Yue, you know the most about runes, see if you can decipher that rune."
While dodging the attacks of the shadowy figure, Qin Yue approached the rune. She carefully observed the rune's patterns and aura, trying to find a way to break it. However, just as she was about to reach the rune, a shadowy figure suddenly attacked her from behind.
"Qin Yue, watch out!" Ling Feng shouted, rushing towards Qin Yue and using his sword to block the shadowy figure's attack. However, this also exposed Ling Feng to the attack range of more shadowy figures, and he suffered several cuts from their sharp blades.
"Ling Feng!" Qin Yue's heart tightened; she knew she couldn't panic at this moment. She concentrated, and based on her research on runes, attempted to activate the smaller runes surrounding the main rune in a specific order.
As she moved, the light from the dark rune began to change, becoming more stable from its flickering state, and gradually dimming. At the same time, the shadowy figures slowed down, and their attacks became much less powerful.
"Keep going, it seems you've found the right method!" Lin Yang was overjoyed to see this and intensified his attack to buy Qin Yue more time.
Qin Yue took a deep breath and continued to decipher the runes. Her forehead was covered in sweat, but her eyes remained incredibly determined. Finally, through her efforts, the dark rune's light completely extinguished.
As the dark runes faded, the light from the entire black array diminished sharply, and the shadowy figures collapsed to the ground, turning into black smoke and dissipating. Peace returned to the cave.
Lin Yang and the others breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew this was only the first step in unraveling the mystery. Behind this mysterious formation lay a far greater secret, perhaps closely related to the conspiracy of that mysterious force. Could they follow this clue, uncover the true face of the mysterious force, and thwart their plot? Everything remained unknown, and their adventure continued.
The group rested briefly in the cave, recovering some of their spiritual energy. Lin Yang walked to the array and carefully examined the runes that had lost their luster. Although the array had been temporarily broken, he knew that this was only the tip of the iceberg of a mysterious force's conspiracy.
“Although this formation has been destroyed, we still don’t know its specific purpose, or what the mysterious force wants to achieve by using it,” Lin Yang said with a frown.
Su Ran nodded in agreement: "That's right. Moreover, judging from the dark power emanating from the shadowy figure, it is similar to the power used by the black-robed man before. This indicates that the mastermind behind it is likely the same force."
Ling Feng wiped the blood off his sword and said, "No matter what, now that we've discovered a clue, we must investigate it thoroughly and not let this mysterious force continue to do evil."
Qin Yue also said, "When I was deciphering the runes, I found that the style of these runes was somewhat similar to those I encountered in the valley before. Perhaps we can start from this aspect and find more clues."
After some discussion, the group decided to continue searching for other clues in the mine. They split up and carefully searched every corner of the cave.
Suddenly, Ling Feng discovered some carvings on a wall in the cave. These carvings looked like some kind of writing, but they were different from the common writing systems used in the cultivation world. Lin Yang and the others quickly gathered around, and Qin Yue carefully studied the carvings.
“These markings must be some kind of ancient script. I’ve seen a similar record in an ancient book before. Let me think…” Qin Yue tried hard to recall the contents of the ancient book.
After a while, Qin Yue's face showed a look of surprise: "I remember now, the meaning of these words is roughly 'Darkness descends, blood is used as a catalyst to open the forbidden gate.' It seems that this formation is related to opening some kind of forbidden gate, and those missing cultivators were likely used as sacrifices."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned extremely grim. If what Qin Yue said was true, then the mysterious force's conspiracy was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
"Open the forbidden gate? What exactly is hidden behind this forbidden gate?" Su Ran asked in confusion.
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Yang said, "Whatever is hidden behind this, it won't be a good thing. We must spread this message as soon as possible so that all sects are on guard. At the same time, we must continue our investigation, find the mysterious force's lair, and completely destroy their conspiracy."
So, everyone left the abandoned mine and headed towards their respective sects. Upon returning to his sect, Lin Yang immediately informed the sect leader and elders of his discovery in the mine. The sect leader, with a grave expression, said, "This matter is of utmost importance. We must immediately contact other sects to discuss a solution."
Soon, the sect leaders and elders of all the major sects gathered at Lin Yang's sect. They sat around in the conference room, the atmosphere serious.
Xuan Fengao spoke first: "According to Lin Yang and the others' findings, the conspiracy of this mysterious force is gradually coming to light. We can no longer sit idly by and wait for our doom; we must unite and take the initiative."
Yanlong nodded and said, "That's right. We can start by investigating the clues of the missing cultivators, and follow the trail to find the hiding place of the mysterious force."
Representatives from other sects also expressed their opinions, and ultimately a consensus was reached to form a joint investigation team, composed of Lin Yang, an elder from the Xuanfeng Sect, a protector from the Yanshen Sect, and elite disciples from several other sects. The joint investigation team's mission was to thoroughly investigate the mysterious force's conspiracy, find the missing cultivators, and destroy the mysterious force's lair.
Lin Yang was well aware of the arduousness of this mission, but he did not flinch in the slightest. He led the joint investigation team and once again embarked on the journey to track down the mysterious force. They first arrived at another town where cultivators had disappeared—Luoyue Town.
Similar to Qingfeng Town, Luoyue Town was desolate. Lin Yang and his companions inquired around the town for clues and learned that strange noises had been frequently heard coming from an abandoned temple behind the town.
"It seems we have a new lead. Let's go check out that abandoned temple," Lin Yang said.
The joint investigation team headed towards the abandoned temple at the back of town. When they arrived, they found the temple doors tightly shut and a gloomy atmosphere permeating the air. The temple walls were covered in moss, and the roof was dilapidated, indicating that it had been abandoned for a long time.
Lin Yang reached out and gently pushed the door open, which creaked open with a jarring sound. Inside, the temple was dark and damp, filled with dust, and a musty smell wafted out.
The group cautiously entered the temple, where they saw a huge statue in the main hall. The statue's face was indistinct, but from its shape, it seemed to be a person dressed in black robes, with his hands raised as if summoning something.
"This statue looks eerie, everyone be careful," Lin Yang whispered.
Just then, two red lights suddenly shone from the statue's eyes, and a powerful force erupted from the statue, causing everyone to stagger back a few steps.
"Something's wrong! There's something strange about this statue!" shouted an elder from the Xuanfeng Sect.
As the statue unleashed its power, the temple floor began to tremble, and cracks appeared in the walls. From all sides of the hall, a group of puppets clad in black armor surged forth. Wielding weapons, the puppets charged towards the crowd.
"Prepare for battle!" Lin Yang shouted, and the Starry Golden Sword shone brightly. The members of the joint investigation team unleashed their respective techniques, engaging in fierce combat with the puppets. A new crisis awaited them, and whether they could find more clues about the mysterious force and successfully thwart its conspiracy remained to be seen. Everything was shrouded in uncertainty.
Lin Yang struck first, unleashing the "Starry Sky-Splitting Slash," a sword aura imbued with the power of stars slashing towards the horde of puppets. Wherever the sword aura passed, the puppets were cleaved in two, reduced to piles of fragments. However, the number of puppets was vast, continuously surging in from all directions.
An elder of the Xuanfeng Sect waved his whisk and unleashed the sect's ultimate technique, "Gentle Breeze Transformation into Shadow." A gentle breeze swirled within the temple, engulfing any approaching puppets. The puppets struggled in the wind but could not break free and were pulverized by it.
The guardian of the Flame God Sect unleashed a burst of flames, which instantly spread, forming a sea of fire that engulfed a large number of puppets. The puppets sizzled in the flames, their black armor melting under the intense heat.
Elite disciples from other sects also displayed their unique abilities, some using ice magic to freeze the puppets, others unleashing powerful attacks with magical artifacts. For a time, the temple was filled with flashing magical light and constant shouts of battle.
During the battle, Lin Yang discovered that although these puppets were numerous, their movements were somewhat sluggish, seemingly restricted by some kind of force. He carefully observed his surroundings, trying to find the source controlling the puppets. Suddenly, he noticed a small runic array at the feet of the statue, the array flashing a faint red light, seemingly closely related to the puppets' movements.
"Everyone, focus your attacks on the runic array at the base of the statue! That might be the key to controlling the puppet!" Lin Yang shouted.
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attacks towards the rune array. The Xuanfeng Sect elder waved his whisk, sending a powerful wind blade slashing towards the array; the Yanshen Sect protector condensed a huge ball of fire and smashed it towards the array; the other disciples also unleashed their strongest spells, and in an instant, the rune array was enveloped by various attacks.
The runic array flickered under the onslaught, seemingly struggling to maintain its operation. Just then, the statue suddenly roared, its red light intensifying. The previously sluggish puppets suddenly accelerated, charging madly towards the group.
"Oh no! The statue is strengthening its control over the puppet! Hold on, everyone!" Lin Yang shouted. He unleashed "Starry Sky Slash" again, sending an even thicker sword aura toward the statue in an attempt to break its control over the puppet.
However, the statue seemed to sense Lin Yang's intention. A flash of red light appeared on its body, and a black barrier appeared in front of it, blocking Lin Yang's sword energy. The sword energy struck the barrier, producing a booming sound, but failed to break through.
By this time, the puppet had already charged in front of the group. The members of the joint investigation team were engaged in a fierce battle, fending off the puppet's attacks while continuing to attack the runic array.
In the midst of the fierce battle, a disciple from the Tianxuan Sect was accidentally struck by a puppet and fell to the ground. The puppet raised its weapon and thrust it fiercely at him. At this critical moment, Lin Yang flashed in front of the disciple, his Starry Golden Sword blocking the puppet's attack.
"Are you alright?" Lin Yang helped his disciple up.
"Thank you, Young Master Lin, I'm fine," the disciple said gratefully.
Looking at the endless stream of puppets, Lin Yang knew that he had to destroy the rune array as soon as possible, or everyone would be in danger. He took a deep breath, channeled his stellar power to its limit, and prepared to unleash his strongest spell.
"Starfall!" Lin Yang shouted, and countless illusory stars suddenly appeared in the sky, falling towards the statue and runic array.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com