Chapter 260 Attack
'Sword intent takes form!'
Master Zhengyang's eyes were full of admiration, and the gloom in his heart about the many outstanding disciples who had died in the secret realm dissipated a little.
"You're quite good. At your age, Qiu Bai has only grasped the essence of swordsmanship; he's still far from achieving the physical manifestation of that essence."
Li Haoran's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly.
"Ancestor, you flatter me. My sword intent is still very immature and has barely taken shape. I still have much to learn from my master on the path of cultivation."
His tone was indifferent, as if the manifestation of sword intent was just a trivial matter.
"Good, remain calm and composed; this is the attitude a cultivator should have!"
Beyond one peak, another appears; only by maintaining humility can one go further.
Master Zhengyang was even more satisfied. He knew that countless cultivators would become complacent after achieving a little success, and then relax their pursuit of higher realms, wasting their time.
The path to enlightenment is endless, and the pursuit of knowledge must never cease.
Even if one can never reach the end of the path to immortality, one's heart toward the Dao must still be stronger than gold and stone.
Putting aside other matters, those at the Nascent Soul stage or above may be able to reincarnate and start anew.
Lin Jiuxiao and Zhu Xiangrong exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes.
The Golden Spirit Sect is not a sword cultivation sect. If a Golden Core sword cultivation ancestor is born in the future, he will surely be able to establish a more systematic sword cultivation lineage.
Instead of the small lineage of only a few people from Yingyue Peak as it is now.
To put it bluntly, with such a small number of people, the tradition might be lost one day.
With a slight flick of his wrist, Master Zhengyang grabbed the black bottle from Li Haoran's hand. After probing it with his divine sense, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and his expression turned gloomy.
"Take a look, can you recognize what this thing is?"
As he spoke, he tossed the jade bottle into Lin Jiuxiao's hands.
Lin Jiuxiao took the bottle and cautiously probed it with his divine sense.
Since Junior Nephew Li said that the culprit inside is the source of the monster rampage, we must be wary.
Inside the bottle was a white, semi-transparent, soft-bodied creature.
Its flat body has black spots on its back, resembling the pattern of a demon.
It has no eyes or other organs, but extends outwards countless fine, hair-like black tentacles.
This strange thing was able to devour his consciousness, which terrified him.
"Could this be a Gu worm?"
He recalled the records about Gu insects. When the Jinling Sect first migrated to the Western Continent, there were still some indigenous tribes who were skilled at raising poisonous insects to refine Gu.
Among them, the most mysterious and bizarre is the Soul Gu, which controls the consciousness of cultivators.
It is rumored that the Soul Gu can devour divine consciousness, eventually completely merging with and replacing the cultivator's consciousness.
A cultivator afflicted with a Soul Gu is no longer the same cultivator; their behavior and thoughts will change, and they will be controlled by the owner of the Soul Gu.
"It is indeed the Soul-Devouring Gu, likely a remnant of the indigenous people from back then."
Master Zhengyang nodded slightly. He had personally experienced the war to exterminate the natives and had a deep understanding of these methods.
He had a pretty good idea of what had happened in the secret realm.
"Haoran, tell me how you discovered this Gu worm."
To verify my thoughts, I should ask those who experienced the events firsthand.
Li Haoran began to recount his discovery: "When I confirmed that the Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts in the secret realm were no match for my sword, I set off for one of the forbidden areas."
His sword intent was unable to reach the stage of physical transformation, so he conceived the idea of entering the forbidden area to find more powerful demonic beasts to hone his sword intent.
I used to spar with my master, and although the process was thrilling, my master never showed any killing intent, so I always felt that I was lacking something.
Only through the tempering of fire can true gold be refined.
His sword escape technique is in no way inferior to that of an ordinary Chaoyuan-stage demon beast, which is why he dares to enter the forbidden area.
Honing one's sword intent is very important, but to engage in life-or-death trials without any preparation is not courage but foolishness.
"When I was surveying the outskirts of the forbidden area, I discovered that two rogue cultivators were also lingering nearby, so I followed them for a while."
I discovered that they lit an unknown spiritual plant, which caused the monsters within a radius of dozens of miles to go berserk, and even monsters in the Chaoyuan stage were lured out.
Finally, I discovered that these two rogue cultivators were deliberately luring demonic beasts to the area designated by the sect, so I killed them.
After the two died, the Gu worms even tried to control me with illusions, but I killed one and captured the other. I originally thought these two were just isolated cases and didn't pay much attention to them.
It was only later that they discovered many rogue cultivators had been controlled by Gu worms, ultimately leading to the tragedy.
After listening to the account, Master Zhengyang reconstructed the facts in his mind.
The hidden enemy was very familiar with the affairs of the secret realm and had made preparations long ago, controlling a large number of rogue cultivators.
This method of controlling people with soul worms is very covert. Only a Golden Core cultivator can detect the slight disharmony between the controlled cultivator's soul and body.
Just then, a roar full of surprise rang out, and a demon wolf about two zhang long with snow-white fur flew out from the exit of the secret realm.
It has two enormous heads, one spewing blue flames and the other spewing white icy breath.
The sound was deafening; it hadn't tasted the delicious flesh and blood of a cultivator for many years.
It had a great time eating, and it wants to catch more to store and eat slowly.
After seeing the cultivators disappear into a curtain of light, it hesitated for a long time before deciding to chase after them.
Upon arriving in this land, it immediately felt the restraint on its body suddenly disappear, and it also saw a large amount of delicious food.
"That Yuan-stage demonic beast has escaped!"
One of the disciples let out a low growl, his voice tinged with lingering fear.
This mutated two-headed wolf is the one that has slaughtered the most cultivators.
Any cultivator hit by the icy aura would immediately stiffen and then be easily swallowed up.
The icy aura has a wide range and high speed. Even if you are not directly hit, but are only swept by the aftershocks, the icy power can still have an effect, slowing down the cultivator's movements and reaction speed.
"furious!"
With Master Nanshan's angry shout, a flash of golden light appeared, and the arrogant cries of the demonic beast abruptly ceased.
Then the monster split in two, spraying blood out, which looked like a scarlet and bewitching flower blooming in the air.
The Chaoyuan stage demon beasts that wreaked havoc in the secret realm were no match for even a Golden Core cultivator.
"Fellow Daoists, I'll gladly accept this demon core from the monster."
Master Nanshan shouted, ordering the Chaoyuan stage disciples behind him to fetch the demon core.
Master Zhengyang paid no attention to the demon beast's inner core. He took the jade bottle that sealed the Gu worms and said to Li Haoran:
"Come with me, and tell the other fellow Daoists everything you just said."
The reappearance of the indigenous remnants is no small matter. The three sects must advance and retreat together, and such intelligence should naturally be shared.
There is another very important matter that needs to be discussed: the support from Zhongzhou has been delayed, and a plan needs to be devised for how the Mingfeng Mountain defense line should respond.
At midnight, the Wuji Hall on Chaoyang Peak was brightly lit.
The twenty-odd Chaoyuan stage cultivators who remained at the sect were all present, discussing in hushed tones.
"The Ancestor has summoned us urgently. What has happened? Has a huge crisis struck Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City?"
Just over an hour ago, they had finished a meeting in this hall and assigned tasks for the next phase.
"Very likely."
The cultivators' expressions turned serious, and there was a sense that a storm was brewing, making the air seem heavy.
Chu Huaige remained silent. He knew very well why he had summoned everyone again, but the matter was too big, as if a huge boulder weighed on his heart.
He knew that the world was about to change in the West.
The war has reached a critical turning point, and the original plans may have to be completely scrapped and started over.
Master Zhengyang stepped into the main hall, his footsteps heavy, like drums beating in the hearts of all the cultivators.
"We just received news that Qingxu Zhenren of Luofeng Valley was attacked by demon cultivators on his way back to the sect from the entrance of the secret realm. He was seriously injured when he returned to the sect."
None of the disciples who accompanied him survived.
Luofeng Valley used a teleportation array to send the message to Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City, and then Master Yuxiao relayed the message back.
Master Zhengyang was well aware of the potential impact of this incident. Master Qingxu was already nearing the end of his life, and with such severe injuries, he was likely to die soon.
The message that came back said that the attacker was a demon cultivator at the eighth or ninth level of the Golden Core stage, whose demon body was a blue dragon, skilled in water manipulation and magic, and contained a deadly poison.
The battle in Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City appeared intense, but although some cultivators at the Chaoyuan stage were injured, none died.
Although he tried his best to remain calm, his words still stirred up a huge wave in the hearts of the cultivators.
"How is that possible?"
One cultivator exclaimed in shock that none of his disciples had survived, a devastating blow to the legacy of Falling Maple Valley.
The fact that a Golden Core stage demon cultivator had infiltrated the heartland of humanity was a sword hanging over the heads of all cultivators, who knew that misfortune might befall them at any moment.
As long as this sharp blade exists, no cultivator can find peace, just as dark clouds press down on the sky of the Western Continent.
We must identify the hidden enemy before we can discuss the next steps.
But what means do the three sects have to counter an enemy capable of severely injuring a Golden Core cultivator?
There is no possibility of annihilation unless all Golden Core warriors return.
Lin Jiuxiao said in a deep voice:
"Ancestor, what should we do next?"
The impact of this attack was not only on the number of casualties, but also on the morale of the troops.
The worst-case scenario is that the enemy will remain hidden and launch another attack when no one is looking.
From now on, which cultivator will not be filled with apprehension when carrying out missions?
The patriarch of Falling Maple Valley was defeated, and other cultivators were targeted and killed one by one.
Everyone looked at Master Zhengyang, whose decision involved the lives of many cultivators.
"I will travel to Mingfeng Mountain via the teleportation array, and fellow Golden Core cultivators from other sects will also be going together."
This meeting will determine the future of the West.
After I left, the sect's protective array increased its defensive strength and temporarily reduced the patrol range of the Enforcement Hall.
Before I leave, I will awaken the sect's guardian spirit beast, the Fire Tortoise, to ensure the sect's safety.
Upon hearing his arrangement, all the cultivators showed expressions of surprise and delight.
A creature that can be called a guardian beast of the mountain must undoubtedly be a Golden Core stage spirit beast.
The appearance of Ancestor Yan a few days ago made all the cultivators rejoice. They never expected that the sect would have such a hidden strength!
(End of this chapter)
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