Chapter 117 Hongqi Forbidden Land: Before Midnight
Suddenly, the figures in sight vanished, leaving the cultivators in the main hall astonished.
Where did they go? Where are they?
After a moment of surprise, the cultivators calmed down. Perhaps the young friends from Dingsheng Sect were in a hurry to find their fellow disciples outside the celebration venue. Just now, the young ancestor of Dingsheng Sect hadn't stopped for a moment. Given his anxious appearance, it was only natural that he had vanished in an instant.
The crowd blocking the entrance to the main hall dispersed, and the disciples of Hongqi Sect were finally able to pass through. Several groups of people hurriedly rushed into the night, searching for news of the vanished person.
Despite the unexpected turn of events, Chongjue remained calm as he stood in the main hall, listening to the whispered reports from his disciples.
"The disciple guarding Queli County just reported that the Eastern Continent True Person of Dingsheng Sect was leading the rest of Dingsheng Sect disciples on a stroll when they suddenly disappeared into the streets and their whereabouts are now unknown."
Another disciple interjected, speaking quickly and urgently: "Qingzhou disciples have delivered an urgent message: Venerable Hongyan suddenly left the secret realm and vanished in an instant. The direction he looked in before disappearing was our sect."
“Donglu… Hongyan…” Chongjue murmured softly. It wasn’t hard to deduce that the two of them must have made contact. Donglu was even able to send Hongyan to provide support.
The disciple relaying the news from Que Li County continued to report: "After the beast-slaying battle a few days ago, the people of Que Li County have a particularly high regard for the Ding Sheng Sect. I went to inquire and heard that the people of the county witnessed firsthand that the demonic cultivator leader who caused the beast tide was actually killed by the young ancestor Ji of the Ding Sheng Sect."
Chongjue's expression hardened: "Is this true?"
Meng Yingyang, who had been standing indifferently with his hands hanging down to the side, also came to his senses and looked up.
The leader of the demonic cultivators. Their Hongqi Sect has been relentlessly eliminating the fleeing remnants of the demonic cultivators these past few days, and has already ascertained that the leader of this demonic cultivator group is nearly at the Mahayana stage. How could he possibly have fallen to Ji Mingran?
Chongjue chuckled softly, "So that's how it is, that's how it is."
He ordered, "Pass down the order: the disciples of Hongqi Sect must find the four disciples from Dingsheng Sect who are participating in the examination, especially Ji Mingran. What our sect is looking for must be hidden in her hands!"
A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator was able to defeat a cultivator nearing the Mahayana stage, and an unknown, mediocre person became the top of the Elite Ranking.
Ji Mingran disappeared, Dong Lu disappeared, and Hong Yan arrived.
All signs indicate that the Spirit Stone is in Ji Mingran's possession.
No wonder the group of people were jostling and covering for each other just now; they were trying to take advantage of the chaos to help Ji Mingran escape smoothly.
"No matter where they hide, their direction is nothing more than Dingsheng Sect. Have the First Elder and the Third Elder go to Yuanzhou immediately and guard Dingsheng Sect."
"Also, inform the other elders to lead teams to search for the whereabouts of the Eastern Continent in various prefectures. They haven't gone far and haven't left the territory of the Hongqi Sect yet. We must find them even if we have to dig three feet into the ground!"
“But Venerable Hongyan…” Fu Rong, the second elder of Hongqi Sect, said with concern.
"Let me have a go at him." Venerable Chongjue maintained a pleasant expression throughout, and after speaking, he vanished in an instant.
The Beast Taming Sect's Master Hexiu arrived. "Eh, where is Venerable Chongjue going? I want to discuss important matters with him." The so-called important matters were none other than the matter of the Qilin beast.
Fu Rong smiled and said, "The celebration is complicated, so the sect leader has gone to handle it. If you don't mind, you might as well tell me about the important matter that True Immortal He Xiu mentioned."
The Second Elder of Hongqi Sect, Fu Rong, naturally took over the duties of Venerable Chongjue and presided over the affairs of the inner venue of the celebration. He Xiu Zhenren and other allied cultivators exchanged pleasantries.
The main hall was filled with a peaceful atmosphere.
The rest of Hongqi Sect was solemn and subdued, with figures flying on swords swiftly moving up and down the ground, patrolling various areas within the sect.
Five sword energies shot out across the sky, and the disciples of Hongqi Sect jumped off their swords, scouring the dense forest inch by inch, sensing the aura within.
"I didn't sense anyone else." As the voice fell, a clanging sound of chains rang out.
Another disciple of the Hongqi Sect hurried ahead, saying, "The sect leader has ordered that this evil spirit be banished to the forbidden area. Let's go, we must go quickly."
"Is it him?" one person said in a trembling voice, "The culprit who caused the people of various counties to suffer for no reason, the demonic cultivator who suddenly released a large number of evil spirits from the secret realm."
“Not bad.” The Hongqi Sect disciple walking in front said, “I don’t know which powerful figure defeated him, but his fleeing remnant soul mistakenly entered our sword formation and was captured by us.”
“But, but since he is a demonic cultivator, why not just throw him into the abyss in one fell swoop? I always feel scared of that forbidden area, and I really don’t want to think about the consequences if the suppressed demons escape.” As he spoke, the disciple kept rubbing his arms and looked around in a panic.
"What's there to be afraid of?" a disciple scoffed. "Sealing techniques aren't so easily broken. Besides, the sect leader and all the elders are here. What do you have to be afraid of?"
"But..." The cautious disciple still hesitated.
"The demons are involved, which can both rid the people of harm and maintain the operation of the sect. What a wonderful thing!" The bold disciple said, "Don't be looking around here."
"Alright, stop arguing." The Hongqi Sect disciple leading the way spoke up, "We must quickly release this demonic cultivator's remnant soul. The sect leader said that after midnight tonight, the forbidden area will be sealed off to digest and devour the demonic soul. If we miss this opportunity, we'll have to wait two months."
Dragging the hazy, black aura emanating from the chained figure, the five walked into the dense forest.
None of them realized that there were more than five people walking together.
Ji Mingran followed behind them, holding a wooden die, lost in thought.
This mysterious artifact, known as the "Mysterious Trace of Heaven and Earth," allows one to be placed in different spaces, making it an excellent treasure for concealing one's tracks.
So even though she was standing right next to these Hongqi Sect disciples, listening intently to their discussion, they were completely unaware of her presence.
Within another space created by the magical artifact, she could see and hear them, but they could not perceive her.
Even with all the elders of the Hongqi Sect present, it was difficult for them to see or discover her hiding in another secret space.
This was extremely convenient. Ji Mingran grinned as he absorbed the spiritual energy from the wooden dice and followed behind the disciples.
The forbidden area of the Hongqi Sect, and according to them, it will be sealed off after midnight tonight, which means that no one will go there anymore.
She hid there waiting for Senior Brother Sanyang to come to her aid, which was just right.
The Spirit Stone was in her hands. Donglu had long realized that Venerable Chongjue was inexplicably determined to obtain this item, and that if Dingsheng Sect won first place, it would become the target of everyone's envy.
They were unwilling to get entangled with Hongqizong, but Venerable Chongjue stopped them, forcing them to change their plans.
Donglu led his disciples away, attracting the attention of Venerable Chongjue and others.
Shen Qingluo, Zhu Shibai, and Guan Wangzhen then split up to disperse and harass the Hongqi Sect disciples who were tracking them.
She received help from both Qin Danniang and Shi Jinle. The former was thin and had a similar cultivation level to her. After taking the Disguise Pill, she impersonated Qin Danniang almost perfectly. Shi Jinle further used illusion magic to conceal her identity.
Fu Daolan and Shao Qingshang simply used their bodies to shield themselves.
The cultivators assumed that the person surrounded by people and walking towards the main hall entrance was her. No one noticed that she had already left the main hall alone. The voice the cultivators heard came from the sect jade pendant worn by Guan Wangzhen at her waist.
Hong Qizong and the others had no idea that the person they were searching for so desperately was walking brazenly within their sect.
"We'll continue as planned, Grandma, please be careful," came Zhu Shibai's instructions from the sect's jade tablet.
"Don't worry, I may not have much else, but I have a lot of high-level spiritual artifacts. They won't be able to find my trail. But you guys should be careful," Ji Mingran said.
Shen Qinglu said, "I will send Dan Niang and Jin Le to meet up with Senior Sister Dong Lu and then come back. They will head towards the sect to keep the Hongqi Sect elders at bay."
“Shibai and I will circle around here a few times and make some noise. We’ll come to meet you later. Hang in there!” Guan Wangzhen said.
The five disciples of Hongqi Sect went to an increasingly secluded place, sensing the complex and intertwined spiritual energy fluctuations. Ji Mingran said in a low voice, "Good."
She put away her sect's jade token and stopped with the disciples of Hongqi Sect.
The Hongqi Sect disciple suddenly turned around, and Ji Mingran's figure vanished in an instant.
A sharp spell was instantly unleashed, piercing through where she had been standing and striking the stone wall.
Bang! The stone wall turned to ashes.
"What's wrong?" one disciple asked nervously, while the other three disciples stood back to back with serious expressions, protecting the demonic cultivator's soul in the middle.
The leading disciple stared at the air in front of the stone wall for a long time, frowning, and said, "Perhaps I misunderstood the message sent by the spell."
The other four disciples exhaled, their expressions visibly relaxing.
Ji Mingran raised his eyebrows, his clear eyes looking at the disciple with great interest.
Was it a spell cast upon her that discovered this forbidden area?
In the contest between the wooden dice and the magic of this forbidden land, the former emerged victorious.
She noticed the disciples' movements first, spun the dice in her hand, switched the secret realm space she was in, and moved behind the disciples.
The technique did not give the disciple any further hints.
The five disciples gathered together, carefully examined their surroundings once more, and then took out various spiritual artifacts to probe the area before their expressions finally relaxed.
"Come on." The leading disciple took out an exquisitely carved jade token.
Ji Mingran approached for a closer look and recognized that it was not the sect jade pendant of the Hongqi Sect.
The other four disciples also took out tokens of the same design. The five of them held the tokens, made hand seals, and streams of spiritual energy emanated from the five people gathered together.
The surrounding trees trembled even without wind.
As the powerful pressure descended, Ji Mingran felt as if his internal organs were being crushed, and his breathing became labored.
The jade ring on her neck, hidden beneath her clothes, felt cool and soothing, dissolving any overwhelming pressure.
Ji Mingran picked up the exquisite brocade pouch, reached inside, and grasped the spirit stone.
The turbulent sea of consciousness calmed down in an instant.
Once his body returned to normal, Ji Mingran focused intently on the five Hongqi Sect disciples who had performed the spell.
Hong Qizong's technique was not a targeted attack; only those holding the token were unaffected.
She nearly met with disaster because she didn't have the token, but with the blessing of the Spirit Ring and the Spirit Stone, the Hongqi Sect's spell did not harm her.
Streams of spiritual energy overlapped around the five Hongqi Sect disciples, causing the space where they stood to shift and distort, deforming their figures along with them.
Ji Mingran carefully kept his distance from them, trying to get as close as possible to make it easier to follow them into the other secret area that was about to appear.
However, another sharp, piercing sound pierced the air.
"Wow!" The dark green leaves of the bushes ahead were stained with mottled blood.
"Who's there!"
The five disciples of Hongqi Sect concentrated on their magic, closed their eyes and remained still, their voices emanating from the side.
Ji Mingran's gaze immediately turned to the place where the sound had first come from.
A tuft of yellow hair flew past as the dense bushes, splattered with blood, rustled through the air.
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