Died
On the day of the trial, elders from various factions were present to oversee the proceedings.
The location was set in the valley of Mount Futu. The disciples marched into the mountain in a grand procession, and the roars of demonic beasts echoed through the secluded valley.
After Rong Yan went in, Benben insisted on following him, saying she was afraid his demonic power would leak out.
He had no interest in this trial; whether or not he could enter the inner courtyard of Mount Futu was irrelevant to him.
As for why he participated in this trial, it was because only his spiritual root could suppress his demonic aura.
Since spiritual roots are hard to come by, we must find another way. As long as someone dies at the hands of a demon beast, we can seize the opportunity to obtain a spiritual root.
In this way, he wouldn't get his hands dirty, nor would he have to kill anyone; if he did it discreetly, no one would find out.
What he had to do was secretly identify the people he could target.
The valley was a maze of paths, riddled with man-made traps. Rong Yan concealed himself, disappearing into a tree.
They set their sights on a pair of senior and junior disciples, who were about the same age. They accidentally entered the territory of the lion beast and found themselves surrounded by enemies.
The man was the junior apprentice, and the woman looked older. She fought her way out and kept urging her junior apprentice to escape.
"Senior sister—" The junior brother was unwilling to leave. Seeing his senior sister injured, tears streamed down his face like a flood. He stood frozen in fear.
In this moment, Rong Yan thought of himself. He sighed, leaped to the bottom, and realized that the lion-like beast had a pair of sharp fangs, but its flesh was extremely thin.
The mournful cry was thrown out and pierced into the body of the lion-like beast. The enormous creature collapsed with a crash, raising a cloud of dust.
After the lion beast was killed, the junior brother ran to his senior sister with tears in his eyes, hugged her leg, and anxiously checked whether she was injured.
Senior Sister walked up to Rong Yan, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your help, Fellow Immortal."
Rong Yan hummed in agreement, and after a few brief words, his senior sister subdued the lion-like beast and put it into her pouch in front of her junior brother.
He flew away on his sword, seeking a secluded spot to strike.
This time, it happened under a waterfall, where shouts came from the water, and someone was being dragged into the water.
Several crocodiles with scarlet eyes were lurking in the water, their backs covered in scales as hard as iron.
Water splashed and white waves surged, and two hands kept waving on the surface, trying to find a foothold and climb out of the water.
Crocodiles swim extremely fast, and water is their habitat, which naturally enhances their demonic power.
The person who was dragged into the water was calling for help, and her wet face was floating on the surface of the water. It was Xu Yourong.
What a great opportunity! Rong Yan flew to the shore and watched from the sidelines.
As Xu Youruo struggled back and forth, she saw people on the shore and desperately cried for help, "Junior Brother Rong, save me—"
Rong Yan watched coldly as Benben poked half its head out of the spirit pouch, saying, "This person was always thinking of targeting Master, but now he's scared."
"Junior Brother Rong... I was wrong about what happened before, please save me!" Xu Youruo's body bobbed back and forth in the water, gurgling bubbles coming from her mouth, her body turning white from the water.
Several crocodiles surrounded the man, then sank to the bottom of the water, circling him and opening their jaws, which were full of sharp teeth.
The water was churned and splashed, and blood appeared on the surface.
"Brother—" Rong Yan saw Xu Yourong flying from afar, stood on his sword, plunged into the water, and forcefully pulled the half-dead Xu Youruo up.
The duck that was about to be eaten flew away. Xu Youruo was pulled out of the water, and the dripping blood fell like raindrops onto the churning surface.
Xu Youruo fell into a coma, her body limp at his feet. Xu Yourong glanced at Rong Yan, who was watching from the sidelines, with a complicated expression.
A bark drew their attention as countless winged birds flew across the sky, some thousands of miles long, their wings like clouds hanging from the heavens.
The earth was instantly shrouded in darkness, and the rolling waves carried an intense, almost overwhelming, demonic aura.
These demonic energies were incredibly foul, filled with the aroma of pepper, and also contained an indescribable, intense floral fragrance.
"Oh my god, it stinks!" A complaint came from the spirit pouch. He tightened it to prevent Benben from falling out.
Upon smelling the scent, which was composed of an unknown number of demonic beasts, Rong Yan felt dizzy and his nasal cavity was stinging unbearably.
The monsters came out in full force, as if they were afraid of something, and scattered to escape.
Sensing that something big was about to happen, Rong Yan and Xu Yourong exchanged a glance and then left the place.
They flew to the treetops to escape the relentless beasts chasing them from the ground.
Along the way, demonic beasts kept emerging, and the corpses of cultivators were also discovered.
Amidst the corpses scattered everywhere, he stopped and carefully searched through their dantian, but they all contained low-level spiritual roots, which were completely useless.
When a cultivator dies, their spiritual root does not dissipate on the spot; it can be maintained for a period of time. It can even be removed from the physical body and, through some secret method, achieve a state of perpetual existence.
Faced with the sheer number of corpses, Rong Yan stopped and walked slowly. Benben opened his spirit pouch, jumped to the ground, and joined the search.
Benben is impatient; if he finds something is useless, he immediately discards it.
Many of the dead cultivators were his fellow disciples; even in death, they should be treated well.
All Rong Yan could do was tidy up his clothes and appearance and put the magical artifact back in its place.
"Not a single one is of any use." Benben collapsed to the ground, exhausted, stretching out his legs and unable to straighten his back.
"Come help me dig a hole."
Unable to disobey its master's orders, it clumsily and listlessly got up and frantically dug a hole with its claws.
Benben had been working hard to dig a huge pit, and was just about to sit down and rest when he heard, "Come and give me a hand."
They helped their owner carry the bodies one by one into the pit and then covered them with soil on the spot.
After doing all this, Rong Yan sat down to meditate and recited the Rebirth Mantra.
Benben sensed that the ghostly aura surrounding the tomb had dissipated considerably.
At this moment, the disciples who came to their aid came towards the master and servant.
The disciple guarding Mount Futu, upon seeing Rong Yan, hurriedly asked, "Fellow Immortal, are you injured?"
Both sides bowed to each other, and Rong Yan said, "No, I just passed by here and saw countless fellow immortals perish here. In order to prevent the corpses from being desecrated by demons, I took the liberty of burying them."
The two walked to a spot where the soil had been turned over, and slippery earthworms crawled out of the moist soil.
The disciple guarding the mountain discovered the buried corpse. He closed his eyes, and in his grief, indignation arose: "Born to be heroes, dead to be spirits."
May you all rest in peace.
"May I ask, senior brother, what happened in the valley? Why are these demonic beasts acting like they've gone mad?" Rong Yan asked indirectly.
"Junior brother, you may not know this, but the barrier of the valley has been forcibly torn apart. The demon army has entered the valley and is killing any cultivators they see. This place is not safe to stay for long. Please leave immediately!" The disciple guarding the mountain concealed his grief.
“My senior sister is also in the mountains. I’m worried about her. Once I find her, I’ll take her away immediately.”
The disciple guarding the mountain urged him, "What's your senior sister's name, junior brother? I'll help you find her."
Rong Yan was still pondering where to begin, secretly thinking of attacking from behind. At that moment, the world suddenly changed; a fierce wind arose in the quiet surroundings, and gravel and sand on the ground trembled.
"You fiend, daring to play tricks?!" The mountain-guarding disciple shouted. A man descended from the sky, his eyes gleaming with a wicked smile as he stared at Rong Yan. "Hello, Rong Yan."
"You know me?" Rong Yan asked, puzzled. The mountain-guarding disciple sensed something was amiss. "Junior brother, who is this person?"
Rong Yan was stunned. He could feel the familiar warmth of the other person, but deep down he felt that this person had ill intentions. "No, I don't know him."
"Senior brother, this person is definitely not a good person, let's go quickly!" Rong Yan grabbed the other party.
"Still trying to run?" Yun Shang gave him no chance, his eyebrows furrowing. "We are blood relatives, are you going to turn your back on me?"
A barrier blocked their path. The disciple guarding the mountain stepped half a step away from Rong Yan and asked warily, "What does he mean by that?"
"Could it be that you're in cahoots with them?!" With a whoosh, the sword was drawn and pressed against Rong Yan's body.
"No, I don't know him at all! Senior brother, let me explain!"
“I’m your own uncle. Have you learned to be opportunistic and sycophantic while hiding in the immortal sect?” Yun Shang gradually became dissatisfied.
"Shut up—" Rong Yan was completely flustered. Benben jumped out of the spirit pouch and made things worse. "I already said I don't know you. Can't you understand human language?"
"A demon! It's a demon! How can there be a demon on you?" The mountain-guarding disciple drew his sword to kill him, but Rong Yan, in his haste to explain, lost his composure.
Yun Shang frowned slightly, "So noisy." He then unleashed a burst of demonic energy.
Rong Yan hurriedly stopped him, "Don't kill him—"
Yun Shang then stopped and knocked out the mountain-guarding disciple.
Rong Yan risked the lives of the disciples on the mountain for the sake of the spiritual root within them.
But he was angered by Yun Shang's sudden appearance. "I don't care who you are. It has nothing to do with me," Rong Yan said through gritted teeth.
"These words are too hurtful to your uncle." Yun Shang shook his head and sighed, "It's the first day we met, and I didn't want to be too harsh, but you were instigated by the immortal sects and you've turned your own family against your own. Don't blame your uncle for putting righteousness first and cleaning up the sect."
They immediately attacked with a halberd imbued with demonic power.
Benben transformed into a wolf demon, as tall as a large tree. With a howl, he forced Yun Shang back fifty steps.
Upon hearing this voice, Master Xuantong was absolutely certain it was Benben's. He instructed Song Qingyun to do everything in his power to search for the missing disciple, while he himself followed the trail to find Rong Yan.
Yun Shang laughed in anger. With a flick of his finger, Benben, who had been afflicted by the demonic power, was reduced to the size of a child. He collapsed to the ground in pain, black blood flowing from the corner of his lips, and sobbing with tears.
"Benben! Benben!" The injured Benben was unresponsive, its body stiff.
Overwhelmed with grief, Rong Yan's eyes reddened, his gaze sharp and intense. He slowly rose, tears welling in his eyes.
Just as he was about to take revenge, the unconscious disciple behind him was awakened by Benben's howling.
Yun Shang sensed something was amiss, and of course he couldn't let such a good opportunity slip by. He deliberately restrained Rong Yan, preventing him from noticing.
“Good nephew, your uncle knows you are sad. Don’t worry, after you die, your uncle will give this beast a proper burial and pray that you can continue your master-servant relationship in the next life.”
"Shut up—" Rong Yan couldn't hear anything at this moment.
The disciples guarding the mountain were gradually waking up. Rong Yan had his back to him. He groped around and found the spirit sword beside him, aiming it at Rong Yan's back.
"Watch out behind you—" Yun Shang suddenly shouted.
If it weren't for Benben's dying howl, Blood-Clad Silkworm would never have been able to find Rong Yan. But not only did he hear it, he also rushed over in time.
What I didn't expect was that others would do it before me.
Master Xuantong witnessed the sneak attack from behind. He flashed behind Rong Yan and immediately blocked the sword.
The disciples guarding the mountain were pushed out by the powerful spiritual energy.
Without Yun Shang's warning, he would never have imagined that his master was behind him. He thought that person had taken advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, knowing he was off guard.
Even if he died, he deserved to die, so Rong Yan showed no mercy.
Master Xuantong froze, his gaze shifting downwards. A sharp blade pierced through his chest, its surface gleaming with a sharp edge. The blade, after the flow of spiritual energy, was engraved with the words "crying and grieving."
Blood stained the white robe and the frosty white hair.
"Good disciple, you've been frightened." Even at this moment, Master Xuantong still maintained his last shred of composure, forcing out a bleak smile.
“Master…” Rong Yan’s hands were bright red. He looked at his hands helplessly, speechless.
The sorrowful cry was still inside his master's body. Pulling it out would be tantamount to subjecting his master to a second, agonizing torture, which was too cruel for him to do.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Master Xuantong's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground. Rong Yan hurriedly embraced him, his heart filled with dread.
What should I do? What should I do?
How should he explain this to his senior?
"Wen Weijun, calm down." The Blood-Clad Silkworm flew to his side, spitting out a huge ball of silk to restrain Yun Shang, buying a little more time. "Wen Weijun, hurry, dig out his spiritual root!!"
"What?!"
“He was at the Nascent Soul stage. With his spiritual root removed, Wen Weijun’s secret will never be known again,” Blood-Clad Silkworm said urgently.
The Blood-Clad Silkworm wanted him to dig out his master's spiritual root?
But Master is still alive, so to dig out his spiritual root would be like having his bones scraped off.
How could he do that?
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