Chapter 22 Tempering Spirit and Refining Demon
Shen Rang stammered for a long time, and Jiang Zhishui only understood the last sentence.
He had initially refused to return it because he had lost the ritual implements before.
Lu Cheng listened from the side, his expression not looking too good.
He knew his master was unreliable, but he didn't know he was unreliable to this extent. In front of Jiang Zhishui, he suddenly felt ashamed.
Jiang Zhishui didn't know if he was lying, so she remained silent.
During the conversation, a disciple ran in looking terrified to report.
"Sect Leader, Elder Qin... he's killed someone!"
As soon as they went outside, they saw an old man with white hair wielding a sword and indiscriminately killing disciples. Shen Rang immediately rushed forward to stop him, but the old man laughed maniacally and moved with unpredictable movements. Shen Rang was temporarily suppressed and could only grab a few disciples and retreat first.
With several loud booms, several demons burst through the wall, their hair disheveled and their faces covered with unusually thick veins. They pounced on the nearest disciple, tearing at the living like wild beasts that had gone out of control.
Most of the disciples of the Thousand Machines Sect are ordinary people. They have no cultivation foundation and are just here to get the title of cultivator. They are not usually in the Cold Nether Valley. They will only come occasionally when they are interested to help pay for the repair of the dojo, just to keep a Thousand Machines Sect disciple token.
It was a coincidence that the people who returned today seemed to have all made plans to go to the dojo for basic training. They were just thinking of going out for a nice meal together when this riot broke out.
These disciples had absolutely no ability to protect themselves. Some were so terrified that they stood there dumbfounded, their necks snapped by the attacking demons. Others couldn't even run; their legs trembled as they ran, and they were dragged away by the demons in no time.
One after another, the monsters emerged from within the city walls, and under the command of the white-haired old man, their combat power was far greater than that of ordinary monsters.
Jiang Zhishui was too busy to defend herself. She had just cleaved one of the demons in two when the white-haired old man attacked from behind.
The ear-piercing sound of two swords clashing rang out behind her. Jiang Zhishui turned around and saw Granny Yun holding a sword, blocking the blow for her.
For a fleeting moment, the old man's ferocious face was dazed. Granny Yun pressed down hard on her sword, and the blades met. She ruthlessly slashed his arm, and the old man stepped back, his arm bleeding profusely.
Unlike when Jiang Zhishui first met her, Granny Yun stood straight with her sword in hand, her posture hunched over. She spoke with a strong voice: "Old Qin, if you're crazy, just take a sword and end it all. Killing innocent people like this will surely send you to hell."
Lu Cheng and Shen Rang protected their disciples who were unable to fight back and retreated. Jiang Zhishui was chased by demons. While running, she rescued a few people. After running for a while, she looked around and realized that Jing Qianheng was missing.
Shen Rang deployed a barrier to protect his disciples inside, but the demons continued to charge at the outer perimeter, and the barrier wouldn't last long. Seeing the situation becoming increasingly dire, Shen Rang took out a token from his pocket and lit it, while Lu Cheng and the other disciples used their spiritual power to maintain the barrier.
As the talisman burned out, Elder Bai Cang of the Ziyang Immortal Mansion suddenly jumped up from the bed, slapping his stomach repeatedly with both hands.
The talisman in Shen Rang's hand was connected to a talisman on her side. Once it was burned, it would also be transmitted to her side.
This token was a life-saving token given to Shen Rang by Bai Zang to express his gratitude for helping him when Bai Zang was injured.
It should not be used unless it is a matter of life and death.
Once the command talisman is lit, Hakuzo must arrive at the scene immediately, no matter where he is.
Bai Zang immediately summoned Ying Xue and gathered people to head to the Thousand Machine Sect.
Song An was annoyed by Su You and was about to go out to find Jing Qianheng when he ran into Bai Zang with a group of disciples at the foot of the mountain. Hearing that something had happened at the Thousand Machines Sect, Song An went with them first.
Dozens of swords flashed through the air and arrived at Cold Valley in the blink of an eye.
As soon as the group arrived nearby, they sensed a large amount of demonic energy.
Jiang Zhishui was surrounded by several demons and couldn't spare the time to find Jing Qianheng. Ying Xue arrived on her sword, cleaving a path through which Jiang Zhishui rushed out.
"Senior Sister!"
Along with Ying Xue came many senior brothers and sisters from the Ziyang Immortal Mansion. They were all experts in the Golden Core stage. Jiang Zhishui was about to ask Ying Xue how they knew that something had happened to the Thousand Machines Sect when she looked up and saw Bai Zang perched high on the eaves.
She was shocked, never expecting that this matter would alarm her master, who found even the slightest movement troublesome.
With a group of capable assistants now in place, the situation is somewhat under control.
Granny Yun and Old Man Qin were locked in a fierce battle, and no one else could intervene.
Everyone was astonished. The Thousand Machines Sect had long been forgotten by the immortal sects and was not even qualified to participate in the Immortal Alliance Conference. It had been silent for many years, yet there was someone with such a high level of cultivation within the sect.
Judging from the old woman's attire—coarse linen clothes, sleeves rolled up—she looked exactly like a domestic servant. Despite her ordinary appearance, the sword intent she wielded was incredibly fierce, her moves swift and deadly; it was a level of skill far beyond what one would expect from someone with such an aged appearance.
During the fight, Jiang Zhishui saw a familiar figure. She recognized him as Pei Jing, the young master of the Demon Clan, whom she had met in Qiyun City.
Realizing that Jing Qianheng had disappeared and Pei Jing had suddenly reappeared, there must be some conspiracy involved. Jiang Zhishui quickly gave chase.
The barrier erected by Shen Rang was shattered by more than a dozen demons. As the demons attacked in swarm, Bai Zang descended from the sky and instantly erected another solid barrier with her spiritual power.
The demons rushed over, trembling from the lightning strikes on the barrier.
Bai Cang landed in front of Shen Rang. She was dressed in a blue robe with a red dot on her forehead. Her light blue pupils were clear and serene. When she turned her head, she looked like a delicate doll, with a cold and lifeless aura on her face, unlike a living person.
When Shen Rang saw her again, his heart tightened instantly, just like when he first met her. He stared at her intently, his voice hoarse: "You've come."
Bai Cang slowly walked towards him, her expression calm. When she got close, she suddenly grabbed his collar. "Didn't I tell you that you can only use this talisman when you're about to die? You're perfectly healthy, you haven't even coughed up blood, do you really need to use this life-saving talisman now?!"
Shen Rang was being choked so badly he could hardly breathe. He retorted, "If you had come any later, I would have died."
Bai Zang pushed him away, looked at the demons outside the barrier, and said irritably, "It's been many years, and you've really made something of yourself, you can even refine demons now?"
Lu Cheng helped Chen Rang up, and said angrily, "Elder Bai, why is your temper still the same..."
"Ugh!" Before he could finish speaking, Shen Rang quickly covered Lu Cheng's mouth.
Bai Zang glanced at Lu Cheng, who swallowed hard and reached out to cover his mouth even more tightly with Shen Rang's hand.
“It wasn’t me…” Shen Rang walked to Bai Zang’s side and whispered, “I didn’t do these things.”
Bai Cang glanced around. A dozen or so disciples dressed in Thousand Machines Sect robes huddled together, their faces filled with fear and their bodies trembling. She looked at the demons outside, who were desperately smashing the barrier and baring their teeth, trying to break in. "They tried to convert the demons' spiritual power using a spirit-tempering artifact, but the conversion failed. As a result, they accidentally stimulated the potential within the demons, causing them to lose their minds and only have the impulse to kill and destroy themselves, turning them into these useless monsters."
Shen Rang's expression was serious. "I think it's also a spirit-tempering weapon."
Bai Zang calmly said, "Let's hold on a little longer; they'll run out of strength soon."
Under Song An's leadership, the disciples of Ziyang Immortal Mansion also tried to trap the demons and make them consume their energy as soon as possible.
Jiang Zhishui chased Pei Jing through the silent forest. When they reached a grassland, Jiang Zhishui crossed the grass, startling countless fireflies, which flew around in the dark night, their golden light shimmering and shining, creating an extremely dreamlike scene.
Pei Jing emerged from the light and laughed, "You've been chasing after me like this because you miss me?"
Jiang Zhishui gripped the hilt of her sword and calmly asked, "Where is Jing Qianheng? What did you do to him?"
Pei Jing's face turned cold. "Kill him."
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