fog
Wen Zheng stood beside the injured disciple, her hands constantly releasing talismans that stuck to the demon general's body, exploding and burning.
Finally seeing a group of people arrive, she assumed they were there to help, so she threw out even more talismans. Seeing the group standing there in a daze, she urged, "Go help them."
Are you all just standing there dumbfounded and not helping out, trying to create a lively atmosphere?
The elders, who were pondering why the demon general had been resurrected, immediately snapped out of their daze upon hearing the call for help and drew their weapons to attack the demon general.
With the help of a group of people, Mu Qing quickly dealt with the demon general. Only then did he stop and look at everyone: "You've finally arrived."
An elder of the Qingchen Sect asked, "Is Immortal Venerable Mu waiting for us?"
He spoke much more politely than before, treating Mu Qing as an equal.
"Hmm," Mu Qing responded coldly, explaining, "I noticed something was wrong with the Changsheng Sect. I sent messages to people within the sect, but no one came for a long time. Moreover, I discovered that the Changsheng Sect has been arresting disciples from other sects."
"Really?" asked the Qingchen Sect elder.
Almost without asking any further questions, everyone present believed Mu Qing's words.
A genius who has reached the Nascent Soul stage at the age of three hundred is a rare existence in the immortal sects. He has unlimited potential for the future, so there is no need for him to frame a small sect.
Mu Qing hummed in agreement and summoned an elder from the Medicine Immortal Valley, saying, "Those disciples have all been poisoned by the Soul Separation Powder. One of the Medicine Immortal Valley disciples said that one of the antidotes is only available in the Medicine Immortal Valley."
He pointed to the disciples sitting on the ground, their eyes glazed over. When the demon general attacked, they couldn't run fast, and many of them were injured.
"Alright, I'll go take a look." The elder from Medicine Immortal Valley walked to her disciple's side and reached out to examine the area. After a moment, she withdrew her hand with a grim expression and nodded to the crowd.
The poison known as Soul-Separating Powder has long been extinct because its production process is complicated and requires numerous ingredients, and its recipe has been lost to history. It is said that one of the ingredients in Soul-Separating Powder is human bone.
After the elders of Medicine Immortal Valley finished explaining the situation regarding the Soul-Separating Powder, everyone else quieted down.
Even major sects might not have seen this kind of poison before, so why would the Longevity Sect use it on disciples of other sects? What is their purpose?
Didn't Immortal Venerable Mu discover something amiss? Will he know?
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, Mu Qing stepped forward and said, "I don't know the purpose of the Longevity Sect. It was just a coincidence that I was able to discover the anomaly."
After saying that, he added, "You'd probably have to ask the leader of the Longevity Sect to find out why he's capturing so many disciples with good aptitude and talent."
As he mentioned innate talent and physical attributes, everyone present glanced at the captured disciples and felt a chill run down their spines.
They seem to have discovered something extraordinary.
The scene fell silent immediately, and no one dared to utter the first word.
After a long silence, Wen Zheng stepped forward and asked the question she had been wanting to ask: "Did no one notice anything unusual about your disciple's disappearance?"
So many inner disciples were arrested, don't these people have brains?
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. One of the elders explained, "I received a message from my disciple just two days ago, saying that he is currently training in Zhongzhou and will not be able to return for the time being."
His disciple, one of those captured by the Changsheng Sect, turned his head upon hearing this and said, "I was locked up in the dungeon just two days ago, how could I possibly send a message to you, Master?"
The elder was surprised: "The message in my communication jade slip is still there. If you don't believe me, look for yourself." He took out the communication jade slip, which said that this disciple was traveling with people from the Thousand Saints Palace and that he was going to the Thousand Saints Palace for further study.
The Qingchen Sect elder's brow twitched after reading the message. He took out his own communication jade slip, which contained the same message.
Others who received similar messages produced evidence to prove that they were not uncaring about their disciples and that they had indeed received the messages.
After reviewing the messages in their hands, Wen Zheng asked, "Didn't any of you verify their authenticity?"
If even one person had verified the authenticity of the information, the Changshengmen sect wouldn't have been able to keep deceiving people until now.
The scene fell silent again. An elder hiding in the crowd whispered, "Who would have thought that a villain could use the Thousand Saints Palace as a gimmick to deceive people?"
Others echoed his words, all saying that the Changsheng Sect was despicable.
Seeing the completely indifferent attitude of these people, Wen Zheng sighed. Was it possible that Qian Sheng Palace was really the mastermind behind it all, just hiding it well?
Mu Qing noticed her sigh and turned to look at her, asking, "Are you tired?"
Wen Zheng nodded: "I'm a little tired."
Mu Qing took a stool from her storage bag and had her sit down to rest. Then she interrupted everyone, saying, "Everyone, now is not the time to talk about this. The one who tied the knot must untie it. If you want to know everything, you have to ask Xu Ximing, the leader of the Changsheng Sect."
"Yes." The others responded and left the back mountain to find Xu Ximing, who was being held back.
After Mu Qing and the others left, he went to see the demon general lying to the side. He recognized the demon general; he had personally killed him years ago. Why was he here?
He didn't realize he had asked the question aloud; he was still pondering the resurrection of the demon general.
After resting for a while, Wen Zheng walked to his side and looked down to see a monster that was completely black and had very little hair on its head.
"Are these members of the demon race?"
They really don't look human.
“Not human.” Mu Qing examined the demon general’s corpse from all sides and found a sword mark on it that looked very familiar.
Seeing him looking down, Wen Zheng leaned closer and said, "Isn't this the cut made by Elder Jianfeng's sword?"
The two exchanged a glance and guessed that the Demon General was probably brought over by the sect leader and the Sword Peak Elder together.
"But how did the Demon General suddenly come back to life? That's strange," Mu Qing asked.
This was the thing he couldn't understand the most: the Demon General was already dead, and had been buried on Aoxue Peak for many years, long since turned into an ice sculpture.
“It is indeed strange, but when I attacked him with the talisman just now, he seemed to be impervious to pain,” Wen Zheng said.
She threw out so many fire talismans, but the opponent didn't retreat an inch.
"Never mind that for now." Mu Qing took out a new storage bag, put the demon general's corpse inside, and went with Wen Zheng to find Xu Ximing.
When they arrived, Xu Ximing was being beaten by elders from other sects. His face was unrecognizable, and his clothes were covered in dust.
"Xu Ximing, what exactly do you want to do by arresting so many disciples?" an elder asked.
"Hmph." Xu Ximing snorted disdainfully, the mirror in his hand emitting a strange purple glow that made it impossible for people to open their eyes.
Without saying a word, the mirror in his hand transformed into a thousand identical small mirrors, which landed in front of everyone. Caught off guard, the others were drawn by the light of the mirrors and plunged into them.
When Mu Qing and Wen Zheng rushed over and saw Xu Ximing use the mirror to make everyone disappear, their expressions changed. They summoned their longswords and slashed at the mirror, causing a crack in the surface. The mirror quickly returned to Xu Ximing's hand.
Xu Ximing reached out and grabbed the mirror that had flown back, touching the cracks on it with a pained expression.
The mirror is his natal magic weapon, closely related to his cultivation level. If it is damaged, it will have a great impact on him.
“It’s you again,” Xu Ximing raised his eyes, his bloodshot pupils sweeping over the two men, the madness in his eyes shocking them.
"Mu Qing, Wen Zheng, you two should have died long ago, yet you're still alive. You're really tough."
Xu Ximing sighed, and the mirror in his hand rushed towards the two of them. The soft purple glow on the mirror surface turned into a blood-red glow that made people's hearts race.
Having witnessed the mirror's previous attacks on others, Mu Qing was already on guard. She drew her sword to meet the attack, and the blade once again left a crack on the mirror's surface.
This time, however, the mirror did not fly back. Instead, it stood there upright, and red mist slowly poured out from the two cracks, spreading around their feet. The surrounding scenery and Xu Ximing gradually disappeared before their eyes.
The two quickly retreated to a safe position. The red mist, like a winding, twisting snake, climbed up their calves and then turned into viscous water waves that lapped at them.
"What is this? It's disgusting." Wen Zheng lifted her foot, her face full of disgust.
It was clearly fog, but I felt like I was stuck in a swamp, with the fog on my feet like stubborn mud that I couldn't shake off.
"Never seen this before, be careful." Mu Qing held a sword in her hand, her ears constantly listening to the sounds around her.
The surroundings were quiet, as if only the two of them remained. Apart from each other's breathing, not even the sound of birds could be heard.
Mu Qing walked a hundred meters into the fog, but all he could see was darkness. The fog seemed to be dragging his feet, preventing him from going any further. When he felt the pulling force on his feet getting stronger, he turned around and slowly walked back.
"This fog seems to be trying to trap us here," Mu Qing said, explaining how the fog was preventing him from moving.
Wen Zheng listened and pondered for a moment, then half-squatted down and scooped up a handful of mist with her hands. The red mist slipped through her fingers like water, falling to the ground and disappearing.
"This stuff looks like mist, but it feels like water when you hold it in your hand. It's really strange." Wen Zheng spread her fingers, and the sticky mist slid down between her fingers.
Mu Qing's breath hitched. He walked to her side, took her hand to examine it, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her ten fingers were slender and delicate and not black or red. "We still don't know what the fog is, so don't touch it with your hands."
Wen Zheng patted his shoulder reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, we're fine standing in the fog. This fog shouldn't be meant to hurt people."
It's like a trap, designed to trap them to death.
"That should be it," Mu Qing replied. "Xu Ximing wants to trap us so he can deal with the elders of other sects."
With so many people, it will probably take Xu Ximing some effort to deal with them.
Wen Zheng lowered her head, carefully observing the flow of the mist. Seeing that it all seemed to be flowing in one direction, she walked over out of curiosity. The further she walked, the faster the mist flowed beneath her feet, and she was almost pushed to a strangely shaped, withered tree.
The tree was already rotten, its whole body black, and all the leaves on the top of the tree had fallen off, leaving only bare branches twisted overhead. There was a large hole in the tree, and the hole was constantly sucking in red mist.
"Mu Qing, come and look." Wen Zheng beckoned Mu Qing over from behind, and the two of them huddled together to look at the large hole that had appeared in the withered tree.
Wen Zheng stared at the strange patterns on the withered tree and said, "The patterns on this tree look so familiar, but they're disgusting after a while."
She couldn't stand it after just one glance and dared not look any longer.
Mu Qing looked in the direction she was referring to. The patterns on the withered tree were not ordinary. He reached out and touched it, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. A feeling of nausea welled up in his chest, and he almost vomited.
Wen Zheng tried to stop him when he reached out to touch the tree, but she couldn't. Seeing that he looked like he was going to vomit, she quickly went over and patted his back: "Are you alright?"
It makes me want to throw up.
"It's nothing." Mu Qing covered her mouth and made a low buzzing sound. After a while, she said, "This tree is strange. Don't touch it."
Wen Zheng supported him and nodded repeatedly, assuring him, "Don't worry, I won't touch it, I'll just look at it."
The patterns on the dead tree looked increasingly familiar; she felt like she had seen them somewhere before.
Wen Zheng released Mu Qing's hand and walked to the withered tree, squinting at the patterns on it. The more she looked at it, the more disgusted she felt, so she could only squint.
She stared intently at the withered tree, while Mu Qing stood beside her, gazing at the large hole that had appeared in the tree.
Where does the inhaled mist go?
As he was deep in thought, Wen Zheng exclaimed "Oh!" in sudden realization, then turned around excitedly and said, "I remember now, the patterns on the withered tree look a lot like the demon-slaying talisman."
Demon-subduing talismans are relatively rare in talisman records, and few people use them nowadays. If she hadn't looked through the talismans drawn by Qingling Daoist in the past, she would never have seen them before.
"A demon-slaying talisman?" Mu Qing asked, looking bewildered.
He had never heard of such a talisman before.
“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it.” Wen Zheng began to explain to him: “I saw a record of this talisman in the previous talismans of Qingling Daoist. It is said that a thousand years ago, the Jianmu tree collapsed and many monsters ran out from underneath. The Demon-Subduing Talisman was created by the talisman cultivators at that time based on the seal on the Jianmu tree.”
After saying that, she turned her head to look at the dark, withered tree, her brows furrowing.
Is this withered tree in front of us the Jianmu tree?
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