Chapter 203
The monk Huikong lay unconscious, and his purification array should have vanished along with him, yet the array remained intact.
Another force was sustaining its operation, but the way it functioned had become utterly distorted.
The purpose of Huikong's array was to purify demonic energy and suppress the power of the remnants of demonic cultivators.
However, now a chilling wave of demonic energy surged from the core of the array, and the remnants of the demonic cultivators, soaked in this energy, experienced a dramatic rise in their aura. What was once a perfected Foundation Establishment corpse instantly broke through to the Golden Core stage, advancing from mid-Golden Core to late-Golden Core, and even reaching perfection.
In stark contrast, the disciples of various sects found the spiritual energy around them becoming sluggish.
The available spiritual energy was dwindling—now they were the ones being suppressed!
If it were just that, the disciples wouldn’t have been so panicked.
But then, one disciple collapsed to the ground, a piercing wail shattering the deathly silence within the array: “I—I’ve been drained of my spiritual energy! This array… it’s not just suppressing our energy; it’s absorbing it and turning it into demonic energy!”
“My spiritual energy is fading too!”
“Wait? Mine seems fine…”
The disciples of the Sword Pavilion remained relatively calm. The three direct disciples—Duan Feng, Xu An, and Zhen He—quickly questioned each Sword Pavilion disciple and soon reached a conclusion.
“Only those below the Golden Core stage are having their energy drained; those above are unaffected, merely suppressed.”
Duan Feng casually struck down a demonic cultivator’s remnant that charged at him, then surveyed the surroundings with a grim expression: “Our Sword Pavilion has only fifteen disciples at the Golden Core stage; the rest range from mid-Foundation Establishment to perfection. With so many demonic remnants here, it’s a recipe for disaster… We’ll abandon our resources. All Sword Pavilion disciples, listen up! Retreat from the array!”
At Duan Feng’s command, none of the Sword Pavilion disciples hesitated. After fending off or killing the approaching demonic remnants, they immediately retreated outside the array.
The direct disciples moved forward to cover the retreat of the other Sword Pavilion disciples.
Seeing this, the disciples of Lingxi Valley and the Dan Sect followed closely behind.
As for why their actions were so synchronized, it was because their elders had already instructed them before entering the small secret realm—not to engage in any conflict with the Sword Pavilion. If they encountered the Sword Pavilion, they should steer clear; if they found the Sword Pavilion charging in, they could explore a bit but should never compete for resources, as they would surely lose.
Now that the Sword Pavilion was retreating, it indicated urgency, and they had to follow suit.
Lingxi Valley and the Dan Sect were both renowned sects in the Cangyun Realm.
Especially the Dan Sect, which had many ties with other sects, often sending their disciples to visit.
When the disciples of the other sects saw the Dan Sect disciples preparing to flee, they too began to withdraw from the battlefield.
Suddenly, half of the disciples from various sects abandoned the fight against the demonic remnants and retreated together.
Moreover, this wave of retreat showed signs of expanding further.
One Sword Pavilion disciple was the first to reach the edge of the array. Just as he stepped out, his head slammed against the barrier with a loud thud.
“Senior brother, we can’t get out of this barrier!”
“What?!” Duan Feng rushed to the front of the array and struck it with his sword. When he saw that the array remained unyielding, his face changed dramatically. “What is Huikong doing?! Why set up an array that can only let us in but not out? Has he lost his mind?”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Upon realizing they couldn’t escape, the disciples of various sects panicked and bombarded the array with spells.
Yet, instead of showing any signs of breaking, the array absorbed their magical energy and grew stronger.
“A bunch of cowards!” A cold snort echoed from above. The crowd looked up to see Song Chiyue standing atop a massive flowering vine, her expression icy. “You’re thinking of running away after just a little setback? This is merely a backlash from the array. I’ve arranged for my disciples to heal Master Huikong. All you need to do is hold on for half an hour. In half an hour, Master Huikong will reverse the array, and then what are these demonic cultivators to us?”
Some felt a flicker of hope at her words.
Though the remnants had been empowered, holding on for half an hour shouldn’t be impossible.
With a light tap of her toes on the vine, countless jade-green steel needles formed from the hanging tendrils and rained down, shattering the demonic remnants into pieces.
This wave of destruction invigorated the cultivators.
Song Chiyue continued, “If I, a mere woman, can stand at the forefront, then if you still feel it’s not enough, I can invite Daoist Qin to assist… Let’s unite! Once Master Huikong awakens, he will surely reverse the array completely!”
“Miss Song is right; we can’t just give up!”
“Listen to me! There’s a reversal mechanism in this array. If we pour spiritual energy into it, it will turn into demonic energy. So instead of continuing to attack the array, we should hold our ground against the demonic remnants and buy time for Master Huikong!”
“Let’s go! Kill the demonic remnants!”
With just a few words, the tide of retreat came to a halt.
The cultivators turned back to continue battling the demonic remnants, teaming up to take down one or two at a time.
Seeing this, Song Chiyue smiled slightly and declared, “Now that’s the spirit of the cultivators of Cangyun Realm! Today, we will drive back the demonic remnants and open the sect’s ruins. Each of you can choose two treasures from the spoils! If you don’t find anything to your liking, come to me for the resources you need!”
As soon as she said this, the disciples of various sects became even more fervent.
Song Chiyue glanced over at the Sword Pavilion disciples, pursed her lips, and continued to fight at the forefront.
…
“Senior brother, what do we do? They’re all going to fight the demonic remnants, and we…”
The Sword Pavilion disciples looked eagerly at their three senior brothers.
Wanting resources was one reason; the other was that it felt a bit shameful to hide at the back.
Duan Feng frowned, about to speak, when Zhen He, the most level-headed direct disciple of Cangjian Peak, swiftly opened his folding fan and waved it in front of his face: “Of course, we’ll retreat behind all the other sect disciples and wait right next to the array!”
“Senior Brother Zhen, what do you mean by that?” Xu An asked hurriedly.
Zhen He shook his head, a mysterious look on his face: “Just watch!” He pointed toward the towering bronze door of the sect’s ruins, where demonic energy surged, and six blood-red phantoms could be faintly seen sitting within. They were clearly six demonic remnants, but they were evidently not the ordinary ones outside the door.
“As the strongest sword cultivators in the Cangyun Realm, we of the Sword Pavilion should act in times of crisis. Wasting our energy on those demonic remnants is futile. Instead, we should wait until these cultivators are exhausted and then come out to reap the rewards. This way, we’ll have both resources and face!”
The other Sword Pavilion disciples suddenly understood.
“That makes sense! Our Sword Pavilion disciples have extraordinary sword intent; we shouldn’t just strike at anything!”
“Exactly! If we’re going to strike, we should take down strong enemies! These demonic remnants may be decent, but they’re not worth our personal effort!”
“Senior Brother Zhen, you’re quite insightful! Then let’s wait at the edge of the array!”
Ignoring the various looks from around them, the Sword Pavilion disciples closed their eyes and sat in meditation at the edge of the array.
Zhen He waved his fan, smiling without speaking.
Yet his eyes frequently exchanged glances with Xu An and Duan Feng, whispering: 【Something’s off! The Yaochi Sacred Land is up to something!】
【You noticed too?】 Duan Feng raised an eyebrow, thinking Zhen He genuinely wanted to wait for a final strike.
【Whether this is a trap set by the Yaochi Sacred Land or not, the three of us must wait for the right moment.】 Xu An placed his hand on the array’s barrier.
Among the Sword Pavilion disciples, he had the highest understanding of formations.
At this moment, he had already noticed that the more demonic remnants fell, the weaker the array barrier became.
And compared to the bombardment of spells from other sects, the sword intent and sword energy of sword cultivators were the only attacks that wouldn’t reinforce the array.
He turned to Duan Feng and Zhen He, speaking coldly: 【I’ll start secretly setting up a sword formation now, using the three of us as the core. When the demonic remnants suffer heavy losses, those six phantoms inside will surely emerge. At that time, it will be the array’s weakest moment. We can activate the sword formation to break the demonic array, thus… securing a glimmer of hope for our junior brothers and sisters!】
…
…
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Chapter 218: Backstab (tijin+1)
In the Great Secret Realm—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the blood-red sky, the depths of the chasm echoed with the sound of cracking bones.
The entire secret realm trembled under the terrifying impact of demonic energy.
A towering skeletal demon, a thousand feet high, tore through the mountainside and crawled out of the abyss, its jagged frame wrapped in blood and flesh, with countless rib bones pinning down the corpses of cultivators.
The white bones were crisscrossed with dense sword marks, a testament to the ferocity of the previous battle.
“Old man of the Sacred Land! Even while I hide in this Great Secret Realm, do you still intend to wipe me out?”
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