Chapter 441
Beside him, the Master of Mingde suddenly let out a muffled sound from his throat. Chengkong Shangren was startled, thinking it was the arrival of the Yuming Xian (幽冥仙, "Ghost Immortal"). He turned around, relieved yet anxious—if it wasn’t the Yuming Xian, then it meant the Master of Mingde was on the verge of collapse, with the divine light of his Yangshen flickering precariously.
The Master of Mingde seemed to have squeezed out the last bit of his spiritual power. His white hair was disheveled, his face a mix of gold and purple, and his Daoist robe fluttered chaotically, resembling a tattered sailboat, adrift and lost.
“Master?”
Chengkong Shangren could no longer hold back and spoke up.
The Master of Mingde waved his hand, gazing into the distance, and muttered, “I can only hope… we’re not too late!”
Chengkong Shangren nodded slightly, also looking towards the direction of Jiushan Sect. It was Jiushan Sect that was buying them time; if Jiushan Sect…
“Where are the people?”
Yaochi Huashen (瑶池化神, "Yaochi Transformation God") called out softly, a rune appearing on her forehead, resembling an eye, peering towards Jiushan Sect.
The other six either urged their souls or activated their spiritual sight, trying to discern what was happening on the Jiushan Sect side.
The fluctuations of the battle had vanished!
Even the auras of the transformed demon clans had disappeared!
Zhang Wuyi seemed to have vanished as well!
Separated by the great formation, they could not see what was happening thousands of mountains and rivers away, but in their hearts, they began to speculate.
Or rather, they formed reasonable conjectures.
“Jiushan Sect couldn’t hold them off…” the Master of Mingde sighed softly, glancing at the dark sea before him. His gaze darkened further, and his tone grew heavy. “Those demon clans have either landed or breached the Jiushan Realm.”
No one spoke, as if they all tacitly accepted this thought.
Chengkong Shangren wanted to think positively, but how could he explain it?
Could Jiushan Sect really have killed four transformed beings?
The best guess was that Zheng Fa had seen the overwhelming strength of the demon clans and, unable to withstand it, had chosen to protect the Jiushan Realm instead.
The Master of Mingde sighed again, the golden light on his face fading with his breath. His Yangshen leaped back onto the Qingyun, reaching for the half-section of the Qingjing Zhu (清静竹, "Calm Bamboo") and looking at Chengkong Shangren, saying, “We can’t wait any longer.”
“Master?”
“Qin Mu hails from the demonic sect and is quite cunning; it’s hard for us to find him if he hides.” The Master of Mingde spoke slowly. “I can only try to activate the Qingjing Zhu to sweep this sea area. If luck is on our side…”
Chengkong Shangren immediately understood the Master’s intention.
He wanted to trigger the Qingjing Zhu to self-destruct, or rather, to unleash a full-force strike, hoping to expand the coverage and find Qin Mu, even kill him.
But that meant sacrificing both the Qingjing Zhu and his own life.
Moreover, this method might not even guarantee finding Qin Mu; it was less secure than the steady approach they had taken earlier.
But there was no time for a steady approach now.
Chengkong Shangren nodded silently.
The Master of Mingde closed his eyes, beginning to channel his last bit of spiritual power.
Even Yaochi Huashen, who always wore a cold expression, couldn’t help but show a hint of sorrow.
But just then, Xie Qingxue suddenly laughed:
“We won!”
“…”
Chengkong Shangren was stunned for a moment, then turned sharply to look at Xie Qingxue. “Who won?”
“Jiushan Sect won!”
“Jiushan Sect killed two transformed beings and captured one!”
“The Seven Great Saints have also turned against them, killing the last transformed being from the demonic sect!”
“The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor has no hope of resurrection.”
Upon hearing this, Chengkong Shangren was overwhelmed with joy, bursting into laughter and stammering, “Jiushan Sect! Ha! Zheng Fa!”
“Uh-oh! Master!”
“I heard it…” The Master of Mingde’s voice was weak, his face flushed, unsure if it was from injury or anger. “Xie Xianzi, is what you said true?”
Xie Qingxue nodded firmly. “This news comes from the disciples within the Jiushan Realm.”
“From within the Jiushan Realm? How did you know, Xie Xianzi?”
“Cough, my junior brother Yan is in the Jiushan Realm, and I have a way to contact him.”
The Master of Mingde nodded gently, looking at the Qingjing Zhu in his hand with a pained expression.
He had been ready to sacrifice himself to break the formation, but upon hearing Xie Qingxue’s words, he abruptly halted the surge of his power. Though he didn’t die, he felt extremely unwell and was already heavily injured.
But compared to the situation of the Qingjing Zhu, he was still better off:
He had already activated the Qingjing Zhu…
There was no stopping it now!
The Qingjing Zhu transformed into a beam of azure-golden light, sweeping across the surrounding sea for hundreds of miles.
As the light dimmed, there was no trace of the Yuming Xian, nor was there… the Qingjing Zhu.
“Shattered?”
“Yeah…”
The Master of Mingde looked at Xie Qingxue, his eyes filled with frustration. He didn’t even need to speak; everyone knew what he was implying—why didn’t you say so earlier!
“I only just saw it…”
Xie Qingxue felt a bit awkward.
Earlier, when there was no news from the Jiushan Sect, she had secretly taken out a communication talisman, trying to gather some information from the forum.
But the disciples received the news late and didn’t post it immediately. By the time she saw the post and shouted it out, the Master of Mingde had already been risking his life.
The Master of Mingde shook his head, realizing it wasn’t her fault.
The cloud above him shifted, and in an instant, his disheveled clothes became neat, and his flying hair settled down.
He returned to his previous serious demeanor.
The seven of them exchanged glances and suddenly smiled.
The Master of Mingde said, “Everyone, this Seven Dragon Vast Sea Formation is an ancient transmission, possessing some divine qualities. Now that we’ve encountered it, we must study it well.”
Chengkong Shangren and the others nodded with smiles.
As they looked at the dark, lightless seabed, they felt a sense of leisure. The seven walked and talked, their expressions relaxed, as if on an outing, even beginning to discuss the power and limitations of the formation.
Xie Qingxue even reached out to cut off a cluster of beautiful red coral, seemingly planning to take it back for admiration, leisurely and carefree, completely devoid of the urgency from before.
They truly weren’t in a hurry; the Seven Dragon Vast Sea Formation had little offensive capability.
The Yuming Xian couldn’t escape!
With the recent turn of events in Jiushan Sect, the formation now trapped not the seven of them…
But the Yuming Xian who had set it up.
As the seven continued walking, they loudly discussed the matters of Jiushan Sect, ensuring the Yuming Xian heard this good news.
“What do you think Qin Mu is still waiting for?”
“...I don’t know.”
Chengkong Shangren thought about it and felt a pang of sadness for Qin Mu. He couldn’t run away, and hiding would only lead to being found…
“Once again, it’s Jiushan Sect!” Suddenly, the voice of the Yuming Xian echoed from within the formation. “Heaven does not aid me!”
The surrounding sea surged with waves, and seven beams of light dimmed, the bronze pillars within shaking simultaneously and shattering into flying dust.
The sea water receded slowly, and the long-lost sunlight poured down from above.
The ocean became especially calm, with no chaotic spiritual power remaining in the water.
“The formation has broken…”
The Master of Mingde was momentarily stunned before suddenly speaking.
Chengkong Shangren nodded, looking up at the sun, no longer searching for the Yuming Xian’s trace.
No need to search; with the formation broken, the Yuming Xian must be dead.
“Suicide… ha.” The Master of Mingde suddenly chuckled lightly. “My disciple is the most tenacious. Even I, as his master, have pushed him to the brink, yet he… has never given up.”
“There was no other way.” The Yaochi Huashen gently shook her head. “The Seven Dragon Vast Sea Formation is like this; one cannot escape without dying.”
But Chengkong Shangren was thinking of another matter—
After being so thoroughly defeated by Zheng Fa three times, it would be hard for him not to take his own life, right?
But he didn’t speak, only watching the Master of Mingde, who gazed at the sea, pursing his lips as if lost in thought.
After a moment, he sighed wearily, “Well, this wayward disciple is dead; I suppose I’ve cleaned up my house…”
After saying this, he seemed at a loss for words, simply flying towards the shore alone.
The six exchanged glances, also silent, and left the sea area together.
Moments later, two figures slowly appeared—it was Chen Ting and his senior sister.
They seemed to have been standing by all along, yet none of the seven transformed beings had noticed them!
Chen Ting stood to the side, watching as his senior sister took out a talisman from her bosom.
This talisman was entirely black, resembling a piece of dark fabric, with extremely complex runes on it. Just one glance made him feel dizzy.
“This is…”
“The Jiuyou Fuzhao (九幽符诏, "Nine Nether Talisman").”
His senior sister nodded gently, her expression serious. She softly recited a few incantations, and the talisman lit up, or rather, the runes on it emitted a bright black light, darkening the sea beneath them.
In the water, a ghostly figure slowly emerged.
It was none other than the Yuming Xian.
At first, there was a hint of confusion in his eyes as he looked around. But when he saw the familiar sea and the two people before him, his expression turned alert.
“Who are you?”
Chen Ting remained silent, while his senior sister bowed gracefully and replied:
“Under the Jiuyou Sect, Shi Linglong and Chen Ting, we greet you, Shangren.”
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