The Dragon-Crane Zither let out a long, resonant crane cry and plunged straight into the formation with Yu Qingtang in tow. A clear, lilting melody rang out, forcibly suppressing every possessed cultivator in the formation once more.
It was rare for the Dragon-Crane Zither to show off this much power, and Yu Qingtang really wanted to help Zither Bro look cool.
Unfortunately, as they streaked across the sky, he still let out a thoroughly undignified, pitch-warped scream—
The Lotus Realm might have been tough enough, but his backbone wasn't.
“Qingtang!”
Ye Chenyan's expression changed. He rushed into the formation after him, immediately moving to Yu Qingtang's side and watching the sudden changes around them with wary eyes.
The Dragon-Crane Zither hummed. Light shimmered across its body as it stirred the formation beneath them, and the defensive formation that had been scattered moments earlier once again glowed faintly.
Before the formation could seal everyone else outside, Girl in the Bamboo, Tu Jiaojiao, and Ji Ruxue followed close behind and landed inside as well.
Girl in the Bamboo raised the Heaven-Swallowing Bowl, ready for battle. The first-rank spiritual artifact trembled slightly, emitting waves of dim light.
She lowered her eyes.
“They're already dead.”
“Yeah.” Tu Jiaojiao ground her teeth. “But these cultivators were so powerful that their bodies became almost like spiritual artifacts. They won't decay easily. And now those otherworldly evil demons are actually using them as vessels... Damn it!”
The Dragon-Crane Zither had suppressed the otherworldly evil demons in the formation for an instant.
But only for an instant.
It hovered in midair as if it had become the formation eye itself, using the restored formation to trap the otherworldly evil demons present once more. Yet that was the limit of what it could do. It couldn't suppress them any further.
The Mystic Music Sect cultivators from a thousand years ago slowly opened their eyes after their long slumber.
Yu Qingtang stroked the Dragon-Crane Zither soothingly and noticed that it seemed unusually focused on one female cultivator within the formation.
She had the quiet, elegant air of an orchid blooming in an empty valley. A qin rested across her knees—the same kind of ordinary spiritual-artifact qin they had seen in the disciples' quarters earlier.
It seemed rather mismatched with her cultivation.
Combined with the Dragon-Crane Zither's reaction, Yu Qingtang arrived at a bold guess—
Could this qin cultivator be the Dragon-Crane Zither's owner from a thousand years ago?
While he was still trying to piece together the plot, Ji Ruxue had already taken to the air.
“Everyone, I'll do everything I can. Please suppress these otherworldly evil demons as much as possible.”
She paused.
Her gaze held a trace of reluctance, but when she spoke again, her voice was firm.
“These seniors died a thousand years ago. Even if...”
“Don't worry.” Tu Jiaojiao tightened her grip on her long whip. “Worst case, we'll kowtow to them first. We know what takes priority!”
Ji Ruxue nodded heavily.
She drew a deep breath, raised her hands, and formed a seal.
Her figure instantly seemed to turn ethereal. Her veil stirred despite the still air, and an unseen gust swept aside the veiled hat concealing her face, revealing features of breathtaking beauty.
And yet, looking at that peerless face inspired not the slightest profane thought.
Ji Ruxue raised her head, compassion written across her features. Mist billowed around her until her figure was almost completely obscured, seeming to merge with heaven and earth.
She slowly walked toward the finger-wide fissure.
The ethereal mist surrounding her poured into the opening and began to mend it.
The instant the mist touched the fissure, every barely suppressed otherworldly evil demon went berserk and launched attacks at her.
“Move!” Tu Jiaojiao barked.
Her long whip cracked through the air, intercepting the attacks.
Ye Chenyan glanced back at Yu Qingtang.
“You all right?”
“I'm fine.” Yu Qingtang pointed at the Dragon-Crane Zither. “But it's using everything it has to maintain the formation right now, so I doubt it has time to let me play it. Be careful!”
Ye Chenyan chuckled.
“Don't worry.”
He drove his spear downward.
Boom!
The impact smashed a crater into the ground. The surrounding earth instantly turned to quicksand, trapping several otherworldly evil demons that hadn't escaped in time.
Ye Chenyan looked up and warned the others, “Don't force a head-on fight. Our priority is to stall!”
Ji Ruxue strained to drive the mist forward, doing everything she could to mend the fissure.
But from the faint trembling of her slender body, it wasn't hard to tell that even she was barely managing.
A trace of resolve flashed through her eyes.
She raised her hand, bit through one fingertip, and let a bead of vivid red blood fall into the mist.
The moment her blood merged with it, the blood-tinged mist surged with life.
The speed of the repair increased dramatically.
“Rrraaagh—!”
An otherworldly evil demon let out a beastlike growl and attacked every enemy within sight.
Yu Qingtang had been keeping an eye on the female cultivator all along.
Suddenly, their eyes met.
Yu Qingtang's heart skipped a beat.
A terrible feeling came over him.
Then the woman gave him a strange smile.
“Come.”
She suddenly raised one hand and gently beckoned to the Dragon-Crane Zither.
Yu Qingtang: “!”
She's actually using a honey trap on my Zither Bro! How despicable!
He clung tightly to the Dragon-Crane Zither.
“Calm down! That cultivator's already been possessed! Who even knows whether the thing inside her is human anymore? You can't fall for this!”
The Dragon-Crane Zither gave several soft, mournful cries.
But it did not fly toward her.
The woman was just about to move when Ye Chenyan's spear came roaring in from behind her, skimming past her cheek.
They exchanged only a single move before Ye Chenyan's expression turned grave.
“She's the strongest one here. She should be at Integration... possibly even Mahayana.”
“But she's already dead.” Girl in the Bamboo kicked aside an otherworldly evil demon lunging at her and frowned slightly. “Even a Mahayana cultivator can't use divine abilities in this state. She can only fight you with her physical body.”
“Fortunately, music cultivators aren't known for their physiques.”
Ye Chenyan shook out his faintly numb hand and said nothing.
“This won't work.” Tu Jiaojiao's expression was grim. “Even if the fissure gets repaired, the few of us won't be enough to completely subdue all of them.”
She gave a sharp whistle.
Several Heavenly Fire Cult disciples outside the formation immediately understood. They turned and sprinted toward the entrance.
“Until reinforcements get here, everyone—don't die!”
...
Outside the immortal abode.
The atmosphere had changed the moment the Esoteric Sect old man arrived.
He simply sat cross-legged before the entrance to the immortal abode, and no one dared advance another step.
Kong Shanyu held several desert spirit cats in his arms and cast the old man an unwilling glance.
Lowering his voice, he asked, “Is he Mahayana?”
“Shh!” Sifeng clapped a hand over his mouth, nervously glanced toward the old man, and shook her head. “Probably peak Integration. But what makes people fear him isn't just his own strength. It's the sect standing behind him.”
“For heaven's sake, just keep your mouth shut and stay quiet for a while.” Siyu rubbed her aching forehead, then looked at the crowd gathered nearby, none of whom dared approach.
Suddenly, her gaze sharpened.
A blazing streak of red light was racing toward them.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Don't tell me that's...”
Kong Shanyu had already shot upright.
He practically spat the name through clenched teeth.
“Chi Yantian!”
He knew that entrance all too well!
That was what it looked like when a Blazing Rhinoceros came charging in on fire!
The Esoteric Sect old man clearly hadn't expected anyone to dare come barreling in like this while he was present.
He raised his eyes slightly and gave a cold snort.
“Halt!”
The streak of blazing light seemed to run headfirst into an enormous palm.
It was forcibly slammed down onto the ground.
Chi Yantian and Flamelet emerged from the flames.
Chi Yantian looked displeased.
“Who did that?!”
“Hmph.”
The Esoteric Sect old man lifted his chin arrogantly and did not answer.
Once Chi Yantian got a clear look at his face, however, he showed none of the fear the old man had expected.
Instead, he frowned with something bordering on disgust.
“Esoteric Sect? What are you doing on my turf in Rongzhou?”
“Absurd!” The old man's face darkened. “Since when does the Esoteric Sect need to report its actions to you?”
“I don't give a damn how the Esoteric Sect does things.” Chi Yantian's fiery red hair whipped in the wind. He wasn't buying the old man's attitude for a second. “But the Esoteric Sect has no business meddling in Rongzhou!”
His gaze shifted to the immortal abode behind the old man and turned grave.
Kong Shanyu wore a strange expression.
He gritted his teeth, but in the end, he remembered the task Tu Jiaojiao had given him and reluctantly called out.
“Chi Yantian! Your Heavenly Fire Cult's holy maiden already took people inside to investigate. Someone from the Esoteric Sect went in too. Things are probably bad in there.”
“Tch. I knew it!”
Chi Yantian glared at the Esoteric Sect old man.
“Old man. Move.”
“Arrogant brat.” The old man narrowed his eyes. “This is not a place someone at your cultivation can interfere with. Get lost! Even if both cult leaders of your Heavenly Fire Cult came in person, they might not be completely confident of handling this.”
By his standards, that was already remarkably polite.
If Chi Yantian hadn't been the Heavenly Fire Cult's holy son, the old man would have suppressed him on the spot long ago.
Chi Yantian's expression soured.
Kong Shanyu couldn't help taking another look at him.
“What are you going to do?”
“Force my way in!”
Chi Yantian gave the concise answer and immediately spurred the Blazing Rhinoceros forward, charging straight toward the immortal abode.
No one else had even reacted yet.
Only the Heavenly Fire Cult disciples, who knew their holy son's temperament far too well, responded immediately. Wearing expressions of helpless resignation, they launched attacks to cover his charge.
“Hmph.”
The Esoteric Sect old man merely swept out one sleeve.
The attacks streaking through the air, Flamelet charging across the sky, and Chi Yantian himself all slowed at once, as though they had sunk into a swamp.
The old man stood with his hands behind his back.
“Brat, if you keep acting this arrogantly, sooner or later you'll pay the price.”
He lifted one hand and casually pointed a finger at Flamelet.
“You dare!”
Chi Yantian roared and kicked Flamelet out of the way, preparing to take the finger strike himself.
The Esoteric Sect old man's expression suddenly tightened.
The temperature all around them soared.
The desert had already been scorching, but in an instant it seemed to become a furnace, hot enough to burn every material thing to ash.
“Hahaha!”
A hearty laugh rang out.
“What is this? Is the Heavenly Fire Cult's reputation for protecting its own still not fierce enough? How are there still people who dare bully my cult's disciples?”
The Esoteric Sect old man's finger strike silently melted away.
This time, he did not dare underestimate his opponent.
He stared fixedly at the tall, red-haired man walking barefoot through the air.
The man's upper body was bare, revealing a powerful torso covered in flame patterns. Hammers, chisels, and other tools hung from his waist, clinking merrily with every step.
A petite girl sat on his shoulder.
She looked only ten or so and wore red from head to toe, as pretty as a doll from a New Year print.
Only her eyes spoiled the effect.
They were bloodred, and a single glance into them was enough to make one's head spin.
The Esoteric Sect old man was clearly wary, but he still put on an imposing front.
“Cangyan, the ‘Heavenly Artisan.’ Hongni, the ‘Heaven-Burning Scarlet Serpent.’ To think both cult leaders of the Heavenly Fire Cult truly came.”
“With a commotion this big, it'd be harder not to notice.” Hongni rolled her eyes and hopped down from Cangyan's shoulder. “Move. I'm going in to save my precious little Jiaojiao.”
The Esoteric Sect old man didn't budge.
“No one may enter.”
Cangyan's smile remained broad and easygoing.
“This is a matter for Rongzhou. We can handle it ourselves. Please leave, sir.”
“This is not a matter for Rongzhou.” The old man barely lifted his eyelids. “It concerns the entire world.”
“Bullshit!” Hongni jabbed a finger at his nose. “Old bastard, don't push your luck! Can you not understand plain speech? I told you to get the hell out of the way!”
The instant her temper flared, the temperature throughout the entire area became even more terrifying.
Sweat poured from the foreheads of weaker cultivators. Some could barely endure the heat.
“Hey—” Cangyan looked thoroughly disapproving. “Don't swear.”
Hongni planted both hands on her hips.
“I'm eight hundred years old! Stop bossing me around!”
“Hahaha!”
Behind them, a familiar figure appeared.
Venerable Burning Gold carried a wine flask in one hand, his eyes crinkled with laughter.
“This little lass is my kind of person! Hahaha!”
Hongni turned around, clearly treating him with great respect.
“Please wait a moment. I'll just—”
“No need.”
Venerable Burning Gold took a sip and waved one hand grandly.
“You'd all better stay out of this place for now. I'll go.”
He stepped forward.
The Esoteric Sect old man no longer dared act carelessly.
“...You're that ancient expert from Sage-Hearing Academy.”
“I'm your granddaddy!”
Venerable Burning Gold irritably threw out a palm strike.
“All that posturing is pissing me off. Get lost!”
The Esoteric Sect old man used his full strength to receive the blow.
What he hadn't expected was that Venerable Burning Gold's strength had improved yet again since first emerging from Sage-Hearing Academy.
That palm strike had looked almost casual.
And yet he couldn't withstand it!
Venerable Burning Gold snorted and started toward the immortal abode.
Chi Yantian hurriedly called after him.
“Senior! Take me with you! Those two are inside too?”
“Hm?”
Venerable Burning Gold looked as though he had only just noticed him.
He seemed surprised.
“They're both in there. You lot really do know how to end up wherever the excitement is...”
Even as he said it, he reached out, grabbed Chi Yantian, and carried him inside too.
Hongni called after them nervously.
“Senior! He's only Nascent Soul! Be careful—don't accidentally kill him!”
Author’s Note:
Venerable Burning Gold: Fuck, posers are the worst.
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