The Blade-Wielding Legend

"Stop talking!"

The tall elder was unwilling to listen any further and suddenly waved his hand.

The two elders behind him seemed to want to say something, but were silenced by his fierce gaze.

The atmosphere instantly tightened to the extreme; Sha Lifei’s hand had already reached the firearms, and conflict was about to erupt.

Just at that moment—

"Woo~Chirp!"

A clear, urgent fox cry suddenly pierced through the suffocating silence.

The sound came from Lv San’s arms.

A white shadow darted out like lightning and landed lightly in the snow at Lv San’s feet.

It was none other than the entirely snow-white little fox Chuyi!

The appearance of Chuyi instantly attracted all eyes.

It didn’t look at the hostile Shaman Elders or the densely packed tribe around, but raised its delicate head and let out a clearer, more penetrating cry at the three Shaman Elders, especially the most hostile tall elder.

This cry no longer had urgency but rather carried a peculiar dignity from deep within its bloodline.

Immediately, an astonishing scene unfolded.

Hundreds of foxes that had been silently overlooking like sculptures began raising their heads after hearing Chuyi’s cry, emitting prolonged, clear fox cries in succession!

In an instant, a strange wave of sound formed by hundreds of fox cries reverberated through the valley, breaking the previous silence and oppression, as if an ancient ritual was taking place, or like a salute to a noble presence.

The tall elder’s expression became extremely unpleasant, as if he had swallowed a fly, his eyes filled with surprise and apprehension.

The other two Shaman Elders, upon seeing Chuyi clearly, had their murky eyes suddenly burst with bright light!

One elder, relatively kindly looking, spoke with obvious excitement and tremors, urgently addressing the tall elder: "Great Elder! It’s... it’s ’Snow-top Danxia’! No mistake! This bloodline... is the legendary ’Snow-top Danxia’!"

The other elder also quickly nodded, his attitude becoming extraordinarily respectful, bowing to Chuyi, as well as Lv San and Li Yan: "Honored guests at our door, it is our lack of foresight and negligence. Great Elder, according to the ancestral decree, those bearing the ’Snow-top Danxia’ spirit must be treated as honored guests."

The Great Elder’s face turned blue and white.

He stared fixedly at Chuyi, then at Lv San beside him.

The continuous cries from hundreds of foxes seemed to silently urge and witness.

Seeing this, no matter how stubborn he was, he could no longer forcibly expel them.

His lips moved a few times, and finally squeezed out a sentence from his throat: "Since... since you are honored guests, then please proceed."

He stepped aside, allowing the path to that deep fissure.

But those eyes remained grimly fixed on Li Yan and the others.

......

The fissure was not the end; it was merely the portal to the Holy Land.

The true sanctuary of the Five Immortals Hall was still hidden behind the valley.

Passing through a giant ice-covered coniferous forest, the view suddenly widened.

An ancient and grand architectural complex appeared before everyone.

It was neither purely a temple nor a typical quadrangle courtyard, but rather seemed to be a fusion of both.

Tall walls of blue bricks encircled a vast area, with the architraves and flying eaves faintly hinting at the majesty of a temple, yet the overall layout of the main house, wing rooms, and inverted houses forming the courtyard distinctly reflected the mansion style of Guandong.

Thick snow covered the azure black tiles, with icicles hanging from the eaves.

The mottled vermillion large doors were tightly shut, and the door knockers were two ancient bronze beast heads.

Time had etched deep marks on the bricks and wood, at least several centuries of vicissitudes.

This was the true core of the Five Immortals Hall, the foundation of the Household Guardian Immortal lineage—Juxian Hall.

Unlike the imagined strict defenses, there were no human disciples guarding the courtyard’s surroundings.

It seemed like a paradise for the non-human beings.

In the snow-covered corners of the courtyard, under the shadows of the corridors, and even beside the roof’s ridge beasts, many enchanted creatures were lurking.

There were yellow-skinned critters with sleek fur squatting on the stone blocks, cautiously observing the visitors; robust Gray Immortals darting quickly along the base of the walls; colorful snakes coiled on the sunlit columns, lazily flickering their tongues; and even some unusually large, spirited wild cats perched atop the walls.

They all carried a varying degree of spirituality, being either the "Immortal seedlings" that had developed some intelligence or spirit monsters relying on this place, forming the unique and strict ecosystem of the Five Immortals Hall.

The air was thick with the scent of incense, mixed with the distinctive musty animal stench and the aged wood fragrance of a deep old mansion.

The closer they got to the "Juxian Hall," the stronger this mixed smell became.

Li Yan keenly noticed that as they ventured deeper into the estate, the Great Elder’s face grew increasingly somber, his steps stiffening, his eyes flickering uncertainly, frequently glancing towards the firmly shut doors of the Juxian Hall and the deep side door at the back of the courtyard.

A minute yet icy-cold wave of malevolent force seemed to be subtly emanating from within the Juxian Hall, sharing the same source as the evil qi felt at the cracks, but more solid, more... foul.

Just as the group was passing through the second courtyard, a mere ten steps away from the Juxian Hall’s main entrance, a sudden change erupted!

The Great Elder let out a low growl unlike any human sound, his black robe billowing fiercely despite the lack of wind, swelling forth.

Instead of charging towards the Juxian Hall, he stamped his foot heavily, and with a "poof," transformed into a dense, ink-like black smoke, reeking of a beastly odor, swiftly skirting around the main building, shooting straight towards the backyard!

"Trying to flee?!"

Sha Lifei reacted the quickest, exclaiming sharply and pulling the trigger.

However, at the very moment they tried to intercept, the outer perimeter of the courtyard—previously inhabited by those quiet or curious spirit monsters—suddenly exploded with earth-shaking frenzied roars!

"Roar—!"

"Awoo—!"

"Hiss hiss hiss—!"

As if ruthlessly whipped by an invisible lash, or injected with a berserk potion.

Hundreds of wild beasts—wolves, wildcats, badgers, and even several large wild boars—had their eyes instantly turning blood-red, drool dripping madly from their fangs, plunging completely into madness!

They no longer feared any scent, like a flood breaching a dam, charging at Li Yan and his companions from all directions, within and outside the courtyard walls, forcibly stopping them in their tracks.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the black smoke had already vanished into the snowy woods behind the courtyard.

"Damn it!"

Sha Lifei cursed angrily, shooting a rabid wolf in the head, spraying filthy brain matter.

Li Yan did not immediately pursue the black smoke.

His eyes, sharp as knives, swept over these frenzied beasts.

Their size seemed more robust than their ordinary counterparts, revealing a faint bluish-gray unsettling sheen beneath their fur, with the breath from their mouths and noses carrying a familiar, nauseating chill of evil qi.

Most terrifying were their eyes, vacant amidst the crimson.

Some beasts’ claws and fangs were even covered with black growths resembling metal or bone!

"It’s the work of Ghost Soldiers!" Li Yan felt a sinking sensation in his heart.

The beasts before him had evidently been modified with a similar, yet seemingly more crude and primitive, evil technique, triggering their most primal savagery, transforming into monsters driven solely by slaughter.

"The Dark Five Immortals! It’s the hand of the Dark Five Immortals!"

As Li Yan shouted out the revelation of the Ghost Soldiers’ methods, the two Shaman Elders accompanying them also cried out in dismay.

Their faces were filled with fear, anger, and a hint of sorrow.

After dispersing the frenzied beast horde, the white-haired elder stood amidst the bloodstained ground, his face full of grief and indignation.

Without the need for inquiry, he explained: "It’s the work of the Dark Five Immortals..."

"Decades ago, some extraordinarily talented yet ill-intentioned disciples within the hall, led by five individuals, each were favored by the most ferocious and evil qi-laden ’Immortals’ of tiger, wolf, centipede, bat, and frog type."

"They despised the slow progress of orthodox tribute cultivation, believing that the Immortals should adhere to the law of the jungle, subsisting on the essence, blood, and souls of living creatures, thriving on battle, and rapidly ascending the Demon Path. They preached ’release of wildness’, ’blood sustenance toward Tongtian’, viewing our incense offerings and merit accumulation as cowardly and incompetent!"

"Different paths cannot be shared!"

The other elder chimed in, voice trembling, "They defected from the Five Immortals Hall, self-proclaiming as the ’Dark Five Immortals’!"

"The Tiger Lord commands slaughter, the Wolf King craves flesh and blood, the Centipede God refines Poisonous Gu, the Bat Demon absorbs essences, and the Frog Witch communes with filth! These five fiends, with a batch of equally fallen disciples and corrupted spirit monsters, retreated to the most treacherous crags of White Mountain and Black Water, committing heinous acts of murder, soul refinement, essence plundering, and evil god-feeding!"

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