Chapter 143 - 136: Elder

Chapter 143: Chapter 136: Elder

"Hahaha..."

The surrounding Power Demon Sect Cultivators laughed wantonly. In that instant, their faces looked more demonic than demons to the Spirit Farmers.

Although they didn’t want to board the ship, they were powerless to resist. Herded by the Power Demon Sect Cultivators, they were like cattle and sheep, crying out as they were forced onto the vessel.

Congli glanced at them once before looking away, his gaze shifting to the surrounding darkness.

At this moment, the Power Demon Sect Cultivators who had been sent out to search for Li Changsheng returned one after another.

Some were empty-handed, while others carried people.

As Congli inspected them one by one, his excitement gradually cooled.

The cultivators captured by the Power Demon Sect were all fleeing members of the Demon Hunting Corps. Not only had they failed to catch Li Changsheng, but they had no news of him either.

Congli felt a surge of frustration. ’Did he really escape the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land?’

Inside the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land, he could still send people to search. But finding a single person in the vast Wanzhong Mountains Range was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

Besides, he was running out of time.

Reinforcements from both the Power Demon Sect and the Cyan Yang Sect would arrive any moment.

The Power Demon Sect was one thing; at worst, he would have to give up a share of the Spiritual Objects. But if the Cyan Yang Sect’s people cornered him, falling into their hands would be a fate worse than death.

A hundred thoughts raced through Congli’s mind. After a moment of consideration, he reluctantly gave up the search for Li Changsheng.

He immediately sent a signal, ordering the other Power Demon Sect disciples to gather.

After giving a few orders, Congli strode onto the ship.

By now, no fewer than a hundred people stood crowded on the ship.

BZZZZ...

The runes on the wooden ship blossomed with spiritual light. After a momentary tremor, it slowly began to rise.

Amid cries of alarm, the wooden ship shot into the sky.

The remaining Power Demon Sect disciples either guarded the Spirit Farmers or went to harvest the Spirit Crystals.

Of the vast Spirit Fields in the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land, a full third had already been drained of their Spiritual Qi, turning into mundane land. And this area continued to expand at the hands of the Power Demon Sect Cultivators.

On the Ten Thousand Snake Lake Island, Zuo Ling was also searching for the Spiritual Vortex of the Tier Two Spirit Field.

But since he was not a Spirit Plant Master, and because he had to maintain most of his Spiritual Power to guard against that unknown demon, his search was incredibly slow.

Li Changsheng huddled in the cave, his heart pounding with anxiety. He couldn’t calm his mind at all. He had never felt time pass so slowly, so torturously.

This only strengthened his resolve to cultivate.

’Whether it’s growing Spirit Medicine or raising Spirit Beasts, it’s all for the sake of cultivation. I can’t get my priorities mixed up.’

Time passed slowly.

Congli made two round trips with the wooden ship, taking away about two hundred Spirit Farmers, but more than half of them still remained.

Half of the Spirit Fields in the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land had been turned into mundane land. Since they were harvesting the Spirit Crystals from the center outwards, the fields that lost their Spiritual Qi were mostly the high-quality ones, including the Spirit Fields that had been granted to Dong Xing and the other two.

For some reason, Dong Xing and the other two had been made to accompany the wooden ship on both round trips.

Seeing the strange looks from the Power Demon Sect Cultivators, Congli offered no explanation.

His reasoning was simple: to prevent any accidents, it was safest to keep the three of them in his sight.

He had already let Li Changsheng escape. If he lost these three as well, the resources for his advancement to a Tier Three Body Cultivator would be cut by more than half.

While the members of the Power Demon Sect were busy, dozens of li outside the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land, a Glowing White Jade Ship sped toward them, trailing a powerful gust of air.

In just a moment,

the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land, nestled in a mountain pass, came into view, as did the numerous Power Demon Sect Cultivators bustling about.

"How dare you!"

At this sight, Lan Cai Shen’s eyes widened in fury, and his aura exploded forth.

An icy, biting aura radiated from his body, spreading out like a gale. In an instant, a layer of frost crept outward from his feet.

The cultivator in the golden robe looked at Lan Cai Shen with surprise.

’With this chilling might alone, Lan Cai Shen could be considered one of the best among Late-Meridian Condensation Cultivators. Even among the young talents of the Cyan Yang Sect, few could compare.’

The cultivator wearing a set of exquisite armor, who had the face of a ten-year-old child, slowly opened their eyes. They glanced at the ice crystals beneath them, then looked up at the source, their brow furrowing slightly.

Just as the Glowing White Jade Ship began to descend,

ROAR!

a massive roar suddenly erupted from the opposite mountain peak. A vast and sinister demonic aura shot into the sky like a wolf-smoke signal, churning the clouds.

A booming laugh, like the tolling of a great bronze bell, echoed through the mountains.

"Hahaha..."

"Looks like I’m not late..."

The ship paused slightly. The expressions of Lan Cai Shen and the others changed as they looked toward the opposite peak.

"The big monkey from Ten Thousand Spirits Peak..."

"Well, this is fine too."

A flicker of a smile crossed Elder Qing’s eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

He took a step off the ship, his figure becoming a distorted illusion, and vanished from sight in an instant.

Meanwhile, on the opposite peak,

wisps of clear wind gathered and coalesced, forming into Elder Qing, dressed in a pale green Daoist Robe.

Below him stood a gigantic ape, about ten zhang tall. It wore a suit of tattered armor and held a broken bronze spear. Its monkey-like face was covered in hideous scars.

Seeing Elder Qing take form, the ape looked around warily, then grinned and spoke in a human voice, "I was wondering who it was. Turns out it’s you, you old..."

Before it could finish, Elder Qing flicked his long sleeve.

Instantly, countless zhang-long Wind Blades materialized, letting out a piercing whistle as they shot toward the ape’s body.

ROAR!

The Ape Demon’s eyes turned crimson. It bellowed, and a crimson, bloody light erupted from its armor, forming a protective barrier around it.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The dense barrage of Wind Blades struck the barrier like mallets on a bronze bell, ringing out loudly but only managing to cause faint ripples on its surface.

In just a few breaths,

the barrier endured tens of thousands of slashes from the Wind Blades. It still hadn’t shattered, though its color had dimmed slightly.

The Ape Demon didn’t just sit and wait for death. After withstanding the volley of Wind Blades, it raised its bronze spear and thrust it at Elder Qing’s position.

The bronze spear extended a three-chi-long bloody light, which landed on Elder Qing with a piercing shriek.

BOOM...

A white wave of air exploded outwards. Elder Qing’s body burst apart, dissolving into wisps of pale green breeze.

After that one strike, the Ape Demon did not attack again. Instead, it scanned its surroundings warily, its expression grave.

"Old man, you’re really going for it!"

The words had barely left its mouth when dozens of Spiritual Qi vortexes suddenly appeared in the air. The surrounding Spiritual Qi surged into them.

In just a few breaths,

dozens of emotionless Elder Qings took form. Each one looked perfectly real, and their surging auras were each only a notch weaker than the Ape Demon’s.

The Ape Demon’s expression turned solemn as it held its spear horizontally before it.

"Are you going to scram, or should I beat you up before you scram?"

The dozens of Elder Qings looked at the Ape Demon and shouted in unison.

The Ape Demon seemed to recall something, and its expression froze for a moment. It retorted stubbornly, "Bring it on! You think I’m afraid of you?"

Despite its words, it showed no intention of attacking, its eyes darting around as it scanned its surroundings.

"Oh?"

The dozens of Elder Qings gave it a playful look. They pulled their hands apart, and a three-chi-long Crescent Wind Blade, covered in complex patterns, slowly began to form.

Before the Wind Blade had even fully formed, the Ape Demon felt a chill run down its spine and instinctively tightened its grip on its spear.

However, Elder Qing was in no hurry. The Crescent Wind Blade in his hands flickered in and out of existence.

The Ape Demon hesitated for a moment. But seeing the wooden ship being blocked, it cursed them as useless trash and raised its spear, thrusting at one of the Elder Qings.

BOOM...

Elder Qing’s expression grew serious. The Wind Blade gathering in his hands suddenly vanished.

The next instant, dozens of Wind Blades appeared all around the Ape Demon.

CLANG...

The Wind Blades struck the Ape Demon’s body, sending sparks flying, but they only managed to shear off strands of dark fur, failing even to break its skin.

Elder Qing frowned and began to form another Wind Blade in his hands.

"Hahaha..."

Seeing that the attack wasn’t powerful enough to break through its flesh, the Ape Demon burst out laughing, the sense of crisis in its heart quietly dissipating.

"Old man, you haven’t improved a bit in decades!"

The Ape Demon taunted, raising its spear and thrusting at another one of the Elder Qings.

The aftershocks of their battle caused the expressions of the Power Demon Sect Cultivators in the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land below to change drastically.

They scrambled to gather on the wooden ship at the center of the battlefield.

Congli and Zuo Ling couldn’t be bothered with anything else and hurriedly boarded the wooden ship.

Once the Power Demon Sect Cultivators had gathered, they prepared to urge the ship to leave.

SWOOSH...

Just then, a Glowing White Jade Ship blocked its path.

Lan Cai Shen’s gaze swept over the wooden ship. Dong Xing and the other two were there, but Li Changsheng was nowhere to be seen.

His heart sank, and the temperature around him dropped even further.

Jin Fang and cultivators from the Beast Soul and Blood Fusion lineages stepped to the bow, their eyes fixed on the wooden ship.

Sensing the profound Spiritual Power within the three of them, Congli’s expression darkened.

No words were exchanged.

The next instant, both sides attacked simultaneously.

Congli took out the Blood Soul Record, and one after another, crimson demonic creatures flew out from it, charging toward Lan Cai Shen and the others.

He didn’t expect this cannon fodder to accomplish much; he just needed them to buy him a moment to escape.

But how could Lan Cai Shen give him that chance?

His gentle gaze suddenly turned ice-blue. With a wave of his hand, over a hundred arrows, shimmering with a deathly chill, formed and shot toward the incoming crimson creatures.

BOOM...

Just as the ice arrows were about to hit the crimson creatures, they exploded, turning into a cloud of icy blue mist that enveloped most of the demons.

Instantly, the creatures turned into frozen lumps, falling to the ground and shattering into fine ice shards.

Lan Cai Shen sneered. His hands moved to form a Technique, and one by one, ice-blue water droplets slowly coalesced before him.

Congli frowned at the four people opposite him, his expression turning grim.

Three of the four had cultivation levels no lower than his own. There was no way to win this fight. Moreover, the immense fluctuations of power that occasionally pulsed from the mountaintop also made him uneasy.

’What if Elder Yuan is defeated...’

Zuo Ling and the others, unaware of Congli’s intention to retreat, saw only four opponents and unleashed their own attacks.

The cultivators from the Beast Soul and Blood Fusion lineages gave them a disdainful glance.

The cultivator in the golden robe walked to the edge of the ship, opened his mouth, and an immense suction force erupted.

In an instant, the remaining dozens of crimson demonic creatures were swallowed into his stomach in a single gulp.

Not to be outdone, the cultivator with the face of a ten-year-old child’s palm turned black and red, like charred coal.

Instantly, a black-red, magma-like Fireball appeared in his palm, which he threw at the incoming Magic attacks.

The black-red, magma-like Fireball flew halfway through the air before erupting in blazing flames. Like a miniature sun, it smashed through more than ten incoming Magic attacks and continued toward the wooden ship, its power undiminished.

"This..."

Zuo Ling’s face was a mask of horror as he hastily retreated.

Congli took a deep breath, stirred the blood qi throughout his body, and raised a fist, punching toward the drifting Fireball.

An eye-searing bloody light erupted.

SCREECH...

With a sharp cry, the dense bloody light coalesced into a flying crane and crashed into the searing Fireball.

BOOM...

The bloody light and the flames collided, sending out waves of intense fluctuations.

The hearts of the Power Demon Sect Cultivators pounded in terror as they watched.

Zuo Ling’s eyes darted around, and he quietly slipped to the very back.

Congli divided his attention, controlling the bloody light to fight the flames while his peripheral vision swept over Lan Cai Shen. When he saw the azure water flowing around Lan Cai Shen, his face twitched.