Although Feng Yi had spent years in the Xuantian Mountains without leaving, now that he was in Xuantian Sect, Zi Tianjun only had him as a reliable right-hand man.
With the fate of Xuantian Sect’s millennia-old foundation at stake, how could he not be told everything in detail? So Feng Yi actually knew quite a bit about the Archaic Mountains.
What was happening before his eyes gave him a bad feeling, and he said to Bao Gu, “I’m afraid something’s happened in the Archaic Mountains.”
Bao Gu thought for a moment and asked, “What makes you say that?”
Feng Yi pointed at the thirty-odd corpses on the ground and said, “Even the lowest-level rogue cultivators in the cultivation world are gathering here in groups.
That means news about the Archaic Mountains has already leaked out.
What I’m worried about is that it’s already become common knowledge in the cultivation world.”
Bao Gu nodded gravely and said, “Let’s go into the mountains and take a look.” News travels fast in the cultivation world—any little disturbance and everyone knows.
Last time, when she and the people from Yue Kingdom entered the Archaic Mountains, the commotion and casualties were noticed by those with an eye for such things.
Add to that the emergence of Rong Ruyu, and it was impossible not to attract attention.
A place that could nurture a peerless demon like Rong Ruyu—how could it be ordinary?
The group headed into the Archaic Mountains.
They hadn’t gone far before they saw another group of rogue cultivators flying overhead on their magic treasures, hurrying deeper into the mountains.
Not long after that group passed, several more groups of rogue cultivators flew overhead in succession.
Because the Archaic Mountains were full of formation restrictions and dangers, these cultivators didn’t dare fly too high or too fast, skimming just above the treetops—eager but cautious.
From deep in the forest came faint roars of beasts and the sounds of spells and magic treasures clashing.
The noises were distant and indistinct.
A young man of about twenty behind Feng Yi said, “Master, there’s something going on in the mountains.
Should we pick up the pace and catch up to see?” Sneaking through the woods and flying so slowly—who knew how long it would take to get anywhere?
The group of young Discipline Hall disciples behind Feng Yi, having advanced to Nascent Soul stage in their early twenties thanks to countless Foundation Establishment Pills, Golden Core Pills, Nascent Soul Pills, and their Heavenly Spiritual Roots, and armed with top-grade magic treasures, had just slaughtered a group of rogue cultivators with ease.
They were all brimming with confidence! Young and inexperienced, feeling capable, they were eager not to fall behind and couldn’t help but feel impatient.
Feng Yi glared at Zhao Zuo and scolded, “What, you in a hurry to reincarnate?”
The Discipline Hall disciples behind Feng Yi, seeing his displeased expression, all fell silent, only sneaking glances at Zhao Zuo.
Yue Zuo was Feng Yi’s personal disciple and had always been close to him, so he wasn’t as afraid as the other Discipline Hall disciples.
He said, “Master, those rogue cultivators ahead are already scouting the way.
If there’s danger, they’ll run into it first.
Besides, with our group, even if there is danger, we should be able to handle it.”
Bao Gu’s scalp tingled when she heard this.
These guys really had been cooped up in Xuantian Sect too long and had no idea how dangerous the world was! She said in a low voice, “Last time we went into the mountains, ten Void Tearing stage cultivators with over a dozen sacred artifacts led an army in.
In the end, we only got out because the demon saint elder suppressed the real body inside.
Everyone below Void Tearing stage except Yu Mi died in battle, and even the Void Tearing stage cultivators barely escaped with their lives, all seriously injured.” She turned to Zhao Zuo, then glanced at the eager Discipline Hall disciples behind him, who were probing the depths of the Archaic Mountains with their divine sense, and asked, “Do you think your combat power is on par with a Void Tearing stage cultivator wielding an immortal weapon?”
The twenty Discipline Hall disciples looked at Bao Gu in shock and doubt, thinking she was exaggerating, but the heavy aura around her still made them sense real danger.
These disciples were the best of the best in Xuantian Sect—outstanding, proud but not brainless.
Hearing Bao Gu say this, and seeing both her and the Discipline Hall elder being so cautious, they immediately realized how dangerous this place was.
No matter how curious, they reined themselves in and became more careful, though they still felt a bit unconvinced.
After all, they were the cream of the crop among Xuantian Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivators!
Bao Gu said, “This is a land of great fortune, but even more so a place of great danger.
If it were truly full of spiritual energy and without peril, would it be left for Xuantian Sect to take over now…” As she spoke, she saw a perfectly intact skeleton lying ahead.
The skeleton’s clothes were undamaged, but there wasn’t a scrap of flesh left.
Not even a fallen leaf had landed on the clothes, and the bones were so clean there wasn’t a speck of dust—like someone had just placed a freshly picked skeleton there.
Feng Yi, Yu Mi, and the Discipline Hall disciples also saw the skeleton.
Yu Mi looked around and warned, “Be careful!”
The Discipline Hall disciples, though young and brash, didn’t dare be careless when even Yu Mi was on guard.
Seeing such a clean and eerie skeleton here, they all grew nervous, gripping their swords and staying on high alert.
Feng Yi scanned the area, stepped forward to investigate, and said, “From the marks on the branches above, the pit under this person, the marks on the clothes, and the remaining bones, it looks like he was flying through the treetops, got caught by vines, yanked down, and had his blood essence sucked dry.
Judging by the strength and quality of the bones, he was probably mid-to-late Nascent Soul stage.” He searched the dead cultivator and only found a storage ring.
Breaking the owner’s restriction, he found some fourth- and fifth-grade spirit herbs, a jug of fourth-grade spirit wine for restoring spiritual power, some refining materials, a few low- to mid-grade spirit stones, and two scrolls of cultivation techniques.
Flipping through them, he saw they were the most common Qi refining methods in the cultivation world.
Most rogue cultivators had no master and relied on their own understanding or bought widely circulated techniques from shops.
These were simple and easy to learn, the first choice for those who couldn’t join a sect or get powerful techniques by chance.
Feng Yi said, “A mid-to-late Nascent Soul cultivator, killed here without even a sign of resistance.
Be careful, all of you.”
The group moved on a bit further and suddenly saw signs of a battle.
Over a dozen corpses lay scattered on the ground amid chaos, with countless broken green vines and green sap mixed with blood.
Some corpses, like the skeleton before, had been drained of blood and turned to bone; others were covered in wounds—some pierced through, some cut in half, some torn to pieces.
As for the green vines, they must have been a spirit plant that had gained sentience.
The ground was littered with vine fragments, denser toward the center, where there was a pit about three zhang deep, filled with broken roots and blood.
The roots at the bottom oozed not white or green plant sap, but blood.
This meant the plant demon had reached the stage of transforming from a plant body to a flesh-and-blood body.
The deeper they went, the more signs of fighting they saw—some from battles with demons, but even more from cultivators fighting each other.
Every few li, they’d find bones and remains, sometimes so many that the ground was littered with them.
There were few cultivators below Nascent Soul stage; most of the dead were Nascent Soul, with the occasional corpse of a Soul Formation cultivator.
Seeing so many Nascent Soul cultivators dead along the way, the Discipline Hall disciples became as cautious as if treading on thin ice.
Bao Gu’s expression was grave, her whole body radiating a murderous aura so strong that even her aura-concealing treasure couldn’t hide it.
Feng Yi asked, “Bao Gu, what do you see?”
Bao Gu said in a low voice, “The formation here has been broken.”
Feng Yi said, “So it’s broken.
With so many cultivators here, what’s so strange about the formation being—wait, what! The formation’s broken! You mean someone with extremely high formation skills came and broke it? Shit!” He’d heard from the sect master that the formation here was connected to the Nine Dragons Ascension Array, set up with incredible skill and even using many sacred artifacts as formation cores! What did that mean? Such a formation couldn’t be broken by just anyone!
The Discipline Hall disciples, seeing their usually stern and steady elder cursing, couldn’t help but look over in surprise.
Bao Gu nodded with a heavy gaze and said, “Not only is the formation broken, but look at the damage around us.
Even the formation materials have been dug out! As we walked, did you see anything left on the ground besides corpses? All the spirit herbs we saw last time are gone, even the resident demons have disappeared.”
Feng Yi said in a low voice, “You mean a major power is making a move on the Archaic Mountains? Which one? Didn’t Yue Kingdom have a contract?”
Bao Gu couldn’t say for sure—so far, they’d only found rogue cultivator corpses.
She said, “Let’s go further in and see.”
With the obstacles along the way cleared, they sped up, encountering many rogue cultivators who all kept their distance.
After crossing a ridge, they suddenly saw a group of cultivators in matching uniforms blocking the way ahead.
From the woods in front came the intense fluctuations of battle and beastly roars.
The people outside were led by Soul Formation cultivators with Nascent Soul cultivators, stopping others from going in.
A large number of rogue cultivators were blocked outside.
Some watched curiously, some tried to sneak in, others searched the area for anything left behind.
Not far away, a few cultivators were fighting to the death over a seventh-grade spirit herb.
The once-desolate Archaic Mountains were now crawling with people.
Luckily, this was still just the outer mid-slopes—if you stood on a treetop and looked back, you could still see the foot of the mountain.
Based on their journey, Bao Gu estimated these people had arrived in the last couple of days.
She told the group, “Wait here for me!” and used her shrinking-the-ground technique to move to the group of rogue cultivators blocked by the uniformed cultivators.
She picked a friendly-looking woman at mid-Nascent Soul stage, cupped her fists, and greeted, “Greetings, fellow cultivator.”
The female cultivator turned to look at Bao Gu and returned the greeting, “Greetings, fellow Daoist.”
Bao Gu asked, “What’s going on up ahead?”
The female cultivator said, “What else? The Shenxing Sect has taken over this mountain.” She glanced at Bao Gu and said, “Peak Golden Core? Go back.
It’s dangerous in there—even Nascent Soul cultivators can’t get anything good.
This isn’t a place for someone at your level to seek fortune.”
Bao Gu said, “I heard there are sacred artifacts here.”
The female cultivator laughed, “You’re a bold one, coming for sacred artifacts! Yeah, they’ve dug up quite a few.
All the major powers have gone crazy—top ten sects are all here, heading deep into the mountains.
Even Yue Kingdom, though allied with Xuantian Sect and not daring to act openly, has sent plenty of strong people in secretly.
I heard even the princes and marquises of Yue Kingdom have come.”
Bao Gu asked, “Yue Kingdom?”
The female cultivator laughed, “Yeah, Yue Kingdom.
I bet they’re kicking themselves now! Such a treasure mountain, and they handed it over to Xuantian Sect!” As she spoke, she suddenly noticed a group of people in the distance looking over.
She focused and asked the man beside her, “Brother Feng, don’t those people’s clothes look like the legendary Xuantian Sect?”
The scholar-robed man looked back, swept his divine sense, and said, “Looks a bit like Xuantian Sect.
I’ve never met them, but the clothes are similar.
The leader’s cultivation and aura seem like Xuantian Sect’s Feng Yi.
If Xuantian Sect’s here, things are about to get lively.”
The female cultivator said, “With Xuantian Sect’s strength, not likely! The Blade Gang is too busy with the Earth Ghost Dragon God to help.
Do you think the Blade Order Master will issue a Blade Order to rally the rogue cultivators against the major powers?”
The scholar-robed man said, “You wish! The Blade Order Master isn’t going to call all the rogue cultivators to dig up her own future sect headquarters! You think she’s as clueless as you?”
The female cultivator’s beautiful eyes flashed as she glared, “Who are you calling clueless?”
The scholar-robed man quickly smiled apologetically, “Me, I’m clueless!”
Only then did they notice a little girl standing nearby, her face covered by a veil, but judging by her cultivation and eyes, she was quite young.
The scholar-robed man reminded her, “Little girl, this place is dangerous.
Be careful.”
Bao Gu nodded, thanked him, and turned back to Feng Yi.
Feng Yi asked, “How’d it go?”
Bao Gu said, “All the major powers are here for the sacred artifacts in the Archaic Mountains.” She took out a transmission jade and contacted Zhang Jing, the Shadow Pavilion master in charge of intelligence for the Blade Gang.
Soon, Zhang Jing’s voice came, “Zhang Jing greets the Order Master.”
Bao Gu asked, “What’s with all the major powers gathering in the Archaic Mountains?”
Zhang Jing sounded surprised, “Order Master doesn’t know?”
Bao Gu said, “Just tell me!”
Zhang Jing said, “Rong Ruyu’s commotion in Cangdu City caught everyone’s attention.
Some powers sent experts into the Archaic Mountains to investigate.
After breaking the formation, they found the core was a sacred artifact, and the formation materials were extraordinary.
The commotion was big, and everyone saw it.
Once the news got out, the major powers sent people in first, and the rogue cultivators followed.
News of the sacred artifacts in the Archaic Mountains has spread.”
Bao Gu silently cut off the connection with Zhang Jing.
Feng Yi took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, “We can’t protect the Archaic Mountains anymore.
Bao Gu, should we go in and grab some sacred artifacts? Bao Gu, Bao Gu…”
Bao Gu snapped out of it, glanced bleakly at Feng Yi, gritted her teeth, and made a decision: “We have to go in and tell Holy Aunt and Little Martial Aunt to withdraw immediately!” The fastest way to reach the depths of the Archaic Mountains was to have the little monkey lead them through the void, but the little monkey wasn’t here.
Why was it taking so long for the little monkey to come back? Bao Gu took out another transmission jade to contact Xue Qing, only to be told the little monkey had just arrived at the demon domain’s holy city last night and left this morning.
Bao Gu said, “Huh? Did the little monkey get delayed on the way?”
Xue Qing said, “No.”
Bao Gu asked in surprise, “Then why is it so slow?”
Xue Qing laughed, “You’re complaining about how slow that silly thing is? You know how far it is from the demon domain to you? It knew you were worried about Yu Mi, so as soon as it got the lotus platform, it left without even resting.
Ling’er tried to catch up and couldn’t.”
Bao Gu asked, “Ling’er’s out of seclusion?”
Xue Qing said, “Yes.”
Bao Gu thought for a moment and asked, “The little monkey didn’t use the teleportation gate?”
“If it can save, it will.
Using the teleportation gate costs too much.
You can wait a few days, can’t you?”
Bao Gu said, “I can’t! Master, something big has happened in the cultivation world.”
Xue Qing said, “There’s something big happening every day.
What is it this time?”
Bao Gu said, “Yue Kingdom has an Archaic Mountain Range, filled with layers of formation restrictions, all with sacred artifacts as their cores.
At the very center, divine metal chains and a blood coffin suppress the drought demon at the feng shui node.
Last time we went in, we were trapped by the Heaven-Sealing Domain, and Holy Aunt used her true body to suppress the demon coffin and took over the formation core.
Now the cultivation world has learned about the sacred artifacts in the Archaic Mountains and is digging them up like crazy.”
Xue Qing asked urgently, “Divine metal chains, blood coffin, drought demon suppression? Heaven-Sealing Domain? Bao Gu, is the Archaic Mountains you’re talking about the one with the Nine Dragons Ascension feng shui array?”
Bao Gu exclaimed in surprise, “Master, you know about it?” As she spoke, she noticed many people around looking her way.
Xue Qing cursed anxiously, “This is huge! Why didn’t you say so earlier? Hurry, get Zi Yunshu and the demon saint out of there—get as far away as possible! Digging up sacred artifacts! These cultivators are insane!”
