The mountain protection formation barely held for less than two hours before it was breached.
Bao Gu could only imagine how powerful the forces attacking the Xuantian Sect were.
It was known that even with an insider aiding them, the Taiyin Sect had failed to break the mountain protection formation after attacking for so many days.
The deafening rumble echoed through the mountain like rolling thunder, causing Zi Yunshu’s cave to tremble violently.
Bao Gu clearly saw the walls of the cave crack.
If it weren’t for the protection of the formation, Zi Yunshu’s cave would have likely collapsed by now.
If even the mountain protection formation couldn’t hold for long, how much longer could the formation in her Little Martial Aunt’s cave last?
Even if it could hold, how long could the Lingyun Peak formation withstand?
She could hide here, but what about Ling’er?
What about the little demon beasts around the mountain protection grandmother?
The more Bao Gu thought about it, the more restless she became, calling out to Zi Yunshu, “Little Martial Aunt, I have to go out!”
Zi Yunshu ignored Bao Gu and coiled up in front of a jade door deeper inside the cave.
Bao Gu guessed that the demon saint was inside refining Nirvana pills.
If she disturbed the demon saint, that batch of Nirvana pills would likely be ruined.
She furrowed her brows and said, “Little Martial Aunt, I can stay here, but you have to tell me what the situation outside is like and how many forces are attacking us?”
Seeing that Zi Yunshu was still ignoring her, she hurriedly called out, “If the Xuantian Sect can’t hold, I can still call for help!”
Zi Yunshu wrote on the ground with her serpent tail: “I don’t know! If the Xuantian Sect can’t hold, Yu Mi will come to take you away.”
Bao Gu gritted her teeth and said, “Then we’ll be like stray dogs, and it will all be too late!”
She then asked, “Can we contact the outside world from here?”
Zi Yunshu nodded.
Bao Gu immediately took out the communication talisman from the mountain protection grandmother.
As soon as the talisman connected, she heard the mountain protection grandmother shout, “Bao Gu, hurry and leave! The mountain protection formation is about to collapse!”
The roars of beasts echoed, and cries of despair could be heard intermittently.
Bao Gu’s heart sank.
If her master and the others could hold on, how could the mountain protection formation and the peak protection formation be breached so quickly?
She rummaged through her enormous storage bag and quickly found the contact talisman for Jade Shura, establishing a connection.
Jade Shura’s voice came through the talisman: “Bao Gu, what do you need?”
Bao Gu said, “I want to know which forces are attacking the Xuantian Sect?”
Jade Shura replied, “According to the information from the Soul Chasing Pavilion, the Ning family, the Immortal Sect, the Beast Taming Valley, and the Sima family have joined forces. The Jianming Mountain Villa and the Xue Palace are taking a wait-and-see approach.”
The Ning family, the Immortal Sect, and the Sima family all had important young disciples die at their hands, so Bao Gu wasn’t surprised.
However, the fact that the Beast Taming Valley’s people had died at her hands hadn’t leaked out, so why were they getting involved?
Bao Gu asked, “How did the Beast Taming Valley get involved?”
Jade Shura said, “You should know that various sects have some means of investigation to prevent their disciples from going missing or being unaccounted for. I received news that when you came out of the Ancient Ruins, an elder from the Beast Taming Valley found a trace of the young master Ji’s remnant thoughts on you. Through some forbidden means, they learned that all the people from the Beast Taming Valley were wiped out by you.”
She paused and said, “Given the current momentum of the Xuantian Sect, since those four families have acted, they won’t leave any future troubles; they will definitely eliminate all witnesses. Bao Gu, be careful.”
Bao Gu’s heart sank further, but she said calmly, “Unless they have cultivators at the Void Tearing stage, they won’t be able to kill me. Jade Shura, I want to talk to your master.”
Jade Shura said, “Wait a moment!”
and then cut off the connection.
Zi Yunshu raised her head, looking curiously at Bao Gu, and then seemed to hear some noise, swimming to the cave entrance to open the door.
Yu Mi, covered in blood, rushed in holding the Lihuo Sword, urgently shouting, “Lingyun Peak can’t hold anymore; we need to retreat immediately!”
As she spoke, she threw out a teleportation array platform.
Zi Yunshu quickly wrote on the ground with her tail: “What about my father?”
Yu Mi replied, “Master and the others aren’t retreating; they’re still fighting. The support from Qingfeng Pavilion has also arrived, and both Pavilion Master Lu and the old Pavilion Master are here! This is no longer a fight we can get involved in. A dozen or so God Transformation stage cultivators have come with heavy treasures, and the sky is about to collapse! The mountain protection formation was affected during their battle and was directly destroyed!”
Bao Gu asked, “What about the Taiyin Sect?”
Yu Mi said, “I haven’t seen anyone from the Taiyin Sect! What are you two still doing? Let’s go!”
Zi Yunshu pointed her serpent tail at the jade door leading to the inner chamber of the cave.
Only then did Yu Mi remember that there was a demon saint inside refining Nirvana pills.
A loud crash suddenly sounded, and the ground shook violently, throwing Yu Mi and Bao Gu out.
Fortunately, both of them managed to stabilize themselves in time.
Yu Mi shouted, “Little Martial Aunt, we have to leave immediately; this cave can’t hold much longer! They’re fighting, and the mountain is collapsing!”
Bao Gu suddenly felt movement from the communication talisman Jade Shura had given her and quickly infused it with spiritual energy.
The cave shook even more violently, with waves of energy crashing against the defensive formation.
Bao Gu was nearly knocked off her feet by the violent shaking, so she summoned her flying sword and stood on it.
The voice of the Soul Chasing Pavilion master came from the talisman: “What do you need?”
Bao Gu smiled and said, “Of course, I’m looking for the Pavilion Master for a big deal. The situation is urgent, so I won’t be polite. I want to ask the people from the Soul Chasing Pavilion to help me take down some enemies.”
The Soul Chasing Pavilion master elongated his tone, saying, “Oh—” and asked, “Who do you want to take down?”
Bao Gu replied, “Naturally, I want to take the heads of those attacking the Xuantian Sect. What do you think of the price: five top-grade spirit stones for a Golden Core stage cultivator and five hundred top-grade spirit stones for a Nascent Soul stage cultivator?”
When she had previously asked Jade Shura for help in the Ancient Ruins, Jade Shura had quoted a price of three hundred middle-grade spirit stones for a Golden Core stage cultivator, which was equivalent to three top-grade spirit stones, and three hundred top-grade spirit stones for a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Given the urgency of the situation, it was impossible to expect the Soul Chasing Pavilion master to act without raising the price.
The Soul Chasing Pavilion master remained silent.
Bao Gu said, “I know the Pavilion Master is reluctant to act against the four major cultivation forces at the same time and has some concerns. However, those four forces joining hands won’t be able to destroy the Xuantian Sect. The Xuantian Sect has seen six God Transformation stage cultivators appear in just a few months; given time, Bao Gu won’t say years, but even in a year or so, how many more God Transformation stage cultivators will emerge? The value of the Supreme Monkey Wine and the demon saint’s alchemical inheritance, as well as the precious medicines I have here, I believe the Pavilion Master should understand what this represents. I can even produce Nirvana pills; how could I not have mere God Transformation pills? With Supreme Wine and God Transformation pills, I could pile up all the Nascent Soul ninth-tier cultivators to the God Transformation stage.”
The Soul Chasing Pavilion master’s laughter came through the talisman: “Bao Gu, what you said makes me want to take action myself.”
Bao Gu said confidently, “The Pavilion Master won’t. The Soul Chasing Pavilion doesn’t steal, rob, or plunder; the Pavilion Master won’t joke with the reputation and foundation of the Pavilion over these things that are already half in hand. I’m asking the Pavilion Master to act to reduce the current losses of the Xuantian Sect, and for the Pavilion Master, those attacking the Xuantian Sect are just easily obtainable spirit stones and precious medicines.”
The Soul Chasing Pavilion master said, “Since you are so sincere, I will take this deal.”
Bao Gu smiled and said, “Thank you, Pavilion Master.”
As soon as her words fell, the connection on the talisman was cut off.
Zi Yunshu curled up on the ground, silently watching Bao Gu.
Yu Mi, standing nearby, felt her heart tremble.
Bao Gu shouted, “What are you waiting for? Can’t you see the cave is about to collapse?”
The defensive formation of the cave had already developed cracks, and debris was falling from the ceiling.
Bao Gu called to Zi Yunshu, “Little Martial Aunt, let the demon saint enter my enormous storage bag to refine pills; this cave can’t hold much longer.”
Zi Yunshu opened the jade door to the inner chamber of the cave, revealing a spacious stone room.
In the center of the stone room stood a pill furnace as tall as a person, and a woman in white robes sat cross-legged beside the furnace, channeling her spiritual energy to refine pills.
A gentle spiritual light radiated from her, filling the stone room with a sense of peace, and no signs of battle reached this chamber.
The demon saint’s voice rang out: “Come in.”
As she spoke, the demon saint, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly transformed into two people.
One remained seated, refining pills, while the other walked up to Zi Yunshu.
With a slight lift of her delicate hand, Zi Yunshu transformed into a small snake and fell into her palm.
The demon saint looked down at Zi Yunshu in her arms and said, “Your sect is in trouble; I won’t stand by and do nothing. Let the disciples of the Xuantian Sect take refuge at my place for now.”
As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a teleportation formation appeared at the entrance of the stone room.
Curled up in the demon saint’s palm, Zi Yunshu looked up at her.
The demon saint gently said, “You don’t need to worry about my safety; if this place can’t be protected, I will return to Jinghu Residence through the teleportation formation.”
Yu Mi understood and bowed with a heavy fist, saying, “Thank you, demon saint!”
She quickly rode her flying sword out of the cave to find the disciples below the Golden Core stage.
In this extermination battle, without the protection of the mountain protection formation and the peak protection formation, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator could easily wipe out all the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment disciples on a peak.
Bao Gu rubbed her eyes vigorously, realizing that there were still two identical demon saints in front of her.
Suddenly, she reacted and exclaimed, “Oh no, could this be the legendary primordial spirit that has cultivated to look exactly like a real person!”
She was astonished, her mouth agape.
The demon saint holding Zi Yunshu glanced at Bao Gu before returning to sit cross-legged in front of the pill furnace, merging her primordial spirit with her true body into one person sitting before the furnace.
The transformed little snake, Zi Yunshu, nestled in her chest.
Before long, Yu Mi led a group of bloodied and injured Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples into the cave.
The newcomers, seeing Bao Gu standing there, all showed expressions of relief and gratitude, cupping their fists to her before stepping into the teleportation formation under Yu Mi’s guidance to leave.
Yu Mi didn’t linger and went out to search for other young disciples.
One after another, disciples continued to arrive and leave through the teleportation formation.
Later, Bao Gu saw a Nascent Soul elder being carried in and taken away through the teleportation formation.
Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul—everyone who entered here from the Xuantian Sect was in a terrible state, with most needing to support each other to walk.
The later arrivals were even worse off, many barely clinging to life, being carried in by their fellow disciples.
Seeing her severely injured fellow disciples, Bao Gu’s eyes turned red, and she quickly took out healing spirit fruits, spirit medicines, and monkey wine from her storage bag to hand to the injured disciples.
She saw a severely injured fellow disciple being brought in, and just as she handed over the medicine, that disciple took their last breath.
Bao Gu couldn’t hold back her tears.
Cultivating was meant to seek longevity, not death.
It was she who had brought this disaster upon the Xuantian Sect; she stood here unharmed while so many of her fellow disciples were gravely injured or even lost their lives because of her.
Unable to sit still any longer, Bao Gu summoned her flying sword and charged out of the deep pool, braving the falling debris from the damaged formation.
As soon as she flew out of the deep pool, she felt as if the sky was collapsing.
The sky above was filled with violent energy, and the light of magical treasures spread everywhere.
The forest beneath her feet had already turned into ruins, towering ancient trees reduced to scorched earth, and the hills were blasted into depressions.
The ground was riddled with sword energy, creating deep pits everywhere.
Her and her sister’s small courtyard had vanished without a trace, leaving only pits where even the stones had been melted away.
In the sky, powerful attacks occasionally fell into the Lingyun Peak forest, and whenever a beam of light descended, it would explode with a massive wave of energy.
Sometimes, there were no visible magical attacks, and a mountain peak would be obliterated.
Yu Mi’s frantic voice rang out, “What are you doing here? Hurry and leave!”
Bao Gu turned her head to see her sister enveloped in flames, appearing like a fiery figure, the scorching heat distorting the air around them.
Yu Mi shouted, “Go! Leave the Xuantian Sect immediately, now!”
She retracted the light from her arms and reached out to pull Bao Gu.
Bao Gu saw that her sister’s once snow-white arms were now devoid of flesh, revealing stark white bones.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and avoiding Yu Mi’s arm, she turned and shot up towards the sky.
Yu Mi yelled, “Come back!”
She extinguished the flames around her and rushed to Bao Gu, grabbing her tightly, saying, “Don’t be reckless, don’t go to your death. Listen to me, leave.”
Although Bao Gu didn’t turn back, her consciousness clearly saw Yu Mi’s condition.
Her sister’s clothes were tattered, and there wasn’t a single intact piece of flesh on her body; many places were exposed bone.
Tears streamed down Bao Gu’s face as she choked out, “Sister, does it hurt?”
Yu Mi didn’t respond, pulling Bao Gu and turning to escape back into the deep pool.
She said, “Do you remember the dragon bone you gave to Master? He has refined it into a heavy treasure at the God Transformation stage and is fighting them. Nanshan Yijian has also made a move, and the Soul Chasing Pavilion master has led the assassins from the Soul Chasing Pavilion to join the fray. Although both sides are suffering heavy casualties, the outcome is still uncertain. Bao Gu, as long as you don’t fall into their hands, as long as you are here, the Xuantian Sect won’t be defeated. You are the hope for the rise of the Xuantian Sect; do you understand?”
As she spoke, she brought Bao Gu back to the stone room where the demon saint was refining pills, intending to rush into the teleportation formation.
Bao Gu quickly used her energy to stop herself, saying to Yu Mi, “Sister, the Xuantian Sect has another weapon, the Xuantian Sword! I will go out and wipe out these bastards!”
Yu Mi forcibly restrained Bao Gu, saying, “Your current strength is too weak. If you use the Xuantian Sword, you will undoubtedly die. If the Xuantian Sword reappears in the world, it will either create another absolute land like the Bamboo Sea Forbidden Zone or be seized by other sects. Bao Gu, listen to me, leave.”
Her voice was somewhat intermittent, showing signs of exhaustion.
Seeing Yu Mi’s unsteady form, Bao Gu quickly supported her and poured monkey wine into Yu Mi’s mouth.
Yu Mi swallowed the wine and hugged Bao Gu as they rushed into the teleportation formation.
Just as they entered the formation, she called out, “Saint Aunt, no other disciples from the Xuantian Sect will be coming; let’s go.”
The demon saint opened her eyes, releasing a peaceful energy that enveloped the pill furnace.
Her seated form and the furnace floated up from the ground and swiftly entered the teleportation formation to leave.
Once the demon saint left, the demon energy that had supported the stone room vanished, causing the entire stone room to collapse, and water from the pool surged in…
