The vast mountains had turned to scorched earth, yet the bamboo sea remained lush and green.
As Bao Gu approached the bamboo sea, she saw large swathes of green bamboo cut down and toppled, with lingering fluctuations of spiritual energy in the air from the aftermath of magical attacks.
The moment she stepped onto the edge of the bamboo sea, an unusual feeling surged within her, as if a dangerous beast was lurking in the direction of Lingyun Peak, or perhaps a powerful presence resided in that area.
She was certain that this aura did not come from Nanshan Yijian.
She slowed her flying sword to glide almost along the bamboo treetops, occasionally spotting signs of battle interspersed throughout the bamboo forest.
The green bamboo was severed by sword energy, and traces of magical attacks were evident everywhere, with severed limbs and scattered corpses strewn among the broken bamboo.
From a distance, the bamboo sea appeared vibrant and flourishing, but up close, it was a scene of devastation.
Bao Gu felt as if she had been struck by a heavy blow, the weight of it making it hard for her to breathe.
Her heart was filled with confusion and disbelief.
She couldn’t understand why, with the strong support of Qingfeng Pavilion and Soul Chasing Pavilion, the Xuantian Sect still suffered such heavy casualties.
She couldn’t fathom how there could be so many signs of battle here.
Everyone from Xuanyue Ancient City knew the might of Nanshan Yijian, who was stationed at Lingyun Peak, and that only Nanshan Yijian resided there.
How could the four major forces attack Lingyun Peak?
Wasn’t the plan to concentrate their forces to seal off Lingyun Peak after conquering Xuantian Sect and find her?
She was even more puzzled as to why, given the level of destruction from the battle, the bamboo sea had not turned to ash, and some bamboo still stood intact.
Was it because Nanshan Yijian was present, causing the major forces to hesitate?
But if they were already engaged in battle, how could there be any reservations?
Bao Gu slowed her speed even further, carefully observing her surroundings in hopes of uncovering some answers to her confusion.
“Bao Gu,” a voice suddenly rang in her ear, the voice of the mountain guardian granny.
Following that, her consciousness detected the elder appearing at her feet.
She landed in front of the elder, observing the mountain guardian granny who bowed to her, and said, “Elder, the casualties in this battle for Xuantian Sect are extremely severe.”
The mountain guardian granny sighed, “The enemy came with great force, determined to annihilate the legacy of Xuantian Sect, which led to such heavy losses.”
Bao Gu looked coldly at the elder and asked, “Elder, can I still trust you?”
The mountain guardian granny was taken aback, asking in surprise, “What do you mean by that?”
Bao Gu replied, “The four major forces joined forces to attack Xuantian Sect, yet no one came to inform me. I only learned of it when the mountain protection formation was attacked. Elder, I asked you to keep an eye on the movements of each peak; why have I received no news at all? They came knocking at our door, and no one bothered to tell me.”
The elder said, “I have sent Ling’er back to find you.”
“But Ling’er said nothing and is still focused on breaking through her realm,” Bao Gu fixed her gaze on her and said, “Such a significant matter, shouldn’t you have come to inform me personally?”
The mountain guardian granny lowered her head, “I feel guilty.”
Bao Gu asked, “What were you doing at that time?”
The mountain guardian granny replied, “I was gathering the small demon beasts scattered around Lingyun Peak back to my cave. They are too weak to withstand any impact.”
Bao Gu looked deeply at the elder, then steered her flying sword towards Lingyun Peak in the bamboo sea.
When she reached the foot of Lingyun Peak, she suddenly found a wall of energy formed by a magical formation blocking her path.
The unusual aura she had sensed upon entering the bamboo sea intensified, as if she were getting closer to that giant beast.
Bao Gu scanned her surroundings and realized that this magical formation seemed quite powerful.
She maneuvered her flying sword close to the energy wall formed by the magical formation, flying upwards, but even when she reached the height of Lingyun Peak, she could still feel the power of the formation.
As she flew higher, she no longer sensed the formation’s power.
When she descended slightly, she felt it again.
Separated by the formation’s power, she could only see a lush bamboo sea ahead, but she knew that Lingyun Peak should be right in front of her.
Just moments ago, she could see Lingyun Peak from a distance, but now that she was right in front of it, she couldn’t see it at all!
Bao Gu hesitated for a moment, then flew towards the spot where the formation’s power disappeared.
As she flew a short distance, she sensed someone appearing behind her, startling her into a defensive stance, only to realize it was Zi Tianjun.
She called out, “Master,” and turned to ask, “When did a magical formation appear here?”
As she turned back, she caught sight of dozens of figures riding flying swords descending not far from her in the bamboo sea.
With Xuantian Sect nearly destroyed, the bamboo sea might be the only place to take refuge.
The thought tightened her heart.
Zi Tianjun said, “Follow me!”
He led Bao Gu down to the ground, flying towards the other side of Lingyun Peak.
Bao Gu followed closely behind Zi Tianjun on her flying sword.
She said, “Master, there are so many things I don’t understand.”
Zi Tianjun asked, “What don’t you understand?”
Bao Gu replied, “With the support of Soul Chasing Pavilion and Qingfeng Pavilion, why are there still such heavy losses? Master, if we can’t win, why didn’t you let Grandmaster, Master, and Uncle retreat? Why was I not informed when Xuantian Sect was attacked… If I had received the news earlier and notified Soul Chasing Pavilion to take action, perhaps we wouldn’t have suffered such heavy casualties.”
She took a deep breath to calm her emotions and continued, “And this bamboo sea, I always feel something is off, as if an unusual aura that I’ve never sensed before is lingering here.”
Zi Tianjun remained silent as he led Bao Gu down to the ground.
Bao Gu recognized the steps covered in fallen leaves beneath her feet as the main path up the mountain.
Zi Tianjun guided Bao Gu slowly up the steps, saying, “This magical formation is one I just set up, and the formation spirit is created from the dragon bones you gave me, combined with some forbidden techniques.”
Suddenly, a brief dizziness washed over Bao Gu, as if she had penetrated something, and the “disappeared” Lingyun Peak reappeared before her.
Looking at the path she had once climbed, she felt a sense of disorientation.
Zi Tianjun said, “Come with me!”
He then flew towards the peak.
Bao Gu hurriedly followed Zi Tianjun on her flying sword.
After flying for a short while, she saw the remnants of collapsed mountains, with signs of fierce battles everywhere, and unburied corpses scattered about.
From the clothing of these corpses, it was evident that they belonged to members of Xuantian Sect, Ning Family, Beast Taming Valley, Immortal Gate, and the Sima Family, as well as disciples from Qingfeng Pavilion and Soul Chasing Pavilion.
She had thought the corpses she encountered in the bamboo sea were numerous enough, but she was shocked to find even more on this main peak!
Almost every few yards she flew, she would see a severed limb or a corpse.
Many of the corpses lay beside the steps, and Bao Gu clearly saw that they still wore magical artifacts, storage bracelets, and rings.
She could imagine how many people had engaged in fierce battles here.
Bao Gu took a deep breath to suppress the shock in her heart and asked, “Master, why are there so many corpses here?
Didn’t the people from Qingfeng Pavilion clean up the battlefield?
How could there still be these remains, and even the corpses of Qingfeng Pavilion disciples were left behind?”
Zi Tianjun replied, “The area Qingfeng Pavilion cleaned up did not include the range covered by this protective formation.”
Bao Gu’s heart stirred as she realized that Lingyun Peak must have something else hidden within it.
Otherwise, who would risk a direct confrontation with Nanshan Yijian, paying such a heavy price in casualties to attack?
Bao Gu looked up at Lingyun Peak, only to see a massive dragon coiling in the sky above it.
The unusual aura she had sensed earlier emanated from this formation spirit created from the dragon bones her master had used.
At this moment, the dragon appeared hornless, and its body was not merely bones; it looked like a living dragon.
Bao Gu stared blankly at the dragon formation spirit as it flew upwards, and before long, they reached the mountaintop, which was now unrecognizable.
She was momentarily stunned and quickly turned to look down the mountain, only to find that Lingyun Peak had shrunk significantly!
She had never measured the height of Lingyun Peak, so she didn’t know how tall it was, but she could still discern the visual difference from the peak to the foot of the mountain.
Now, the mountaintop of Lingyun Peak was scorched and melted, with deep pits and intersecting sword marks forming various deep cracks.
Bao Gu trembled at the sight before her, filled with sorrow, tears blurring her vision, and hatred surged within her heart.
She silently vowed to take revenge, swearing not to live in peace until she did!
Zi Tianjun walked deeper into the ruins of the collapsed rocks, asking, “Bao Gu, do you know why I brought you here?”
Bao Gu wiped away her tears and hurried to catch up with Zi Tianjun, shaking her head to indicate she didn’t know.
Zi Tianjun looked around and sighed heavily, “Not only did you not anticipate the severity of this battle, but no one did! If it weren’t for the dragon bones you provided, and at the last moment, your Uncle Chen sacrificing himself… to protect this mountaintop with the spirit of this dragon bone…”
Bao Gu looked at Zi Tianjun in shock, then raised her head to gaze at the coiling dragon above, exclaiming, “Is that Uncle Chen?!”
Zi Tianjun spoke gravely, “The head of the Sima family struck the Lingyun Peak protective formation with a treasure cauldron.
The formation broke, and the cauldron hit the mountaintop, accidentally blasting open the secret chamber built by our ancestor.”
Bao Gu gasped in shock, her mouth agape, standing there dumbfounded, her eyes wide open.
Zi Tianjun paused and looked back at Bao Gu, saying, “What are you standing there for?
Come with me!”
“Oh!”
Bao Gu hurriedly steered her flying sword to chase after Zi Tianjun.
She hadn’t flown far when she saw Nanshan Yijian sitting cross-legged on a giant rock over a meter high, eyes closed in meditation.
At that moment, Nanshan Yijian appeared to be in his twenties, with starry brows and sword-like eyes, calm as water.
Bao Gu quickly flew towards Nanshan Yijian, intending to bow and greet him, but she caught sight of a deep pit several meters wide behind Nanshan Yijian, the bottom covered with a massive white jade stone.
This jade stone was nearly a meter long and wide, with a faint glow flowing across its surface, and in the center, there was a circle of patterns resembling a teleportation formation.
Bao Gu noticed that the mountains surrounding this massive jade stone had been flattened, and it remained unscathed, indicating its extraordinary nature.
Moreover, since this object was buried beneath the ancestral grounds of Xuantian Sect, and no one had been able to disturb this place since the fall of the ancestor, it was clear that this was something left behind by the Xuantian ancestor.
She finally understood why so many people had died around Lingyun Peak, why the casualties of Xuantian Sect were so severe, and why none of the four major forces had survived!
It was all because of this massive jade stone, which was highly likely to be left by the Xuantian ancestor.
She turned to Zi Tianjun and asked, “Master, what is this large jade stone?”
Zi Tianjun replied, “It is a secret chamber.”
Bao Gu was once again shocked, her mouth agape, completely stunned.
She blankly asked, “What does it mean for the ancestor to bury the jade stone, no, the secret chamber here?
Is it to force the people of Xuantian Sect to die here when they are exterminated?”
Suddenly, she thought of Duobao Spirit Monkey and quickly pulled it out from her oversized storage bag, asking, “Little monkey, do you know what this is…” Before she could finish her sentence, Duobao Spirit Monkey let out a sharp “ee” and jumped onto the pattern resembling a teleportation formation in the middle of the jade stone, joyfully bouncing and continuously squeaking at her, as if urging her to come over.
