The current situation could be described as quite delicate.
On one side, there was the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Path, the bearer of the Demon Lord’s bloodline, the beacon of hope for the demonic way. On the other side, there was the future Seven Star, the messenger of justice, destined to save the continent.
These two could be said to stand on completely opposing sides.
Zhou Yu looked at the outstretched hand, pondering for a long time.
Then, she took it.
“I trust Tang Xin,” she said, “so… I trust you too.”
Seeing this, Tang Xin finally felt relieved.
Not fighting was indeed a good outcome…
However, even though Zhou Yu had become their ally, the pursuers outside were still there. Those people might not be so discerning, thinking something like “there are good people in the demonic path.”
“All the mountain exit routes are guarded,” Zhou Yu said. “The elders who came brought a lot of people, aiming to prevent any demonic cultivators from sneaking out.”
“Then, there are only two choices left,” Tang Xin said, resting her chin on her hand. “Either we try to blend in and see if we can sneak Lian Xin out by pretending to be righteous cultivators.”
“Or, we venture into dangerous areas to find a new passage…”
Actually, there was a third option: to keep maneuvering in the mountains, wait for the cooldown of the Transformation Pill, change their appearances, and walk right past the righteous cultivators.
But this was riskier than the first two options. The pursuers could catch up at any time, and dragging it out would clearly be disadvantageous for them.
“Finding a new passage is thirty percent skill, seventy percent luck,” Zhou Yu shook her head. “The ones guarding the exits are the direct disciples of various sects, surely instructed to be meticulous and cautious…”
“So,” Tang Xin also thought of this, and said in a deep voice, “we need to create a distraction first.”
“A distraction?”
The others looked at her in confusion.
“Yes, a big commotion to draw everyone’s attention,” Tang Xin said with a villainous smile. “In the chaos, we will have our chance!”
Outside the forest, the disciples who had split from the Demon-Slaying Alliance had already joined forces with the cultivators guarding the entrance, forming a sizable team.
“Their strength shouldn’t be too formidable,” a disciple from the Demon-Slaying Alliance said. “According to the elders’ calculations, at most, they are at the high stage of Foundation Building to the early stage of Golden Core. As long as we don’t encounter them one-on-one, there’s nothing to fear!”
The other side kept running, clearly not daring to engage in battle. They didn’t even dare to face these ordinary cultivators head-on, so their cultivation level couldn’t be that high!
As for the rumors from the Hundred Poisons Hall about a “terrifyingly powerful senior,” “member of a mysterious force,” or “world-destroying demonic artifact,” those were likely just scare tactics.
Have you ever seen a senior from the demonic path wielding a world-destroying artifact being chased all over the mountains by a group of young cultivators?
What a bunch of brainless demonic cultivators, getting tricked so easily. If it were us, disciples of the righteous sects with broad knowledge and vision, we would never fall for such a ruse!
“The area is completely surrounded,” a cultivator reported. “All members are grouped into teams of at least three cultivators. Everything is ready!”
“Good,” said the Golden Core cultivator in charge of the operation. “Advance and flush out those rats for me!”
At the command, the righteous cultivators slowly moved forward, tightening the encirclement.
The Hundred Poisons Mountain Range was no ordinary mountain range; its natural environment was quite harsh, so their advance was not rushed.
After all, it was already a situation of catching a turtle in a jar. Even if they could fly, they couldn’t escape the watchful eyes on the ground.
“Sigh,” a sect disciple in the search team sighed. “This demon-slaying mission is so boring. I just wandered around the outer mountains and didn’t dare to go deeper. It feels like a huge waste of time.”
“Demon-slaying is a task for the elite disciples. We’re just here to tag along,” said a teammate beside him. “Once this mission is over, we should be able to get our contribution points.”
“Yeah, if it weren’t for the contribution points, who would come to this godforsaken place?” the third disciple said. “By the way, what are you planning to do with your contribution points?”
“Of course, I’m going to exchange them for gifts for my junior sister! I’ve liked her for a long time. Once this mission is over, I’m going to confess to her!”
“I’m planning to exchange them for some medicinal pills for healing and longevity, then visit my hometown… I still have some relatives in the mortal world.”
“Not bad, but you can’t beat me. Actually, I have a daughter. After this mission, I’m planning to visit her.”
“You have a daughter?!”
Just as the cultivators were imagining how they would relax after completing the mission, an unusual tremor suddenly came from the ground.
Birds took flight in panic, beasts ran wildly, and poisonous insects swarmed. All the creatures in the forest seemed to have gone berserk.
“What’s going on?”
The search team members immediately tensed up.
The direction of the tremor was right in front of them. They exchanged glances, took out their spiritual tools, and cautiously moved forward.
Along with them, there were dozens of other teams investigating the source of the tremor. From the sky, it looked like ripples continuously shrinking.
The tremors became more frequent and intense, and an indescribable sense of oppression spread in the hearts of every righteous cultivator, as if something extremely terrifying was waiting for them ahead.
“Stop!”
The squad leader raised his hand to signal.
The oppression became tangible. Ahead, an incredibly evil aura rushed towards them, causing the dantian of the righteous cultivators to momentarily stagnate.
“This, this is…”
Many young disciples were so scared they could barely speak.
Weren’t they told that the demonic cultivator they were hunting was at most at the early stage of Golden Core?
Could the early stage of Golden Core create such a commotion? If they were being used as cannon fodder, this was too much!
The tremors continued to intensify until the pebbles on the ground were shaken into the air, and the accumulation of the evil aura reached its peak.
Boom—
A deafening sound echoed from the forest, resonating in the ears of every righteous cultivator.
A pitch-black beam of light shot up from the position in front of them, piercing the sky and opening a blood-red gate in the heavens, as if hell had opened and the apocalypse had arrived.
“It’s over, my junior sister…”
“My family…”
“My daughter…”
A sense of impending doom filled the forest, weighing heavily on the hearts of every righteous cultivator.
You shouldn’t have trusted the elder’s words. Wouldn’t it have been better to stay safely within the sect? Why come to such a dangerous place to court death?
Everyone was so frightened that cold sweat poured down their faces, and they were utterly disoriented. Forget about continuing the investigation; they didn’t even have the courage to take a step back and retreat.
At that moment, under the blood-red gate, in front of the dark beam of light, a blurry figure appeared in everyone’s sight.
“I.”
That deep, ancient, androgynous voice slowly echoed through the forest.
“I’m back…”
