Free Web NovelChapter 298: Chapter 27: Tying Up Loose Ends
The moment Wang Ping heard the words "Blood Sacrifice," his brow twitched. Within the Demon Race, only great demons with a true heritage could obtain such a Secret Technique. Furthermore, behind anyone who knew this technique, there was sure to be a Giant Demon—or even a True Monarch!
Zi Luan’s earlier comment was really just a courtesy to the figure backing the Snake Demon. Otherwise, if they had actually pursued it, they had plenty of ways to kill it.
"The other one is a Taiyan Cultivator. It must be Wu Ma Daoist’s head disciple, Guanmao!"
Wang Ping spoke as if to himself, yet his words were also a reminder to everyone present. Like Zi Luan, he raised his head to gaze above the clouds.
The figure from above the clouds was descending rapidly, appearing in their field of vision in the blink of an eye. He was a dashing young man dressed in a gray scholar’s robe and a black cloth cap. However, the gruesome wound on his chest lent his handsome features a bizarre air.
The wound on his chest must have been from the Snake Demon’s earlier sneak attack. Blood-red shoots were already sprouting from it. But it was this very wound that told Wang Ping and the others that this man was not a Spirit Body but a being of flesh and blood. Yet he had been able to fight Guanmao to a standstill and, despite suffering such a grievous injury, seemed utterly unaffected.
"Good afternoon, Fellow Daoists!"
The man pointed a finger casually, and a beam of pure white light descended from the tainted sky, brilliantly illuminating the earth.
Just then, the True Spirit that the Snake Demon had knocked into the ground suddenly let out a piercing shriek and burst free from the earth. But the moment it shot out, a bronze bell slammed down, trapping it within.
"A Fellow Daoist from the Jimin Association?" Zi Luan asked, putting away the bronze bell and staring at the newcomer. "Care for a round?"
"That won’t be necessary. My mission is complete..."
Before he could finish speaking, his body was sliced in two by a Longsword gleaming with red light. It was Ganxing who had struck, the blade moving with astonishing speed.
CLANG! Ganxing’s second strike was blocked by a white shield.
"A bit hasty, aren’t you, Fellow Daoist?" The bisected "Scholar" seemed completely unharmed. A vivid, blood-red gash was clearly visible at his waist, yet only a trickle of blood seeped out.
"I must be going. Until we meet again!"
As he spoke, the pillar of light from the sky enveloped him. His body seemed to melt within the column, and in an instant, he dissolved into a plume of gray-white vapor, ascending with the light into the clouds above.
"That’s a Cultivation System that’s never been seen before!"
Tianshan Daoist took out a bamboo slip and quickly began recording something. Afterward, everyone, including Wang Ping, did the same, documenting everything that had just transpired.
"I’d always heard the Jimin Association was secretive. I’ve had them investigated before, but to maintain the balance of power within the Daoist Scripture Hall, I never dug too deep. Now that they’ve shown themselves, however, it’s an entirely different matter."
Zi Luan turned and shot a glance at Wang Ping.
Wang Ping, however, ignored Zi Luan’s look. He gazed up at the sky, which had darkened once more. Forming a hand seal for a Spell, he activated the Heaven-Reaching Talisman within his Primordial Spirit Consciousness. Hundreds of Talismans materialized, stirring up a boundless tide of Wood Spirit Qi that cleansed the pollution from the clouds in the blink of an eye.
As true sunlight pierced the clouds and shone upon the land, the battle to the north drew to a close, punctuated by a final, bloodcurdling shriek.
Zi Luan’s body plunged downward, landing at the Daoist Scripture Hall’s garrison in Changwen Prefecture City. Tianshan, Ganxing, and Wu Quan followed, each landing in a different area.
Tianshan uncorked his gourd and absorbed the neutralized chaotic spiritual energy, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. Ganxing, meanwhile, collected two crimson longswords from the ruins—Magical Artifacts dropped by Ren Kong. He certainly had a sharp eye.
Wu Quan used Earth Vein Magic to sweep the ruins clean of all buried treasures, which included several refined Corpse Soldiers and human puppets. In the blink of an eye, he had filled a dozen or so storage bags.
Zi Luan, however, had a clear objective. After landing, he first stripped the core Magical Artifacts from the various Arrays around the Daoist Scripture Hall. Then, amidst the rubble, he collected the communication devices and stored them in a special bag.
Wang Ping had also been eyeing that set of communication devices, but unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough. By the time he descended, nothing good was left. However, it didn’t matter much. These spoils would be divvied up again later.
After Daoist Wen Yang finished his battle and stabilized the spiritual energy in the mountain forests, he didn’t return to the city. Instead, he flew directly toward White Crane Mountain. Zi Luan merely glanced in his direction and didn’t press the issue.
"What a shame. There are at least six Fire Veins on White Crane Mountain, not to mention all the treasures of the Upper Dan Sect!" Tianshan Daoist’s voice rang out, full of regret.
"It’s better that Daoist Wen Yang took it. It saves us an awkward conversation later," Ganxing responded, inspecting the new Magical Artifact in his hands.
"Fellow Daoist Changqing, you can use a Communication Token to message headquarters now."
Zi Luan looked toward Wang Ping, who was standing atop a ruined wall.
Wang Ping replied, "I already have."
As he spoke, he scanned the surrounding ruins, confirming whether the contamination from the True Spirit had been completely cleansed. Once certain, he immediately dispatched several letters via Puppet Bird, then recalled the Golden Armor Soldiers that had spread out in all directions.
Once he had done all this, Zi Luan approached with the other three men.
After the five of them conferred for a while, Tianshan, Wu Quan, and Ganxing returned to Jinhua Prefecture City with the plundered spoils. Wang Ping and Zi Luan remained, using Wood Spirit Qi to slowly restore vitality to the region, burying the uncleansable pockets of contamination deep underground with churning tree roots.
Yu Lian, in the meantime, was busy clearing the river channels near the city.
Four hours passed in a flurry of activity. When the Cultivators from other parts of Mozhou Road finally arrived, Zi Luan and Wang Ping briefed them on the situation and departed in haste.
The two of them flew to the border between Mozhou Road and Nanlin Road, where Zi Luan abruptly descended upon a mountain peak to cast a divination.
A Yang Trigram!
A glint flashed in his eyes. He immediately summoned a Luck-Borrowing Talisman to draw upon the fortune of the heavens and earth before casting another divination. When he used the Luck-Borrowing Talisman, there was no worldly phenomenon whatsoever—he had cultivated to the realm of "Nothingness."
But he still cast a Yang Trigram!
"Are you divining about Daoist Xiu Yu?" Wang Ping asked.
"Yes. I suddenly had a premonition, though I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. For my junior brother to cause such a huge incident, things are definitely not that simple."
Zi Luan stared south, his gaze grave...
「Southern Sea Region.」
On a lone island shrouded in black mist, a dense concentration of Wood Spirit Qi had gathered.
The Wood Spirit Qi emanated from an Array that covered the entire island. At the Array’s core lay a dismantled puppet, and in front of it, a half-drawn Talisman.
The half-finished runes on the Talisman were rapidly fading away.
RUMBLE!
Thunder shook the sky, and a bolt of purple lightning as thick as a bucket struck the dismantled puppet. After the flash, the puppet was reduced to a pile of dust.
"It’s not your turn to try," a cold voice said from nearby. The speaker was wreathed in flames, clearly a Fire Cultivator.
"Even if we hadn’t interfered, he couldn’t have succeeded. He’s just a fool who thought himself clever. Still, thanks to him, the turmoil in the Zhongzhou Continent has begun ahead of schedule."
Beside the Fire Cultivator stood another man. He emanated a grayish-white halo and was dressed in a Scholar’s Robe. It was Guan Xi!
