Chapter 115: Blood Abyss Sect Teleportation Array

Several days later, at the border of Blood Demon Valley.

A cyan rainbow streak of light swept across the sky from afar, hovering mid-air. The cyan light converged, revealing a young man's figure.

Jiuyou stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze calm and composed, not a single ripple of emotion showing on his handsome face. He quietly gazed at the faint blood mist drifting out from Blood Demon Valley before him.

This very spot was where he had burst out of the blood mist when he first set foot in Qian Prefecture all those years ago.

With his current capabilities, coupled with his familiarity with the terrain, traversing Blood Demon Valley would hardly be a challenge. But he had not chosen to do so. Instead, he halted at the boundary, his gaze cold as he stared northward.

Back in Thousand Leaf City, Jiuyou had once ransacked the souls of two Golden Core Executives from the Blood Abyss Sect. As it happened, those two were disciples of the Ye-surnamed Nascent Soul cultivator and had accompanied their master to the junction between Blood Demon Valley and Qian Prefecture. It was at this very junction, roughly two hundred years ago, that the Blood Abyss Sect had discovered a teleportation array. After repairs, it had surprisingly proven operational.

This was precisely why the Blood Abyss Sect, despite lacking a complete map, could still send people to appear in Lingchuan.

Since a teleportation array was available, forcing one's way through Blood Demon Valley obviously carried far greater risk. Naturally, Jiuyou now had a much clearer objective in mind.

The cyan rainbow streak of light turned a corner in mid-air.

...

Thousands of miles away.

Deep within a mountain range spanning several thousand miles, there lay a colossal natural sinkhole, plunging vertically roughly three hundred zhang, as if a massive stone pillar had been driven straight down into the earth.

Spiritual energy was scarce in this area, and being so close to a perilous place like Blood Demon Valley, it should have been utterly devoid of human traces. Yet, as luck would have it, the sinkhole was covered from top to bottom with buildings and hundreds of carved Cave Dwellings, housing thousands of cultivators year-round.

At the very top of the sinkhole, a single extremely conspicuous banner was planted, bearing the emblem of the Blood Abyss Sect.

These Blood Abyss Sect disciples had gathered here, as if guarding something.

Deep within the mountain, inside a massive Cave Dwelling.

"Oh, Senior Brother Qiu has returned. It seems you still haven't found any news of the spiritual fungus? Might as well give up, hehe."

A young cultivator with his hair bound in plain blue cloth, an ordinary face, and a thin, frail frame spoke with a hint of mockery. Spiritual energy swirled faintly around him, his cultivation at Early Nascent Soul.

Standing at the entrance of the Cave Dwelling was a middle-aged cultivator with graying temples and a face full of worry, his cultivation at Peak Early Nascent Soul. Hearing the young man's teasing tone, he let out a dissatisfied cold snort.

"Junior Brother Changsun, I didn't expect you to be the one stationed here this time. Whether I've found news about the spiritual fungus is none of your concern. But speaking of which, with your meager cultivation, how could the Grand Elder feel at ease entrusting this place to you? Could it be that Senior Brother Jia begged for this assignment on your behalf?"

The young cultivator's expression flickered briefly before quickly composing itself. He let out a few cold chuckles and said no more.

The middle-aged cultivator cast a faint glance at him and, without another word, strode straight toward the depths of the cave.

The Blood Abyss Sect was not exactly a harmonious family. Due to various entanglements of interest, internal friction and factional infighting were common occurrences. If not for the three Late Nascent Soul elders suppressing them from above, the Blood Abyss Sect would have long since fallen apart.

Currently, the Grand Elder had left the sect to wander abroad in search of opportunities for Spirit Transformation. Some time ago, the Fifth Elder's Soul Lamp had suddenly gone out, and the Second Elder had gone to investigate. Only the Third Elder remained in the sect to hold things together.

As for Nascent Soul elders like himself, they were either assigned to guard the sect or its assets, or dispatched on the Grand Elder's orders to search far and wide for the Nether Soul Spirit Mushroom. That spiritual fungus was exceedingly difficult to find. Even the Fifth Elder had only stumbled upon a five-thousand-year-old specimen by sheer luck, and it was now being nurtured deep within the Grand Elder's Cave Dwelling.

If not for those Spirit Transformation old monsters, who rarely showed themselves in the world, suddenly intervening in the Lingchuan incident back then, perhaps the Blood Abyss Sect would have already collected the nine required Late Nascent Soul divine souls. Who knows if they'd still be dealing with such trivial matters today.

The two had just brushed past each other.

Boom!

A figure came flying backwards from the entrance of the Cave Dwelling, hurtling violently toward the young cultivator's direction.

The young man furrowed his brows slightly and raised a hand, sending a burst of magical power to knock the figure away. The figure tumbled several times in mid-air before slamming heavily against the ground. Only then did the two see clearly that it was the disciple on guard duty at the entrance.

"Who dares trespass upon the sacred grounds of my Blood Abyss Sect!"

The young cultivator bellowed in a low voice. The middle-aged cultivator likewise stared at the entrance with full vigilance.

The entrance was shrouded in chaos and murk. The two frantically extended their Divine Sense toward the doorway, only to crash into some kind of barrier. Not only could they not probe outward, but they were instead jarred so violently that their Sea of Consciousness shook and wavered.

It was at that moment that a pair of dark cyan eyes, like ghostly flames in the darkness, ignited within that murky chaos.

They gazed silently at everything inside the Cave Dwelling.

The two finally snapped back to their senses, their hearts filled with overwhelming terror.

When they looked up and met that gaze, an overwhelming pressure of spirit surged into the Cave Dwelling like a tidal wave. The two could not withstand it. With a "thump," they collapsed to their knees, their spines bent low, their knees slamming hard into the ground, leaving shallow indentations in the stone.

Following close behind was an immense Divine Sense that swept over them from head to toe without the slightest attempt at concealment.

"Late Nascent Soul!"

Only now did the two realize what they were facing, their eyes filled with utter disbelief. After all, how could a dignified Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator possibly come to such a remote and desolate place?

Before the two could recover their wits.

Whoosh—

A fierce gust of wind whipped up in front of them, stinging their cheeks. What followed was a blood-curdling scream, then utter silence.

The young cultivator turned his head in terror. Beside him, the middle-aged cultivator, at some point, had blood seeping from all seven orifices, his eyes completely devoid of life. What frightened him even more was that this Senior Brother hadn't even managed to escape with his Nascent Soul, dying so silently and without a trace.

He was instantly scared out of his wits, not daring to look up at the intruder. He could only kowtow frantically and beg for mercy.

But before he could utter a single word, a gray longsword moved with the speed of lightning. The young cultivator didn't even have time to react before the blade whipped around his neck. His head slapped onto the ground with a dull "thud."

Before the headless corpse, the owner of those dark cyan eyes casually sheathed the gray longsword.

The young cultivator's Nascent Soul shot out of the corpse with lightning speed. Its tiny face was filled with terror as it fled desperately toward the entrance of the Cave Dwelling without a moment's hesitation. It reached the doorway in the blink of an eye, and throughout its flight, that Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator showed absolutely no intention of stopping it.

It thought it had escaped with its life.

But the moment it passed through the entrance, it suddenly realized it had somehow found itself trapped within a dark cyan purgatory. When it turned its head in horror, the great door behind it was slowly closing shut.

The one who had struck was, naturally, Jiuyou.

With his Late Nascent Soul cultivation, slaying a mere two Early Nascent Soul cultivators was nothing more than picking fruit from a tree. There was hardly anything to be proud of.

His Divine Sense swept across the Cave Dwelling, and it didn't take long before he discovered six massive stone pillars in a hidden chamber. The pillars were covered in all sorts of strange Prohibition Mark runes, emanating an aura somewhat similar to that ancient teleportation array in the Tianyuan Sea, though far less profound.

After reading the memories of a Golden Core Cultivator stationed here long-term, Jiuyou naturally came to understand how to use the teleportation array.

He embedded several high-grade Spirit Stones he had just acquired from killing and looting into the array. The six stone pillars lit up one after another, slowly revolving around the center. Pillar after pillar of sky-piercing light shot upward, converging toward the middle, gradually enveloping Jiuyou's figure.

The radiance reflected upon his youthful face, his eyes holding a ghostly moon within, so calm it sent chills down one's spine.