Chapter 216 - 214: Harmony

[Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual: (7076/34000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 5233]

These were all the Immortal Seedlings Chen Qingyang had stolen from Situ of the Demon Sect, and he had poured every last one into the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual.

He was extremely confident he could break through another realm before returning, but he wondered if he could conceal his aura afterward.

In the eyes of everyone, including Master Jing Yuan, it had been less than a year since he had broken through to the Essence Condensation Realm, yet he was now suddenly stepping into the Fifth Realm. With such a rapid change, he was bound to become a target.

Once again, he was reminded of the importance of the Great Soul Scripture.

By now, the Demon Sect's plan had completely failed, and they had suffered heavy casualties. Senior Brother Liang saw no reason to continue the fight and was fleeing southwest at high speed with three of his junior brothers from the Fifth Realm.

Senior Brother Li roared furiously, cursing as he gave chase. Behind him were four other Daoist Sect disciples of the Essence Condensation Fifth Realm. They now had the upper hand, and despite their exhaustion and depleted True Essence, not a single one retreated.

The Demon Sect disciples were extremely fast, their Wind Control Skill exceptionally strong. They conjured a dark wind that cut through the world, facing the morning light and weaving through the rosy dawn clouds.

The vast sky was golden, as if fire burned within it. In the mountains, the surface of a lake was perfectly still, reflecting the colors of the firmament like a mirror world, full of mysterious beauty.

The wind passed through the treetops without a sound. Occasionally, a streak of light would fall from the heavens, turning into fine golden motes upon touching the lake's surface before slowly sinking into the depths.

However, the distance between the Demon Sect and the Daoist Sect was growing wider and wider.

Seeing that things were going awry, Chen Qingyang targeted one of the Fifth Realm disciples with his Conscious Fish and struck again.

Taking on a vaguely draconic form, it glowed a brilliant fiery gold and shot forth like a sharp arrow, aiming straight for the man's Mud Ball Palace.

Instantly, the man clenched his jaw, his face flushing red as a chaotic Qi Mechanism raged within him. Though he suppressed it in a short moment, he couldn't help but falter, his speed falling behind.

"Heart-Commanding Celestial Gang, Qi-Induced Rainbow."

"Sword Follows Divine Movement, Breaking the Void! Take this, you cur!"

Senior Brother Li's skill was truly impressive. The Flying Sword in his hand shot toward the sky, shimmering with golden light and accompanied by auspicious clouds that outlined the form of a giant python.

With a single, straight strike, it flew right at the man.

Senior Brother Liang was horrified. He wanted to use a Magical Treasure to block the attack, but he was a step too late. He watched his junior brother fall to the ground. Though not dead, the other Daoist Sect members were already surrounding him. He would not survive.

In an instant, Senior Brother Liang made his decision. With the world as his canvas, his Essence Blood as Cinnabar, and his finger as a brush, he swiped through the air, drawing another Talisman.

It pulsed with bloody energy and scattered golden light, possessing a solemn majesty that was in no way inferior to the techniques of the Daoist Sect.

Chen Qingyang observed it with his Conscious Fish and saw twelve words written in blood: "Suppress the spirits of Kun, pacify the Earth, nourish all living things."

Seeing Senior Brother Liang use this Talismanic Technique for the third time, and noting that the word 'Earth' appeared each time, he recalled that the Demon Sect's Dharma Gates each had their own specialties and cultivation paths. This must be the unique skill of a specific peak.

Though it mentioned the word 'nourish,' there was no sign of any nourishing intent. Where the Talisman appeared, the very world seemed to freeze, blocking the path of all the Daoist Sect disciples.

Senior Brother Liang looked severely injured. His lips were black, his eyes were shot with blood, and even his cheeks were covered in a web of broken capillaries.

"Senior Brother, you..."

He waved his hand. "Go!"

The man who had just been struck down was abandoned. Without a moment's hesitation, the other Demon Sect Disciples supported Senior Brother Liang and fled even faster.

The Daoist Sect members were first hindered by the Demon Sect disciple and then blocked by the Talisman. In an instant, they lost track of the Demon Sect's position.

"Break for this Daoist Master!"

That Senior Brother Li had a volatile temper. He slid his palm across his sword's edge, offering his own Essence Blood to the blade. The sword erupted in brilliant golden light, creating a phantom image dozens of feet long that slashed down from the sky.

With a sizzling CRACK, the sky-spanning bloody light exploded. He had shattered the Talisman, but the delay meant they were now completely out of reach.

"Dammit, dammit! To think they still got away! Son of a..."

Senior Brother Li cursed on the spot. "Did you catch the other one?"

"We got him."

Senior Brother Li said viciously, "Kill him. Go kill him now, quickly!"

At this point, even with his Conscious Fish, Chen Qingyang could no longer stop Senior Brother Liang and his group.

'That man is just too decisive and clever,' Chen Qingyang thought. 'He stays when he has to and leaves the moment he shouldn't. Even the timing of his Array's withdrawal was perfect, preventing the mutually destructive outcome I had hoped for.'

"Senior Brother Liang, they can't catch us anymore," a junior sister said after glancing behind them.

Finally, Senior Brother Liang let out a long sigh. "Sigh... Let's not talk about anything else. We'll be safe once we reach the territory of Nine True Mountain."

With that long sigh, he finally let his guard down, his sorrowful expression returning—perhaps mourning his dead sect brothers.

In the exact moment he relaxed, a piercing pain shot through his mind. He saw a flash of fire explode before his eyes, like a flame stabbing into his Spiritual Sea and churning it violently. With his defenses down, his Divine Soul was instantly wounded.

"Daoist dogs!" The furious curse was practically squeezed from between his teeth.

After his successful strike, Chen Qingyang felt an extremely dense Yin Fiend energy from within the man's body surge from all directions to envelop his Conscious Fish. Even though he retreated with great speed, he was still hit.

His real body, hidden in the woods, swayed and fell directly to the ground. An intense pain shot from his Mud Ball Palace—the place where the Conscious Fish resided, which had now been injured.

His Qi Mechanism immediately fell into disarray, threatening to worsen the injury. Not daring to delay, he quickly spat out Essence from his Jiang Palace to temporarily suppress the damage.

'Forcing two attacks like that has left my Dantian Spiritual Sea lightly injured. I can't take such risks again,' he thought. But when the small golden characters appeared in his mind, he felt a sense of relief.

Senior Brother Liang was heavily wounded and completely defenseless, so this attack had yielded a great number of Immortal Seedlings—over two thousand.

The Conscious Fish immediately fled in Senior Brother Li's direction. Although Senior Brother Liang had locked onto it, just as expected, he didn't give chase. "What on earth is that technique? It's not like a Magical Treasure... Sigh! Forget it, forget it. We need to leave."

He glanced back and shouted something.

The group vanished over the horizon in an instant. Chen Qingyang sat motionless, continuing to circulate his energy and meditate to heal his wounds. Fortunately, after applying all the Immortal Seedlings, his Cultivation had grown, and his True Essence was more abundant, which meant he could heal quite quickly.

Senior Brother Li had long since given up the chase. The remaining five of them gathered around the corpse of the Demon Sect Disciple. The body looked as if it had been run through with a sword, mangled beyond recognition in a gruesome scene.

Another 5147 Immortal Seedlings were stolen by Chen Qingyang, all of which he poured into the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual.

Looking again at the small golden characters: [Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual: 19732/34000]

Three from the Essence Condensation Second Realm, seven from the Third Realm, and two from the Fifth Realm, for a total of twelve people, plus a portion contributed by Senior Brother Liang. After his own Cultivation breakthrough, he still had this many Immortal Seedlings left over.

It would have taken Chen Qingyang twenty years of hard work to cultivate that much. Of course, this achievement was also due to his numerous methods, his extraordinary courage, and his ability to seize opportunities.

Every time he struck, it was always at the perfect moment. Otherwise, even if the Immortal Seedlings were sitting right there, he wouldn't have been able to take them.

"Sigh!"

Gazing at the corpse before him, Senior Brother Li seemed to gradually calm down. He let out a long sigh. "This time, we fell for the Demon Sect's plot. It was truly my carelessness that led to this disaster. Once we return to the Sect, I will go to the Law Enforcement Hall to accept punishment. I will not implicate any of you."

As soon as he said this, someone immediately replied, "You can't be blamed for this, Senior Brother. If you hadn't fought so desperately, we wouldn't have escaped either. Didn't you say we shouldn't mention what happened before? In short, the Demon Sect's Demons are cunning and treacherous. We narrowly escaped with our lives, so what crime have we committed?"

"That's right! Senior Brother, why must you take all the blame? If anyone is at fault, then we all are!"

"I agree. And it's not like we gained nothing. We killed at least ten of them in this battle and severely wounded the Demon Sect disciples who infiltrated our Yong Kingdom, upholding the might of our Sect."

...

And so it went, with one person speaking after another, all in perfect harmony, placing the blame entirely on the Demon Sect.

Chen Qingyang understood them. He knew they were all shrewd thinkers. If Senior Brother Li really went to the Law Enforcement Hall to accept punishment, then the fact that they had feigned surrender to the Demon Sect would also be exposed.

Each with their own agenda, they reassured one another until, finally, everyone was satisfied.

"Senior Brother Li, there's something I can't figure out. Why haven't we seen the person who was helping us? Could they be a Daoist Sect disciple?"

At this thought, Senior Brother Li also looked puzzled. "It is strange. If they aren't a Daoist Sect disciple, where did they get such skill? But if they are, why won't they show themselves?"

Someone guessed, "Could it be someone who has a grudge against the Demon Sect? Or maybe an opponent of that Liang fellow? After all, it's common for Demon Sect Disciples to kill each other."

Senior Brother Li said, "It's hard to say. There are many possibilities, so let's not jump to conclusions without solid evidence. Everyone, restore your Cultivation here. In three hours, we will go to that valley to retrieve the bodies of our fellow disciples. After that, we'll return to the Yong Kingdom and send someone to report to Xuanwei Master."

"Alright!"

Everyone put on a righteous and benevolent expression, all agreeing that they couldn't just leave their fellow disciples without a proper burial.

「In the afternoon」

The sun had begun to dip, but its golden light remained intense, bathing the mountain's grass and trees in a warm, bright halo.

The summer heat in the forest began to fade. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, casting mottled, dancing shadows. In the distance, the lake's surface glittered, and an occasional bird soared through the sky. The world was peaceful and clear.

Chen Qingyang woke before the other five. He used his Wind Control Skill to travel slowly, taking in the scenery and composing himself. In a short while, he arrived at the valley where the Array had been set up.

He then straightened his clothes and hair, adopted the posture of someone who had just arrived, and began looking around.

Before long, a streak of golden light landed before him. The leader of the group, holding a long sword, first sheathed it on his back with a ZING, then asked, "And who might this junior brother be?"

The one asking was none other than the white-haired old Daoist, Senior Brother Li.