Above, two cultivators stood at the peak of the Four Realms, just a hair's breadth away from the Unity Realm.
Beside them, three Golden Core cultivators were locked in a fierce battle.
Liu Tianfang first sent the few cultivators from Redwood Ridge back to the ground, urging them to flee the area as quickly as possible.
He himself hesitated, unsure of what to do next.
He wanted to confront Li Yuanhua, but he was worried about the rumors that the Azure Dragon Cave and Hundred Barbarians Mountain had joined forces, which could damage the reputation of his sect.
He also wanted to enter the evil energy pit to find Cheng Qieqing, but he feared that Redwood Ridge would accuse him of sneaking in to harvest the evil energy first, which would be seen as improper conduct.
As he was caught in this dilemma, a beam of yin-yang mysterious light appeared from the eastern horizon.
The light was vast and majestic, like a sea of clouds, causing the three Golden Core cultivators to stop their fight and turn their attention to the east, wondering which faction had come to seize the new evil energy.
The nearest place to the east was Sanxiang, and the most powerful factions there were the Taoist Wuling Mountain and the Sword Sect's Hengshan Sword School.
They wondered which one had arrived.
The mysterious light grew closer, but its speed did not decrease.
It seemed as though it intended to enter the evil energy pit directly.
Seeing this, Li Yuanhua, Xin Chenzi, and Hong Changbao, who had just been fighting, rushed forward to block it.
If someone were to enter just like that, their earlier struggle would have been in vain.
Upon being blocked, the mysterious light transformed into a human figure.
Everyone saw that it was a woman.
She was a female Taoist, wearing a purple bat-patterned robe and a yellow cicada jade crown on her head.
Her appearance was delicate and beautiful.
She held her hands in front of her abdomen, with a red-yellow glazed ruyi scepter resting in the crook of her arm.
The scepter glowed with a flowing light, and its ends were carved into the shapes of a lingzhi mushroom and a leaping tiger, clearly a rare treasure.
"I am Wen Sukong of Mount Sanqing. What business do you have in blocking me?" the female Taoist said coldly.
Li Yuanhua was stunned.
Why was it Mount Sanqing?
Liu Tianfang was even more shocked and stammered, "Sukong, I just sent the signal arrow. How did you...?"
It turned out that the signal arrow he had just sent was directed to Mount Sanqing.
The female Taoist glanced at him and said, "My disciple is traveling down the mountain. Naturally, I left something on him, though he himself is unaware. Now that he is in danger, I can sense it."
She then looked at Liu Tianfang and said, "As for you, since you knew my disciple was in danger and sent a signal arrow to inform me, why didn't you go in to find him first? Were these three blocking you? But if they were blocking you, why were they the ones fighting earlier while you stood by and watched?"
Liu Tianfang was at a loss for words, hesitating to speak.
Wen Sukong, who had traveled extensively in the southwest in her youth and was extremely intelligent, quickly deduced the situation with just a glance at the people present.
"You want to fight but are worried about gossip, and you want to enter but fear criticism, isn't that right?"
Liu Tianfang knew well how sharp Wen Sukong's words could be and could only smile bitterly in response.
Wen Sukong looked at Liu Tianfang and continued, "You've always been like this, always wanting to have a perfect plan before doing anything, otherwise you'd rather not act at all. To put it bluntly, you're indecisive. I've told you before that this trait is fine when your cultivation level is low, but if you don't change it as you advance, it will bring disaster. Look at you now, only at the second cleansing of the Golden Core, while Hong Changbao and Xin Chenzi, who were once behind you, have reached the third cleansing. This is the reason!"
Liu Tianfang almost wanted to cover his face and leave.
Li Yuanhua found it strange.
What kind of woman was this, who could scold the Tianfang Daoist of the Azure Dragon Cave so harshly? Meanwhile, Hong Changbao and Xin Chenzi looked on as if watching a show, seemingly familiar with her.
Wen Sukong glanced at Hong Changbao and Xin Chenzi and said, "My disciple is in the evil energy pit. Are you two going to block me?"
Hong Changbao immediately stepped aside.
He had blocked her earlier because he didn't know who she was, but now that he saw her clearly, he naturally wouldn't obstruct her.
Moreover, he had already guessed that the righteous Daoist staying at the Azure Dragon Cave, personally vouched for by Liu Tianfang, must be her disciple.
He said, "Sister Wen, please go ahead. If you need anything, just call me. It's shameful to say, but this nephew Cheng entered the dangerous place to save my Miao people."
However, Wen Sukong was not moved and coldly replied, "Then why haven't you saved him until now? Have you forgotten your debt of gratitude?"
Hong Changbao chuckled dryly and did not respond.
Xin Chenzi also wanted to step aside, but he looked up at the sky, seemingly hesitant.
"Disciple, step back quickly. The high Daoist of Mount Sanqing, with her dragon coiled in the southeast, would not covet the evil energy of our barbaric lands," the voice of the Green Robe Ancestor came from above.
Xin Chenzi immediately relaxed and stepped aside.
Wen Sukong naturally understood that the Green Robe Ancestor was giving face to Mount Sanqing and reminding her to focus on saving people, not on harvesting evil energy.
Now, only Li Yuanhua stood in front of Wen Sukong.
"Mount Sanqing, what a grand reputation. They fear you, but my Emei Sect does not. Enough talk, let's see who is stronger. Let's see if my Xuan Ying Sword is sharp! If you win, you can go wherever you want. If you lose, then don't come to our southwest to cause trouble again!"
As he spoke, Li Yuanhua summoned the Xuan Ying Flying Sword in front of him, pointing it at Wen Sukong.
Wen Sukong glanced at him and said, "So it's the Bearded Immortal in person. I have long heard of your fame, but today I have no intention of sparring with you. However, if you truly wish to die, you can step forward."
With that, the female Taoist flipped her right hand and pointed to the sky, her fingertips twisting in the void as a black and a white light dot emerged from nothingness.
The two light dots rotated around each other, resembling two tadpoles.
As their speed increased and their light grew brighter, they formed a spinning Taiji diagram.
Soon after, the patterns of the Later Heaven Eight Trigrams appeared around the Taiji diagram.
The Taiji diagram spun faster and faster, the black and white colors blending into chaos, and then transforming into a bright light.
Upon closer inspection, the Taiji diagram had somehow turned into a round mirror.
When Li Yuanhua saw his reflection in the mirror, an inexplicable terror enveloped him, reminding him of the fourth cleansing Golden Core tribulation he had recently endured.
"Ahem, Daoist, it's only natural that you want to enter the pit to find someone. Actually, I also have a niece trapped inside, and I am anxious as well. Why don't you go first, and I will follow shortly."
Li Yuanhua put away his flying sword and stepped aside.
Wen Sukong did not waste any words, putting away the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Mirror and rushing into the evil energy pit.
Seeing this, Xin Chenzi and Hong Changbao couldn't help but smile, their laughter soft but enough to make Li Yuanhua feel embarrassed.
Fortunately, his thick beard hid his expression.
As Wen Sukong entered the pit, she realized that the true evil energy was deep underground.
The dazzling light outside was merely the result of the evil energy evaporating rainwater, forming a thin layer of evil energy that was far from the real thing.
The pit was vast, with no end in sight.
It was pitch black inside, but the true evil energy was incredibly vibrant, forming clusters and strands, making it feel as though one was standing in a sea of stars.
However, as the first person to enter the pit after the ground collapsed, Wen Sukong had no time to admire the scenery.
Finding someone in such a vast pit was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Whoosh—"
A gust of wind from somewhere in the pit nearly blew her away, scattering the true evil energy in all directions.
The Tiger Lingzhi Glazed Ruyi transformed into a red-yellow spiritual light, protecting Wen Sukong from the evil energy's erosion.
She carefully avoided the true evil energy, activated her Dharma Eye, and searched all around while calling out,
"Yun Qi! Yun Qi!"
Chapter 2 is here.
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(End of chapter)