Under the statue of the former Emperor of Dingjiang Mountain, Bai Qiuran strode confidently towards the old Daoist who had been knocked out by his sword. Grabbing the man by his collar, he slapped his face. “He’s actually my master!”
“Hmph.”
“What’s the matter?” The old Daoist muttered under his breath. Tang Ruowei glanced at Peidao and Peishan.
“Hey, are you awake?” A cold female voice snickered, “Do you think I would believe you? How many demon clans died at the hands of the Grandmaster of Qinming during the war two thousand years ago?”
“Looks like the young ones have brought along the old ones, but this old man seems to be more than you imagined.” Tang Ruowei said as she pulled Zuo Yanfei’s hand. “Let’s get a little further away, Sister Zuo. We can leave this to Master.”
The old Daoist, bloodied and dazed, woke up to find Bai Qiuran in front of him, and he immediately turned fearful, waving his hands repeatedly. “Please spare me, Senior!”
“Be careful, it’s coming!” Zuo Yanfei warned.
The old Daoist added, “They might join up on the way, coming from the north.”
“If I didn’t spare you, you’d have died just now and wouldn’t be alive now, would you?”
“Eh.”
“Don’t worry about whether he’s the sect leader or not.”
Be it the brilliance of Zuo Yanfei’s gun or Tang Ruowei’s sword light, before the vast web of vines, they appeared as insignificant as ants, completely ineffective. The old Daoist begged, “Please, Senior, have mercy! I’ll drive them away. We Daoists of the Moon-Worshiping Sect don’t need those little demons; leave them all for you...”
Bai Qiuran ignored him and closed his eyes to release his spiritual consciousness, spreading it across the Dingjiang Mountain area, and soon he saw the sprawling green vines.
On the other side, Zuo Yanfei, Tang Ruowei, and the two disciples of the Moon-Worshiping Sect stared in shock at the lush vines covering the mountains. The old Daoist continued to plead, “Please, Senior, I’ll drive them away. We don’t need those little demons…”
Bai Qiuran grasped his collar and pressed, “Answer me! Does your sect have another group on the way?”
“How strange.” Peishan’s face went pale.
Zuo Yanfei warned again, “It’s coming!”
“No, I just remembered, I buried their senior brother in the ground.”
Zuo Yanfei insisted, “Be careful, it’s coming!”
Bai Qiuran repeated his question: “Tell me, does your sect have another group on the way?”
“What?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Looks like the old ones have come along with the young ones, but this old one seems to surpass your expectations.”
“Now…”
The vines surged across the mountains like writhing tentacles before suddenly releasing a figure from their midst.
“Stop worrying about it!”
“How strange.” The old Daoist begged, “I’ll drive them away. Leave them for you…”
It appeared as if the vines had suffered damage and shrank back slightly, then a voice filled with spite emerged from the lush greenery.
“Stop worrying about it!”
“How is that possible? The leader, he…”
The entire mountain trembled as the earth erupted like waves, and countless vines burst from below, weaving an enormous net aimed at Zuo Yanfei, Tang Ruowei, and the others.
“Don’t give me that nonsense.”
“It’s the sect leader’s Moon-Worshiping decree.”
The expressions of the two disciples of the Moon-Worshiping Sect turned ashen, like they had swallowed something foul.
The old Daoist, bloodied and confused, woke to find Bai Qiuran in front of him, instantly terrified, and began pleading, “Please spare me, Senior!”
Bai Qiuran provocatively glanced towards a certain point. “So, how about you come and give it a try?”
Zuo Yanfei gasped. “Hmm.”
Bai Qiuran pressed on, “From which direction will your sect members come?” He paused before adding, “But this time, I really am not lying to you. I’ve repressed my level to break the foundation stage barriers, and even under these circumstances, the strength I can exert is truly less than one-tenth.”
The old Daoist quickly agreed.
The old Daoist muttered under his breath.
Bai Qiuran released his grip on the old Daoist's collar and stood up, saying, “By rights, that disciple from the Moon-Worshiping Sect just sent out a message talisman. You should have received the news around the same time, so why haven’t they arrived despite you being here for quite some time?”
“I, I was guarding the east with my disciples, the leader is in the north, and another junior brother is in the west.”
“What?”
Zuo Yanfei’s mouth opened in astonishment.
Bai Qiuran released the old Daoist's collar and said, “By rights, that disciple should have sent out a message talisman, and you should have received it around the same time. Why haven’t they arrived yet, given you’re already here...”
“That was a surprise,” the female voice filled with resentment declared. “For two thousand years, I’ve been thinking about how to tear that hypocritical face of yours apart!”
“I don’t know, but I think it’s probably due to the presence of those few foxes behind them.”
The old Daoist quickly begged, “Please spare me, Senior! I’ll drive them away! Those little demons won’t bother you; leave them all for you…”
The old Daoist commented, “They might join up on the way, coming from the north, I suppose.”
“Qinming Sword Ancestor!”
“Now…”
The old Daoist quickly responded.
“How strange.”
“How strange.”
“Is that possible? The leader, he…”
In response to her shriek, the vines rose across the mountains, and the nearby peaks exploded simultaneously, revealing countless vines within. Here, the earth had been hollowed out by this great demon, leaving only a thin shell, and the vines bursting forth coalesced in the sky into a towering giant that roared and unleashed a punch made of gathered vines aimed directly at Bai Qiuran.
Bai Qiuran released his grip on the old Daoist’s collar, stood, and said, “By rights, that disciple sent a message talisman after being here for a while; they should have received it around the same time. Why haven’t they come?”
As he spoke, the mountain trembled, and the layer of earth exploded as numerous vines erupted from below, weaving a vast net that descended on Zuo Yanfei, Tang Ruowei, and the others.
The four of them looked to find that it was a severed hand still grasping a golden command flag with a chill running through them.
“Eh.”
On that note, Bai Qiuran pent his thoughts.
Releasing the old Daoist’s collar, he commanded, “Stay here and guard your disciples! Don’t go anywhere or meddle with those demons, do you understand?”
Bai Qiuran kept pondering. “I must not forget, I buried their senior brother just now.”
Zuo Yanfei glanced at Bai Qiuran. Suddenly, she seemed to understand something and hesitated but chose to follow Tang Ruowei as they moved further away, while Peishan and Peidao exchanged glances before hastily hiding with the two girls.
The old Daoist sweat profusely as he begged, “Please spare me! I’ll drive them away; we’ll leave all those little demons for you…”
“Do you still recall what I said?” Bai Qiuran continued, “I recent—"
The four of them caught sight of the figures.
Moments before they could be enveloped by the vast net of vines, a bright sword aura suddenly appeared in the sky, slicing through the air to form a swift confluence of sword clouds. Spanning dozens of miles, this wave of sword light surged forward and crashed down upon them, obliterating the net of vines and the earth beneath it.
Under the statue of the former Emperor of Dingjiang Mountain, Bai Qiuran strode confidently towards the old Daoist who lay knocked out by his sword, grabbing him by his collar and slapping his face.
With that warning echoing through the air, they could hardly make sense of the chaos unfolding before them...