Chapter 489 : The Siege Begins
489: The Siege Begins
Xuanqing Sect was under siege by demonic creatures.
This news was both unexpected yet not entirely surprising. After all, nearly half the cultivation world had fallen under the Demon Race's control, and most of the remaining resistance forces had taken refuge within Xuanqing Sect. As a result, Xuanqing Sect had naturally become the target.
The normally invisible protective formation of the sect now shimmered with flowing light—beautiful to behold, yet constantly consuming spirit stones. Even for the prosperous Xuanqing Sect, the expenditure every minute and second was painful... Yet they had no choice but to maintain the protective formation, as the demonic obstacles outside were not something ordinary disciples could resist—anyone truly exposed to them might become demonically possessed at any moment.
Besides the demonic obstacles, what troubled people even more were the demonic humans and creatures outside the formation—the former being humans completely controlled by demonic energy after infection, and the latter being animals or plants under demonic control.
These demonic humans and creatures had lost all self-awareness; they felt neither pain nor fatigue. At their master's command, they began assaulting Xuanqing Sect's protective formation. Although compared to the powerful protective formation, the actions of these demonic entities seemed like eggs striking stone, their attacks undeniably accelerated the rate at which the formation consumed spirit stones.
At midnight, when all should have been silent, the sounds of "bang, bang, bang" impacts echoed continuously through the night.
From the moment demonic obstacles surrounded Xuanqing Sect, these impact sounds had hardly ceased. Whether disciples or elders within the sect, all had gradually grown accustomed to this noise. Thus, everyone continued with their normal activities, and those who should sleep didn't stay awake unnecessarily.
By now, the night had deepened. Most of the lamps lit at dusk had been extinguished, leaving only a few sparsely distributed lights adorning the mountains. Who knew how many people still remained awake by those lights?
Sect Leader Qingxiao had not yet rested, nor had the three Peak Masters and noteworthy elders from each peak. Besides these internal members of Xuanqing Sect, the abbot of Buddha Sect, Fei Yuan of Harmony Sect, and the Great Achievement elder from Crimson Blood Sect all stood at Sect Leader Qingxiao's side. Opposite them, beyond the shimmering protective formation, demonic humans and creatures continued diligently ramming against the barrier.
"Senior Brother, shall we capture a couple to investigate their condition?" Peak Master Qingxu was growing restless. Though the demonic humans and creatures outside appeared somewhat hideous, a person who valued strength above all else didn't mind such things.
Sect Leader Qingxiao, standing there in the middle of the night, had the same thought and immediately said: "Good. I'll temporarily open a gap in the protective formation. Act quickly and decisively—grab a couple of them for examination."
Neither man was one to dawdle. Having made their decision, their coordination was remarkably swift.
As the sect leader, Sect Leader Qingxiao naturally controlled the key to the protective formation. Now he took out the sect leader's token, formed a series of hand seals, recited incantations, and finally, with fingers joined like a sword, made a slicing motion toward the front. The previously perfect circular formation instantly split open. But before Peak Master Qingxu could go out to capture his target, his chosen target had already crashed inside.
Peak Master Qingxu reacted quickly. Seeing the demonic human unable to stop its momentum charging toward him, he swiftly threw out a celestial binding rope. The rope seemed to possess intelligence—despite the many people present and Peak Master Qingxu's provocative words, it targeted specifically the demonic human.
The demonic human, with its mind corrupted by demonic energy, now resembled a puppet on strings. Yet facing this targeted attack, it couldn't help but let out a roar before charging straight at Peak Master Qingxu.
Peak Master Qingxu naturally wasn't afraid. In this brief moment, he had already assessed the demonic human's cultivation level. Originally just a Spirit Division cultivator, after being corrupted by demonic energy and becoming a demonic human, its strength had surged dramatically, suddenly possessing Fusion stage power.
However, even between two Fusion cultivators, the difference in strength could be vast.
Moreover, this was a genuine Fusion cultivator against a false one. With one move, Peak Master Qingxu had the demonic human completely subdued... Without requiring anyone's help, Peak Master Qingxu had already beaten the demonic human into helplessness. His proposal to bring it inside wasn't for practice but to study the physical condition of these demonic humans.
Soon, a demonic human bound like a caterpillar by the celestial binding rope appeared. The instigator, having accomplished his task, didn't stop there but turned to face another dog-like demonic creature, taking just a moment to similarly transform it into a caterpillar.
Meanwhile, the gap Sect Leader Qingxiao had opened in the protective formation had healed, and the formation once again shimmered with flowing light. Any subsequent demonic humans or creatures that crashed against it could no longer enter, and even the typical weakness that should appear after such a breach showed no trace on Xuanqing Sect's protective formation.
The only hidden danger from the earlier operation was the small amount of demonic obstacles that had surged in when the demonic human and creature entered. But Sect Leader Qingxiao had prepared for this as well, and those obstacles were now sealed within a jade bottle.
"Let's go. We'll first examine what weaknesses they have," Sect Leader Qingxiao said, handing the jade bottle to Peak Master Qinglan.
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With a heritage spanning tens of thousands of years, Xuanqing Sect had always been rich in talent, and now even more forces had poured in. Though the personnel had become somewhat mixed, various talents were gathered together. So before a direct confrontation, Sect Leader Qingxiao decided to conduct research first—at the very least, Peak Master Qinglan needed to produce pills that could resist demonic obstacles before disciples could confidently engage in battle.
At that time, thousands of miles away, Peak Master Qingyu and her group still didn't know the situation at the sect, but after losing contact, they had again accelerated their journey.
"In my hundreds of years at the sect, this is the first time I've lost contact with it—I fear something has gone wrong. We must return as quickly as possible," Peak Master Qingyu said with a grave expression, abandoning her usual coldness and repeatedly urging everyone to speed up.
Jiang Mo and the others were already exhausted from the journey, but facing their anxious master, they couldn't say much.
On the road, Sect Leader Zhu tried to comfort Peak Master Qingyu, hitting the crux of the matter: "Don't worry. We had already sent a message back to the sect earlier, and Sect Leader Qingxiao should be well prepared. Xuanqing Sect's protective formation is quite formidable—as long as there are enough spirit stones, even facing a siege by the Demon Race, it should be able to hold for several years without issue. Besides, Divine Lord Zhiming is also present at the sect."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo instinctively asked: "But does the sect have enough stored spirit stones? It would be a shame if the protective formation wasn't broken by external force but failed due to insufficient energy."
Peak Master Qingyu pursed her lips upon hearing this, no longer concealing their trump cards: "Don't worry, Xuanqing Sect still has two spirit stone mines underneath."
At these words, Jiang Mo's flight faltered—good heavens, spirit stone mines, specifically pointed out by Peak Master Qingyu, which meant they were likely not small ones. A medium-sized spirit stone mine could be mined for at least a hundred years, making it effortless to sustain the protective formation for a few years. If that was the case, why were they rushing?
The little tiger momentarily relaxed, immediately slowing down and almost falling behind the group. Fortunately, a slender hand grabbed her in time, pulling her forward.
It was her senior sister who had grabbed her, preventing her from lagging behind. But it would have been better if she hadn't been holding her by the back of her collar.
Jiang Mo was pulled along by her collar for a while, looking somewhat disheveled, until she finally grabbed her senior sister's hand and broke free: "Alright, alright, Yue, there's no need for this. I can fly on my own."
Yun Qingyue released her hand accordingly, glancing at her sideways before suddenly sighing.
Jiang Mo seemed to hear disappointment in that soft sigh and immediately tensed: "Yue, what's wrong? Why are you sighing?"
Yun Qingyue looked at her, her gaze somewhat helpless: "Nothing. I just suddenly don't want to bring you back to Xuanqing Sect anymore."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo nearly bristled. Her hand, already holding onto Yun Qingyue, now gripped tighter: "Why? I'm honored by Xuanqing Sect, the future divine beast guardian of the sect. Now that Xuanqing Sect is in trouble, how could you think of leaving me behind?" After a pause, her voice suddenly softened: "Is it because you think my cultivation isn't sufficient?"
In terms of cultivation, Jiang Mo couldn't match Divine Lord Zhiming, but she was at least at the Fusion stage, not at all inferior to Yun Qingyue. She hadn't felt insecure about her cultivation level for a long time, but now she truly sensed her senior sister's disdain.
But Yun Qingyue wasn't disdainful of her cultivation level—after all, they were fairly evenly matched, and without considering the ice flame, her combat ability might even be inferior to Jiang Mo's. She simply wanted to remind Jiang Mo: "It's not about cultivation. It's that just now, when Master and the others were speaking, you immediately relaxed after hearing their conversation... If you're like this on the battlefield, I can't feel at ease."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo was first stunned, then realized her impropriety. The relaxed tension immediately tightened again. Her face flushed slightly, and her grip on Yun Qingyue's hand grew firmer as she pursed her lips and whispered: "It won't happen again."
Yun Qingyue didn't dwell on the matter. Hearing this, she stroked the tiger's head, offering comfort after the criticism.
This was just a small interlude. The two had fallen slightly behind due to their conversation but quickly caught up.
Several more days passed, and the group finally reached Xuanqing Sect's territory. But before they could see the sect's silhouette, their vision was filled with demonic obstacles that shrouded the entire sky and earth...