Chapter 493 : Exploring the Truth
493: Exploring the Truth
Jiang Mo and her master didn't hide in the wine shop for too long, after all, they hadn't actively entered Xuanqing City just to play hide-and-seek.
After roughly figuring out the patrol patterns of the demon-possessed from their hiding spot in the wine shop, the two left and began walking through the city. Firstly, they wanted to investigate the situation in the city, and secondly, they hoped to encounter their companions and reunite promptly.
Their plan was sound, but unfortunately, Xuanqing City was too large. After exploring more than half the city, they still couldn't find the others. Until suddenly, a battle erupted somewhere in the city, alarming half the city's demon-possessed who rushed toward it. Jiang Mo and her master naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity and followed behind those demon-possessed toward the center of the conflict.
Golden spiritual light exploded within the demonic miasma, followed by successive bursts of cyan, red, yellow, and various other colored spiritual lights—from these majestic and awe-inspiring spiritual lights, it was clear that those fighting weren't demon-possessed, but righteous cultivators.
Jiang Mo followed behind Peak Master Qingyu, rushing urgently for a while. Watching the various colored spiritual lights explode, she suddenly said: "Senior Sister's spiritual energy is white, and the Elder's Buddhist light is golden. Why are there so many other colors—cyan, red, and yellow?!"
Qingyu responded without hesitation: "We'll know when we see."
Though she said this, she had actually already discerned the identity of those fighting from quite a distance away—after all, having been sect siblings for several hundred years, Qingyu could recognize at a glance that the owner of the golden spiritual light was none other than Peak Master Qingxu. And once Qingxu's identity was confirmed, the identities of the others naturally became clear—they were simply elders from the sect.
Jiang Mo wasn't as familiar with Qingxu, but since her master had spoken, she naturally followed.
When the two arrived, Qingxu and his group were locked in a fierce battle with the demon-possessed. However, while the former numbered fewer than ten in total, the latter could only be described as a vast army. At least from Jiang Mo and her master's perspective, all they could see was a sea of heads stretching out before them.
"This..." Jiang Mo was about to say something, but after uttering just one word, she swallowed the rest under her master's gaze. She even hunched her shoulders, inexplicably afraid.
Qingyu glanced at Jiang Mo but didn't do anything, not even offering assistance.
In fact, Qingxu didn't need help. Not only was his cultivation and strength inherently superior to these demon-possessed, but he had also brought plenty of demon-suppressing powder crafted by Qinglan for this excursion—that small jade bottle contained countless doses of the powdered medicine, at least enough to support Qingxu's liberal use. As he scattered the powder, large numbers of demon-possessed suddenly convulsed and fell to the ground.
They weren't dead, but in battle, such a display was essentially the same as lying down to die.
Qingyu, seeing this, hadn't rushed forward. As large numbers of low-level demon-possessed fell, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded from somewhere, piercing and ear-splitting as it cut through the air.
Even Jiang Mo couldn't help but cover her ears, and after that sharp whistle, the demon-possessed who had been surrounding Qingxu's group like zombies in a siege suddenly paused. Qingxu's group took the opportunity to kill another batch, but couldn't restore even a shred of consciousness to these demon-possessed... They knew neither life nor death, were controlled by others, and upon receiving orders, turned and left.
This scene of absolute obedience was truly spine-chilling. Before Jiang Mo could catch her breath over the cessation of conflict, several more figures were seen attacking Qingxu's group. Their cultivation and strength were visibly stronger than before.
This time, Qingyu didn't hesitate, suddenly drawing her sword and attacking.
How terrifying is the combat power of a Great Achievement cultivator? Moving mountains and filling seas are trivial matters. In other words, even tearing apart the entire Xuanqing City wouldn't be surprising. And how terrifying is it to encounter such an enemy? Terrifying enough that those demon-possessed who still retained their rationality didn't hesitate for even a moment—upon seeing Qingyu's attack, they immediately turned and fled with their companions.
Qingxu was delighted to see Qingyu, calling out "Junior Sister," but as for the enemies who had already escaped, he had no intention of pursuing them—Xuanqing City had once been an affiliate of the Xuanqing Sect, but given today's circumstances, no one could be certain of the situation within the city. Moreover, their original purpose in leaving the sect was to test the medicine, not to engage in early desperate battles resulting in mutual destruction.
But while Qingxu had no intention of pursuing, Qingyu felt differently. She had a vague feeling that those people had fled so quickly deliberately to lure them into pursuit, and after drawing them into the chase, what awaited them should be... not a trap?
A cultivator's intuition is often accurate, so Qingyu didn't hesitate to extend an invitation to Qingxu: "Would Senior Brother care to join me?"
Qingxu didn't stutter at all, immediately responding generously: "Let's go together."
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The people scattered throughout Xuanqing City weren't many, but they weren't few either.
Besides the demon-possessed and those aligned with the demon faction, there were also Jiang Mo, Qingyu, and their companions returning from outside, as well as Qingxu and his group testing the waters from inside out. Their cultivation levels were all high... at least high enough to cause some trouble in today's Xuanqing City.
While Qingyu's group decided to pursue the demon-possessed to investigate further, others distributed in different positions throughout the city were heading toward the same destination, either earlier or later. Those who acted quickly, like Yun Qingyue, had already hidden themselves in the building next to where the target was located. As for why she remained only next door without trying to get closer, it was naturally because she wasn't confident in advancing further.
Yun Qingyue had been hiding there for nearly half an hour, constantly monitoring the situation next door, and the more she observed, the more she dared not act rashly—at first, she had only felt something was off about those people, which was why she followed them, not knowing she would end up at their lair. Seeing the tight security with guards stationed every few steps, and the profound cultivation of those coming and going, she wouldn't believe there wasn't an important figure inside the building!
Her slender white fingers rubbed the jade pendant at her waist. Knowing she couldn't win alone, Yun Qingyue naturally tried to contact her companions. However, whether it was her master, Jiang Mo, or Sect Leader Zhu, although they should all be in the same city, she couldn't reach any of them.
After three failed attempts, Yun Qingyue gave up trying to communicate through the jade token, but she was reluctant to leave just like that.
Suddenly, Yun Qingyue sensed something and turned to glance at the corner of the wall opposite her. There she caught sight of a corner of clothing that hadn't been fully withdrawn in time. Though it was just a fleeting glance, the familiar material and embroidery could only belong to Sect Leader Zhu's clothes.
Yun Qingyue initially wanted to transmit a message, but for high-level cultivators, voice transmission wasn't the most reliable method. So she simply switched to another approach, flicking her finger to send a subtle stream of spiritual energy toward the opposite side.
A soft "psht" sound was heard, the faint noise of spiritual energy entering the wall.
Zhu Baiyi clearly heard it and peeked out half her head, making direct eye contact with Yun Qingyue. The mother and daughter communicated with simple gestures, but before they could reach a conclusion, Qingyu and her group arrived.
Unlike Yun Qingyue and Zhu Baiyi's secretive approach, Qingyu's group made a grand entrance, practically slaughtering their way through the lesser enemies—the demon-possessed in the city were truly numerous, and due to their special nature, the experience value given by the system for clearing these monsters wasn't low. Jiang Mo was in the middle of fighting when she suddenly felt a warm sensation flowing through her body, clearing away her fatigue, and she unexpectedly gained a level.
Without a doubt, the higher the game level, the more experience needed to level up, and the longer it took. Jiang Mo had been bottlenecked for a long time before finally gaining this level, but in others' eyes, it looked as if she had suddenly broken through while fighting.
In an instant, everyone present who still maintained clear consciousness looked at Jiang Mo with envious eyes. Fortunately, now wasn't the time to dwell on this, so everyone's attention only lingered on Jiang Mo for a moment before returning to the enemies before them... Perhaps with Jiang Mo's example, everyone's monster-killing efficiency suddenly increased.
A group of ordinary cultivated demon-possessed naturally couldn't stop experts like Qingyu. After consuming most of the cannon fodder, a new batch of demon-possessed with higher cultivation appeared.
However, these people still couldn't stop them. As they advanced, they gradually approached that tall building.
This location was in the western part of the city, and this building was the tallest structure in the western district. Jiang Mo's group had noticed it from quite a distance. Therefore, as soon as they got close, Peak Master Qingyu didn't hesitate, directly swinging her sword toward the tall building.
Compared to ordinary mortal cities, the buildings in Xuanqing City were naturally sturdy, but such sturdiness was hardly sufficient in the eyes of cultivators. Especially since Qingyu was now at the Great Achievement stage of cultivation, when she swung her sword, a huge sword shadow materialized out of thin air. Surrounded by sword energy, it carried the momentum of ten thousand weights as it fell, with the momentum of shattering the tall building into powder.
Setting aside how others felt, at least when Jiang Mo saw this terrifying sword momentum, the hair on her back stood on end. Even though this sword wasn't directed at her, every cell in her body seemed to be screaming danger.
With such an earth-shattering strike, no one doubted it could shatter that tall building into pieces.
The people inside the building seemed to sense the immense danger approaching, and in an instant, dozens flew out from windows on various floors. After escaping from the building, however, they didn't immediately flee but instead formed a defensive line in front of the structure. The leader, also at the Great Achievement stage, hurriedly raised his hand to meet that sword strike.
The giant sword descended, and a huge hand materialized in the void rose to receive it hard. Then, with a thunderous "boom," the hand was split, and the giant sword, its momentum slightly reduced, still pressed heavily toward the tall building.