Chapter 521 : Second Elder
521: Second Elder
The demonized people in Xuanqing City were too numerous to eliminate completely, so those patrolling demonized people were never Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's targets. The reason they eliminated those demonized people batch by batch was merely to draw out the truly powerful cultivators.
The first person they drew out was somewhat disappointing to both of them, though having just broken through to the Fusion realm, he should be an elder of some sect.
Neither of them recognized him, but they didn't lower their guard. After discovering his approach, they deliberately revealed a weakness to let him detect them, then immediately fled toward the city gates—indeed, they had never planned to fight within the city. High-level powerhouses were different from the demonized people they had encountered earlier; a battle would inevitably cause a significant disturbance, and being surrounded by more people would be disastrous.
Not to mention, if they were surrounded by hundreds or thousands of demonized people, even with their profound cultivation, their spiritual energy would be exhausted. Therefore, from the beginning, they had chosen the battlefield outside the city, and the elder who had been lured followed them out, true to his arrogance.
About half an hour later, the two returned to Xuanqing City and chose another street near the city gate to repeat their previous operation.
After luring and eliminating four or five Fusion stage cultivators in this manner, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue became increasingly adept, taking less and less time. However, simultaneously, both began to sense something was amiss.
Jiang Mo's understanding of the cultivation world wasn't as profound as Yun Qingyue's, so she turned and asked: "Ah Yue, are there really that many Fusion stage cultivators in the cultivation world?"
Fusion stage cultivators weren't common in the cultivation world. Even in a major sect like the Xuanqing Sect, only the peak masters had reached the Fusion stage—Peak Master Qingyu's breakthrough was a later exception—elsewhere, Fusion stage cultivators could practically walk sideways. In many medium and small sects, the highest cultivation was merely Fusion stage, but now these Fusion stage cultivators gathered in Xuanqing City seemed to have become gatekeepers.
Yun Qingyue also felt using Fusion stage cultivators as gatekeepers was somewhat extravagant, but she didn't rashly draw conclusions and said: "Let's not worry about that for now. Let's continue to lure them out and see just how many Fusion stage cultivators are in this city."
Jiang Mo agreed, and without further concerns, the two worked together wholeheartedly to continue luring people out to eliminate them.
No matter how numerous the Fusion stage cultivators in Xuanqing City were, they were still countable compared to the demonized people. After the two had lured several rounds of people out, the news eventually spread, and this time they encountered an encirclement, with seven or eight Fusion stage cultivators closing in on their hiding place.
Jiang Mo's ears twitched, detecting that the number exceeded their expectations. Without hesitation, she pulled her Senior Sister into her innate space.
Yun Qingyue didn't blame her for hiding so nimbly, but gestured and said: "Open a water mirror to see outside."
Jiang Mo complied, drawing a line in mid-air with her fingertip, creating a water mirror that connected to the outside world's images out of thin air. Her timing in casting this spell was perfect, or perhaps it could be said that the two had retreated just in time. The water mirror opened just in time to witness the explosion outside—a literal explosion, as seven or eight Fusion stage cultivators simultaneously attacked the empty house where the two had been hiding, their spiritual energy directly blasting the house apart.
In the water mirror, there was first an explosion, followed by a brightening of vision as the roof and walls were blown away. Consequently, the few Fusion stage cultivators who had been stealthily approaching outside the house were also exposed. They could be seen hovering in mid-air, looking down imperiously at the destroyed empty house.
After a careful search, one person said: "Something's wrong, there's no one in this house!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the several Fusion stage cultivators grew solemn, because just before striking, they had each sensed for themselves and had confirmed that people were in the house before taking action. Yet in just those one or two breaths of time, the people in the house had disappeared. Could there be some special method that could confuse people's perception? Or did those two carry teleportation scrolls, enabling instant teleportation?
However, regardless of how the people had disappeared, they couldn't simply give up without searching. So the leading cultivator waved his hand and said to the group: "Search everywhere and make sure to find them."
Hearing this, they obeyed, but to prevent being picked off one by one as had happened tragically before, they left in pairs.
The leader, however, didn't leave, and remained hovering in mid-air, observing the surroundings... Whether it was an illusion or not, he constantly felt he was being watched, which made him suspect that the two bold individuals hadn't actually left. Yet with his eyesight, he couldn't locate the source of this watchful gaze, which left him feeling as if thorns were pressing against his back, not daring to relax in the slightest.
This person's perception wasn't wrong. Across the dimensional space, two people were indeed observing him at this moment.
Jiang Mo stared at the person for a long while, but her ability to remember people wasn't much better than her ability to remember directions. Finally, she uncertainly asked Yun Qingyue: "Ah Yue, haven't we seen this person somewhere before? I feel like he looks familiar."
Yun Qingyue did remember, and her eyebrows rose as she said: "We saw him in the Nine Abyss Sect. That day when we went to their Mission Hall, this person was present. I heard disciples address him as Second Elder, so he should be a high-ranking member of the Nine Abyss Sect."
Speaking of which, the elders of the Nine Abyss Sect were unfortunate—as the sect's influence expanded, the elders of the Nine Abyss Sect didn't seem long-lived. The Grand Elder died in the Southern Sea, the Third Elder died underground, and who knows if this Second Elder was a replacement. But regardless, having encountered Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue again, his life was probably about to end here.
After hearing Yun Qingyue's words, Jiang Mo cracked her knuckles eagerly: "Senior Sister, shall we take him down next?"
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The many Fusion stage gatekeepers in Xuanqing City were likely produced through methods that accelerated cultivation after demonization. Their bodies and souls had been invaded by demonic energy, and there was no telling what their future paths would be like, or if they even had a future.
But the Nine Abyss Sect's Second Elder was clearly different. His cultivation was only at the late Fusion stage, but that cultivation was genuinely achieved through his own practice. Therefore, despite countless latecomers chasing fiercely, his position remained unshakable—the Nine Abyss Sect Leader wasn't foolish. Even though the Nine Abyss Sect had fallen into the hands of the demon race, how could his ambitious nature allow him to willingly submit? The Second Elder had always been his confidant, and now even more so.
The Second Elder valued his life greatly. When he initially ordered everyone to disperse and search, he hadn't felt like he was being watched. Later, when he sensed being observed, he immediately had thoughts of retreating, while inconspicuously recalling two people to join him.
These two were members of the Nine Abyss Sect and were quite obedient. After receiving the order, they quickly returned.
The Second Elder glanced at the two, feeling somewhat reassured, and said: "The people are no longer here. Let's go back and deliberate further."
The two naturally had no objections. They looked at each other, even showing some surprise—they had originally not reached the Fusion stage, but had been accelerated later. The Second Elder had always looked down on such people, so why had he offered an additional explanation today?
Despite their surprise and confusion, the two didn't say anything, obediently following behind the Second Elder to protect him as they left.
Inside the space, Jiang Mo saw this and became somewhat anxious, wringing her hands: "Ah, we missed our chance. When he was alone just now, we should have acted directly. At worst, at worst, we could have bound him and brought him into the space, which would have given us even better control."
Indeed, Jiang Mo's space could be used to capture people, and as the master of the space, she had absolute control over everything within it. However, generally, no divine beast would choose such a fighting method, because the innate space was their most private domain. Except for Jiang Mo who always brought Yun Qingyue in, many divine beasts' innate spaces would never be entered by a second person throughout their lives.
Even their mates or offspring... though most divine beasts remained single until death anyway.
After her atavistic return, Yun Qingyue had inherited most of the divine beast bloodline. Although she fell just short of awakening an innate space, she had always known the related common knowledge. Therefore, she stroked the tiger's head, comforting her: "It's all right, don't force yourself." After a pause, she added: "Besides, I don't want others to come in here."
Hearing the last sentence, Jiang Mo's eyes finally brightened, and the corners of her lips lifted. She extended her finger to hook Yun Qingyue's pinky, then asked with feigned nonchalance: "Then, if we don't capture him, are we just going to watch him escape?"
As Yun Qingyue's finger was hooked and gently swayed by Jiang Mo, she could feel the other's subtle coquettishness. Her heart instantly turned soft and sweet, her expression along with it. Contrasting with her gentle appearance were her words, carrying a certain determined sharpness: "Of course not."
As she spoke, a wisp of dark blue flame flickered at her fingertip, as thin as a hair... no, even thinner than a hair by three parts.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo suddenly felt a sense of tacit understanding and silently opened a small gap in her innate space.
Sure enough, in the next second, that wisp of flame darted out, moving so quickly that even its afterimage was barely visible. Had Jiang Mo not been staring intently, she might not have seen the flame finally attach itself to the hem of the Second Elder's robe, completely undetected.
The Second Elder seemed to sense something and happened to turn back at that moment, nearly startling Jiang Mo inside the space. Fortunately, she quickly realized that the Second Elder's gaze had fallen on the location of her space's exit, where spatial fluctuations had occurred when she had just opened it... In other words, he hadn't discovered that wisp of ice flame, let alone her space.
Indeed, the Second Elder found nothing. After a brief survey, he led his two subordinates away quickly.