Daoist Competition

In the depths of the Demon Cave, a white-robed cultivator with a tall hair bun fled in panic. Only upon reaching a stone wall did he stop, bowing deeply and anxiously saying, "Honored One, there’s a disturbance at the Sea Eye, it seems the Mingcang Sect has sent cultivators down to investigate again."

After a moment, the stone wall trembled. Then, dry, hard gray mud fell from above, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes. In a hoarse voice, it said, "Haven’t people been coming down every year for so many years? Just deal with it cautiously, why bother waking me?"

Hearing the displeasure in his voice, the white-robed cultivator hurriedly explained, "It wasn’t my intention to disturb you, Honored One, but this time the people coming down are different. Their mana is formidable, and they have been descending continuously, probing deep for dozens of miles, as if they’ve sensed something."

"Oh?"

The being referred to as the Honored One also showed a reaction, shaking off several chunks of gray mud from his face. After thinking for a while, he coldly said, "Perhaps your senior uncle was careless and made some mistake, but it’s no matter. He doesn’t know we are here. You should go hide well, do not let the newcomers discover you, or even I won’t be able to save you."

The white-robed cultivator softly replied, "Yes, I shall take my leave." With a bow, he turned and hurried away.

After he left, the one referred to as the Honored One suddenly shivered, raising a gang wind that swept away all the overlaying dirt, revealing his own form—a gaunt daoist of unknown age.

His eye sockets were deep-set, his hair draped on his shoulders, his face sunken, resembling a withered ghost. A gray feather great cloak hung over his body, and as his eyes opened, three clumps of blood-colored gang cloud floated above his head, swaying and flickering like ghostly candles.

He shook his head, recalling nearly three hundred strands of Divine Split he had sent out.

Cultivators of the Demon Sect divide their divine soul to hunt devils. This can accelerate cultivation progress, but has significant drawbacks. Too many Divine Splits can cause confusion, clouding the mind. Even for those with Nascent Soul cultivation, three hundred is the limit; any mishap can turn one into a fool.

Yet, being beneath the territory of the Mingcang Sect, he had to seize every opportunity to enhance his strength, regardless of the risks.

As his divine soul became whole, his spirits gradually lifted, and his mind cleared. He then noted something amiss, thinking, "No, I recall the last time Mingcang Sect sent people down was a month ago. How is it that they send more so soon? This commotion is rather unusual."

The more he thought, the more uneasy he became. After hesitating for a long time, he took out a copper mirror, bit his tongue, and spat two mouthfuls of essence blood onto it. Before long, a blurry figure appeared in the mirror. With just a few glances, his eyes widened, standing in shock, he exclaimed, "Could this person be Zhang Yan? Wasn’t he away on a journey? Why has he come here?"

Due to cultivating in solitude within the underground and to monopolize this Demon Cave, he had severed contact with his fellow disciples. Thus, he was blissfully unaware that Zhang Yan had returned to the mountain gate a month ago and assumed the position of the leader of the Ten Disciples.

But even knowing this, he wouldn’t have thought Zhang Yan would focus on this small demon cave instead of dealing with the chaos outside the sect first.

His expression turned extremely grave as he thought, "This person’s methods are extraordinary. He even killed a figure like Junior Brother Gao. Now, over a century has passed. His cultivation has likely improved again. Confronting him is not a wise move..."

However, his goal here was within reach. To abandon it now was unbearable. After agonizing over it for a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let’s hide from him for now. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to find a way to exit this place, wait for things to settle down, and then find an opportunity to return."

Having made up his mind, he turned, transformed into a streak of blood light, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

After Zhang Yan ventured into the small demon cave, he first walked around the entrance that once led to Xiao Zhe Mountain.

To prevent the arrival of Demon Sect disciples, it had long been sealed off. Qin Nan and Liu Gongyuan would always make a circle here after descending the Sea Eye, ensuring that the sealing remained untouched.

After personally inspecting, he found no signs of tampering.

However, the earth yin qi in the small demon cave was like a spiderweb, intricately connected to the Qi Mechanism throughout. Without such, spiritual energy couldn’t accumulate excessively to form a Spiritual Eye.

As long as the Demon Sect practitioners knew the approximate location, they could find a way in by following the Qi Mechanism.