Chapter 1074
A Dream of Yellow Millet
"Fellow Daoist Lingxiao, have you been able to contact any of the True Monarchs?"
The Twin Islands—Zhuang Yuechan had asked this question for what felt like the umpteenth time.
"Several True Lords have gone their separate ways to pursue the powerful enemy, which has already exceeded the scope of the [Myriad Manifestations Token]. True Lord Xiaoyao and True Lord Leixiang are in the distant sea and are difficult to find."
The Palace Master and True Monarch Zixu have pursued Kongsang Baijue, most likely to the vicinity of the Qingcang Cultivation Realm. The Palace is currently trying to contact their fellow cultivators from the Qingfeng Dao Sect, and they should have results soon.
Now that the Sea Clan has suffered a major defeat, although they are still putting up a stubborn resistance, judging from the current situation, they should soon collapse. The Blood Soul Demon Sect will not stay to serve the Sea Clan. Fellow Daoist, you can now begin to send your elite troops back to the clan to provide support.”
At this point, Ling Xiao added, "Anything involving evil spirits and heretics is no small matter, let alone a demonic calamity. Once it spreads, the consequences will be unimaginable. Fellow Daoist Zhuang, do not hesitate."
After much deliberation, Zhuang Yuechan finally accepted Ling Xiao's offer, but the worry between her brows remained undiminished. Without the intervention of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, could they really stop the spread of the demonic calamity if they returned?
The whole story begins at the very start of this decisive battle.
After receiving news of the war breaking out on the border, Song Qingyun rushed back to the southwest as quickly as possible. While passing through the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom, he inadvertently saved Zhao Wuji, who had left the East Sea Alliance to seek a master in the southwest...
"Junior Zhao Wuji, may I ask your esteemed title, Master?"
"My name is... Song Qingyun."
"Song?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up, and he cautiously asked, "Senior, could you perhaps be from the Song Clan of Wangyue?"
Upon hearing that name that haunted his dreams, Song Qingyun was momentarily dazed; his time with the family seemed like a thing of the past.
He never imagined he would have the chance to return to this land.
Instead of answering Zhao Wuji's question, he asked in return, "Judging from your accent, you don't sound like someone from the Southwest. Where are you from, and how did you get involved with this barbarian bear?"
"I am a rogue cultivator from the Great Qian Cultivation World. I have been training in the East Sea Alliance. I came to the Southwest to find a master, but I happened to encounter the invasion of the demon race. So I accepted the call to go to the front line from Tianjue City of the Cangyuan Cultivation World."
Later, I was shocked to learn that the cultivation world of Lu had fallen. The Song Clan of Wangyue was transferring mortals but was severely lacking in manpower. Although my cultivation was low, I wanted to do my part, so I came to Lu.
After the fall of Rakshasa Fortress, the Southwest Alliance completely abandoned the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom. With nowhere to go, I found a place to hide temporarily.
Master Zixu broke through to the True Monarch realm and defeated the allied forces of the six demon kingdoms on the Qingfeng Mountain battlefield, regaining control of the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom. However, many demon beasts still remained in the territory.
The Southwest Alliance issued a demon-slaying order, and I have been tracking down these scattered demons for some time. At first, I made quite a few gains, but later these demons seemed to have vanished into thin air, and I have not made any progress for several days.
I thought they had been cleaned up by other fellow cultivators, but yesterday, when I passed by a small family in the mortal realm, I discovered several demonic bears wreaking havoc on mortals.
After I killed them, this third-tier savage bear suddenly emerged from the dense forest and chased me all the way here. If it weren't for your help, senior, I really wouldn't know how to get rid of it.
At this point, Zhao Wuji paused and said, "Senior, whether it's this third-tier savage bear or the ones I killed, they all seem a bit abnormal. Specifically, as you saw, they were delirious and acted without any rhyme or reason."
Otherwise, with my current cultivation level, I wouldn't have been able to hold my own against it for so long.
Upon hearing this, Song Qingyun silently turned his gaze to the corpse of the wild bear on the ground, and with a flick of his sword, he cut open its huge belly, revealing its colorful organs spilling out onto the ground.
Wisps of black mist could be clearly seen sinking down from the rising steam.
Song Qingyun reached out and caught a wisp of it, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "Demonic energy!"
"Demonic energy? This... Why would a demonic beast possess demonic energy, and why would it be so deeply hidden within its body?" Zhao Wuji was somewhat surprised.
"Where did you find these wild bears? Take me there." Song Qingyun keenly realized that this matter was not simple.
He originally did not intend to stay in the cultivation world of Lu for long, but according to Zhao Wuji, the demon race had been defeated, and since the Song family still had the strength to help the cultivation world of Lu to wipe out the demons, there should be no major problems.
Going back now wouldn't make any real sense.
In comparison, the matter at hand is more important.
Chaotic times breed many monsters. The cultivation world of Lu Kingdom has fallen, with tens of millions of deaths and injuries. It is practically a paradise for evil and heretics. In such an environment, it would not be surprising if anything were to appear.
These demonic energies are not only deeply hidden, but also possess extremely strong corrosive properties. Even demonic beasts cannot resist them, let alone fragile mortals.
Nowadays, the population movement in the Southwest Nine Realms is extremely frequent. Once this demonic energy spreads, it will soon form a massive demonic disaster, which will be difficult to contain.
This has happened more than once in history, and each time it has come at a heavy price.
The Nine Realms of the Southwest have just experienced a great battle and are already severely weakened. If another demonic calamity were to break out, who knows how many more lives would be lost.
Now that he's encountered this situation, he won't feel at ease unless he investigates it thoroughly.
"It is my duty as a junior." Zhao Wuji quickly agreed, went up to a high place to examine the area, and finally pointed to the west.
With a wave of his sleeve, Song Qingyun was lifted up by an invisible force and rushed to the scene of the incident at top speed.
In a short while, they arrived at the mortal realm of the small family Zhao Wuji had mentioned. The scene was a mess; the houses had been almost completely razed to the ground. Apart from the bloodstains everywhere, there was not a single living creature in sight, not even a corpse.
Upon arriving at this place, Song Qingyun frowned deeply, because he sensed an extremely dense demonic energy here, exactly the same as that inside the wild bear.
Zhao Wuji said with a grim expression, "Someone else came afterward!"
When I left, there were at least several hundred survivors here. I had killed all the demonic bears, and there shouldn't be any other demonic beasts around.
Song Qingyun squatted down in front of the congealed pool of blood, examined it carefully, and said in a solemn tone, "It's not human, it's a demon."
"I've heard that remnants of the former Blood Demon Cult still exist in the southwest. Could this be one of their schemes?"
“I have had contact with the Blood Demon Cult, and these things do not seem to be their doing.”
What should we do now?
"Let's check if any clues have been left." Song Qingyun scanned the area with his divine sense and quickly made a discovery.
With a flash, he disappeared and reappeared above the ruins of a house. He waved his hand and moved the bricks and stones aside, revealing a blood-soaked figure.
Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up, and he quickly went to check, but soon shook his head and said, "He's dead. His body is still warm and hasn't stiffened. He must have been dead for a short time. We're too late."
"Help him up."
Although somewhat confused, Zhao Wuji followed Song Qingyun's instructions and helped the body sit up, only to discover that the deceased was a young man.
Song Qingyun sat facing the corpse, reached out and touched the deceased's forehead, and slowly closed his eyes.
"The Great Divine Power [A Dream of Yellow Millet]"
A faint glimmer of light appeared, and his consciousness instantly entered the unexplored sea of consciousness of the deceased, where he saw a wisp of the soul that had not yet left the body.
The three souls and seven spirits are Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, and You Jing.
The radiance of the fetus represents the origin of life, and its dissipation signifies the complete end of life.
The deceased had only recently died, so the aura of her pregnancy had not yet completely dissipated, which was exactly what Song Qingyun wanted.
The remaining wisp of his soul was forcibly pulled into the dream he created. Under the influence of supernatural powers, he "came back to life" and began to review his life.
Soon, Song Qingyun saw a series of chaotic and disordered memory scenes.
These are the memories of the deceased before their death. As the three souls and seven spirits dissipate, they gradually become fragmented, and the earlier the memories, the more blurred they become.
However, he was not interested in those ancient memories; he only needed to see the deceased's memories from their lifetime.
He quickly got the part he wanted.
The first to appear was Zhao Wuji, who killed three rampaging wild bears and then lured away the third-tier bear demon.
Having survived the ordeal, several hundred survivors gathered together at the call of a few Qi Refining cultivators, preparing to pack their valuables and evacuate in droves after dawn.
Everyone spent the night in fear and trembling. Just as dawn was breaking, a mournful wolf howl echoed through the sky, and then the earth began to tremble. The "dead man," who had not slept all night, immediately got up from his bed. He tiptoed to the window, lifted a corner of the wooden window, and then saw a scene that made his heart stop.
A dozen or so demonic wolves, stronger than oxen, appeared on the outskirts of the village bathed in the morning light. On the backs of the two largest wolves sat figures shrouded in demonic energy.
The demonic wolves swept through like a whirlwind, instantly killing several Qi Refining cultivators and destroying the entire village. The elderly and the young, who were too young to understand, became the wolves' prey, while the strong and healthy middle-aged and young people were corrupted by the demonic energy and became part of the wolves. The "dead" were crushed by the collapsing roof in the panic and thus escaped the calamity.
When the supernatural power ended, the last wisp of the "deceased's" soul also dissipated.
"two……"
Song Qingyun frowned slightly.
The deceased was a mortal and could not sense the other party's cultivation level, but based on the details of their actions, it could be determined that they were at most at the Purple Mansion level, and in theory, they could not possibly corrupt and control a demon beast at the Great Demon level.
Perhaps they were just pawns of that demon?
From the deceased's memories, it can be seen that the demonic energy emanating from those wolves was extremely corrosive; it would take a strong middle-aged man less than a breath to transform from a human into a demon.
These actions are clearly organized, and they are definitely brewing some kind of conspiracy in the dark.
He didn't know if anyone else had discovered the group's whereabouts, but he knew he couldn't let them succeed.
"I'm giving you a task," Song Qingyun said in a deep voice as he stood up.
Zhao Wuji quickly replied, "Please give your instructions, Master. I will gladly die for you!"
"Go to the Song Clan of Wangyue and tell them everything that happened here. The sooner the better. The longer you delay, the more people will die in the future."
"Yes, sir." Zhao Wuji agreed without hesitation, but soon a hint of hesitation appeared on his face: "Senior, the [Wangyue Song Clan] is now a Nascent Soul Immortal Clan, a leading family in the border region."
I am but a rogue cultivator; if I went alone, I probably wouldn't even be able to climb that desolate peak. How could they possibly believe my one-sided account?
“Yes… we’re a Nascent Soul clan now. I’ve missed out on so much over the years.” Song Qingyun murmured softly, then took out the waist token he had treasured for many years and handed it to Zhao Wuji with a hint of reluctance, saying, “Take this with you, and they will definitely believe you.”
Although Zhao Wuji was a rogue cultivator, he had participated in the alliance exchange meeting organized by the Song family in the East Sea Alliance in his early years. During the meeting, he met many elders of the Song family. The waist tokens on those people were quite similar to the one in front of him, obviously from the same source.
He had never heard of Song Qingyun from the Song Clan of Wangyue, but he did know that the Song Clan had a guardian elder named Song Qingxing, a god of death.
He was almost certain that the two were from the same family, but he didn't know why he needed to deliver the message.
Just as they were about to ask, a violent battle fluctuation suddenly came from afar, and then the two saw a dazzling sword light flash across the horizon.
The moment he saw the sword light, Zhao Wuji felt a sudden tremor in his heart, and the wooden sword in his hand began to tremble slightly, as if it were about to be drawn at any moment.
"This is……"
His heart was pounding. He was all too familiar with this sword intent. Wasn't this what he had been searching for all along?
Song Qingyun also felt that extraordinary and powerful sword intent, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
She murmured softly, "Brother's sword is still as sharp as ever."
As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky.
Two hundred years of longing surged into his heart like a tidal wave.
He had cast everything aside; now, he was simply a wanderer who hadn't returned home in a long time...
...(End of this chapter)