Chapter 729
Good will prevail over evil!
"It's really beautiful," Xiaoyue exclaimed.
"Yes, this is our new home," Zhang Yunfan said with a smile.
When the flying magical artifact team landed in the Zheng family territory, Zheng Tianhao and the other clansmen, who had already received the news, came out to greet them.
Seeing so many unfamiliar faces, their eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Clan leader, we're back," Elder Zheng Tianhe reported to Zheng Tianhao. "The mission was a complete success, and everyone has arrived safely."
"That's great!" Zheng Tianhao said happily. "Thank you everyone for your hard work!"
Then he turned to the oasis inhabitants:
"Welcome everyone to the Zheng family territory! From now on, this is your home!"
Hearing these heartwarming words, many residents were moved to tears.
After thousands of years of hardship, they finally ushered in a new life.
All of this is thanks to the kind young man in front of us—Zhang Yunfan.
Without his promise and his perseverance, we would not have regained our freedom today.
"Young Master Zhang, we will never forget your great kindness!" The residents thanked Zhang Yunfan one after another.
"Please don't be so polite, everyone," Zhang Yunfan said modestly. "It's my honor to be able to help you all."
Zheng Yi sat cross-legged in the secret chamber, his body surging with spiritual energy like a tide. After three months of secluded cultivation, he had finally completely refined that mysterious power, and his cultivation had improved once again.
As the last wisp of spiritual energy returned to his dantian, Zheng Yi slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.
"Finally, I've broken through." He felt the surging power within him and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
This seclusion not only allowed him to break through from the late Golden Core stage to the peak Golden Core stage, but more importantly, it gave him a deeper understanding of the source of that mysterious power.
That power originated from the depths of the Western Wilderness Desert, containing an extremely ancient aura. During the refining process, Zheng Yi vaguely sensed some blurry images—a huge underground palace, seemingly sealing away some powerful being.
"It seems the Western Wilderness Desert truly holds some secrets," Zheng Yi thought to himself. "Yun Fan should be safe training there, right?"
Thinking of his disciple, Zheng Yi immediately took out his communication jade pendant, wanting to find out about Zhang Yunfan's recent situation.
To his surprise, he did not receive any messages through the communication jade pendant.
"Strange, Yunfan should be reporting on the situation regularly." Zheng Yi frowned slightly, a sense of unease rising in his heart.
He immediately used his divine sense to examine the jade pendant and found that Zhang Yunfan's life force was still stable, which reassured him somewhat.
"It's good that I'm not in any danger. It's probably because my communication was interfered with in some special place," Zheng Yi comforted himself.
But the feeling of unease grew stronger, especially when he thought of the mysterious power deep in the Western Desert, which made him even more worried.
“No, I have to go there myself,” Zheng Yi made up his mind.
Although he believed in Zhang Yunfan's abilities, as his master, he couldn't let his disciple face unknown dangers alone.
Zheng Yi got up and walked out of the secret room, the sunlight outside making him squint slightly.
"Master, you've emerged from seclusion?" the maidservant guarding the door exclaimed in delight.
"Yes." Zheng Yi nodded. "Is Yunfan back?"
"Young Master Zhang just returned a few days ago, but he quickly went out again with his clansmen," the maid answered truthfully. "I heard he went to the Western Wilderness Desert to rescue someone."
"Save people?" Zheng Yi was taken aback. "Save what people?"
"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics either; you can ask the clan chief."
Zheng Yi nodded and was about to go find Zheng Tianhao to find out what was going on, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis.
That sense of crisis came from the direction of the western desert, and it grew stronger and stronger.
"Oh no!" Zheng Yi's expression changed. "Yun Fan is in danger!"
Without further hesitation, he immediately used his movement technique, transforming into a streak of light and speeding towards the western desert.
With his peak Golden Core cultivation, his full-speed flight was as fast as lightning. Mountains and rivers rushed past beneath his feet, and in less than half a day, he entered the edge of the Western Wilderness Desert.
After entering the desert, Zheng Yi felt the source of that sense of crisis even more clearly.
"It's in the direction of that oasis." He pinpointed the target based on his senses. "Has Yunfan been there?"
Thinking of the potential dangers Zhang Yunfan might encounter, Zheng Yi dared not delay in the slightest and continued to accelerate forward.
Along the way, he encountered many demonic beasts, but before they could launch an attack, they were intimidated by his powerful aura and scattered in all directions.
As they drew closer to the oasis, Zheng Yi felt an increasing sense of crisis. At the same time, he also sensed a strong, malevolent aura.
"Another heretical cultivator?" A hint of killing intent flashed in Zheng Yi's eyes.
He despised those evil cultivators who practiced heretical arts and harmed innocent people. If it was truly an evil cultivator threatening Zhang Yunfan's safety, he would show no mercy.
When the oasis came into view, Zheng Yi was astonished by what he saw.
The oasis, which should have been protected by a pale gold protective array, is now shrouded in a layer of black, malevolent energy. The protective array, which had existed for thousands of years, has completely disappeared, replaced by a sinister and terrifying evil array.
Even more shockingly, the town that once stood in the center of the oasis had been razed to the ground, replaced by a huge, deep pit. Countless evil cultivators dressed in black robes were busy in the pit, seemingly digging for something.
"Damn it!" Zheng Yi roared in fury. "What exactly are these evil cultivators trying to do?"
He carefully observed the situation below and discovered that there were a great many of these evil cultivators, at least several hundred. Moreover, judging from their auras, there were many powerful individuals at the Golden Core stage or even the Nascent Soul stage.
What worried Zheng Yi the most was that he couldn't sense Zhang Yunfan's presence here.
"Where exactly is Yunfan?" he wondered anxiously.
Just then, a familiar figure appeared at the edge of the pit. It was an old man in a white robe, directing the excavation work of the evil cultivators.
“Sha Wuchen?” Zheng Yi recognized the person; it was the guardian of the oasis.
But Sha Wuchen looks very strange now. His eyes have turned blood red, and he exudes a strong evil aura, clearly indicating that he has been controlled by some kind of evil magic.
"These evil cultivators have not only occupied the oasis, but also controlled Sha Wuchen." Zheng Yi's face grew even more grim. "They must not be forgiven!"
Just as he was about to make his move, he suddenly sensed an extremely ancient aura emanating from the deep pit. That aura was exactly the same as the mysterious power he had sensed during his seclusion.
"So that's it. These evil cultivators are after the secrets underground." Zheng Yi suddenly realized. "No wonder they wanted to occupy the oasis and excavate here."
At that moment, cheers erupted from the deep pit.
"Found it! Finally found it!"
"Hahaha! The legendary sealed land is indeed here!"
"Sir, we've discovered the entrance!"
Hearing this, Zheng Yi's heart sank. It seemed these evil cultivators had indeed discovered something important.
Without further hesitation, he swooped down from the sky.
"who?"
The evil cultivators on guard immediately spotted Zheng Yi and sounded the alarm.
"Enemy attack! A powerful force has invaded!"
"Protect the excavation site immediately!" Instantly, the entire oasis was thrown into chaos. Hundreds of evil cultivators surged in from all directions, surrounding Zheng Yi.
"So it was you beasts who occupied the oasis?" Zheng Yi asked coldly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Who are you? How dare you ruin our plans?" shouted a leader of a heretical cultivator at the Golden Core stage.
"I am Zheng Yi," Zheng Yi announced his name. "You'd better leave immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
“Zheng Yi?” The leader of the evil cultivators frowned. “Never heard of him. But since you dared to come here, don’t even think about leaving alive!”
"Brothers, let's go! Kill this reckless bastard!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than dozens of evil cultivators launched an attack simultaneously.
Various evil spells rained down on Zheng Yi like a storm, including black demonic energy, blood-red ghost fire, and sinister bone spears, covering the sky and earth.
Despite the intense attack, Zheng Yi showed no fear whatsoever.
"You think you can hurt me with your crooked and unorthodox methods? You're dreaming!" he sneered.
"The Righteous Yang Sword Technique - Under the Rising Sun!"
Zheng Yi drew his longsword, and its dazzling golden light instantly illuminated the entire sky.
The sword light was as dazzling as the real sun, and wherever it went, all evil energy was instantly purified.
"Ah! My demonic energy!"
"Impossible! How can his sword intent be so pure?"
"What kind of sword technique is this? Why does it have such a strong restraining effect on our evil arts?"
The evil cultivators were horrified to discover that their prized sorcery was as fragile as paper in the face of Zheng Yi's sword light.
"Because evil cannot prevail over good!" Zheng Yi said coldly, "You evil cultivators are destined to be slain by the sword of justice!"
"The Righteous Yang Sword Technique: Ten Thousand Swords Return to Their Origin!"
Countless golden sword shadows appeared in the air, shooting out in all directions like a net.
Each sword shadow contains pure sword intent, specifically designed to counter the techniques of evil cultivators.
"Puff puff!"
A series of blood blossoms bloomed as dozens of evil cultivators were pierced by the sword shadows and fell into pools of blood.
"What? He killed so many people in one move?"
"Just what is this guy's cultivation level?"
"Run! This is an enemy we can't handle!"
The remaining evil cultivators were so terrified by Zheng Yi's immense strength that they all tried to escape.
But how could Zheng Yi possibly let them have their way?
"Trying to run? Have you asked my sword first?"
"The Righteous Yang Sword Technique - Sun and Moon Shine Together!"
This is the ultimate secret of the Zhengyang Sword Technique, its power is terrifying to the extreme.
Two enormous orbs of light suddenly appeared in the sky, one golden like the sun and the other silvery like the moon.
The two orbs of light slowly rotated, their radiance covering the entire oasis.
Under the light, all the evil cultivators let out shrill screams.
The evil energy within them was purified by the light, causing their cultivation levels to plummet; the weakest among them were even reduced to ashes.
“No! That’s impossible!”
"We've been practicing evil arts for hundreds of years!"
"Spare me! Spare me!"
But Zheng Yi had no pity for these heretical practitioners.
These people practice evil arts and must have harmed innocent lives. Allowing them to live will only lead to more tragedies.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zheng Yi slaughtered all the evil cultivators around the oasis.
The entire battlefield fell silent, with only Zheng Yi standing proudly alone.
"With this little strength, you dare to be so presumptuous in front of me?" Zheng Yi said disdainfully.
After dealing with these small fry, his gaze turned to the several powerful figures at the edge of the pit.
There stood a dozen or so other evil cultivators with even higher cultivation levels, led by a middle-aged man dressed in a blood-red robe. Judging from his aura, this man was actually at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
"Your strength is truly formidable," the blood-robed man said solemnly. "May I ask which sect you belong to?"
“I’ve already said my name is Zheng Yi,” Zheng Yi replied coldly. “Who exactly are you people? Why are you occupying this place?”
"Hahaha!" The man in the blood-red robe suddenly burst into wild laughter. "Since you are so formidable, I will not hide anything. I am Xue Wuyai, an elder of the Blood Demon Sect. I have come here on the orders of the sect leader to search for the sealed location of the ancient Demon Emperor."
"Blood Demon Sect? Ancient Demon Emperor?" Zheng Yi frowned.
The Blood Demon Sect is one of the most evil sects in the cultivation world. Legend has it that their founder was a powerful demonic figure from ancient times. The Ancient Demon Emperor is an even more legendary being, said to possess terrifying power capable of destroying the world.
“That’s right,” Xue Wuyai said smugly. “After years of searching, we’ve finally located the Demon Emperor’s tomb beneath this oasis. Once the seal is broken and the Demon Emperor’s power is released, the entire cultivation world will grovel at our feet!”
"Wishful thinking!" Zheng Yi roared. "I will never let you succeed!"
"Hmph! Just you alone?" Xue Wuyai sneered. "Although your strength is not bad, you're still far from being able to stop us!"
"Blood Demon Formation - Activate!"
With a roar from Xue Wuya, the entire oasis suddenly blazed with crimson light.
It turned out that these evil cultivators had already set up an array in the oasis, but they deliberately didn't activate it just now in order to test Zheng Yi's strength.
Now that they had confirmed Zheng Yi's strength, they finally used their real trump card.
As soon as the Blood Demon Formation was activated, a huge blood-red vortex appeared in the sky.
Demonic chants emanated from the vortex, and countless blood-red beams of light shot out from it, locking Zheng Yi firmly in place.
"This is our Blood Demon Sect's protective formation!" Xue Wuyai sneered. "Even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't easily break it!"
"Is that so?" A hint of disdain flashed in Zheng Yi's eyes. "Then I'll show you what true power is!"
"The Righteous Yang Sword Technique - The Great Sun Shines in the Sky!"
This is the strongest move of the Zhengyang Sword Technique, and it is the ultimate move that Zheng Yi can only use after breaking through to the peak of the Golden Core stage.
A huge golden sun rose behind Zheng Yi, its light even more dazzling than the real sun.
Under the golden light, those crimson pillars of light melted away as quickly as ice and snow meeting a raging fire.
"Impossible!" Xue Wuyai exclaimed in utter shock, "How could the Blood Demon Formation have been broken?"
"I've said it before, good will never prevail over evil!" Zheng Yi's voice boomed like thunder. "Any evil force is utterly powerless before justice!" (End of Chapter)