Chapter 1368
Old Acquaintances Join Forces to Break the Formation
"Northern Underworld Immortal Continent," outside a grand hall in the northwest direction.
Two beams of black light descended, revealing a male and a female figure who quickly entered the main hall.
At the head of the main hall, a person completely shrouded in black robes sat high above.
The area around this person was very dark, and because he was tightly wrapped in a black robe, his face was completely obscured.
Upon seeing the other person, the young man quickly stepped forward and respectfully knelt down on the ground.
"Disciple greets Ancestor!"
"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, we suddenly lost contact with Fourth Brother after he went to Demon Wind Cliff a while ago. Take some people and go see what's going on."
The man in the black robe spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice, making it difficult to understand him.
But the two people below immediately understood what the other meant.
"Fourth Senior Brother has disappeared at Demon Wind Cliff. That place is not our territory. Could it be that someone else has come?"
"Master, I remember that Old Demon Yan sent people to the vicinity of Demon Wind Cliff a few years ago. Could it have been one of their people who did it?"
"Hmph! Old Demon Yan's cultivation is not even at the second level of the Nascent Soul stage. Where did he get the guts to compete with me? His attempt to seize territory back then was just a show for others to see."
Moreover, the fourth brother is only missing and has not died, which is not Yan Laogui's style.
Otherwise, if he had done it himself, he probably would have already extracted the fourth brother's soul and refined it into the Myriad Demon Banner.
The black-robed man with the strange voice was one of the five Nascent Soul stage demons of the "Northern Underworld Immortal Continent," the infamous "Nine Netherworld Demon."
The two disciples kneeling below were both direct disciples of his "Nine Nether Sect".
The "Old Demon Yan" mentioned by the "Old Demon of the Nine Netherworlds" is actually named Old Ancestor Yan Demon, who is also a Nascent Soul Old Demon from the Northern Underworld Immortal Continent.
They are most skilled at extracting souls and refining spirits, imprisoning the primordial spirits of living people to create powerful demonic treasures, and their methods are extremely cruel.
Upon hearing their master's explanation on stage, Luo Feng and Zhao Yanping, the two direct disciples below, nodded slightly.
“Master is right. It seems that this matter has nothing to do with Old Ghost Yan. It is likely that someone has secretly infiltrated our territory.”
In recent years, many demonic cultivators from outside the Northern Underworld Continent have come here, and it is estimated that they are probably some powerful figures.
Master, rest assured, Ninth Brother and I will go to Demon Wind Cliff and find this person.
If this person is willing to submit, perhaps our Nine Nether Sect will gain another great general to share Master's burdens!
Faced with Luo Feng's flattering words, the man in black simply waved his hand at him.
"If that's the case, it's a good thing. Once you bring it back, I will definitely reward you according to your merits!"
But I also feel that there is something strange about the fourth brother's disappearance this time. I am worried that this matter may not be so simple.
Take this with you; it will be marked as long as the fourth brother is still nearby.
If anything is found amiss with him, bring his spirit back immediately.
After he finished speaking, a black wooden plaque fell from above the main hall and landed directly in Zhao Yanping's hand.
Upon seeing this item, both Luo Feng and Zhao Yanping were slightly taken aback.
As disciples of the "Nine Nether Sect," each of them possesses a wooden plaque identical to this one, all crafted by their master, the "Old Demon of the Nine Nether Sect," as their life tablets.
Once this item falls into the control of others, the fate of the corresponding cultivator becomes entirely at their mercy.
The meaning behind "Old Demon of the Nine Netherworlds"'s words was quite clear: he was worried that their fourth senior brother's disappearance might mean he had already defected from the sect.
For any disciple of the Demonic Sect, daring to break free from the sect's control will inevitably lead to their death.
Moreover, the Demonic Sect has no bottom line in its actions; they will not easily let go of even the physical bodies and souls of cultivators after they have died.
They will either be turned into puppets or their primordial spirits will be imprisoned for life, making the best use of them.
"Yes, Master."
".
Knowing that their own fates were also controlled by others, Luo Feng and Zhao Yanping exchanged a glance and dared not say anything more.
He quickly bowed and took his leave, then turned and walked out of the main hall.
As soon as the two disappeared, the "Nine Netherworld Demon" paused for a moment in the darkness, and a strange green light suddenly emanated from his body.
Before long, the person turned into a ray of light and disappeared from the spot.
".
After leaving the main hall, Zhao Yanping immediately summoned his disciples via telepathy. After meeting up with his senior sister Luo Feng, they headed east together for an inspection.
Zhao Yanping and Luo Feng had both reached the late Nascent Soul stage, and they brought along hundreds of their disciples.
Although the number of disciples in demonic sects is small, they are not as numerous as those in righteous sects.
However, these people practiced demonic cultivation techniques, so it was much easier for them to improve their cultivation in the early stages than for righteous cultivators. The lowest cultivation level among the hundreds of them was at the Foundation Establishment stage.
There were also six or seven people whose cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul stage, and together they formed a formidable force.
Led by Zhao Yanping and Luo Feng, the numerous demonic cultivators quickly traversed the mountains and soon arrived at a stretch of sea.
The territory of the "Nine Nether Sect" is located in the northwest of the Northern Underworld Immortal Continent, with many islands scattered along the eastern coast.
Not only are there demons everywhere, but there are also many foreign demon cultivators hiding and mixed in among them.
These demonic cultivators were not disciples of the "Nine Nether Sect." They were mostly forced to flee to the Northern Underworld Immortal Continent to hide because they were being hunted down by righteous sects from the outside world.
The "Nine Netherworld Demon" of yesteryear was forced to flee to the distant Northern Underworld Immortal Continent because he could not establish himself in the Central Yuan Immortal Continent.
He then found the legacy of an ancient demonic cultivator here, and only then did he successfully transform into a deity and establish the "Nine Nether Sect" lineage.
Upon seeing Zhao Yanping, Luo Feng, and the others from afar, the surrounding demonic cultivators knew they couldn't afford to offend them and all hid in their caves, not daring to show themselves easily.
Several demonic cultivators at the Golden Core stage, who seemed to have interacted with the disciples of the "Nine Nether Sect," took the initiative to curry favor with the crowd and try to become familiar with them.
Faced with these people, Zhao Yanping immediately added them to the team and they searched together.
After traveling for about half a month, the group arrived near a bay and then stopped.
"Ninth Junior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother's command token indicates his location is just ahead. What are your plans?"
"Fourth Senior Brother's supernatural abilities are no less than ours. If we approach him head-on, he will easily detect us in advance. It would be safer for Senior Sister and me to split up."
Senior sister, you lie in ambush here first, and I'll lead the men to go around from behind.
Once we discover them, we'll immediately send a message to inform them. What do you think?
"Okay! Let's do as Ninth Junior Brother says."
After the two discussed it, the team quickly split into two groups. One group, led by Luo Feng, guarded the entrance to the bay.
Another group of demonic cultivators followed Zhao Yanping and flanked him from the side along the land route.
After splitting up, Zhao Yanping and his group quickly reached their designated location.
"Go inside, and remember to search carefully, leaving no stone unturned."
At his command, hundreds of demonic cultivators transformed into streaks of light and cautiously approached forward using spells.
The group quickly crossed several high mountains ahead and soon arrived at the cliff edge of the coast.
They had expected to encounter some enemies, but to their surprise, they reached the top of the cliff without any obstacles.
"Strange, I haven't seen a single person around here. Could it be that Fourth Senior Brother's command token is malfunctioning?"
He raised his hand and took out a black wooden plaque. After carefully examining the top of it, he discovered that the location of the spiritual light mark was nearby.
However, after searching for a long time, everyone still found nothing. Zhao Yanping returned to the original spot with a look of doubt on his face.
Just as he was preparing to lead his men away to meet up with Luo Feng, who was guarding ahead.
Suddenly, a white mist rose from the sea ahead, obscuring most of everyone's view.
Seeing this, Zhao Yanping immediately sensed something was wrong and shouted loudly to the crowd:
"Something's not right here, everyone evacuate!"
".
A group of several hundred people quickly activated their escape lights against the white mist, trying to leave the cliff face beneath their feet as soon as possible.
What the many demonic cultivators didn't expect was that no matter how far they tried to fly, they were still stuck near the cliff when the white mist in front of them dissipated.
The group seemed to be blocked by something, unable to escape from their spot.
"Oh no! It seems we've encountered some powerful formation or restriction, and are trapped here!"
"How is that possible? Who would deliberately set up a restriction here?"
".
Seeing that everyone was trapped in place, Zhao Yanping immediately cast a spell to summon a giant white skeleton.
The skeletal skeleton opened its mouth wide and inhaled forcefully into the white mist surrounding it, quickly drawing the mist trapped around it into its belly.
Just as the surrounding white mist was becoming thinner and thinner, a figure holding a formation flag suddenly appeared in the white mist ahead.
Seeing that the person was still casting spells to manipulate the surrounding white mist, Zhao Yanping immediately cast a spell and flashed in front of the other party, staring at him coldly.
"Hmph, you have quite the audacity to oppose my Nine Nether Sect!"
".
Just as Zhao Yanping was about to ask the other person a question, he suddenly realized that the person's face looked somewhat familiar.
The next moment, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"It's...it's you?"
"Yes, it's me!"
When Zhao Yanping asked the question, the man smiled slightly, revealing a kind and amiable expression.
This attitude indirectly angered Zhao Yanping, who was standing nearby.
"You destroyed my physical body back then, and today I, Zhao, will avenge that. I will extract your soul and refine your spirit, so that you will be unable to live or die."
"Everyone, follow me! Let's kill this fiend! There will be a reward for everyone when we return!"
Upon hearing Zhao Yanping's words, the numerous demonic cultivators beside him immediately unleashed their spells and divine powers, aiming them at the ordinary-looking man in the green robe in front of them.
He was surrounded by black mist, sword light, thunder, and fire, among other supernatural powers.
The man in the green robe showed no panic whatsoever. He raised his hand and waved the array flag, which stirred up a gust of wind that trapped the many demonic cultivators inside.
Zhao Yanping wanted to send the skeleton forward to fight and interrupt the other party's spellcasting. However, to Zhao Yanping's surprise, the skeleton was stopped by a pair of Yin-Yang rings that the man in the green robe had casually thrown out just as it rushed in front of him.
A black ring appeared above the white skull, instantly pinning it to the spot, rendering it unable to move.
"Huh! How is this possible?"
His "white bone skeleton" was a divine power passed down by the Nine Nether Ancestor, refined from the body of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and had been fed by Zhao Yanping to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.
In terms of supernatural powers alone, even a cultivator at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage might not be his match.
However, the man in the green robe easily stopped him by simply activating a magic weapon, and the "white bone skeleton" was completely powerless to resist him.
Next, before Zhao Yanping could figure out what was wrong with him...
The man in the green robe raised his hand and brought it down. The "Yin-Yang Double Rings" pressed down heavily, instantly crushing Zhao Yanping's "white bone skull" into a pile of broken bones.
"what."
The "White Bone Skull" was nourished by his essence and blood and was connected to Zhao Yanping by blood. Now that it was destroyed by the other party, it was instantly severely injured and sent flying backward.
Zhao Yanping, who was sitting in mid-air, looked up at the man in the green robe in front of him, and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes.
"You are not a Nascent Soul cultivator!"
His own "white bone skeleton" was a powerful demon that was no less powerful than a Nascent Soul level nine cultivator, yet it was so easily defeated in his hands. This was something that a Nascent Soul or even a half-step Divine Transformation cultivator could not do.
Although he couldn't yet sense the green-robed man's exact cultivation level, Zhao Yanping could guess that the man's supernatural abilities had already surpassed the Nascent Soul cultivator's level and had reached the Divine Transformation realm.
I remember when I first met him, his cultivation level was similar to mine, but he was only at the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Only a few hundred years have passed, yet the person before him has become someone he can no longer touch. Zhao Yanping's eyes were filled with disbelief.
No wonder this person dared to venture deep into the heart of the "Northern Underworld Immortal Continent" to set up this trap.
If Zhao Yanping had known he would run into a Nascent Soul cultivator here, he wouldn't have come to his death, even if it meant disobeying the orders of the Nine Nether Ancestor.
"No, we must find a way to inform the ancestor; there is still a glimmer of hope."
Faced with such a powerful opponent, Zhao Yanping knew he had no chance of defeating him. He immediately placed his right hand on his chest and used magic to activate a hidden talisman.
As a beam of black light shot out from his body, Zhao Yanping immediately flew to the other side, trying to escape while the sound transmission talisman distracted the other party.
But before he could get far, a figure blocked his way.
The newcomer held a round jade plate and used magic to create a spatial rift, blocking Zhao Yanping's escape route.
Before he could change direction, he was imprisoned in place by a spatial force.
Immediately afterwards, a figure in a green robe holding a talisman arrived in front of Zhao Yanping, knocked him unconscious, and threw him into the gale below.
The demonic cultivators who were trapped inside were now completely disoriented by the fierce winds, and most of them had already fainted.
Only a few Nascent Soul demon cultivators with higher cultivation levels were still desperately casting spells to resist.
But these people didn't last long before the two men in green robes knocked them unconscious and trapped them inside.
“Brother Song, there’s another group outside. There are quite a few demonic cultivators here this time, and it seems we’ve already alerted them.”
"Okay! I understand, I'll leave as soon as possible."
Having said that, the man in the green robe used magic to destroy the talisman in his hand, and his gaze fell on the distant sea.
On the distant sea, Luo Feng and his group of demonic cultivators, having not received any signal from the other side, began to feel somewhat puzzled.
While everyone was still speculating whether the other party had encountered some trouble.
A ray of light finally appeared ahead, which gave Luo Feng and the others a great boost.
"It's Ninth Junior Brother and the others; they must have found the person!"
Upon seeing the signal, the numerous demonic cultivators transformed into streaks of light and rushed forward, eager to claim credit.
Just as the group was about to reach the cliff face, a white mist suddenly rose in front of them, obscuring much of the view.
Just as they were about to approach the white mist, a white-clad figure in the crowd, whose cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage, suddenly stopped halfway.
The man gazed at the white mist ahead, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes, before turning to flee the spot.
But at the same time the other party was casting the spell, the man in the green robe standing in the formation had also noticed the presence of the white-robed demonic cultivator.
"Huh! I didn't expect there to be a master among this group. This is interesting."
".
While everyone was busy making a name for themselves and no one was paying attention to him, the man in white slipped away and fled more than ten miles away, widening the distance between himself and the white mist.
Just when he thought he could escape successfully, a shadow suddenly loomed over the sea ahead.
Before he could react, a huge hexagonal magic circle appeared in the sky above the sea, enveloping him completely.
The next moment, numerous sword beams descended from the sky, instantly engulfing the white-robed demonic cultivator.
Before he could even let out a scream, the other person disappeared into the sea.
Below, on the sea surface, there was a deep crater left by the sword's edge, which was quite astonishing to behold.
Before long, a figure appeared above the pit with a flash of light; it was the green-robed man who had already dealt with the many demonic cultivators behind him.
After carefully searching the sea surface and finding no trace of the other party's escape, the man in the green robe retrieved the white-robed demon cultivator's "storage bag" from the sea.
Upon opening and scanning, I discovered that it contained a considerable number of spirit stones, as well as various crystal cores that could only be found among high-level demonic creatures.
Looking at the items in his hands, the man in the green robe seemed to be deep in thought.
"A demonic cultivator who also hunts demonic creatures to collect demonic crystals—that's quite strange!"
".
After standing there pondering for a while, the man in the green robe quickly returned to the magic array.
At this moment, within the gale-force winds shrouded by the formation, hundreds of demonic cultivators floated, all of them unconscious and firmly trapped inside by the formation.
The man in the green robe glanced at the other person, then tossed the array flag in his hand to the person behind him.
"Brother Qu, please keep an eye on this place for me. If anything happens, please let me know immediately!"
"Don't worry, I know what to do."
".
After exchanging a few words with the other party, the man in the green robe flashed down the cliff and landed on the sea below.
As soon as he raised his hand to cast a spell, a vortex-like circular entrance appeared in front of him, sucking him directly into it.
Then the whirlpool on the sea surface quickly disappeared.
On the other side of the vortex, a figure emerged from the space and appeared in a huge valley.
The green-robed cultivator took to the air and quickly arrived in front of a medicinal garden.
Not far away, there was a Taoist priest carrying a whisk on his back, casting a spell with both hands towards a restriction in front of him, trying to forcibly destroy it.
"Fellow Daoist Song, has the trouble outside been resolved without alerting those old guys?"
"Don't worry, Brother Dao. The Nine Nether Demon has not appeared. What he sent this time were his disciples and followers, all of whom I have already taken control of."
"Haha, this old demon is indeed more cautious than we thought. No wonder that even when several fellow Daoists from Zhongyuan Immortal Continent joined forces, they were unable to completely eliminate this demon."
In that case, this old devil probably hasn't noticed us yet.
Seeing the optimistic look on "Yu Zhenzi's" face, Song Qingming shook his head with a serious expression.
"The Nine Nether Sect sent so many people this time, including nearly ten Nascent Soul cultivators. The Nine Nether Old Demon must have already discovered the situation here."
We don't have much time left!
"Oh! Ten Nascent Soul cultivators have arrived. It seems you were right; we can't delay any longer."
"Demon Jiuyou alone is not difficult to deal with, but if he attracts other demons, the two of us will likely find it hard to escape."
"Fellow Daoist Song, now it's all up to you!"
"However you require cooperation, I will do my utmost."
Upon hearing Song Qingming's words, "Yu Zhenzi" replied with a single sentence, then immediately stood up, withdrew his magic power, and stepped aside to give Song Qingming the position to cast his spell.
Seeing this, Song Qingming glanced at the other party and also took the initiative to step forward to the front of the barrier.
His gaze swept around, and he saw that more than a dozen array flags of different colors had been planted near the barrier in front of him.
With a wave of his hand, Song Qingming activated all the array flags and began to rapidly draw spiritual energy from the restrictions in front of him using the pre-arranged array.
With the spiritual energy within the formation rapidly dispersed, the power of the restriction in front of them immediately weakened.
More than a decade ago, Song Qingming and "Yu Zhenzi" had already made an appointment to come to Beiming Immortal Continent together and found the entrance to this ancient secret realm located below the cliff.
In order not to alert the local demonic cultivators, they did not rush in. The two of them first spent several years setting up a high-level magic array near the cliff to conceal the surrounding aura.
This was used to help them conceal the movements of breaking the formation here.
The two then worked together to successfully open the entrance to the ancient secret realm below, and entered this special space.
The secret realms left behind by ancient sects have preserved many precious spiritual items even after tens of thousands of years.
Song Qingming and "Yu Zhenzi" searched the place thoroughly and found not only many spiritual items that were useful to them, but also several high-level alchemy and weapon-refining manuals.
These advanced skill manuals are all rare inheritances of level five or above.
For Song Qingming and "Yu Zhenzi", obtaining these items alone made their trip worthwhile.
They have now searched the entire secret realm, leaving only this place that looks like a "spiritual herb garden".
A very powerful barrier was set up here, isolating the two of them, which suggests that something important must be hidden inside.
However, despite his extensive research over the past few years, Song Qingming has still not found a good way to break the formation.
Time was of the essence, and he had no choice but to forcefully break the formation together with "Yu Zhenzi".
Just as Song Qingming had cast a spell to weaken the power of the barrier in front of him, he immediately turned to look at "Yu Zhenzi" to the side.
"I have already connected the two magic arrays. I would like to ask you, fellow Daoist, to help me attack the restriction with all your might and mobilize all the spiritual energy inside."
In this way, by observing the direction of the spiritual energy flow, we can roughly locate the position of the array's core!
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Song, leave this matter to me!"
Upon receiving Song Qingming's reminder, "Yu Zhenzi" immediately responded and conjured a giant sword that floated in the air. (End of Chapter)