489: Exterminate demons and uphold justice!

Half a step behind the Sect Head stood a mysterious person wrapped in a mysterious black robe that flowed like mist—Shadow!

Yao Delong's pupils constricted slightly; he had seen this person before!

Back then, during his Golden Core ceremony, it was this person who delivered the Sect's congratulatory gift!

Back then, he thought they were in the Nascent Soul Realm? Looking now... the aura permeating around Shadow was clearly the ultimate dark aura of Spirit Transformation Realm Perfection!

Like a deity walking in the cracks between light and shadow!

"The Demon Sect is pressing upon our borders! The Northern Frontier is in turmoil!"

White Cloud Master got straight to the point. His voice wasn't loud, but it struck every True Disciple's Dao Heart like a great bell!

"Juelong Ice Ridge Pass has fallen! Demon cultivators have surged into the pass in large numbers! Furthermore, Meng Tianxiong of the Zhenyuan Marquiss Residence has rebelled, acting as an internal mole and minion, ravaging the Northern Territory!"

His gaze, like a void containing a galaxy, swept across every young face below the hall who bore a heavy responsibility.

"The sixteen of you are the arrowheads of the Yin Yang Sect, aimed at cutting down the demonic threat!

Half a day! Within half a day, return to your respective peaks and, based on your strength, personally select thirty elite Golden Core Disciples and twenty Nascent Soul Elders!

Receive the 'Yin Yang Demon Slaying' Iron Guard Token!"

He flicked his sleeves, and sixteen tokens, neither metal nor iron and ancient in design, appeared.

The tokens, engraved with the Yin Yang Fish on the front and the words 'Demon Slaying' on the back, floated before the True Disciples!

"Shadow and the Night Hawks under his command will cooperate with you!"

White Cloud Master's voice was resolute: "Hunt down the demon cultivators who entered the pass! You must strangle them all or drive them back beyond the borders!

Anyone who dares to collude with the rebels shall have their entire clan executed! We would rather the Northern Territory be in turmoil than allow the Foundation of our Sect to be endangered!"

A cold, murderous, and overwhelming Battle Intent instantly filled the entire hall!

"Exterminate demons and defend the Dao! We will not fail the Sect's cultivation!!" Sixteen voices converged into a torrent of oaths!

Yao Delong reached out to catch the flying token; it felt cold and heavy in his hand, but he sighed in his heart.

People? Even at full count, Luo Xia Peak only had seven or eight Golden Core Disciples.

Aside from him, there were only two Nascent Soul Elders left, and they were still in seclusion on rotation... White Cloud Master's gaze, as if it could see through one's heart, turned toward Yao Delong, his voice calm and rippleless:

"Luo Xia Peak... the situation is special."

Those four words set the tone.

"Martial Nephew Yao."

The voice turned toward him.

"Your mission is even heavier! The peak cannot be left without someone in charge... You shall hold the token alone and set out immediately!"

As soon as these words were spoken, even though everyone present was a True Disciple, several surprised gazes swept over.

A one-man army? What trust! What pressure!

It also meant that all the merit... or risk, would be borne by Yao Delong alone!

Yao Delong suppressed his emotions, rose steadily, and gave a slight bow: "Disciple Yao Delong obeys Sect Head Immortal Master's decree!"

So what if I'm alone? You demon brats... it's just the right time to collect some interest!

The matter was settled!

The True Disciples of each lineage rose one after another, turning into streaks of light and soaring into the sky! Time was of the essence!

Just as the light beneath Yao Delong's feet was about to surge so he could chase out of the hall doors, the corner of his eye caught that enchanting, water-blue figure.

Cang Yunyao was whispering a few words to the ethereal-looking Zhen Xuanji before turning to leave.

"Senior Sister, please wait!" Yao Delong's figure was like lightning as he blocked Cang Yunyao's path, less than three steps away.

Cang Yunyao paused, her red lips curling slightly. Her eyes flickered as she caught the wink Yao Delong threw her way.

With a soul-hooking smile, she said, "What? Is my dear brother reluctant to part with his sister? Or are you afraid of being blinded by Junior Sister Zhen's talisman light?"

Beside them, Zhen Xuanji's expression rippled slightly, and her talisman light flickered as she signaled Cang Yunyao not to fool around.

Yao Delong ignored this True Disciple Talisman Array Grandmaster, his gaze cutting straight to the point with a seriousness that brooked no refusal:

"Senior Sister, this journey is dangerous, but it is also an Opportunity.

Among the Golden Core Disciples of your Spirit Water Peak, there is one named Luo Miaomiao who is an acquaintance of mine.

She is currently at Golden Core Perfection, just one step away from Nascent Soul formation. Her Foundation is quite solid, but she needs to sharpen her edge! I must trouble Senior Sister to take her along!"

Cang Yunyao's beautiful eyes flickered as she instantly recalled that Foundation Establishment girl on her peak... already half-step Nascent Soul?!"

Such speed! She instantly understood something. Her gaze toward Yao Delong grew a few shades more playful and profound.

"Oh..." She drawled in a charming tone, her slender white finger almost pointing at Yao Delong's chest from across the air.

"You want sister to take care of your new flame for you? Or is it... an old love?"

She took a step closer, her red lips almost touching Yao Delong's ear, carrying a bone-eroding heat:

"Sister is going out to kill and burn this time... if your devastatingly beautiful 'dear sister' gets a bump or a scratch, what should we do?"

Her fingernail lightly traced the edge of Yao Delong's tight-fitting collar:

"Brother... how do you plan to thank sister for being this 'nanny'?"

"Senior Sister," Yao Delong looked down into her charming eyes, his voice low and hoarse, like a sea of molten lava about to erupt:

"Do you believe I'll execute you right here on the spot!?"

Cang Yunyao's hot breath, almost pressed against his ear, carried a bone-devouring provocation.

"I wonder who it was... that day, leaving Spirit Water Peak while holding their waist?"

Her eyes flickered like silk, the curve of her red lips both coquettish and proud. Her voice was compressed into a thread like a poisonous vine winding around.

It was filled with bold and suggestive words that only Yao Delong could appreciate:

"If you miss the hour and can't get back to organize your Disciples... sister will definitely squeeze you until not a single drop of juice is left!

Let's see if you... still have the heart to worry about other people's flower buds then."

The deliberately emphasized word "squeeze" carried an endless aura of romantic slaughter. After speaking, she gave Yao Delong a sidelong glance with a slight pant.

Her red skirt no longer lingered, whipping up a fragrant wind like a fiery phoenix as she dragged away Zhen Xuanji, whose body was covered in chaotic talisman light, and vanished!

Yao Delong rubbed the bridge of his nose. In his Sea of Consciousness, the golden characters [290/300] were as eye-piercing as needles!

Ten points short! Just ten damn points short!

Senior Sister Cang, this walking, ripe, and seductive ice-and-fire beauty, was right before him. That look, that sentence... it was like raising a level-ten giant hammer stacked with Dao power and array diagrams against his dry-tinder-like will... and smashing it!

A slight tremor of phantom pain came from deep within his kidneys... the bitter battle at the Spirit Lake Pavilion that day was still fresh in his mind.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the dry fire that almost surged upward. His gaze became as solemn as a sword blade cutting through wind and snow. Zhenyuan Marquiss Residence!

In a side courtyard on the edge of Tuyao Peak, the Spiritual Pressure was forcibly restrained, falling like a wisp of smoke.

"Mas... Master!"

The stone door of the Immortal Cave slammed open, and Meng Lang stumbled out.

Cold sweat poured from his forehead, and he didn't even have time to wipe away the bluestone gold lacquer stained on his face during cultivation.

He had just barely reached the threshold of the Golden Core with external help when that terrifying pressure originating from the divine barrier of the Nine Heavens Divine Sun descended.

It almost shook cracks into the Golden Core dao foundation he had painstakingly condensed!

It wasn't a gap in Realm at all; it was a crushing weight from something that felt like a prehistoric predator at the top of the food chain!

He fell to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling with terror.

Yao Delong's gaze pinned him to the spot like an invisible steel shuttle: "Meng Tianxiong betrayed the Meng family and fell into the demonic path. How is it that your Meng family hasn't... been buried with him?"

His voice was calm yet carried a sharpness that saw through the Divine Soul.

Meng Lang lay prostrate on the ground, cold sweat soaking his robes:

"Reporting to Master! Be... Before Meng Tianxiong's collusion with demon cultivators was discovered, he had already left the core of the Marquiss Residence!"

"After Hall Master Liang of the Moyang Sect broke off the engagement, that scoundrel's prestige in the residence was greatly damaged, so he took the initiative to request a transfer to guard the border at Ice Ridge Pass."

"The Old Marquis, Meng Changtian, considering that he... uh, had just lost his son, granted it."

"Who would have thought that within less than three months, he would actually collude with the city defense to open the gates and let the demons in..."

He spoke extremely fast, fearing that a moment's hesitation would invite thunderous rage.

"The incident was sudden! The King sent an imperial commissioner to thoroughly investigate the Marquiss Residence! Soul Searching Techniques, Heart-Questioning Disks, and Karma Retrospection Dao Scrolls were used for repeated inspections."

"Except for three loyal followers from Meng Tianxiong's lineage,"

"the rest of the direct and collateral Bloodlines, outer Sect Millenarians, and Enshrined Elders... were all found innocent!"