122: Chapter 122 Demonic Path Planning, Escaping from Duan Yun

The words had just left his mouth.

A brilliant light burst forth.

A 'bright sun' rose slowly from the fusang wood, its sunlight warm and gentle, indistinguishable from the real sun.

A miraculous scene appeared.

The moment the chaotic and restless Devilish Qi touched the sunlight, it began to dissolve layer by layer, like snow melting under a hot sun.

Wherever the sunlight reached, clarity was restored to the world.

The small sun did not stop after rising; it continued to climb to the zenith of the sky, its radiance blooming to its peak.

The surrounding Devilish Qi was being dissolved into a mess, yet a steady stream of Devilish Qi continued to pour out from the heavenly fiend sword.

Without any rush, he sat cross-legged between the two trees, closed his eyes, and waited quietly.

He had already set up a No-Shadow Formation at the entrance, so he would be able to detect anyone who entered immediately.

At this time.

The small sun slowly slanted westward, sinking toward the ruomu wood, casting a dim yellow glow over the world.

The Devilish Qi showed signs of resurgence, even attempting to corrode the Formation in reverse, with wisps of Devilish Qi seeping into it.

However, in the next instant, a sudden change occurred.

Under the glow of the twilight, the restless Devilish Qi suddenly quieted down, obediently drifting toward the direction of the setting sun.

The moment it touched the setting sun, it vanished without a trace.

Xu Changsheng's lips moved slightly: "Absorb, purify."

After he said this, the twilight sun sank below the horizon, and Devilish Qi surged in rapidly.

However, it wasn't long before...

The rising sun dawned in the east once again! Carrying even more intense sunlight, the Devilish Qi was instantly dispersed.

The Morning Glow and Evening Shadow Formation was no illusion; it was a true 'Solar Cycle'!

One east and one west, one rising and one setting, one yang and one yin, one day and one night.

With every rotation, the Formation would strengthen, further weakening the Devilish Qi in turn.

Xu Changsheng nodded with satisfaction; the effect was even better than he had imagined.

At the same time, he grew even more expectant of the spirit sword he would later forge based on the two woods.

...

Several dozen hours later.

The Devilish Qi had been completely cleared, and the gray-black scene returned to vibrant colors.

Xu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, looking at the heavenly fiend sword still embedded in the abyssal sinking stone.

The blade was no longer pitch black; it now revealed its original silver color, and the bandages wrapped around the hilt had been completely undone.

The entire sword was shaking, seemingly trembling.

The Devilish Qi inside it had been completely drained; not a single drop remained...

"Crack."

He stepped forward with a smile and pulled it out without the slightest effort.

If the people from the Ghost Shadow Sect saw this, their jaws would surely drop.

One must know.

Even their Golden Core Elders were unable to pull this sword from the abyssal sinking stone, and could only commission a third-rank Formation Master to set up a trapping Formation to suppress the Devilish Qi.

But that was only a temporary measure; the Devilish Qi would break through the Formation sooner or later, drawing the people of the Hundred Refining Valley to find them.

Yet Xu Changsheng, such a minor Foundation Establishment Cultivator, had actually achieved what they couldn't do despite decades of effort.

Following the removal of the demonic sword, a letter also came out.

"Eh? What is this?"

He opened it to find several leaves tucked inside.

After flipping through a few pages, his expression flickered uncertainly.

On them were actually the guardian grand Formations of over a dozen renowned powers within the cultivation worlds of the Three Kingdoms of Chu, Yue, and Wu.

Some only had the name of the Formation, while others were detailed and thorough.

"Chixiao Sect, Jinyang Sect, Yellow Ox Immortal City, Bihai Immortal City..."

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.

This was because...

The information on Yellow Ox Immortal City, which was closest to the Yuan State, was the most detailed; the city's quasi-fourth-grade grand Formation—the Huangtian Houtu Formation—had been almost entirely exposed.

Following the map, even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like him could break through it.

Unable to make up his mind, he walked from the east hall to the west hall, and from the west hall to the east hall, pacing back and forth twenty times.

The Immortal City's defense that he relied upon had actually been seen right through to its undergarments by the Demonic Path.

He had already begun to consider a strategy for running away.

"No, if the Immortal City falls, life in this cultivation world won't be easy for anyone. Where else could I go?"

At this moment, he finished reading the leaves, and at the bottom, the character 'Xiong' was clearly signed.

"Xiong Meng? It really is this person."

He came to a decision; since the Demonic Path hadn't acted even after obtaining the complete layout of Yellow Ox Immortal City's grand Formation, they must still have concerns.

More than half of the Sect Formations in the envelope were just names; the Demonic Path didn't understand them thoroughly and didn't dare to act.

As long as he gave this page to Chu Linger and had it presented to Yellow Ox at the right time to publicly change the Formation, it might delay the outbreak of a cultivation war as much as possible.

He nodded: "I'll do just that!"

Suddenly, the demonic sword's instigation echoed in his ears: "Release me, or I shall have your life!"

"Shut up!"

Xu Changsheng was in a foul mood; he threw the heavenly fiend sword to the ground and trampled on it fiercely.

"Without the support of Devilish Qi, this broken sword of yours only has a filthy mouth left. You actually still dare to try and bewitch me? Just wait until I melt you down later; we'll see if you're still so arrogant."

The growth of this sword soul far exceeded what the Ghost Shadow Sect had described to him.

If he hadn't had True Fire protecting his body when he entered, he would have been instigated by the demonic soul within breaths and become nourishment for the demonic sword.

He recalled True Person Qi Yang, that Golden Core True Person, suddenly backing him up; at the time, he thought Lu Yuanze had some leverage over her.

It turned out he was being used as consumable material.

The heavenly fiend sword's voice continued without stopping; he threw it into the bottom of his Storage Pouch to deal with later.

As the heavenly fiend sword disappeared, a crack also opened in the abyssal sinking stone wall, revealing the Devilish Qi passage behind it.

"Hehe, Ghost Shadow Sect, we shall meet again if fate permits."

After Xu Changsheng left those words, True Fire once again covered his body as he walked toward the eerie passage.

...

Five days later, Gou Jiao received intelligence from a Disciple.

"You're saying the area where Fellow Daoist Liu was located has been sealed off?"

"Yes, Junior Martial Uncle. It seems something major happened. Huangniu Mountain is currently allowing people to leave but not enter."

Gou Jiao narrowed his eyes slightly: "You are the Qi Refining Disciple with the strongest scouting abilities in the Sect. I assume you didn't come back just to tell me this."

"Of course not. Although Yellow Ox Immortal City is doing everything possible to cover it up, I still managed to find some clues."

"Stop beating around the bush. Speak."

"According to what our Sect's spies embedded in the Immortal City said, it seems a spatial event occurred in Huangniu Mountain."

"A spatial event? Could it be a spatial rift or something?"

"Probably not. Many people saw the phenomenon at the time; it was a pitch-black, expanding barrier."

"A barrier?"

Hearing this, Gou Jiao stood up from his chair.

"Based on what you've said, this spatial event should have been caused by the self-detonation of a Demonic Path Teleportation Talisman. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Liu crushed it?"

"Junior Martial Uncle's words make sense. The center of the sealed area is precisely where the Immortal Cave of the Senior Liu you mentioned is located."

He nodded: "Then there's no mistake. Liu Bai must have encountered some crisis and took this action."

"Then it's strange. If it wasn't Liu Bai, then who was that Foundation Establishment outsider who secretly sneaked in that day?"

At the same time.

The communication talisman on his person began to beep.

He pressed it to his forehead to read it.

In the next moment, his expression changed drastically!

Without paying any mind to the astonishment of his Martial Nephew beside him, he bolted out the door!