147: Chapter 147 The Fall of the Golden Core

Liu Qingchen continued.

"He said that the most important thing for me right now is to reach the Foundation Establishment Late-Stage as quickly as possible."

"He has a premonition that a great war is coming."

He turned around and looked at Li Changsheng.

"What about you? What do you plan to do?"

Li Changsheng was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Cultivate. Establish my foundation. And then... wait."

Liu Qingchen nodded.

"Then let's wait together."

The two looked at each other, neither saying another word.

As the sun set, the entire Heavenly Sword Peak was dyed in gold.

In the distance, toward Qinghe Town, a faint wisp of black mist flickered in the twilight.

In Qinghe Town, the Spirit-Devouring Demon Soul that had been suppressed for a thousand years had broken its seal.

That night, a black pillar of light shot up from the Black Iron Mine toward the heavens.

Within the pillar of light, countless twisted ghostly faces roared and struggled, frantically devouring all living things.

The Loose Cultivators who couldn't escape in time were swept up by the black light, turning into mummified corpses in an instant.

Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators barely managed to escape, while not even one in ten Qi Refining Stage Cultivators survived.

News of the Blood Fiend Sect massing at the border gradually spread.

Some said they were fighting over ruins, some said they were plotting a greater conspiracy, and others said they were in league with the unsealed demon soul.

Opinions were divided, and no consensus could be reached.

But one thing was certain.

Yunzhou was about to fall into chaos.

Qinghe Town was no longer the peaceful little town it once was.

The town was filled with ruins and broken walls; broken Magical Artifacts and shriveled corpses were scattered across the streets.

The gates of the Li Residence were blasted open. Li Zhenshan had led his clansmen into the cellar, only narrowly escaping death.

But those Cultivators could no longer be bothered with them.

Because the Spirit Devourer was still running rampant.

Although the demon soul had just broken its seal and was extremely weak, its malevolent power was still overwhelming.

It roamed around the mine, devouring all life.

Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators would be sucked dry if they were even slightly careless, and Golden Core Stage Immortal Masters also had to avoid its brunt.

Even more terrifying, the Cultivators it devoured would turn into new demonic shadows after death, becoming its minions.

Only a month after Li Changsheng left, the first Golden Core Immortal Master in Qinghe Town fell.

This was a Golden Core Early Stage Immortal Master from the Medicine King Valley.

He had tried to use the power of Medicinal Pills to purify the demon soul, but the Spirit Devourer seized the Opportunity and swallowed him whole.

His screams echoed through the night sky for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Soon, two more Golden Core Immortal Masters arrived.

They were a female Golden Core Elder from the Qingxin Pavilion and a Golden Core Elder from the Qinglan Sword Sect, arriving almost simultaneously.

Along with True Lord Lie Yang, Ancestor Chi Mu, and two Loose Cultivator Golden Cores who had arrived earlier, a total of six Golden Core Immortal Masters confronted each other above Qinghe Town.

And in the shadows, two even more terrifying auras were watching from afar.

The Nascent Soul Stage.

On the thirty-fifth day, the great war erupted.

It was triggered by a fragment of a jade wall.

Someone had found an intact fragment of the soul-suppressing jade wall in the ruins, which contained the aura of True Lord Xuan Yun's Origin.

This item was a supreme treasure for Golden Core Cultivators and a rare Opportunity even for Nascent Soul Cultivators.

The six Golden Core Immortal Masters fought fiercely over this fragment.

True Lord Lie Yang wanted revenge, while Ancestor Chi Mu wanted to seize the treasure.

The Qingxin Pavilion female Cultivator claimed she wanted to suppress the remaining demon soul within the soul-suppressing jade wall, while the Qinglan Sword Sect Elder wanted to maintain order in Qinghe Town.

Meanwhile, the two Loose Cultivator Golden Cores maneuvered between them, hoping to fish in troubled waters.

Six figures clashed in the sky; Spells flew, Sword Qi crisscrossed, and the battle raged until the sky grew dark.

Below, the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Cultivators were not idle either.

Some tried to scavenge in the chaos, some stabbed others in the back, some banded together for protection, and some fled for their lives.

Killing for treasure, old and new grudges—everything erupted at this moment.

People from the Blood Fiend Sect killed anyone they saw; those from the Jinyang Sect sought revenge at all costs; Loose Cultivators were wary of each other, and everything was a mess.

And that black demonic shadow hovered above the battlefield, its crimson eyes looking down on it all as if enjoying a good show.

Two days later, the Nascent Soul Cultivators took action.

A vast pressure descended from the sky, enveloping the entire battlefield.

A grey-robed old man appeared out of thin air, and with a wave of his hand, he separated two Golden Core Immortal Masters who were locked in a fierce struggle.

"Enough."

He spoke indifferently.

He was one of the Grand Elders of the Qinglan Sword Sect.

Perfected Man Sanjian.

Nascent Soul Middle Stage.

Immediately after, another streak of blood-red light pierced through the air and landed opposite him.

It was a withered old man dressed in blood-red robes, with a pale face, blood-red eyes, and a dense Evil Qi radiating from him.

The Grand Elder of the Blood Fiend Sect.

Ancestor Xue Ming.

Nascent Soul Early Stage.

As the two faced each other, invisible sparks seemed to fly in the air.

"Xue Ming,"

Immortal Master Qing Yun spoke indifferently.

"You have overstepped."

Ancestor Xue Ming laughed sinisterly.

"San Jian, this is not your Qinglan Sword Sect's territory. Everyone has a share in True Lord Xuan Yun's ruins."

"And what about the demon soul?"

Perfected Man Sanjian asked.

"Does your Blood Fiend Sect actually intend to take it in?"

Ancestor Xue Ming's smile widened.

"Take it in? No, we just want to... have a chat with it."

Perfected Man Sanjian's expression changed.

Above Qinghe Town, two Nascent Soul auras confronted each other for a day and a night.

Below, the Cultivators had long since either fled or died, leaving only the scarred ruins and the demon soul that continued to run amok.

The Spirit Devourer hovered in mid-air, its crimson eyes staring at the two confronting Nascent Souls as it let out a low laugh.

"Fight... fight..."

Its voice drifted in the wind.

"When you are both wounded... I will... eat you..."

In the distance, among the ruins of Qinghe Town, Li Zhenshan hid in the broken cellar with the surviving clansmen.

He looked at the two terrifying figures in the sky, then at the black demonic shadow in the distance, his lips trembling as he murmured:

"When... will there be peace?"

The day after returning from Liu Qingchen's place, Li Changsheng went to the Transmission Pavilion.

He sent a Message Talisman to Lin Jingyun with a few simple words.

"I have something to tell you. Can we meet?"

The Message Talisman turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the horizon.

On the evening of the third day, Lin Jingyun arrived.

He was still the same, dressed in a green robe with a smile on his face.

But Li Changsheng noticed that his smile was fainter than usual, and an imperceptible fatigue was hidden between his brows.

"Brother Li!"

He cupped his hands and smiled.

"Long time no see!"

Li Changsheng invited him into the Hundred Herb Garden, where they sat at the stone table by the Spirit Tea Tree and brewed a pot of tea.

Lin Jingyun looked around and praised.

"This place of yours is nice and quiet."

Li Changsheng nodded and poured him a cup of tea.

The two sat opposite each other in silence for a moment.

Lin Jingyun spoke first.

"Brother Li, did you ask for me for a particular reason?"

Li Changsheng looked at him and said slowly.

"Do you know about Zhou Yuan?"

Lin Jingyun's smile froze.

After a moment, he lowered his head and whispered.

"I know. His Soul Lamp has gone out."

Li Changsheng was silent.

Lin Jingyun looked up at him.

"Brother Li, did you... see him?"

Li Changsheng nodded.

He took a Storage Pouch from his robes and placed it on the table.

It was Zhou Yuan's Storage Pouch, embroidered with the auspicious cloud mark of the Jinyang Sect and stained with dried, blackened blood.

"This is what he left behind."

Li Changsheng said.

"I found it deep within the mine shafts."

Lin Jingyun's hands trembled slightly as he took the Storage Pouch and held it in his palm, remaining silent for a long time.

Li Changsheng continued.

"You know, he was determined to go to Qinghe Town back then. I tried to persuade him, but I couldn't stop him."

"He went deep into the mine and discovered the Blood Fiend Sect's altar and the rituals they were performing."

"He destroyed the altar but was also heavily injured."

"By the time I arrived, he had already..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Lin Jingyun kept his head down, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"I brought him back."