354: Chapter 354 Explosion

Zheng Nanxun gave a bitter smile and quickly and concisely explained what had happened.

After listening, Ling Hao's expression remained calm. "Whatever you want to do, just do it."

He paused, turned his gaze toward Ji Mitai, whose face had turned deathly pale, and said indifferently, "This is Cangwu, not Baiyan Province."

Under that gaze, Ji Mitai felt a chill crawl up his spine; his breath hitched, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

Hearing this, Zheng Nanxun understood. This was the Supreme's guarantee!

"Thank you, Supreme!"

He bowed respectfully, then turned sharply, his eyes sharp as knives, locking onto Zhang Chengyue and the other traitorous Elders. "Those who betray the Sect shall receive this punishment!"

Before his voice faded, he pointed his fingers like a sword, and several incomparably sharp gusts of finger wind tore through the air!

Just as Ji Mitai was about to speak, a powerful force of confinement descended instantly. He felt his whole body tighten and discovered he couldn't even speak.

"No—!"

Zhang Chengyue and the others only had time to let out desperate roars before they felt a sharp pain in their Dantian. The spiritual power they had cultivated for years dissipated instantly like a popped balloon! They slumped to the ground, their faces ashen.

"Wanping! Fu Tai!"

Zheng Nanxun ordered coldly, "Strip all the Disciples who wanted to leave with the traitors of their cultivation and expel them from the Sect!"

"As you command!"

Hong Wanping and Elder Fu Tai immediately led people forward.

Those Disciples who had been so excited just a moment ago were suddenly frightened to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, crying for their parents and begging for mercy on their knees:

"Sect Master, spare us! Sect Master, spare us! This Disciple knows they were wrong!"

"Supreme, show mercy! This Disciple will never dare again! Please retract your order!"

"A hundred years of cultivation! Don't destroy my cultivation!"

They had made this choice specifically because they thought they could keep their cultivation; now that their cultivation was being destroyed, the price was too high!

Looking at the wailing Disciples, Hong Zelan snorted coldly and whispered, "If you knew it would come to this, why do it in the first place? Betraying the Sect and ending up like this—you deserve it!"

Zheng Nanxun's expression was icy; he remained unmoved.

"From the moment you made that choice, you were no longer Wan Shou Mountain Disciples. Do it!"

He was clear-headed; taking this opportunity to purge these disloyal Disciples was, in the long run, actually a good thing for the Sect.

After dealing with the traitors, Zheng Nanxun looked at Ji Mitai and said coldly, "Fellow Daoist Ji, Wan Shou Mountain does not welcome you. Take these cripples and leave."

As soon as he finished speaking, the confinement on Ji Mitai suddenly vanished.

Regaining his freedom, Ji Mitai was both shocked and furious. He instinctively wanted to say a few harsh words to save face, but when his gaze met Ling Hao's deep eyes, all the harsh words were instantly stuck in his throat, leaving him flushed with frustration.

With a livid face, he didn't say a word, scooped up Zhang Chengyue and the other crippled men, turned into a streak of light, and fled in embarrassment.

A Disciple whose cultivation had been destroyed and was slumped on the ground watched the streak of light disappear, crying out hoarsely as he crawled forward two steps: "Elder! Elder Ji! And me! You haven't taken me yet! Don't leave me behind..."

The voice was shrill, filled with regret and despair.

Zheng Nanxun bowed respectfully to Ling Hao once more and said, "I have embarrassed the Supreme. Please, Supreme and Elders, move to the main hall to rest for a while."

Ling Hao waved his hand and looked toward the horizon.

In the distance, a stream of light flew rapidly toward them, and to everyone's surprise, it was another of Moonshadow Sect's iconic "Moon-Chasing Flowing Light Ships"!

The people of Wan Shou Mountain, including Zheng Nanxun, were stunned, looking in surprise at that solitary spirit boat.

"Eh? Aren't all of Moonshadow Sect's fleets already here? Why is there another one?"

"Who is coming?"

Watching the spirit boat, Ling Hao curled his lips into a smile.

Except for Moonshadow Sect, he had only bestowed a small number of Moon-Chasing Flowing Light Ships to a few specific people.

Three beautiful figures arrived gracefully. Behind them, the Fengwu Guards, dressed in dark gold light armor with phoenix patterns, stood as still as a forest, all at the Nascent Soul Stage, their Aura heavy and composed.

In the middle of the three figures was a little girl; she wasn't wearing her usual purple Daoist robe but had changed into a long dress.

She wore a deep purple starry-sky cross-collared short jacket, covered by a translucent purple silk wide-sleeved long robe, and a pleated star-gauze long skirt that faded from deep purple to night black. Her silvery-white hair was tied into delicate double buns, and her deep purple eyes were like an abyss.

Ye Xinglan's left side was An Hongxiu. The red-haze gold-woven cross-collared wide-sleeved shirt accentuated her upright posture. She wore a pleated long skirt that faded from scarlet to gilded gold, and a long, golden-red gradient feather-gauze cloak that fluttered in the wind. Her high bun was adorned with golden feathers, and red jade tassel earrings swayed gently.

She was heroic and spirited, her eyes bright. She looked directly at Ling Hao without concealment, a bright smile playing on her lips.

The woman on the right wore a moon-white star-patterned cross-collared shirt, covered by a light gray cloud-shoulder mantle, and a silver-gray skirt embroidered with flowing star trails. Her ink-blue hair was half-tied, fastened with a silver star chain, and a star-trail deduction hairpin was slanted in her hair.

Lan Zhiwei lowered her eyes slightly, seemingly afraid to meet Ling Hao's gaze.

Looking at the three women who had arrived together, a smile appeared on Ling Hao's face.

Ye Xinglan and Lan Zhiwei were not wearing Daoist robes, and An Hongxiu had also changed into soft clothing.

The three women were not dressed as he remembered, but had changed into more gorgeous attire. Could this be considered "a woman dresses for the one who delights in her"?

Ling Hao did not sense Su Fengyi's Aura. Although he didn't know why Su Fengyi hadn't come, it didn't matter...

Ling Hao and Ye Xinglan's gazes met across the air. Waves rippled in Ye Xinglan's eyes, and she turned her head away without a trace.

Zheng Nanxun's gaze lingered on Ye Xinglan for a moment. As someone also in the Undergoing Tribulation Realm, he felt a sense of palpitation from this State Preceptor.

He felt a secret tremor in his heart and glanced at Ling Hao discreetly.

He steadied himself and said to Ling Hao and Ye Xinglan, "Supreme, State Preceptor Ye, the disturbance outside the hall has been cleared. Please, everyone, move to the main hall to rest."

Ling Hao looked past the main hall toward the faint Western Main Rift in the sky and nodded slightly.

"Good."

...

Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was solemn.

Ling Hao sat in the main seat and asked directly, "Sect Master Zheng, what is the current situation at the Western Main Rift?"

Zheng Nanxun quickly bowed and answered:

"Reporting to the Supreme, the rift is currently guarded by three Void Tempering Grand Elders of Wan Shou Mountain at the core array eye. Additionally, Elders and Disciples from the three great seventh-grade Sects—Chixiao Sect, Xuangui Island, and Qinglan Valley—take turns guarding the perimeter, reinforcing the Seal day and night. For now, there is no danger."

Speaking of Chixiao Sect, he suddenly remembered something and said gratefully,

"Speaking of Chixiao Sect, I must thank the Supreme again! Previously, Elder Hua Youyou sent a secret message that not only pointed out the situation within Chixiao Sect but also exposed the hidden remnants of the Niding Alliance in several small Sects attached to them. That is how we were able to strike like thunder and successfully eradicate this scourge."

Ling Hao nodded.

He remembered this. After the resonance dao tower and the world-suppressing monument were completed in western Cangwu, Ling Hao could use the Luck module to identify problematic Sects.

Before setting off, it was Hua Youyou's turn to be on duty. She came to him to deduce a geometric angle-grouping Cultivation Technique, and he casually asked her to pass this information about the Niding Alliance to Wan Shou Mountain.

Thus, the forces of the Niding Alliance in Cangwu should have been uprooted.

Hearing that there were still three Void Tempering Grand Elders at the front line of the rift, Ling Hao pondered for a moment, then flipped his hand to take out a warm jade bottle and handed it to Zheng Nanxun.

"This is the Barrier-Breaking Profound Pill; there are dozens in the bottle. Pass them to those three Grand Elders, two for each. This pill can help them break through their Bottleneck and reach a higher level, guaranteeing an increase of at least two minor Realms. Remember, no more than two per person; taking more is useless."

Zheng Nanxun took the jade bottle with both hands, his voice trembling with excitement:

"Thank you, Supreme, for your generous gift! On behalf of the three Grand Elders, your subordinate kowtows in thanks to the Supreme!"

The value of this Medicinal Pill, in any ninth-grade Sect, would be a top-tier reward that only a core Elder could receive after performing a monumental service.

"There is no time to lose,"

Ling Hao stood up and looked around. "The hidden danger of the rift must be thoroughly resolved. Follow me to the Western Main Rift; we will Seal it right now."

"Yes!" everyone replied immediately.

Everyone stood up, and just as they walked out of the hall door, before they could fly up.

Boom—!

A dull and terrifying roar suddenly came from the direction of the Western Main Rift.

Everyone looked over and saw that in the distant sky, the huge cross-shaped space rift had suddenly expanded several times in width.

Devilish Qi, thick as ink, surged out from the rift like a flood breaching a dam, forming pillars of black energy that hung from the sky.

Above that churning Devilish Qi stood the dense, hideous figures of the Demon Army.

And at the center of the rift's expansion, a dark red demonic flame shot up into the sky.

Within the demonic flames, a huge figure gradually became clear and solid.