"Sect Master Liu!" Hua Xiangrong flung out the Seven-Emotion Silk, wrapping it around Liu Changhe's arm. "Quickly seal your meridians!"
Master Qingmu's pupils shrank. "Watch out for those mycelium threads!"
Everyone looked on in horror as the severed sleeve turned into blue powder the moment it hit the ground. Where the powder touched the plants, they twisted and deformed instantly—countless holes split open on the trunk of a thirty-foot-tall ancient tree, and myriad centipede-like creatures crawled out of the openings, making a hair-raising rustling sound.
"Do you see now? This cursed thing can even parasitize a Soul Transformation stage cultivator!" Zhao Wufeng's spiritual energy barrier strengthened another three layers, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Now is not the time for sentimentality!"
Ling Xiao's sword tip trembled with a fine hum, his sword qi carving spiderweb-like cracks into the ground. Just one more inch... if he moved just one more inch forward, he could break this barrier!
But behind him was the entire Forest of Demonic Beasts, and further away were mortal villages...
Ling Xiao's sword tip shook even more violently. He frantically extended his divine sense, desperate to know the situation inside the cave dwelling, but he was still blocked by a mysterious force that prevented him from probing deeper.
"Junior Brother." Zhao Wufeng suddenly changed his form of address, his voice low. "Do you remember the oath we swore before the Sword Mound when we first entered the sect?"
Ling Xiao's pupils constricted as memories flooded back—thousands of years ago, two youths had knelt before the Sword Mound, swearing upon their master's blade: "Those who hold the sword must protect all life! A sword cultivator's blade hangs for the sake of all life!"
"That girl Lin Shuang..." Zhao Wufeng continued, his voice carrying a rare softness. "She just sent me some freshly brewed cold plum wine last month, buried under the old plum tree in my courtyard... Though she seems cold and aloof, she's always thinking of others."
"And that child Qu Chen..." He closed his eyes. "He came to ask me for swordplay advice just last month. That boy has extraordinary talent; he's bound to become a great figure in time."
Ling Xiao's sword lowered slightly. He remembered how half a month ago, Qu Chen had run to him to share his new insights on the Dao of the sword. His third disciple was always like that, possessing an unwavering conviction toward the Dao and the improvement of his cultivation.
"Do you think I don't want to save them?" Zhao Wufeng's eyes suddenly reddened. "But if we harm all life to save four people, how can we face our blades?" As he spoke, he suddenly pointed in a direction. "There is a mortal village there. Right now, there are seven hundred and thirty-one households, and every household has children who haven't grown up yet."
Before his voice faded, the ground shook violently. The mycelium on the cave dwelling's doors writhed crazily, emitting a piercing screech. The sealing array flickered erratically, and Zhao Wufeng's face suddenly turned pale—a sign of spiritual energy backlash.
"Senior Brother Zhao!" Ling Xiao instinctively stepped forward.
"I'm fine." Zhao Wufeng wiped away a streak of blood. "It's just the array backlashing."
Liu Changhe had also finished regulating his breath. For a cultivator of his level, those mycelium threads could not truly harm him even if they tried to parasitize him.
The Sect Master of the Water Moon Sect finally made his decision. "Daoist Ling, my son Liu Qingyang is also inside. But if today..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Ling Xiao's sword tip suddenly plunged three inches into the ground with a clang. The peace knot hanging from his sword hilt—hand-woven by Le Changxi last year—shook violently. The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he gripped the sword, yet he could no longer thrust it forward by even half an inch.
How could he not know that the other's suggestion was the best solution? But the heart is made of flesh; how could he willingly give up on his own disciples? Those were children he had raised with his own hands!
Before he could take any other action, the ground suddenly split into spiderweb-like fissures. The mycelium on the cave doors emitted a piercing shriek, and Zhao Wufeng's sword light dimmed another three layers.
Lin Xiaowan had just been awakened by Zhou Zichun's cleansing heart mantra when she saw this terrifying scene. "Senior Brother, could the fairy sister and the others have already..."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhou Zichun interrupted her, though he was also trembling. He remembered clearly how those people had saved them at the critical moment, and he especially remembered the sight of Duan Xianxing standing in front of him.
But he could do nothing now either. All he could do was pray in silence.
Amidst the rustling of the crawling mycelium, Zhao Wufeng's sword tassel suddenly moved without any wind—a warning sign that he had sensed a spatial fluctuation.
"To the southwest!" Even as his warning left his lips, a dark figure tore through a spatial rift and appeared. The bone nails thrown by the figure were densely covered with blue patterns identical to the mycelium.
"Watch out!" As Zhao Wufeng's warning rang out, the bone nails struck the barrier.
Ssss—
A tooth-aching sound of corrosion rang out. The already fragile barrier was instantly dissolved, leaving a large hole. Under the counter-attack of the mycelium, the crumbling seal shattered completely!
"Bastard!" Ling Xiao's sword finally left its scabbard, only to see the dark figure disappear into the woods.
"An evil cultivator?!" Liu Changhe sensed something wrong from the sliver of aura the black-clad figure had leaked. "As expected, this is related to them!"
The mycelium on the cave doors didn't care about such things. In the next instant, it surged out like a tide. Countless centipede-like creatures swarmed forward. Zhao Wufeng endured the pain of the backlash, his Bichen sword transforming into a sky full of sword shadows. "Kill!"
The three Soul Transformation stage cultivators struck simultaneously. Ling Xiao's gold-attribute sword qi was peerlessly sharp, shattering the mycelium wherever it passed. Zhao Wufeng's earth-attribute sword qi was heavy and steady, crushing the centipede swarms into dust.
"On the left!" Liu Changhe also quickly blocked a wave of ambushing mycelium with a curtain of fire, while simultaneously manifesting a magic tool to assist.
The other sect elders also joined the fray. Hua Xiangrong's Seven-Emotion Silk whipped up a gale, shredding the centipedes trying to flank them. Master Qingmu continuously cast spells, causing thorny vines to grow and form a temporary defensive line.
Even Lin Xiaowan and the others, despite their low strength, were working hard to find any stragglers, preventing the mycelium and centipedes from escaping the encirclement.
"There's no time to reconstruct the barrier!" Zhao Wufeng's earth-attribute sword qi formed a thick rock wall in front of him. "We must destroy the source!"
Ling Xiao's gold-attribute sword qi surged. He understood what this meant—it was the same as personally severing his disciples' path to survival. But the speed at which the mycelium was spreading, along with those abnormal centipede creatures, left no room for hesitation.
He was... a sword cultivator!
A sword cultivator who protected all life.
He could not allow for a single moment of softheartedness.
"I will lead the way," Ling Xiao's voice said, cold as a blade tempered in ice.
"Form the Three Talents Array!" Zhao Wufeng shouted. His earth-attribute sword qi plowed three deep trenches into the ground, temporarily blocking the path of the spreading mycelium.
The three Soul Transformation stage cultivators approached the cave dwelling in a triangular formation. Wherever Ling Xiao's sword qi passed, the mycelium melted like frost under a burning sun. But for every clump he severed, more surged from the cracks in the ground. The faces of the three men grew even grimmer; the scene before them was worse than they had imagined.
Boom—
A deafening explosion echoed through the clouds as the entire mountain began to shake violently. The mycelium twisted and shrank frantically as three world-destroying powers continuously tore apart the internal structure of the cave dwelling.
Meanwhile, inside the inheritance secret realm.
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