A deathly silence fell over the surroundings. Elder Qingle raised her hand, and an exquisite ancient zither appeared in her palm. She sat cross-legged, placing the zither on her lap. Nearby, several elders had already deployed various defensive celestial techniques, enveloping the disciples in a protective barrier.
Guangwei Zhenren swiftly pulled Lei Xiuyuan and Li Fei close. The sword at his waist suddenly transformed into a streak of clear light, whizzing out and circling the two, providing an impenetrable shield.
“Zheng zheng,” several notes rang out as the ancient zither emitted a haunting and chilling melody. Sharp spiritual energy intertwined with the musical rhythm, seemingly shooting out in all directions like countless invisible arrows. They flew several zhang away before being deflected back. The piercing spiritual energy collided with the defensive celestial techniques, producing a thunderous sound. Elder Qingle immediately pressed down on the strings, holding them still.
The elders exchanged glances, seemingly confirming something. Guangwei Zhenren let out a soft exclamation, and the flying sword that had been circling Lei Xiuyuan and Li Fei suddenly shot out. The clear light flickered before everyone’s eyes for an instant, and in the blink of an eye, it appeared several zhang away, transforming into a slender human figure. Swift as lightning, it wielded its sword and charged forward. For a moment, all that could be seen was a dazzling display of clear light. In just a brief moment, the slender figure returned, sword in hand, and knelt before Guangwei Zhenren. It was revealed to be a figure with a head full of white hair, a lean and tall frame, and surprisingly purple eyes – likely a spirit of an artifact.
“Why have you returned?” Guangwei Zhenren asked urgently, frowning.
The spirit bowed its head respectfully and replied, “Reporting to Master, there is nothing ahead.”
This truly was a troublesome situation… The elders exchanged glances once more, each detecting alarm and vigilance in the others’ eyes. If they had encountered a formidable beast with extraordinary combat prowess, it wouldn’t be as worrisome. Paradoxically, the most difficult beasts to deal with were often those with weak combat abilities, even those that could be killed with a single Tai’a technique. Most of these were adept at concealment or skilled in bewitching people’s minds, making them unpredictable. Having already witnessed two elders suddenly vanish before their eyes, it was now impossible to leave, yet staying to confront the beast left them at a loss. Everyone found themselves in an extremely difficult situation.
“Esteemed elders, I didn’t expect we’d meet again so soon,” an old, indifferent voice suddenly sounded from above. Two figures abruptly descended before the group – it was Wu Zhengzi and his disciple from the Xingzheng Hall, who had just bid farewell in Duanming City. Seeing the strange expressions on everyone’s faces, Wu Zhengzi couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Always attentive to detail, he carefully scanned the surroundings and noticed that the dozen or so disciples were from the Lantian Sect, each looking pale and lifeless. Among the elders of Wuyue Court, a few seemed to be missing. Could they have encountered some powerful demon or beast?
Guangwei Zhenren cupped his hands in greeting and forced a smile, “Master Wu Zheng, please be careful. It seems a formidable beast is lurking here.”
He briefly recounted what had transpired. Wu Zhengzi raised an eyebrow slightly and after a long pause, pondered aloud, “Invisible, intangible, and able to make several elders vanish without a sound… Could it be one of the Four Fiends – Taotie?”
Elder Qingle gasped, “Taotie?! How could one of the Four Fiends be in a place overrun with low-level demons?”
Wu Zhengzi called out, “Tongzhou.”
Ji Tongzhou immediately bowed and responded with a “Yes.” Then, raising both hands, everyone felt a scorching wave rush towards them. In an instant, a massive sea of fire erupted within a ten-li radius, encircling their group. The wild tongues of flame didn’t touch them in the slightest.
The elders couldn’t help but praise the technique. The celestial arts of Xingzheng Hall were known for their domineering and unrestrained nature, and this young disciple had already grasped their essence at such a young age. No wonder the usually arrogant Wu Zhengzi treated him with such care.
Wu Zhengzi smiled faintly, “Esteemed elders, my humble disciple has shown his skills. Now, to the matter at hand. I once heard that Taotie swallowed thousands of small countries in a single night. Those countries, along with their people and buildings, vanished completely, which seems quite similar to the sudden disappearance of the elders. With recent strange phenomena occurring, Taotie might be wandering about without a fixed abode. Its appearance here isn’t surprising. Fortunately, it didn’t swallow Duanming City – that’s something to be grateful for.”
Seeing his confidence, Elder Qingle exclaimed in shock, “So those who disappeared were swallowed by Taotie? How can there be such an unstoppable beast?!”
For Chongyi and Dongyang to be eaten without even a grunt was simply impossible for immortals. No matter how formidable a beast, immortals always had a chance to fight back. Among the Four Fiends, Taowu had been slain by Guangwei Zhenren, while Hundun and Xuanshan Zi of Xingzheng Hall had both disappeared after a mutual defeat. How could Taotie be so ferocious?
Guangwei Zhenren sighed, “In my opinion, being swallowed doesn’t necessarily mean death. Taotie is known to feed on human desires and emotions. There shouldn’t be immediate danger if one can endure for a while. Given that it could swallow thousands of small countries, Taotie’s body must be unimaginably huge, probably spanning more than a thousand li.”
The thought that they might be standing in Taotie’s blood-filled maw made everyone feel uneasy.
After a moment of contemplation, Guangwei Zhenren looked at the Lantian Sect disciples and said, “We have urgent matters to attend to and can’t afford delays. It would be best for you to return to your sect and report this to your elders.”
Seeing him speak this way as if planning to abandon Chongyi and Dongyang, Elder Qingle frowned and said, “Guangwei! Do you intend to act as if nothing happened and just go to Baibianzhiya?!”
Guangwei Zhenren replied calmly, “Those two are capable of protecting themselves. Let’s complete our primary task first, then return to carefully consider how to deal with this situation.”
Without waiting for Elder Qingle to object further, he immediately rose into the air on a cloud. Suddenly, everyone saw his body being gently lifted by something invisible, causing him to stumble. Wu Zhengzi reacted incredibly quickly, shouting “Not good!” and immediately shot out countless fire arrows. However, it was a step too late – Guangwei Zhenren had vanished before everyone’s eyes.
Now even the elders panicked. Guangwei had been carrying Xuiyuan Immortal’s small world! The Yimin Tomb and two senior immortals were inside! What if he too had been swallowed by Taotie?!
Wu Zhengzi abruptly drew a black whip several zhang long from his waist. With a resounding crack in mid-air, a ferocious fire snake appeared around him. He lashed out countless times, and soon he was surrounded by a dense mass of fire snakes. Transforming into a streak of fire, he flew through the forest at lightning speed. Just as he was about to land, in the next instant, he too suddenly vanished.
Ji Tongzhou’s face immediately changed. He raised both hands again, and the sea of fire within a ten-li radius suddenly surged higher, with flames reaching the sky. He was about to follow on his sword, intending to circle as his master had done, but the elders immediately grabbed him. “Don’t be rash! We must retreat first! Let’s report this to the major immortal families and then decide what to do!”
Elder Qingle held onto Ji Tongzhou as everyone rose into the air on clouds. The dozen or so Lantian Sect disciples had no choice but to follow, their hearts filled with reluctance. After flying for a while, they noticed the sky growing increasingly dark. Li Fei looked up – by now it should have been daylight, yet the sky was gloomy. It didn’t seem like cloud cover, but rather as if night had descended once more. The forest below was deathly silent, and the numerous low-level demons that once roamed freely had all disappeared.
The elders halted their clouds, and one elder said gravely, “This is not good! We might not make it in time!”
Before he could finish speaking, Li Fei felt an extremely strong, irresistible suction force from above, pulling her upwards. Startled, she cried out, only to see many disciples around her being sucked up and flying about chaotically, unable to control their swords or clouds.
Suddenly, her left wrist was gripped tightly. She turned to see Ji Tongzhou right beside her, his hand clenched around her wrist. His knuckles had turned white from the immense suction and pulling forces, yet he refused to let go. With a powerful tug, he pulled Li Fei towards him, locking her tightly in his arms.
She struggled fiercely but couldn’t break free. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Lei Xiuyuan, who had been pulled far away by the suction force. Li Fei called out urgently, “Xiuyuan!”
Ji Tongzhou’s slightly hoarse voice sounded in her ear, “Who are you calling? I’m the one holding you.”
Li Fei’s arms were pinned tightly by him, unable to move even slightly. Filled with hatred, she opened her mouth and bit down hard on his shoulder. The next moment, everything spun around them. The suction force became chaotic, tossing them about like leaves in a gale. All they could hear was the sharp, piercing wind and countless spiritual energies colliding and scraping against their bodies like knives and spears, causing excruciating pain. Suddenly, everything went pitch black. Li Fei felt her body slam into something hard, nearly causing her internal organs to burst out. The suction force continued to pull, dragging her along, sometimes lifting her, sometimes slamming her against something. Finally, unable to endure any longer, she lost consciousness.
An unknown amount of time passed before Li Fei felt pain throughout her body, as if her bones and flesh had been torn apart. A heavy body was still pressing on her chest. She let out a soft groan and slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a dazzling golden light that was both blinding and brilliant. She instinctively closed her eyes again as her chaotic thoughts gradually settled.
Slowly raising her hand, she touched a patch of soft hair. Startled, she suddenly remembered that Ji Tongzhou had been holding her tightly before. She abruptly opened her eyes and looked down, confirming that Ji Tongzhou had indeed passed out on top of her. His white disciple’s robe was soaked in blood, with numerous deep, long wounds covering his back and arms – likely injuries from the spiritual energy they had encountered earlier.
Li Fei cast a healing net over him without hesitation, then unceremoniously pushed him aside. The ground beneath her was uneven, with something hard digging into her back. She felt around – it was cold yet smooth. Grabbing it and bringing it before her eyes, she saw a dazzling silver light – it was an enormous silver ingot!
Where was this place?! Full of confusion, she slowly sat up. The sky above was blood-red, and as far as the eye could see, countless small mountains stretched endlessly, emanating a treasure-like glow that dazzled the eyes. These small mountains were entirely made up of gold and silver ingots, and even countless precious gems and pearls, along with numerous rare treasures she had never seen before.
Li Fei couldn’t help but gape in astonishment. She had never seen so many valuable things in her life! Her fingers trembled involuntarily as she slowly caressed the silver ingot, holding it as if afraid it might break. She pinched it, then bit it – it was real silver! Not an illusion!
What should she do? Should she secretly take one ingot? Li Fei clutched the silver ingot, reluctant to let it go. Her mind wrestled with the decision countless times before she finally, reluctantly, tossed it back down.
As the saying goes, when things seem too good to be true, there must be something amiss. The scenes before her were extremely bizarre and certainly not reality. It reminded her of the Shen beast she had encountered during the East Sea trials. This time, she had to remain vigilant at all times and not allow herself to be deceived again.