nycdaug Chapter 31 Have We Met Before?
Chapter 31 Have We Met Before?
Unsure of the situation above, Linghu Xuan first summoned his magical artifact, staring intently at the cave entrance, and cautiously asked, "The Heavenly Gang Sword Formation, you must be a disciple of the Heavenly Gang Sect, right? I am a disciple of the Wuji Zhai, I just happened to be passing by, please forgive me."
Since they have connections above them, it means they've at least distanced themselves from those strange threads. But even though they're all disciples of the Seven Sects Alliance, after what happened with Du Yin, it's best to be cautious.
"Wuji Zhai? Why not take the proper road and instead dig a tunnel? I think you're not a disciple of Wuji Zhai at all, but rather someone who deliberately ambushed us here."
A man's voice came from above, sounding disbelieving in Linghu Xuan's explanation. Linghu Xuan had no choice but to take out the Wuji Token, a unique token of the Wuji Sect, which could only be obtained by joining the sect.
It can be used to contact fellow disciples, or as a defensive shield to save their lives, but it can only be used once and is generally not used lightly unless absolutely necessary.
“It really is the Wuji Order. Let him come up.”
After checking, the other party left those words and the sword formation was dispelled. Linghu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said to Tao Tao, "Let's go, let's go up and take a look."
"Okay." Tao Tao nodded, glanced at the two pangolins, and put them back into her spirit beast pouch. These were her food reserves, so she had to keep them safe.
The two flew out of the hole on their swords and saw that there were more than a dozen people gathered together, including disciples from Tiangang Sect, Divine Doctor Valley, and Fuyun Mountain, as well as a few scions of aristocratic families.
It's very rare to see so many people gathered together, since the mission only requires a limited number of medicinal herbs, and the more people there are, the harder it is to divide them.
"I thought it was just one disciple from Wuji Zhai, but I didn't expect there to be a junior sister as well. Judging from her clothes, she should be from Yanhan Sect."
"The Annihilation Sect?"
Someone in the crowd was particularly sensitive to those three words and quickly turned around and rushed out. He almost tripped and fell because he wasn't paying attention. Tao Tao was overjoyed to see that familiar figure. "Master, it's Senior Brother Song!"
"Tao Tao, it really is you! I missed you so much! I thought something had happened to you." Song Chaofeng didn't care about his image and stumbled to Tao Tao. He checked her over carefully and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that she was not injured at all.
“Since they are acquaintances, they shouldn’t be demonic cultivators. You all wait here while I go ask the young lady.”
The speaker was a large man dressed in animal skins with a small braid, who didn't seem to be a local. However, the young lady he mentioned still piqued our curiosity.
"Thank you." Song Chaofeng cupped his hands and smiled at the person. Under the gaze of others, he pulled Tao Tao aside and asked, "Didn't we enter the Sha Ling Abyss together? How did we get separated? Luckily you're alright."
"Don't worry, what could possibly happen to her?"
Linghu Xuan didn't want to disturb them, but he wasn't familiar with that group of people, and Tao Tao was the only one he was close to, so of course he went with her. However, Song Chaofeng's mind was completely focused on Tao Tao, and she didn't notice him at all.
Upon hearing him speak, Song Chaofeng looked at him with suspicion, "Who are you?"
"This is the young man I rescued on the way." Tao Tao patted his chest, looking quite smug. Linghu Xuan, standing beside him, couldn't help but feel embarrassed and said, "There's no need to emphasize the word 'rescued'..."
"I see." Song Chaofeng nodded, eyeing Linghu Xuan warily.
Feeling a little uncomfortable under his gaze, Linghu Xuan quickly changed the subject, asking, "What are you all doing here? Gathering so many disciples from other sects, it can't be just to complete a mission together, can it?"
"Of course not. Haven't you ever encountered disciples dying without cause?"
"You mean those corpses on the road?"
"Well, at first there were only one or two, but then there were more and more, but we didn't know the cause of death. Later, I was almost killed by demonic cultivators in Panxing Valley. Fortunately, the Ye family came to my rescue and saved my life. Since I couldn't find Tao Tao, I planned to go with them first. Maybe we could run into each other. After traveling together, I learned from them that it was probably the work of overseas demonic cultivators."
North of Fengyuan Continent lies an extremely vast sea area, and to this day, no one has been able to cross it to reach the other side. These overseas demonic cultivators all come from there, and they have a huge organization called Youming.
Five hundred years ago, a turmoil in the cultivation world led to an influx of demonic cultivators who established sects in various places, slowly devouring the Fengyuan Continent like a malignant tumor, and their strength was already comparable to that of the major sects.
The reason the seven factions formed an alliance was to fight against these demonic cultivators.
However, the Netherworld Sect is elusive and can abandon its sect at any time, making it virtually impossible for the major sects to wipe it out in one fell swoop.
Moreover, although they are allies, they are also competitors, and with the cultivation families remaining neutral, dealing with the Netherworld is extremely difficult.
However, the sudden silence of the Netherworld a hundred years ago gave the major sects a chance to breathe, and for some reason, they have recently made a comeback.
"Overseas demonic cultivators?" Tao Tao looked completely bewildered. She had never encountered them before and these words were unfamiliar to her. Song Chaofeng helplessly rubbed her head and sighed, saying, "Demonic cultivators are not like the Seven Great Sects. If you see them, you must try your best to escape."
"Can I eat this?"
"Can't!"
Upon hearing the word "eat," Linghu Xuan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately stopping them and turning to Song Chaofeng to ask, "Did you encounter those strange red threads?"
"You mean Soul-Devouring Silk, right? According to my family's ancient scrolls, this thing comes from the Demon Realm and is formed from the true essence of the demon race. Anyone who uses Soul-Devouring Silk must feed it with their own blood essence. Its power lies in the fact that it can kill people invisibly and is almost impossible to break."
As they were chatting, a woman's voice came from behind them, causing the three of them to turn their heads to look. When their eyes swept over the woman, a barely perceptible chill appeared on Tao Tao's originally innocent face.
Ye Lan, it's her!
"What's with that expression? She doesn't seem very welcoming to me." Ye Lan walked over slowly. Although she was also a participant in the trial, she was the organizer of this event.
She seemed uninterested in Linghu Xuan, her eyes casually falling on Tao Tao. Her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and the purple-gold acacia bell at her waist rang out crisply. "There's something about you that I really don't like. We probably haven't seen you before, have we?"
Looking at Ye Lan, a strange anger welled up in Tao Tao's heart. She gritted her teeth, her hands clenched tightly in her sleeves, and her eyes looked unusually fierce.
Song Chaofeng knew that the Ye family was not easy to deal with. No matter what grudge Tao Tao had against them, it shouldn't be brought up here. So he gently tugged at Tao Tao's sleeve as a reminder.
"Never seen it before." After recovering, Tao Tao's tone was crisp and clear, and he forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"is it?"
Ye Lan's eyes darkened; clearly, she didn't believe it, after all, the unwarranted hostility Tao Tao showed when looking at her was no illusion.