The Pill Sect Under Attack

Beneath the thick night, the lights of Shengjing City stretched on without end.

Meanwhile, above Mount Ni, a massive flying sword tore through the layers of clouds cloaking the night and thundered toward Wanzhuo Mountain.

The three hall masters controlled the sword with their spiritual power, maintaining its tremendous speed.

As the roaring wind and waves howled into their faces, all the disciples could not help holding their breath, their hearts heavy with anxiety over what was to come.

"Who attacked the Pill Sect?"

"We only received their distress transmission. We still do not know who it was."

Ji You looked at Wang Xinan and shook his head slightly, frowning as his hand brushed over the three longswords at his waist.

He had seven swords now, but he still only carried three.

Every additional sword consumed more Divine Sense. Some battles required explosive swiftness, while others required endurance.

Ji You trained his Divine Sense every day precisely because he wanted to be both fierce and lasting.

After a long while, the night around them grew increasingly dense. A chill washed over them, mixed with an indescribable scent.

Looking out into the distant sky, some disciples discovered that they were already far from Shengjing. Beneath their feet stretched an endless wilderness.

"We're landing. Steady yourselves!"

"Remember to use spiritual energy to hover when you are three feet above the ground!"

As Steward Qin's calm voice rang out, the flying sword, driven by spiritual energy, suddenly tipped downward and plunged into an eerie mountain forest shrouded in mist.

The disciples immediately leaped down, while the flying sword smashed heavily into the ground, gouging out a deep crater and sending dirt flying.

Yet no one had time to look at the sword. As far as the eye could see, more than ten carriages lay overturned along the mountain path, pills scattered across the ground, but not a single Pill Sect disciple was in sight.

Mountain mist continuously rolled in from the distance. Figures darted within it, densely packed as a forest.

"Remember, your mission is to rescue the Pill Sect disciples. Do not get drawn into battle!"

"Our enemies' identities are unknown. Do not be careless and throw away your lives!"

With a low shout, the three stewards of the Affairs Management Courtyard soared into the air. The disciples behind them moved at once, charging into the battlefield through the howling wind.

Seeing this, Ji You waved a hand, summoned the three swords at his waist, and descended into the mountain forest as well.

Strangely, though murderous aura hung thick over this eerie forest, there were no sounds of fighting. Instead, the silence was so deep it made hearts pound in fear.

Just then, a swaying figure emerged, making everyone who had followed hold their breath.

It had a savage face shrouded in murderous aura, dry and withered like rotten wood. It had no eyes, only two pitch-black hollows.

And with its appearance, more and more shadows came darting out in dense swarms.

Evilspawn. Evilspawn covering the mountains and plains.

The disciples of the Affairs Management Courtyard were far more seasoned than the Outer Court disciples. Their expressions changed at the sight, but they still drew their swords without hesitation.

Yet the Evilspawn possessed extraordinarily powerful bodies. They charged forward with ease, intending to smash directly into them and knock them down.

At that moment, a clear sword cry rang out. The Affairs Management Courtyard disciples who had entered the battlefield first caught sight of someone drifting in. Then a wave of swords pressed toward the front, instantly tearing open a long, narrow gap.

Spiritual energy was too blunt. It could not be wrapped around the blade when breaking through enemies. But if it was all gathered at the sword hilt, the blade itself could carve a path forward.

Of course, that required a sufficiently good sword. Otherwise, hacking with iron would quickly chip and break it.

Fortunately, not one of the swords the girls had given him was inferior.

"Who was that?!"

"Ji You..."

The three stewards floating overhead revealed astonished expressions at the sight.

They knew Ji You was a sword cultivator and that his swordsmanship followed unusual trains of thought, but seeing it with their own eyes still made it seem almost miraculous.

But this was no time for admiration. Steward Qin swept out a hand and immediately ordered the Affairs Management Courtyard disciples to attack through the gap.

Meanwhile, Lu Qingqiu, Bai Rulong, Qian Yunxiao, and the others had already rushed after him. Seeing this, they quickly came to a decision.

I have to protect Ji You from the front!

Others with the same intention also unconsciously gathered around him.

In truth, many Outer Court students had only heard the legend of Ji You wielding three swords alone. They could never have imagined that his swordsmanship would be so fierce, leaving his enemies no chance to catch their breath.

Just then, the sound of metal striking stone rang out. Ji You's sword wave had finally met an opponent it could not cut through.

It was an Evilspawn with scarlet eyes, its body even tougher than those of the others.

The ghastly thing directly blocked Ji You's advancing sword edge. Its claws, howling with murderous aura, lunged for his chest in an instant.

And so, everyone witnessed Ji You's long-fabled second sword.

That sword had been given to him by Lou Siyi. It had remained suspended in the air, and now, moving with his thoughts, it buzzed as it pierced through the creature's heart.

Ji You recalled the sword without changing expression, then panted as he glanced at the charred-black, hideous corpse on the ground.

What a pity. It was not the one that had attacked them that night, because this one did not know how to dodge.

Though Evilspawn possessed powerful bodies, the immortal sects did not consider them especially dangerous. At the root of it all, they could not think.

These ghastly things slaughtered on nothing but bloodlust. Even after being stabbed, they would not evade, inferior even to the simple-minded barbarians beyond the Northern Plains.

Even the ones with tougher bodies were no exception.

If this one had been like the one Ji You had encountered on the street that night, capable of dodging and attacking with method, it truly would have given him a splitting headache.

"Bai Rulong, watch your back!"

At that moment, Qian Yunxiao's terrified voice rang out.

The few of them had moved to protect Ji You from the front, cutting down the lesser enemies, but they had not expected another group to surge in from behind.

Ji You cast a sidelong glance. With a sweep of his sleeve, the third sword shot out like wind-piercing clouds, viciously shearing off a pair of arms thick with murderous aura beneath the night sky.

Having suddenly lost its arms, the Evilspawn rammed its chest into Bai Rulong and kept wriggling against him in an ambiguous posture.

Instructor Wang arrived and lopped off its head with a single stroke, roaring, "If you can't kill them, retreat! Don't leave your backs to them!"

Bai Rulong's face was full of panic. "I... I understand..."

Instructor Wang took a deep breath. When he turned around again, he discovered that Ji You had already begun circling behind them and cutting deeper into the forest. "Ji You, don't go too deep! Come back once you find the Pill Sect disciples!"

"There are lanterns on the north side of the mountain!"

"What?"

Wang Xinan looked utterly baffled, thinking, Why is he looking at lanterns at a time like this?

Ji You pierced through an Evilspawn with one sword, recalled the second and third in a flash, and continued forward. "Where the lanterns are hanging, there are several farming households!"

Instructor Wang froze. "Your mission is to search for surviving Pill Sect disciples!"

"With this many Evilspawn, they're already dead! If you don't call someone over to help me, I'm fucking dead too!"

"?"

Ji You roared, shaking his sword as he cut through an Evilspawn. Then he swept his sleeve and controlled the air, sending the second and third swords charging together to wade open a bloody path.

Because it was New Year's Day, there truly was a small village on the north side of the mountain with paper lanterns hanging outside. On the nearest house, the lantern above the door hung crookedly and bore little color, yet it was especially adorable.

With eyesight nearing the Mystic Profound Realm, he could even see from afar the silhouette of a child cast upon the window paper.

Living was hard, yet there were still people struggling desperately to live.

Ji You gritted his teeth and sent out a sword, instantly slicing off half a head. Yet his heart suddenly trembled violently.

He knew they were not of the same race, but they still had human forms. Piercing through their hearts had not troubled him, but when he truly inflicted mutilation upon a body, it still placed a psychological burden on him.

And in that moment of distraction, his left shoulder was carelessly clawed, blood immediately pouring down.

Because he had to hold a sword while controlling others, all his spiritual energy was concentrated on the three sword hilts. He had no spare energy to protect his body, so taking that hit had only been a matter of time.

More fatally, several households at the foot of the mountain had clearly heard the commotion and actually opened their doors to come out and watch the spectacle.

One tiny child even squeezed out from between an adult's legs, looking up in confused innocence.

"Close the door! Carry the child inside!"

"?"

The farmer froze at the shout. From his angle looking up the slope, he could only see someone swinging a sword and had no idea what was happening.

Ji You took a deep breath and shouted furiously, "Murder!" Only then did the farmer panic, immediately carrying the child back inside and shutting the door tight.

As his movements grew more intense, blood continued to seep from his wound, dyeing his white robe like tie-dye.

Worse still, for some unknown reason, some Evilspawn began gathering toward him without end.

As more appeared the more he killed, Ji You's scalp went numb.

Could all Evilspawn really be women?

Ji You took a breath, immediately flung out his sword, carved open a semicircle, and conveniently led the Evilspawn toward Instructor Wang.

Instructor Wang was also leading the other Affairs Management Courtyard disciples over to help him, so he followed the momentum and cut into them.

Lu Qingqiu's group had come along as well, swords in hand. They protected Ji You, who had been protecting Instructor Wang from the front.

"Where are the three stewards of the Affairs Management Courtyard? And the Inner Court disciples who came along? Use fire arts!"

"They're searching along the mountain for Pill Sect disciples."

"Did they find any?"

"No. We haven't even seen any bodies. They were probably abducted, but the Evilspawn definitely did not do it."

Instructor Wang drove back an Evilspawn with his sword. "Someone is controlling this attack. Hey, why did you sit down?"

Ji You crouched against a tree. "You hold them off first. I'm taking a break..."

"?"