Qiling Town Amidst Malevolent Energy

The matter of Spirit Sword Mountain's Young Master Jian visiting the Chen Clan Immortal Family was a major event across the Qingyun World, spreading far and wide in the blink of an eye.

Naturally, some would meticulously ponder the peculiar circumstances.

Especially the Dao Seeking Sect, whose direct disciples had publicly congratulated them, only to not see the person they were meant to meet. Then, that person appeared at the Chen Clan Immortal Family, leaving them in a rather awkward position.

Meanwhile, on a colossal flying sword heading towards Central Continent, a group of Celestial Academy disciples, dispatched to the ruins, were also murmuring about the incident.

Only Ji You, seated at the front of the sword, was honing his spiritual sense, not participating in their chatter.

"Brother Ji, do you know Spirit Sword Mountain's Young Master Jian?"

"I've heard she's a peerless beauty with astonishing cultivation talent, already confirmed as Spirit Sword Mountain's next Sect Master."

Bai Rulong, sitting at the tail end of the flying sword, couldn't help but look towards Ji You, who was carrying seven long swords on his back.

He, the eldest son of the Bai family, seemed to have had his good fortune stolen by his second brother. After refusing the pills sent from home, he ended up on the list for exploring the ruins. It was unclear if it was due to being out of favor with his family or some other reason.

However, he clearly had no chance of getting into the Inner Court. Being able to come out and explore wasn't something he strongly resisted.

As for the potential dangers...

It wouldn't matter; he could just protect Brother Ji.

Ji You opened his eyes slightly at that moment, hearing Bai Rulong ask if he had heard of Yan Shuyi. He shook his head calmly but couldn't help but fiddle with the Green Jade Gourd at his waist.

He didn't know how powerful Spirit Sword Mountain's Young Master Jian was. He only knew she liked to kick people, and her feet were quite fair and tender.

At the same time, the surrounding disciples couldn't help but turn their heads, and the topic of their whispered conversations shifted to Chu He and Du Zhu.

When they set off, they had seen Chu He and Du Zhu standing side by side at the sect's mountain gate, a half-smile on their faces.

Behind them stood only the scions of prominent aristocratic families.

And the one originally slated to be the sole candidate for the Inner Court had now been expelled from the Celestial Academy, his future as uncertain as theirs, the fallen sons of noble families.

In everyone's eyes, even if they managed to return safely, Ji You would no longer have a chance to enter the Inner Court.

As they were discussing this, Ban Yangshu, seated in front, suddenly stood up.

He had made no progress in the Inner Court for many years and had naturally also become one of the people on the list.

At this moment, his face was stern as he kept looking down at the flying sword.

The Outer Court disciples behind him also leaned forward, and even Ji You couldn't help but look over, his expression instantly becoming solemn.

The Qiling Mountain Range was located in the southeast of the Central Continent. Due to the presence of ruins and Evil Seeds, no towns were initially established there.

However, with the excavation of the Hongshan Mine nearby, towns built by miners began to appear. The Celestial Academy disciples also guarded the area, and some collateral branches of aristocratic families settled there.

The Ancient Ruins were filled with malevolent energy, but it was generally confined to the vicinity of Qiling Mountain.

Yet, at this moment, the malevolent energy from the Ancient Ruins had spread throughout the forests, and even the previously established resting points were now shrouded in a hazy gray.

Ban Yangshu did not dare to rashly order the flying sword to land. Instead, he took out a communication token and contacted the first batch of Inner Court disciples who had arrived.

"Senior Sister Wen, where are you now?"

"Ban Yangshu?"

"It's me."

"We are in the small town. You can land at the originally designated spot."

As the transmission light dissipated, Ban Yangshu instructed the disciples controlling the flying sword with spiritual energy to descend.

As the flying sword drew closer to the ground, a silent town appeared before them. Looking up again, the sky was dim.

A group of over ten people landed from the flying sword and stepped into the town. They saw a group of ragged women and children kneeling on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing to passing cultivators and wailing in the local dialect.

The Hongshan Mine was right next to Qiling Mountain. As the Evil Seeds surged out from the mountains, the entire mine was surrounded.

Their men were trapped inside, and they were powerless. All they could do was take out their entire savings, lay the silver they had exchanged on the road, and beg the Immortals to intervene.

Ji You looked at the silver in front of them for a long time, unable to look away.

However, soon, the Celestial Academy disciples who had arrived earlier appeared at the entrance of the town, walking towards them. Every one of them had a grave expression.

The one walking at the forefront was the Inner Court female disciple Wen Zhengxin, who was also the leader of this operation.

Although she had entered the sect later than Ban Yangshu, her cultivation talent was exceptionally fast, and she had now reached the Dao Integration Realm. She was originally a candidate for the Zizai Hall's direct disciple but had ultimately lost and was assigned here.

"Senior Sister Wen, what happened here?"

"Try circulating your spiritual energy."

Ban Yangshu was slightly stunned, then circulated his spiritual energy. He discovered that his internal spiritual essence trembled violently, but the absorption efficiency of the spiritual energy was extremely slow, which greatly shocked him.

Wen Zhengxin glanced at him. "The malevolent energy here suppresses the circulation of spiritual essence."

Upon hearing this, the disciples behind Ban Yangshu immediately began to discuss.

Suppressing spiritual essence? Ji You looked around, slightly stunned, his expression gradually becoming thoughtful.

Just then, Wen Zhengxin spoke again, "It's not just that the malevolent energy can suppress spiritual essence; it's also very difficult to achieve Heaven-Man Resonance here."

The so-called Heaven-Man Resonance was the academic term for spiritual sense taking flight.

In other words, when within the range of malevolent energy, cultivators found it difficult to sense the Heavenly Dao, making cultivation exceptionally arduous.

After Ban Yangshu tried, he only felt dizzy and his complexion turned even uglier. "The disciples from the Affairs Management Courtyard came to investigate three times before, why did they never mention this point?"

"What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, the disciples who had just arrived turned pale.

Everyone in the Qingyun World knew that Immortal Sects were the most ruthless, but they never expected them to be ruthless to this extent.

Investigating Evil Seeds in a place that could suppress Spirit Cores was simply sending them to their deaths.

Wen Zhengxin looked at them and finally said, "You don't need to worry too much. We're just scouting tomorrow, so there won't be any danger."

"What exactly is in the mountains?"

"You'll know when we go in."

Hearing this, everyone turned their heads to look at the Qiling mountain range in the distance, which seemed to stretch endlessly and press down on them. An involuntary chill ran down their spines.

Even from this distance, the malevolent energy was so strong. They didn't know what it would be like to actually enter the mountains.

At this moment, everyone was filled with resistance.

They came to the Immortal Sect to learn arts and become disciples. They paid their tributes, and the transaction was complete. Why should they risk their lives in a place like this?

Yet, despite this, no one dared to say, "I'm not going," and leave.

Because they were not alone. Behind them represented the relationship between their family's heritage and the Immortal Sect that governed this world.

Ji You turned back and pointed in the direction of Hongshan Mine. "Don't those Evil Seeds pouring out of the mountains need to be dealt with?"

"Just bypass them when entering the mountain. There's no need to deal with them."

After Wen Zhengxin finished speaking, she turned and led everyone to the inn where they would be staying.

Ji You, however, suddenly realized that he had misunderstood the purpose of this expedition.

The Immortal Sect didn't care how many Evil Seeds had emerged or how many people were trapped. They only cared about who was controlling the Evil Seeds, or rather, what secrets lay within the mountains.

As for those that had emerged, whether they ate people, where they would spread, or whether the trapped people would die, it was all irrelevant.

Ji You turned to Ban Yangshu. "Senior Brother, you guys go back to the inn first. I'm going out for a bit."

"Where are you going?"

"To Hongshan Mine."

Ban Yangshu frowned upon hearing this. "Hongshan Mine is right on the edge of the Qiling mountain range, and there are already Evil Seeds constantly roaming there. You're only at the Perfection of the Lower Three Realms, what are you going there for?"

Ji You pointed at the women and children kneeling and kowtowing. "They seem to be offering money."

Ban Yangshu knew Ji You was extremely fond of money, but he still found it hard to believe after hearing this. "You're going to make money from this too?"

"If there's money to be made and I don't take it, I'm a bastard."

Ban Yangshu was stunned for a moment, then frowned. "Do you know someone who's trapped in the mine?"

Ji You pondered for a while, weighing the sword in his hand. "Indeed, nothing can be hidden from you, Senior Brother."

"You're from Fengzhou, who would you know in Zhongzhou?"

"I know the father of the young child, the husband of the wife, and the son of the old man."

Ji You grinned and walked towards Hongshan Mine with his sword on his shoulder.

After leaving Yuyang County, he had entered the Celestial Academy and discussed with Kuang Cheng. One wanted to wield great power, and the other wanted to be the Sect Master of a Holy Sect, and then make the world a better place.

But the position of Sect Master was too far away for him. He didn't even know if he would live long enough to reach it.

As expected, he was sent here to be cannon fodder.

Ji You didn't know what was in the mountains, and it wasn't something he, at the Perfection of the Lower Three Realms, could get involved in. But even if he was cannon fodder, he could choose who to be cannon fodder for.

He had once read an essay in school about how after the tide receded, many stranded little fish were left on the beach, struggling in puddles, waiting for death.

Then a little boy kept picking them up and throwing them back into the sea.

A passerby saw this and laughed, saying, "You can't save all the fish, who will care?"

The boy said, "This one cares, this one cares, and this one cares too..."