Death Gate Valley
Death Gate Valley, the ancestral home of the ancient demonic sect Death Gate Dao, is also one of the destinations for the reconnaissance mission that Manifestation assigned to Li Fan.
In fact, this demonic ruin is quite famous in Gen Province. After all, it has a legitimate origin as the base of an ancient sect. Legend has it that it contains not only the Daoist scriptures of the Death Gate Dao, but also many cultivators from the Luo Sect and the Demon Race who were hunted down and fled here to hide. There are also many other Real Immortal who perished here.
Although it is not as orthodox as the Three Great Sects, it is still an ancient inheritance far above the ordinary heretical and unorthodox cultivators. To this day, there are still a large number of monsters, demons, traps and mechanisms set up in the valley. In addition, some people are stirring up trouble and spreading rumors behind the scenes. Therefore, the cultivation world has always believed that there are still a lot of inheritances in this place that have not yet been revealed. This has attracted a lot of independent cultivators and people seeking immortality to come and explore.
Of course, the mechanisms and traditions within Death Gate Valley were actually updated and maintained secretly by these fake monks from Tianlong Mountain. Besides using this place as a smokescreen to conceal the true whereabouts of the Tai Xuan Dao, and incidentally to secretly select qualified successors for the demonic path, the karma associated with such sect ruins was too heavy to calculate, making it a perfect place for rogue cultivators to commit murder and arson. Moreover, who could stand a demonic sect spending all day chanting Buddhist scriptures? Tianlong Mountain was full of people and needed a place to cultivate demonic arts and forge evil treasures.
When independent cultivators from the Twelve Countries of the Central Plains travel to the vicinity, they will naturally hear about the reputation of the Demon Sect ruins. They come here to adventure and try their luck. Even if they are not destined to obtain the ancient inheritance, it is not bad to rob someone, pick up a corpse, form a bond, or engage in dual cultivation.
As for the Three Great Sects, Three Great Sects disciples also travel far and wide to collect materials for breakthroughs. They would also come to these ancient demonic sect ruins to train, comprehend the Dao, and leave a souvenir.
The surrounding Xuanmen sects could see that this place had been deliberately arranged, but the Death Gate Dao had been extinct for a long time and could not become a major force. Moreover, the main reason was that Kongsang Mountain and Guyeshan had been fighting for a long time, and neither could do anything to the other. Naturally, they did not have time to clear away the demonic sect ruins that occupied this place, so they simply used this place as a nearby instance for their disciples to cultivate and train. When disciples from the two sects met here, they would kill each other to settle their grudges.
Therefore, even today, the ancestral temple of the Death Gate Dao can be considered a famous scenic spot in the cultivation world of Gen Province...
Oh, by the way, since the Death Gate Dao has been out of the public eye for a long time, and various demonic paths have become prevalent in recent years, let alone the Tai Xuan Dao, most people have never even heard of the Death Gate Dao. Now the locals call this place by another name.
It's called Guigu.
The group from Tianlong Mountain was carried by eight strongmen in a sedan chair, with four immortal protectors around them, six sorcerers playing music behind them, and four celestial maidens scattering flowers in front. They rode the wind and traversed the stone forest in a grand procession, flying through canyons, depressions, and various karst caves and crevices, before landing directly in Ghost Valley.
Li Fan lay in the sedan chair, propping his chin up and closing his eyes to rest. Inner Landscape, Daoist Qiongqi was still studying Tai Xuan, while Li Fan himself was scanning the terrain of Guigu with his blind eyes.
This place is a typical karst landscape, with stalactite buds, bedrock, solution channels, sinkholes, and towering peaks on the surface, and underground caves, rivers, and dark lakes. The Death Gate Dao is hidden deep within these rock formations and caves, requiring one to traverse the underground stone forest. The terrain is extremely complex and treacherous. In addition, there are various traps and formations set up in the valley, as well as arrangements to disrupt and ambush the flow of events. Even a true immortal entering this valley risks death. It is indeed a natural killing ground, an excellent place to settle karmic debts.
"It's legally mandated!"
Upon hearing Li Fan call out again, Fa Ding had no choice but to raise his hand to stop the procession, approach the sedan chair, and ask, "What are your orders, Senior Brother?"
There's a dead man's head on the left.
Fazhi turned his head to look to the left. By now they had entered the underground cave. It was the dead of night, and the sky was dark. Their eyesight was only able to see the surrounding stalactite columns by the light emitted by the sedan chair.
"Ah, Ghost Valley, Ghost Valley, isn't it normal to encounter dead people or ghosts...? Does Senior Brother have any instructions?"
Li Fan said impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense and just go get it and take a look."
"Yes, as the decree commands."
Fajing signaled the monks around him to be on guard, and he himself took out his staff, protected himself with his inner energy, and flew out with a whoosh. He flew through the stone forest for a while and actually picked up a dead man's head.
He tossed the head aside, and Fa Deng leaped up to catch it. Faqiao Fazhi also came over to take a look. The dead man's head was missing its eyes and tongue, and its head was riddled with bloody holes from being stabbed by a flurry of swords. However, it was completely hairless, clearly belonging to one of their kind.
After checking, they handed it to Li Fan, "... It really is Senior Brother Fayan; I recognize the ordination scar on his head." "I wonder if we can call him back..." "Difficult. With so many holes punched in him, he's probably ambushed and killed..."
With a stern face, Fa Jing said, "Senior Brother, it seems we have arrived at Kongsang Mountain."
"Then let's set up the killing spree and get started!" A cheerful voice came from inside the sedan chair as the head was thrown out again.
The monks looked at each other in bewilderment.
Legally had no choice but to explain, "Senior Brother, the secrets of this Ghost Valley are chaotic, and danger lurks everywhere. It's too early to set up a killing spree..."
Li Fan lifted the curtain and stared at him.
"No! However! I've already sent a message via flying talisman, inviting the two mountains to negotiate at the Gate of Death Gate Dao ruins! The last time the three families discussed the arrangement of the Gate of Life and Death, it took place in front of the ruins. Now, using the excuse that the formation has been broken, I'll invite them to another gathering. The two mountains will definitely fall for the trap. Once they arrive in the valley first and start fighting, we can take a shortcut into the valley and reap the benefits! When the fight breaks out, we can also use the traps set up by the ancestral court to gain a complete advantage..."
"Then what are you all standing there for! Get moving!" came an impatient voice from inside the sedan chair.
Fazhi hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling the monks to get moving and indicating that the music should continue and the dance should continue.
But before they could even finish blowing, taking advantage of their pause, a Sword Light, like a golden snake, snaked out from behind the cave pillar, piercing through the crowd and into the sedan chair!
"Flying sword!!" Fa Ding and the others were shocked and immediately fled, summoning their magical treasures and darting into the shadows of the stone forest to hide.
Seeing the real people scatter like rats, the group of strongmen, sorcerers, and celestial maidens also cried out in pain, "Ouch!" and threw down their sedan chairs and turned to run away.
But before they could escape far, a burst of Sword Light erupted from the ground—a hidden sword formation that had been prepared beforehand! Countless swords burst forth from the earth, sweeping the unfortunate servants into scattered pieces of flesh. Meanwhile, hundreds and thousands of bright swords gathered together, coalescing into a strange beast-like form resembling a coiled dragon. This form circled three times among the stone forest, transforming into a chaotic waterfall of swords that surged towards the sedan chair like a torrent!
This sword formation is imposing and full of killing intent, surging and fierce beyond compare! The sword blades and sword energy rush in like a torrent waterfall! They flatten the surrounding stone pillars and stalactites like tofu blocks. It is likely that even a fully armed army would be wiped out by this formation!
Despite such a grand display and a rain of flying swords, not a single one managed to touch the sedan chair!
Like a ferocious dragon or beast, a rain of swords pounced, seemingly playing around as they leaped over the sedan chair, circling and darting around it. Countless flying swords enveloped the sedan chair from all directions, as if guided to strike from the Fourth Department, yet they also circled around it, as if the sedan chair was encased in an invisible aura, blocked by that aura. The chaotic swords could not even land inside the sedan chair!
Li Fan, still lying in the sedan chair with his head propped up, had his right hand forming a metal-avoiding hand seal and his left hand forming a sword finger, trapping the flying sword that was thrusting towards his brow, trembling at his fingertips, yet unable to advance an inch.
The design of this flying sword is the same as the twin swords used by Yan Qin of Kongsang Mountain before, as well as the pile of scrap iron outside that he could block with a single hand seal. They are all four-sided thin swords with light, thin, and narrow blades. The sword style is mainly for assassination. It can be seen that they are all sword blanks forged by Kongsang Mountain himself.
Of course, its quality is just average. It should be a flying sword at the Golden Core level that pursues extreme speed, but its actual sword speed is even worse than Zhu Hong's, and it can't compare to Pi Tian at all. It's only a little faster than Fa Gui. However, judging from the 'fear' emotion transmitted by the flying sword at this moment, it can't be called pure garbage... Ninth grade, no more than that.
In fact, Kongsang Mountain had put a lot of thought into this arrangement. He deliberately used the corpse of the Dharma Eye to block them, then coordinated with the flying sword to assassinate them, while taking advantage of the situation to launch a sword formation killing move. In their confusion, they might be able to succeed.
And it must be said that Kongsang Mountain did indeed succeed. After all, although Li Fan's blind eye had detected two cultivators on the other side, he couldn't understand what they were trying to do, standing at such a distance. It turned out they wanted to assassinate him from beyond visual range using flying swords and a sword formation, perhaps as a test? Well, that's fine then...
However, the opponent's sword control technique was rather ordinary, and the 'ranged' sword control severely depleted his Divine Sense, so Li Fan easily defended against it with a simple Gold-Avoiding Technique.
"Damn it, I knew they were being so polite by offering me a sedan chair, they really were going to use me as a shield! But you guys really did run fast..."
My four good junior brothers have all escaped from sight by now, damn it! We were supposed to undergo tribulation together, for crying out loud!
Li Fan, finding that everyone had vanished without a trace, reluctantly opened his eyes, looked at the flying sword almost bent at a right angle between his fingers, and asked, "You... surrender?"
'Flying Sword. Flowing Rain expresses its willingness to surrender.'
Alright then, Li Fan sat up, casually used his 100-point limit to snatch the flying sword, and twirled it with a flourish. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he threw Liu Yu back, which transformed into Sword Light that pierced straight into the darkness!
Almost instantly, a shrill scream came from the darkness, and the rain of swords surrounding the sedan chair scattered all over the ground. A moment later, the rain flew back into the sedan chair and fell into Li Fan's palm. The slender blade was covered with bright red blood, and blood droplets slid down from the tip of the sword like broken strings.
Li Fan casually wiped the blood off his sword and shrugged.
In his Divine Sense, trying to play with flying swords with him was practically suicide.
However, Li Fan didn't kill him. He just casually stabbed him to scare him away. After all, the Tribulation of Killing hadn't even started yet, and it was too wasteful to exchange a Nascent Soul Stage for a rare resource like that.
"Are you all courting death by running so far?! Trying to escape?! All of you, come back here and carry my sedan chair!"
Hearing Li Fan's angry roar, still full of energy, Fa Ding and the others flew back, grinning obsequiously.
"Senior Brother, you misunderstand! We were trying to find the person who was hiding in the shadows and launching the attack; we had absolutely no intention of escaping!"
"I can't believe they've taken care of you without you even seeing a trace! Senior Brother's skills are unparalleled! His magical power is boundless!"
"Senior Brother is truly amazing! Those lowly maids from Kongsang Mountain are no match for you!"
"Senior Brother is truly a role model for us all. His sword control technique is incredibly profound. I, your junior brother, am truly in awe!"
"Stop your fucking nonsense! This time you're all coming with me into this bloodbath! Anyone who dares to desert or betray their sect will be skinned alive!"
However, after this commotion, all the charlatans who were just there to put on a show were killed. So, Fazhi to the law, Faqiao and Fa Deng carried the sedan chair one in front and one behind, with Fadeng on the left and right as their protectors, and they continued to fly straight into the depths of Ghost Valley.
Kongsang Mountain could only ambush at a few main entrances; there were many side paths and secret passages in the valley behind, so there was no way to set up an ambush there.
The deeper one ventures into Ghost Valley, the more corpses one finds Fourth Department. The air is thick with rotting miasma and plague, and the ground is covered in spores and fungi. A chilling wind blows, and ghostly wails echo. Some have stumbled into traps, some have gotten lost, and some have been ambushed by wandering cultivators. No one collects the bodies; they have all been stripped naked by passing cultivators, their bones and rotting flesh scattered Fourth Department. It seems as if one wrong step would cause one's soul to be scattered.
However, these monks of the Death Gate Dao were naturally familiar with the way, and they moved as if they were returning home. Without the entourage delaying their journey, and without triggering the traps and mechanisms they had set up, they quickly went deep into the valley and arrived at the outside of a Daoist temple ruin in the underground palace.
Li Fan scanned the area with his Divine Sense. The Daoist temple was surrounded by layers of barriers, and various large arrays and barriers were clearly still activated. Moreover, it was located in the central part of the Ghost Valley's earth veins, where demonic light and demonic energy filled the air, clearly indicating that it was a high-difficulty instance.
Fa Jing laughed loudly, "Senior brother, you see, just as I expected. So what if they came first? We still managed to take a shortcut and get ahead before they arrived..."
"Master Faming, how have you been? Wuzhui has been waiting for you! We arrived too early, so let us come in and have a couple of sips of tea first. Do you not mind?"
Suddenly, the image of a Daoist priest with a Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young materialized from the temple, stroking his beard and laughing loudly.
"Wu Zhui!" Fazhi roared in fury, "How did you break the seal of the Death Gate Dao and enter the temple! And you can even control the great formation! Could you be a remnant of the Death Gate Dao?!"
"I never imagined that Guyeshan would be such a hypocrite!" "Colluding with the demonic sect while falsely claiming to be orthodox!" "My Tianlong Mountain will never associate with you heretics and Demon Path forces!"
You know what, these monks are actually quite good at pretending. They're all treacherous cultists with the same intentions, and one of them is probably the traitor who leaked the secret, yet they're all putting on a show of righteous indignation and resentment...
The Wu Zhui laughed heartily, "Hahaha! You masters are all so witty. Why don't you come to the main hall and we can chat more when we meet?"
The Daoist's figure disappeared, and the gate of the Daoist palace opened wide, letting out a chilling wind carrying the stench of blood. It seemed that Guyeshan had arrived earlier and acted faster, already reaching the main hall of the Death Gate Dao Daoist Ancestral Court.
Li Fan lifted the sedan curtain, beckoned Fa Jing to come over, and asked, "Is it him?"
Legal also knew what Li Fan was asking, and shook his head, "Although this Wu Zhui once studied under Guyeshan, it is said that he was expelled from the sect long ago because he associated with bandits, and is now an outcast of the outer sect."
But in reality, many of the dirty work was done by Wu Zhui and his 'bandits' secretly to help the sect. The official story was that he volunteered to help the sect and wanted to return to his sect. This time, he was the one who took the lead, and the disciples of Gushe Inner Mountain acted under his name. Therefore, even if Yuntai Peak investigates the matter of the Gate of Life and Death, it will only go as far as Wuzhui.
Such people are usually the core members of the sect, or at least trusted disciples who have reincarnated once. I don't think it's possible that even Wuzhui was infiltrated by the Ten Absolutes Sect, so it probably isn't him.
Those who repeatedly contacted us from over there were generally disciples with ties to Guyeshan, at the Foundation Establishment stage. They were probably clones possessed by blood puppets after being killed on the spot, so we couldn't be sure of their true identities. However, I've already informed them, and I imagine Wuzhui has arrived. This time, given the inheritance within Ghost Valley, he'll definitely show up."
Li Fan nodded. "Then let's go in and grind some dungeons."
Fa Dong was taken aback. "But Senior Brother, Guyeshan has already gained the advantage of terrain, and now our Divine Sense can't see the situation in the temple. I'm afraid the killing calamity has already begun, and many formations may be under their control! Shouldn't we hold our ground for now and wait for Kongsang Mountain's..."
"Waiting for Kongsang Mountain's help to wade through the minefield? Let the two fight it out first? Then go talk to their Divine Lords!" Li Fan pointed behind him, "One Divine Transformation and seventeen Nascent Soul Stage rushed over right after, wow! They've come out in full force... Didn't you say that Divine Lords wouldn't get involved in this?"
Fa Ding immediately snapped to attention and waved his hand, "The Divine Lord won't participate! But the Divine Lord's sword can! Damn it, these crazy women have brought out their sect's most treasured artifact; they're really going to fight to the death! Let's go! Let's enter the valley!"
So the monks nimbly hoisted the sedan chairs onto their shoulders and strode into the Daoist temple.