Crisis! A Powerful Enemy Attacks!

Sect Master Master Green Feather took the lead.

The azure escape light he had transformed into was dazzlingly bright as he flew at the very front.

The escape light was swift. He was about to reach the sect gate, where that tremendous crash from earlier seemed to have originated.

Just then, a sudden change erupted.

Countless streams of pitch-black demonic qi surged up from the ground beneath his feet.

Among those demonic streams was one as black as ink, shooting toward his head like an arrow loosed from the bowstring.

An Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon!

Possession?

Master Green Feather's face drained of color.

At once, he thought of the incident on the Heart-Refining Path several years ago.

There had been no signs of battle there.

No one knew whether the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon trapped within had been slain by some unknown senior, or had seized the chance to escape.

The Feathering Sect's elders and peak heads had not dared to lower their guard, remaining vigilant in secret for a long time.

Yet nothing strange had happened.

Only as time passed did they gradually relax.

Several years had gone by now.

Could that Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon have endured in silence for so long, only planning to strike now?

The attack came too suddenly, and even Master Green Feather was thrown into a fluster.

But when that wisp of black qi flew close, his pupils contracted.

Something was wrong!

It was fake.

This was an extraordinarily brilliant deception and illusion technique.

He had fallen for it!

He abruptly raised his head.

At the same time, a tearing sound reached his ears from beside him.

Master Green Feather whirled around.

A look of utter horror appeared on his face.

A slender, dark needle came hurtling in with a bone-chilling whistle, only inches from his chest.

It was aimed directly at his heart.

If it struck, how could he possibly survive?

At the critical moment, he had no time to dodge, much less deploy a treasure.

He could only grit his teeth and release his protective spiritual light.

"Ah!"

Yet blood still sprayed through the air, accompanied by a piercing scream.

The protective spiritual light was like clay and paper, effortlessly pierced through by that flying needle treasure.

"Senior Brother!"

The elders and peak heads, slightly slower but rushing over with all their might, were horrified as they watched Master Green Feather's body plummet from the sky.

Someone hurriedly rushed forward to catch him, only to see that their senior brother's face was white as paper and his breath was already faint as a thread.

The protective spiritual light had not been entirely useless. Though it had bought him only an instant, it had allowed him to barely shift his body a few inches and evade the vital point of his heart.

"Hahaha, it's useless."

A burst of wild laughter came from overhead. "Even if you avoided your heart, the demonic qi attached to my Soul-Chasing Needle will seep into your seven channels and eight meridians. You cannot move now, much less use the slightest shred of magical power."

At some point, the sky had turned dim. A dark cloud hung overhead, casting an enormous shadow.

Upon that dark cloud stood a tall old man.

His face was obscured by a faint layer of gray qi, making his features impossible to discern. But his slightly gray-white hair made it clear that he was no longer young.

"Old Demon Jia!"

"Impossible! You... weren't you already dead?"

The elders and peak heads who had arrived were all stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

Old Demon Jia had been a great enemy of their sect several centuries ago.

Countless fellow disciples had died at his hands. Later, the sect master had lured him into a prepared trap with a clever scheme.

With the power of formations, along with the ambush and siege of the elders and peak heads—

Yet Old Demon Jia's reputation had been well deserved. He was truly formidable, far surpassing cultivators of the same realm. Even under such disadvantageous circumstances, his demonic might had still towered to the heavens.

That battle had darkened the heavens and shattered the earth. It was said that the place where he had been ambushed had once been a towering mountain, yet it had been razed to level ground.

Fortunately, the Feathering Sect's efforts had not been in vain. They had ultimately slain that demon.

Only then had the sect, which he had thrown into panic and unrest, finally regained its peace.

Who could have expected that after several centuries had passed and everyone had long forgotten the matter—

This great enemy, who should have had his soul scattered and spirit destroyed, had suddenly returned from the dead. He had come to their door and severely wounded the sect master with a single strike.

The sect-protecting grand formation had not even had time to activate before its core was destroyed by him.

Everyone was shocked and enraged, almost unable to believe that what lay before their eyes was real.

"How are you not dead?"

The Head of Sword-Flying Peak's brows stood on end. He clenched his teeth in fury, though deep in his eyes lay profound apprehension.

Back then, he too had participated in that battle and had personally witnessed the demon before him perish.

"Hmph, foolish fools. Did you think this old man was so easily slain? Still, because of your despicable ambush, I lost one of my incarnations there, and even my true body was severely wounded."

Old Demon Jia's icy voice drifted down from the dark cloud. His face remained expressionless, but his eyes brimmed with boundless hatred.

"An incarnation perished... was it a substitute technique?"

"Hmph, it is too late to realize it now. Five hundred years—there has not been a single moment when this old man did not think of revenge."

"That battle damaged my foundation because of your shameless sneak attack. Over these years, I have tried countless methods, yet I still cannot break through the bottleneck and enter the Great Vehicle Realm. It is all your fault."

"Today, I will extract your souls and refine your spirits. I will not spare a single cultivator of the Feathering Sect. Only then can I soothe the hatred in my heart."

His venomous voice rang out, every word steeped in hatred that surged to the heavens.

"Hmph, can you do it?"

With the sect master badly wounded, the strongest among the elders was none other than the Head of Sword-Flying Peak.

He had already summoned his flying sword.

His stance was one of utter resolve.

Yet inwardly, his heart beat like a drum.

His opponent had already been extremely difficult to deal with back then.

Now he had come prepared, using calculation against the unprepared. Though he was alone, he surely would not have risked himself so lightly without confidence.

With that thought, he called to several fellow disciples and charged forward with them.

This was not a friendly spar. Facing a mortal enemy, and with their side holding the numbers, they naturally had to swarm him together.

At the same time, he secretly instructed the Head of Treasure Pill Valley. He was skilled in alchemy, but his strength was the weakest among the elders.

He might not be able to contribute to this battle.

Therefore, he was to organize the disciples' evacuation.

It would be best if they could defeat the powerful enemy, but they also had to prepare for the worst, just in case.

As for the Head of Sword-Flying Peak, though he was uneasy within, once he had summoned his immortal sword, he pressed forward without hesitation.

He took the lead and charged at the very front.

But in the next instant—

He flew back even faster, like a kite with its string cut.

Everyone was aghast.

Boom!

A tremendous crash rang out.

The Head of Sword-Flying Peak slammed into the mountain wall behind them, leaving a huge crater before everyone's eyes.

"You are already at the late Mysterious Mastery Realm?"

An elder in azure robes looked incomparably grim, forcing those words out of his mouth one syllable at a time.

In an instant, cold sweat drenched everyone's backs.