Demonic Clowns, Unable to Withstand a Single Blow

He gazed toward Empty Bright Valley, not far from Sword-Flying Peak, with a grave expression.

His face shifted between light and shadow, his expression uncertain.

Before long, colorful rays of light erupted in the distance as the various elders and peak masters arrived together.

"Senior Brother, look at the sky."

"It seems something has gone wrong with Su Zhiyan's Golden Core formation."

Before they had even arrived, the voices of the Sword-Flying Peak and Treasure Pill Valley masters had already reached his ears.

"I know. It is an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon!"

Master Green Feather's face was cold, his words enunciated one by one.

"What? An Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon?"

Although the elders had already harbored some suspicions, hearing it confirmed left them all stunned and speechless.

Someone exclaimed in shock, "How could it be an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon? It is merely the formation of a Golden Core; how could it attract such a monster?"

"Senior Brother, could it be... could you be mistaken?"

In their utter astonishment, some even began to question the Sect Master's judgment.

"I wish I were mistaken."

Master Green Feather did not flare up; instead, he sighed. "But look at the sky above us."

Everyone looked up.

Although it was midday, the sun seemed to have already dipped below the horizon, and the entire sky over the Feathering Sect's headquarters was blocked by a vast, thick layer of black clouds.

It was truly a terrifying sight!

And most frightening of all was Empty Bright Valley, where Su Zhiyan was currently in seclusion.

There, the black clouds were not merely floating; they were rotating, transforming into a massive vortex.

Dark, demonic energy emanated from within.

It was bottomless.

Seeing this, the elders and peak masters could not help but gasp in horror.

Yet, they were completely baffled.

As everyone knew, the greatest fear for a cultivator was falling into a demonic trance, especially when breaking through a bottleneck; such a threat was enough to make anyone tremble with fear.

However, falling into a demonic trance actually came in two forms.

One was a personal cultivation error, where meridians reversed and spiritual power fell into chaos.

The other was the invasion of an external demon.

Such as an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon.

While such occurrences were terrifying, the actual probability of them appearing was extremely low.

Low-level cultivators, in particular, almost never encountered them.

Let alone forming a Golden Core, even those attempting to reach the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, or Void Refinement stages rarely encountered an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon.

Usually, these terrifying creatures only appeared when one was advancing to the Profound stage or even higher, such as the Great Ascension stage.

Therefore, faced with the scene before them, everyone found it hard to believe.

Had the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon gone mad?

Why would it pay attention to such a lowly Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Or was it possible that the aptitude of this disciple surnamed Su was so shocking that she had attracted an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon while merely forming a Golden Core?

"Sect Master, we must find a way to help her."

"That's right! We cannot just stand by and watch!"

The elders and peak masters could no longer sit still.

If this disciple surnamed Su was truly such a heaven-sent talent, they could not watch her perish. To attract an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon while forming a Golden Core—she surely possessed the potential to become an immortal!

Given time, she would undoubtedly become the backbone of their sect.

They had to find a way to help her survive this crisis.

However, Master Green Feather's words poured cold water on them: "Help? How? Unlike encountering an external enemy, when one faces an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon while breaking through a bottleneck, one can only rely on oneself."

The crowd fell silent. This was common knowledge, but their concern had clouded their judgment.

Their faces all turned grim.

Although it was only a young disciple in danger, everyone knew that she was a seed of immortality for their sect. Given time, the achievements of this woman surnamed Su would be limitless.

Yet, faced with an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon, they were helpless.

Could the hope for this sect's prosperity really be extinguished right here?

The elders clenched their fists, their hearts filled with extreme unwillingness.

Inside Empty Bright Valley.

On the vast, empty meadow, a young woman sat cross-legged.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her entire body glowing with a glazed cyan light. Her fingers were pinched into a strange incantation gesture, and between her palms, a ball of spiritual radiance the size of an egg floated slowly, flickering incessantly.

Ten years of winters and summers had passed; the spirited young girl who first ascended the mountain had now grown into a graceful maiden.

She stood tall and slender, her features delicate and exquisite, her bright eyes and white teeth radiating a refined, spiritual aura with every glance...

Yet at this moment, the expression on the maiden's face was full of pain, and a faint trace of black mist was emerging between her brows.

She felt the mana in her dantian and the eight extraordinary meridians slipping further and further out of her control.

Before her eyes, all sorts of strange and terrifying illusions began to manifest.

Qi deviation!

The maiden realized what she was encountering at this moment.

An expression of disbelief appeared on her face. Although she had cultivated rapidly, she had not blindly sought speed; her foundation was laid extremely solidly and firmly.

Otherwise, two years ago, she could have already attempted to break through the bottleneck of the Golden Core stage.

Following her master's advice, she had decided to slow down, spending two years starting from scratch to temper her mana several more times.

It should have been foolproof!

Even the sect leader and grandmaster, after observing her, had said she had a ten-tenths chance of successfully condensing her Golden Core.

How could it come to this?

Su Zhiyan's expression was pained, but at this moment, she had no time to ponder the cause.

What lay before her was an imminent, monstrous catastrophe.

The issue now was not whether she could condense a Golden Core, but that if she could not overcome this hurdle and fell into qi deviation, she would face eternal damnation.

With heaven-sent talent and a bright future ahead, the maiden was naturally unwilling to meet such a tragic end.

But the situation was no longer under her control.

No matter how gifted Su Zhiyan was, she was still young. Faced with such a sudden change, her heart had already begun to panic.

The Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon was naturally adept at invading a cultivator's sea of consciousness and divine sense; even if there were no flaws in one's state of mind, he would create them.

What's more, the girl had lost her composure, leaving herself riddled with openings.

"Hmph, a mere yellow-haired girl with no experience of the world."

The Heavenly Demon sneered.

He intended to strike with one blow, plunging her into eternal damnation and total qi deviation.

However, at that very moment, a blurred figure suddenly blocked his path.

"Move aside!"

The Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon was stunned, caught off guard.

He had clearly invaded Su Zhiyan's sea of consciousness; how could someone else have broken in as well?

But seeing that success was within reach, he naturally did not want to pay any mind to this uninvited guest.

With a violent roar, the Heavenly Demon's voice, comparable to thunder and heavy as Mount Tai, rolled toward the intruder, as if to crush him into powder and scatter his soul right there.

But soon, the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon knew he was wrong.

Wrong beyond measure!

His Heavenly Demon voice was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

The blurred figure had made no movement at all, yet suddenly loomed as tall as a deity.

He did not even dare to look directly into the other's eyes.

The surging demonic energy, which had been so fierce, now recoiled like a frightened insect, trembling and unable to move.

There was no pressure emanating from the figure, yet the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon found himself kneeling involuntarily.

It was just like many years ago, when he had seen the Heavenly Demon Progenitor from afar, across the boundless sea!

No, this being was even more powerful—an existence that could not be defied!

This was the final thought in the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon's mind before he lost consciousness!

Even as he perished at the hands of this being, faced with such a powerful and mysterious existence, he dared not harbor a single shred of hatred or resentment.