The Yan Mountain Sect, Surviving in the Cracks

Both of them were wielding Flying Sword. Judging from their cultivation level, they should be similar to Cultivator had just entered the Dao Embryo Realm in the Floating World. According to the Demon Realm, they should have Great Accomplishment in Body Refinement, drawn Demonic Qi into their bodies, Revert to Root, Return to Origin, and achieved the Innate Realm.

As the two looked back, several Wild Wolf the size of calves rushed out from North Spring Mountain.

The two men's swords flashed coldly as they killed two Wild Wolf, but more Wild Wolf rushed out.

At the same time, a cry of an eagle rang out overhead, and a Giant Eagle with a wingspan of five zhang swooped down, knocking the man to the ground, leaving two bloody gashes on his arm.

Several feathers of the Giant Eagle were cut off, and the Sword Qi left a bloody mark on its body before it flapped its wings and took flight again.

The woman used her Sword Qi to drive back the Wild Wolf and protected the man as they prepared to escape.

"Junior Sister Jianqiu, let's go back into these mountains. There's something strange about them. We were teleported here by Array Formation when we entered the mountains. Perhaps we can use these mountains to hide from our pursuers and find a glimmer of hope!"

"Good!"

The two moved to the side and entered the area of North Spring Mountain again, where they were moved to the other side once more.

Seeing this, the two felt relieved. With the power of the mountain's movement, they could at least find a chance to catch their breath and perhaps wait for their Sect's seniors to come to their rescue.

In the Mountain, Gu Yuanqing used his Divine Sense to observe the Motion and Stillness below.

Within the Floating World, Gu Yuanqing could use his Mountain Observation Technique to observe every move from dozens of miles away.

Within this Demon Realm, one must rely on one's own Divine Sense to perceive the surrounding world.

Fortunately, when Heavenly Fishing before, his Divine Sense was already familiar with the Demon Realm and would not be quickly worn down and devoured by the Demonic Qi.

In the past few days, he had also tried it. Without the protection of the power of North Spring Mountain, his Divine Sense could only travel a mile outside the mountain; but with the Empowerment of North Spring Mountain, he could explore a range of ten miles.

He was somewhat curious as to how these two people, with their cultivation levels, could venture this far. Although this place was on the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, it was still teeming with ferocious beasts.

He used his Divine Sense to probe outwards in the direction the two had come from, and saw that every mile or so there was a person lying in a pool of blood. Judging from their clothes, they were clearly from the same sect as the two people down the mountain.

Looking down at the two people below the mountain, they were constantly using the power of North Spring Mountain to evade their pursuers.

However, the smell of blood from their wounds spread, and the fighting was quite Motion and Stillness, attracting more and more ferocious beasts. These beasts mostly roamed around North Spring Mountain North Spring Mountain seemed to know a bit about it, leaving the two with less and less room to dodge and maneuver.

Before long, the two were in grave danger again. Gu Yuanqing used his mind to bring them into the Mountain.

The two of them were thrown into the Mountain, their Divine Intent and physical Vital Energy were suppressed, and they felt somewhat panicked.

The next moment, everything blurred before their eyes, and their feet landed on solid ground. They found themselves in a Courtyard, where a man who looked to be about their age was standing in front of them.

After landing, the two drew their swords defensively, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when they found that there were only the three of them in the courtyard.

"Please have a seat, both of you. Have some tea to calm your nerves," Gu Yuanqing said with a light laugh as he poured the tea.

"Did you save us?" the woman asked, her voice clear and melodious. Even though she was covered in dirt, her pretty face was still evident.

"Junior sister, how dare you be rude!"

The young man rebuked him, sheathed his Flying Sword, and bowed deeply. "This junior is Xing Fei, and this is my junior sister Lu Jianqiu. We are both disciples of the Yan Mountain Sect. We thank you for saving our lives, senior."

Cultivator cannot be judged by their appearance. In Xing Fei's eyes, the young-looking person in front of him must be an old monster, but he has the art of preserving his youth; otherwise, how could he have done what he did just now?

"The Yan Mountain Sect? Let me see."

As he spoke, Gu Yuanqing took out the map he had obtained from Lan Tinglie. He vaguely remembered the name, but after searching for a while, he finally found it in small print in a corner.

Judging from the markings, the highest cultivation level of the person in charge of this Sect is only the Core Formation Realm, which is equivalent to the Dao Fire Realm in the Cultivation World.

"The Yan Mountain Sect is quite far from here. How did you two come here?" Gu Yuanqing asked.

Xing Fei smiled bitterly, "My Yanshan Sect was originally located outside Zhenbei City, but last year, the son of the city guard of Zhenbei City killed the son of the chief of the Golden-backed Mantis clan, which attracted countless Divine Platform Great Demons to surround us. This year alone, there have been more than a dozen battles between Divine Platform Realm cultivators."

Within our Yan Mountain Sect, two Elder at the Core Formation Realm were killed, and countless disciples were caught in the crossfire, suffering numerous casualties. Moreover, the battle is escalating, and our Sect is caught in the middle, facing imminent annihilation. Therefore, our Sect elders wish to find a place to reopen our sect."

Gu Yuanqing asked curiously, "Then how did you end up in these Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?"

Lu Jianqiu couldn't help but say angrily, "The Elder of our sect found a mountain outside Canglan City, but the Canglan City led his troops to guard Black Wind Cliff and forbade anyone to go there, saying that they were afraid that Demon Beast would infiltrate it. We had no choice but to go to Qizhou Prefecture. The North Dragon Sword Sect of Qizhou Prefecture has a grudge against the Yan Mountain Sect and said that the Yan Mountain Sect is not allowed to enter."

Xing Fei smiled bitterly and continued, "We had no choice but to return to our original Sect's Residence. That mountain had been reduced to rubble by a great battle, and the hundreds of disciples of our Sect had nowhere to stay. We lived in the city for half a year, but due to some trivial matters, we fell out with the local Aristocratic Clan and could no longer stay. Just then, our Sect Master met a friend who said that there was a Lanting City in the territory of the Iron Eater Beast, which was also Human Race Residence. The Iron Eater Beast and our Human Race had a friendly relationship and had never fought a war. So we thought of going there to settle down. But on the way, we encountered a Great Demon at the Core Formation Realm. We fled with an Elder and ended up here."

Gu Yuanqing opened his mouth upon hearing this, unsure how to comment. He could only say that the Yan Mountain Sect was indeed quite unlucky, but perhaps this was the norm for the Human Race in this world, especially around the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, where the Demon Race was powerful, and ordinary small sects were struggling to survive.

At this moment, Lu Jianqiu suddenly said urgently, "Senior, your cultivation is profound. Could you please save the other disciples in my sect? My group of more than ten people arrived here, but they are all scattered in the surrounding Mountain."

Gu Yuanqing sighed, "Before rescuing you two, I used my Divine Sense to check the path you two took. If there were no unforeseen circumstances, you two are the only survivors among your group; the others have all perished in the jaws of the Demon Beast."

The two were stunned upon hearing this, and Lu Jianqiu's eyes filled with tears. "Senior Brother Qi, Senior Brother Zhao, and Ling'er Sister Ling'er, they, they..."

"Please accept my condolences!" Gu Yuanqing said softly. Although there were also tragic events in the Floating World, they were nothing compared to the Demon Realm.

Even these Demon Beast have no reason to resent them. They occupy the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, each with its own territory. If anyone trespasses into their territory, they are considered enemies, and it is only Heaven Devour.

From the perspective of the Human Race, however, these are all acts of blood feud.

"Junior sister, don't cry. When you've achieved some success in your cultivation, you can avenge your Senior Brother. For us Cultivator, fighting against the heavens and Life and Death demons is a common occurrence," Xing Fei comforted her.

Tears streamed down Lu Jianqiu's face as he said bitterly, "Once I achieve the Divine Platform, I will surely kill them all."

Gu Yuanqing remained silent. Divine Platform? It probably wouldn't be enough to kill all these Demon Beast, after all, this was the territory of the Iron Eater Beast clan.

After a moment, Xing Fei clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I apologize for making a fool of myself in front of you, senior."

"It's only human nature. You two, please wait here for a moment. I have something to attend to."

"Please go ahead, senior."

Gu Yuan arrived outside the courtyard, where Zhang Xuanlin and Ji Qingyun were waiting.

"Young friend, do you have guests here?" Zhang Xuanlin asked with a smile.

"Yes, two people have arrived, um, Human Race from the Demon Realm," Gu Yuanqing said.

"Demonized Person?" Ji Qingyun's heart skipped a beat.

Knowing what he was thinking, Gu Yuanqing calmly said, "Taiyi the Demonized Person you know. They are Human Race from the Demon Realm, just like the people in the Floating World and even the Cultivation World, only their cultivation Cultivation Method are different."

Zhang Xuanlin raised an eyebrow, wanting to say something, but considering his current situation, his mind returned to calm. "From what you've said, young friend, this Demon Realm Demon Realm seems quite different from what I knew before. However, I must still advise you, young friend, that Demonized Person are notoriously treacherous and cunning. Never be careless when dealing with them; one wrong step could lead to utter ruin."

Hearing the admonition in those words, Gu Yuanqing didn't take it to heart. From their previous conversation, he roughly understood the impression that Demonized Person were in the eyes of Cultivator in the Cultivation World. This prejudice seemed to have existed since ancient times. He smiled and said, "Sect Master, would you like to go in and meet them?"

Zhang Xuanlin said calmly, "Forget it, we have different paths, so we can't work together."

"Very well, since Sect Master will be staying here for some time anyway, he'll inevitably encounter people from the Demon Realm."

Zhang Xuanlin stared into Gu Yuanqing's eyes and said, "I wonder how long you intend to keep me here in these Mountain, young friend?"

"It won't be long." Gu Yuanqing said with a smile, but in his heart he added, "It will probably be about time when I become Celestial Person. For a cultivator, that shouldn't be too far off, right?"

Zhang Xuanlin couldn't see through Gu Yuanqing; the young man before him seemed shrouded in mystery. He chuckled and said, "Young Master Gu, you wouldn't throw me into that deep pool too, would you?"

Ji Qingyun looked away. He understood Gu Yuanqing's words. It meant that Zhang Xuanlin could stay in the Mountain, while he would probably have to go back to the pool. He felt frustrated, but being in this place, he had no choice in the matter.

Even with the Sect Master right beside him, he didn't dare to say a word.

In his mind, Gu Yuanqing was fickle and unpredictable; if he said the wrong thing and angered this Gu, the Sect Master would be thrown into the pool along with him, which would be a terrible sin.

Gu Yuanqing sensed Ji Qingyun's thoughts, chuckled, and said, "Very well, you two can stay in that Courtyard. There's an Old Servant in these mountains; you can ask her for anything you need. However, she's congenitally deaf and mute and will need to communicate using sign language. She's just Ordinary Person, while you two are Cultivator; please don't make things difficult for her. If you hurt her, don't blame me, because in my eyes... she's more important than you two!"

Zhang Xuanlin glanced back at the Courtyard Gu Yuanqing had pointed to and said calmly, "Young friend, you are overthinking it. We are not Demonized Person; why would we make things difficult for Ordinary Person?"

"I'm just offering a suggestion; you two understand what I mean."

After the two left, Gu Yuanqing entered the courtyard again, where he saw Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu sitting properly in their original positions. When they saw Gu Yuanqing come in, they quickly got up to greet him.