When he came across the fight, Ye Xuan had not intended to interfere.
But a sweep of his spiritual sense revealed that he actually knew the person being attacked by the group: Wu Yuehua, who had previously lectured at Dao Lecture Peak.
Ye Xuan had also heard his master and senior brothers mention this genius disciple of the Dao Sect many times.
So, seeing Wu Yuehua's protective jade pendant shatter, Ye Xuan held nothing back. From a hundred li away, he unleashed a sky-piercing Sword-Ray and pushed Wind Thunder Step to its limit, leaving a streak of lightning in the air.
"Who's there?"
The Sword-Ray flashed past in an instant. The Demon Sect elders' expressions changed drastically. They sensed a powerful threat of death from the Sword-Ray that had appeared without warning.
Their roars shook the heavens as the Demon Sect elders struck together, each unleashing their strongest blow at the Sword-Ray.
Boom!
The Demon Sect elders were sent flying backward, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths. Their faces were full of disbelief as they stared at Ye Xuan, who had suddenly appeared in the sky.
From the moment Ye Xuan attacked to the moment he appeared, they had sensed nothing. Even now, with Ye Xuan standing in the sky, their spiritual senses could not detect him.
A formidable enemy!
Nascent Soul!
The Demon Sect elders exchanged glances. The strongest among them was an old man at the Golden Core Late Stage, whose face was now grave.
"May I ask, Senior..."
Ye Xuan gave them no chance to speak, instead lowering his gaze to Wu Yuehua.
"The Demon Sect?"
The dense Sha Qi and sinister presence surrounding the Demon Sect elders were simply too obvious. Ye Xuan just did not know why Demon Sect elders would appear deep within Dao Sect territory.
Wu Yuehua nodded.
After Ye Xuan asked his question, the Demon Sect elders fled in every direction at once. Clearly, Ye Xuan belonged to the Dao Sect. Staying here meant certain death; by splitting up, perhaps some of them could escape with their lives.
Ye Xuan watched them flee impassively and lightly flicked Waning Moon. Several heaven-shaking Sword-Rays pursued the Demon Sect elders like thunderbolts.
The Demon Sect elders' expressions changed drastically, and they brought out their life-saving measures one after another. One produced a huge cauldron to cover himself, another brazenly drew his sword to face the Sword-Ray, and another transformed into black mist...
The huge cauldron shattered, the sword broke and its wielder died, and the black mist dispersed. In a single brief instant, every Demon Sect elder perished.
Such powerful swordsmanship!
An intense fighting spirit rose in Wu Yuehua's eyes. She felt that if she could fight Ye Xuan, her swordsmanship would surely improve.
Ye Xuan looked down at Wu Yuehua, not understanding why she was looking at him that way.
At that moment, Ye Xuan had disguised himself with Chaos Spiritual Qi. To anyone else, looking at him was like looking into a mass of thick fog.
Just as Ye Xuan was about to exchange a few pleasantries and leave, Wu Yuehua's head suddenly tilted to one side, and she fainted.
"Uh..."
Ye Xuan's arm froze halfway up. After a moment of silence, he lowered it.
"Such severe injuries."
After a brief examination, he discovered that all her internal organs had ruptured to varying degrees, and eight wounds on her body were deep enough to expose bone.
Fortunately, Ye Xuan had previously obtained several high-grade healing pills from signing in. They were just right for Wu Yuehua to take now.
After making a circuit of the area, Ye Xuan retrieved the Demon Sect elders' Storage Bags, then found several more healing pills and fed them to Wu Yuehua.
Soon, Wu Yuehua's injuries began healing rapidly, and her breathing steadied, but she showed no sign of waking.
Ye Xuan wanted to simply leave, but he was worried that someone might take advantage of Wu Yuehua's vulnerability. With no other choice, he could only stay where he was and stand guard over her.
"No one gets rich without a windfall."
Searching through the Demon Sect elders' Storage Bags, Ye Xuan obtained tens of thousands of low-grade Spirit Stones, several hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones, five Spirit Artifacts, and various cultivation methods, Law Artifacts, and pills.
By the time Wu Yuehua woke again, seven days had passed.
Ye Xuan had stayed there all this time, reading through the Demon Sect's cultivation methods, taking their essence and discarding their dross.
There were also some formations that Ye Xuan normally had nowhere to practice within the sect, so he took this opportunity to work on them.
Seeing Wu Yuehua wake, Ye Xuan prepared to take his leave. Her injuries had completely healed over these past days. It had taken her so long to wake because she had previously overdrawn her soul power, presumably by using some Secret Method.
"Thank you for saving my life, Senior. This junior dares to ask for your guidance in swordsmanship!"
The first thing Wu Yuehua did upon waking was look for Ye Xuan. Upon seeing him, she immediately rose and bowed, then fixed him with a burning gaze.
Ye Xuan froze on the spot, taking quite a while to react.
Wu Yuehua really is a sword fanatic. Who challenges their savior as soon as their injuries heal?
"You give me too much credit, miss. I don't know any swordsmanship."
Ye Xuan refused bluntly. He had only swung his sword twice to save her earlier. If he fought Wu Yuehua as well, he would have to be extremely cautious whenever he used his sword afterward. One careless moment could expose his identity.
Fortunately, he had disguised Waning Moon earlier too. Otherwise, he would not even be able to use it afterward.
"Your swordsmanship is unlike anything this junior has ever seen, Senior. How could you possibly not know swordsmanship?"
Wu Yuehua spoke with firm conviction.
"I don't know it, and that's that."
Ye Xuan did not continue arguing with Wu Yuehua. He simply rose and left, quickly disappearing into the sky with Wind Thunder Step.
Wu Yuehua pursued him for a while, but when she realized she could not match his speed, she could only give up.
"What a pity!"
Deep disappointment appeared on Wu Yuehua's face. If she could receive Ye Xuan's guidance, her swordsmanship could rise to another level. Yet she had missed such a fortuitous opportunity.
However, Wu Yuehua soon rallied. Both sword strikes Ye Xuan had unleashed earlier were deeply etched into her mind. Without experiencing them herself, they would be difficult to imitate and learn, but she could still learn a great deal from those two strikes.
After getting her bearings, Wu Yuehua flew toward a nearby major city. Demon Sect elders had infiltrated deep into Dao Sect territory, and she had to bring this news back as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Ye Xuan also arrived at a major city: Tianyue City.
With only two days left before his return to the sect, he could only find a nearby city to explore. Experiencing the sights and customs of the Dao Sect would have to wait until next time.
Tianyue City was clearly much larger than Qingyu City. Mortals were rarely seen within it, the concentration of Spiritual Qi was high, and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could be seen everywhere.
After wandering around the city, Ye Xuan arrived at the Azure Feather Pavilion.
The Azure Feather Pavilion was a trading establishment opened outside the sect by the Azure Feather Dao Sect, buying and selling all kinds of cultivation resources.
Ye Xuan had obtained quite a few things from the Demon Sect elders' Qiankun Bags, so this was a perfect opportunity to sell them.
"Tell your pavilion master there's a big deal to be made."
Ye Xuan lightly tapped the counter and released a trace of his presence.
Behind the counter, the deacon with the guileless smile immediately bowed and led Ye Xuan to the top floor.
In the top-floor VIP room, soul-calming incense burned and spiritual tea steeped as Ye Xuan quietly waited for the master of this Azure Feather Pavilion.
The pavilion master was a composed middle-aged man named Wu Gang, with a cultivation at the Mid Golden Core Stage. After entering and taking a look, he found that he could not see through Ye Xuan's cultivation and became even more respectful.
"What major business might you have, fellow Daoist?"
"How many Spirit Stones would these things sell for?"
Ye Xuan handed over the Storage Bags belonging to the Demon Sect elders.
"Ah! It seems you've just slain several Demon Sect elders, Senior. Would a price of a hundred and thirty thousand Spirit Stones for these items be acceptable?"
Wu Gang quickly quoted a price, not far from what Ye Xuan had expected.
"Then what about this pill?"
Wu Gang abruptly rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on the pill in Ye Xuan's hand.
"Ah! A Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill!"