Tang Yao shook her head. "I'm going too." Seeing Sect Master Ren disagree, she said rather urgently, "Master, isn't practice what lets us benefit all the more?"
After some internal struggle, Sect Master Ren knitted his brows and sighed. "Come, follow me." With that, he picked Tang Yao up like a chick and rose on his flying sword.
Tang Yao, dangling in his grip: "..."
Is this way of carrying people passed down through your families?
At the foot of a mountain near the Azure Cloud Sect.
Within a small area thick with Devil Qi, dozens of things no longer recognizable as human surrounded four people in the center from every direction.
"Their" bodies had long since been refined. Their skin resembled dead wood, yet gleamed with an eerie blue-black sheen. They were like walking skeletons, their eye sockets sunken, ghostly purple flames burning in their pupils.
Chu Song's hands had transformed into White Tiger claws, his eyes now shining gold. With the force of lightning, he punched through a skull, but before he could catch his breath, the punctured spot slowly began knitting itself back together.
Chu Song was struggling to hold on. Beast transformation was a technique for beast cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm. Having forced the transformation at the Golden Core Realm, he now had only an incense stick's worth of time left.
He could escape if he fled alone, but his junior brothers and sisters would immediately become nourishment.
Seemingly noticing Chu Song's anxiety, a junior brother behind him shouted urgently, "Senior Brother! We've already sent a signal! The Azure Cloud Sect is nearby. They'll see it!"
Now, they could only pin their hopes on the Azure Cloud Sect.
The devil humans clearly had no intention of giving them time to chat. One slowly raised its arm, its withered finger joints twisting and warping into a sharp bone blade. Devil Qi coiled around it as though alive, and the instant it fell-
Chu Song grabbed Xiao Linyu by the back of his collar and hauled him over.
Xiao Linyu's eyes widened. The bone blade had already stabbed into the spot where he had just been standing.
One second later, and he would have been gravely injured, if not dead.
Xiao Linyu abruptly looked back and discovered that the person who had pulled him away was actually Chu Song. He was just about to say something when Chu Song cut him off.
"Stay alive first. We'll talk when we get back."
Vermilion Bird's Li Fire was back at the sect purifying the infected disciples. Xiao Linyu bitterly regretted not bringing him along.
This was only an ordinary training excursion. How had they run into these damned things?
When Sect Master Ren and Tang Yao arrived, Sect Master Ren saw the scene beneath his flying sword. His gaze locked onto the devil humans below, his pupils widening in shock.
"The Moon Worship Cult?"
Hearing those words from Sect Master Ren, Tang Yao rapidly searched her mind, then raised her eyes in some alarm-
Why wasn't this cult in the novel?
Tang Yao studied the group closely. The one leading them seemed to be Chu Song, and the one struggling to hold on was Xiao Linyu.
Hearing someone arrive, Chu Song turned toward the sound. Killing intent still lingered between his swordlike brows and star-bright eyes as he spoke weakly. "Thank you..."
Taking advantage of Chu Song's distraction, the devil human behind him immediately thrust its bone blade viciously toward him.
Clang-!
A sword's ringing cry sounded, like a dragon's roar and a phoenix's shriek, instantly tearing the ambushing devil human apart.
Ren Linfeng stood tall in midair. Merely standing there, he exuded an oppressive presence, as though he could cleave heaven and earth open with a single stroke.
As he lowered two fingers-
An enormous ray of sword light descended from the heavens like the Milky Way pouring down. Wherever it passed, Devil Qi scattered and devil humans howled. Everything it reached turned to ashes within the sword light.
In an instant, all the Devil Qi dispersed, leaving only awe-inspiring sword intent.
Seeing this, Chu Song finally let out a breath of relief. He sank to one knee, his beast transformation ending instantly. His human palms struggled to brace him against the ground, a thread of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
"Senior Brother!" Several disciples immediately gathered around him, their eyes moist.
They knew that without their eldest senior brother, they might not have lasted until the Azure Cloud Sect's people arrived.
"Go thank him. The person who saved us should be the Azure Cloud Sect's sect master." Chu Song panted, every breath bringing heart-piercing pain.
His junior brothers were stunned to hear this. They had thought it was merely an elder, never expecting the sect master. They immediately obeyed and went to offer their thanks.
Watching them go over, Chu Song also struggled to rise, only to be pressed down by a pair of hands. Puzzled, he tilted his head up-
The youth had handsome, refined features, a high ponytail fluttering in the mountain breeze. But those attractive brows were knitted together. "Stop pushing yourself. I'll pass on your thanks."
With a flip of her palm, she handed Chu Song a bottle of healing pills, then went to find Sect Master Ren.
At that moment, the equally weakened White Tiger teased him in his sea of consciousness. "Didn't you find that youth rather familiar?"
After thinking carefully, Chu Song replied, "A little, but that's unlikely."
White Tiger shook his head within the sea of consciousness, then lay down quietly without another word.
Sect Master Ren strode over rather urgently, several disciples following beside him as they clustered before Chu Song.
"You must be Old Yan's eldest disciple. I think we've met before."
Chu Song took a deep breath and stood, about to bow with clasped hands, but Sect Master Ren stopped him. "In your current state, spare me the formalities."
Chu Song nodded and continued listening.
"Go back and tell Old Yan that what we found today were remnants of the Moon Worship Cult. Those devil humans were low-level cultivators refined by people with ulterior intentions. Stay within your sect for the time being. A conference will be held at the Azure Cloud Sect tomorrow to discuss this. Tell him to come."
"Understood, Venerable." Chu Song's expression was solemn, while the three disciples beside him bowed with clasped hands.
Ren Linfeng looked at the disciples and instantly conjured a gigantic sword. With a lift of his hand, all four lay upon its blade. It instantly became a sword shadow and tore through the air toward the Beast Taming Sect.
He sighed. "It wouldn't do for these youngsters to run into something else along the way. Better to send them back safely."
On the way back, Sect Master Ren continued carrying Tang Yao.
Tang Yao propped her face in both hands. She was actually getting a little used to this "mode of transport."
"Yao'er, what did you think of that move of sword intent I used just now?"
Tang Yao answered with complete sincerity, "It was absolutely awesome."
Sect Master Ren looked down at Tang Yao with a chuckle. "You'll be stronger than me one day." Tang Yao's eyes instantly lit up, only for Sect Master Ren to change tack. "Provided you don't slack off."
"Understood, Master!"
After returning to the Azure Cloud Sect, Ren Linfeng told Tang Yao to go rest, but she stubbornly refused to leave.
Tang Yao felt she needed to find out just what the Moon Worship Cult was.
In the end, Sect Master Ren could only say helplessly, "If you want to know, come listen at tomorrow's meeting."
Only after receiving that promise did Tang Yao return to her residence. She took out her Jade Slip and found the public square page, only to discover that she could not find any news about "devil humans" at all.
Tang Yao closed her eyes and switched off the Jade Slip. She guessed that because of some of her small actions, this world's setting had already diverged from the original novel.
She would have to be more careful in the days ahead.
The eastern horizon had only just turned fish-belly white when Tang Yao immediately threw on her azure disciple robes. Pushing the Flowing Cloud Instruction to its utmost, she rushed toward the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, where the sect master was.
The Heavenly Sword Pavilion, the study.
"Thank you for yesterday, Sect Master Ren. That boy Chu Song told me everything last night. Thank goodness you arrived..."
Before Tang Yao could knock, a booming voice came from inside.
"Hmm? Why did you call a junior here too?"
A surge of internal force instantly pushed the door open. Inside stood a tall old man in yellowish-brown robes, his long silvery-white hair hanging loose. His brows resembled sharp swords, and though he looked advanced in years, his whole bearing showed no sign of frailty.
Sect Master Ren stood smiling beside the old man, raising his brows as he subtly showed off. "This is my disciple, Tang Yao. An innate sword bone."
Hearing this, Sect Master Yan carefully scrutinized the youth before him. Feeling something familiar about her presence, he suddenly clasped both of Tang Yao's hands.
"Child, I see you have an extraordinary bone structure and quite a talent for beast cultivation! If you ever get tired of practicing the sword, you can come to our Beast Taming Sect!"
Tang Yao's eyes widened: ?
At the same time, Sect Master Ren's smile abruptly vanished, his hand freezing in midair.
He promptly took on the air of someone about to throw a punch. "You damned old man! I'm standing right here, and you still dare poach my disciple!"
Sect Master Yan said, "Why be so stingy?"
"Stingy? You ungrateful old thing! I only just saved your eldest disciple yesterday, and today you're already trying to poach mine?"
Tang Yao felt that if she did not stop her master now, Ren Linfeng would draw his sword on the spot.
"This junior, Tang Yao of the Azure Cloud Sect, greets Sect Master Yan." Tang Yao seized the opportunity to interrupt them.
Sect Master Yan folded his arms across his chest and nodded, the muscles in his arms bulging as he tried his best to offer a kindly smile.
Just then, spiritual patterns suddenly appeared on the floor like golden snakes dancing wildly. As the patterns flowed, a vast surge of spiritual power abruptly descended, and the formation blazed with light.
Hum-
The light dispersed, and a purple figure stood at the formation's center-
The sect master of the Profound Heaven Sect, Duan Xiangyuan.