A golden writ seals the talisman route; upheaval in the grotto-heaven prompts an alliance
What is that?
Feiguang looked on warily, his white pupils sometimes shrinking into rings and sometimes widening to fill his entire eye sockets, as he vigilantly surveyed all directions.
Chen Shuangbai then walked up and held the frozen gold-leaf page in his hand.
In response to the Divine Ability, wisps of light enveloped it, and the creature ceased its struggle and obediently stopped.
Chen Shuangbai knew that if he hadn't suppressed it, the creature would have already flown away.
He gazed at the vast palace complex in the center of the Grotto-Heaven, at the soaring spiritual light, and began to wonder, "Could this be the strange Daoist priest Qin Ziwei spoke of?"
With too little known information, Chen Shuangbai was unaware of the situation.
He merely suppressed the object temporarily, storing it in his Storage Bag, intending to deal with it further once he left the Grotto-Heaven.
"They're gone."
Chen Shuangbai called out.
Changming cried out and transformed into a ray of light, disappearing back into Chen Shuangbai's sleeve. Feiguang followed closely behind, never falling behind its master.
The two leaped into the air, transforming into rainbows and flying towards the third location.
But it was at this very moment...
The entire Grotto-Heaven suddenly shook.
What happened?
Before the master and servant had even reached the third location, bursts of visible spiritual light emanated from the vast palace complex in the center of the Grotto-Heaven. Within the soaring spiritual light, waves of vibration resounded, shattering the surrounding colorful clouds.
At the same time, beams of light appeared from all directions, startling the people who had entered.
" Far-Reaching Luminous Sword Immortal!"
Chen Shuangbai looked in the direction of the sound and saw a five-colored radiance and a crimson flame coming together and landing in front of him, revealing Hong Qing of the Heavenly Star Mystic Sect and Liang Shuyan of the Vermilion Heaven Sect.
The two of them were now somewhat disheveled.
Liang Shuyan, in particular, had lost an arm, yet she continued to put pills into her mouth.
"What are you two doing here...?"
Chen Shuangbai hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.
Hong Qing, however, had a gloomy face and said, "We were just about to head to the next place to explore when we were suddenly entangled by seventeen or eighteen demons. Those demons seemed to be formed from Sha Qi and yin energy using extremely profound demonic Cultivation Method. They were impervious to water and fire, could fly to the sky and burrow into the earth, and loved to devour the flesh and souls of cultivators."
"Junior Sister Liang lost her left arm due to a carelessness."
Liang Shuyan nodded, her face pale.
It wasn't that she was completely unskilled in combat, but rather that those demons were extremely troublesome. Ordinary Divine Ability and Law Technique couldn't kill them at all. Only Hong Qing, who had mastered the Five Luminaries Divine Ability, could make them somewhat wary. However, those demons could also shift between reality and illusion, making them truly difficult to deal with.
Upon hearing this, Chen Shuangbai immediately recalled the strange Daoist priest Qin Ziwei had mentioned, and told the two of them about it.
Hong Qing immediately showed a thoughtful expression, and said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Qin has already met with misfortune... That's terrible. If it's really as Fellow Daoist Qin said, could it be that the Nascent Soul True Lord of the True Net Cult has been using some kind of Secret Method to prolong his life until this day?"
"But does the True Net Cult also have a lineage of Devil Cultivation Method arts?"
Hong Qing shook his head and said, "According to records, the True Net Cult was a major sect. At its peak, it even occupied half of the Celebrated Splendor Continent, with more than a dozen Nascent Soul. It absorbed a lot of Daoist traditions into its own sect... It's highly likely."
In the medieval era, the distinction between good and evil was not so significant; people cultivated whatever was most useful.
There was no direct conflict between the Heavenly Star Mystic Sect and the Jade Spring Sect. In addition, the reputation of Far-Reaching Luminous Sword Immortal was quite great, and Hong Qing did not want to provoke him easily, so he always maintained a friendly demeanor.
Seeing that this member of the Heavenly Star Mystic Sect sect was someone who could be negotiated with, Chen Shuangbai relayed the news that people from the Lotus Temple and the Parting Hate Gate had already infiltrated the sect to him.
Hong Qing was surprised and also informed Chen Shuangbai of the news about Liu Rushi from the Celebrated Origin Sect.
The Crimson Cloud Sect is a major sect of Dao of Alchemy, and its alchemy level is superior to that of the Jade Spring Sect.
Liang Shuyan's complexion had regained its rosy hue. She frowned slightly and said, "So... both the demonic and Buddhist paths have infiltrated. This can't be a fabrication; someone in the Grotto-Heaven must be guiding them out."
Hong Qing and Chen Shuangbai were both exceptionally intelligent, and they were able to quickly guess who was responsible.
Jixuan.
" Zhangsun Xu."
The two spoke in unison, exchanged a glance, and secretly made their plans.
Hong Qing said, "I will definitely report this matter to my master. These demonic wolves have ambitions; this matter is far from over!"
"Junior Sister Liang, please go out first and inform your family and my family's True Lord about this matter."
Upon hearing this, Liang Shuyan instinctively wanted to refuse, but Hong Qing looked grave and knew that if she stayed, she would mostly only be a hindrance. So she took out a few bottles of pills, handed them to Hong Qing, and then activated her guiding talisman.
Law Power was poured into it, but the talisman remained completely unchanged.
Liang Shuyan's face immediately turned pale, and she said, "Senior brother... it seems I'm no longer of any use..."
Hong Qing also looked solemn. He took out his own talisman and tried it, but it was indeed useless.
Seeing this, Chen Shuangbai also took out her own guiding talisman and tried it out.
Even when Law Power was poured into it, there was still no reaction.
"It seems someone doesn't want us to leave this Grotto-Heaven."
Hong Qing's face was grim as he looked at Chen Shuangbai and said, "Either something has happened outside, or someone has tampered with this Grotto-Heaven..."
"If something goes wrong outside, it's manageable. With all of you True Lord here, even if something goes wrong for a while, we can always resolve it..." Chen Shuangbai said slowly, "I'm afraid there's someone inside the Grotto-Heaven who doesn't want us to leave."
Liang Shuyan was now pale, and even her voice was trembling slightly, "Then... what should we do next?"
Hong Qing and Chen Shuangbai exchanged words, and had already covered most of the points.
After a moment's thought, the successor of the Heavenly Star Mystic Sect Profound Sect said, "Fellow Xuhong, for the time being, I would like to join forces with you."
"This was most likely the work of that strange Daoist priest in black robes. He can control demons and influence this Grotto-Heaven... He's probably not someone that can be easily dealt with."
"If we fight individually, we will likely be defeated one by one."
Chen Shuangbai readily agreed to Hong Qing's suggestion.
According to Qin Ziwei, the Daoist in black robes was an extremely difficult character to deal with, and he was very likely a Nascent Soul level figure... However, having been secluded in this Grotto-Heaven for so many years, his Divine Ability and Divine Sense sense must have been greatly weakened.
But one must be extremely careful with such people, or their lives will be in danger.
More people means more hope.
After discussing it, the two decided on the matter.
As for Liang Shuyan...
Her words carried little weight.
Moreover, she is now injured and needs protection even more. The only way to ensure her safety is to stay close to Hong Qing.