538: A Battle with No Retreat
Though Jiang Mo had proposed trying a new cultivation method with Yun Qingyue, they naturally didn't spend all three days doing just that. Besides trying the new cultivation, Jiang Mo still made time for challenge missions, and both of them frequently kept up with the latest news.
With only three days to prepare, there weren't many changes within Xuanqing Sect. Beyond the tense atmosphere, everyone gradually prepared themselves mentally for a battle with no retreat. On the other side, the Demon Race certainly noticed Xuanqing Sect's unusual complete lockdown, but because of the earlier deployment of powerhouses like the Celestial Demon Sect Leader, they hadn't realized that Xuanqing Sect was preparing for a final stand.
The three days thus passed in a flash, with turbulent undercurrents beneath the calm surface.
Finally, the three-day deadline arrived, and everyone gathered punctually at Mount Tianyang—Xuanqing Sect was now filled with people, and although Mount Tianyang was the broadest and tallest spirit peak, it still couldn't accommodate everyone. Thus, some stood on the ground, others flew in the air, creating a sea of heads.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue arrived relatively early, but they became inconspicuous among such a large crowd.
The two flew all the way to Lingyun Hall at the top of Mount Tianyang, immediately spotting Sect Leader Qingxiao standing before the hall. Subsequently, the Buddha Sect Leader, Crimson Blood Sect Leader, and even the Harmony Sect Leader who had been in seclusion and never shown her face, all appeared and stood in line with Sect Leader Qingxiao before the hall—the Harmony Sect Leader was also female, but unexpectedly, she wasn't as alluring as imagined; her appearance showed more heroic spirit than charm.
Jiang Mo couldn't help herself. She looked at Sect Leader Zhu, then at the newly-appeared Harmony Sect Leader, and transmitted to her Senior Sister in a low voice: "Ah Yue, don't you think Sect Leader Zhu and the Harmony Sect Leader seem to have joined the wrong sects?"
Indeed, the Crimson Blood Sect was known for ferocity and bloodthirst, yet Sect Leader Zhu was an eight-tailed fox who, judging by appearance rather than temperament, could truly be called alluring. As for the Harmony Sect, it went without saying—no one in the entire sect looked less than stunning, and by comparison, the Harmony Sect Leader's appearance was actually the least remarkable among them. Supposedly, the Harmony Sect's cultivation techniques had beauty-enhancing effects; one wonders just how ordinary this Sect Leader must have looked before?
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue gave her a helpless look, truly not understanding how the little tiger could have so much interest in gossiping in such a serious situation. She reached out and pinched the little tiger's ear: "It's none of your business, don't ask too much, and don't stare."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo obediently withdrew her gaze, pretending that her Senior Sister was jealous of her looking at others, which made her feel secretly pleased.
Although Yun Qingyue deeply understood the little tiger she had raised, often achieving unspoken understanding with just a gesture, she still frequently failed to comprehend what the other was so gleefully thinking about. Helplessly sighing, she led her tiger down to find her master—people naturally tend to gather with their closest ones, and with the unpredictable battle ahead, staying with one's closest people always brought comfort.
Peak Master Qingyu was one of Xuanqing Sect's several peak masters, her status not low, but with high-level figures from various sects gathered here and Xuanqing Sect's supreme elders rarely making appearances, she naturally had to step back somewhat.
Currently, Qingyu was standing in a relatively inconspicuous position to the side. Seeing Yun Qingyue leading Jiang Mo over, her gaze naturally turned toward them.
The three hadn't seen much of each other these past days. Initially, Qingyu had wanted to give the two some advice, but when her gaze fell on them, she paused, then blurted out: "You've broken through again?!"
That "again" was quite telling, especially for Jiang Mo, who had almost made three consecutive jumps witnessed by everyone... These three days she had advanced another level, officially breaking through to the middle stage of Grand Achievement. In terms of realm alone, she had even surpassed Peak Master Qingyu. Yun Qingyue had also made considerable progress these three days, though not comparable to Jiang Mo; she was stuck at level 80, just one step away from breaking through.
Of course, how long or short this step would be was hard to say. Perhaps breakthrough would come in the next moment, or perhaps it would take ten years, a hundred years, or even longer—not surprising. After all, even Yun Qingyue had encountered bottlenecks on her cultivation path; when she was breaking through from Golden Core to Nascent Soul, she had been stuck for quite some time. Now with the battle approaching, including herself, no one had expected her to break through before or during the battle.
Seeing her master's surprised expression, Jiang Mo felt somewhat proud: "Of course, we've been cultivating very diligently these days."
At these words, Qingyu couldn't help but recall the spiritual energy vortex she had seen above Purple Cloud Peak three days ago when she went to find them. Her expression became subtle for a moment, unfortunately caught by Yun Qingyue, who was instantly so embarrassed she wanted to cover Jiang Mo's mouth.
After all, by now, the Senior Sister was not so innocent that she could claim complete innocence.
The soft flesh at her waist was pinched neither lightly nor heavily. It wasn't very painful, but the little tiger immediately became alert. She promptly adopted a serious expression and said solemnly to her master: "Our realms have increased rapidly, but our strength may not have kept up. With the battle imminent and no more time for us to adapt, when we go out, we still need Master's protection."
Now the little tiger calling her master the same as her Senior Sister was completely appropriate. Qingyu was not unaware of the little interactions between the two, feeling both gratified and helpless: "Don't stay too close to me; I'm afraid I'll be targeted."
Indeed, Peak Master Qingyu was not unknown in the cultivation world; being targeted in a real battle wouldn't be surprising.
Jiang Mo immediately responded: "Well, in case we can help Master, that would be good too."
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The cultivators now gathered in Xuanqing Sect numbered at least several hundred thousand, with original Xuanqing Sect disciples making up only about one-tenth. However, despite this large number, not all could go out to fight.
Small cultivators at Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment had low combat power; facing demon people would make them pure cannon fodder, and the kind where one death leads to many more, so they naturally had to stay behind. Some disciples who were young but highly talented, on whom the sect's legacy might depend, naturally had to stay as well. And some disciples of mediocre cultivation but skilled in management also had to stay behind—perhaps after the battle, they would be needed for the aftermath...
With all these exclusions, the people actually going into battle were less than half the original number, since lower-level cultivators were always the most numerous.
Now, with cultivators numbering in the hundreds of thousands gathered at Mount Tianyang, even if each person made only a small sound, the resulting noise was chaotic and clamorous. However, this clamor ceased abruptly the moment Sect Leader Qingxiao raised his hand—the pressure of a Grand Achievement cultivator swept across the entire area, and the previously noisy crowd instinctively fell silent. Combined with the days of strange rain, even insect sounds and bird calls had almost disappeared from Xuanqing Sect, making the scene eerily quiet for a moment.
Fortunately, Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't let this silence persist. His gaze swept over the dense crowd in the air and on the ground, and he spoke in a thunderous voice: "Everyone gathered here surely understands the current danger, but you may not know the origin of this calamity.
"Tens of thousands of years ago, when the Demon Race invaded, our ancestors mobilized the power of the entire realm to seal the passage to the demon realm and exterminate the evil demons, finally restoring peace to the cultivation world. However, the evil was not completely eliminated, and now the Demon Race has returned, leading to today's disaster. Fortunately, the passage to the demon realm has not yet been opened, and the Demon Race currently stirring up trouble in the cultivation world consists of just one individual, with the rest being mere puppets."
Sect Leader Qingxiao spoke correctly. Higher-level cultivators had, through their own channels, more or less understood the current situation. But lower-level cultivators were different; they had no means of learning the truth, and thus remained in confusion and fear day after day.
Knowing the truth wasn't necessarily better than not knowing, but Sect Leader Qingxiao's explanation was quite skillful—he first mentioned how the Demon Race invasion had been repelled in the past, then stated that the seal was still intact and the enemy had no retreat, and finally pointed out that there was only one true demon.
In this way, the original fear of the Demon Race and dread of the battle were reduced somewhat by these words.
Sharp-eared cultivators even heard a mutter in the crowd: "What is this? Making so many demon people, creating such a grand formation, yet there's only one actual demon? With so many of us, what do we have to fear..."
These words were better left unheeded, but it must be said that those who heard them felt a loosening in their hearts.
With the battle imminent, knowing the inside story wasn't really important; Sect Leader Qingxiao's words were merely meant to boost morale. Seeing things developing as he had anticipated, Sect Leader Qingxiao said a few more encouraging words. Seeing the atmosphere become spirited, he announced their departure.
Naturally, with so many people present, the departure method wasn't for them to all fly out in a massive swarm, first fighting the demon people surrounding Xuanqing Sect, then the scattered demon people in the vicinity, then the demon people inside and outside Xuanqing City, and finally pushing all the way to the demon—not to mention how exhausting this approach would be, or the casualties along the way, but alerting the enemy prematurely was not a good choice.
Therefore, Xuanqing Sect made a significant sacrifice this time, directly producing a stack of teleportation scrolls. After tearing them open, white light enveloped a group of people and took them away. Dozens of elders holding teleportation scrolls positioned themselves in different areas, almost simultaneously tearing open the scrolls.
In an instant, the white light of the teleportation scrolls nearly covered the entirety of Mount Tianyang.
When the light dispersed, the scene was emptied.
The teleportation scroll before Lingyun Hall was torn open by Sect Leader Qingxiao himself. In the moment the white light enveloped them, Jiang Mo tightly held Yun Qingyue's hand. Still expecting a long speech, she hadn't anticipated Sect Leader Qingxiao would leave so abruptly. During the teleportation, she couldn't help asking: "Didn't Divine Lord Zhiming say he would help? How are we leaving without seeing him?"
This question fell half on Mount Tianyang and half in Xuanqing City. Almost in the blink of an eye, the scene before Jiang Mo and the others changed, and simultaneously, alarms resounded through the sky.
After the Demon Race occupied Xuanqing City, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had sneaked in several times, so the two were somewhat familiar with everything in the city.
Now as they looked up, the first thing they saw was a somewhat familiar tall building, and then their gaze swept around, easily recognizing that this was the western part of the city—they still remembered that the demon who had been hiding behind the scenes first appeared on top of this western high-rise. However, that building was later destroyed by Peak Master Qingyu, and now a new one had been built in its place; they still refused to move?
It must be said that the arrogance ingrained in the Demon Race could be seen from this incident.
And it wasn't just Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue who recognized the high-rise. Qingyu, who had previously destroyed the western high-rise, raised an eyebrow and struck again without hesitation. A familiar huge sword shadow condensed in mid-air, still carrying an irresistible momentum, cleaving down toward that conspicuous high building.