Bang!
The Viridescent Ivy lunged forth like a serpent, shaking the entire cave. The Ghost-Faced Ape had not yet arrived, but the Viridescent Ivy had already thrashed the entire cave.
"Where are they!?"
Plunging through the smoke and flames created by the talismans, the Ghost-Faced Ape rushed in, only to see an empty space.
"Impossible!" The Ghost-Faced Ape was stumped.
They were deep underground, and it was impossible for Wu Yu to have rushed in and then vanished.
But on closer inspection, the cave was completely empty. No Wu Yu and no Lan Shuiyue.
The enhanced olfactory senses of the Ghost-Faced Ape told him that Wu Yu had really vanished!
“Roar!”
The Ghost-Faced Ape howled his frustration. The Viridescent Ivy in his hands smashed the entire cave, sending rocks flying. The cave shook and almost collapsed. But Wu Yu was not there.
The Ghost-Faced Ape's mind was reeling. His confidence was shaken. Such an impossible thing had thrown him off completely.
He hated this!
He had actually been played out by his own progeny.
An illusory happiness.
The most painful part was that he had been knifed by Wu Yu in his joy.
"What manner of demon dares to trespass in my Heavenly Sword Sect!?"
Just at this moment, a terrible voice, weathered but tyranny, shook the entire Valley of Immortal Fate. Evidently, Elder Shentu knew of his presence!
Roar!
The Ghost-Faced Ape screamed. He was extremely frustrated, but at this point, he could only escape. He had thought to leave after slaying all the martial cultivators here. But he had encountered Wu Yu, who had thrown his plans into disarray. And then brought him into danger.
Whoosh!
A barely visible shadow flitted into the cave.
"Run! Run!"
Ghost-Faced Ape knew that his frustration had caused him to linger in the Valley of Immortal Fate for too long, enough for Elder Shentu to lock on to him. And now, he was the one in dire straits.
Whoosh!
He was fairly screwed now.
At this moment, there was an explosion in the sky. The Ghost-Faced Ape looked up to see a huge net descend, weaved out of transparent line. The target was him.
"Viridescent Ivy!"
The Viridescent Ivy in his hand twisted like a snake wiggling its way out. It soared into the sky, aiming to throw the net off!
Ding, ding, ding!
But the huge net was awesome, and its spiritual power completely suppressed the Ghost-Faced Ape. The Ghost-Faced Ape had not run too far before he was swept up in the net. He was tangled in the fish net and fell to the floor.
"Break!"
The Ghost-Faced Ape shouted, using his enormous strength to try to break free. His struggles were so powerful, they caused the hills in the vicinity to crumble.
But the huge net grew tighter and tighter, virtually squeezing the Ghost-Faced Ape into pieces.
"Damned Shentu!"
While the Ghost-Faced Ape struggled, an old man appeared. He held the Demon Fishing Rod in his hands. The fine line that emerged from the rod was connected to the net. The net looked simple, but was actually fashioned from Elder Shentu's spiritual power.
It was said that Elder Shentu was the third strongest in the entire Heavenly Sword Sect.
If he hadn't been a step too slow, he would have already entered the Jindan Dao Realm.
"Ghost-Faced Ape?" Elder Shentu's face changed. Seeing the Ghost-Faced Ape, he was seized with dread.
This was an old demon who had cultivated for more than 900 years, close to a full millennia. He far surpassed his own dao cultivation and was rumored to have nine demon essence cores. He was one of the strongest demons in the vicinity of the Bipo Mountain Range!
And the disciples that guarded the Valley of Immortal Fate were roughly at the seventh tier of the Qi Condensation Realm. If the Ghost-Faced Ape wanted to enter, they would naturally be unable to stop him.
"You are bold to enter the Heavenly Sword Sect!"
Elder Shentu remonstrated.
In truth, there were not many in the Heavenly Sword Sect who could subdue the Ghost-Faced Ape. Five at most.
At this time, Elder Shentu had not expected that the Ghost-Faced Ape would do such a thing. In the past, even demons past millennia old, with Yaodan, did not dare to do such things. They would not go up against the Heavenly Sword Sect directly, and they tolerated each others' existence.
"The Valley of Immortal Fate exercise is over. All disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, ignite your Beacon of Flame to let me know your position and extricate you immediately!" Elder Shentu was naturally worried about the disciples' safety. With a demon of the Ghost-Faced Ape's caliber around, he had to bring them all out first.
His voice echoed throughout the Valley of Immortal Fate, testament to his spiritual power. This was a mighty person who had activated all 10 spiritual sources.
But after a beat, there was not even a single response!
At this point, Elder Shentu had a very bad feeling.
His face changed, and he stared at the Ghost-Faced Ape, his killing intent rising.
"What are you looking at? Stop your squawking. I've already eaten all the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. They tasted great!" The Ghost-Faced Ape laughed.
Because of Wu Yu, he had been delayed and captured by Elder Shentu. And now he was trapped, and he knew his fate. But why would an old demon like him be afraid?
"YOU!" Elder Shentu was shaking with anger.
The Valley of Immortal Fate's challenge was held annually, and such a thing had never happened before. That was because demons above the seventh tier of the Qi Condensation Realm had never done what the Ghost-Faced Ape had done today.
But it was obvious that no one had responded with a Beacon of Flame. The Ghost-Faced Ape had to be telling the truth.
Elder Shentu pulled out a flute and blew it. It sounded throughout the entire Bipo Mountain Range, and in a trice, thousands of people looked in the direction, wondering what was going on.
Whoosh!
Heavenly Palace!
Stained Glass Palace!
Two bolts of light shot out from the two major immortal palaces. One gold and one blue, headed for the direction of the Valley of Immortal Fate.
Two swords, on which stood two people.
Feng Xueya, Lan Huayi!
Elder Shentu would only blow the Sky Flute for something monumental, to call the Sect Leader and Sect-Protector.
Crack!
Two brilliant beams of light, gold and blue, arrived before Elder Shentu in the blink of an eye. Feng Xueya and Lan Huayi appeared before the Ghost-Faced Ape!
Elder Shentu had fallen to his knees, his eyes full of tears. His voice broke. "Sect Leader, Sect-Protector, this old man has sinned! I did not discover that the Ghost-Faced Ape had entered the Valley of Immortal Fate. According to him, besides Tang Batian, who used the Beacon of Flame on the first day, all the other disciples have been slain and eaten by him!"
Deathly silence.
Even Feng Xueya and Lan Huayi could not stand straight upon hearing this news.
Their expressions were colder than ice. This moment felt like the calm before the storm. When they heard Elder Shentu's account, neither blamed him. It was something that had never happened to the Heavenly Sword Sect before. In order for the disciples to reap the maximum experience, even they would not intrude.
Whoosh!
Both mounted their swords and searched the entire Valley of Immortal Fate. As powerful Jindan users, they naturally had their own methods of searching. After a while, both Feng Xueya and Lan Huayi appeared at the cave where Wu Yu had been previously.
"The presence of blood is thickest here. At least eight dead." Even Lan Huayi's voice was trembling.
"Shuiyue, my Yue Er...." She could sense the traces that Lan Shuiyue had left behind. But Lan Shuiyue was clearly not here anymore.
Lan Huayi was going crazy.
"Feng Xueya!" As Sect Leader, Feng Xueya had to take responsibility for this earth-shaking state of affairs.
While she was raging, Feng Xueya had already left. Lan Huayi suddenly realized that his own disciple Wu Yu was also on the death list!
She caught up with him. Before long, both had returned to the Ghost-Faced Ape.
The Ghost-Faced Ape laughed. "A big surprise, isn't it? Feng Xueya, you had better not be in a hurry to kill me. Let me break it down for you."
He considered for a moment, then continued, "I'll lay it out plainly. Firstly, I killed your disciples. All these years, your disciples have killed many of my demon brethren, and I'm just returning the courtesy. You have to accept it. Why would there be such an unfair thing in this world, where only you can kill demons, but not vice versa? Right?"
"Shut up!" Lan Huayi reached for her sword. A bolt of blue sword qi condensed into ice, piercing the Ghost-Faced Ape's body and nailing him to the floor.
"Don't forget that the explosion of spiritual qi in the Bipo Mountain Range is all bane and no boon for you. I think you must have guessed that the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts have already formed an alliance with the Zhongyuan Dao Sect and will soon attack your Heavenly Sword Sect! And the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts want to wash the Bipo Mountain Range with your blood. They will take your immortal treasures, your dao techniques, and your immortal essences. And the Zhongyuan Dao Sect is even more straightforward. They just want the territories of the Bipo Mountain Range!
"And so?" Lan Huayi's face was taut with rage. Perhaps she already knew what the Ghost-Faced Ape was driving at.
"The Zhongyuan Dao Sect is orthodox, but they have actually allied with the ghostly cultivators!" Elder Shentu was in disbelief. According to the rules of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent, good and evil were at loggerheads. The Zhongyuan Dao Sect had actually dared to do such things in order to take the spiritual qi-rich territory of the Heavenly Sword Sect?
"I, the Ghost-Faced Ape, am the subordinate of the Ninth Spirit. If you dare to kill me, then you're challenging the Ninth Spirit, and she will definitely enter the fray on the side of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect and the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts, to rend your Heavenly Sword Sect! If you let me free, I can persuade the Ninth Spirit not to interfere!"
Having said this, the Ghost-Faced Ape was quite cocky.
Lan Huayi asked, "Ninth Spirit? You mean that 1000-year fox demon who condensed her Yaodan?"
"You're so ignorant. In this area, Ninth Spirit is the only queen of the demons. All the demon tribes defer to her. If you insult her, you'll only bring more trouble down on the Heavenly Sword Sect. Plagued on three sides, you will be doomed for sure!"
This was the reason why the Ghost-Faced Ape was still being so brazen.
Lan Huayi hesitated. Her gaze was wintry. She considered this. If the Ninth Spirit brought a horde of demons.... added to the cultivators of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect, and the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts! None of the three powers were significantly weaker than the Heavenly Sword Sect. In a battle to the death, the Heavenly Sword Sect was in danger.
The Ninth Spirit did not stay in the range of the Bipo Mountain Range, and so Lan Huayi had not considered her.
Even if she dearly wished to kill the Ghost-Faced Ape, they had to consider the power of the Ninth Spirit.
"Keke." The Ghost-Faced Ape chuckled.
At this moment, Feng Xueya said to Elder Shentu, "Release him."