Zhongyuan Immortal Mountain, it was supremely tall, and immortal mist curled around it.
South of the Zhongyuan Immortal Mountain was the Lower Yuan Peak, and it was the place where the Zhongyuan Dao Sect entertained the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts.
Of course, this area was still under the purview of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect, and in order to ascend the Zhongyuan Immortal Mountain, one had to pass through this Lower Yuan Peak.
In the Lower Yuan Immortal Palace, ghostly traces could be seen lingering everywhere.
None of the ordinary Zhongyuan Dao Sect disciples dared to tread in this area. If one approached, the ghostly cultivators would not abide by any of the rules and their lives would have been forfeit.
There were female disciples who had mysteriously lost their chastity in the sect.
Despite these issues being reported to Jiang Xie, he did not care and only mentioned to everyone to not approach that peak.
However, Jiang Junlin spent all his time within. It looked as though he had become sworn brothers with the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts. Naturally, the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts had taught him numerous techniques.
On this day, Jiang Xie was mounted upon a large, scarlet red bottle gourd, weaving through the immortal mist. He had seen the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts and Jiang Junlin engaged in an intense discussion.
"What has happened?" Jiang Xie asked as he descended with an astounded expression on his face.
Jiang Junlin seemed very lively as he replied, "Father, something weird has happened."
"What weird thing has happened?"
"I have to leave it up to the Shen Erjun to explain."
Shen Erjun was the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts largest individual. He loomed like a giant bear, and was taller than Jiang Junlin by a good three feet. An average person could not possibly grow as large as him.
His body was fearfully strong, and just his thighs were larger than Tian Yijun's entire body.
When Tian Yijun stood in front of him, it was like a child speaking to an adult.
This hugely built individual was the second of the Seven Ghosts and was thus known as Shen Erjun.
At this point, Shen Erjun laughed. "Sect Master Jiang, if you remember, I had previously given my disciple a Sumeru Pouch that had been pilfered by that Wu Yu, correct?"
Jiang Xie nodded his head. "You said that within the Sumeru Pouch lies a covert inscription that, with your ghostly cultivation methods, allows you to track it, am I right?"
Shen Erjun replied, "Indeed. The Spectral Concubine had left us to explore the world, and whenever we wanted to know where she was, we would utilize this Ghostly Shadow Design to locate her. This way, even if someone had killed the Spectral Concubine and stole her Sumeru Pouch, we would be able to locate the killer and take our revenge."
Jiang Xie had a keen mind. Just by hearing these words, his eyes lit up. "You mean to say that Wu Yu has left the Bipo Mountain Range?"
Otherwise, Jiang Junlin would not have been so happy.
He replied, "He had originally hidden himself inside the Bipo Mountain Range and would have to wait for me to deliver his death sentence. Who would have thought that he would choose to run out by himself? He is looking for death, and it's not up to my control!"
Shen Erjun added, "That Wu Yu clearly doesn't understand how the world works. We were just discussing this. I will accompany the Junior Sect Master and solve this conundrum of his."
Jiang Xie's eyebrows creased.
Jiang Junlin was indeed ecstatic, but Jiang Xie was not comfortable with leaving him alone with a ghostly cultivator. Just because the two parties seemed very close at the moment, that did not count for anything. Once their goals were achieved, the two parties would definitely cut all ties. Furthermore, all of the disciples that had been hurt by these ghostly cultivators were still fresh in Jiang Xie's mind.
"It would be strange if Wu Yu left by himself, however," Jiang Xie replied.
"Strange? I think that he must have thought that if he remained in the Heavenly Sword Sect, he would be crushed by me!" Jiang Junlin was a little worried that Jiang Xie would not let him go.
At this point in time, Tian Yijun said, "I feel that this is true. Normally speaking, this would not happen. Shen Erjun, which direction is he heading in?"
Shen Erjun replied, "Let me find out."
He removed a skull fashioned into a compass from his Sumeru Pouch and began to chant in some ghostly language. In a moment, the compass began to spin towards the west.
"West of the Bipo Mountain Range. I'm afraid he wants to enter the Sky Region Forest!"
"The Sky Region Forest's trees are extremely tall and the terrain is complex. Trying to find someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack...." Jiang Xie could feel a headache coming. Half a beat later, he actually started to laugh loudly, letting everyone feel astonished.
"Sect Leader Jiang, just what is causing you so much mirth?" Tian Yijun probed.
Jiang Xie stopped laughing and replied, "I know what Feng Xueya is trying to do. More accurately saying, I know what Lan Huayi is trying to do."
Jiang Junlin was anxious. "Father, stop leaving us in the dark."
Jiang Xie began to attentively speak. "Lan Huayi's two nieces are in the Bipo Mountain Range. She is very protective of her kin; even though she seems like an iron lady, she is still motherly. She cannot bear to let her two family members stay behind in the Bipo Mountain Range in a fight to the death. Frankly speaking, the Heavenly Sword Sect does not have any prospects for victory, and thus she must have suggested that a few outstanding disciples be saved. That Feng Xueya does not understand ghostly cultivators and did not expect that his own disciple to be holding an item of yours. What is even more unexpected is that you would be able to track them with your Ghostly Shadow Design!
"Which means, they must have let some of the more outstanding geniuses escape towards the Sky Region Forest." In a brief moment, the eyes of all the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts lit up. In fact, a trace of bloodlust could even be seen in their pupils.
"I have at least an 80% chance of confidence that what I have said is right." Jiang Xie laughed.
"Marvellous! Shen Erjun can chase them with the design, and regardless of where they run to, we will be able to chase them down!" Jiang Junlin was exceptionally elated.
Jiang Xie continued, "If my guess is right, the group should be Feng Xueya and Lan Huayi's personal disciples. Feng Xueya and Lan Huayi would have to stay behind to man the 10,000 Swords Formation and would definitely not leave with them. The other elders would also be needed to defend the sect, and thus they would send only one elder with them at most! If we can kill off this group of individuals, that will be a direct blow to their morale and psyche. We would be able to take the Heavenly Sword Sect without a battle! Feng Xueya, oh, Feng Xueya. You have always been sharp, but it's a pity you acted so stupidly."
Of course, his heart was clear that this was a coincidence. If he was Feng Xueya, he would not have known that the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts would have a means to track Wu Yu's position.
Jiang Xie couldn't hold it in any longer as he guffawed.
The Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts also began to laugh chillingly.
Jiang Junlin, too, was laughing. It was as though he could already imagine Wu Yu begging for his life on his knees.
"I want to taste how delicious Lan Huayi's nieces are. Hehe..." Shen Erjun's voice was cordial, but his words caused their skin to prickle.
Jiang Xie finally replied, "Junlin, go and call for your uncle. Before the decisive battle, I have a task for him."
"Yes!" Jiang Junlin immediately went to act.
In a moment, an individual appeared, his resemblance to Jiang Xie apparent. He wore a pure black robe. On his back, one could make out the silhouette of a long spear. Yet his features were masked and one could not see what he looked like. They could only see that one of his eyes were blind and that the corners of his eyes were full of scars.
"Jiang Ding pays his respects." Tian Yijun and his ilk also took this man very seriously.
Jiang Xie said, "Whether my speculations are correct or wrong, we have to go, just for the sake of this Wu Yu. Our Zhongyuan Dao Sect will send out Jiang Junlin and Jiang Ding. What about you?"
Tian Yijun did not hesitate to reply,, "Only Shen Erjun can locate them, and thus he will be the vanguard. Qi Yunji will also go along. With the three of them, any ordinary elder will be defeated. If the opponents have more than one elder with them, we can send a few more."
"Yes, Boss!" Shen Erjun seemed extremely impatient to leave.
Under the cloak could be heard the raspings of a giant beast.
"This will be it. Leave immediately. It'd best if we could capture them alive. If they are dead, bring the corpses back. For the rest of us, once the Ninth Spirit arrives and once we hear of your good news, we will begin the assault upon the Heavenly Sword Sect. This is our best opportunity to cripple the defenders and divide the lands!"
Jiang Xie was getting worked up.
"Excellent. EXCELLENT!"
The Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts couldn't help but smile.
At this point in time, a voice which caused one to feel as though they had fallen into a drunken stupor could be heard. The voice was enchanting and dreamy.
"Just what has caused you all to become so riled up…."
This was the type of voice that when heard, one would feel as though they had fallen into a sea of flowers, submerged within pleasant and tender memories of their home, and yet it was a voice that could cause one to tremble. Especially if one was a male, this voice was truly fatal!
"Ninth Spirit!"
Everyone was shocked. Staring at the forest not too far away, they could see a white immortal mist surrounding the forest. There were numerous humanoid beasts gradually emerging from the forest. This white mist was thick and dense, and one could only see that there were about 100 of these individuals within it. Together, they lifted a palace shaped like a sedan. It was exceedingly ornate and truly looked like a masterpiece of the world. Only an immortal sedan could be apt to describe its elegance.
There was a total of 100 sedan bearers.
However, Jiang Xie and the rest knew that these were not humans, but demons! They were demons of all shapes and sizes from all corners of the continent!
Each and every demon was a mortal's nightmare.
That overwhelming demonic qi had gathered around them, almost extinguishing and displacing all of the immortal mist around the mountain.
All orthodox martial cultivators were like fire and water when placed near such demonic cultivators. They were immiscible.
As the group of demons approached, Jiang Xie's expression changed.
"Elder Brother Jiang does not have to address me as the Ninth Spirit. Just Jiu Er would be fine."
From within that palace-like sedan chair could be hear an enticing voice. Even Jiang Xie was forced to swallow a mouthful of saliva to control himself. The rest were unable to resist, especially Jiang Junlin. If he were to hear this voice more, his preferences might even change and he would feel that even Yuan Chen was not the sort of person that he was truly attracted to!
This was because the Ninth Spirit was truly an outstanding individual, one of such caliber that he had never met before!
"Jiu Er's enticement techniques have long been famous. Who would have thought that they would be this impressive when faced directly? This Jiang Xie truly respects you." Jiang Xie took a deep breath as he spoke these fawning words.
"We of the fox tribe are blessed with beauty, yet Jiu Er is unable to charm Elder Brother Jiang." The fox demon's voice rang out.
After hearing this sentence, Jiang Junlin felt as though he was about to go insane. His face was flushed red and he had almost walked over to the group of demons. However, Jiang Xie held him back and threw him towards Jiang Ding to be restrained.
Dealing with this demonic Ninth Spirit was truly heart palpitating.
"Are these individuals the pirates from the East Sea?" Ninth Spirit asked.
"Pirates? I beg the Ninth Spirit to be more polite with her words. We follow the Ghostly Dao and are the children of the Ghostly God!" Tian Yijun replied angrily.
He was also able to face this 1,000-year fox demon and maintain a sense of self.
"Keke. Don't be so angry. It's just a few words. Jiu Er has heard everything you said previously. Jiu Er will also participate and assist with handling this group of kids. Oh yes, Thunder Seabird, you will accompany their group."
"Yes, Ninth Spirit!"
From under the sedan chair, a male with traces of lightning flickering around his body drew away from the group. His expression was of utmost veneration as he accepted his task and deeply kowtowed in front of the sedan.
"Ninth Spirit, the Unrivalled Demon King, will sweep across all those under the heavens, the sole master of the universe!"
In a blink, the horde of demons began to cheer, causing the hearts of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect disciples to tremble.