"Hmm?"
They had stopped again because of demons, but this was different from the previous few times.
In the Sky Region Forest, it was common to meet demons. Small sprites like the Granite Golem were everywhere, and they had encountered them a few times. Lan Boli had decimated them each time.
There was some conflict between them, but it was anyone's guess what it was.
However, Lan Boli's attacks had shown Wu Yu the power of the eighth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm. It was close to Elder Shentu's own.
Suddenly, Elder Shentu's expression changed.
"Gather here!"
As he cried out, their expressions turned uneasy. Wu Yu could feel it too. Something big was happening!
Quickly, they thronged around Elder Shentu. They raised their heads and could see a net bristling with electricity. Purple lightning flickered like a hundred snakes, dancing wildly. The leaves and branches above them were vaporized in flames, turning to ash!
"It's an adult demon! How could there be such adult demons in the Sky Region Forest!?"
Elder Shentu's face was green. This was too far beyond his expectations. They were in real danger now.
Under the lightning flashes and falling ash, Wu Yu could vaguely make out a huge bird flying overhead. Its wingspan was easily 10 zhang, and it looked like a purple goshawk. It was circling overhead menacingly, and its wings were covered with electrical currents. As he flapped his wings, the electric currents continued to leap towards the ground. In a few short breaths of time, the forest around Wu Yu and the others was levelled. The sun shone directly down on them. There was no escape!
The enormous trees that had shaded them had been completely removed by the purple lightning!
Such power was completely unimaginable to Wu Yu. It went without saying that they were up against a terrifying opponent, probably even more powerful than the Ghost-Faced Ape.
"It's the Thunder Seabird! Isn't the Thunder Seabird a follower of that 1000-year fox demon!?" When the demon appeared, Elder Shentu identified him.
It was indeed the Ninth Spirit's subordinate.
Wu Yu's face changed. This meant that their tracks were exposed, and the situation was bleak.
"Time to go!"
Elder Shentu's only option was to escape.
The Sky Region Forest was enormous, and they could not have been found. That was why Elder Shentu's mind was reeling now. The impossible had actually happened.
Besides, all the young demons along the way had been killed.
Elder Shentu's chosen path was not in a straight line either. Logically, even if the Thunder Seabird knew that they were in the Sky Region Forest, they should not have been discoverable.
"My dear Shentu, and all these honorable personal disciples, where do you think you are going?"
As Elder Shentu was about to lead them onwards, two figures appeared from the woods ahead. One was tall as a huge bear, with the sinister air of a mass murderer. The other was squat and wicked, like a killer in the night. He was clad in tight, black clothing, which accentuated his well-defined figure. They found it hard to look away.
When these two appeared, it seemed like innumerable vengeful spirits had appeared behind them. The entire forest echoed with the wails and howls of ghosts.
"Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts!"
Elder Shentu's face froze. When he identified these two, they were already considered doomed.
Even Lan Shuiyue knew that they were in the gravest peril now.
Above, the Thunder Seabird flew. Before them was the bear of the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts, who was evenly matched with Elder Shentu, and perhaps even more powerful.
"Back!"
But the moment this thought occurred to them, sounds came from behind them, sealing off their retreat. Turning, they heard the sound of hoofbeats. Before long, a tall, black horse appeared, trailing green flames from its hooves. It looked like it had come from hell. It snorted, its blood-red eyes menacing. It looked like it dearly wanted to trample Wu Yu and the others to death.
This warhorse was clearly a spiritual beast. The flames coming from its feet indicated that it was very strong.
But more frightening was the person on its back. It was a tall, masked man with a long spear on his back. He was dressed in black.
Behind this man sat a youth who was in a fox-fur coat. His uncommon bearing, and the glimpse of a smirk on his face, beguiled girls easily. It was Jiang Junlin.
"Jiang Ding!"
Seeing him, Elder Shentu's hopes seemed to have reached rock bottom. He knew that he was in the greatest danger of his life. The impossible had happened now. It was a solid blow to the head!
His mission had been the most important thing. To safely see away the younglings of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and ensure its future. But now, they had not even began the battle, and they were already surrounded!
Whoosh!
The Thunder Seabird swept down from above, shifting into a bare-chested man with purple hair. His beak-like nose was prominent on his face.
Three powers had surrounded them from three directions, giving Wu Yu and the others no way out.
Pa, pa!
Jiang Junlin and Jiang Ding leapt off the back of the Burning Spectral Horse. Jiang Junlin smiled and clapped, exclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen of the Heavenly Sword Sect, what a coincidence! I, Jiang Junlin, have come out for a walk. Who would have thought that I would meet you here?
This was nonsense. At this point, Wu Yu and the others naturally knew that their movements and destination had been exposed, which was why they had been caught. The main question was: even Feng Xueya himself could not ascertain their position. How could they have known!?
Looking back, Su Yanli, Mo Shishu, and Lan Shuiyue looked very tense, their faces slightly pale. Even Night Wishes for Snow and Lan Boli were frowning deeply, already holding their immortal treasure longswords in hand.
Their opponents' power was at least twice theirs! Besides Jiang Junlin, the rest were terrifying opponents. Especially Jiang Ding, Shen Erjun, and the Thunder Seabird.
The three of them were terrifying, and probably at the same level as the Five Elders.
It could be said that they were the second strongest group, only falling short of Jiang Xie, Tian Yijun, and the Ninth Spirit.
And for them to appear here....
"How could you know our movements?" Elder Shentu's old eyes gleamed. Even with his hunched back, he still cut an impressive figure.
Jiang Ding laughed coldly, unlimbering his spear and thrusting it into the ground. "All of you are about to die. Forget about these things. Feng Xueya is a joke. To think he would send his own elite disciples away to be hidden and stage a future comeback, but not expect that we would be waiting to kill you all. When we attack the Bipo Mountain Range, we will hang your corpses up. Won't that be grand? Will Feng Xueya and Lan Huayi vomit blood and die on the spot?"
Saying thus, the five of them roared with laughter. Of them, Jiang Junlin laughed the hardest.
His gaze had never left Wu Yu.
"Elder Shentu? Zhang Zhenren is a lie? Master wanted to send us away from the battlefield?" Jiang Ding's words were a heavy blow to Wu Yu. Night Wishes for Snow was looking at Elder Shentu, aghast. The eight disciples waited for Elder Shentu's reply.
Elder Shentu remained silent.
The truth was exposed now. There was no point in continuing the lie.
His lack of response was answer enough.
"How could Master do this!? We grew up in the Bipo Mountain Range, under his benevolence. And now that the sect is in danger, we can’t leave!" Su Yanli was distressed. It was not just her. The others could not accept this either.
"Master!" Wu Yu took a deep breath. This truth was like a bloody wound, ghastly to behold. He knew that Feng Xueya had their welfare at heart. But as a disciple, it was difficult to accept. If he had known, Wu Yu would rather have died in battle at the Bipo Mountain Range. After all, it was his second home.
"Seems like you all were kept in the dark? That's funny. Haha...." Jiang Junlin shook with laughter. The more shocked their expressions, the more satisfied he was.
Elder Shentu gritted his teeth. "It's too late for me to say anything now. Remember this, all of you. This old man's life is forfeit. But I will that see you escape this. At the first chance, all of you turn tail and run."
Although he said this, even a three-year-old child knew that their chances of escaping today were microscopic.
The only sore point was how they had been found. It was impossible!
Wu Yu looked at the Thunder Seabird, at Jiang Ding, and lastly towards the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts. Of which, there was one that was loomed above the rest. Although they were separated by a veil, Wu Yu could see his wicked red eyes. This was one of the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts. Although he was about as strong as Jiang Ding and the Thunder Seabird, he was the most frightening one.
Wu Yu could see a compass in his hands, made out of a skull.
"It was him that found us!" Wu Yu could determine this.
His guess sparked something in Elder Shentu.
Elder Shentu looked at the compass in Shen Erjun's hands, and had a sudden revelation. "Wu Yu, I heard that you killed their disciple. The Ghostly Cultivators have many tricks. Do you possess any of their marks!?"
Only now did he think of this.
"The Sumeru Pouch!" Wu Yu was taken aback. He pulled out the Sumeru Pouch of the Spectral Concubine, handing it over to Elder Shentu.
He had initially planned to give this Sumeru Pouch to Qing Mang, but then, after the mishap at the Valley of Immortal Fate, he had won another from Jiang Junlin. Because he had deemed it inappropriate to give Qing Mang the Sumeru Pouch of a ghostly cultivator, it had remained with him....
"It must be this! Woe be me! The Sect Leader, Sect-Protector, and I had not thought that the Ghostly Cultivators would have the skill to trace such an object!"
Elder Shentu's spiritual power flared, tearing the Sumeru Pouch apart.
Their biggest suspicion had finally been made clear.
But with things as they were, apportioning blame was useless. Wu Yu had just embarked on the Immortal Dao, and was ignorant of such methods. Besides, this was their oversight.
However, Wu Yu was still plagued by guilt. He roughly knew that it was him who had plunged them all into peril. And now their lives hung by a thread, their chances of survival miniscule.
"Wu Yu, that's right. It was the Spectral Concubine's Sumeru Pouch, which you kept, that allowed us to find you. You doomed them all, and even allowed us to beat the Heavenly Sword Sect. You have made the greatest contribution for our side!" Jiang Junlin's smile faded as he taunted him.
He was deeply satisfied.