Shortly after Ling Yun left the area, another figure appeared in the region.
“Hmm, this aura… someone used a concealment technique here?” Sensing the unusual presence, the figure casually waved his hand, dispelling the concealment in an instant.
“This is the aura of a demonic cultivator. A demonic cultivator is lurking around Xiangdao City… is this a provocation against the Heavenly Dao Sect?” The figure landed—it was the shadow guard dispatched by Lin Chuan to monitor Ling Yun.
The Heavenly Dao Sect had always stood against demonic cultivators. If one was discovered within the sect’s territory, the default response was to kill without mercy. At the very least, they would be captured and interrogated.
“To think a demonic cultivator dared to kill in Xiangdao City in broad daylight… isn’t that a little too bold?” The shadow guard looked at the ruined battlefield, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
“Wait… this aura… it’s from a Heavenly Dao Sect artifact. Could it be… a disciple of our sect fought with that demonic cultivator here?”
Suddenly, a glint caught his eye. The shadow guard floated three inches above the ground without touching it and came to a stop in the air. He didn’t reach for the object directly or draw it with spiritual Qi—instead, he bent down to examine it closely.
Once he got a clear look, his pupils shrank sharply. He knew this item all too well—it was a jade token belonging to the sect’s inner disciples. Though the tokens looked similar, each Spiritual Peak’s had slight differences as a mark of distinction. This particular one clearly belonged to Snow Moon Peak.
“There are only five sect tokens from Snow Moon Peak. One belongs to Master Xueyue, and the other four belong to her four disciples. No other disciples could have a jade token appear here. This must belong to that senior disciple of Snow Moon Peak.” Realizing this, the shadow guard couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
He knew this was serious. Judging from the scene, that senior disciple of Snow Moon Peak had encountered a demonic cultivator here for some unknown reason—and even fought him.
The most shocking part was that it seemed they had perished together. That disciple likely gave up his life to take the demonic cultivator with him.
“From the aura left behind, that demonic cultivator must’ve been at the peak Origin Spirit Realm. It’s said the senior disciple from Snow Moon Peak had suffered damage to his foundation and dropped to the Inner Qi Realm. To still manage to drag down a peak Origin Spirit Realm demonic cultivator is unbelievable.” This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Why did the demonic cultivator appear here? Why target a single disciple from Snow Moon Peak? How did he know Ling Yun would be in this area? Every question made the shadow guard feel like there was a deeper conspiracy behind it all.
“Could it be… another great war between righteous and demonic paths is brewing? This matter is beyond me. I must report it to the young master and the sect master immediately!”
The shadow guard took out a memory stone to preserve the scene, then set up a formation to protect the area. Without wasting another moment, he dashed toward the sect at full speed.
Whatever the outcome, one thing was clear—the Azure Profound Continent was on the verge of turmoil again.
Outside Xiangdao City, a young man paid one low-grade spirit stone and entered the gates.
Compared to the quiet of Snow Moon Peak, Xiangdao City was bustling. It was the first stop for Heavenly Dao Sect disciples after leaving the sect, so it saw a constant flow of people.
With the prestigious name of the Heavenly Dao Sect backing it, many came here to trade with its disciples or to seek the Dao, creating the city’s flourishing atmosphere.
Yun Xi revealed her figure, dressed in green, and followed at Ling Yun’s side. Now that Ling Yun had entered the Origin Spirit Realm, his aura was vastly different from when he was still on Snow Moon Peak. Moreover, in the Heavenly Dao Sect, very few knew his real name—only his Dao title, Xu Aozi. Even if he introduced himself as Ling Yun, people might only find the name vaguely familiar.
“Ling Yun, where are we going first?” Yun Xi asked curiously.
Since she had torn up her own mission panel, she no longer had the ability to assign missions to Ling Yun, nor did she intend to. She was simply curious about his next move.
“I recall that there’s a branch of the Righteous Alliance in Xiangdao City,” Ling Yun said, scanning the bustling street.
The Righteous Alliance was a loose coalition of many cultivation sects with the purpose of upholding justice and eliminating evil. Even a major sect like the Heavenly Dao Sect was listed among its members. Enjoying the story? Read on at NovelPing.
The origins of the Righteous Alliance dated back to the previous great war between the righteous and demonic paths. To counter the rising threat of demonic cultivators, various powers of the Azure Profound Continent had united to form the alliance. During the last war, the Righteous Alliance had played a critical role.
Though it had been in decline, if another war between the righteous and demonic paths were to break out, the alliance would once again play an important part. Many Heavenly Dao Sect disciples on their training journeys would often go to the Righteous Alliance to accept missions. As long as the alliance issued a valid certificate, the sect recognized those missions.
After entering the Righteous Alliance’s branch, Ling Yun went straight to a certain counter and placed a jade slip on it.
The middle-aged man behind the counter, who had been calculating on an abacus, glanced at the jade slip and his expression immediately changed. This wasn’t the counter for taking missions; it was the one where cultivators submitted information to the alliance.
The red line on the jade slip marked it as extremely urgent. Ordinary intelligence wouldn’t be submitted using this kind of slip, and most people didn’t even possess one.
“Young hero, this intel…” The middle-aged man quickly set aside his abacus and picked up the slip.
“I was entrusted to deliver it. Please ensure the Righteous Alliance takes it seriously,” Ling Yun said, then turned and left.
The man inserted his spiritual sense into the jade slip. After reading just a portion of its contents, his expression turned grave.
“Intolerable! Absolutely intolerable! How could someone commit such inhumane acts?! The Righteous Alliance cannot ignore this!”
He slammed the counter with such force that it shattered completely. Holding the jade slip, he rushed off—this matter was far too serious and had to be reported immediately.
“I didn’t expect you’d use that method to deliver the information,” Yun Xi said while licking a sugar-coated hawthorn stick, glancing at Ling Yun.
“It was just convenient. Besides, isn’t this exactly the kind of thing the Righteous Alliance is meant to deal with?” Ling Yun leaned in and bit off a piece of her candied hawthorn.
“Hey! You—how could you steal my candied hawthorn?!”