Everything was ready. At Luo Tian’s command, everyone raised their arms in a roaring cheer, and countless figures stepped into the void, Sword Riding into the distance.
From afar, streaks of rainbow light arced across the city, as if countless sword immortals had descended to the mortal realm.
This grand sight stirred the entirety of Cangyun City.
Countless gazes tracked their path, hearts filled with envy and deep awe.
Some of the older generation remembered witnessing such a scene in their childhood. Back then, the cultivators of Cangyun City marched out to repel a beast tide, buying decades of peace for the region.
Now nearing the end of their lives, seeing it once more brought a pang of melancholy. They remembered their youth, when their own blood ran hot with dreams of cultivation. Sadly, lacking any destiny with the immortal sects, countless mortals could only stop and stare, destined to carry their regrets to the grave.
Lu Changsheng followed behind them. He was too lazy to even engage in Sword Riding, simply latching onto Ye Tianyi and letting the man carry him through the sky.
Originally, Zhou Qingyu had offered to take him along. However, his Senior Brother was simply too dazzling. Sticking close to him would draw far too much attention, so it was much safer to quietly trail behind Ye Tianyi.
The group crossed three thousand Li before coming to a halt before a vast mountain range.
As far as the eye could see, the Hundred Thousand Mountains stretched across the horizon, majestic and magnificent.
A narrow pass lay just ahead. In the distance, overwhelming malevolent energy was already surging. The beast tide had gathered and was currently charging toward their position.
A middle-aged man emerged from the mountain pass and looked toward Luo Tian.
“Sect Leader, the beast tide is here. They will reach this pass in another hour!”
Luo Tian nodded and surveyed the gathered cultivators.
“Where are my Cangyun disciples?!”
“Here!”
“Repel the beast tide! Take this as your trial, and protect the common people from harm!”
“Yes!”
Hearing the thunderous roar, countless young disciples felt their spirits soar, eager to slay Demon Beasts and shield the mortals from destruction.
But when the beast tide finally drew near, a heavy, suffocating pressure washed over them.
Countless Demon Beasts surged into view. Their appearances were grotesque and varied, and their deafening roars shook the earth. With eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty frenzy or chilling malice, they trampled right up to the pass.
“Disciples of all peaks, hear my command! Follow the Elders, split into seven paths, and kill!”
The moment the command echoed out, everyone moved.
Zhou Qingyu stood with his hands behind his back, looking ahead with absolute detachment. It was as if none of this mattered to him, maintaining an unspeakable calm and composure.
Lu Changsheng glanced to the side. The three cultivators from the Profound Heaven Sect were also watching the beast tide.
At that moment, an Elder called out, “Fellow Daoist from the Profound Heaven Sect!”
“Fellow Daoist!”
The old man from the Profound Heaven Sect responded.
The Elder said, “Our Danyun Peak specializes in the Dao of Alchemy and is not skilled in slaughter. We ask for your assistance, Fellow Daoist!”
The Sect Leader was on guard against these outsiders. He had likely guessed they were targeting Zhou Qingyu and wanted to separate them from the main force.
Unexpectedly, the cultivators from the Profound Heaven Sect accepted without the slightest hesitation, gladly following the Elder away in an entirely different direction.
Lu Changsheng was surprised. He had assumed they would find an excuse to stick around, yet they left so cleanly!
“Are they preparing some hidden scheme?”
Zhou Qingyu was transcendent and Peerless, never bothering to concern himself with despicable methods. Lu Changsheng would just have to keep an eye out on his behalf.
Just then, he saw Luo Xianling rushing over in a flurry of panic.
“Senior Brother Changsheng!”
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing her hurry over, the surrounding disciples were puzzled. She had only just left a moment ago.
Luo Xianling didn’t waste any time. She spoke in an extremely serious tone, “I forgot to tell you earlier!”
“What?”
“If you encounter any danger, when you call for help, make sure to shout loudly. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t hear you in time to have my father come save you!”
Pfft…
Caught off guard, an unknown number of nearby disciples couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow. She had run all the way back specifically to tell him this?
Even with his thick skin, being singled out in front of so many people made his old face flush red.
Calling for help-did she think he didn’t know how to do that himself?
Still, he knew Luo Xianling meant well, so he gave her an earnest nod.
“Thank you, Junior Sister. When I shout, I’ll be sure to make it exceptionally loud!”
“That’s good!”
Luo Xianling breathed a sigh of relief and turned to hurry back to the Sect Leader’s side.
She had originally wanted to stay with him, but Luo Tian was worried for her safety. At the same time, the Sect Leader was afraid that making Lu Changsheng hide behind her would hurt the young man’s pride. After mulling it over, this awkward arrangement was the only solution.
Lu Changsheng suddenly spoke up to stop her.
“Junior Sister, wait a moment!”
“What is it?”
A small cloth pouch appeared in Lu Changsheng’s hand.
“Take this, and keep it on your person at all times!”
“What is this?” Luo Xianling asked, completely confused.
Hearing this, the young girl’s cheeks flushed red. She took the pouch, solemnly tucked it against her chest, and covered her face as she turned and ran off.
The surrounding disciples were still holding back their laughter.
Even the usually serious Ye Tianyi’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
Only Zhou Qingyu seemed entirely incapable of mustering interest in anything outside of cultivation and the Sword Dao.
In that very moment, a streak of sword Qi shot into the sky. Zhou Qingyu raised his hand and slashed down, cleanly cleaving apart a massive bull Demon Beast several Zhang in length.
The beast tide had officially begun.
Zhou Qingyu bore the brunt of the initial assault. As he lowered his palm, a long sword materialized in his grasp. With a swing of his blade, sweeping sword Qi pierced the mountain terrain as he plunged single-handedly into the fray.
Chaos erupted on all sides. In an instant, countless surges of spiritual power and deafening roars swept through the battlefield.
An Elder of Qingyun Peak led numerous inner disciples forward, while Zhou Qingyu charged ahead to slaughter.
His gentle, jade-like temperament turned fierce and razor-sharp. Even facing several Demon Beasts at the eighth or ninth level of Essence Condensation, he showed absolutely no fear.
Sword light poured forth under the gaze of countless eyes. One Demon Beast after another was mercilessly cut down, their blood splattering and raining across the sky. Massive bodies crashed to the ground, shaking the very earth.
Yet Zhou Qingyu stood at the very front, completely untainted by a single drop of blood.
At this moment, he truly resembled a sword immortal descending to the mortal realm, wielding his blade and slaying in all directions. His valor left even the various Elders marveling in awe.
Furthermore, he was on the verge of reaching Core Formation. Once he truly formed his Golden Core, just how astonishing would he become?
Lu Changsheng watched all of this with perfectly calm eyes. He had been placed at the back of the crowd alongside a few others to prevent any stray Demon Beasts from breaking into the rear lines.
While the vanguard fought bitterly at the front, he didn’t bother to deliberately observe them. With a mere stir of his Divine Sense, everything on the battlefield fell within his perception, saving him the trouble of actively using his eyes.
Instead, he held out his spatial Magical Artifact, continually sweeping up the fallen corpses of the Demon Beasts.
An Essence Condensation realm Demon Beast corpse could easily sell for a hundred Spirit Stones, while a Spirit Accumulation realm beast could fetch thirty to fifty. As for Core Formation realm beasts, they had already formed demon cores and were incredibly valuable, so someone from the Sect would undoubtedly collect them for alchemy.
Just picking up these discarded corpses alone was a massive, steady stream of Spirit Stones.
He even felt that the frontlines were killing entirely too slowly. If he wasn’t afraid of exposing his true strength, he would have charged in to do the job himself.
However, he was still secretly keeping watch. If anyone from the Sect fell into genuine danger, he could subtly intervene from the shadows to ensure they didn’t lose their lives.
A few people noticed his scavenger-like actions and felt a wave of absolute helplessness.
Yet, no one said a word. With his perceived cultivation level, he truly couldn’t offer any real help. He could do whatever he pleased in the back, just so long as he didn’t run out and cause trouble.
No one placed any expectations on him anyway. The Sect could repel the beast tide perfectly fine even without these newer disciples; bringing them to the pass was purely to give them some real-world experience.
However, Lu Changsheng himself hadn’t expected that this mandatory trip outside the Sect would allow him to effortlessly harvest Spirit Stones. It was a pure, unadulterated bargain.
The slaughter proceeded in an orderly fashion. Time flew by, and a full five days passed without any unexpected incidents.
Lu Changsheng was completely immersed in the joy of quietly hoarding Demon Beast corpses, but a seed of doubt eventually sprouted in his mind.
“Could it be that I actually wrongly suspected the people of the Profound Heaven Sect?”
But just as the thought crossed his mind, right amidst the thick, unyielding stench of blood choking the air, his nose caught a faint whiff of a sickly sweet fragrance.
…