Qing took another deep breath before finally turning toward the two men and speaking again, "Alright, both of you, now show me the way to your Stoneheart Sect. I need to meet these Nine Lotus Sect members."
Shen and Chen glanced at each other before nodding. Shen replied with a relieved expression, "We can guide you there. It’s only a few minutes away from this corpse pit."
Qing nodded before turning his gaze toward the direction where the Elite Demon had disappeared earlier.
’It’s already been some minutes since it went there, It might already be dead.’
Considering that a cultivator at the Peak Golden Core Stage was present at Stoneheart Sect, Qing didn’t think there was even the slightest possibility that the Elite Demon could still be alive. He knew very well how powerful someone at that stage could be, as he had also reached the Peak Golden Core Stage during his previous life.
’Now my main focus should be finding my Master. I don’t know how I reincarnated or transmigrated into this world, but the existence of the Nine Lotus Sect here and these Demons invading this world are the only clues I have about those Higher-Ups.’
Although Qing had already decided to stop wasting time thinking about how he had been reborn, his hatred toward the Demons had not disappeared with his death. That hatred was the reason he had decided to continue walking the same path even after arriving in this new world, and his goal remained the same as it had been in his previous life.
Exterminate every last Demon.
’According to those novels and what my Master told me, there are also miraculous artifacts, Formations, and even Techniques that can bring the dead back to life. So maybe... just maybe, if I reach a high enough realm in Cultivation, I can bring my family and my wife back.’ Just thinking about them filled his heart with both a slight ache and a faint sense of hope. He had already lost them once, and the thought that there might be a way to bring them back was enough to give him another reason to become stronger.
This immediately became his first goal, while Demon extermination was pushed to second place. If there really was a way to bring them back, then Qing would pursue it regardless of what stood in his way.
With that thought, Shen and Chen started walking, and Qing followed them without hesitation.
’I will utilize this System. Those novels also had items coming out of their Systems, and some of those items were so absurd that they could bring not just a few people but millions back to life. I just need to wait and see what this System can give me. First, I will utilize this Talent to its extreme and become strong as quickly as possible. After that, everything can proceed smoothly.’
The three continued walking through the forest, eventually passing the corpse pit where the seven-star concealment formation remained hidden from outside detection.
...
Some minutes later...
The three finally arrived at the Stoneheart Sect, but the sight before them made it difficult to even call this place a Sect anymore. Most of the buildings had been reduced to piles of broken wood and shattered stones, while several sections of the outer walls had completely collapsed and left the entire area exposed to the surrounding forest.
The main hall that should have stood at the center of the Sect had been destroyed, with only part of its foundation and a few broken pillars remaining. The training grounds were covered in cracks and debris, while the smaller residences, pavilions, and courtyards scattered throughout the Sect had suffered the same fate, leaving only a handful of buildings still standing across the entire area.
Those few remaining buildings were far from undamaged, with cracks running across their walls and parts of their roofs already collapsed, but they were still intact enough to provide shelter. Qing could see surviving cultivators resting inside and around them, some sitting cross-legged while trying to recover their Spiritual Energy, while others simply lay against damaged walls with injuries covering their bodies.
The entire Sect was filled with an atmosphere of exhaustion, and the number of surviving cultivators was so small compared to the size of the Sect that Qing immediately understood just how devastating the Demon invasion had been.
Just then, something caught Qing’s attention. He turned toward his left and saw the massive body of the same Elite Demon they had encountered earlier lying at the outer part of the Sect. Its body had been sliced cleanly in two, with a precise cut extending from its right shoulder down toward its left waist.
Standing directly in front of the Demon was a female figure with one hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she slowly sheathed it. From the calmness of her movements and the condition of the Demon, Qing could immediately tell that she was the one who had killed it.
’No doubt, she is most likely the one at the Peak Golden Core Stage.’ That wasn’t all Qing noticed. Three more figures were standing several meters behind her, and all four were dressed in the same long white robes with dark-green trims. Each robe carried a perfectly designed Nine Lotus emblem across the chest, with nine detailed lotus flowers arranged around a central one. The embroidery was clean and precise, making the origin of their clothing immediately recognizable.
’Those clothes... they’re definitely from Master’s Sect. But if I ask about her directly as someone from this place, they’ll immediately become suspicious about how I know her.’ Qing narrowed his eyes slightly as he began forming a plan to obtain information from them without revealing anything about his connection to the Nine Lotus Sect.
He turned toward Shen before speaking, "You two go ask her what happened here. I will follow you from behind, I’m not a member of this Sect, so they might hesitate to answer my questions."
Shen and Chen looked at him before nodding, then turned toward the direction where the female cultivator stood. They began walking toward the four cultivators, while Qing remained where he was for a moment before following them at a slight distance, carefully observing the four people as he approached.
The female cultivator didn’t seem particularly concerned about their approach. She simply stood beside the corpse of the Elite Demon with a calm expression, waiting as Shen and Chen approached her. Shen stopped a few meters away before cupping his fists and speaking respectfully, "Senior, thank you for saving our Stoneheart Sect. If it weren’t for you and the other Seniors, I’m afraid there wouldn’t be many survivors left."
The female cultivator glanced at him before replying in a calm voice, "There is no need to thank us. We were only passing through this region."
Qing immediately narrowed his eyes when he heard those words, ’Passing through the region? But the Nine Lotus Sect exists in a completely different realm from the Azure Heaven Realm.’ For the first time, Qing felt that something about the situation in front of him didn’t make sense, just as he was thinking this...everyone’s including his attention shifted toward the sky.