The Joyous Union Sect was indeed operating as a group. While Fu Yun was singled out and targeted, the main team wasn’t spared either.
The system fretted anxiously, “The protagonist wants to kill you, the Joyous Union Sect wants to devour you it’s too dangerous. Since we’ve already found the Dual Cultivation technique and the Flower Mist, why don’t we just run?”
Fu Yun replied, “No.”
Low-tier techniques weren’t enough. Having staked his life on this, he had to secure the very best.
And what the protagonist encountered was naturally the best.
Xie Yun and Xie Lingjun were surrounded by the Joyous Union Sect.
After a tangled struggle, they were deliberately or inadvertently led deeper and deeper into the forest. Suddenly, without warning a thick fog rose, and illusions took hold.
The members of the Joyous Union Sect had vanished.
Most of the team were scions of prominent families, protected by talismans and spiritual artifacts that shielded their consciousness. Though momentarily shaken, they gradually regained their composure with mutual guidance.
But the real danger lay ahead.
Suddenly, numerous powerful demons appeared before them, ranging from Nascent Soul to Great Ascension realms. It was impossible to tell whether they were illusions or real entities only by fighting could they know. The illusion realm was designed to exhaust their spiritual energy!
They were instantly plunged into a bitter battle.
The fog grew so thick they couldn’t see their own hands, blotting out the sky. As the team passed through the densest part, several members felt sharp pains in their consciousness, and their spiritual energy grew sluggish.
Even after escaping the illusory mist, their spiritual energy was nearly depleted.
Xie Yun activated a Clear Mind Talisman, biting his fingertip to drip blood onto it. Following the principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, he arranged a simple formation, pushing the fog outside its boundaries.
“We can’t get out, and they don’t dare come in. For now, we’ll rest here and take turns clearing out the demon beasts.”
Let’s see who outlasts whom!
Meanwhile.
Fu Yun followed the traces of battle and the lingering fluctuations of seductive techniques, eventually spotting several Joyous Union Sect cultivators guarding the outskirts of the fog. Detecting familiar remnants of sword intent, he knew he’d found the right place.
He gazed into the thick fog, hesitating.
It wasn’t the fear of pain in such situations, pain could sharpen the senses. What he feared was losing himself.
“Impure temperament,” “excessively obsessive,” “prone to qi deviation” these were the criticisms he’d heard before. He didn’t dare trust himself to withstand the illusions.
For example, if illusions of the Sword Venerable and Xie Yun appeared simultaneously, Fu Yun feared he’d be consumed by hatred and charge in with his sword drawn.
After some thought, Fu Yun released a spiritual bird formed from talisman paper to scout the path.
As the bird plunged into the fog, cold sweat beaded on Fu Yun’s temples, and he bit his lip until it bled.
Sharing part of the bird’s senses, entering the fog felt like drowning his vision grew sluggish and blurred, an unbearable discomfort.
After guiding the bird for about a hundred meters, Fu Yun could no longer see anything, only hearing sounds. Suddenly, several sharp, piercing cries tore through his eardrums
The spiritual bird was in danger, emitting sounds to warn its master.
Though the bird’s scouting range could reach a kilometer, the fog had reduced it. Still, Fu Yun heard mocking laughter from outside the fog, coming from the lurking Joyous Union Sect disciples: “What fool is this? Walking right into the trap.”
Then, all connection with the spiritual bird was severed.
Fu Yun grunted softly, blood trickling from the corners of his eyes and ears.
Slowly, a smile broke across his face.
Fu Yun said, “I have a plan.”
The night in the secret realm was long and damp, the sky stubbornly refusing to brighten.
Fu Yun casually broke off a withered branch, using his spiritual energy to carve it into a crude, makeshift flute.
If sound could travel freely between the inside and outside of the fog, why did Fu Yun have to enter? Why not lure someone out instead?
The flute’s notes, disguised by talismans to mimic bird calls, came intermittently. To the Joyous Union Sect members outside the fog, it sounded like nothing more than the random chirping of an awakened spiritual bird.
But to Xie Yun’s team, trapped within the illusory mist, it was entirely different.
“Did you all hear that?”
“It’s the tune of the Clear Heart and Universal Goodness music from our sect, sung every morning!”
“Could it be fellow disciples coming to our rescue? But who would know we’re trapped in this damned fog? Probably another illusion.”
Xie Yun focused intently on listening. “Every phrase deliberately skips a few notes.” He was practically nine apertures open when it came to musical talent meaning he had zero understanding so he could only sense something was off without being able to pinpoint why.
The melody looped once.
Xie Lingjun suddenly spoke up: “Gong, Jue, Zhi these notes are missing from every phrase.” His family had musical cultivators, and he had been immersed in the four arts of a gentleman since childhood. Even if he didn’t enjoy playing music himself, he was well-versed in musical theory.
Xie Lingjun pondered: “If the flute music is truly conveying a message could it correspond to the Five Elements?”
Gong for Earth, Shang for Metal, Jue for Wood, Zhi for Fire, Yu for Water.
Xie Yun said: “Senior Brother Fu Yun happens to have a triple spiritual root of Water, Wood, and Earth.”
Xie Lingjun’s doubts remained: “Last night at Hai hour, I agreed to spar with Senior Brother and we parted ways. How could he only be looking for us now?”
Xie Yun said meaningfully: “He might have been intercepted by the Joyful Union Sect as well. Fifth Senior Brother is the most benevolent, always protecting his fellow disciples. He would never abandon us in battle.”
Fu Yun couldn’t possibly have caused the deaths of the entire team that would invite questioning from the sect.
The group had mostly recovered and cautiously moved toward the direction of the bird calls. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they actually managed to reach the edge of the fog.
With the fog no longer obstructing their vision, they could see clearly: to their left was the mountain wall they had come from, to their right was dense forest, and ahead of them.
Their team and the Joyful Union Sect were face to face.
Murong Yan cursed under his breath: “An ambush after all?” The body cultivator chimed in: “Who cares? At least we made it out of the fog!”
Spotting the blue robes of the Taiyi Sect disciples in the distance, Fu Yun breathed a sigh of relief. The system remarked with surprise: “You’re actually worried about the protagonist group?”
Fu Yun replied: “I’m worried they might be having a wild time in there.”
Now that the team had begun chaotic combat with the Joyful Union Sect, Fu Yun stopped worrying.
The Joyful Union Sect had high-level Nascent Soul cultivators who were difficult to handle. Sword energy crisscrossed, seductive lights danced, poisonous mist spread, accompanied by the clashing of swords, continuous cursing, and the roars of demonic beasts. The scene was spectacular, and Fu Yun inwardly cheered.
Several hundred meters away, Fu Yun released a flock of spirit birds.
The spirit birds pretended to be wild birds, flapping and crashing into the fray in a chaotic swarm. Several of them successfully infiltrated the battle.
One bird pecked at the temple of a female Joyful Union cultivator, causing her to shudder. Murong Yan, who was fighting her, was experienced and wouldn’t miss such an opening. He instantly severed one of his opponent’s arms.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the flock of birds and the screams.
Fu Yun manipulated the spirit birds to dive toward the Joyful Union cultivators, snatching several storage pouches. The Joyful Union cultivators erupted in fury, cursing incessantly, but the spirit birds had already swallowed the talismans protecting the storage pouches, chewing them to shreds before fleeing.
Pale talisman fragments fell like snowflakes, showering the cultivators. The baby-faced disciple, who was nearby, couldn’t avoid it. “Pah, pah! This is really ‘snowy’ bad luck!”
The spirit birds cautiously circled a few times before returning to the forest where Fu Yun was hiding.
Fu Yun inspected the storage pouches and couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Inside were only spirit stones, healing medicines, and strange magical treasures unsuitable for his use nothing related to dual cultivation techniques.
He took only half of the resources, leaving behind a high-grade storage pouch capable of holding living creatures, and had the spirit birds carry the rest back near the battlefield. Whether they could retrieve them would depend on their luck.
Fu Yun stared regretfully at the bulging storage pouches in his teammates’ robes.
Forget it, can’t be greedy. These are all young masters from prominent families; their storage pouches might very well have family imprints. If I get tracked down, it wouldn’t be worth the loss.
Fu Yun observed the battle, focusing particularly on Xie Yun. According to the plot, it was about time to stumble into the core of the secret realm. Leaning against a large tree, he relaxed in the shade, but his composure vanished just seconds later
A giant vine, thicker than a man’s waist, descended from above, nearly piercing Fu Yun’s head.
Fu Yun narrowly dodged it, and the ancient tree he had been leaning against was shattered to pieces. His heart tightened as he looked up and met a pair of eerie green “lanterns.”
A pair of eyes.
The eyes of a Mahayana realm Vine Demon King.
Fu Yun immediately fled, but the demon vine pursued relentlessly.
Could it be that he had captured too many young vine demons and summoned their ancestor?
Fu Yun attempted to communicate, “I just squeezed out a bit of pollen and tied a few knots. I’ll go back and untie them, and you let me go?”
The demon vine lashed wildly toward Fu Yun’s chest.
His storage pouch swayed precariously, but Fu Yun suddenly realized: the Vine Demon King wanted to reclaim the pollen and its future great-grandchildren!
Once something was in Fu Yun’s hands, how could he ever return it?
An idea struck him. Fu Yun abruptly accelerated, charging toward the edge of the dense forest where the team was fighting.
His direction was precise, landing right near Xie Yun”Captain, I finally found you all!” Fu Yun, still shaken and filled with indignation, exclaimed, “I was harassed by a wicked cultivator from the Joyful Union Sect and barely managed to escape.”
He also claimed he had lost his signal flare, which was why he thought of using the flute sound to contact them.
Amid the chaos, no one noticed Xie Yun’s face tighten slightly.
Then, he put on a look of pleasant surprise: “It really is Fifth Senior Brother! You’re alive, that’s wonderful!” His figure flickered as he promptly moved forward, blocking Fu Yun’s best escape route.
Fu Yun shouted, “Junior Brother, watch out for the vine demon behind you!” Talismans flew from his hands, seemingly aimed at the enemy behind Xie Yun, but they veered and struck toward Xie Yun instead.
The thoughts of the senior and junior brothers were surprisingly aligned
If he died here, wouldn’t it be convenient to pin the blame on the Joyful Union Sect?
Both did their utmost to “help” each other, creating increasingly perilous situations, yet each managed to resolve them.
The Vine Demon King relentlessly pursued Fu Yun, never striking Xie Yun beside him, or Xie Yun always managed to dodge. but Fu Yun had already been lashed several times.
The System urged, “Run, run! The protagonist has plot armor and won’t die! Even if you could kill the protagonist, you’d have to die with him!”
This warning disgusted Fu Yun thoroughly. He no longer wanted to breathe the same air as Xie Yun and decisively changed his course.
Fu Yun “panicked” and fled, his steps twisting as the demon vine struck toward Xu Yuan, who was gathering fire energy behind him. Caught off guard, Xu Yuan was directly lashed, vomiting blood and sent flying backward, crashing into a distant mountain wall.
Thud, thud
Fu Yun pretended to reach out for Xu Yuan. Hearing the echoing impact, a thought struck him.
There’s an echo Could the mountain wall be hollow behind it?
The Vine Demon King was massive and slow-moving. Seizing the opportunity, Fu Yun grabbed the half-dead Xu Yuan, set up a formation, tossed him inside, and temporarily saved his life.
Fu Yun confirmed: As long as it wasn’t the protagonist, the Demon King could attack anyone.
He formulated a plan. Secretly activating a miniature spirit bird, he directed the vine demon pollen toward Xie Lingjun, who was not far away.
The Vine Demon King visibly hesitated, its vines swaying left and right, before deciding to strike both sides.
As a result, Fu Yun fearlessly charged toward Xie Lingjun. “Junior Brother Xie, there’s a vine demon three feet to the southeast.”
Xie Lingjun was cutting down the Joyful Union Sect disciples one by one when, amidst the chaos, he heard Fu Yun’s urgent cry. A ripple of emotion stirred in his cold, stern eyes.