A’Ling didn’t know what kind of place she had entered. After descending the stone steps, the sensation underfoot was very strange, soft and yielding, collapsing with each step.
After taking two steps, she didn’t want to go any further. She didn’t know what she was stepping on, and it was completely dark. When people can’t see, their minds tend to wander.
A’Ling worried that she might step on nothing and fall again. She had fallen into pits too many times; she had some psychological trauma from it now.
Fortunately, the darkness didn’t last long. Not a moment after A’Ling stopped, a golden light flickered in the darkness. A’Ling squinted her eyes and looked carefully. The faint light gradually gathered into a tangible object.
A golden feather fell in the darkness. When it landed in front of A’Ling, the light flashed, and A’Ling blinked involuntarily. When she opened her eyes again, a familiar figure appeared before her.
“Shi Qingqian?” A’Ling was overjoyed. Without a moment’s hesitation, she wanted to rush forward and hug the person she had been separated from for only a moment but felt like a long time.
The next moment, A’Ling’s hand passed directly through the person who was slowly standing up.
A’Ling turned in confusion, looked at her hand, then raised her head to look at the person who had already stood up and was looking at her at eye level, but whose gaze seemed to pass through her and look into the distance.
“No, it’s not Shi Qingqian!”
When A’Ling saw the face of the person before her clearly, she realized that everything before her was not real; it was just an illusory scene.
As if to confirm A’Ling’s guess, a dense forest suddenly appeared behind the person the next moment.
It was Jin Zhuyue. A’Ling looked at the changing scene and remembered what she had learned before: before Jin Zhuyue went to Mystic Crane Mountain, she had been cultivating in a secluded deep mountain.
As expected, the scene quickly shifted to Jin Zhuyue’s experience going to Mystic Crane Mountain.
Many life fragments that she hadn’t seen in the secret chamber of Zhuoling Mountain were displayed in their entirety in this scene, as if she were watching Jin Zhuyue’s entire life.
A’Ling saw many scenes of Jin Zhuyue interacting with her master, Dao Rong. In the scenes, Dao Rong truly appeared to be someone who wholeheartedly cared for his disciple, not only teaching Jin Zhuyue all his skills without reservation but also taking care of her in all aspects of her daily life, from food and clothing to living arrangements.
Having lived in seclusion in the mountains for many years, Jin Zhuyue’s state of mind was completely different from that of ordinary cultivators. She probably didn’t know that such meticulous care was most likely for some ulterior motive.
However, Dao Rong never once made a request to Jin Zhuyue. He was like a selfless and loving master, wholeheartedly protecting his disciple.
If A’Ling hadn’t already known what kind of malicious person Dao Rong was, she might have been deceived by this illusion.
After seeing everything, A’Ling was not surprised at all by Jin Zhuyue’s sacrifice of her golden core for Dao Rong. Such deep affection—if it were A’Ling, she would probably make the same choice at that moment.
A’Ling understood. This might be Dao Rong’s ‘ulterior motive.’ What he wanted was not ordinary repayment; he was insuring his own life.
He wanted a talented and simple-minded disciple to die for him at a critical moment!
What a terrifying thought! A’Ling hugged her arms tightly, and the Little Wandering she had put away glowed with a faint white light in the darkness.
Seeing this made A’Ling’s nose sting. She remembered that when the ten fierce ghost souls merged into the Little Wandering, it was like this faint light. Now, as it lit up again, A’Ling somehow felt that these lights were like Jin Zhuyue’s tears.
She probably knew that the master she had wholeheartedly cherished was targeting her life from the very beginning.
A’Ling took a deep breath and exhaled, as if this could relieve the suffocating, turbid air in her heart.
The scene shifted, and A’Ling once again saw Jin Zhuyue’s final moments. She saw that even though she knew her life was about to end, she had no regrets about saving her master. Although it should have been a moment of extreme pain, there was even a smile in her eyes as she closed them for the last time.
A’Ling sighed. Looking at this scene now, her feelings were completely different from when she saw it in Zhuoling Mountain. At that time, she didn’t know that all of this was the sinister scheme of Venerable Dao Rong; she felt more regret and surprise.
Now, seeing it, she felt a sense of desolation in her heart. All her enthusiasm for Jin Zhuyue had been exploited.
How desolate and sorrowful it would be if she knew that all her feelings from the beginning were laced with calculation.
Finally, the person in the scene slowly closed her eyes.
A’Ling thought to herself, it’s over. Jin Zhuyue’s life, a life of being deceived after meeting Dao Rong, had ended.
To A’Ling’s surprise, this time it was different from what she saw in Zhuoling Mountain. After Jin Zhuyue closed her eyes, the golden feather she saw when she first entered this strange place appeared again.
This time, A’Ling watched intently, not blinking, and saw everything. After Jin Zhuyue died, a golden phoenix soared into the sky and ascended to the heavens.
What did this mean?
A’Ling watched the disappearing golden phoenix, her eyes flickering. What did this mean? What was this golden phoenix? Why wasn’t there a phoenix in the scene she saw in Zhuoling Mountain last time?
As the phoenix departed, the golden light dispersed, and A’Ling’s surroundings returned to darkness.
She covered her head, her eyes filled with confusion. The scene in the Cosmos Pearl she saw in Zhuoling Mountain was probably recorded by Dao Rong. Did they see the golden phoenix leave?
A’Ling’s brows furrowed. She thought that it would be good if Gu Jingyang were here; her brain was much better than hers.
Thinking of this, A’Ling took out the stone mirror, wanting to try to contact Gu Jingyang in this strange place. She had tried once after being separated from Shi Qingqian in the Corrupted Corpse Forest, hoping to contact Gu Jingyang to help her analyze where Shi Qingqian might have gone, but the stone remained unchanged.
This time was the same. The stone mirror showed no change; she still couldn’t contact Gu Jingyang.
A’Ling put her things away, sighing inwardly. She couldn’t contact Gu Jingyang, and she didn’t know where Shi Qingqian was. The person who invited her into this strange place, did they only want her to know all these things?
How was she chosen? Didn’t this person know that her brain was the worst?
Since they chose her, they should explain things clearly to her. Just letting her watch these things here, she couldn’t analyze anything…
Just as A’Ling was about to speak, the golden light that had just dissipated suddenly lit up again, just like at the beginning.
A golden feather fell in the darkness. When it landed in front of A’Ling, the light flashed, and this time, it was no longer Jin Zhuyue.
A’Ling gazed at the “thing” that suddenly appeared, her eyes trembling slightly, her surprise immense. She had a direct intuition that the “thing” in the scene was very familiar, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing this “thing.”
Judging by its appearance, it looked like a spider…
Meanwhile, Jin Siliu was also extremely surprised. Her consciousness had not fully cleared before she leaped to Shi Qingqian’s side, looking at Shi Qingqian who had suddenly appeared in the Corrupted Corpse Forest with surprise.
“Little master, why are you here?” her voice was filled with disbelief.
After Shi Qingqian saw Jin Siliu’s appearance, she was also a little surprised.
Seeing that the lower part of her knees had already disappeared, she frowned slightly. She knew that Jin Siliu would slowly dissipate, but she didn’t expect it to be so fast.
If A’Ling knew, she would probably be sad.
Shi Qingqian looked into Jin Siliu’s eyes and did not answer her question: “Have you seen A’Ling?” She had summoned the demonic creatures in the Corrupted Corpse Forest simply to find A’Ling’s whereabouts.
“What? A’Ling? A’Ling is also here?” Surprise flashed in Jin Siliu’s eyes, and she anxiously looked around, trying to find A’Ling’s figure.
Her gaze swept everywhere, but she couldn’t see A’Ling. Then, she remembered the little master’s question: “Have you seen A’Ling?” The joy on Jin Siliu’s face froze in place.
She nervously looked at Shi Qingqian, her heart tightly clenching.
Shi Qingqian nodded slightly: “A’Ling disappeared as soon as we arrived here.” She had intended to find A’Ling, so she had nothing to hide from Jin Siliu.
Jin Siliu was shocked to hear this answer: “How can this be? A’Ling disappeared in the Corrupted Corpse Forest?”
She lowered her head and muttered to herself: “Impossible, there are no powerful great demons in the Corrupted Corpse Forest. How could A’Ling go missing here!”
As she spoke, she suddenly looked up, tilted her head to look at the demons crawling on the ground around them, and lunged at the nearest demon, dragging it up from the ground: “Have you seen my A’Ling? Did you do something?!”
The demon that was being pulled up had seen Jin Siliu talking to the Demon Lord just now, and their relationship seemed to be quite close. Although she didn’t understand why Jin Siliu was crawling in the dark in the Corrupted Corpse Forest if her relationship with the Demon Lord was so close.
Now, she didn’t dare to show any hint of contempt. She shook her head frantically: “No, no, I didn’t see her, it wasn’t me, I don’t know anything.” She didn’t even know who Jin Siliu was talking about, what “A’Ling” was. She had never heard this name, let alone seen this person.
Fearing that the Demon Lord would not believe her, she hurriedly added: “Today, no one came to the Corrupted Corpse Forest except the Demon Lord.”
She could be sure of this. Her sense of smell was keen; she could smell even a single maggot appearing in the Corrupted Corpse Forest, let alone another person.
Jin Siliu let go of her hand, her heart filled with even greater panic. She pulled up several more people from the ground, and everyone’s answer was the same: they said they hadn’t seen A’Ling, nor had they seen anyone come to the Corrupted Corpse Forest.
Jin Siliu returned to Shi Qingqian’s side in disappointment. She recognized some of the demons on the ground and could confirm that they were not lying. Everyone was certain that no strangers had come to the Corrupted Corpse Forest today.
In fact, Jin Siliu also didn’t sense that any humans had come to the Corrupted Corpse Forest today. Although her consciousness was gradually becoming muddled, her senses were still intact.
She hesitated, not because she doubted Shi Qingqian, but because it concerned A’Ling, and she really couldn’t help but care.
“Little master, are you sure A’Ling came to the Corrupted Corpse Forest?”
Shi Qingqian had some doubts after listening to the demons confirm that no one had come to the Corrupted Corpse Forest. Could someone have entered her void and taken her away directly?
How was that possible? Who could have such ability?
Seeing Shi Qingqian remaining silent and in thought, Jin Siliu became even more anxious. She tried to use her brain, which she hadn’t used in a long time, to think about A’Ling.
“Oh, right, did A’Ling return to Mystic Crane Mountain?” Jin Siliu wasn’t thinking about who had taken A’Ling, but where A’Ling might have gone.
When Shi Qingqian heard her say this, she turned to look at Jin Siliu, a little puzzled as to why she would say that.
Jin Siliu remembered what she had heard before and said anxiously: “Didn’t you send demons to attack Mystic Crane Mountain, Little Master? If A’Ling knew about this, she would definitely go back to defend Mystic Crane Mountain. A’Ling is a loyal person.”
She emphasized the last sentence. No one knew better than her how soft-hearted A’Ling was. If she cared about someone, she would definitely do her best to protect them.
A’Ling had been cultivating in Mystic Crane Mountain for so many years. There must be people she was familiar with or friendly with inside. If she knew that Mystic Crane Mountain was in trouble, she would definitely go back to check.
Shi Qingqian raised her eyebrows slightly after hearing what Jin Siliu said: “Attack Mystic Crane Mountain?”
Seeing her confused expression, Jin Siliu was also confused: “Little Master, why do you seem to not know about this?”
Shi Qingqian’s brows twitched violently, and a ball of black mist gathered in her palm. Within the mist, the [Azure Nether Demonic Sound Bell] gradually formed.
Jin Siliu knew this item. Her previous master had used the [Azure Nether Demonic Sound Bell] to communicate with her. Who was the little master going to send a message to?
Mystic Crane Mountain. Gu Jingyang and others arrived at the Crane Gate and their expressions turned grim upon seeing the corpses everywhere.
The demons guarding the gate saw them and immediately unleashed their demonic energy to attack them.
Elder Zeng was startled when he saw the guarding demons. He had originally thought that the demons encountered at Mystic Crane Mountain were like the “demons” outside the barrier, possessed by fake demons. However, these demons didn’t need to have their possessed ghosts and fiends extracted; just the scent of their kind was enough to confirm that they were real demons.
Had the demon race really attacked Mystic Crane Mountain?
Elder Zeng and others joined the battle. Although there were more demons at the gate than them, with Gu Jingyang present, these low-level demons were no match. In just a few moves, they were subdued and tied up by Gu Jingyang.
Mu Ling stepped forward and asked one of the furiously cursing demons: “Who ordered you to attack Mystic Crane Mountain?”
Seeing Mu Ling dressed as a cultivator, the demon ignored her question and continued to curse: “You cultivators just wait. When our Demon Lord takes Mystic Crane Mountain, you’ll all regret it!”
Mu Ling, impatient with the continued harassment, directly abandoned her disguise, revealing her demonic form. The overflowing demonic energy caused the demons who were just clamoring to fall silent, looking at Mu Ling with fear.
“Divine, Divine Demon Realm!” The demon who had been questioned by Mu Ling exclaimed in surprise. She hadn’t expected that the person who had been disguised as a cultivator just now was actually a great demon in the Divine Demon Realm.
Mu Ling asked again in a cold tone: “Speak, who ordered you to attack Mystic Crane Mountain.”
The person’s scalp tingled under Mu Ling’s demonic pressure, and they stammered, “It, it was the Demon Lord.”
When Mu Ling resumed her demonic form earlier, the cultivators in the group were greatly frightened. They couldn’t believe that one of the cultivators who had come with them was actually a demon in disguise. Demons were indeed extremely cunning.
They all took out their respective magic artifacts, intending to deal with Mu Ling, but Gu Jingyang stopped them.
She was also very surprised that this person was Mu Ling the apothecary in disguise, but she knew that Mu Ling the apothecary was not a bad person.
“There must be some misunderstanding.” Gu Jingyang appeased the cultivators who had already drawn their swords.
One of them retorted: “What misunderstanding is there? All of this was caused by the demons. Those Mutated Beasts, and now they’ve attacked Mystic Crane Mountain. Look at all these corpses. The demons have reached the doorstep, what misunderstanding is there?!”
Mu Ling snorted coldly: “You think too highly of demons. If they had such ability, why would the demons have to hide in the Demon Realm for so many years!”
Gu Jingyang also spoke up for Mu Ling: “If the Mutated Beasts were created by demons, why would she have saved people inside the barrier?”
The person said angrily: “Perhaps they wanted to play. What humanity do demons have?!”
Mu Ling glanced at her contemptuously and said sarcastically: “What’s so fun about you?”
The person was quite annoyed and said hatefully: “You’re a demon anyway, how can a demon be a good person?!”
Elder Zeng heard this, glanced at her, and recognized her. This was a cultivator from Hongjian Academy, also a cultivator who had come from Mystic Crane Mountain.
“Am I a good person?” Elder Zeng looked at the person and asked.
The person was a little confused, why was Elder Zeng asking this question now, but it was a question that didn’t require thinking: “Of course! Who doesn’t know Elder Zeng’s reputation in the outer sect? It’s all thanks to you that our Hongjian Academy survived this time. Of course, you are a good person—”
As soon as the word “good person” left her lips, before the sound had even fully landed, the speaker’s pupils widened abruptly. In her eyes, Elder Zeng, who had looked venerable just moments ago, was now shrouded in black mist.
“How, how could this be?!” She was so shocked that she could barely speak.
Elder Zeng removed the restriction and, like Mu Ling, resumed his demonic form.
After all, their cultivation realms were high, so their demonic forms were not very frightening. It was just that the black mist surrounding them always gave people a chilling and cold feeling, making them look unapproachable.
“Demon, it’s a demon, Elder Zeng is also a demon!” After a moment of silence, someone finally exclaimed in surprise.
Gu Jingyang looked at Elder Zeng, who was enveloped in demonic energy, her shock no less than anyone else’s. She had cultivated in Hongjian Academy since she was young, as had her mother and grandmother, and they had all received Elder Zeng’s care. In the hearts of the people of Longyin Town, Elder Zeng was like everyone’s patriarch.
She hadn’t expected Elder Zeng to be a demon.
Everyone was deeply shocked. They didn’t know if Elder Zeng had accidentally fallen into demonhood or if he had been disguised as Elder Zeng from the beginning. Some even speculated that perhaps a demon had replaced the original Elder Zeng. In any case, everyone was momentarily unable to accept it.
The first to accept it were the demons who were tied up.
“It’s the [Demon Corroding Golden Spirit Pagoda]. Quick, look, the [Demon Corroding Golden Spirit Pagoda]!” a demon shouted. Everyone followed her gaze to Elder Zeng’s hand.
Elder Zeng raised the [Demon Corroding Golden Spirit Pagoda] in his hand. He did not look at the stunned cultivators and again asked the bound demons: “Speak, who ordered you to come here.”
“The Demon Lord.”
“Reporting to Elder, it’s the Demon Lord.”
All the demons answered that it was the Demon Lord. Elder Zeng’s wrinkled eyes curved upwards. These people were not lying, so there must be some misunderstanding.
“Has anyone seen the Demon Lord?” Elder Zeng asked the crucial question.
All the demons shook their heads and babbled about how they had received notifications from elders, great demons, and friends through various channels, saying that the Demon Lord was attacking Mystic Crane Mountain and that everyone needed to gather.
“It was the Divine Demon Jin Quecong. She conveyed the Demon Lord’s orders, asking all demons to come and support.” The speaker was one of the demons who had rushed with Jin Quecong earlier. Due to her low cultivation, she was assigned to the Crane Gate. She was unwilling but could not refute it.
Elder Zeng frowned and repeated the name: “Jin Quecong?” He hadn’t heard this name before.
Mu Ling whispered to Elder Zeng beside her: “Even if the Demon Lord wants to find someone, she wouldn’t find this person.”
Elder Zeng nodded. Yang Xia also subtly nodded and winked at Mu Ling, signaling his agreement. Not to mention whether Qingqian would attack Mystic Crane Mountain, but if it were truly her, she wouldn’t seek out someone they hadn’t heard of.
Just as the three of them were puzzled, the [Azure Nether Demonic Sound Bell] on Mu Ling’s body rang.
Mu Ling lowered her head and was overjoyed: “Demon Lord, it’s the Demon Lord.”
She quickly channeled her demonic energy into the [Azure Nether Demonic Sound Bell]. Shi Qingqian’s voice rang out abruptly in the silence.
“What is this about the demon race attacking Mystic Crane Mountain?”
As soon as Shi Qingqian spoke, Elder Zeng and the others understood. It was not Shi Qingqian’s intention.
Mu Ling replied: “Elder Zeng and I have arrived at Mystic Crane Mountain. We are not clear about the situation inside yet. According to the demons guarding the outside, it was the Demon Lord who ordered the attack on Mystic Crane Mountain.”
Shi Qingqian’s face darkened. She glanced at the worried Jin Siliu beside her, as well as the demons prostrate on the ground, clearly fearing her.
“Find out who gave this order, and also, order all demons to retreat to the Demon Realm.”
Mu Ling echoed: “Okay, okay, I’ll order the demons to retreat immediately.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the [Azure Nether Demonic Sound Bell] fell silent.
Mu Ling looked at the bound demons: “You all heard it. It’s the Demon Lord’s order. Retreat to the Demon Realm immediately.”
After saying that, she ignored the demons at the gate; the main force was inside. Mu Ling dared not delay and headed inside with Elder Zeng to inform the demon race to retreat.
Gu Jingyang didn’t have time to ask Shi Qingqian if A’Ling was okay. She only heard Shi Qingqian’s voice just now and didn’t hear A’Ling’s.
However, since Shi Qingqian was fine, A’Ling was probably fine too. She temporarily put her mind at ease and followed Elder Zeng and the others quickly on their swords to go inside.
Inside Mystic Crane Mountain, after passing through Wuchen Mountain, there was chaos everywhere, filled with roars. Mutated Beasts as far as the eye could see, the sky and the ground were battlefields.
In addition to fighting Mutated Beasts, Mystic Crane Mountain disciples were also fighting demon races. The scene was extremely chaotic and bloody, with corpses and remains everywhere.
Elder Zeng leaped into the air, took out the [Demon Corroding Golden Spirit Pagoda], and his voice boomed, ordering the demon race to retreat.
As soon as the demons looked up, they saw the [Demon Corroding Golden Spirit Pagoda] in his hand. It was one of the demon race’s magic artifacts, something only senior elders of the demon race possessed. This magic artifact could directly absorb offending low-level demonic creatures into it.
Apart from the [Demon Lord’s Blazing Light Token], this was another token that all demon races had to obey upon seeing it.
Jin Quecong kicked away the Mutated Beast that was trapping her and looked at Elder Zeng. She had never seen this elder before and didn’t understand why there was a sudden retreat.
However, even if she wanted to retreat now, she couldn’t. These Mutated Beasts attacked indiscriminately. Many of them, great demons, had fallen into them. She could run away by herself, but the demons who came with her were trapped and couldn’t escape. She couldn’t abandon them and leave alone.
Elder Zeng soon discovered the problem. Moreover, as soon as they entered this chaotic battlefield, they were also entangled by Mutated Beasts.
At this time, the [Azure Nether Demonic Sound Bell] on Mu Ling’s body rang again. Mu Ling quickly informed Shi Qingqian of the situation here.
“Cooperate with Mystic Crane Mountain to jointly resist the Mutated Beasts. I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay.”
Mu Ling quickly conveyed Shi Qingqian’s meaning to Elder Zeng. Elder Zeng also had the same idea, and the two immediately went to find Gu Jingyang.
As soon as Gu Jingyang entered the Wuchen Mountain barrier, she saw the corpses of her fellow disciples who had cultivated together in the cave scattered by the roadside. The Mutated Beasts stepped on them as if they were stepping on gravel and wild grass, showing no regard.
Anger surged in her heart, and Gu Jingyang channeled her spiritual energy to attack those Mutated Beasts.
She killed Mutated Beasts along the way, separating the demons and cultivators in the melee. In the current situation, why waste energy fighting demons? They should jointly resist the enemy.
Elder Zeng found her and conveyed Shi Qingqian’s meaning. Gu Jingyang immediately agreed: “Okay, you stop the demons, and I’ll go talk to the Peak Master.”
After Gu Jingyang left, Elder Zeng and Mu Ling jointly used demonic sound to notify all the demons within Mystic Crane Mountain, ordering all demons to stop fighting and join forces with the Mystic Crane Mountain cultivators to jointly resist the invasion of Mutated Beasts.
Ye Bingfeng frowned upon hearing Gu Jingyang say she wanted to ally with the demon race: “The demon race created these Mutated Beasts, and now they are unwilling to give up. Allying with them is tantamount to seeking death.”
Gu Jingyang quickly explained: “It wasn’t the demon race that caused this. If these Mutated Beasts were created by them, how could these Mutated Beasts injure them? Peak Master, look, these Mutated Beasts attack indiscriminately, regardless of whether they are demons or cultivators.”
Ye Bingfeng: “The Mutated Beasts are out of control. The demon race is mad and has created these Mutated Beasts that they can’t even control!”
Gu Jingyang was anxious about the current situation, but Ye Bingfeng still held prejudice against the demon race: “It’s not demons!”
Ye Bingfeng felt the barrier being impacted by Mutated Beasts again, and she was faintly unable to hold on. She couldn’t help but say angrily: “Besides them, who else could it be!”
Gu Jingyang blurted out: “Venerable Dao Rong!”
Ye Bingfeng, who had been suppressing her blood, spat out a mouthful of blood. The barrier had just been impacted, and her internal organs had also been injured. Hearing this, she became even more enraged: “I think you’ve also been corrupted by demonic energy!”
Gu Jingyang, after saying that, knew this would be the outcome. She was also angry just now, so she quickly changed her words: “I’m asking, have you sought help from Venerable Dao Rong?”
Ye Bingfeng’s brows tightened, thinking that Gu Jingyang had misunderstood just now and was just speaking in the heat of the moment, and she had mistaken it for an answer to the previous question.
“Yes, I’m afraid Venerable Dao Rong is also too busy to help himself, so…”
Gu Jingyang suppressed the coldness in her heart: “Since that’s the case, Venerable Dao Rong can’t save Mystic Crane Mountain. Why don’t we cooperate with the demon race first? After we eliminate these Mutated Beasts, dealing with mere demons won’t be a problem, will it?”
This was a feigned cooperation, intending to betray them after crossing the river. Ye Bingfeng raised her eyebrows, thinking that there was no need to be too scrupulous about demons.
Just as she was about to agree, a demon controlling beasts suddenly rushed towards her. She narrowly avoided it, but her arm was still injured by the Mutated Beast’s claws.
“Look at these demons, do they look like they can cooperate? I’m afraid that if I agree, they will immediately take advantage of our lack of preparedness and slaughter the Mystic Crane Mountain disciples. No, demons have no humanity.”
Ye Bingfeng disagreed with Gu Jingyang’s suggestion of cooperation and killed the nearest demon.
She thought that perhaps if these demons were cleared out, the Mutated Beasts would leave on their own without anyone controlling them.
While Ye Bingfeng was arguing with Gu Jingyang, disputes also arose within the demon race.
Jin Quecong did not believe Mu Ling’s words. She broke through the encirclement and flew to Mu Ling’s side, questioning if they were helping Mystic Crane Mountain. She had just seen that she had entered with the Mystic Crane Mountain disciples.
Mu Ling did not want to argue with her and said coldly: “The Demon Lord already knows that you brought people to Mystic Crane Mountain without authorization. If you want to atone for your sins, stop immediately and follow the Demon Lord’s order to jointly deal with the Mutated Beasts.”
Jin Quecong was even more confused. What crime did she have? “Didn’t the Demon Lord want to seize Mystic Crane Mountain?”
After Elder Zeng cleared the surrounding Mutated Beasts, he stepped forward and shouted: “Fool!”
Jin Quecong saw the [Demon Corroding Golden Spirit Pagoda] in his hand and knew that he was a senior elder. She showed no outward reaction but still felt unconvinced in her heart, secretly assessing whether she could defeat Elder Zeng.
Elder Zeng did not care about her gaze. Since he had already exposed his demonic identity, he no longer restrained himself. He directly grabbed the “demon” on the back of the nearest Mutated Beast, channeled his demonic energy to extract the Ghostly Fiend from the “demon’s” body, and incidentally drew away the trace of demonic energy on her, throwing it in front of Jin Quecong.
“Can’t you see that there’s a problem with these ‘demons’ controlling beasts?!”
Jin Quecong had sensed something was wrong, but due to the attack of the Mutated Beasts and the fierce attacks of the Mystic Crane Mountain disciples, she hadn’t verified it. Now, seeing that these “demons” were fake, she was also greatly shocked and thought of various possibilities.
Mu Ling also didn’t have time to wait for her to figure out the key points. She didn’t know at which step these misunderstandings had occurred, but the process was not important now; resolving the outcome was the primary task.
“If Mystic Crane Mountain is lost, the demon race will be next to deal with these Mutated Beasts. If you don’t want to die, then cooperate.”
After Jin Quecong was stunned, she saw Elder Zeng’s solemn expression and the pressure emanating from his body. She swallowed hard and agreed.
She shouted loudly, ordering the demons to stop attacking the cultivators and only deal with the Mutated Beasts.
As soon as her voice landed, the cultivators attacked them, and directly pierced Jin Quecong’s subordinate’s shoulder blade with a sword.
“You court death!”
Jin Quecong, who had just vowed not to attack cultivators, channeled her demonic power and lunged at the cultivator.
Elder Zeng was about to stop her but was surrounded by a group of cultivators. This was not good. He looked at their slightly unclear eyes and thought that these cultivators were probably also possessed.
Someone was deliberately creating bloodshed between the demon race and the cultivators, intending to incite conflict and make both sides see red.
As expected, after the demon race severely injured the possessed cultivator, the battle between the two sides became even more intense.
Elder Zeng and Gu Jingyang and the others not only had to deal with the Mutated Beasts but also had to separate the enraged demons and cultivators. They were unable to take care of themselves and were even knocked off their swords by the Mutated Beasts, almost being devoured.
Inside Mystic Crane Mountain, the scene was critical, chaotic, and the smell of blood was even more intense.
Like the Corrupted Corpse Forest, the smell was nauseating.
After Shi Qingqian finished instructing Mu Ling, she dispersed the demons she had summoned earlier and, together with Jin Siliu, searched again, but A’Ling was still nowhere to be found.
A’Ling was still unaware that the outside world was in chaos, nor did she know that Shi Qingqian had turned the Corrupted Corpse Forest upside down. Her heart was filled with an ominous feeling.
Looking at the Spirit Mountain Tiger-Headed Spider in the scene, which had died after sacrificing its demonic core, its entire life that she had just seen was no different from the murals she had seen in its demon cave.
The only difference was that after its death, A’Ling saw the golden phoenix soar into the sky and ascend to the heavens again.
A’Ling looked at the Little Wandering on her wrist. This time, it was emitting faint fluorescent light, just like the light spots she had seen when the demonic core merged into the Little Wandering.
Was this the reason she came here? Did someone want her to know the past lives of Jin Zhuyue and the Spirit Mountain Tiger-Headed Spider?
Thinking of the golden phoenix feather at the beginning and the phoenix figure at the end, were they actually the same person?
What about Demon Lord Shi Yu?
Just as A’Ling was in doubt, the same scene appeared again.
A golden feather fell in the darkness. When it landed in front of A’Ling, the light flashed, and this time, it was not Jin Zhuyue or the Spirit Mountain Tiger-Headed Spider. This time, it was probably Demon Lord Shi Yu who appeared.
A’Ling gazed at the familiar scene that appeared in the scene. If it wasn’t the Corrupted Corpse Forest, then where else could it be?
This time it was different from the previous two times. After Shi Yu landed, she first saw the entire lives of Jin Zhuyue and the Spirit Mountain Tiger-Headed Spider.
“So that’s how it is.”
A’Ling heard the person in the scene say this. What was “so that’s how it is”? What was “so that’s how it is”?
She so wanted to rush in and grab the person and ask, what was all this about!
Fortunately, A’Ling’s breakdown was instantly healed by a voice. Opposite Shi Yu in the scene, a golden feather lit up, and it actually made a sound.
“The Divine Maiden’s tribulation should not carry memories. However, your mission this time is special. Purifying the low-grade demonic energy of the Demon Realm requires a thousand years. Being surrounded by demonic energy and living for a thousand years, it is very easy to be corrupted if you are not careful. If your divine status is stained with demonic energy, no matter what, you cannot return to the Nine Heavens Divine Realm.”
“Therefore, this time, an exception is made. Your divine memories are preserved, and the memories of the past two life tribulations are also given to you. Remember, this is the third and final time.”
“Returning after three life tribulations will make this ten-thousand-year journey complete. May you return to the Nine Heavens Divine Realm as soon as possible. Be warned, you must not let demonic energy invade your body.”
Hearing this, A’Ling tightly covered her mouth, which was about to exclaim in surprise.
Shi Qingqian’s mother was actually a Divine Maiden!
Did Shi Qingqian know about this?
