Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 280 Crane Rock Mountain

Liangzhou in the State of Chu, west of the battle line.

Night fell, and a torrential downpour began.

This place is some distance from the main battlefield of Red Maple Plains. Most of the righteous cultivators gather near Red Maple Plains, so there are few people here.

The moon is hidden among the clouds.

At the foot of Heyan Mountain, two figures wearing straw hats were walking slowly into the depths of the mountain under the moonlight.

Both of them were at the late stage of Qi Refining, and a female cultivator with tattered robes was bound behind them with specially made chains.

The female cultivator seemed to have just experienced a fierce battle; she was covered in blood, her face was pale, and she was staggering.

Yet his expression showed no fear or timidity, only boundless hatred.

The heavy rain completely soaked her skirt, the fabric clinging tightly to her body and outlining the young woman's graceful figure.

The woman did not use any spiritual power to resist the moisture, as if she didn't care at all.

He was completely focused on listening to the conversation between the two figures in front of him.

The thunder was loud, but she could still hear it clearly.

"After killing so many people and kidnapping several righteous female cultivators to bring back for their own pleasure, these bumpkins should finally shut up for a while..."

"Fortunately, we've handled things fairly cleanly these past few times, otherwise we might have been dragged down with us."

The speaker was thin, and he spoke with extreme disdain when he mentioned those Chu cultivators who had betrayed the righteous path and joined the Demon Ruins.

The other man, who was slightly taller and more muscular, said, "Brother Bin, when exactly can we launch a full-scale attack?"

How would I know to go?

This time, the main base of the Demon Ruins cultivators was located in the northwest of the Chu Kingdom.

There were originally some small sects and independent cultivators living there, but they were not well-known before. Unexpectedly, the Demon Ruins invaded and overnight they all became the base of demon cultivators.

The main battlefield between the six major sects and the cultivators of the Demon Ruins was in the Red Maple Plain of Liangzhou.

The gaunt cultivator glanced at the tall cultivator with a hint of disdain: "Isn't it fine the way things are now?"

"We can kill these swine and kidnap women to play with from time to time. It's not as dangerous as Red Maple Plain."

"This is a place that many people would kill for, and you, of all people, have chosen it."

The tall monk remained silent.

The three traveled to a deep valley pass, where the gaunt cultivator took out a jade talisman, its dark light flashing in his hand.

"Om-"

The air trembled, and a transparent barrier appeared out of thin air.

Seeing this, the gaunt demonic cultivator took out a pale white whistle from his pocket, brought it to his lips, and blew out a strange sound.

"open."

The barrier slowly opened from the middle, revealing a dark tunnel entrance.

Wu Shuangzhi's heart sank, but the tall demonic cultivator shoved her roughly.

"Go in."

She staggered, her soaked skirt clinging to her body, rainwater sliding down her chin and disheveled hair.

The three stepped into the tunnel, and the barrier behind them quietly closed, shutting out the last ray of sunlight and the sound of rain.

Upon reaching the other end of the tunnel, a demonic cultivator stood guard.

The man was missing his left ear and had a face full of scars. When he saw the three of them arrive, he approached with a strange laugh: "Hey, Brother Bin, you've caught another good catch this time!"

A pair of eyes gleamed with lust as they greedily scanned Wu Shuangzhi's soaked body.

His large, bony hands reached straight for Wu Shuangzhi's high, firm chest.

"roll!"

A fierce glint flashed in the gaunt cultivator's eyes, and a bone whip from his sleeve lashed out like a venomous snake, striking the man with the missing ear's hand with pinpoint accuracy.

"hiss--!"

The man with the missing ear winced in pain, pulled his hand back, and glared angrily at the man.

"This is meant to be presented to Elder Peony. I advise you not to court death."

"Humph."

The man with the missing ear's expression flickered, he snorted coldly, and stepped aside.

The three of them finally entered the valley.

The female cultivator looked up and saw that the valley was small and ordinary, and it must have originally been a gathering place for independent cultivators.

Even though it is now late at night, faint sounds can still be heard coming from the valley.

A piercing scream, a wild, lewd laugh, a beast-like growl, along with indistinct curses and painful groans.

It sends chills down one's spine.

The female cultivator felt a chill in her heart, but she was still pushed upwards.

On a small platform to the east, several cultivators, barely alive and no longer recognizable as humans, were nailed to several thick stone pillars. They were clearly prisoners of the righteous path.

The blood on the ground had dried, and the people on it were no longer alive.

We walked up to a high platform in front of a large pavilion.

The two demonic cultivators stopped and bowed in respect.

"Elder Peony, Elder Zheng, Lord Zhuo."

The platform was empty except for a few skeletons piled up haphazardly in a corner.

No sooner had they finished speaking than a woman's figure appeared before them like a ghost.

The woman in red, with her fragrant scent, stood out starkly against the bloody and filthy scene.

This was an incredibly alluring woman, dressed in a gorgeous robe, with lips as red as blood.

It was Peony, a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage of the Demonic Path.

She extended a sharp, scarlet fingernail and gently lifted the female cultivator's chin.

Her alluring eyes gazed at the face that, despite its disheveled state, could not conceal its beauty.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a beautiful face with skin as white as ice and bones as jade!"

Peony's fingernails left a thin, bloody mark on the female cultivator's face.

"What's your name?"

"..."

The female cultivator remained silent, staring intently at the peony.

"I..." The tall cultivator was about to go up and make a move, but was stopped by the thin cultivator.

"Reporting to Lady Peony, this person is a cultivator from the Dongyuan Sect. When he killed his brother and the others, he heard her name."

"Her name is Wu Shuangzhi."

"Oh, what a nice name."

She brought her red lips close to Wu Shuangzhi's ear and breathed out a warm, fragrant breath: "Little sister, don't be afraid. Come to my cave in a little while, and I'll plant a demonic seed in you. I guarantee you'll be happy day and night, floating on air..."

Just then, two more figures emerged from the large pavilion.

One of them was dressed in a yellow robe and had a smile on his face.

The other person was a white-faced, beardless Taoist priest in a red robe.

Holding a jade-handled whisk, with white hair and a youthful face, he appeared to be an otherworldly sage.

This was Zhuo Hong, a native of Chu who had rebelled.

He clapped his hands and chuckled, "This action has even benefited Fellow Daoist Peony. Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

Peony gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

The two cultivators who brought Wu Shuangzhi in bowed to each other, saying, "Elder Zheng, Lord Zhuo."

Zheng Daming still had that smiling face: "Lord Zhuo, I acted at your request this time, so you'll have to be more careful in the future."

The valley below Crane Rock Mountain is now a small base for demonic cultivators.

It mainly consists of some traitors from the Chu Kingdom who defected to the Demon Ruins, namely the rogue cultivators of Crane Rock Mountain, and some cultivators from the Demon Ruins.

The people in charge were none other than these three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Two cultivators from the Demon Ruins were actually trying to persuade this traitorous cultivator from the Chu Kingdom not to make a move.

Wu Shuangzhi stared at Zhuo Hong's old face, wishing she could tear him to pieces.

Zhuo Hong flicked his whisk: "That's natural."

"I heard that a month ago, the righteous path sent another batch of reinforcements to Red Maple Plain. I know what I'm doing."

"That's good." Zheng Daming nodded.

A fleeting look of disgust crossed his eyes.

Peony suddenly spoke up: "I heard that Song Yan is also among this batch of reinforcements."

"..."

Zheng Daming and Mudan exchanged a glance: "That's right, according to our intelligence, that's indeed the case." Mudan extended a slender white finger, biting her lip, seemingly lost in thought.

His body seemed to tremble slightly due to some unknown factor.

"If we encounter him, we'll make our move."

You could tell that Peony was trying her best to control her voice, but you could still feel her excitement.

"I'm going to capture him, cripple his cultivation, and make him my male concubine~"

Many cultivators in the Demon Ruins also knew of Song Yan's name.

Peony was one of the demonic cultivators who paid attention to him.

To her, Song Yan was not only extremely powerful in combat, but most importantly, he was young and had an outstanding appearance.

If only I could abduct such a talented and handsome man and make him my plaything...

Just imagining that scene made Peony tremble all over, as if something was about to burst out.

Zheng Daming's smile finally disappeared. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Elder Mudan, there is something I'm not sure if I should say."

"Song Yan is probably not someone who can be captured alive easily."

He had barely finished speaking when, without paying attention to Peony's dejected and resentful expression, he realized that what he had said was not accurate enough.

"To be honest, if the three of us can kill him by joining forces, we should be thanking our lucky stars."

Zhuo Hong's eyes flickered, but he remained silent.

Peony narrowed her eyes: "Are all the people of the Underworld this cowardly?"

Zheng Daming spread his hands: "The one who was killed by Song Yan from a hundred miles away with a single sword strike was one of your demonic cultivators... and the one who escaped was also one of them."

"Are you comparing me to those two good-for-nothings?"

"..."

Zheng Daming had nothing to say.

Currently, the holy sons of various sects in the Demon Ruins have been basically determined.

Those few truly powerful demonic princes were naturally traveling through the Central Region with the demonic giants of their respective lineages.

Those candidates who failed in the competition but "luckily" survived were assigned to the border regions.

The peony in front of us is one of them.

Although Zheng Daming and Mudan were both in charge of the Demon Ruins here, in terms of strength and status in the Demon Ruins, he could not compare with Mudan.

Forget it, as long as she's happy.

Zheng Daming chuckled and said nothing more.

He decided that from now on, he would obey whatever Mudan said.

Anyway, the righteous path won't be able to find this place for a while. Once things are over here, I'll find a chance to go back to the Demon Ruins.

He didn't want to entrust his safety to these arrogant but incompetent idiots in this life-or-death mission.

Although Zheng Daming remained silent, Mudan was still indignant at his contempt, her chest heaving slightly.

Just as he was about to curse Zheng Daming a few more times, he heard a few cold laughs.

The three Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivators all turned to look.

Wu Shuangzhi knelt on the cold stone ground, which was still mixed with mud and blood. Her body trembled slightly due to the cold and her injuries.

But a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"You want Senior Brother Song Yan... to be your devoted follower?"

"Hehehehehehe..."

Wu Shuangzhi's sneer turned into a loud laugh, as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

Peony's face darkened, and she muttered, "Has she gone mad?"

"what are you laughing at."

Wu Shuangzhi coughed as she laughed, and the image of Song Yan appeared in her mind.

"Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror to see what you look like?"

"Senior Brother Song Yan, you are a chosen one of heaven. You will surely be able to attain the Golden Core and become a True Person in the future!"

Wu Shuangzhi was still laughing, laughing through gritted teeth, her face contorted in a ferocious grimace.

Her only relative had already died at the hands of these demonic cultivators, and now she herself was about to die.

But it was clear that she was not afraid of death.

"Look at you again..."

Wu Shuangzhi raised her head, her smile growing increasingly mocking as she spoke each word.

"one……"

"lump……"

"rotten……"

"Meat."

Even Zheng Daming was stunned by the female cultivator's crazy words.

"what--"

Peony let out a sharp cry, and several blood-red vines, covered with tiny barbs, suddenly sprouted from beneath her skirt.

Like a living snake, it instantly coiled around Wu Shuangzhi's slender waist and thighs.

The tips of the vines shimmered with an eerie red light, easily piercing through the soaked fabric of her skirt and embedding themselves in the skin of her snow-white neck.

"You bitch, you think I'd kill you?"

"You're dreaming. I'm going to torture you forever, making you wish you were dead!"

The skin on the side of the neck where the vine tip had pierced it swelled up instantly.

A bewitching and sinister crimson flower bloomed, its blossoms seemingly alive as they slowly unfolded, releasing a rich, sweet fragrance.

"Now, do you dare say it again?"

Despite the excruciating pain coursing through her body, Wu Shuangzhi's expression remained unchanged.

"spit."

She spat a mouthful of foul blood at the peony, but it was blocked by a scarlet spiritual force.

"Listen up, ugly woman."

"You're just a lump of rotten meat."

Wu Shuangzhi even raised a finger, trembling slightly: "Senior Brother Song Yan can kill you with just one move."

"Good good..."

Peony's face turned ashen, her body trembled more and more violently, and demonic energy began to surge around her.

Just now.

"Bam—!"

A loud bang came from not far away, in the direction of the valley.

The restrictive formation at the valley entrance suddenly burst open!

At the same time, dozens of white sword shadows fell from the sky, piercing through several nodes of the formation, and the entire formation collapsed inch by inch.

In just a few breaths, the entire valley completely lost its concealment and protection.

The torrential rain washed away all the bloodstains in the valley.

hum!
A black and white sword light descended from the sky, passing between Mudan and Wu Shuangzhi, and instantly disappeared into the high platform.

Peony quickly put away the blood vine and flew backward.

Nearly a hundred righteous cultivators emerged from all directions, densely packed together, and in the blink of an eye, they stood on the rocky cliffs in the valley.

By the time the demonic cultivators in the valley came to their senses, the righteous cultivators had already completely surrounded the area.

Zheng Daming was horrified.

This secret place is rarely involved in the main battlefield battles. How could the righteous path find it and so easily dismantle the formation?
How can this be? !
Everyone looked up at the sky.

Dozens of white sword shadows swirled and flowed in the air before returning to their sword sheaths.

A figure slowly descended from the high sky and hovered in mid-air.

The man appeared to be in his early twenties, with a handsome and refined appearance, and was dressed in a black and gold sword robe.

He carried a black and white sword box on his back.

He looked down at the three of them from his elevated position.

A sharp golden light swirled between his eyes, adding a touch of murderous intent to his originally gentle face.

Zheng Daming immediately recognized the man, his eyes showing a hint of apprehension, and he muttered to himself.

"Song Yan..."

(End of this chapter)