Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 290 Changes at the Ruins
Among the newcomers, the leader appeared to be a middle-aged man. His Taoist robe from the Dongyuan Sect was not concealed, and he exuded the aura of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Behind them, to their left and right, stood a man and a woman, both late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Song Yan glanced at it.

The person in the lead was none other than Yang Wenxuan, and the two people behind him, one on the left and one on the right, were also familiar faces.

Qin Zhan and Zhou Mengdie.

Speaking of Xiao Zhou, she was really unlucky. Originally, she could have accumulated enough merits and left the front line by staying in Hongfeng Plain and doing some safe small tasks or even clerical work.

Unexpectedly, Yang Wenxuan was selfish and unwilling to share the benefits of the treasure hunt with others.

So he was all alone and called Qin Zhan over for "training".

They even brought Zhou Mengdie, the little boy who presented the treasure, along.

Qin Zhan was naturally overjoyed. Dressed in a brand-new Taoist robe, he looked every bit the elegant young master from a noble family, with a gentle and refined smile on his face.

These days, the Qin family is at the height of its power and enjoying immense prestige.

As the young master of the clan, he was naturally riding high.

Xiao Zhou's face, however, was filled with a look of utter despair.

The three sat down, and Qin Zhan turned slightly to the side, considerately placing Zhou Mengdie in a slightly more inward position to protect her from the crowd of others.

His voice was gentle: "Junior Sister Mengdie, you must be tired after such a long journey."

"This Immortal Drinking Pavilion looks very grand; it must have excellent spiritual tea. Why don't you ask your senior brother to order you a pot to refresh yourself?"

Zhou Mengdie struggled to keep her eyelids open, her little head nodding as she tried to find a place to lie down and sleep.

She only felt the soft voice in her ear was like the buzzing of mosquitoes, and when she heard it, she just mumbled an "uh-huh" in a daze, without much reaction.

Seeing that she wasn't very enthusiastic, Qin Zhan's warm smile remained unchanged. He wanted to say a few more words, but Yang Wenxuan also closed her eyes to rest, so he kept quiet.

Zhou Mengdie placed her hands on the table, her forehead slumped, and she fell asleep.

Song Yan withdrew his gaze.

But Sheng Nian suddenly looked at Zhou Mengdie, his expression somewhat puzzled.

"Who were you just talking about? That girl?"

The ancient demon's voice rose from the depths of his heart: "That's right, it's her. If you have the chance, kill her."

After a moment's thought, Sheng Nian replied in his heart, "Okay. But you have to tell me why."

"She carries the scent of an old friend of mine."

Old Xie said, his voice cracking as he mentioned the words "old friend."

“Eighteen thousand years ago, it was that person who caused my physical body to perish and my infant spirit to be greatly damaged… His name was Zhou Zixiu.”

Sheng Nian was stunned: "It was him, who died with you?"

"To die together? Hah, does he even deserve that!?"

Old Xie's tone was tinged with contempt: "Back then, in the death battle, at least I retained a wisp of my soul, but he was truly annihilated..."

"This person is perhaps his successor."

"Hmph, it's a pity he can't see it, otherwise I would make him witness the extinction of his lineage."

Sheng Nian pondered for a moment, glancing at Song Yan out of the corner of his eye.

He answered in his heart, "Okay."

Apart from those few, many cultivators on the first floor formed their own faction, secretly observing each other and watching coldly from the sidelines.

Especially when facing those strangely dressed cultivators, the atmosphere became extremely tense.

One of the boys coldly looked around, and when he suddenly heard a few words of criticism from the cultivators, his blood boiled and he was about to get up and fight.

“Ah Yun.”

The woman, wearing a veil, stopped the boy and shook her head.

"Don't forget why we're here. Let the barbarians bark all they want in this remote borderland."

The tall and slender male cultivator standing to the side nodded in agreement: "Ah Yun, your sister is right, don't be impatient."

Wu Yun frowned and looked coldly at Wei Zhi: "Do you need to lecture me?"

After saying that, he turned his head away and closed his eyes to rest.

Wei Zhi looked somewhat embarrassed.

Wu Caidie looked at Wei Zhi with a hint of apology: "Brother Wei, Ayun is young and ignorant, please don't take it to heart."

"It's alright. We've come all the way from the State of Zhao. Ah Yun must be tired too."

As the group was talking, they suddenly noticed rustling sounds all around them, and the cultivators' movements and voices became louder.

Song Yan opened his eyes, and Sheng Nian picked up the communication talisman in his hand and waved it.

"Ready to go."

At the same time, the cultivators inside the building also moved upon hearing the news.

They all left their seats, walked out of the pavilion, and transformed into streaks of light, flying towards the vicinity of that cliff.

Song Yan and Sheng Nian were not in a hurry and were almost the last cultivators to leave Yin Xian Shui Xie.

They strolled leisurely through the waterside pavilion, as if taking a leisurely walk after a meal, paying no heed to the strange commotion rising from the direction of the cliff.

"With so many people crowding in, I wonder how many will actually get into the ruins."

Sheng Nian chuckled.

The river surface is vast and misty, and the river breeze blows, making it moist with water vapor.

Song Yan lowered his straw hat: "If you don't know the usual way, you'll naturally end up squeezing onto that single-plank bridge."

The two walked to the riverbank, where the boatman, who had been sitting on a small boat, stood up at the bow.

The man was tall and robust, wearing a simple straw raincoat, holding a long pole in one hand, and slightly propelling it a little closer to the shore.

As the boat drew near, the figure raised his head, revealing a resolute yet stiff face.

His skin was pale, as if he had never seen the sun in a long time, and his eyes were deep and empty as he stared at the two people on the shore.

It was none other than the corpse puppet A Yuan.

“Young Master, Young Master Song.” A Yuan’s voice was flat.

In his prime, he took the lead, lightly leaping onto the small boat, with Song Yan following closely behind.

The small boat felt cramped for the three of them, yet it possessed a strange sense of stability.

"Let's go, Yuan."

In his prime, he leaned lazily against the edge of the awning and casually gave orders.

A Yuan nodded: "Yes. Young Master, Young Master Song, please be seated."

He gently tapped the long pole in his hand against the shore stone.

The small boat shot off like an arrow and glided into the open river, its speed several times faster than that of ordinary boats.

The boat headed east, but deviated slightly from the direction of the cliff where the five elements of spiritual energy were disordered.

This route had already been mentioned to Song Yan by Sheng Nian.

The power of the Five Elements reversal beneath that cliff is the most intense and most likely to resonate with the ancient runes, a common approach understood by most cultivators.

However, the collapse of the formation is a holistic process, just like a crack appearing in an eggshell; the crack won't just appear in one place.

In short, after years of repeated deductions, Shengnian discovered this waterway.

This formation is deeply rooted in the earth's veins, where yin and yang flow, and water and fire complement each other. While the spiritual energy on the surface is chaotic, the underground currents may temporarily form a special channel due to the clash of yin and yang.

The small boat entered a narrow and steep section of the canyon river.

The towering cliffs on both sides reached into the clouds, blocking out the sun and causing the light to dim suddenly. Even the river breeze became somewhat chilly.

A-Yuan remained unmoved by the dramatic changes in his surroundings, focusing solely on the rushing water ahead.

Sheng Nian's tone became somewhat solemn: "This is it."

The water ahead suddenly became turbulent, and a huge whirlpool, several meters in diameter, appeared in the middle of the river, pulling the small boat inward.

Song Yan and Sheng Nian simultaneously unleashed a wisp of spiritual power, temporarily stabilizing the small boat.

A moment later, the water in the center of the whirlpool suddenly collapsed downwards, revealing a dark hole with a diameter of only about ten feet and a bottomless depth.

"Let's go."

The red and purple ancient talismans in their hands simultaneously lit up with a dazzling light, and a special spatial ripple spread out.

The three figures suddenly vanished, and the small boat was swept into the water by the whirlpool and disappeared without a trace.

……

Xiao Song has experienced this kind of illusionary travel many, many times.

Perhaps it's because I've mastered the Two Realms and the Nuo Realm, so it doesn't take too long to adapt.

From the very beginning, I was surrounded by a jumble of noises.

The sound of horns.

Footsteps.

There were also some noisy shouts.

The sounds around me became clearer.

Song Yan slowly opened his eyes. Beneath his feet was a dark red ground covered with a thick layer of dust.

Looking around, they stood frozen in disbelief. Countless soldiers, clad in various armors and wielding all sorts of weapons, moved with hurried steps.

Occasionally, when soldiers passed by him, they would accidentally bump into him, but they would run off in the same direction without looking back.

What's the matter?

How can there be so many people?!
Isn't this the ancient battlefield of the Immortal Dynasty?

Song Yan focused his divine sense to its maximum and discovered that this place seemed to be a training ground.

A casual glance reveals hundreds or even thousands of soldiers clad in armor.

Most of them were at the Qi Refining stage, but some were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

These were just the soldiers near Song Yan; many more troops from various directions were rushing toward the same place.

Conservative estimates put the number at eight or nine thousand, or even more than ten thousand.

Song Yan frowned.

Both he and Sheng Nian previously believed that when they came to this ancient battlefield ruins of the Immortal Dynasty, they only needed to guard against other cultivators entering.

You should focus your mind and energy on finding spirits and treasures.

The scene before him completely overturned Song Yan's understanding.

Could these soldiers be cultivators from the ancient Immortal Dynasty?

Why are you still alive...?

He glanced around and saw that there were more than ten other people standing there, just like him, with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

These people were mostly dressed in Taoist robes and cloth, so they seemed to be cultivators who came here to explore the mysteries.

Sheng Nian and A Yuan were not among them, nor were Yang Wenxuan and others.

Among them were three people whom Song Yan had noticed in the Yinxian Water Pavilion.

These were the three people who came from outside the Chu region.

"What are you guys standing there for!"

Suddenly a stern voice rang out: "We're about to go to the battlefield! Vice General Luo is mustering the troops, so hurry up and get there!"

Everyone turned to look and saw an old soldier whose aura indicated he was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"Completely out of control! Completely indecent!"

Seeing that the men remained unmoved, he cursed a few times and hurried off in that direction.

The dozen or so people who remained in place each had their own small groups, except for Song Yan.

At that moment, the three people from the State of Zhao were gathered together, discussing the matter animatedly.

"Sister... what, what exactly is going on?"

Wu Yun asked, puzzled, and Wu Caidie was also somewhat confused.

She shook her head: "More than sixty years ago, my uncle came to this site based on the contents of the jade slip passed down from our ancestors."

"According to his records, this is just an ordinary secret realm, and there are no living people here at all."

Clearly, Wu Caidie, who had been so confident, was now somewhat flustered.

While these people were discussing this, Song Yan had already followed the rushing troops in that direction.

He was unaware of what had happened here, but wandering around aimlessly was not a solution.

Why don't we go and see what's going on?

Seeing that some people were leaving, the remaining dozen or so people discussed it among themselves for a while and decided to follow.

Several people disagreed and planned to leave the area to search for treasure normally.

But I think it won't take long to go and see, so I'll go along for now. If I think there's no point in staying here, I'll be ready to leave at any time.

The training ground, the martial arts arena.

A military officer wearing a cloak and carrying a helmet walked slowly, his sharp eyes sweeping over the soldiers on the training ground.

"Um……"

"……Um?"

When his gaze swept over a certain spot, his eyelids twitched, and his blood rushed to his head.

He shoved the helmet in his arms into the hand of the lieutenant beside him, and hurried over with swift and decisive movements.

"His grandma's!"

"Which battalion are you guys from?!"

The general was referring to Song Yan and the other foreign cultivators.

Only three or five people stood properly in the crowd like the other soldiers; the rest seemed to be watching the spectacle with amusement.

This military general, along with many soldiers around him, did not seem to possess any aura of spiritual power.

I don't know why he was able to become a general.

"Reporting to Vice General Luo, they...they are the reinforcements sent by the court today."

The lieutenant holding the helmet nearby quickly spoke up: "They just arrived."

"Reinforcements?"

The military man known as Deputy General Luo narrowed his eyes: "Heh, it seems that both the officials in the court and the Emperor trust the General very much."

"They actually sent such incompetent fools as reinforcements!"

He sneered.

"Fine, you don't need to come with me on this campaign. Just stay in the army and be good-for-nothing pigs!"

He waved his hand and turned to leave.

These monks had never suffered such humiliation before.

Most of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage. By chance, they obtained the jade talisman and followed its guidance to explore this place.

However, the place is strange, so it's unlikely that a conflict would break out with this person on the spot, especially since there are so many soldiers watching around.

However, they immediately decided not to stay there any longer.

"Enough, Fellow Daoist Chen, I think staying here is just a waste of time."

One of the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators frowned, clearly displeased with what Vice General Luo had said.

"It's best to leave sooner rather than later. Who knows, the other fellow cultivators who were teleported here might already be searching for spiritual items."

"Ok."

Immediately, three people urged their spiritual power to fly away.

Completely unaware that the soldiers around them were filled with terror.

"Oh?"

But then Deputy General Luo suddenly turned around and sneered.

“I have made the decision on behalf of the General. I will let you few pigs stay here to eat and wait to die. When the time comes, I will release you back to the court. This is already a great favor.”

"I never expected you to be so ungrateful as to leave the camp without permission and become deserters?"

"How audacious!"

To the astonishment of Song Yan and the others, Deputy General Luo's aura suddenly began to rise rapidly.

Countless spiritual energies condensed in his hand, transforming into a long spear.

"Today, I am here on behalf of General Bai to review the troops at the drill ground."

"Looks like I'll have to...clean house for him!"

At this moment, Vice General Luo's aura reached its peak.

The terrifying pressure completely subdued the entire training ground.

The aura of the Golden Core Realm!

The three people who were about to leave had disbelief on their faces, which was then replaced by endless panic.

"no no……"

"Flaming Luo Spear Technique!"

No explanation!

Lieutenant General Luo held his gun in one hand and casually thrust it out, creating three illusory spear shadows burning with flames that suddenly pierced into the air.

The three tried to escape, but found themselves completely immobilized, locked in place.

puff.

Three shattering sounds rang out simultaneously, as if in unison.

Only three plumes of blood mist remained in the air.

The entire training ground fell silent instantly.

"In this army, those who disregard military discipline will suffer the same fate as these three."

Deputy General Luo looked at the remaining Song Yan and the others, and slowly spoke.

"Do you all understand now?"

(End of this chapter)