Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 305 Yin and Yang
The State of Chu, Red Maple Plain.

A group of cultivators from the Nine Veins Alliance arrived from afar and displayed their identity jade tokens before the great formation.

There were eight or nine people in the group, all of whom were at the Qi Refining stage. The group was led by one man and two women.

Upon entering the restricted area of ​​Red Maple Plains, several stationed cultivators stepped forward to verify their identities.

"Li Qingfeng".

"Cen Qinghe."

"Ju Lu Yi".

"..."

Their identities were verified one by one.

One of the garrisoned cultivators glanced at Ju Luyi a few more times, seemingly wanting to greet her, but saw that she had her eyes lowered, as if she was thinking about something.

Ultimately, before he could say anything more, he let them pass without saying a word.

"please."

"Good work."

The group of people entered the encampment one by one and disappeared without a trace.

Only then did the guards exchange glances and begin chatting.

"Now we can go out on missions even without a Foundation Establishment cultivator leading the way?"

"It seems so. I think that Li Qingfeng is only at the peak of Qi Refining."

"Does that mean the great battle against the Demon Ruins is really coming to an end?"

"I don't know, who can say for sure about such things?" The speaker was a middle-aged cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining.

He stroked his chin: "However, I did hear an elder say that the Nine Meridians are currently discussing having some cultivators withdraw from the front lines and return to their sects."

"Really? What else is there to say? It means the Demon Ruins can't beat us and are going back to their hometown."

"No way, I feel like something's off."

Some people didn't believe it: "These bastards from the Demon Ruins are making such a big show of themselves, causing chaos in Dragon Pool Mountain and pressing in on the entire border."

"In the end, nothing much happened, just a minor skirmish, and they ran back?"

"Their intrusion failed."

The situation in the other countries is still unclear, but in the history of the cultivation world in the Chu Kingdom, there has always been the presence of cultivators from the Demon Ruins every few hundred years.

So far, Demon Ruins has never been able to gain a foothold, so this failure is quite normal.

Many people even believed from the beginning that this attempt at the Demonic Path would not succeed.

So when this vaguely possible ending is mentioned, it feels both unexpected and yet perfectly logical.

"Furthermore, perhaps it's because those immortals from the Central Region destroyed the main force of the Demon Ruins, and they want to withdraw their power."

"That person from Dongyuan Sect... Ah, Senior Sister Qin Ying, the battle at Yinfeng Gorge also severely damaged the demonic cultivators in Chu Kingdom."

All of these advantages are numerous.

Thinking about it this way, it seems quite normal for the Demon Ruins cultivators to retreat and flee when they saw the situation was not good.

"Hey, Dongfeng, any news from Lanxi Cave?"

Chen Dongfeng shook his head silently: "No."

"I'm just a lowly henchman, how could I possibly know any inside information?"

The group wanted to continue chatting, but their expressions suddenly turned serious.

"Oh, someone's coming."

A sword light slowly flew from the sky, landing in front of the restriction. He took out his disciple token, released the restriction, and did so with ease.

This person was dressed in a black and gold Taoist robe, carrying a long box on his back, and accompanied by a confused young female cultivator.

Several guarding disciples looked at him with surprise upon seeing his Taoist robe: "A disciple of the Dongyuan Sect's Demon-Slaying Peak..."

This is the same style of Taoist robe as Qin Ying and Xu Ziqing.

Looking at this person's face again, with his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and his handsome appearance, he seemed very familiar.

One of them suddenly called out, "Senior Song Yan?"

The visitors were Song Yan and Zhou Mengdie, who had just left the ancient battlefield ruins of the Immortal Dynasty.

Song Yan nodded kindly. He was quite well-known in Chu, so he wasn't surprised.

Without any hindrance, they quickly returned to their base.

The main reason for returning to Red Maple Plains this time is to take Xiao He away.

He suddenly asked Zhou Mengdie, "Do you have any elders in this Red Maple Plain?"

Xiao Zhou shook his head: "I don't know."

"Well, never mind. You go back to your original residence first. I'll take you with me when I return to the sect."

"Alright." Zhou Mengdie bowed respectfully, "Senior Brother Song, I'll be going now."

"it is good."

As Song Yan walked through the Red Maple Plain, he felt, for some reason, that the atmosphere within the camp was very relaxed.

It was nothing like the dullness and tension of before.

"Could it be that another major battle has been won recently?"

He returned to his previous temporary cave dwelling, checked it over, and confirmed that it had not been taken back.

"Xiaohe?"

Suddenly, a pair of cyan-gold snake eyes lit up in the pitch-black cave.

She seemed to think she was hallucinating again, and pricked up her little ears to listen carefully.

"Xiaohe!"

Whoosh.

But then a dark figure rushed towards them.

Snake Baby leaped into the air and hugged Song Yan: "Wow, why did you take so long to come back..."

"You said you'd be back soon! All you do is lie!"

"I'll beat you to death, I'll bite you to death."

She punched and kicked him, then bit him a few times.

"Hey, hey, spare me, spare me!"

Hearing Snake Treasure say that, Song Yan really felt a little guilty.

He originally planned to explore a historical site, which would take no more than three to five months.

Before entering the ancient battlefield of the Immortal Dynasty, who could have imagined that such a great change would occur there?

After coaxing her gently for a while, he also told Snake Baby what had happened on the battlefield.

"Xiao He, has no one come here since I left?"

"Yes, Sister Ju comes often, and Grandma Qin has also come."

Xiaohe tried hard to recall: "No one else, it seems."

"Um……"

Song Yan decided to go to Granny Qin's place first to find out about the current situation.

"Let's go find Grandma."

"it is good."

The little grass transformed into the sleeve, swimming around inside the Taoist robe, occasionally sniffing here and there.

"What are you doing?"

"Strange, the taste of the banquet has returned to normal."

Xiao He was talking to herself incoherently.

Song Yan stretched out his sleeve and sniffed it: "My scent can change..."

"Wait a minute, do I smell?"

……

The temporary cave dwelling of the Dongyuan Sect. "Recently, the activity range of the Demon Ruins cultivators has indeed been shrinking."

“Recently, many cultivators from Red Maple Plains have been going out on missions. Sometimes when they pass by some former Demon Ruins outposts, they find them deserted and nowhere to be seen.”

Qin Xijun sat opposite Song Yan and casually said, "Many people are guessing that the Demon Ruins cultivators suffered heavy losses in the Central Region, so they are preparing to withdraw their forces and retreat back to the Demon Ruins."

Xiao He couldn't understand any of this. She lay on the coffee table and stuck out her little tongue to lick a mouthful of tea in front of Song Yan.

Ugh, it's so bitter.

Song Yan pondered, feeling that the movements of the Demon Ruins cultivators were quite strange.

If they were to retreat so hastily, the speed of their escape would be far too fast.

Qin Xijun looked at her disciple with great interest: "What? Still not enough of this battle?"

"Uh, no, no."

Song Yan quickly waved his hand.

This is of course the best.

With the demonic cultivators retreating and the traitor Yang Wenxuan within the sect already eliminated, it seemed that the sect's destruction, as Senior Brother Lin Qing had predicted, would not happen again.

"I heard from Xiao Xu that the Nine Veins Elder Council has recently been discussing the matter of repatriating disciples in batches."

"If the Demon Ruins truly recede and the war ends, then this outpost will naturally become useless."

"Several batches of disciples will return to their respective sects soon. In the end, perhaps only 20-30% of the disciples will remain in Red Maple Plain for routine patrols."

"It's too early to talk about these things now, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator like you who has already accumulated battle merits can return to your sect with peace of mind."

Xiao He understood what he meant.

They cheered excitedly, "Yay! Let's go home early!"

"it is good."

Song Yan chatted with Qin Xijun for a while longer, reminiscing about their experience visiting the ruins.

Qin Xijun played with one of the tiger tallies that Song Yan handed her, and couldn't help but sigh, "Ah, it's so good to be young. You can go wherever you want and be free."

Song Yan thought to himself, "Is this a trip for fun?"
Qin Xijun held the tiger tally in her hand and examined it carefully for a while: "It is indeed an old item..."

"However, I can't tell what material it is either. To be honest, your master doesn't really know much about antiques."

"The grocery store I used to run was a complete scam."

"..."

"Now that the Immortal Dynasty has been destroyed, this thing is just for collecting and playing with."

"Hiss..." Qin Xijun suddenly thought of something, paused slightly, and said, "It's hard to say."

Song Yan originally brought this antique to his master to have him examine it, and he knew it was useless.

However, Qin Xijun's words seemed to contradict this, so he looked doubtful.

"Although I can't discern the materials used to make this thing, its properties are quite unique, possessing the aura of an emperor, the aura of a warrior, and the aura of incense."

"I have read in some ancient books that during the Immortal Dynasty, there was a special group of cultivators."

"These cultivators are very mysterious, and they claim to be from the Yin-Yang School."

"Their methods are also very mysterious: setting up arrays with talismans, divining the secrets of heaven, summoning spirits and commanding generals, and glimpsing the yin and yang."

"Among them, the method of restraining and controlling the spirits of Yin and Yang is the most peculiar."

To capture and send away souls?

Song Yan frowned slightly. It didn't sound unique; it was just an ordinary method.

This trip to the ancient battlefield, after killing Chen Li, will allow me to obtain a similar martial arts technique.

Qin Xijun knew what he was thinking and gently shook her head: "It's not as simple as you think."

“Compared to the methods used by those demonic cultivators who forcibly capture the souls of wronged people, they can summon the souls of powerful cultivators from both the Yin and Yang realms to assist in the battle.”

"Even great cultivators who have been dead for thousands or tens of thousands of years."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow: "Doesn't this violate the principles of Yin and Yang?"

"I'm not sure about the specific restrictions."

Qin Xijun spread her hands: "After all, I only heard about your master from others and am just learning it on the spot."

"However, that ancient book mentions that when they call upon the souls of ancient cultivators, they need some kind of vessel or medium so that the ancient souls can descend."

"I think this tiger tally fits the description of a medium in the book."

"I see……"

Suddenly, the scene of his conversation with General Bai flashed through Song Yan's mind.

If what Granny Qin said is true, then perhaps the souls of the three generals were originally residing in these tiger tallies.

These outsiders, once inside, should theoretically be able to lead the generals out of the ruins.

However, General Bai did not mention this matter, allowing his martial immortal body to dissipate and be reincarnated.

It's likely because after being imprisoned for countless years, he no longer wanted to be controlled by others and just wanted to see his "hometown" one last time.

After a short while, Song Yan got up to say goodbye and left Qin Xijun's cave.

Having no intention of lingering in Red Maple Plains, he informed Xiao Ju telepathically and then took Zhou Mengdie with him, flying back towards Dongyuan Sect.

When Song Yan traveled from the sect to Red Maple Plain, he was alone with Xiao He. Using the Traveling Void Technique, they arrived in three to five days.

This time, I must bring Zhou Mengdie with me when I return to the sect, so I can only travel by sword.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, and they returned to Dongyuan Sect seven or eight days later.

Although both of them had accumulated enough merits to leave the battlefield, the war was not completely over yet, and they still had to report back to their sects.

On the way to the mission hall at Taiping Peak, the sect was bustling with people, seemingly a bit more lively than before.

It seems that many cultivators returned to their sects this time after fighting on the front lines and accumulating merits.

Therefore, during casual conversation, their tone and demeanor were very relaxed.

Occasionally, a few of them would be discussing matters at the front with their fellow cultivators who were about to head to Red Maple Plains.

As the saying goes, "Tigers and leopards lurk in the deep mountains, and heroes emerge in chaotic times."

Since the demonic cultivators wreaked havoc on Dragon Pool Mountain three or four years ago, the great war has been raging for three or four years.

Many previously unknown cultivators from various sects and nine lineages have now risen to fame.

Among the nine sects, the cultivators of Dongyuan Sect are the most renowned.

From the moment Song Yan unleashed his astonishing sword strike from the clouds in Longtan Mountain, the rise of the Dongyuan Sect cultivators became unstoppable.

In Chashan Village, Wang Renming used the Three Flowers Passage to ambush and kill two mid-Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators alone, and severely injured a late-Foundation Establishment Realm demonic cultivator. The demonic cultivator fled but also died from his injuries.

At Huangbi Mountain, the demonic cultivators attacked the mountain pass for two days without success. When they retreated, Li Yi, alone, charged in and out among the demonic cultivators covering the rear, killing five Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Not only Foundation Establishment cultivators, but also many Qi Refining cultivators are showing their talent.

Such as "Little Kitchen Master" Li Qingfeng, "Stele-Falling Hand" Han Yuan and other random names.

Becoming famous is certainly a good thing, but these titles always sound a bit like those of the mundane martial arts world.

Come to think of it, the cultivation world and the mortal world are the same; there's never a shortage of people who enjoy watching the excitement.

In chaotic times, there are always some people whose strength far surpasses that of others in the same realm, who stand out and become the focus of attention.

Along the way, Song Yan had heard his own name countless times.

The key point is that every time she heard it, Zhou Mengdie would look up at him.

The atmosphere was very awkward.

At the mission hall on Taiping Peak, Song Yan and Zhou Mengdie reported their frontline experiences to the steward according to procedure.

Before leaving, he asked about Lin Qing's whereabouts and learned that he had returned to the sect about half a year ago.

"Junior Sister Zhou, I'll leave you here."

After reporting their findings on Taiping Peak, the two parted ways.

"Most of the disciples live on Lotus Nether Peak, so it is inconvenient for me to go there."

"Alright, it's okay, Senior Brother Song, I'll walk back myself."

Zhou Mengdie waved her hand.

After descending Taiping Peak, Song Yan transformed into a beam of light and flew back to his cave at Shijian Peak.

(End of this chapter)