Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 128 The calm before the storm

"I have read through all the ancient books of Qingyun, and in one of the books of gods and demons, I saw a record of Liubo Mountain!"

Despite the stares of the crowd, Zhang Xiaofan remained calm, even somewhat cold, and spoke in a slightly chilly voice.

According to the "Tales of Gods and Demons," there is a mountain called Liubo in the East Sea, which extends thousands of miles into the sea. On it lives a beast that resembles a blue ox, with a blue body and no horns, and only one leg. It appears only once every thousand years, and its appearance is always accompanied by wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. Its light is like the sun and moon, and its sound is like thunder. It is called Kui Niu and is known as the mount of the Thunder God.

"The mythical beast Kui Niu? What would the Demonic Sect want with such an object?"

Fa Xiang was immediately startled and said in great surprise, while Zhang Xiaofan just smiled and replied casually.

"Perhaps it's to capture that mythical beast, the Kui Niu."

"But how can we be sure that the demonic sect's goal is indeed the divine beast Kui Niu?"

Qi Hao frowned and asked in a deep voice, and Zhang Xiaofan replied.

"This is what Senior Brother Xiao heard with his own ears."

"Senior Brother Xiao? Is it Xiao Yicai? Senior Brother Xiao? Is he also on Liubo Mountain?"

Qi Hao was startled upon hearing this. When they came down the mountain, they had heard the sect leader, Dao Xuan Zhenren, mention that Xiao Yicai was hiding in the Demonic Sect, but no one knew Xiao Yicai's identity.

Zhang Xiaofan didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly. Tian Buyi, who hadn't spoken until now, glanced at Cangsong Daoren, a smile appearing on his face, and spoke up.

“Since it’s a message from Junior Nephew Xiao, then there’s no problem. Seventh Brother, please continue.”

"Yes, Master. According to the information brought by Senior Brother Xiao, the incident at Liubo Mountain was caused by the Ghost King Sect, one of the four major sects of the Demonic Cult, which summoned many of its members on its own."

Zhang Xiaofan responded softly and then spoke again.

As Zhang Xiaofan spoke, Biyao, who was standing in the corner, had a rather complicated look in her eyes, which were slightly lowered.

The others had strange expressions when they heard about the Ghost King Sect, but Zhang Xiaofan remained calm as he continued his sermon.

"This time, the Ghost King Sect summoned these demonic sect members to Liubo Mountain, probably to distract my righteous comrades so that they could use the great formation to deal with the divine beast Kui Niu!"

"If that's really the case, then there are probably some elders of the Demonic Sect hiding on Liubo Mountain. Junior Brother Zhang was right to stop us from pursuing them further that day!"

Faxiang responded in a deep voice, and many people inside the tent nodded in agreement.

The righteous path has quite a few cultivators at the Shangqing realm. If we rely solely on the Ghost King Sect, we probably won't be able to stop them. Since the Ghost King Sect has been prepared for this, there must be more cultivators than just those currently on display.

"In that case, Junior Brother Zhang, what do you think we should do?"

Qi Hao couldn't help but ask, not feeling there was anything wrong with it. After all, Zhang Xiaofan had always been in charge, and had dealt with the attacks from the demonic sect members in a very orderly manner.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Cangsong's eyes flashed, and he stared at Qi Hao with a deep look, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

After letting out a sigh, Daoist Cangsong turned to look at Zhang Xiaofan. The young man, who was not yet twenty, remained calm and composed despite the stares of the crowd.

The young man's sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if he were deep in thought. But then, a light shone in his eyes, as brilliant and arrogant as the light of a sword.

"Now that we know the Ghost King Sect's objective, we might as well take the initiative and attack instead of waiting to be killed!"

Zhang Xiaofan let out a deep shout, a sharp sword intent rising from his body, and said, "The storm has begun, and the Ghost King Sect has also started preparations, which means that the Kui Niu will soon be born. The Ghost King Sect's entire focus will be on the Kui Niu, and they will not care about the lives of the other demonic sects!"

"Therefore, we should slowly attack from this side, and the Demonic Sect will surely gather to meet us!"

As he spoke, Zhang Xiaofan pointed to one side of the shallow beach. After a pause, he looked around and said in a deep voice.

"As for the Ghost King Sect, I can buy them time and prevent them from attacking the divine beast Kui Niu."

Zhang Xiaofan had enough confidence in his strength. He dared not say that he could completely destroy the Ghost King Sect's formation, but at least he could delay it for a while.

He was alone for two reasons: firstly, there were fewer targets, so he could hide himself in the surroundings; secondly, some of his methods were not suitable to be revealed to outsiders.

Upon hearing this, Tian Buyi frowned sharply. Seeing that Cangsong Daoist's expression darkened, he immediately spoke first.

"Hmph, arrogant and conceited. Do you really think you're invincible just because you've broken through to the Upper Clarity Realm?"

"This place is extremely dangerous. The Ghost King Sect has been preparing for this for many years and must be fully prepared. Xiao Fan, it is too dangerous for you to go alone."

Su Ru also spoke up from the side, then looked at Master Shuiyue beside her and said softly.

"Senior sister, why don't we go together? We absolutely cannot let the demonic sect succeed!"

Before Master Shuiyue could respond, Lu Xueqi quickly spoke up.

"Master, I'm going too!"

Upon hearing this, Master Shuiyue turned to look at her, and finally nodded slightly. He glanced at the hesitant Cangsong Daoist and said in a cold voice.

"In that case, we'll have to trouble Senior Brother Cangsong with those demonic cult members!"

Daoist Cangsong merely hummed softly, without saying anything.

Seeing that things were settled, Zhang Xiaofan turned to look at Faxiang, Dali Zunzhe, and the others, clasped his hands in a salute, and said.

"Gentlemen, the rain is gradually subsiding. I urge all of you to return and immediately gather your fellow Daoists. We must take action as soon as night falls. We must not allow the Demonic Sect to succeed!"

The torrential rain came quickly and went quickly.

Not long after everyone left the tent, the heavy rain suddenly stopped, and the dark clouds quickly dispersed. If all goes as expected, the sun may even come out at night.

Soon, the righteous sects had all assembled, and the Qingyun Sect members, once gathered, quietly awaited the approach of night.

However, at this time, the members of the Demonic Sect were still unaware of this and continued to scatter in various places as usual, seemingly searching for something.

Meanwhile, on a shallow beach, Wan Renwang stood on a small rocky cliff not far away, watching You Ji directing a group of Ghost King Sect disciples to stick dark red iron cone-shaped objects into the sand.

The setting sun, like blood, reflected on the sea in front of this shallow beach. Gazing at the blood-red seawater, Wan Renwang felt a fiery passion rise in his heart and murmured softly.

"Come on, come on!"

As Wanrenwang whispered, behind him, an ancient cauldron, its entire body glowing red, emitted a soft murmur in the sea breeze, like a call from the deepest hell, exuding a strange and fierce aura.

(End of this chapter)