Journey to the West: Starting with the True Lord of the Pure Land

After leaving Yunmang Mountain, Chen Jiao concealed his presence and rode his escape light southward.

A few days later, the rolling mountains along the border of Aolai Kingdom came into view.

He gazed into the direction of the Sword Pavilion and saw that the peaks resembled swords, piercing the clouds, which was the location of the Xuan Guang Sword Pavilion's mountain gate.

The spiritual energy, which should have been clear and pure, now faintly revealed an indescribable restlessness.

The low-hanging clouds in the sky were not a sign of rain, but rather an unusual phenomenon caused by a violent disturbance of the spirit.

It spun slowly like a vortex, with sharp, sword-like golden-white rays of light appearing and disappearing at its center, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to become restless and a faint sound of wind and thunder to be heard.

A chilling pressure could be vaguely sensed even from a hundred miles away.

What caught Chen Jiao's attention even more was that outside the Jian Ge peaks, a vast and magnificent blue light curtain rose into the sky, like an inverted giant bowl, firmly protecting the core peaks.

Chen Jiao narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered to himself:

"Activating a grand formation to conceal the strange phenomenon? It seems they must have some ulterior motive..."

After speaking, he made a hand seal and used an Earthly Fiend Invisibility Technique to quietly approach.

……

Inside the Sword Pavilion, the atmosphere was solemn and heavy.

Behind the main peak, in a forbidden area, an ancient cave dwelling is shrouded in the radiance of multiple array formations, and the atmosphere inside the cave rises and falls like the tides.

On the main peak plaza, five cultivators dressed in the robes of Sword Pavilion elders stood solemnly, all of them at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The elder at the head had a clear and ancient face, sharp eyes, and a powerful sword aura emanating from his body. He was none other than the Great Elder of the Sword Pavilion, Master Changhe.

His expression was solemn as he continuously cast spells with both hands, combining the power of the other elders to fully activate the sect-protecting formation [Mysterious Light Water Dividing Sword Formation] that covered the entire main peak.

The light flowed and transformed into a water-like screen, with clear sword patterns layered like fish scales, struggling to conceal the spiritual pressure constantly emanating from the cave at the summit.

Master Changhe's gaze swept over the crowd, his tone resolute:

"Today, we will use all the power of the sect to activate this formation, and we must conceal the Pavilion Master's breakthrough phenomenon."

We must not allow any external evil spirits to detect this in advance.

"Once the Pavilion Master emerges from seclusion, it will be time for our Xuan Guang Sword Pavilion to sweep away all evil spirits and quell the demonic forces!"

"I will obey the Grand Elder's decree!"

The elders and disciples responded in unison, their faces filled with hatred and anticipation, pouring their magical power into the great formation without reservation.

The grudges between Xuan Guang Sword Pavilion and Qing Chi Ridge have been brewing for a long time and are not something that happened overnight.

The sword energy immediately intensified, and the array of light flowed, tightly sealing off the increasingly violent fluctuations of energy at the peak.

Master Changhe's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat; maintaining this formation was taking a toll on him.

However, his eyes not only showed exhaustion, but also an intense, suppressed resentment and determination.

The upheaval at Thousand Needle Valley a few months ago was like a poisonous thorn, deeply embedded in his heart.

The Three-Leaf Sword Heart Orchid, which the sect had high hopes for and intended to present to the Pavilion Master as a Golden Core congratulatory gift, has vanished without a trace!

Liu Yizi's junior brother and a group of elite disciples also died tragically, their bodies still warm.

He rushed there himself and found only a mess on the ground and two stupid demons trying to devour the corpses.

In a fit of rage, he pursued the demon with his sword, slaying the Foundation Establishment Pig Demon and severely injuring the Eagle Demon, but ultimately failed to get any answers from the interrogation.

After he calmed down and carefully examined the scene, his doubts deepened.

The remaining traces of the battle at the scene, besides Junior Brother Liu's sword energy and the demonic energy of the two demons, also showed a chaotic spiritual energy, as if someone had set up a sealing formation.

"This is far beyond the capabilities of those two foolish demons!"

Changhe Zhenren was determined.

The pig demon and the eagle demon are nothing but barbaric and stupid creatures. How could these mountain spirits and monsters know how to use sophisticated formations?

Not to mention killing Junior Brother Liu and breaking his sword formation in a short time.

After much thought, he came to only one conclusion.

It must have been a passing rogue cultivator who noticed the unusual phenomenon of the orchid maturing, and took advantage of the fight between Junior Brother Liu and the two demons to secretly set up an array to seal it off, and then used swift and decisive means to seize the treasure and escape.

"How hateful! How hateful!"

Whenever he thought of this, Master Changhe felt his heart bleed.

He didn't even know who to seek revenge against, and this nameless evil fire burned his Dao heart day and night.

His gaze pierced through the ever-changing array, looking towards the direction of Qingchi Ridge, his eyes revealing a murderous intent.

Once the Pavilion Master's Golden Core is complete, he will rely on his absolute strength to crush all evil spirits around him before they become aware of his presence, and with lightning speed, he will crush them all.

That old snake, Qinglin, has been entrenched in Qingchi Lake for hundreds of years, and must have accumulated a great deal of spiritual materials and treasures.

There's also the newly emerged dragon demon of Yunmang Mountain, who's said to be quite powerful and seems to have gathered a number of lesser demons under his command...

If we eradicate them completely, we can not only avenge the past harassment and seize their treasures to make up for the sect's losses, but also accumulate merit in slaying demons, laying the foundation for the sect leader to guide them to ascension in the future.

Thinking of this, Master Changhe took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his turbulent emotions, and devoted more of his attention to maintaining the great formation.

At this moment, everything is of utmost importance to help the Pavilion Master break through to the next realm safely; no mistakes can be tolerated!

……

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away, deep within a crevice in a desolate rocky mountain.

Chen Jiao concealed his invisibility spell and quietly set up the Lesser Heavenly Cloud Thunder-Banning Banner at the outer ley line node of the Sword Pavilion's main peak.

"This sect-protecting sword formation... uses the radiance of the water curtain to conceal the secrets of heaven, and uses the profound sword intent to distort the spiritual energy, which is quite ingenious."

"Unfortunately, it's not a restrictive formation after all."

Back when he was still wandering the mortal realm before entering the Heavenly Palace, he often used formations to trap enemies, then killed them to seize treasures, or escaped freely. He could fight or retreat at will, living a very comfortable life.

Within the Xuan Guang Dividing Water Sword Formation, the aura deep within the cave was like a boiling sea, and the magnificent golden elixir Daoist charm became increasingly clear, stirring the subtle tides of heaven and earth's spiritual energy.

Clearly, Master Xuanguang's breakthrough has reached its most critical moment, and he is frantically absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to condense his golden core.

"Now is the perfect time to act."

Chen Jiao formed hand seals, his ten fingers flying like phantoms, and intricate dark gold runes flowed from his fingertips, silently disappearing into the surrounding clouds and void.

At the same time, the three black array flags, which were located at the three directions of the earth veins, heaven, earth, and man, rose up and grew in the wind, becoming about ten feet in size. In an instant, they disappeared into the clouds, and the dark gold lightning patterns on the flags suddenly lit up, emitting a low hum.

This formation is not for brute force or killing, but is specifically for suppression and sealing. Its wonder lies in "cloud restriction" and "thunder suppression".

There was no earth-shattering display, only a suppressive force of confinement, like an invisible net, suddenly tightening.

Using the three thunder banners as a base and the essence of heaven and earth as a medium, the flow of spiritual energy in the hundred-zhang area surrounding the main peak of the Sword Pavilion was instantly cut off and blocked.

This change was extremely subtle.

Meanwhile, inside the cave at the summit, Master Xuanguang, who was frantically absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from all directions to condense his golden core, suddenly realized something.

The abundant spiritual energy that had been flowing into the cave like a surging river suddenly diminished in an instant. It was as if the source had been cut off, leaving only a few trickles that could not be sustained.

He was at the most crucial moment in condensing his golden core. The rudimentary form of the golden core had already appeared, but it required a massive infusion of spiritual energy to completely stabilize it.

However, at this moment, inspiration suddenly ran dry, which was tantamount to cutting off the fuel supply.

If the formation of the core fails, the core will shatter and the Dao will perish!

"What's going on?!"

"Someone within the sect wants to harm me?!"