With Elder Xun Zixian protecting him, Mo Hua was quite safe, but gazing at Yanluo Mountain, shrouded in Blood Qi and Spiritual Power running rampant, he still couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry in his heart.
The turbulence of Spiritual Power and Blood Qi persisted, lasting for half a day before gradually ebbing away.
The Blood Qi in the air had gathered into a thick blood mist.
This siege had finally drawn to a close. Taoist Court cultivators were already tending to the aftermath.
The Demon Sect was defeated; all the Golden Core Demons they could kill were killed.
But it wasn’t over yet.
There was still a large number of Demon Sect disciples fleeing like wild beasts and birds.
The Taoist Court was blocking off the exits, hunting them down one by one, trying to wipe them out completely, to prevent these remnants from escaping and bringing disaster to innocent cultivators.
The great battle was ended, but all around Yanluo Mountain, small-scale skirmishes were still flaring up one after another.
The grand battle was perilous, but the leftover slaughter afterward was just as deadly, full of hidden danger, and one couldn’t afford to drop their guard.
Xun Zixian wouldn’t dare let Mo Hua take that risk.
Mo Hua could only wait patiently.
After a while, it was instead the Golden Core Elders from Taixu Gate who came back one after another. Each of them looked weary, injured, their auras chaotic; clearly, the earlier battle had been extremely taxing.
Xun Ziyou also returned, his Taoist Robe marked with a clear streak of blood, half of his hair loose, face pale, blood all over him, and a fierce murderous glint still lingering in his eyes.
This was completely different from how Mo Hua had seen him before: the Elder Xun Ziyou who’d secretly followed him, liked to be lazy, and enjoyed sipping tea leisurely.
Xun Ziyou seemed still caught up in the killing, murder intent fixed on his face, but when he saw Mo Hua and met those clear, limpid eyes, he snapped back to himself and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Elder Xun, are your injuries serious?" Mo Hua asked.
Xun Ziyou replied gently, "I’m fine, nothing major." He took a few Pills, then sighed, "It’s just a shame we let the Demon Sect’s leader get away."
Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened a little.
Xun Zixian frowned, "What happened exactly?"
Xun Ziyou’s expression turned grave:
"We fought our way forward, all the way to the Blood Pool, where we encountered the Demon Sect leader."
"He looked half human, half ghost, extremely sinister. On his back was a carved dragon pattern—no idea where it came from. Once activated, his Blood Qi surged madly, and a green-black Evil Dragon circled through his body. Blade and spear couldn’t pierce him, spells couldn’t touch him, and his Dragon Roar was enough to shake the soul. Three or four late Golden Core Elders attacked together, but we just couldn’t take him down." ȒäＮȯ𐌱ÈꞨ
"The Sword Intent of Taixu Gate, the sword edge of Tai’a Sect, and the Sword Qi of Rushing Void Sect—none of them could break through his defenses."
"We stalemated for several hours. He finally sucked the Blood Pool dry, clearly spent, then transformed into a dragon shadow, unleashed a monstrous amount of Evil Power, broke through our encirclement, and fled deeper into Yanluo Mountain."
"The Evil Dragon Escape Skill was way too fast. We didn’t dare pursue too far; had to let him go, focusing first on rooting out the other Demon Sect vermin."
After all, the disaster of the Demon Sect wasn’t just about one leader; more troubling was the crowd of tumors spreading Demon Skills.
If they could wipe out most of the demon cultivators, that was enough for victory.
Mo Hua felt a weight lift from his heart as well. If they succeeded in this siege against the Demon Sect, that was good enough, but he still felt regret inside.
The Four Symbols Green Dragon Formation was as strong as rumored.
This Demon Sect Leader possessed the power of the Evil Dragon—even three or four late Golden Core Sect Elders couldn’t hold him down.
But then, what about the Four Symbols Green Dragon Formation Diagram?
With so many Golden Core Elders failing to subdue that Demon Sect Leader, there wasn’t a chance for him at all.
Mo Hua frowned in thought.
Meanwhile, after sitting down, Xun Ziyou drank a cup of tea that Elder Xun Zixian had just brewed, then suddenly remembered something and said:
"I killed a Golden Core Demon."
Xun Zixian responded coolly, "So you killed one, what’s the big deal?"
A late-stage Golden Core killing one or two Golden Core Demons wasn’t worth mentioning.
"That’s not it," Xun Ziyou frowned. "Remember, I mentioned those Golden Core demon cultivators from Valley of Ten Thousand Demons?"
Xun Zixian’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded.
Mo Hua was startled, and perked up his ears.
Xun Ziyou said: "Back at Refining Demon Mountain, there were three Golden Core Elder demon cultivators in Valley of Ten Thousand Demons."
"We found one’s corpse when we searched the mountain. There was a big claw mark across his chest, like someone had sliced him open—his storage bag gone, and the Monster Patterns on his skin had been cut off, so it’s impossible to tell what kind of demon cultivator he was."
"The other two—a snake demon and a bear demon—were the very same two who surrounded Elder Xuan Jian from Rushing Void Sect in Demon Hunting Mountain before."
"I fought those two demon cultivators, but they escaped. Later, when we searched the mountain again, never found any trace of them."
"But just now, in the Demon Sect, I actually ran into them."
On hearing this, both Xun Zixian and Mo Hua were surprised.
"So the matter of Valley of Ten Thousand Demons is connected to this Demon Sect?" Xun Zixian frowned.
"I think so..." Xun Ziyou said.
Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
He’d already guessed before—once a demon cultivator in Valley of Ten Thousand Demons formed their core, they were eligible to leave the valley, and after leaving, this Demon Sect was likely one of their gathering points.
But that had only been speculation—now Elder Xun Ziyou’s words had just confirmed his deduction.
So Valley of Ten Thousand Demons really was connected to the Demon Sect.
"Those two Golden Core demon cultivators—?" Xun Zixian asked. "Did you kill them?"
"Killed one," Xun Ziyou answered, "the snake demon’s dead, the bear demon got away—don’t know where he escaped to. Maybe one of the other Elders took him out, maybe not."
Xun Zixian pondered for a moment. "There’s something strange about all this..."
Xun Ziyou nodded. "Indeed."
Mo Hua was thoughtful as well. After a moment, just as he was about to speak, he suddenly sensed something wrong with the atmosphere, and quickly looked up at the sky.
He saw the heavens shrouded in a bloody haze, with Evil Qi swirling secretly along predetermined paths.
Mo Hua was startled and looked immediately to Xun Zixian, "Elder!"
Xun Zixian sensed the anomaly as well, face turning grim: "A Formation!"
He shot to his feet, unleashed his Divine Sense, and seemed to be making calculations in his heart. After a moment, his eyes narrowed sharply, and he addressed Xun Ziyou:
"It’s a Turning Fiend Formation: it feeds on the Blood Qi and resentment of the dead, nourishing something. Spread the word—don’t kill off any more demon cultivators unless absolutely necessary, or this Formation is going to gorge itself."
Xun Ziyou wasn’t very versed in Formations, but he respected Xun Zixian’s skill, and immediately summoned several Inner Sect Disciples to pass down the order.
The Inner Gate Disciples hurried off to relay the command.
Xun Zixian was still deeply worried.
"Not killing isn’t a real solution either—many people already died in the battle just now. Whether we kill now or not, this Evil Formation is still running, absorbing the Blood Fiend Qi."
Mo Hua knew this as well. He said: "Elder Zixian, we’ve got to find a way to break this Formation. We can’t leave such an evil thing here."
Xun Zixian nodded slightly, but looked at Mo Hua with concern.
Mo Hua knew he was worried about his safety, so he said:
"I’ll go with you—I won’t leave your side, I won’t wander off. All the Golden Core Demons are either dead or have fled; there shouldn’t be any real danger left."
Xun Zixian considered a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
He rose, gathering a few Taixu Sect Elders who still had some strength, and headed into the poisonous swamp of Yanluo Mountain.
Once a poison swamp, it had now become a "Blood Swamp."
The mist above was saturated with blood, bright crimson, carried on the lingering Formation power, floating in the air, condensed and undispersed.
Within the Blood Qi, life and death karma flowed faintly.
Xun Zixian took out a Si Nan, flicked it a few times with his fingers, and the Golden Needle spun, pointing the way toward the source of Evil Power.
Xun Zixian followed the direction indicated by the Golden Needle.
Mo Hua obediently followed behind, treading on withered grass, poisonous swamp, and severed corpse-parts of demon cultivators, step by step heading deeper into the marsh.
After half an hour, Xun Zixian stopped, eyes narrowing. He raised two fingers and pointed; a streak of sword light shot forth, flattening a grassy mound in front of them.
Beneath the mound lay a large White Bone Stele, covered in hideous patterns.
The Blood Fiend energy in the air was converging from all directions onto this White Bone Stele.
Nourished by the blood, those patterns on the stele’s face swelled with fresh blood and visibly glowed with evil red light, almost as if they had come alive, writhing bit by bit.