Chapter 534: Qingling Sect

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume 4: Winds Rise Overseas

Aside from a slightly salty sea breeze gently blowing over the mountain, the surroundings were silent. This eased the minds of the few individuals on the small mountain, allowing them to boldly enter meditation with closed eyes.

Time passed quickly. An hour later, the individuals had recovered most of their spiritual energy, and their complexions appeared much more normal.

The middle-aged cultivator opened his eyes, observed the condition of the men and women, and without hesitation, instructed:

“Let’s go. We can’t stay here any longer! Those things are probably catching up soon.” Having said this, he stood up first.

Although the Qi Condensation cultivators were somewhat reluctant to leave, they dared not hesitate, ending their meditation as well. They each took out their magical artifacts, ready to take flight together.

But just then, loud cries suddenly erupted from above the small island, and parts of the milky-white dense fog began to churn and boil.

“Oh no!” The middle-aged cultivator’s face instantly changed color.

The other men and women, with a gasp, turned incredibly pale.

From within the dense fog above, a dozen or so gigantic gray strange birds suddenly darted out.

These strange birds were several meters in size, with red fleshy crests on their heads, sharp beaks and claws, and faint green light emanating from their bodies, presenting a fierce and hideous appearance.

Upon appearing, they did not immediately swoop down onto the island. Instead, they quickly circled in the air before fanning out, instantly blocking the cultivators’ escape routes, appearing to be very skilled at coordinated attacks.

Seeing this scene, the middle-aged cultivator’s heart plummeted.

“Go, quickly get to that forest. We can split up and escape if an opportunity arises!” He had some experience dealing with bird-type demonic beasts, and immediately urged the others to quickly flee towards the nearby forest.

The other men and women, being utterly flustered, naturally had no objections. They also urged their artifacts and followed.

The strange birds in the sky then let out a raucous shriek, and slowly encircled the group, descending from above.

Seeing the demonic birds behave this way, the men and women grew increasingly panicked, and their escape speed increased. In the blink of an eye, they reached the airspace above the forest and abruptly descended.

An unexpected scene, however, appeared at this moment!

As soon as the five individuals flew close to the forest, about ten meters above the ground, an emerald green glow suddenly flashed. They felt their vision brighten. After a moment of dizziness, they suddenly realized the scenery before them had dramatically changed.

The original forest was gone. Instead, they found themselves facing an extremely unfamiliar mountain range. An astonishing surge of spiritual energy washed over them.

“This is an illusion array!” The most beautiful of the three female cultivators, dressed in blue brocade, exclaimed in surprise.

“Could there be fellow cultivators here?” the sturdy young man said, overjoyed.

“Perhaps!” Regardless, this is a chance for us to survive. I hope this illusion array can fool those Vulture-Hawks!” The middle-aged man was also greatly surprised, murmuring softly.

Upon hearing this, the others instinctively looked up towards the illusion array.

At this moment, the evil birds circling in the air suddenly lost their target. There was a commotion among them. But after a few sharp calls to each other, they continued to slowly descend in the same direction.

“No! It seems the Vulture-Hawks are unaffected by these illusions. Quickly move towards that mountain range; there’s a restrictive aura there, and perhaps other fellow cultivators are truly present.” The middle-aged cultivator said with a grim expression. With a flash of escape light, he flew forward.

After exchanging glances, the other men and women, with tense expressions, followed him.

However, after they had flown only a short distance, their path was blocked by a sudden white light barrier.

Seeing this scene, the middle-aged cultivator was not alarmed; instead, he rejoiced.

He immediately reached out. A sound transmission talisman appeared in his hand.

Then, he chanted an incantation, and with a flick of his hand, the talisman transformed into a streak of fiery light, disappearing into the light barrier in the blink of an eye.

The others watched this scene in alarm, not daring to utter a single word.

A moment later, the dozen or so strange birds finally flew into the illusion array. Upon discovering their targets, they ruthlessly swooped in from all directions towards the group. As their wings flapped, dazzling green light faintly accompanied their movements.

The middle-aged cultivator's face darkened. He glanced at the white light barrier behind him, gritted his teeth, and softly gave a few instructions.

The other men and women also looked grim, but they raised their hands one after another, emitting various lights, and conjured their magical artifacts, preparing to bravely face the coming battle.

Just as the Vulture-Hawks flew above them, about to descend and engage in close combat, something unexpected happened again.

From within the white light barrier, hundreds of multicolored light beams suddenly shot forth. Though only thumb-thick, they were incredibly sharp. They instantly pierced through all the low-flying Vulture-Hawks, creating countless holes.

Immediately, thudding sounds echoed continuously!

The demonic beasts fell lifelessly to the ground, without even a single cry.

“This is…”

The group, including the middle-aged cultivator, was instantly overjoyed. They couldn’t help but turn their heads to look at what was happening within the light barrier.

First, they were startled, and then they froze in astonishment.

Within the light barrier, they saw a dozen or so tall, massive giant apes.

At first glance, they thought more demonic beasts had appeared, and a chill naturally ran down their spines.

But then they noticed something unusual. Upon closer inspection, they realized these giant apes were glossy black mechanical puppets. Each of these giant ape puppets had both arms raised, and the light beams they had just witnessed must have come from their hands.

Only then did the group truly rejoice.

Afterward, the giant apes silently lowered their arms. Then, a shimmering light suddenly appeared, and the puppets vanished with it.

As they stood there in bewildered uncertainty, the white light barrier before them flashed intensely a few times, and a passage about three meters wide opened up on its own.

Witnessing this, they exchanged even more bewildered glances!

“I am currently in secluded cultivation, so it is inconvenient for me to rise and greet you. Fellow Daoists, please rest for a moment within the array and then depart on your own.” A man’s voice calmly echoed from within. However, from the tone of his words, it seemed the array master had no intention of meeting them.

“Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives. Since these demonic birds have been eliminated, we can rest here briefly and then leave. We wouldn’t dare disturb your pure cultivation any further!” Although the middle-aged cultivator felt that the other party bore no ill will, how could he dare enter the array without knowing the other party’s background? He could only bite the bullet and speak, risking the possibility of displeasing the other party.

“Hehe, you seem very cautious! But if that’s the case, what exactly happened to you? How could you be chased down like this by a group of Tier 2 demonic beasts?” The man chuckled lightly, seemingly unconcerned. However, his subsequent words seemed to carry a hint of curiosity.

Only then did the middle-aged cultivator’s expression relax, and he felt relieved. He quickly replied respectfully:

“We are disciples of the Azure Spirit Sect. This time, we ventured out to sea to gather some spiritual herbs. However, we accidentally caught the attention of these Vulture-Hawks. They chased us relentlessly the entire way. If it weren’t for Senior’s timely intervention, we would surely have met a terrible fate.”

After the middle-aged man expressed his gratitude, the man said nothing in response, only letting out a soft “hmm” before falling silent.

This made the cultivators feel uneasy once again.

The middle-aged cultivator was also feeling anxious, but he dared not leave the spot immediately. So, he gestured for the others to remain calm.

“Are these all the disciples from the Azure Spirit Sect? Why wasn’t a senior from your sect leading the team? Don’t you know that venturing out to sea with your cultivation levels is simply seeking death? Even if there aren’t any Core Formation cultivators, sending a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t have resulted in you being chased by Tier 2 demonic beasts like this.” After a moment of silence, the man’s cold words echoed from within the array once more.

Upon hearing the man’s question this time, the middle-aged cultivator was startled at first, but after a moment of hesitation, he gave a bitter smile.

“Senior! Our Azure Spirit Sect is merely a small sect. Although we once had a Core Formation elder, he perished over twenty years ago during the beast tide. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators within our sect are few in number.” The middle-aged cultivator said with some hesitation.

As he spoke these words, the middle-aged man also worried that the other party might be trying to pry into their sect’s details, and then harbor ill intentions towards them.

However, he then considered that this person’s cultivation was astonishing. If he wanted to eliminate them, he only needed to deploy those puppets, and wouldn’t need to expend such effort. If he were to be evasive or deceive with false words, and angered the other party, that would truly be courting death.

Thus, the middle-aged cultivator hardened his resolve, and truthfully disclosed the sect’s actual situation, taking a risk.

He didn’t believe his dilapidated sect had anything worth coveting.

“A beast tide! When did that happen? Was it related to demonic beasts?” A hint of surprise mingled in the man’s voice.

But the middle-aged cultivator was even more startled by this question! The other young men and women also showed expressions of astonishment.