Chapter 918: 異變

Zhou Yunxiao’s expression was serious. The red long saber in his hand glowed intensely, and a layer of crimson flames emerged from thin air, causing the surrounding temperature to rise sharply.

He horizontally swung the red long saber in his hand towards the void. A loud whooshing sound filled the air, the void twisted, and a crimson saber aura, over a hundred zhang long, flashed out, striking the azure tornado.

As the crimson saber aura passed, it unleashed waves of fiery red flames.

The crimson saber aura swiftly swept over dozens of trees, causing them to spontaneously combust and turn to ash in the blink of an eye.

Boom! The crimson saber aura shattered the azure tornado into pieces, sending countless azure sword energies flying towards Zhou Yunxiao.

Thousands of azure sword energies surged forward, accompanied by a sharp, ear-piercing whoosh through the air.

Zhou Yunxiao’s aura surged, and a violent gust of wind appeared from nowhere, kicking up a storm of flying sand and stones.

With a slash through the void, a crimson light flashed, and a fiery red hawk, over ten zhang in size, materialized. Enveloped in a gale, it swooped down towards the incoming azure sword energies.

The dense azure sword energies blurred and merged, transforming into a colossal, hazy blue heaven-splitting sword. Carrying an aura of world destruction, it struck the fiery red hawk.

A tremendous roar erupted as the fiery red hawk was shattered by the heaven-splitting sword. A massive wave of crimson flames surged forth, engulfing the colossal sword.

Shortly after, the crimson flames dissipated, and the heaven-splitting sword also vanished.

On a certain mountain peak, Wang Qingshan stood at the summit. A formidable sword intent erupted from him, and thousands of identical azure flying swords hovered behind him, each emitting a clear, ringing hum.

"Go!" Wang Qingshan commanded. In response, the thousands of azure flying swords transformed into a thousand streaks of azure light, streaking towards Zhou Yunxiao like falling meteors.

As the thousand streaks of azure light hurtled towards him, even before they reached him, an immense oppressive force washed over Zhou Yunxiao, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Taking a deep breath, he gripped his red long saber, which glowed intensely. He swung it at the void, and with a flash of red light, a crimson saber aura, over a hundred zhang long, shot out, striking a towering peak with immense force.

Boom! More than half of the mountain peak was sliced off by the crimson saber aura. A layer of crimson flames rapidly spread, resembling a fiery red volcano, rising to meet the thousand streaks of azure light.

The thousand streaks of azure light pierced through the fiery red volcano, which then exploded into countless crimson firestones. These fell to the ground, igniting fierce blazes across the landscape.

With a resounding roar, hundreds of heaven-splitting saber auras, each over a hundred zhang long, surged directly towards Wang Qingshan.

Wherever the heaven-splitting saber auras passed, towering peaks were sliced into countless fragments as if made of tofu, scattering in all directions. Trees exploded into a vast shower of wood chips.

Wang Qingshan's expression grew grim. He opened his mouth, and the Azure Glaze Sword flew out, landing in his hand. Its entire blade shimmered with fluctuating crystal light.

He channeled his immense spiritual power into the Azure Glaze Sword, causing it to glow intensely and emit a piercing hum. With a flash of azure light, countless azure sword energies shot forth to meet the encroaching heaven-splitting saber auras.

Boom! A deafening roar reverberated as the azure sword energies and heaven-splitting saber auras collided, annihilating each other in a burst of powerful shockwaves. The wind and clouds swirled violently, and trees and stones were swept high into the sky by the intense currents, only to be pulverized by the sword and saber energies.

"I'm getting serious now. You'd better be careful."

Zhou Yunxiao's expression darkened. His red long saber glowed intensely, and an astonishing aura erupted from his body.

Just then, a sudden peal of thunder cracked in the clear sky. Space twisted and warped, wrinkling like a crumpled cloth.

A roaring sound grew louder as a black vortex, several zhang in size, materialized. Initially small, it quickly expanded to over ten zhang. A chilling, eerie wind surged forth, accompanied by a vast cloud of black mist.

Witnessing this, both Zhou Yunxiao and Wang Qingshan were momentarily stunned, surprise flickering in their eyes.

Even Sword Master Xiaoyao and the elegant middle-aged woman were somewhat surprised, unsure what the black vortex signified.

A secret realm? A treasure appearing? It couldn't be such a coincidence!

"Stop, don't fight for now. It seems you've broken the seal of some secret realm."

Sword Master Xiaoyao frowned, his expression somewhat peculiar.

The black mist emitted a chilling aura, which didn't seem characteristic of a secret realm.

The elegant middle-aged woman shook her head, her face solemn. "It doesn't seem like a secret realm. Could it be a demon emerging? Back then, the infamous Blood Emperor sacrificed hundreds of thousands of cultivators. Several seniors joined forces to severely wound him, but they couldn't kill him, so they set up formations to seal him away. This couldn't be where the Blood Emperor was sealed, could it?"

"It's definitely not the Blood Emperor," Sword Master Xiaoyao refuted, his gaze solemn. "He later cultivated the Corpse Dao and was killed by our Taiyi Immortal Sect's Ancestor, Sword Master Four Seasons. Even if he had a contingency, it's impossible for him to still be alive after more than three thousand years. Even Soul Transformation cultivators couldn't survive this long."

Sword Master Xiaoyao shook his head, his gaze extremely grave.

"This seems to be ghost qi. Yes, it's definitely ghost qi. Our Great Yan Dynasty has a dangerous place called the Myriad Ghost Cavern, which also emits ghost qi. This couldn't be the lair of some powerful demon, could it?" Zhou Yunxiao said, his expression grave.

"Qingshan, return immediately to Lingbie Market and inform Junior Brother Liu about the situation here. Since this might be a demon's lair, I naturally cannot ignore it."

Sword Master Xiaoyao looked at Wang Qingshan and instructed.

If they were to simply leave, and demons surged out, it would lead to disaster. Of course, while staying here presented dangers, it also offered opportunities. If the Taiyi Immortal Sect could gain control of this place, they might acquire vast amounts of cultivation resources.

Opportunity and danger coexisted. Sword Master Xiaoyao was confident in his abilities; even if a powerful demon appeared, he believed he could escape if he couldn't defeat it.

"Yes, Master. Fellow Daoist Zhou, I'll spar with you again next time."

Wang Qingshan agreed, retracted his flying sword, and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the distance.

"Yunxiao, hurry back to the Flying Shark Sea Region and inform Ninth Brother and Tenth Brother about the situation here. Fellow Daoist Ye and I will remain to prevent any demons from emerging and harming the mortal world."

The elegant middle-aged woman shared Sword Master Xiaoyao's view and instructed Zhou Yunxiao.

"Yes, Aunt."

Zhou Yunxiao agreed and transformed into a streak of crimson light, disappearing into the sky.

Several thousand li away, on an island over a thousand li in size, buildings stood densely amidst lush vegetation. This was the base of a cultivation sect. To one's astonishment, however, the island was littered with corpses, and flames raged skyward.

Upon closer inspection, it was evident that the corpses on the ground had been drained of their vital essence, turning into shriveled husks.

On a thousand-zhang peak, a black-robed cultivator stood at the summit. The cultivator was, in fact, a skeletal corpse, utterly devoid of flesh, with two golden flames burning in its eye sockets.

In the void before it, a black vortex, over ten zhang in size, swirled.

"Haha, an entrance has finally opened! With the help of the Profound Yin Ghost Qi, it won't take a century before I can reshape my physical body. Old Ghost Four Seasons, I couldn't defeat you back then, but I've lived longer than you. When I reshape my body, that will be the day your Taiyi Immortal Sect is annihilated!"

The skeletal corpse cackled maniacally, then transformed into a black streak of light and flew into the black vortex.

Almost simultaneously, numerous black vortices appeared across the Golden Toad Sea Region, each emitting a vast cloud of ghost qi.

Ghost qi is more terrifying than yin qi, capable of contaminating spiritual energy.

The anomalies in the Golden Toad Sea Region quickly caught the attention of the local cultivation forces. They dispatched personnel to investigate while simultaneously reporting the situation to their superiors.