Chapter 341: Profiting from Chaos (Part One)

The spell flames in Li Qiuyang’s hand blazed like a streak of light, hurtling straight towards the person. The person, whose full attention had been on the Xiao family members in front of him, felt his hackles rise and quickly turned his head.

“You scoundrel!”

The demonic cultivator saw the fire spell reach him in an instant. He quickly changed his hand seals to block it. Being an experienced and powerful cultivator, he managed to recover his breath and cast a defensive spell in the nick of time.

The Xiao family members behind him, however, gave him no such opportunity. They brandished their magical artifacts and shouted:

“Zhen 6, Qian 3, advance for offense! Change formation!”

The golden light he had long accumulated in his hand surged forth. The Nascent Aura cultivators behind him continuously supplied spiritual power, causing the spell in his hand to grow ever brighter. It transformed into a prismatic golden shard that flew towards the demonic cultivator like the wind.

“Damn it!”

Any ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator caught in this pincer attack would surely lose their life. But this demonic cultivator was no ordinary foe; a great burst of blood-red light erupted from his body, and a small red shield appeared on his back.

“Clang!”

The demonic cultivator raised his long axe high, blood light surging. With a single swing, he shattered Li Qiuyang’s spell into fragments. However, the golden light from behind had already reached his back.

The small shield blocked for merely an instant before vanishing without a trace against the brilliant golden light. Though brief, it allowed the cultivator to adjust his position, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.

With a wet thud, a flash of blood appeared. The demonic cultivator was severed, losing the majority of his body from his left shoulder down to his left hip. His left half was reduced to little more than a leg, and a large mass of internal organs tumbled out.

The demonic cultivator grimaced and cursed. He formed a hand seal, and the severed flesh and blood in the air, before even hitting the ground, transformed into a swirling cloud of blood mist. Like a whirlwind, it swept over, carried away the remaining part of his body, and then, still like a whirlwind, burrowed deep into the alley.

Li Qiuyang had never encountered a demonic cultivator before. Witnessing the severely wounded enemy vanish in the blink of an eye, he was momentarily stunned and exclaimed:

“He can escape like that? He can survive that?”

“Brother Qiuyang!”

The Xiao family cultivator in front of him had already dispersed their small formation. He rushed forward to greet Li Qiuyang, saying gratefully:

“Many thanks, Brother Qiuyang, for your help!”

“It’s nothing!”

Li Qiuyang replied, feeling somewhat dazed. He found the demonic cultivator’s techniques miraculous and said incredulously:

“You just let him get away!”

Seeing that Li Qiuyang had not yet recovered from the shock of the demonic cultivator’s techniques, the Xiao family cultivator gave a wry smile and whispered:

“Brother Qiuyang, you may not know this, but demonic cultivators are masters of survival. Among all cultivation paths, they are the most difficult to kill. Their ‘Other Dwelling, Same Furnace’ techniques are particularly strange and hard to counter.”

“Moreover, like Buddhist cultivators, these demonic cultivators don’t place much importance on their physical bodies. While they can’t change bodies as freely as Buddhist cultivators, their physical forms aren’t as critical as ours. Don’t let his severe injuries fool you; a few days of absorbing blood essence and demonic energy, and he’ll recover.”

As the Xiao family cultivator explained, the vast white formation covering the sky above suddenly roared, cracks appearing across its surface. All of them instantly changed their expressions, fear showing on their faces.

Li Qiuyang hurriedly said:

“Then we should leave quickly! What if this demonic cultivator brings back reinforcements? Would any of us still be alive?”

“Indeed!”

The Xiao family cultivator’s expression also changed as he said in a deep voice:

“It seems the market is still besieged by demonic cultivators. We can’t leave now. Guanyun Peak has another major formation. How about you, Brother Qiuyang, come with me to Guanyun Peak in the center of the market?”

“Guanyun Peak has a Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding it. With that great formation, it should be able to hold out until our family’s reinforcements arrive, keeping us safe…”

Li Qiuyang shook his head. He pulled a jade pendant from his storage bag, carefully sensed the direction it indicated, and replied:

“My Brother Xuan is still somewhere in the market. I need to go assist him, so I’m afraid I cannot accompany you…”

“Alas!”

The Xiao family cultivator’s expression froze. At that moment, the market was filled with chaos, burning, killing, and looting everywhere. Li Qiuyang, a miscellaneous Qi cultivator, was even weaker than this Xiao family cultivator. In such a market, finding someone would be impossible, let alone protecting himself.

But seeing Li Qiuyang’s solemn face and resolute expression, he found it difficult to say more. He simply cupped his hands and said in a muffled voice:

“Brother, take care!”

Flying was impossible now; ascending into the air would make them targets for the many demonic cultivators lurking in the market. The few of them could only activate their Swift Movement techniques and quickly parted ways.

The Xiao family cultivator hurriedly led his people into the alleyway. Li Qiuyang, with one hand clutching a talisman in his sleeve and the other holding the jade charm, sped towards Li Xuanxuan’s direction.

On Guanyun Peak.

A biting wind swept across the chilling mountaintop. Xiao Ruyu stood sideways, his face as grim as water, watching the demonic clouds outside the formation roll and churn ceaselessly.

On the jade platform before him lay a formation disk with intricate patterns. Six of its star-like formation points gleamed brightly, while the other six were dim, lifeless, and riddled with cracks, clearly having been removed.

Contrary to Li Xuanxuan’s expectations, Xiao Ruyu had not left Guanyun Peak early; in fact, he was entirely unprepared. His expression was grim, and he gnashed his teeth.

“It seems… we’ve been tricked.”

He murmured, the jade pendant in his palm faintly glowing red. Streaks of light flowed over its six engraved marks:

“Guanyun Market, Yushan, Xianyue Peak, Yuyuan Market… There’s no point hoping for reinforcements from home anymore.”

Xiao Ruyu’s heart turned to ice. The Xiao family’s ordeal during this demonic calamity was far more extensive than just Guanyun Peak; almost every stronghold had been impacted to varying degrees, and even their main peak, Xianyue Peak, had been invaded.

“Our Old Ancestor hasn’t returned for several months, and the demonic disaster has suddenly shifted direction. It seems my Xiao family is in for some heavy losses!”

“Bang!”

As he was silently pondering, two more formation points on the array disk before him extinguished one after another. Xiao Ruyu silently gripped the magical artifact in his hand and looked up.

The black-robed cultivators outside said nothing, yet they made Xiao Ruyu feel as if he was facing a formidable enemy. He was utterly bewildered:

“It was agreed that the demonic calamity would head north along the Mushroom Forest Plain, entering the Purple Smoke Sect’s territory from the east of Lixia Commandery. But now, both the timing and the direction have completely changed. Is the Green Pond Sect… planning to turn against my family?”

Xiao Ruyu had managed the family for three years and then guarded Guanyun Peak market town for five years. He was no longer the impulsive youth who had once angrily killed the young master of the Tangjin Sect alongside Li Xuanfeng. Having learned too many secrets, his perspective and way of acting had undergone a complete transformation. He said, puzzled:

“Impossible… impossible… How could the Green Pond Sect turn against us at this moment? True Monarch Shangyuan’s breakthrough is still at least fifty years away…”

His mind was in a chaotic whirl. The light points before him flickered unsteadily, then suddenly extinguished. Cracks appeared across the vast white formation in the sky, and demonic energy, like smoke and mist, surged inwards, emitting piercing shrieks.

“Young Master!”

Xiao Ruyu, his face grim, stared silently. Then, a low shout came from beside him as an agile blade master landed on the peak. Two ferocious, claw-wielding flood dragons coiled around him as he said in a deep voice:

“Young Master, please descend the mountain quickly. Leave this place to Tao Jing!”

This was none other than Chen Taojing, the blade master who had once besieged Yu Yufeng alongside Li Tongya. His Dao foundation was also the Vast Sea, and the two light blue flood dragons coiling around him were indeed fierce and aggressive.

“Uncle Taojing…”

Xiao Ruyu silently glanced at him, clearly struggling to decide. Chen Taojing, however, said in a muffled voice:

“My Vast Sea foundation is the most profound, allowing me to handle multiple opponents. I have already prepared elixirs; Young Master, please leave quickly.”

Xiao Ruyu gritted his teeth, concealed his form, and hurried down the mountain. Chen Taojing remained, standing with his blade, watching the figures outside the tottering great formation.