Just as everyone was lost in thought, their souls unsettled, more than a dozen figures shot out from the gray mist in the sky in two directions. One direction shot toward the Malevolent Spirit Sect , and the other toward the peak where the demonic cultivators were.
That cold voice then sounded again. "Heh heh, fine methods. You really have painstakingly planned for decades. I have already investigated clearly. Yin Congfeng, you three detain all the people from the Ten-Pace Courtyard , the Supreme Mystery Teachings , and the Pure Land Sect as guests for a few days. After we have a discussion with the old fellows from these sects, we will decide what to do."
As he spoke, besides the middle-aged elder in the black robe from the Malevolent Spirit Sect who was thrown back to his own peak, the other dozen or so people had been thrown onto the peak where the demonic cultivators were.
Everyone was stunned and dazed at first, not having reacted yet, when that voice sounded again. "Malevolent Spirit Sect, you all may return. As for not having enough Golden Core cultivators to open the return passage, just let Motian and Mingyu go. That will make ten. Yin Congfeng, you arrange for our Daoist friends from the other three sects to stay temporarily in the 'Pine-Wave Pavilion.' As for the little one from the Ten-Pace Courtyard who was poisoned, I will handle it. But this poison is truly strange, very strange and troublesome..." Amidst these words, that vast expanse of gray mist slowly dissipated completely. A moment later, a clear sky of ten thousand li once again appeared in everyone's eyes. Only a voice remained in the world, but this voice carried a hint of mockery, and in the end, it seemed to be muttering to itself.
These words came suddenly. Before everyone could react, the person was gone, and the building was empty. By the time the cultivators below reacted, only the lingering echo remained in the air. That vast expanse of gray mist had vanished into thin air. From beginning to end, besides the dozen or so people who had been drawn into the gray qi, no one had seen what this old demon looked like.
These words fell on the ears of the members of the Ten-Pace Courtyard , the Pure Land Sect , and the Supreme Mystery Teachings . Many of their faces instantly turned ashen. Being guests here was undoubtedly being hostages. Sword King Xiahuà's face looked slightly better; at least with this senior taking action, Wang Lang's life should be safe.
For a time, the atmosphere of the three sects was extremely oppressive. But before they could have any other reaction, Yin Congfeng's cold voice had already sounded, echoing through the heavens and earth. "Everyone, if you please!" He had already taken a step from the Malevolent Spirit Sect's peak and was standing in the air, his burning gaze fixed on the Ten-Pace Courtyard , the Supreme Mystery Teachings , and the Pure Land Sect .
On the Malevolent Spirit Sect's peak, that black-robed middle-aged elder from Four Symbols Peak was still sitting on the ground with a terrified expression. He looked dazed and had not yet recovered from his fear since being thrown back. Elder Peng and the others, especially Peak Master Yi, rushed forward to check on him.
The black-robed middle-aged elder sat dazedly on the ground. Peak Master Yi had already grabbed his wrist and was about to carefully probe with his spirit power. But the moment his palm touched the black-robed elder, the elder, who was sitting on the ground, trembled all over and violently shook off Peak Master Yi's arm. Under everyone's astonished gazes, his eyes slowly began to focus. After seeing his surroundings clearly, sweat uncontrollably poured down his forehead like a spring. He didn't even bother to wipe the sweat, his lips trembling as he said, "I... I... I'm fine." The moment he said this, it was as if a thousand-jin burden had been lifted, and he let out a heavy breath.
But not just Elder Peng and his group, almost everyone was watching this side. They hadn't heard this black-robed elder's screams just now, and their curiosity was piqued. Hearing these words, Elder Yi and the other seven also let out a long breath. They glanced around, and with a wave of a large sleeve, released a protective shield again, only covering the eight of them, the Golden Core cultivators. How could such a matter be known to others? Perhaps it involved the face of a Golden Core cultivator. Elder Yi's action made the gazes from the surroundings instantly fill with disappointment, but no one went to probe with their Divine Sense .
Next, in the black-robed cultivator's account, Peak Master Yi and the other seven learned what had happened. After the dozen or so of them were drawn into the gray mist, that old demon didn't give them a chance to beg for mercy. Instead, with a point of his finger in the void, he had grabbed Yihuo in his palm. Without hesitation, he directly performed a soul-search on the Buddha Yihuo. At the same time, with a wave of his other hand, he sealed the sense of speech of the black-robed middle-aged man and the others, preventing them from opening their mouths to beg for mercy, but did not seal their other five senses, allowing them to feel the incomparable pain of the Buddha Yihuo at all times.
Yihuo's blood-curdling screams and the streams of blood flowing from his seven orifices, as well as his features that were so twisted they no longer resembled a human face, made Hang Zhi, Xiàchí, and the black-robed middle-aged man's souls nearly fly out. But they couldn't speak. The fear in their eyes grew even stronger. The group of low-level cultivators led by Qiu Jiuzhen were so scared they trembled all over, their faces ashen. They had even lost the courage to open their mouths and beg for mercy. Several Qi Condensation cultivators, amidst Yihuo's blood-curdling screams, directly rolled their eyes and fainted from fear.
After searching Yihuo's Divine Sense , the Copper-Ghost beast seemed to have gained something. A fierce glint flashed in its eyes, and there was even a hint of anger. This scared Hang Zhi and the others so much they were on the verge of fainting. They desperately wanted to shrink back, but couldn't move an inch. This Ironback Copper-Ghost Vicious Beast casually sealed Yihuo's sense of speech and threw him aside. Its fierce gaze swept over the remaining people one by one. When it swept over the black-robed middle-aged elder, it paused, its eyes narrowing as if in thought. Then, it landed directly on Hang Zhi. This one glance made Hang Zhi's delicate body tremble uncontrollably, her pretty face turning green. Amidst the old demon's cold laughter, it grabbed her without any pity. Casually unsealing Hang Zhi's sense of speech, before she could beg for mercy, it had already begun the soul-search. The moment that sharp, blood-curdling scream sounded, Hang Zhi's expression was one of extreme pain, the veins on her face and neck bulging high. She had long since lost her former misty charm. The black-robed middle-aged elder and the others clearly saw the expression of enjoyment on its face; it even closed its eyes.
In this way, in the extreme terror of the black-robed middle-aged man and the others, it was next Xiàchí's turn...
Finally, after throwing the three blood-stained people aside, who looked as if they were dead, the black-robed middle-aged elder could only close his eyes and wait for his own fate to arrive. But after waiting for a short while, there was no movement. He heard the vicious beast muttering to itself. When he opened his eyes, a pair of fierce eyes were staring at him, sending a chill down his spine.
"Consider yourself lucky, boy. I was originally worried that this matter was extremely secret, that their memories might have been altered by a potential Spirit Transformation stage cultivator from the three sects, which I wouldn't be able to find out. But you, little one, are lucky. After comparing the memories of the three of them, they are basically the same. You were all chosen by me at random. I think that even a true Spirit Transformation stage cultivator from the three sects wouldn't have altered the memories of all these dozens of Golden Core cultivators. If it was to protect their secret, going through these dozens of Golden Core cultivators, even a Spirit Transformation stage old monster would have to expend a great deal of essence. So, that's that.
"Since that's the case, there's no need to soul-search you. After all, it was your sect that informed me of this matter. But just now, you had the intention of using a borrowed knife to kill, so if there had been the slightest discrepancy in the memories of those three, you wouldn't have been able to escape now either."
Just as the black-robed middle-aged elder was in a dream-like state, the vicious beast looked at Qiu Jiuzhen and the others. But it didn't soul-search them either. With just a beckon of its hand, in Qiu Jiuzhen's terrified eyes, the storage pouch on her body flew over. Then, without any hindrance, it was easily forced open by the vicious beast's Divine Sense . With just a sweep of its Divine Sense , it took out a green gourd. At the same time, because the Divine Sense imprint left on her storage pouch was forcibly erased, Qiu Jiuzhen opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. But the vicious beast didn't even glance at her. With another beckon of its hand, the storage pouch on Wang Lang's body also fell into its hand. Subsequently, the moment the Divine Sense imprint on the storage pouch was forcibly erased, the unconscious Wang Lang suddenly spat out a mouthful of brown blood. The blood he spat out, the moment it fell into the gray mist, actually made the surrounding mist feel as if it was being assimilated into a brown color.
After looking at the blood Wang Lang spat out, and then at the somewhat discolored gray mist, the vicious beast's gaze also paused. With a look of doubt in its eyes, it crooked a finger, and a drop of blood flew over from the mist and landed on its fingertip. It was a drop of brownish blood, and in its hand, it actually felt as if it wanted to corrode its finger.
"Heh heh, this poison is not from the secret realm. It seems to be a new poison concocted by the Malevolent Spirit Sect . It's quite interesting." However, this poison was harmless to it; it was just interesting. That's why it took a second look. After looking, it gently rubbed its thumb and forefinger together, and that drop of blood turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated.
After spitting out blood, Wang Lang fell back into a coma. Similarly, a green gourd was also taken from his storage pouch by this vicious beast. Looking at the two green gourds in front of it, a fierce glint flashed in the Copper-Ghost beast's eyes, its thoughts unknown.
A moment later, it turned its gaze to the eight Qi Condensation disciples from the Supreme Mystery Teachings . Its Divine Sense then swept over each of them one by one. At its level of cultivation, it didn't need to use external objects or spirit power to investigate spirit roots. After its Divine Sense swept over them, it was already clear in its heart. These eight Qi Condensation disciples were indeed all uniformly five-element miscellaneous spirit roots .
"There really is a problem. They are all miscellaneous spirit roots. It's exactly the same as in the memories of those three. If I don't make them pay a heavy price for this, how can it be justified? Last time, I only killed a few thousand people, and they made me compensate with so many spirit stones and treasures. This time, I'll make you spit it all back out with interest." A fierce glint flashed in its eyes, and it had already made a plan. Then, with a wave of its hand, it sent the black-robed middle-aged elder and the people from the other three sects all flying away from here.
After hearing this, Elder Peng and the others finally let out a true sigh of relief. In that case, that fourth-tier demonic beast had indeed given the Malevolent Spirit Sect some face. Otherwise, he would probably have been the second person to be soul-searched.
At the same time, just as Yihuo, Hang Zhi, and the others landed on the demonic cultivators' peak, the dozens of Golden Core elders from the three sects flew over without the slightest hesitation. After they checked, they couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. The Soul-Searching Art , when used by a Nascent Soul Old Monster , was truly not something a Golden Core stage cultivator could compare to. If Golden Core cultivators like Immortal Elder Hangwu and Xiahuà were to soul-search Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation stage cultivators, the person being searched would basically become an idiot afterward. But although Yihuo, Hang Zhi, and Xiàchí looked extremely miserable, their auras weakened to the absolute bottom, their minds were still clear. It was clear that the vicious beast had used an extremely skillful method, not forcibly soul-searching, but avoiding some forbidden areas that absolutely could not be touched. This was what allowed the three of them to retain their sanity. But even so, it had caused them great harm. They would need at least a few years, or even more than ten years, to recover. The domineering nature of the Soul-Searching Art could perhaps only be controlled as an extension of one's arm after reaching the legendary Spirit Transformation stage. As for Qiu Jiuzhen and the others, they had really just had a scare. Their storage pouches were even returned to them, just missing two green gourds.
At this point, Sword King Xiahuà, Great Master Yisong, and Immortal Elder Hangwu knew that the situation was irreversible. Without the other party's permission, their three sects would not be able to return no matter what. They could only resign themselves to their fate and follow the instructions of the fourth-tier demonic beast. At the "invitation" of Yin Congfeng , who had instructed Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an , they each flew to the three peaks to gather the remaining personnel.
But the gazes of everyone from the three sects were all fiercely directed at the Malevolent Spirit Sect's peak. Yan Motian and Lin Mingyu had already gone over there and were talking in low voices with Elder Peng and the others. The Malevolent Spirit Sect seemed not to see the unfriendly gazes and soaring hatred of the nearly one hundred cultivators from the three sects and began to organize their team to prepare for their return. They knew that the three sects could not possibly attack now. They estimated that the moment they made a move, that vicious beast would immediately appear here.
In the end, this result was something no one could have expected. Just as Elder Peng and the others were talking, a cold voice came over. "Elder Peng, to think that in the end, it was your Malevolent Spirit Sect that won. After several struggles, you have the most cultivators remaining. You were holding back." Sword King Xiahuà said loudly as he led his team and flew toward the demonic cultivators' side, but his eyes were filled with killing intent.
"All three of your small teams from the Wheel of Life and Death came out. Even the cultivators in the secret realm don't have such strength. I admit defeat," Immortal Elder Hangwu also said, turning his head back. He actually had a smile on his face. After speaking, he even glanced at all the demonic cultivators.
"Amitabha. To think that all you benefactors could still win first and second place under our schemes. This is not just a matter of high divine abilities and strategies." Great Master Yisong was quite shameless, directly admitting to the scheme. He even gave a reverent bow in the direction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect .
After speaking, the three of them led the crowd behind them, who were filled with deep hatred, and flew toward Yin Congfeng . Of course, these people were hateful. Besides the failure of their plan this time, they were now being held as hostages here, their lives uncertain. With the capricious nature of the demonic cultivators, they were naturally full of apprehension. The cause of all this was the Malevolent Spirit Sect's interference.
But these words of theirs fell on the ears of Elder Peng and the others, and their faces changed again and again. Each of the three of them said a sentence. It seemed simple, but every sentence was a killing word. If the demonic cultivators of the secret realm were to think deeply about it, they would think more and more. In the end, it was not impossible for them to be soul-searched and detained. It was truly killing without shedding blood, using a borrowed knife without leaving a trace.