The entire sect ruins spanned a vast area, stretching across the entire valley.
After approaching the sect ruins, Yun Suxin bade farewell to Yue Qianchi and Li Qingran and headed towards the direction of the Alchemy Pavilion alone.
The sealing array had completely disappeared, and the sect ruins were fully exposed.
The demon cultivator remains that burst out from within killed or chased away the surrounding sect disciples, leaving no one daring to stay near the array.
One mile outside the demon array, the Sword Pavilion disciples gathered under a rock formation, each looking like withered leaves battered by a heavy rainstorm. Some knelt on the ground holding broken swords, their moon-white robes stained with large patches of blood; others turned their backs, their shoulders trembling in the dusk.
A gentle breeze carried the smell of gunpowder mixed with lingering blood.
“Senior Sister Yue! Younger Sister Qingran!”
“You’re back, something terrible has happened!”
A Sword Pavilion disciple stumbled forward, grabbing Yue Qianchi’s sleeve, his voice choked with emotion.
His robe was tattered beyond repair, and dried blood clung to the soles of his boots.
Yue Qianchi gripped her sword hilt tightly, her gaze sweeping over each pale face.
When she noticed three of the main disciples were missing, her nails dug deep into her palm:
“What happened? Where are Senior Brothers Xu An, Duan Feng, and Zhen He?”
“There was a problem with the array,” a Sword Pavilion disciple raised his head, his eyes hollow and lost. “The purification array for demonic energy transformed into a demonic array that strengthens demonic energy and the remains. This array can only be entered but not exited. The seniors set up a Three Talents Sword Array to send us out, staying behind themselves in the array. When we went back to look for them, they were nowhere to be found… neither alive nor dead…”
“What?!” Yue Qianchi’s body trembled slightly, her fingers turning white as she clenched them, her teeth grinding out a hoarse, distorted roar.
Mysterious Turtle Sword Intention bloomed, distorting the air around her.
Li Qingran staggered half a step, barely managing to support herself with her sword.
She watched her senior sister’s trembling shoulders, the green robe flapping violently with the surging sword intent, as if about to tear apart at any moment.
“Where is the Holy Maiden of Purity Pool? What is she doing?!” Yue Qianchi looked up, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the disciple.
Each word was laced with murderous intent: “Why did the array malfunction? Speak!”
No one had ever seen Yue Qianchi this enraged before.
In the memory of every Sword Pavilion disciple, their senior sister usually had a carefree, easygoing demeanor.
She could joke around, never being petty, able to take things in stride.
She could fight fiercely in the training grounds and also gently comfort disciples struggling with cultivation.
“It was due to an energy wave,” the Sword Pavilion disciple said, bowing his head, unable to meet his senior sister’s bloodshot eyes. “It’s said that the energy wave contained inverted Daoic resonance, causing the core of the array to malfunction, which led to Venerable Huikong spitting blood and being gravely injured. Afterward, a Nascent Soul stage demonic remnant emerged. Seeing the emergency, the three seniors sent us out… By the time the array dissipated, there were corpses everywhere. The Holy Maiden of Purity Pool and Venerable Huikong seemed heavily injured, with battle traces all over…”
As he spoke, the disciple started sobbing, his voice choked:
“Senior Sister, we wanted to go in and search for our seniors, but we couldn’t break through the array…”
“After the array dissipated, we intended to find our seniors while Song Chiyue held off the demonic remnants, but we were pursued by a demonic remnant. Fortunately, we escaped thanks to the talismans granted by the Ancestor and the decline in the demonic remnant’s realm. Other sect disciples who encountered those remnants didn’t stand a chance.”
After hearing this description, Yue Qianchi’s stormy emotions gradually calmed down.
Anger, pain, regret… these emotions were useless for handling the situation ahead.
“Xu An, Duan Feng, and Zhen He are powerful. They definitely wouldn’t be easily killed by the demonic remnants. They must be unconscious somewhere on the battlefield, which is why you couldn’t find them,” Yue Qianchi took a deep breath and decisively said, “The small secret realm will soon close, and the entrance will reopen. Stay here and hide. As soon as the portal opens, leave the secret realm immediately without stopping. I’m going to the sect ruins to find your seniors! I will… bring them back!”
“Senior Sister, the demonic remnant might still be there!”
“Yes, Senior Sister, it’ll be dangerous!”
The Sword Pavilion disciples all tried to dissuade her.
They might have already lost their three seniors and didn’t want to lose their favorite senior sister too.
“Senior Sister, if we go, let’s go together!” a Sword Pavilion disciple suggested. “This way, even if we encounter a demonic remnant, we can help relieve some of the pressure!”
“Brother Zhang speaks truly. With the talismans given by the Ancestor, we can help Senior Sister!”
The Sword Pavilion disciples all took out the thunderfire talismans bestowed by the Ancestor.
After two rounds of battles, these talismans were nearly depleted.
Yue Qianchi looked at the familiar faces before her, the cold wind bending the grass but unable to extinguish the fire in their eyes.
Some held blank pieces of paper pretending to be talismans, while others raised used sword pills.
These fools…
Wouldn’t such a sharp person notice?
The acidity in her nose blurred her vision.
These were her best and most adorable juniors.
As a senior sister, failing to protect her three direct disciples was already her fault.
She couldn’t let other disciples risk their lives again.
Yue Qianchi sniffled, her expression turning stern as she slammed the Black Tortoise Sword on the ground, coldly saying, “Silence! If I go alone, do you think you following me will make the demonic remnant less likely to find me? Then you’ll just become my burden! I told you to train well every day. Now look, when danger comes, you can only watch as your seniors shield you, doing nothing yourselves!”
The wind rustled through the blank talisman papers, and the hands holding weapons trembled slightly.
Yue Qianchi’s sword blade reflected pale, frozen faces.
Her heart trembled, but she clenched her teeth, maintaining a stern expression.
This was the first time she had spoken so harshly to her juniors.
In her heart, she silently apologized, her gaze sweeping over each face, her eyes lowering as she roared hoarsely, “Are you deaf?!” Her rebuke echoed off the rock walls, “Wait at the secret realm entrance. Once it opens, go find the Ancestor!”
Yue Qianchi resolutely turned around.
Behind her, rustling sounds echoed.
The sound of swords returning to scabbards and knees hitting the ground resounded repeatedly.
“Sword Pavilion Disciple – Yao Le respectfully obeys Senior Sister’s command!”
“Sword Pavilion Disciple – Yu Qingshi respectfully obeys Senior Sister’s command!”
“Sword Pavilion Disciple – Tu Xinghe respectfully obeys Senior Sister’s command!”
…
One after another, the sounds of prostrations rang out.
Yue Qianchi looked at the ground, her shadow trembling slightly.
The sobbing was torn apart by the wind, and she ignored it, walking toward the direction of the demonic array.
She dared not look back.
She was afraid of crying.
Then, these fools… would laugh at her.
