Chapter 179: Chapter 178: Ancient Teleportation Array
Chapter 179: Chapter 178: Ancient Teleportation Array
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Xiao Tiezhu racked his brain but could not find a way to break the deadlock.
"Could it be that the fate of the Demon Path is not meant to end?"
Just then, a message-bearing jade slip flew in, bringing a request for an urgent audience from his disciple, Li Long.
"Come in."
Xiao Tiezhu's expression returned to its usual indifference, for no matter how troubled he was in private, in public he had to maintain the confidence that the Demon Path would inevitably be extinguished.
"Greetings, Master."
Li Long bowed deeply and presented an envelope with both hands, saying, "Disciple has just returned from executing an external task and encountered an unknown true immortal who claimed to be a follower of Master's old friend, and instructed me to return this item to you."
"A follower of an old friend?"
Xiao Tiezhu skimmed over it with his divine sense, letting out a light exclamation, and gestured to bring the envelope over and open it.
The contents of the letter stirred memories from a very long time ago. The Jade Hairpin's design was ordinary, but it carried a message from a woman.
"Heavenly Ghost, Huang Yuniang... Could it be the new Sect Leader of the Ghost King Sect, the Yellow Jade Demon Lord?"
Xiao Tiezhu pondered for a moment, then motioned for his disciple to leave and his figure flickered into the seclusion chamber.
He exhaled a red banana fan that twirled and grew in the wind, extending to about three meters in length above his head, and with a gentle swing, Divine Fire showered down to protect his whole body.
It was indeed the Sect's Supreme Treasure of the Dan Ding Sect, the Divine Fire Fan.
Years ago, when Xiao Tiezhu was punished in the Black Wind Cave, he sensed a great opportunity. After exploring, he found the remains of a Heavenly Monarch and obtained the Divinity Transformation inheritance; at the same time, the Divine Fire Fan acknowledged him as its master.
Xiao Tiezhu's success in killing the Zhen Yang Demon Venerate owed much to the Divine Fire Fan.
"Since it's the descendant of a benefactor..."
After some thought, he crushed the envelope to dust with a spell and began to refine the Jade Hairpin with hand seals.
One prohibition after another was imbued into the Jade Hairpin, following the invisible threads of causality, he began to perceive subtle fluctuations of consciousness, which became clearer as he continued the refinement.
A vague woman's voice emerged from the Jade Hairpin, "Who are you?"
Xiao Tiezhu countered, "Might you be Huang Yuniang?"
The woman replied, "Indeed, I am."
"I am Xuan Xiao."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Tiezhu's face lit up with joy, openly revealing his identity, and considering Huang Yuniang's lifespans, she must have advanced to the Golden Core Realm.
In the hundreds of years of the Ghost King Sect's new Golden Core advancements, there was only one Heavenly Ghost, and that was the Yellow Jade Demon Lord.
Huang Yuniang said, "So it's Xuan Xiao Daojun. I have long heard of your great renown. May I ask what brings you to seek me out?"
Xiao Tiezhu inquired, "Do you still remember the vow you made back then?"
Huang Yuniang replied, "Of course I remember. After joining the Ghost King Sect, I devoted myself to cultivation under the tutelage of the Great Yin Ancestor and never went out to commit evil."
"I naturally believe you," Xiao Tiezhu said.
"The disciples of the Ghost King Sect have been rampaging across Qiong Continent, often slaughtering and performing blood sacrifices to such an extent that the population there is less than a tenth of that on Cloud Continent. The current situation presents an opportunity to annihilate the Demon Path, and all it requires is for you to lend a hand!" Xiao Tiezhu declared.
Huang Yuniang was silent for a long time before asking, "Aren't you afraid that I might be setting a trap?"
"The heart you showed in wandering into the demon's den was towards righteousness; otherwise, how could you have upheld your true nature across hundreds of years!"
Xiao Tiezhu showered her with praise, never disclosing that it was due to his own innate opportunity t hat foretold great victory upon their visit to the Ghost King Sect.
Huang Yuniang asked, "What should I do?"
Xiao Tiezhu was well prepared and said, "I have acquired a scroll in the ruins of the Sky Mending Sect, which contains the method of setting up an ancient teleportation array. All you need to do is deploy it at the core of the Ghost King Sect."
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Huang Yuniang let out a sigh and responded to the message.
"This transmission array requires a large amount of Void Stones, according to the prohibitions..."
Xiao Tiezhu carefully explained the details of the ancient transmission array. Not only was the arrangement complex, but the necessary resources were so vast that even a common true monarch would struggle to bear the cost. However, as the current Sect Leader of the Ghost King Sect, Huang Yuniang could easily draw from the Treasury Sect's reserves to obtain the Spiritual Objects.
Huang Yuniang silently calculated the time needed and said, "One month will be enough."
"Daoist friend, remember to be careful and cautious. Better to be slower and later than to compromise your own safety."
Xiao Tiezhu gave a few reminders and discussed many details before finally ending the communication.
Afterward, the Dan Ding Sect summoned the One Qi Sect, the Spirit Sword Sect, and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple to come to Cloud Continent to discuss the grand affair of exterminating demons.
Among them, Xiao Tiezhu was the last to achieve the Nascent Soul, but with the merit of slaying the Demon Lord with formations, his cultivation had since surpassed the others, naturally establishing him as the head of the righteous path.
Several days later.
Daoist Zhang Yunqing, Heavenly Sword Daoist, and Divine Monk Fa Ming arrived one after another at Dan Ding Sect, their lights of travel descending into the Xuan Xiao Dao Palace. Having cooperated to exterminate demons for over a hundred years, they were quite familiar with each other. After exchanging greetings, they sat cross-legged facing each other.
Xiao Tiezhu opened the Formation and Prohibition, and also activated the Divine Fire Fan to conceal their presence, so as to avoid alerting the Demon Lord through a heartblood connection.
Zhang Yunqing asked, "Friend, with such a setup, have you truly found a method to break the situation?"
Hearing this, both Heavenly Sword and Fa Ming's eyes flickered with mixed emotions, containing both joy and concern. The Demon Path's invincibility lay in their sect's protection arrays combined with the Sect's Supreme Treasure, a heritage similar to that of the righteous sects.
If today the Dan Ding Sect could break the Demon Sect's Sect Protection Array, then once the current members passed away, Xuan Xiao would be on the verge of breaking the righteous sects' defenses as well!
"I do not possess such ability."
Xiao Tiezhu first reassured his allies before explaining, "A few days ago, an old friend visited me, and only then did I learn a secret — the current Sect Leader of the Ghost King Sect is actually the Heavenly Ghost which acknowledged him as master years ago!"
Heavenly Sword wondered, "Could such a thing be true? Did that old undead of extreme yin not notice?" Explore new worlds at mvl
The reputation of the extreme yin Demon Lord even surpassed that of the Zhen Yang Demon Venerate, and by the count of years, he had only one to two hundred years left, making him the eldest among the many Nascent Soul elders.
"He has not noticed so far."
Xiao Tiezhu half-truthfully replied. He needed to cover for his benefactor's descendants while also concealing their innate sensing ability, and he added, "I have already made contact with the Yellow Jade Demon Lord, and we have discussed setting up a transmission array that goes directly to the core of the demons' stronghold!"
Fa Ming reminded, "Though the master-servant contract can command life and death, it's still uncertain whether the Heavenly Ghost has wholeheartedly submitted to the Ghost King Sect. What if they set traps for us to fall into?"
"That's why I'm summoning you all here, not only for the power of our four sects together but also to bring along our Sect's Supreme Treasure!"
Xiao Tiezhu said coldly, "Trap or no, as long as the transmission array works, once we enter the Ghost King Sect, the demons will no longer be able to avoid battle by hiding."
"Sect's Supreme Treasure..."
Zhang Yunqing and the other two elders hesitated. Such a move would be akin to staking everything on a single throw of the dice.
The Sect's Supreme Treasures had sentient life and a lifespan almost eternal, and with power comparable to the later stages of the Nascent Soul, they were the fundamental basis for the four sects ruling over the Nine Continents once all the Nascent Soul elders' lifespans had expired!
Take, for instance, the Light Dividing Sword of the Spirit Sword Sect – since advancing to treasure status, it had not left the sect for more than the time it takes to count to five.
"You need not worry, I already have a foolproof strategy."
Xiao Tiezhu understood their concerns—that the extermination of demons was of great righteous cause, but it did not outweigh the importance of the sect's inheritance.
"First, we will lay a heavy onslaught on the demons, making sure those old fellows from the Heavenly Demon Sect, the Blood God Sect, and the Heavenly Corpse Sect still hold fast to their own sects. Then, via the transmission array, we will strike directly into the Heavenly Ghost Sect!"
"With only extreme yin, Heavenly Annihilation, and Chang You, those three old coots in the Heavenly Ghost Sect, victory is surely within our grasp!"
Zhang Yunqing and Fa Ming were moved by the proposition. With fourteen Nascent Soul elders from the four righteous sects, whatever traps the Ghost King Sect might set would inevitably fail.
Heavenly Sword cautioned, "The Ghost King Sect might still have a half-dead ghost deity. If they truly fight for their lives, they might drag two or three Nascent Souls down with them."
Xiao Tiezhu produced a Treasure Bead, which radiated dazzling divine light upon its appearance, and confidently said,
"I traveled across Ji Continent in my earlier years and stumbled into an ancient relic, where I obtained this Great Sun Treasure Bead. If that old ghost happens to be alive, I'll simply blast his soul to scatter, ensuring he can't even enter reincarnation!"