FVN Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Kunwu Mountain, Main Hall Square.
Three days later, at dawn.
All one hundred Nascent Soul cultivators have assembled. Each of them has a solemn expression and their aura is restrained.
Master Xuanhun stood before the crowd, his gaze sweeping over them, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, Tiannan is the lair of the ancient demons, which has been established for decades. It is heavily guarded and has many eyes and ears. Our group of a hundred is too conspicuous. If we move together, we will be easily detected and surrounded."
He paused, then continued, "Therefore, I have decided to divide the team into ten groups of more than ten people each, each choosing a different path to infiltrate Tiannan territory in batches and at different times, and finally gather at 'Luohunpo' outside Lingmiao Garden."
"Ten people per team, small target, high flexibility. Even if one team is exposed, it won't affect the overall situation. Everyone must conceal their movements, avoid entanglement with the ancient demons as much as possible, and getting to the rendezvous point is the priority!"
"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.
Soon, the team division was completed. Master Xuangu personally led one team. Wang Tianlong, Fairy Bingpo, and Caiyi, the three top-level cultivators, were not assigned to one team, but each served as the core of a team, leading nine members.
Apart from two familiar mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from the Spirit Realm, the other seven members of Wang Tianlong's team were all Nascent Soul Ancestors from various parts of the Human Realm. Although they were not as renowned as Wang Tianlong and his group, they were all experienced and possessed considerable combat power. As the team leader, Wang Tianlong naturally took on the responsibility of command.
"Fellow Daoists, this journey is fraught with danger. I hope you will look out for each other," Wang Tianlong said, cupping his hands in greeting to his teammates.
"Captain Wang, you're too kind. We will certainly follow your orders!" Everyone returned the greeting. They had no objection to Wang Tianlong, the "Divine Wind Master," serving as their captain. On the contrary, they felt much more at ease.
"Set off!"
With a command from Master Xuanhun, the ten squads, like ten arrows released from a bow, shot silently into the vast sky in different directions, disappearing beyond the protective array of Kunwu Mountain.
Wang Tianlong's team chose a relatively secluded route. Everyone used skillful concealment techniques to suppress their cultivation levels to around the Nascent Soul stage, disguising themselves as a small team venturing deep into Tiannan to gather intelligence.
What I saw and heard along the way was shocking.
The land south of the Yangtze is shattered, its mountains and rivers broken, and filled with demonic energy. Once-prosperous cultivation cities are now mostly ruins, or transformed into sinister demonic lairs by ancient demons. In the wilderness, mutated monsters roam freely, and low-level demons swarm like locusts, devouring all living things. Occasionally, one can see the corpses of human cultivators hanged from withered trees, or the skeletons of demons nailed to cliffs, silently testifying to the suffering of this land and the brutality of the ancient demons.
The team members were all determined individuals, but upon seeing this scene, they couldn't help but feel a surge of anger and murderous intent.
"Captain, there's a small ancient demon outpost a hundred miles ahead, with about twenty low-level demons, led by a Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator," a team member skilled in reconnaissance reported telepathically.
"Go around them, don't alert them," Wang Tianlong calmly ordered. Their target was Lingmiao Garden; the small fry along the way weren't worth wasting time on and revealing their location.
Following orders, the group avoided the outpost and continued on their way.
However, just as they were crossing a swamp contaminated by demonic energy, a sudden change occurred!
From the depths of the swamp, a strange wailing sound suddenly came. Then, several mutated zombies, their bodies covered in black mud and exuding a putrid stench, slowly crawled out of the mud, their empty eye sockets "looking" in their direction.
What's more troublesome is that these mutated zombies seem to be able to sense the presence of living beings. As soon as they appear, they let out hoarse roars and pounce on the team. Their roars carry extremely far in the open swamp.
"Oh no! It's the 'Corpse Swamp'! The zombies here can sense living beings through the earth's ley lines! We've been discovered!" The reconnaissance team member's expression changed.
"Quickly finish them off and leave immediately!" A cold glint flashed in Wang Tianlong's eyes; he knew there was no time to lose. In a flash, he appeared in front of the zombies charging at the front, pointing his fingers like swords, and several wind blades shot out.
"Pfft pfft pfft!"
The wind blade precisely severed the zombie's head, splattering blood. The other team members also joined in, their various spiritual lights flashing, quickly clearing away the dozen or so zombies that had crawled out.
But the commotion just now had clearly attracted attention.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
In the distance, three powerful demonic energies were rapidly approaching the swamp! Judging from their aura, they were at least ancient demons at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm!
"We've been exposed! Let's go!" Without hesitation, Wang Tianlong's Sky-Stepping Boots flashed with spiritual light as he sped off in the designated direction. The other team members immediately followed.
"Where do you think you're going!" The three Nascent Soul Ancient Demons were incredibly fast, catching up in the blink of an eye. The leader, a mid-Nascent Soul Ancient Demon, even unleashed a massive demonic claw from afar, aiming to grab at a cultivator at the back of the group!
"Hmph!" Wang Tianlong snorted coldly, not turning his head, and pointed out with his backhand.
"Wind God Finger!"
A condensed cyan finger strike arrived first, precisely hitting the center of the demonic claw.
"boom!"
The demonic claw shattered instantly. The ancient demon in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm shuddered, a hint of horror flashing in his eyes, and his pursuit slowed down slightly.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Tianlong's team had already created some distance and quickly disappeared into a dense black forest in the distance, using the complex terrain to temporarily shake off their pursuers.
"Captain, what do we do now? Our location has been exposed, and the Ancient Demons will definitely increase their vigilance," a team member said worriedly.
Wang Tianlong's gaze remained calm as he looked towards Lingmiao Garden: "It's alright. We weren't the only team anyway. Even if the Ancient Demons knew a team had infiltrated, they wouldn't be able to guess our specific target and route. Speed up and get to Fallen Soul Slope as soon as possible! As long as we can join up with other teams before the Ancient Demons can mobilize their forces to encircle us, we'll have a chance!"
"yes!"
The team concealed themselves once more, increasing their speed to the maximum, and headed straight for the perilous Lingmiao Garden.
After shaking off their initial pursuers, Wang Tianlong's team dared not linger for a moment, pushing their speed to the limit and speeding towards Fallen Soul Slope. However, now that their whereabouts had been exposed, the land of Tiannan, which had been managed like an iron barrel by the ancient demons, immediately revealed its ferocious side.
"Captain! There's a strong array fluctuation in the valley ahead! It's an ambush!" The scouting cultivator with keen spiritual senses urgently warned.
Wang Tianlong's pupils contracted as he scanned the area with his divine sense. Sure enough, he discovered that the seemingly ordinary entrance to the valley ahead was shrouded in demonic runes and concealed malevolent energy. If he rashly entered, he would surely be surrounded.
"Go around to the left peak!" Wang Tianlong made a quick decision and led the team to turn to the steeper mountain ridge on the left.
However, just as they changed direction, dozens of demonic lights suddenly shone on the mountain peak to their left! Rows of demonic archers, clad in heavy armor and wielding enormous bone bows, appeared, their cold arrows locking onto the group, the arrowheads wreathed in eerie green poisonous fire.
"Release the arrows!"
At the command, arrows flew like locusts, tearing through the air with piercing whistles and deadly poison fire, covering the airspace where the squad was located.
"Form a defensive formation!" Wang Tianlong shouted, and with a wave of his hands, a huge wind wall instantly formed in front of the formation, blocking the first wave of arrows. However, the wind wall fluctuated violently under the dense rain of arrows and the corrosive effects of the poisonous fire, and quickly dimmed.
The other team members also unleashed their defensive magic weapons, with various colored light screens lighting up to block the ranged attacks from the mountain peaks.
"We can't just stand there and take the hits! Charge!" Wang Tianlong knew that if he stopped, the ancient demons around him would only gather more and more. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and his Sky-Stepping Boots shone brightly with azure light. Instead of retreating, he advanced, transforming into a blurry azure afterimage, charging straight towards the mountain peak on the left, braving the rain of arrows!
"Captain!" the team members exclaimed.
"Stop them!" the ancient demon on the mountain shouted, and more demon archers appeared, making the rain of arrows even denser.
Wang Tianlong charged ahead, unleashing the full power of the "Wind-Treading Technique." His figure weaved and twisted through the rain of arrows like a ghost, causing most of the arrows to miss. The few that were unavoidable were cut down by wind blades he casually swung.