Journey to the head

Amidst the deafening explosion, a spacecraft carrying the spirit of Feiji Zhengyuan burst into flames, then broke into three pieces with a loud bang, plummeting into the desolate mountains below.

The remaining Zhengyuan Divine Ship was also teetering on the brink of collapse, its cannons malfunctioning. The last ship, the Xinghuan Weiyuan Divine Ship, which served as the flagship and was five or six times larger than the Zhengyuan Divine Ship, had also suffered multiple explosions, emitting large amounts of black smoke, and even the silver light of the Vast Sea Star Array had dimmed considerably.

Ye Xiao coughed up a mouthful of blood. She controlled the spirit sand to fly and swirl around, trying to pull out as many low-level cultivators as possible from the crashing airship.

Fortunately, most of the Yunshan disciples were concentrated on the Weiyuan Divine Ship, and the Zhengyuan Divine Ship was operated by a subordinate sect recruited by the Yunshan Sect. Otherwise, Lu Qian would probably be heartbroken.

Thinking this, Ye Xiao raised his head and looked at the battle in the air.

Various colored lights danced wildly, powerful nascent soul spiritual pressures intertwined, magical treasures flew about, secret techniques filled the sky, and divine light beams slammed into a massive, heavily armored earth spirit with a deafening boom, shattering it into pieces, and then scattering to smash several other earth spirits in half.

But that was all. The enemy who had unleashed his supernatural power was panting heavily, while more earth spirits with powerful spiritual pressure, some even approaching the Golden Core Perfection level, were closing in, surrounding the three powerful enemies more and more tightly.

Furthermore, the Guixu Lingjun of the Baoqing Sect, who had come to provide support, was circling outside, waiting for an opportunity to lend a hand. He had been weakened from a powerful reinforcement to a mere restraining force.

Ye Xiao looked at the Bottomless Daoist standing tall in front of her, who was wholeheartedly controlling the earth spirits in the sky. Her beautiful eyes shone brightly, and when she saw that his forehead was covered with sweat, she had the urge to wipe it away for him.

Even though they had decided to become Daoist partners and had sparred with each other over the past sixteen years, they never expected that the unfathomable supernatural powers and cultivation were even more powerful than they had imagined.

Initially, the two people stationed at the main branch of Yunshan received a message that a Nascent Soul cultivator had launched a fierce attack. They immediately relayed the information and led their troops to suppress the attack.

Unexpectedly, halfway there, in this desolate wilderness with no spiritual veins to rely on, we were ambushed!
It turned out that they had fallen into the enemy's trap of luring them out of their hole. The three enemy Nascent Soul cultivators caught Wudi Daoist and Ye Xiao off guard!
Despite the Bottomless Daoist's all-out defense and Ye Xiao's exhaustion of all his three-colored Ruyi Divine Sand, coupled with the abundant firepower of the Weiyuan Divine Ship and the Zhengyuan Divine Ship, the two were still seriously injured and nearly died.

Fortunately, we still had two Rejuvenation Pills that we had obtained from the Yunshan Sect before setting off!

It was this one breath that allowed them to hold on, and the situation changed dramatically.

It was all thanks to the Bottomless Taoist's innate supernatural power: forming an army from clay.

The densely packed earth spirits were swept away in droves by the enemy's attacks, but they began to adapt, evolve, and upgrade at an astonishing speed!
Just as Wudi Daoren and Ye Xiao were injured again, Guixu Lingjun of Baoqing Sect arrived in time to rescue them and gave them a second chance.

At this time, nearly a hundred earth spirits have begun to acquire the strength of the Golden Core level!

The situation gradually reversed, and the enemy became increasingly surrounded. These earth spirits were fearless and grew stronger every moment, making it increasingly difficult for the enemy to destroy them.

Under this ever-growing supernatural power, the enemy failed to kill the Bottomless Taoist with swift and decisive action from the outset, thus forever losing their chance.

Unfortunately, the enemy's three Nascent Soul cultivators are quite powerful and skilled, and they also have many innate spiritual pills to support them. Even now, with their disadvantages obvious, it is extremely difficult to defeat them.

Suddenly, the Bottomless Taoist let out a heavy breath, with fine beads of sweat pouring down his face. His spiritual power was almost exhausted, and he had no more Rejuvenation Pills left.

Ye Xiao's heart sank. If their spiritual energy was exhausted, these earth spirits would collapse, and their side would be in grave danger!
The situation suddenly took a sharp turn. The layers of earth spirits in the field began to slow down. The three enemy Nascent Soul cultivators keenly noticed this and, amidst their laughter, took out innate spiritual pills and swallowed them!
Damn it, who exactly is this guy? How does he have such an inexhaustible supply of elixirs?
It's been more than half an hour since the distress call was sent, so why haven't any reinforcements arrived besides the Baoqing Sect? What happened to Xiang Kong, Xiao Tianci, and Wei Zhaixing?
The rumbling explosions resumed, and the enemy Nascent Soul cultivators, now back to normal, launched a swift and fierce attack, unleashing a barrage of magical artifacts and divine powers. The earth elemental defense line was crumbling.

"Ye Xiao, run!" the Bottomless Daoist squeezed out through gritted teeth. "And fellow Daoist Guixu, you two, retreat quickly!"

Guixu Lingjun gritted his teeth, compared the strength of the two sides, swayed, and then stopped to look at Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao, however, crossed his arms and remained silent.

The Bottomless Taoist was sweating profusely and urged loudly, "Hurry, it'll be too late if we don't leave now!"

Ye Xiao sighed softly, her eyes suddenly hardening. She took a step forward, her magic weapon rising, and countless spiritual sands swept towards the formation.

"Ye Xiao?!"

"Don't look down on me!" Her curly hair trembled in the air, and her honey-colored skin glowed with a spiritual light. Ye Xiao raised her eyebrows and shouted, "I, Ye Xiao, cannot abandon my Daoist partner and escape alone!"

Yes, with the soul fragments still clinging to me, I have more reason to be afraid than anyone else.

Just now, when I was on the verge of death from the surprise attack, I even thought that the Soul Shards were about to activate, and that I was once again courting death.

But I, Ye Xiao, am not dead!
Do not contend with others, nor aspire to high positions; do not contend with Heaven, and your path will not be long!
Since I rediscovered my true self and honed my nature, I have never feared death!
My disciple Jialuo was willing to sacrifice herself for love in the past, and now her Daoist partner is by her side. As her master, am I not as good as her?

There is not a single coward among us Tieyuan cultivators!
Ye Xiao suddenly smiled, her beautiful eyes sparkling: "It was my own initiative to come to Qingzhou with you, so naturally I won't blame you. I didn't expect that you are not only of noble character, but also so skilled in martial arts. I'm starting to like you."

The Bottomless Taoist trembled, his face flushed red, and it seemed as if boundless power surged within him, causing him to push the other back down.

Guixu Lingjun coughed a few times. "You all seem so sincere here. Should I leave or not?"

Just then, a whooshing sound echoed through the clouds!
A golden light pierced through layers of clouds and suddenly entered the Earth Spirit Array. Then, lotus flowers fell from the sky, and a thousand-foot-long ray of light rose up. Dense runes condensed and wove together, and a Vajra Dharma Image, a hundred feet tall with four heads and ten arms, appeared in the clouds. Golden light surged within its body as if it were solid, and a huge golden wheel rotated behind its head.

With fierce eyes, Vajra vanquishes demons and monsters!
Ten arms suddenly spread out, each grabbing a demon-slaying sword, a demon-binding rope, a demon-suppressing tower, a demon-subduing pestle, a treasure bottle, a treasure mirror, a treasure fan, a treasure umbrella, a treasure pearl, and a treasure wheel. Thunderbolts swept across the sky, striking down heavily and scattering the three enemy Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Four Vajra Precepts!" Guixu Lingjun was overjoyed, and immediately straightened his body and stopped slipping.

"Fellow Daoist Xiang Kong has come to our aid, and other reinforcements will surely arrive soon!" Ye Xiao shouted, intending to intimidate the enemy. "Disciples, attack with all your might!"

Unexpectedly, within the Vajra Dharma Image, Xiang Kong clasped his hands together and shook his head: "Fairy Ye, for now, I am the only reinforcement. I was also ambushed on the way."

"The enemy came prepared and attacked from all sides. Now that Liangyi Mountain is also out of contact, it is likely to be attacked by the enemy as well."

These words immediately shattered the morale of their own side, while the enemy was overjoyed. One of the Nascent Soul cultivators shouted, "Experts have been attacking Liangyi Mountain for some time now. I'm afraid your Cangzhou Twin Stars are already dead!"

The Bottomless Taoist gave a bitter smile. He pointed to the four major doctrines of the Straightforward Sect, the first of which was "straightforward speech," emphasizing honesty and frankness, never speaking falsehoods, even when facing enemies. This was already often a source of amusement and exasperation, and now it was only emboldening the enemy.

However, the next moment, with a loud bang, the Vajra Dharma Image swung its ten arms, the Demon-Slaying Sword shone brightly, and the sword energy extended hundreds of feet; the Demon-Binding Rope swung like a dragon and moved like lightning; the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda rumbled and sealed away all evil; the Demon-Subduing Pestle, like a giant pillar, crashed down from the sky.
There were also treasure vases, mirrors, fans, umbrellas, pearls, and wheels swirling around, catching the three enemy Nascent Soul cultivators off guard and leaving them terrified, momentarily speechless. In the Vajra Dharma Image, he turned the jade prayer beads in the air, his face calm: "Although I am alone, with me here, you cannot do evil."

This is precisely his innate supernatural power – Vajra Protector!
The disciples of Yunshan cheered with joy, and Guixu Lingjun was also greatly encouraged. Inspired by this, he unleashed his supernatural powers and joined the battle, fighting to a standstill with an enemy.

The Bottomless Taoist observed carefully and saw a bloodstain on the empty clothes. He guessed that the ambush he had described must have been very difficult, but his spiritual power was still quite good, and he had probably already taken the Rejuvenation Pill.

He was about to command the earth spirits to assist in capturing the three when his steps faltered and his spiritual power was completely exhausted. The earth spirit army roared in vain and then collapsed into a sky full of yellow dust.

The situation changed again, with Xiang Kong, Gui Xu Ling Jun, and Wei Yuan Shen Zhou facing off against three enemy Nascent Soul cultivators.

Although Xiang Kong is brave, the enemy still has elixirs!

"Fellow Daoist Wudi and Fairy Ye, you have no spiritual power left. Staying here will not be of any help. Quickly lead your disciples to retreat!"

He shouted loudly into the sky. Guixu Lingjun felt bitter inside and could only silently wave his magic weapon, thinking that if they could leave alive after this battle, Yunshan Sect should at least offer some reward, right?
The Bottomless Daoist and Ye Xiao exchanged a glance. Although they were unwilling, it would be both foolish and wicked for them to stay and become a burden, needlessly sacrificing the lives of many disciples.

So the two of them called out to each other, and the Shenzhou spacecraft shook as its sails were already fully hoisted.

"Fellow Daoist Xiang Kong, you must hold on. Reinforcements should arrive soon—"

The Bottomless Daoist shut his mouth in delight, only to see two Nascent Soul cultivators approaching from the horizon—they were reinforcements from other Nascent Soul sects in Qingzhou!

As dawn broke, the fierce battle in Quyang County finally subsided.

Although two more Nascent Soul cultivators came to help, the three opponents had an abundance of spiritual pills. Despite their desperate struggle, two of them managed to escape, and only one of them was killed.

As they were tallying the casualties, a sharp sword light pierced the sky and landed on the Weiyuan Divine Ship. Everyone was startled when they saw who it was, but then they were overjoyed.

It was Xiao Tianci! He actually achieved the Nascent Soul stage overnight!

The crowd happily welcomed him and asked him about the origins of his infant form and the situation at Liangyi Mountain.

It turned out that after he and Wei Zhaixing killed Ying Ronglingjun, Wei Zhaixing immediately sent messages to various places to collect intelligence, adjust plans, and deploy troops.

After re-establishing contact with Biluo Peak of the Yunshan Sect, they learned that a major event had also occurred within the sect. Wu Yan, who had come to provide emergency support, had turned back halfway and could not be relied upon for the time being.

Xiao Tianci rushed to support Quyang County, but he was too late; the two remaining enemies had escaped without a trace.

After gathering the intelligence, and following Wei Zhaixing's instructions, several Nascent Soul cultivators from Qingzhou returned to their base to suppress the rioters, promising a generous reward afterward. Xiao Tianci, Xiang Kong, and Ye Xiao returned to Liangyi Mountain with two damaged divine ships.

Bai Ling of the Qu Yang Yuehua Sect received a mission to integrate the strength of the Qu Yang Sect, deploy scouts widely, and if the enemy returned, they should not engage in a direct confrontation but evacuate on their own and report the intelligence in a timely manner.

They returned to Liangyi Mountain without incident, and the primordial spirit-level protective array was activated, allowing all the disciples to relax.

Wei Zhaixing first sent the latest intelligence to Biluo Peak, and then asked Ding Shu Zhenren to arrange for a house to be prepared for the disciples to rest and heal. Xiao Tianci thought of the elusive Ying Ronglingjun and was on high alert. Wei Zhaixing smiled and said, "There can only be one person as good at infiltration as her, right? Otherwise, the enemy would have attacked again when you were not on the mountain."

After exchanging views for a while, Yunshan and the others began to speculate about who was behind the riot in Qingzhou. They all agreed that Langhuan Danque was the most likely suspect.

Motives: They attempted to secretly control Qingzhou and plot the possible emergence of a hidden paradise; Emotions: After failing to seize Qingzhou, they clashed with the sect leader and even instructed Jin Ge Xuanjun to take control of Qingzhou at the Anle Conference; Strength: They are veteran cultivators of the Void Refining Realm and renowned for their alchemy, fully capable of secretly cultivating "rogue cultivators" into Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages; Characteristics: These Nascent Soul enemies possess innate spiritual pills as easily as candy, isn't that obvious?
At this moment, the instructions from Biluo Peak finally came back. After reading them, Wei Zhaixing's expression changed, and he passed them around to the others.

After reading half of it, Xiao Tianci breathed a sigh of relief: "In that case, Qingzhou will be pacified soon."

This perfectly matches the celestial phenomena observed by Junior Brother Wei.

In the message, Wang Yu said that he had reported the Qingzhou riot to Taiyi Paradise and had told them all the information and speculations about the enemy that he had gathered. Taiyi Paradise was furious and would send a team of Yuan Shen Xuanjun to suppress and investigate the incident. They would never allow anyone to use the name of rogue cultivators to embezzle and undermine the decree that Qingzhou was a "state not subject to conquest".

Furthermore, the Yunshan Sect will also deploy two combat battalions, along with its partners and subordinate sects, to form a military formation. With a Weiyuan Divine Ship as its flagship, and dozens of Zhengyuan and Zhenyuan Divine Ships, they will enter Qingzhou to carry out the operation to eliminate evil, suppress bandits, evil cultivators, and rebellious cultivators.

After this army enters Qingzhou, it will be under the full command of Wei Zhaixing and Xiao Tianci, while Xiang Kong, Wudi Daoren and Ye Xiao will remain in Qingzhou to assist.

However, Biluo Peak will not send Wu Yan to provide support for the time being, because—

"What?! Sect Leader Lin has successfully overcome the tribulation of inner demons and formed his Nascent Soul, but in the moment of demonic possession, he accidentally killed Senior Sister Cui!"

The elders are currently discussing how to handle this.

Everyone was taken aback, and Wei Zhaixing frowned deeply.

Sect Leader Lin has made such a grave mistake, what should we do now?

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the council hall. The group composed themselves and opened it to find that it was none other than the master of the hall, Master Ding Shu.

After exchanging greetings, Master Ding Shu looked ashamed.

"During the Qingzhou riots, our faction, as the nominal commander of Qingzhou, was completely powerless, relying entirely on the Yunshan faction to coordinate the overall situation. I've heard that your faction suffered considerable casualties in the war; how can we make amends?"

"Furthermore, since Lord Mingzhao and Xuanjizi are at our mountain gate, their safety is naturally our responsibility. However, we were caught off guard by the enemy and our defenses were inadequate, putting our distinguished guests in danger. We are truly to blame."

He took a deep breath.

"My two junior brothers and I have discussed it and are willing to exchange the secrets of our inheritance for Yunshan's forgiveness." (End of Chapter)