I became an immortal in the mountains

Chapter 793 Joint Hunt (5K)

Gu Yuanqing watched quietly without making any move. When she looked at the Heavenly Demon, she did not show any hostility, so as not to alert the demon and cause any unforeseen changes.

His gaze swept across the surroundings.

Above this canyon, there is still a thin layer of poisonous miasma, and all around are rolling mountains.

After a moment, he closed his eyes slightly and used his divine sense to sense the spiritual energy and the Great Dao of this world.

One can clearly sense that the spiritual energy here is subtly different from that in the spirit world, indicating that the Great Dao of this realm is also different from that of the spirit world.

He quietly spread his vast, ocean-like divine sense across this world like a spider web, carefully perceiving and analyzing everything in this realm.

First and foremost, there's the spiritual energy here.

The feeling that comes back from divine sense is completely different from that in the spirit world.

The spiritual energy in the spirit realm is pure, vibrant, and full of life, making it easy to draw upon and refine; while the spiritual energy in this realm is more turbid. Although its total amount is considerable, it seems to be bound by some invisible shackles, lacking that spirituality and mixed with a trace of filth and demonic intent.

If an ordinary cultivator were to draw qi into their body here, they might be corrupted by the demonic intent within if they were not careful.

Secondly, there are the fundamental principles and rules.

The Great Dao of this realm seems to share the same origin as that of the Spirit Realm, but there are subtle differences.

For example, the flow of the five elements is somewhat obscure and sluggish, with the power of wood and fire being significantly suppressed, while the power of earth and water is relatively active.

The differences between the Wind and Thunder Paths are slight, but their affinity with one's own divine sense is not as great as that of the Spirit Realm.

The principles of space are also different, but for Gu Yuanqing, who is proficient in the principles of space, he can still easily master them by simply adapting and adjusting.

At this moment, he was like a skilled musician, listening to an unfamiliar melody in another world, carefully analyzing the timbre and rhythm of each note, and familiarizing himself with the score.

Only in this way can this foreign musician perfectly perform his own music in this world; otherwise, due to the difference in rules, the power of his supernatural abilities will be greatly reduced.

This process should have been quite lengthy, but thanks to his powerful divine sense and the insights he gained from his enlightenment, he opened his eyes again in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

His eyes shone with a clear light, revealing a growing understanding of the rules of this world. Although he had not yet grasped all its mysteries, he had at least figured out the main threads.

His aura began to adjust slightly, and the Daoist charm around him gradually resonated with the rules of this world. Gradually, a wonderful resonance was generated, and he no longer seemed so out of place in this world.

Only now could he truly settle down, and his unparalleled cultivation was no longer subject to too many restrictions.

He raised his head and looked once more at the enormous demonic shadow in the sky, his sharp gaze flashing and disappearing in an instant.

"Before that, let's find out the details of the demons around here."

He withdrew his gaze, and his figure disappeared into the void.

……

The Outer Realm of Xuanqiong.

On a Tianling Peak, two thousand miles away from Zhige Tianyuan.

This place is where Li Miaoxuan cultivates, and it is also one of the Lingxu Sect's current bases in the Xuanqiong Realm.

Only after she becomes an elder of the Anti-Celestial Alliance will the Spirit Ruins Sect be qualified to return here.

Inside the main hall at the mountaintop.

Sect Master Ye Zhenghong sat in the main seat, discussing important sect matters with the sect elders who had settled in the Xuanqiong Realm.

Li Miaoxuan sat to the lower left of Ye Zhenghong.

She was dressed in the robes of a Daoist disciple of the Lingxu Sect, her demeanor calm and composed. The naivety of her youth had faded, replaced by a sense of ease and authority, clearly indicating that she was already accustomed to the current situation.

As a disciple of the sect and the only elder of the Lingxu Sect in the Anti-Tribulation Alliance, her status within the sect is now vastly different from what it used to be. Even Ye Zhenghong would seriously listen to her opinions on many matters.

During the meeting, Li Miaoxuan suddenly felt a faint fluctuation emanating from the jade pendant at her waist.

"It's him... Gu Yuanqing!"

Her heart stirred slightly, but she showed no sign of it on her face.

Over the years, Gu Yuanqing has only contacted her a handful of times. His call now must be for something important, but the movement of the jade pendant also suggests that it is not urgent.

She suppressed the slight turmoil in her heart, remained seated, and patiently listened to the remaining topics, occasionally offering her own opinions.

After Ye Zhenghong announced the end of the meeting and everyone left, she had a few words with Ye Zhenghong in private before getting up to take her leave.

Li Miaoxuan returned to her cultivation cave, activated all the protective restrictions, and then took out the jade tablet. She released a little magic power from her fingertips and gently crushed it.

hum!
The jade tablet transformed into specks of clear light, rapidly coalescing before her. A familiar figure materialized from the ethereal, revealing Gu Yuanqing's clone, delivered using the Heavenly Fishing Technique.

Gu Yuanqing's gaze swept over the layout of the cave dwelling, and he nodded slightly, smiling, "This place is rich in spiritual energy and has an elegant layout, making it a good place for quiet cultivation."

“This cave is directly connected to the main vein of the spiritual energy, but it is still somewhat inferior to Beiquan Mountain,” Li Miaoxuan replied, then asked, “Do you have something important to discuss with me?”

Gu Yuanqing stopped exchanging pleasantries and said, "We've found the Heavenly Demon's lair."

Upon hearing this, a hint of undisguised surprise flashed in Li Miaoxuan's bright eyes.

For countless years, many cultivators in the Spirit Realm have searched for the Heavenly Demon's lair, but none have been able to find it. Among them are many powerful cultivators at the Void Immortal level. But today, he actually... found it?

She thought the chances of success were slim, after all, Gu Yuanqing had been searching for him for many years without success.

But in a flash, the secret hidden deep within my consciousness quietly passed through my mind, and I felt relieved, even a sense of how it should be.

She calmed herself and asked, "Where?"

"In a world hidden extremely deep within, the distance from the Spirit Realm is immeasurable. Although it hasn't been fully explored yet, judging from the information we have, this world is only slightly inferior to the Spirit Realm." Gu Yuanqing paused, then asked, "Would you like to come along to hunt it?"

Li Miaoxuan replied without the slightest hesitation, "Of course I'll go!"

Hunting down the Heavenly Demons is related to her own path to enlightenment!
If she had a continuous supply of demons to kill and refine, her cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

Perhaps... only in this way can I truly keep up with his pace.

"Alright." Gu Yuanqing smiled slightly and nodded, "Then you should prepare yourself. There might be a Heavenly Demon at the Void Immortal level in the Heavenly Demon's Nest. It should not be underestimated. I will also investigate the situation in this realm again. When the time is right, I will inform you."

……

January passed.

Beiquan Cave

Gu Yuanqing stood quietly in the courtyard, raised his head and probed the void, using the Heavenly Fishing Technique.

Far away in the Xuanqiong Realm, Li Miaoxuan, inside the Tianling Peak cave, felt a slight fluctuation in the space around her. The scene before her blurred for a moment, and the next moment, she found herself in the familiar courtyard of Beiquan Cave.

Li Miaoxuan was already used to this, and with a calm expression, she naturally sat down on the bamboo chair next to her.

"Ready?" Gu Yuanqing withdrew his hand, sat down beside her, poured Li Miaoxuan a cup of tea, and asked in a casual tone.

Li Miaoxuan nodded slightly: "I have already made an excuse to the sect to go into seclusion and cultivate quietly, leaving a part of my spirit in the cave to keep watch. Unless something major happens, I don't think anyone in the sect will disturb my peace and quiet."

"Shall we set off tomorrow morning?" Gu Yuanqing asked.

Li Miaoxuan chuckled: "You can decide."

The implication in his words stirred something within Gu Yuanqing, who smiled gently and said, "Then let's do it tomorrow morning. You can also meet Cheng Yi and the others today. His cultivation has stabilized at the Yin-Yang Void Breaking Realm. He said that after a while, once he has mastered the supernatural powers and techniques of the Yin-Yang Void Breaking level, he plans to venture into the Spirit Realm and beyond."

Li Miaoxuan nodded and said, "Children grow up and need to go out and experience the world."

……

The next morning.

Gu Yuanqing and Li Miaoxuan pushed open their respective doors and went out almost simultaneously.

The two looked at each other and greeted each other as if they were ordinary people.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the courtyard gate.

"Come in!" Gu Yuanqing chuckled, and the courtyard gate opened by itself without any wind.

Li Chengyi walked in together with Chen Binglan.

Li Chengyi's aura was deep and composed, concealing his true intentions. Clearly, he had indeed solidified his cultivation at the Yin-Yang Breaking Void level.

"Greetings, Father and Mother!" "No need for formalities."

……

The four of them shared breakfast like any ordinary family. They didn't talk much, but the atmosphere was unusually peaceful and warm.

After the meal, Aunt Feng cleared away the dishes and left.

Gu Yuanqing turned his gaze to Li Miaoxuan and asked, "On this trip, do you plan to go in your true form?"

Li Miaoxuan met his gaze and smiled, "Since it is for the purpose of honing my cultivation, I should go in person. Besides... with you by my side, I think there will be no problem."

Li Chengyi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but say, "Mother, the outer realms are dangerous, and the Heavenly Demons are unpredictable. You must be careful in everything you do."

"Don't worry, Mother knows what she's doing." Li Miaoxuan smiled and then nodded to Gu Yuanqing.

Gu Yuanqing said no more. With a flick of his sleeve, Li Miaoxuan's figure blurred and vanished without a trace.

On a mountain peak in the realm where the Heavenly Demon resides, hidden deep within the void.

Beside Gu Yuanqing's clone, the space rippled slightly, and Li Miaoxuan quietly appeared.

"This is the other world!" Li Miaoxuan stepped forward and stood side by side with Gu Yuanqing, her hair and clothes fluttering in the breeze.

Gu Yuanqing pointed in a direction and said, "In a valley about nine thousand miles away, there is a Heavenly Demon at the level of Undying Chaos, which is also our first target this time."

Li Miaoxuan asked, "What about the others?"

"This entire area should be the domain of this Chaotic Undying Heavenly Demon. Centered around it, there are four Heavenly Demons at the Shattering Heaven level guarding the outside, and the surrounding low-level Heavenly Demons all obey its commands."

Besides, there are no powerful Heavenly Demons within a radius of 100,000 miles. There is a dragon that should also have the strength to shatter the heavens, lurking at the bottom of a lake. The other demonic beasts are at most at the Yin-Yang level. As for further out, there is a lair of the Undying Chaos being that is probably only two million miles away from here, and an even more distant one is more than thirty million miles away. "Gu Yuanqing said.

Li Miaoxuan said with slight surprise, "These extraterrestrial demons are not much different from living beings. They have their own territories and strict hierarchies, which is quite different from the demons that descended from the Heaven of Other Transformation recorded in ancient books."

Gu Yuanqing nodded and said, "Perhaps they have devoured flesh and blood and the souls of cultivators. In a sense, they can be considered half-living beings. They usually devour the greed, anger, ignorance, rage, and fear power born from demonic beasts to support their own cultivation. Only occasionally will they directly devour the demonic souls and flesh of demonic beasts, as if they regard the demonic beasts here as resources to support their cultivation."

"Are there humans in this world?" Li Miaoxuan asked again.

Gu Yuanqing nodded slightly: "There should have been before. In the past month, I have traveled almost all over the surrounding area of ​​nearly 100 million miles. Although I have not seen any people, I have seen traces of human survival in some places. As for now, I don't know. However, judging from the fact that they left so many demonic beasts as provisions, they may have left behind humans as well."

Most demonic beasts have simple emotions, knowing only instinctive fear and anger, while humans... experience separation from loved ones, resentment, unfulfilled desires, and all sorts of emotions. To a celestial demon, these are probably all supreme treasures. A soul struggling repeatedly between hope and despair is far more beneficial to its cultivation than a demonic beast.

“It was just speculation before, but seeing this… the harm caused by the Heavenly Demons has reached this level. Fortunately, they were kept outside the Spirit Realm. Unlike ordinary demons, which only kill and devour, they seem more like herders.” Li Miaoxuan paused slightly, her gaze sweeping over the mountains and beasts below, tainted by demonic energy yet strangely maintaining some kind of balance. “They know how to raise animals, how to let resources multiply on their own, and even how to ensure their long-term development. Their intelligence…”

Gu Yuanqing's expression was somewhat complicated. He sighed softly, feeling a pang of sorrow for his own kind. It was truly lamentable that a realm had fallen to such a state.

After a moment, he turned his head and said, "It's useless for us to discuss this now. If there really are humans in this world, then we can discuss other things. Right now, the priority is to kill the Heavenly Demon and improve our cultivation. The Great Dao and spiritual energy of this world are different from those of the Spirit World. You should familiarize yourself with them first. I will use the Dao of Space to isolate the aura within a hundred miles. You don't need to worry about making too much noise and causing any changes."

Li Miaoxuan nodded slightly, closed her eyes, and released her divine sense to sense the heavens and earth and draw upon the primordial energy.

About half an hour later, Li Miaoxuan opened her eyes.

Gu Yuanqing asked, "How is it?"

Li Miaoxuan said, "I should be able to unleash 90% of my strength."

Gu Yuanqing laughed and said, "I've never seen you fight before. I wonder how strong you are?"

Li Miaoxuan smiled sweetly: "Although I am not as good as you, with my magic weapon, I should be able to deal with the Heavenly Demon at the level of Chaotic Undying."

Gu Yuanqing was slightly surprised, then laughed loudly, "Then I'll see for myself today."

As they spoke, both of them used their escape techniques to head towards the direction of the Chaotic Undying Heavenly Demon. Gu Yuanqing used the Dao of Space to envelop the two of them, so that although they moved quickly, they would not make any noise.

Nine thousand miles, arrived in the blink of an eye.

A huge valley came into view.

The valley was filled with thick, inky demonic energy, turning it into a demonic realm.

In the center of the valley, where the demonic energy is most concentrated, lies a colossal creature, its form a fusion of countless twisted and struggling vengeful spirits and pure dark energy.

Three enormous demonic eyes, resembling rifts in an abyss, protruded from its head, and its entire body radiated a suffocating, unyielding pressure of the Chaotic Undying level.

On the outer perimeter, hundreds of Heavenly Demons at the Yin-Yang or Heavenly Transformation levels lay prostrate, wisps of their primordial demonic energy emanating from their bodies and entering the mouth of the central Heavenly Demon. Clearly, these Heavenly Demons were offering their daily power to their leader.

Just as Gu Yuanqing and Li Miaoxuan approached within a hundred miles of the valley, the three enormous demonic eyes of the Heavenly Demon suddenly opened, glaring fiercely in the direction from which the two had come.

Clearly, it realized that the direction was wrong.

As the three enormous pupils converged, Gu Yuanqing felt the space in front of him suddenly become firm, and his forward speed was immediately hindered.

He was not surprised by this, as the Heavenly Demons were based on their original demonic thoughts and had keen spiritual senses, and the Heavenly Demons at the Chaotic Undying level were even more so.

He no longer concealed himself; his figure appeared in the void, and he pointed his fingers like a sword, pressing them lightly towards the valley below.

"Suppressing all calamities, the sword reigns supreme over the universe!"

Four sword intents descended simultaneously, manifesting the supreme mystery of the Myriad Manifestations Sword Scripture of Calamity Control.

The Sword of Returning to the Beginning of All Laws is like the cornerstone that stabilizes the universe. Under the shroud of its sword intent, it seems to have completely changed the rules of this realm. The surging demonic energy and rampant demonic thoughts in the valley seem to have met their nemesis and have all fallen silent.

The Eternal Sword of All Realms contains the laws of space. Its transparent sword light is born from nothingness and merges with each other to form a huge phantom of the Northern Spring Mountain. This sword is not for attack, but to completely imprison this valley and cut off all possibility of escape and relocation.

At the same time, strands of platinum-colored sword threads appeared, intertwining into a net. Wherever the swords passed, everything was reduced to nothingness!
This is the Great Annihilation Sword!
This sword is not only incomparably sharp, but also contains a trace of the Dao of Annihilation and Return to Nothingness that can bring about the end of all things. It is also faintly in harmony with the Dao of Space. As soon as it appears, it seems to cross space and fall towards the core of this Heavenly Demon.

The most bizarre of all is the Sword of Free Transformation, which is formless and intangible, yet it has directly affected the depths of the Heavenly Demon's mind.

This sword draws upon the demon's own distracting thoughts, fears, and tyranny, using his mind as fuel to reflect and amplify his weaknesses, evolving into endless demonic illusions that dismantle his fighting spirit from within, disrupt his demonic perception and judgment, and make it difficult for him to fully cope with external killing moves.

The four swords were unleashed simultaneously, merging with the Zhou Tian Array Diagram that spread out on Gu Yuanqing's body. They returned to the origin and fixed the law, eternally locked the void, annihilated the master of killing, and freely disturbed the spirit, forming a perfect killing system!

Almost at the same moment Gu Yuanqing made his move, Li Miaoxuan also moved!

Her body was bursting with spiritual light, and the magical treasures that were usually hidden suddenly shone brightly!

The seemingly simple flowing cloud-sleeved dress she wore radiated a clear, impervious light, revealing it to be a top-tier ethereal immortal-level robe!

The jade hairpin in her hair flew up and transformed into a green light curtain that could protect her mind and spirit.

The bell on her left wrist rang, emitting a clear, resonant sound that countered the demonic thoughts;

Her lotus-patterned boots shone with every step, as if she had the ability to shrink the distance between people.

These are all top-tier Dao artifacts!

Her black hair danced in the wind, her clothes fluttered, and her cool face, illuminated by the precious light, revealed a unique beauty completely different from her usual appearance.

Even Gu Yuanqing couldn't help but glance sideways, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, not only at these top-tier magical treasures, but also at her dazzling brilliance at this moment.

"Ouch——!"

The demon trapped in the sword formation surged with power, its demonic energy churning as it resisted the incoming sword light.

At the same time, it continuously emits an extremely sharp whistling sound, which seems impossible to block out. Upon hearing it, one feels the demonic thoughts manifesting in one's soul.

At the same time, Xiaoming also passed through Gu Yuanqing's sword formation in an incomprehensible way, instantly spreading for tens of thousands of miles!

The next moment, the demons in these regions instantly abandoned what they were doing and took to the air.

Low-level demons blotted out the sky, and several powerful demons at the Shattering Heaven level were also mixed in. They rushed towards the valley with reckless abandon.

The changes in the outside world did not cause the slightest ripple in Gu Yuanqing and Li Miaoxuan's hearts.

At their level, quantity is no longer a decisive factor.

The robes worn by the two emanated a clear glow, and the runes seemed to change and transform naturally in response to the stimulation. The demonic thoughts were expelled from their bodies, and the demonic sounds could no longer have any effect.

This is the artifact of the illusory immortals; this single artifact caused the Heavenly Demon to lose 30% of its original form.

Li Miaoxuan made a hand seal, and a profound Daoist aura rose from her body, a result of overcoming tribulations and being reborn from the ashes, instantly drawing upon the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy).

Then he pointed with his finger!
The Nine Tribulations of the Spiritual Ruins, the Heavenly Tribulation Pointer of the Ruins!

The fingertips seemed to have drawn upon the power of the laws of destruction and rebirth from the darkness, and the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth responded in response, making this area suddenly feel oppressive.

This hazy, gray finger strike seemed to traverse space, heading straight for the eye of the Heavenly Demon!
(End of this chapter)