Fairy, return my flying sword to me

Chapter 194 Post-war Inventory
The golden spirit body, integrated with its cultivation, gave the beating in the forest a completely new meaning.

Any opponent who attacks him will not only suffer a counterattack from the sword energy, but will also retain the sword intent unique to him.

With this sword intent present, no matter where the opponent hides, it will be difficult to escape his pursuit.

Guided by the forest, Yun Feiyang also located the Void Water Demon.

With the two working together, this demon, which specialized in the realm of spiritual consciousness, finally found it difficult to cause trouble again.

As if sensing its impending doom, the jellyfish-like figure that had been floating in the air suddenly exploded in a violent tremor, turning into a turbulent cloud.

From the core that had been unified, it suddenly became a miasma of spiritual consciousness that covered a much larger area.

As a result, even those sect disciples who were not originally within the scope were temporarily trapped in their own illusions.

However, a long sword rang out, and golden light pierced the sky.

The misty space was abruptly torn open, creating a bright gap. The clanging of sword energy invigorated many disciples.

Looking up, one can see green vines swirling in the swirling mist, and the powerful demonic energy is gradually clearing up under the combined attack of sword energy and wood spirits.

The front line withstood another wave of attacks...

As time slowly passed, the battle between the big shots finally came to an end.

The demonic energy pouring out from the demonic eye was not endless. As the waterfall of demonic energy flowing from the demonic eye gradually thinned out, the evil demons and nightmare demons that failed to break through the powerful figures' defenses also retreated in time.

It's either die or run.

On a battlefield teeming with demonic energy, as the demonic eye calmed down and the demons shrank, the air in the dim space seemed to clear and become calm.

The disciples of the Zhengyang Sect began cleaning up the battlefield and taking stock of the casualties.

As they walked through the forest to a spot quite close to the Demon Eye, they were stopped by a Nascent Soul stage elder who was sitting at the very front meditating. "Don't go any further ahead, it's too dangerous."

"Yes," Lin Jian replied respectfully, looking up at the huge, eye-like opening in the sky.

He vividly remembered the Tianyuan scene he had witnessed during the battle of Yunmeng Marsh. One of the core reasons he volunteered to come to guard this Tianyuan Demon Rift was to see if he would have the opportunity to see the true face of Tianyuan again.

However, it is clear that the now-large-scale demonic rift is completely different from the temporary interdimensional passage that was torn open by the magic array at that time.

The demonic eye in the sky is more stable, but also more dangerous.

It constantly emanated a faint malice from within, and a faint demonic aura also wafted outwards.

Even though he was standing some distance away, he could sense the demonic energy, which carried a natural malice, converging towards him.

It was as if molecules in the air had sprouted countless fangs and spikes, launching an attack on the forest from all directions.

The feeling of being enveloped in malice is absolutely unpleasant, and it is evident that the closer one gets, the deeper this malice intrudes.

It's hard to imagine what it would be like to actually get close to that demonic eye, not to mention that with elders currently overseeing the front lines, there might not even be a chance to see the truth.

"The casualty statistics are out..." The Golden Core stage sect leader then came over and reported to the Nascent Soul stage elder who was leading the team.

However, just before he was about to speak, he deliberately glanced at Lin Jian, his eyes asking for instructions with a questioning look.

"It's alright." The elder waved his hand casually. "They're all my disciples, it's fine for them to listen."

The sect leader secretly raised an eyebrow.

That's what they said, but if it were an ordinary disciple, they would have told him to get lost long ago.

After all, such news could shake morale, and it's not something everyone should listen to.

Now that the elders have tacitly allowed this disciple access to these relatively confidential matters, it means that this disciple has become a disciple that the elders intend to cultivate with all their might.

The elders are different from their sect leader.

The sect leader is responsible for his disciples and must prioritize them when it comes to any benefits. No matter how outstanding other disciples are, they have nothing to do with him.

The elders face the entire sect, not to mention that anything they casually reveal, even if it's just a Nascent Soul cultivator, is enough to provide endless benefits to ordinary disciples.

Their training is an unparalleled honor for any disciple in the sect.

The disciple who has just advanced to the third level of Foundation Establishment has undoubtedly gained the upper hand in front of this elder.

He has good talent and is also cultivated by superiors.

He thought that he might soon be able to advance to the Golden Core stage and become a cultivator at the same level as himself, so he smiled kindly at Lin Jian to show his goodwill.

"Reporting to Elder Master, in this demonic tide, five disciples of our Zhengyang Sect have died, and more than 130 have been injured, some seriously and some lightly. One hundred reserve disciples have taken over the front-line defense, while the rest are recuperating in the rear."

A number that might seem unusual at first glance... because it's rather low.

For cultivators, unless it is a severe injury such as losing a hand or foot, ordinary injuries can be quickly recovered through medical skills and elixirs.

Even with severe injuries like losing a hand or foot, as long as the severed limbs aren't too badly damaged and can be reattached in time, it will only require a little more recovery time.

For example, the Lingyun Sect disciple whose arm was cut off by Lin Jian during the last Four Sects Competition was like that. The reason why they didn't hold a grudge against Lin Jian afterward was because such a minor injury doesn't have a significant impact on cultivators.

As for the five who died, they were simply unlucky.

Cultivators possess strong physiques, but most importantly, they are intelligent and know how to cooperate.

If you can't win, if you're exhausted, don't you know how to run?

Couldn't you escape immediately? Won't your teammates save you?

As long as a single wave of demonic energy doesn't completely overwhelm the entire cultivator defense line, there will always be reserve disciples to step up and take over.

Looking across the entire battlefront, it's rare to see a high-level monster like the Void Water Demon silently sneak into the rear battlefield and cause an instantaneous, devastating attack.

In this situation, it's not so easy for someone to die directly.

Not to mention that the current demonic tide is more frequent and dangerous than before. In the past, the 300-person garrison might have been able to clear the level without taking any damage.

Lin Jian's previous information about Tianyuan was mostly hearsay. Only after personally entering the Tianyuan Demon Rift for the first time did he truly understand what the front-line battlefield was like.

But why did both Zhengyang Sect and Xianyi Sect suffer such heavy losses during these two troop rotations?

Because of the number of times... the number of times the demon tide has occurred.

In the past, during periods of calm, each sect would experience at most one or two demonic tides during its one-month rotation period, and some sects were so lucky that no demonic tides occurred at all.

In other words, once a situation like today occurs, the next month will be a relatively easy time for routine patrols and investigations.

Disciples who were injured in the demonic tide had ample time to recover and did not have to face the continuous attacks of the Heavenly Abyss demons.

But now?

not now.

Within the current one-month defense period, the departing Immortal Sect team has reportedly withstood five demonic tides. If this current demonic tide hadn't coincided with the Zheng Yang Sect's shift change, it would have been the sixth one they had faced.

Judging from the chaotic escape of the Immortal Sect disciples when the shift change was first observed, if they hadn't arrived just in time for the shift change, the entire Immortal Sect would probably have been wiped out here.

Is it because the overall strength of the disciples of their Immortal Sect is inferior to that of the Zhengyang Sect?

No! It's because of frequency.

The injured disciples did not have enough time to rest before facing another wave of demonic tides.

One or two waves are fine, as the reserve disciples arranged in advance can take turns defending.

After two or three waves, there were no more reserve disciples who could maintain their peak condition.

Everyone was wounded, and they fought with their injuries.

In this situation, after one or two more waves of fighting, casualties would naturally increase significantly.

It could even be a sudden, massive collapse.

This is the predicament that the sect's garrison teams faced during these two troop rotations in the Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift.

That's why, even though the current statistics are quite good, the sect leader who reported the news and the elder who heard it both had somber expressions and didn't seem relaxed at all.

However, even the elders and the sect leader did not have a ready-made solution to this predicament.

The sect has already provided an answer to this—

An additional one hundred disciples were added to the garrison this time.

The number of troops increased from two hundred to three hundred, effectively doubling the garrison strength.

Now that they are inside the Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift, they only have one path left to take: "fighting bravely."

"Arrange for patrols. The sect is waiting for our report on this deployment." The elder pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, giving the seemingly casual order.

Even sects cannot be said to be without flaws.

No one knows what kind of response would be considered good in the face of Tianyuan, which is changing every moment.

Ultimately, the surge in casualties occurred only after these two rotations.

The sect also needs to respond to the feedback and adjust its strategic arrangements accordingly.

After bowing in the woods, he bid farewell and left.

He just wanted to see if there was a chance to check out the Demon Eye and what was happening on the other side. Since there was no chance now, he didn't want to stay here any longer.

After all, as members of the rapid action team, they also have their own missions.

Once inside the Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift, everyone is equal.

After all, there are only three hundred people; no one can escape.

Whether they are star disciples in the sect or just the youngest junior brother who works hard quietly in the corner, once they become a member of the Tianyuan Demon Rift guard team, everyone will be assigned daily tasks.

Patrolling the entire Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift to prevent large clumps of demonic energy from gathering in one place and slowly causing greater harm, or to prevent demons from hiding and secretly escaping the rift to commit evil deeds in the cultivation world, is a task that almost every disciple may receive.

They were no exception.

However, unlike Lin Jian, who was in top form in terms of both body and spirit during his breakthrough, the two body-cultivating senior brothers had both experienced being deeply eroded by the Void Water Demon.

Even now that the great battle is over, they, like the weaker lower-level disciples, are all gathered in the sect's specially set-up Pure Mist Green Hut to recuperate.

The air in the space where Qinglu is located is just as fresh as the outside air.

Any demonic energy or turbidity belonging to the Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift is nowhere to be found here.

Only pure spiritual energy and rich medicinal fragrance resonated in this completely clear space.

The entire area is distributed in a Yin-Yang pattern, with disciples recuperating and practicing in the forest located on either side.

He rested to heal his injuries while simultaneously engaging in physical activity to cultivate himself.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift is even thinner than in ordinary places outside.

However, disciples who cultivate here can quickly replenish the true energy they have consumed, thus rapidly restoring their combat strength.

This Green Hut was also supported by the power of magical artifacts. The large azure cauldron standing at the core is the absolute fulcrum of this Green Hut space.

When the two body cultivator senior brothers were found, they were chatting enthusiastically with a group of sect disciples surrounding them.

"I'm not bragging, but the three of us fought our way in and out of that monster formation seven times! My brother and I were even a whole body length ahead of Brother Lin the whole time!"

"Those sword cultivators are indeed powerful. But physically, they're not as resilient as us body cultivators. You may only see the sword slaying demons and monsters, but you haven't seen what my brother and I have endured behind the scenes..."

"Exactly! Those who say we're just coasting through and winning are people who don't understand the situation. Victory records can distort a person's efforts. If we hadn't carried the burden forward, even Brother Lin would have had a hard time wielding his sword to vanquish evil!"

The two brothers, who were excitedly talking, suddenly noticed that the air had become quiet.

I instinctively turned my head and saw a familiar figure standing not far away from the crowd, smiling at them.

His buttocks tightened instantly, and his face stiffened. "Hehe~ Brother Lin, what brings you here?"

"Let's see if your injuries have healed."

Aside from the five unfortunate disciples who died in this great battle, the cultivators who were directly controlled by the Void Water Demon were probably the most severely injured.

After all, it was a dimensional attack from a demonic being at the Tribulation Phase level, comparable to a Golden Core cultivator. No one knew whether these people would suffer any aftereffects even if they were rescued.

The hidden dangers of the spirit are far more troublesome than physical injuries.

But it seems that the two body cultivator brothers are not seriously injured.

They boasted loudly and were full of energy.

"Go patrol if you have nothing else to do. We just took over the shift, so we need to clean up the entire Demon Rift Space first."

Logically, this should be the necessary procedure after the change of guards between different sects. However, they encountered the invasion of the demonic tide as soon as they arrived, and had to deal with the imminent troubles first before they had time to slowly familiarize themselves with and investigate the hidden dangers in various parts of the space.

If it can be resolved, resolve it on the spot.

Even if you can't solve it, write it down and observe it from time to time.

As a buffer zone between the two realms, the Demon Rift is influenced by the laws of both realms, and the development of some things is not compatible with either side.

Upon hearing this, the two brothers jumped up, their eyes gleaming as they looked eagerly into the woods. "It's alright! We're fine now. It's just that the pharmacist kept saying there might be some hidden dangers and wanted us to stay for observation. It's good that you're here, brother. Talk to the pharmacist and ask him to let us out quickly!"

(End of this chapter)