Fairy, return my flying sword to me

Chapter 198 Analysis
The unfamiliar, disruptive swordsman arrived suddenly and left just as suddenly.

Like a gust of wind, before they could even react, it disrupted what they were doing.

Watching the swordsman's sword light disappear into the distance, the cultivator holding the fish-scale dagger hesitated for a moment before finally hardening his expression.

He gripped the dagger in reverse and pointed it at his chest.

This dagger needs to be sharpened with blood to make it even more potent.

The ultimate breakthrough is achieved by a living cultivator sacrificing all their vital essence.

Now that their scheme has been discovered, it's better to go all out now to avoid any unforeseen complications.

The blood that should have gushed out seemed to encounter some kind of special suction force.

Every scale on the dagger, having absorbed the blood gushing from the heart, began to gleam.

As the cultivator felt his life force rapidly weakening with the extraction of blood, his body grew increasingly frail, yet his eyes grew ever brighter.

He raised the dagger in his hand and chiseled at the point of starlight he had been pecking at.

If a cultivator were to observe closely, they might discover that, thanks to their previous efforts, the intangible distance between the starlight and the surrounding area has become considerably closer compared to other places.

It's like a piece of glass of uniform thickness, with a deep dent carved into the spot they struck.

Now, this dagger, saturated with life essence, is about to launch its final assault on the last remaining thickness of the barrier.

"Boom!" The spiritual sense exploded, causing the cultivator's forehead to swell instantly.

The commotion that occurred in the realm of spiritual consciousness left almost everyone present stunned for a few moments. When they came to their senses, they realized that the cultivator who was about to stab with a dagger in his hand was frozen in the last breath of his life.

The chest stopped rising and falling, and the head was gone.

The headless, mangled corpse slowly fell to the ground, revealing Yun Feiyang's serious face.

The Golden Core cultivator's spiritual sense erupted in full force, forcefully bursting the cultivator's sea of ​​consciousness.

There are many ways for a Golden Core cultivator to destroy a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and this method is the most harmful and self-defeating among them.

Yun Feiyang, who forcibly shattered the opponent's sea of ​​consciousness, also felt his own sea of ​​consciousness trembling and stinging in waves, but this was the most direct and explosive killing method he could use in his haste.

No one knew what the consequences would be if he were to stab the other party; he could only do his utmost to prevent the other party from successfully achieving their goal.

Fortunately, it was a success...

Yun Feiyang reached out and beckoned, and the fish scale thorns slowly flew into his hand.

The cultivators who were chasing them in the forest also sensed something was wrong.

In fact, the moment the monk wielding the fish-scale thorns was about to sacrifice his life, they were already heading back to provide support.

Unfortunately, when faced with the arrival of Golden Core cultivators, those of them, who were only at the Foundation Establishment stage, had no means of resistance.

The moment the conspiracy is exposed, it loses all its power.

"Those who surrender will not die!" Yun Feiyang's expression was solemn, his robes fluttering even without wind, exuding an aura of power.

Seeing that their plan was about to fail, the remaining four cultivators exchanged glances without hesitation, and then muffled thuds erupted from their bodies.

A burst of blood mist erupted, and the four bodies slowly collapsed.

Upon seeing this scene, Yun Feiyang's eyes flickered slightly, feeling somewhat shocked.

He hadn't met many disciples of the Demon Worship Sect, only having experienced it once before in the Yunmeng Marsh.

But he didn't witness the scene of several Xuanfeng Sect disciples sacrificing their lives to the magic array that time. This is the first time he has seen these Demon Worship Sect disciples so disregard their own lives.

A faint smell of blood spread across the wild land, and the thin mist rising from the ground greedily enveloped the blood droplets, hiding them in the shadows.

Yun Feiyang looked at the returning forest with a somewhat blank expression and asked, "Have they always been like this?"

Having witnessed this several times in the forest, Lin Jian was already familiar with the modus operandi of these Demon Worship Sect disciples. "They truly are capable of using any means necessary to achieve their goals..."

Yun Feiyang raised the dagger in his hand, then turned to look at the starlight that seemed so close yet so far away. "Is this their goal?"

He arrived in haste, without even having a chance to understand many things.

Upon hearing a voice from the forest saying, "Stop them quickly," he flew over and unleashed his spiritual power.

Now that all the conspirators have been eliminated, he has the mind to investigate the reasons behind it.

"This should be the magic array that divides the entire Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift space." Lin Jian gently touched his side.

The starlight was far away, like an invisible wall of air that prevented his hand from touching it. "In any case, I should go back and report this to the elders first."

Yun Feiyang felt a little relieved, "I managed to make it in time, at least I prevented their conspiracy from succeeding."

"Not necessarily..." Lin Jian shook his head, not optimistic.

Based on his understanding of the Demon Worship Sect's modus operandi over the years, they either don't make a move, or once they do... even if they are discovered, it actually means that their power is already secured.

All the risks in their plans lie in the initial preparation stage. Once they reach this point of revealing their true intentions, it is highly likely that they have already reached the final stage of execution.

Of course... it's also possible that the current five-person team's clandestine actions are just the beginning of their plan, which would indeed allow them to orchestrate a conspiracy that has yet to unfold.

As he spoke, he turned to look at Yun Feiyang and asked curiously, "Where are those two body cultivator brothers?"

As messengers, it would be more efficient for them to lead the way.

But right now, he only saw another unfamiliar three-person team next to Yun Feiyang, and he didn't see the two clowns.

"You didn't know?" Yun Feiyang was also taken aback. "Weren't you together?"

"After discovering the starlight here, I sent them back to report while I continued tracking, thinking I'd save some time for reinforcements..." Lin Jian murmured, then suddenly paused, "They're dead?!"

Yun Feiyang nodded silently. "...It was because the elder noticed their life tablets were broken that he ordered me to chase after them. It seems they were attacked and murdered on their way home after parting ways with you. So, the culprits who secretly planned this are not just these few people?"

As Yun Feiyang spoke, he also found it strange, "But I didn't sense their presence along the way, nor did I find even the slightest trace of a battle. These two brothers are both accomplished body cultivators; even if they were attacked, they shouldn't have been unable to make a sound..."

Honestly, Yun Feiyang could indeed use the same spiritual sense techniques he used to kill the dagger-wielding cultivator just now to swiftly and decisively eliminate low-level cultivators.

But doing that would be unpleasant for me; it was a desperate measure taken out of desperation.

Secondly, the cultivator with the dagger had ripped out his own heart, weakening his aura and diminishing his spiritual consciousness considerably. He was no match for the two body cultivators at their peak, whose spiritual consciousness was more restrained.

Even for a Golden Core cultivator like Yun Feiyang, killing these two brothers without anyone noticing would be no easy task; at the very least, it would be impossible to do so without leaving a trace.

"What if they're on our side..." Lin Jian pondered, then suddenly asked. Yun Feiyang put himself in their shoes, "If I were to launch a surprise attack when they're completely off guard, it might indeed be possible... Wait!"

He looked at the woods with a horrified expression. "You don't think I did it, do you?!"

Lin Jian rolled his eyes helplessly, "Are you the only Golden Core cultivator in the sect?"

Yun Feiyang thought about it and felt even more terrified. He subconsciously glanced at the trio who were still recording the scene in the distance, and leaned closer to transmit his thoughts through his spiritual sense: "You mean that among the sect leaders who are traveling with us, there are also...their people?"

"It's just a guess..." Lin Jian bit his lower lip, his eyes glazed over.

“There are many groups of disciples from the sect patrolling. It was an accident that we encountered this starlight at the end of the road. It's impossible for the people from the Demon Worship Sect to be blocking our route precisely. It doesn't seem like they were just unlucky by chance…”

Yun Feiyang suddenly remembered something Lin Jian didn't know, and quickly said, "It wasn't just him; other disciples in the sect also perished. By the time I set off, nine people had already died!"

“Then it’s even less likely to be an accident!” Lin Jian said confidently. “Each group of patrolling disciples is responsible for a different route. It’s impossible for the other side to have so many people to intercept all the disciples’ possible patrol routes.”

If we consider the half of the Tianyuan Demon Rift under the jurisdiction of the Zhengyang Sect as a perfect semicircle, then the current temporary base of the Zhengyang Sect's garrison is the center of this semicircle.

The further outward they spread, the more dispersed the disciples' patrol routes became.

In this situation, how many people would the Demon Worshiping Sect need to send to intercept and kill all the patrolling disciples in this entire semicircle?

If they had that many people and such overwhelming strength, would they need to send three or five Foundation Establishment cultivators to sneak around in these corners?
"They have an inevitable end!"

Following Lin Jian's train of thought, Yun Feiyang's eyes widened in shock, "All the returning disciples will only go to True Person Yuhu to report what they saw and heard during their patrols!"

"It's just a guess." Lin Jian's eyes were fixed, but he wasn't certain.

Although this guess is very likely to be true, it is still a rare Golden Core cultivator in the sect.

We must not make any rash announcements before the truth is fully revealed.

Yun Feiyang gritted his teeth and said, "We'll go back and report this news to the elders right away."

Evidence must be collected covertly, of course, but as the greatest asset of their Zhengyang Sect on this trip, the Nascent Soul elder leading the team is naturally trustworthy.

If even the biggest leader turns against us, then what's the point of playing this game?

They might as well all die here.

Having devised a plan, the two were then faced with a dilemma regarding how to handle the situation in this place.

The star map here has already been breached by the enemy's people, and it's hard to say whether they will send more people to continue excavating this area.

Staying on the front lines is the safest option, but who will stay behind?

Their Zhengyang Sect has a method to know whether their dispatched disciples are safe and sound using life tokens, and these disciples of the Baimo Sect most likely have the same method.

The reason why the remaining disciples so decisively ended their own lives was probably to notify the person in charge behind the scenes in this way.

Even a lineup of five Foundation Establishment stage disciples is not enough; if the opponent sends more people, their strength will obviously far exceed this level.

Apart from Lin Jian and Yun Feiyang, who are the main forces, being on guard here, there is no other safe option.

But that would mean sending the three-person team that came with them back to report... The nine people who died not long ago serve as a cautionary tale.

Even after they explained all the secrets to these three people, they were still uneasy about their abilities... and their force fields.

The Demon Worship Sect is omnipresent, and Lin Jian may not even fully trust the three people accompanying him.

"It's hateful that this place is shrouded in demonic energy, which interferes with all communication talismans! Otherwise, we could just send a message to the elders to send more teams of disciples to take over..."

Being stationed in such a dangerous area requires disciples to go out and scout from time to time.

Real-time communication methods are essential, and similar methods exist in the cultivation world.

Unfortunately, the demonic energy is strong, while the spiritual energy is weak.

Not to mention, this place is filled with noise that affects the soul. It's a good thing that a perfectly good sentence becomes a jumble of noise after being transmitted.

It's not unheard of for monsters to corrupt people and cause them to go completely in the opposite direction.

Having learned their lesson the hard way, the sect's garrison had long since abandoned the use of communication talismans. In addition, this simple patrol had gone on for many years without any major mishaps.

The greatest threat from the Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift has always come from its occasional outbreaks, rather than from these daily patrols where everyone is on high alert.

However, at this particular time, the choice has become a dilemma for the two of them.

"There's no need to increase casualties unnecessarily," Yun Feiyang decided after a moment's thought.

"If the enemy comes back with a vengeance, even if we both stay here, we may not be able to stop them. There is no need to continue to divide our forces."

The most important thing is to hurry back and report the situation to the elders. In addition, it depends on how the elders decide and whether more clues about the nine dead cultivators can be found in the camp.

If it is indeed Master Yuhu, who is in charge of collecting all patrol intelligence, who is the mastermind, they will need to gather enough evidence.

Otherwise, making a hasty suggestion will only worsen this chaotic situation.

The two men, along with their three-person team and five corpses, rushed back immediately.

Lin Jianyu took the lead on his flying sword, only putting it away upon reaching the camp and returning as inconspicuously as possible.

The magic circle in the camp was as bright as before, and I felt a little more at ease after spending almost half a day in the dark forest.

But a hidden sense of urgency constantly tugged at his heartstrings—

The Demon Worshiping Sect has made another move, and no one knows what their purpose is this time.
To completely derail this Heavenly Abyss Demon Rift? This was the only possibility Lin Jian could think of.

The thought that this demonic rift would be completely lost, and that not only would the powerful demons be able to wreak havoc on the cultivation world, was terrifying.

More importantly, there was the decree previously issued by the Holy Land...

The edict clearly states: The demonic rift has been breached, and all four sects have been slaughtered.

Given the immense power of a holy land that rules over an entire seventh realm, Lin Jian had no doubt about the other party's strength and determination to accomplish such a feat.

……

When all five corpses were laid out before the elder, his eyes paused slightly.

Yun Feiyang stood aside and quietly recounted all his experiences and speculations from his trip.

The elder remained silent after hearing everything, and the air seemed to freeze over...

(End of this chapter)