Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 245 Heading to Green Coffin Mountain

The Demon Lord of Cangshan is a name that is widely known.

The name did indeed frighten many rogue cultivators, but the three sect leaders, including Yin Xiaoshuang, merely sneered.

The people who were besieging the Demon Lord back then aren't all dead yet, and they dare to impersonate him?
Yin Xiaoshuang's cultivation level wasn't very high back then, but she had still participated in the war between the righteous and the demonic forces.

The Demon Lord of Cangshan was killed by Zhang Qi's sword, his physical body was severed, and his soul was shattered by other righteous cultivators. He was already dead beyond any doubt.

Where did this Demon Lord of Cangshan come from? He's clearly an imposter.

If it were a different name, Yin Xiaoshuang wouldn't be so confident. Since this demon doesn't even dare to reveal his name, he's clearly a coward hiding his true nature.

Although Jiaoyue and Wuyun were severely injured by the sudden mutual destruction, Yin Xiaoshuang was able to handle it on her own.

The seven-colored phoenix reappeared, crashing headlong into the sky full of meteorites.

The phoenix wings, hundreds of feet long, shattered the ghostly face into pieces, as if they had smashed half the sky.

While Yin Xiaoshuang was locked in a fierce battle with the demon in the sky, the battle on the ground was equally formidable.

The falling meteorites carried immense force as they fell; a cultivator with weaker cultivation would be instantly reduced to mincemeat upon being hit by one.

However, with the support of the formation, it can still hold on.

Moreover, the righteous path wasn't entirely on the receiving end of attacks.

Once the various formations were stabilized, the five righteous sects each sent out cultivators to scatter in all directions, and soon found traces of many demons in the sky and sea.

Chen Ye immediately recognized it as Mo Suixin's doing.

Only a diviner can quickly pinpoint the opponent's location amidst this chaos.

The demons were originally well hidden, but after the fighting started, all kinds of spiritual energy leaked out, making it difficult for them to continue hiding.

At this point, all you need is a skilled diviner to expose your opponent.

This is why the diviners must be killed before the great battle; otherwise, once the battle begins, nothing can be hidden, and only a head-on clash will remain.

Suddenly, hundreds of jets of black water erupted from the sea, each topped by a demonic cultivator clad in scales. They held bone flutes and played piercing, demonic tunes, causing the sea to surge with viscous waves of blood.

Originally, these demons were hiding in the sea, but Mo Suixin threw a point of light at them, and the cultivators of Tianxin Island stirred up the sea, forcing them all out.

A dozen or so cultivators from Tianxin Island jointly unleashed a deep blue array flag. As the flag billowed, waves surged up, engulfing the demonic cultivators. The seawater transformed into countless tornadoes, shredding the demonic cultivators into minced meat.

The disciples of the Yunlu Immortal Sect transformed into auspicious clouds and flew into the sky. Thousands of streams of light fell, blasting a large group of demons into ashes.

Each of the five major schools has its own unique characteristics.

But the most powerful is still the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Wang Wancheng and Su Chunyi worked together primarily to protect the rogue cultivators, but the one who actually made a move was the sword immortal that Chen Ye had never seen before.

His sword light was not dazzling at all; instead, it was indifferent and dark, like a shadow.

But wherever the shadows fell, those hidden demons seemed to be frozen in place, falling silently, yet unstoppable.

Although it is the same Qinghe sword technique, it seems that every disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect performs it in completely different ways.

Rift Sky Mountain was prepared. Although the number of demons was somewhat unexpected, they were generally not very capable. The arrogant "Cangshan Demon Lord" was now being chased by Yin Xiaoshuang's phoenix.

The hideous ghost face had been slapped to pieces and was now squealing and darting around in the sky like a stray dog.

Clearly, the villains are no match for the righteous path.

Apart from the monk from the Nirvana Sect who used a suicidal method to injure the Five Elements True Man and the Mermaid Moon True Man, so far only a few rogue cultivators have been misled and then killed each other.

But the Demonic Sect has already lost many disciples and beasts, so this deal is definitely a loss.

The problem is, the Demonic Sect wouldn't knowingly take action at a loss; there must be something else going on.

Chen Ye carefully observed the battlefield. Apart from the demonic disciples with lower cultivation levels being constantly killed, only the demon who called himself the Demon Lord of Cangshan was being chased around.

"Knowing you can't win, why don't you run? Unless..."

Chen Ye had a vague feeling that something was wrong; this "Cangshan Demon Lord" seemed to be consuming Yin Xiaoshuang's spiritual energy.

Although cultivators at this level can squander spiritual energy for ten or fifteen days, the other party is indeed stalling for time.

If it's just delaying, it means the Demonic Sect's target isn't here.

The only possibility was that Chen Ye, disregarding any concerns about avoiding suspicion or past grievances, flew straight towards the location of the Burning Incense Sect disciples.

As soon as they approached, a disciple of the Incense Burning Sect came to greet them.

Chen Ye thought the man was there to intimidate him, but to his surprise, the man greeted him with a smile and a friendly cupped-hand salute.

"I am Fang Hao, and I greet Sect Leader Chen."

Fang Hao is Lu Xingzhou's last disciple, and it is rumored that he is very likely to be the next leader of the Burning Incense Sect.

Mo Suixin came to Chen Ye before to act as an intermediary for Fang Hao.

I never expected to meet under these circumstances.

This was Fang Hao's first time meeting Chen Ye. He had only caught a glimpse of him from afar before and couldn't see him clearly. Now that the two were face to face, Fang Hao couldn't help but marvel at Chen Ye's truly exceptional appearance. Most people couldn't possibly be born with such looks; even men couldn't help but feel envious and jealous.

No wonder even an extraordinary woman like Su Chunyi was captivated by him.

Chen Ye, disregarding formalities, asked directly, "Fellow Daoist Fang, your sect leader should have returned to the Incense Burning Sect, right? Have you heard anything about him? I think these demons are just causing trouble at Rift Sky Mountain, seemingly trying to divert our attention."

Upon hearing this, Fang Hao's smile faded considerably.

This is considered an internal matter of the Incense Burning Sect. For Chen Ye, an outsider, to inquire about it so casually is extremely impolite.

Regardless of whether there was any unexpected event at the Incense Burning Sect, Fang Hao wouldn't discuss this with Chen Ye. Just as he was about to find an excuse, he heard a burst of laughter behind him: "Kid, you have good judgment. I guessed the same as you. It's a pity that the sect leader doesn't listen to me."

Fang Hao turned his head and saw a woman with disheveled hair floating over.

There is only one woman in the Incense Burning Sect who is so unkempt: Pang Duoduo, the head of the Seven Star Hall.

Fang Hao couldn't help but remind him, "Hall Master Pang, this is an internal matter of my Incense Burning Sect."

Pang Duoduo retorted bluntly, "Internal my foot! Now that the demons have returned with a vengeance, any incident will affect the entire world. Do you really think the Burning Incense Sect can remain uninvolved?"

After finishing her tirade, Pang Duoduo didn't give Fang Hao a chance to speak. She beckoned to Chen Ye and said, "Come on, let's find a quiet place to talk this over." Chen Ye looked at the disheveled woman in front of him with suspicion, thinking that this Pang Tangzhu was acting too unconventionally. Wasn't this a blatant disrespect to Fang Hao, especially in front of Chen Ye, an outsider?

Chen Ye knew he couldn't do such a thing, and he wasn't good at dealing with Pang Duoduo's unconventional way of doing things.

But the situation was not right, and Chen Ye could not care about anything else. He had no choice but to follow this Hall Master Pang and fly away.

Fang Hao's expression changed several times, but in the end he did not chase after them.

Pang Duoduo's status was much higher than his, and apart from Lu Xingzhou, no one could control her.

Although Fang Hao is said to be the future leader of the Incense Burning Sect, he really can't do anything about her right now.

However, since the two left in full view of everyone, Fang Hao probably doesn't need to deal with it; the higher-ups of the Incense Burning Sect will naturally take care of it.

Pang Duoduo pulled Chen Ye and flew all the way to the other side of Lietian Mountain.

At this time, battles were raging everywhere, so fierce that it was hard to find a quiet place; at most, it could only be considered an inconspicuous corner.

Pang Duoduo didn't waste any words and said to Chen Ye, "Kid, how did you know that the Incense Burning Sect is in trouble?"

"Not long ago, I encountered a demon underground..."

Chen Ye told Pang Duoduo what he had seen in the underground palace. In fact, he had already told Mo Suixin about it, so Pang Duoduo must have heard about it before.

Therefore, Chen Ye only mentioned it briefly before saying, "I guess the demon will definitely set his sights on the corpse of Demon Lord Wujiu. The fact that Sect Leader Lu left without saying goodbye clearly indicates that something has happened within the Burning Incense Sect."

Pang Duoduo sighed, then patted Chen Ye on the shoulder and said, "Not bad, your intuition is very accurate. You are indeed worthy of being my grand-disciple."

Chen Ye: ...

"Senior, how is this seniority system determined?"

"Did you learn divination from my apprentice? Isn't divination the most powerful skill in the Seven Star Hall? Would you consider this a special skill passed down within the sect? Are you my grand-apprentice?"

Pang Duoduo's matter-of-fact attitude made Chen Ye lose the will to explain.

"Senior, let's get down to business. What exactly is going on with the remains of that Demon Lord Wujiu...?"

Before Chen Ye could finish his question, Pang Duoduo interrupted him, saying, "Don't harbor any illusions. Demon Lord Wujiu will definitely be resurrected, and the sect leader is aware of this. I warned him two hundred years ago, but he couldn't make up his mind. If he had listened to me earlier, the Burning Incense Sect would have only been half destroyed at most. Now, I'm afraid even the sect leader's life will be lost."

Chen Ye's eyes widened as if he had heard something unbelievable.

Seriously? He just came over to offer a few words of advice, how did he hear such outrageous news?
Is Lu Xingzhou's life in danger?!
This time, wasn't it Zhang Qi who was being bid farewell? If two Dao Integration Realm experts were to perish at once, then the righteous path would truly be in grave danger!
Chen Ye was about to ask for more details when Pang Duoduo grabbed him.

"Chen Ye, I'm asking you, what are your true thoughts about my apprentice?"

Chen Ye frowned and said, "Hall Master Pang, is this the time to talk about such things? The Incense Burning Sect is about to face a great calamity, and you still care about these trivial matters of personal feelings?"

Pang Duoduo said, "Precisely because I have already calculated the major events, I already know the outcome. There is no use in being anxious now. After all, in the past few hundred years, our Incense Burning Sect has missed many opportunities to correct our mistakes. Today is the time to pay the price, and there is no use in being anxious. But I cannot calculate such trivial matters as personal feelings, so this is the only question I want to ask now."

Chen Ye was too lazy to play these pointless rhetoric games with Pang Duoduo. He forcefully broke free from her hand and said, "Hall Master Pang, you are magnanimous. I don't have that kind of composure, and I'm not in the mood to talk about these things right now. Since you say that Demon Lord Wujiu will be resurrected, then I will take my leave first. I still have to consider the people of the Northern Frontier, and I don't have time to chat with you."

Pang Duoduo smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad. It seems my disciple still has a chance. Don't be nervous. Since I brought you here, I naturally have a plan. Kid, do you want to resolve all the past grievances with the Burning Incense Sect? Do you want to make a fortune?"

Chen Ye frowned and asked, "Hall Master Pang, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Pang Duoduo said very seriously, "I want you to help the Incense Burning Sect. The resurrection of the Demon Lord Wujiu is a foregone conclusion, and my senior brother, the sect leader, has known this for a long time. He has long been determined to die, but he has been indecisive for hundreds of years. This is a dead end, and no one can break it. But you are different. You have emerged out of nowhere in the past year or so. You are the biggest variable in the world."

“Zhang Qi faked his death to invite you here so that he could borrow your luck to keep the righteous path going. I’m doing the same thing; I want to borrow your luck to preserve some vitality for the Burning Incense Sect. Kid, I can send you to Green Coffin Mountain right now.”

"How could I, a mere cultivator at the Profound Realm, possibly stop the resurrection of Demon Lord Wujiu? Isn't this just suicide?"

Chen Ye refused without hesitation. In a battle between cultivators at the Dao Integration Realm, even the slightest leak of air could turn him into mincemeat. He had only come to offer a reminder; how could he possibly get involved?

Pang Duoduo confidently assured her, "Don't worry, you won't die. Even if you don't believe me, you should believe in my methods. I, Pang Duoduo, have never made a mistake in fortune telling in my entire life. If I say you won't die, you definitely won't die. Not only that, you'll also reap plenty of benefits."

"Only by securing this benefit can your Yellow Springs Sect gain a foothold in the future. Otherwise, if the Demonic Sect makes a comeback, how many mortals can you protect in such a vast region as the Northern Frontier? Without the support of mortals' incense offerings and vows, how can your Yellow Springs Sect survive?"

Pang Duoduo's words made Chen Ye hesitate.

If what Pang Duoduo said is true, Lu Xingzhou will surely perish, and the Demon Lord Wujiu will definitely be resurrected. Unless Zhang Qi's final sword strike can kill the Demon Lord Wujiu, there will be no more cultivators at the Dao Integration Realm on the righteous path.

The Demon Lord Wujiu is known for his ability to be reborn from a drop of blood. Even Zhang Qi couldn't kill him back then, so how could anyone else possibly withstand him?
If a Demon Lord at the Dao Integration Realm were to point his sword at the Northern Frontier, how long could the Yellow Springs Sect hold out?

At the moment, there seems to be no other choice.

"Master Pang, even if I'm willing to help, what can I do?" Chen Ye asked.

Hearing Chen Ye's softened tone, Pang Duoduo quickly said, "Do as you please! Remember that. Just do what you normally do. I believe you won't kick someone when they're down, and I also believe you can play a crucial role when needed."

Chen Ye was embarrassed by all the high praise she was giving him.

To be honest, Chen Ye didn't have a good impression of the Incense Burning Sect. If he really went to Green Coffin Mountain, his first reaction would definitely be to try and get some benefits. As for whether Demon Lord Wujiu lived or died, he really wouldn't care.

In the end, he was only at the Tongxuan Realm.

However, since Pang Duoduo spoke with such conviction, Chen Ye also wanted to go to Qingguan Mountain to see for himself.

After all, the Incense Burning Sect is known for collecting most of the world's secret techniques and celestial books. If they could obtain even a few, it would be a huge profit.

Chen Ye wasn't entirely risking his life.

Chen Ye's greatest reliance was his golden body of merit.

He won't be injured until the incense and prayers of the Yellow Springs Sect are exhausted. Lu Xingzhou is fighting the Demon Lord Wujiu, so he probably won't have time to care about a mere cultivator like him. He should be able to escape if he wanted to.

After thinking it over, Chen Ye seemed to have a good chance of success, so he said to Pang Duoduo, "In that case, I will go. However, Green Coffin Mountain is a forbidden area of ​​the Incense Burning Sect. How can an outsider like me go in?"

Pang Duoduo smiled and handed a jade token to Chen Ye: "Here, this is your identity token for a Seven Star Hall disciple. As long as you don't shout to others that you are the Sect Master of the Yellow Springs Sect, this token will ensure that you can move freely within Green Coffin Mountain. Just cover your face a little; Seven Star Hall disciples rarely interact with others, so no one from the Incense Burning Sect will recognize you."

Chen Ye finally understood why Mo Suixin often said that the Seven Star Hall was like an isolated island, where they didn't even know their fellow disciples, which was truly lonely.

Chen Ye said, "Then please escort me to Green Coffin Mountain, but I can't make any guarantees."

"Hehe, I don't need your guarantee. I've said it before, what I've calculated has never been wrong."

Pang Duoduo took out a yin-yang fish jade pendant and chanted incantations. The yin-yang fish began to spin rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, a gate of light appeared in front of Chen Ye.

Before Chen Ye could see what was inside, a powerful suction force pulled him in.

(End of this chapter)