Raise a sword!

Because Jiang Peng did not conceal her presence, the four people who were fighting in the distance also discovered her existence.

The person being besieged was a handsome young man who looked to be around thirty years old.

He was surrounded by three people, dodging and weaving in a very disheveled manner, while simultaneously calling out to Jiang Peng, "Fellow Daoist from Nanzhou, please lend a hand!"

Jiang Peng was somewhat surprised.

This person actually called him a fellow Daoist from the Southern Continent, so he is not a native cultivator from the Southern Mountain Region.

However, Jiang Peng had no intention of interfering. She simply put the bull demon's corpse on the ground into her storage bag and then planned to leave with Ah Huang.

Upon seeing that Jiang Peng wanted to leave, the handsome young man's face immediately turned anxious.

"I am Huang Cheng of the Nanming Sect, and I have come to Nanzhou to visit the Dragon and Snake Temple to discuss matters concerning the life and death of the outer seas and even Nanzhou! With the appearance of demonic cultivators, no living being in Nanzhou can remain uninvolved! Fellow Daoist, the same applies!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Peng, who had already taken to the air, immediately stopped in her tracks.

"No wonder I felt uneasy when I saw those three; they were demonic cultivators?"

The news of the demonic cultivators made Jiang Peng's heart sink.

Many people who are unaware of the inside story often refer to evil cultivators as demonic cultivators, as if the cruel methods of evil cultivators were due to demonic possession.

However, in reality, evil cultivators and demonic cultivators are completely different.

Evil cultivation is merely a derivative of Taoist or Buddhist cultivation. However, due to various reasons, such as deep-seated hatred or eagerness for quick success, they resort to any means to improve their cultivation, which is intolerable to the righteous path, hence the name evil cultivation.

Demonic cultivators are completely different.

Jiang Peng had seen records about demonic cultivators in the library of the Cangshan Sect.

The demonic path is a path to heaven on par with the Taoist and Buddhist paths.

"Big brother, what is a demonic cultivator?" Ah Huang, now a foot tall, squatted on Jiang Peng's shoulder and asked.

"Heaven and earth are divided into upper and lower realms, and the world is divided into pure and impure realms." Jiang Peng recalled the classic texts he had read. "So-called demonic cultivators are actually no different from us cultivators; they are just ordinary beings on the path of cultivation."

"But the devil is our other side, an enemy by nature, without any reason."

"What we protect, they want to destroy; what we uphold, they want to discard. It's not a matter of right or wrong, it's just a matter of perspective."

"Like the yin and yang aspects of the tai chi symbol."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Peng sighed helplessly. The Xuanyuan Sword fell from his sleeve, shrinking to its normal size and landing in his hand. A flash of purple fire streaked across the blade.

"The decline of demons and the rise of Tao, the rise of demons and the decline of Tao, that's probably how it is... So even though what's happening right now has nothing to do with you or me, just because the other party is a demonic cultivator, we absolutely cannot stand idly by."

"Of course, that's assuming you can really afford to offend them."

Ah Huang nodded as if he understood, then asked, "Brother, those three don't look like they're easy to mess with. Can you handle them?"

"Hmm, I guess we can afford to offend them."

Jiang Peng paused, her expression calm, but her aura suddenly became sharp.

Such a fierce aura clearly made the three demonic cultivators in the distance feel wary.

Before the three demonic cultivators could react, a blazing inferno transformed into a sharp sword beam, arriving in front of them in an instant.

"Oh no! It's a sword cultivator!"

"It's unfortunate that sword cultivators are the most ruthless when they fight."

"Let's block this sword first!"

The three demonic cultivators spoke quickly, then together they faced the terrifying sword energy.

The three men then displayed their respective skills, seemingly possessing profound abilities.

However, the moment the sword energy truly arrived, the three of them were clearly prepared to withstand it head-on.

But they all withdrew and retreated.

Only the demonic cultivator who remained at the front was a beat too slow and was caught in the sword energy.

"ah--!"

He screamed in agony, his eyes turning crimson, and countless tiny wounds appeared on his body from the sword energy, turning him into a blood-soaked figure in an instant.

Just then, another explosion rang out in the distance.

Before the injured demonic cultivator could react, he saw a dark sword pierce through his chest, the blade stained with his own hot blood.

The other two demonic cultivators who fled in the face of the sword energy were even more shocked to see this scene.

They had only intended to temporarily withdraw to assess the situation, but when things turned out to be really bad, the two of them made polite excuses while fleeing quickly into the distance.

"The path of cultivation is not one to be entangled by others! Things are beyond our control, farewell, junior brother!"

Seeing this, Jiang Peng hesitated for a moment before stopping on the spot.

Of the three demonic cultivators, the one who died was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, while the other two who escaped were in the middle and late stages of Foundation Establishment, respectively.

Given the unclear situation, Jiang Peng didn't know if the other side had any backup, so there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

Jiang Peng then turned her head and looked at the handsome young man Huang Cheng, who was already sitting cross-legged and meditating not far away.

He didn't rush to ask anything, but waited quietly, and incidentally protected this person.

About half an hour later, Huang Cheng finally finished his meditation.

"Thank you for saving my life, fellow Daoist. I still don't know your name."

"Cangshan Sect, Jiang Peng."

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, please accept my bow." Huang Cheng bowed deeply and only stood up after a long while.

Jiang Peng asked, "It has been a long time since we've heard of demonic cultivators appearing in the Southern Mountain Region. How did you end up being attacked by them? Moreover, those three clearly belong to the same sect and seem to have quite a background."

"The demonic cultivators come from the outer sea." Huang Cheng exhaled a breath of stale air.

When he spoke of this, his face showed a mixture of frustration and bitterness.

"What you say is correct, fellow Daoist. They are all demonic cultivators from a sect called the 'Divine Blood Sect.' As for the Divine Blood Sect... its exact origins are still unclear, but we roughly know that they come from the Western Forbidden Region."

The somewhat unfamiliar place name instantly brought Jiang Peng back to her memories.

He had seen an introduction to the Western Forbidden City in "The Travels of Luochen".

"Is it that forbidden western region, the location of the demon kingdom?"

"That's right," Huang Cheng sighed. "Only the demon race doesn't care about the distinction between the Dao and the demons. In their eyes, they are all just human cultivators... In other places, demonic cultivators may not be able to be eradicated, but they will never be allowed to become a force to be reckoned with."

Jiang Peng's pupils contracted.

"It's become a force to be reckoned with?!"

Huang Cheng was not surprised by Jiang Peng's reaction; he nodded with a wry smile.

"Before I set off, one-fifth of the islands in the South China Sea had already been controlled by the Divine Blood Cult, and countless others had secretly fallen into demonic possession... If the situation had not become so serious, my True Lord would not have sent me to Dragon Snake Temple for help."

"Moreover, not only the Dragon and Snake Temple, but I, Huang, will also visit the Beast Taming Sect later."

Jiang Peng was shocked and said, "Has the situation become this serious? It sounds like you intend to visit all the True Monarch forces in the Southern Mountain Region."

Huang Cheng sighed, his expression serious.

"Our ancestor, the True Lord, clearly stated that it is time for the struggle between the Dao and the Demonic... A demonic calamity will cause a century of turmoil. This is the will of Heaven and cannot be changed. We Daoist cultivators can only work together."

At this point, Huang Cheng bowed to Jiang Peng again.

"I am injured and have no time to waste... Please escort me."

"It is only right." Jiang Peng nodded in agreement.