To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

A moment later, Gu Fan followed his attendants and disciples into the Lingxiao Palace.

Upon arriving at the Cloud Platform, the attendants and disciples stopped, and Gu Fan ascended the Cloud Platform alone to enter the Skylight Cave.

There is no day and night cycle within Xiaoguang Cave Heaven; only the magnificent light flowing from beyond the nine heavens illuminates the entire cave heaven.

The sea surface rippled and shimmered.

This was Gu Fan's second visit to Xiaoguang Cave.

Compared to the joy I felt last time, I felt heavy-hearted this time. I had no interest in appreciating the beautiful scenery and went straight to the small island in the center of the cave.

When he landed in front of the thatched hut on the island, he immediately saw two figures.

One of them was Qi Zongyuan, and the other was the Supreme Elder Guiyun Sword Lord.

Guiyun Sword Lord sat cross-legged on a futon, closing his eyes to rest.

Qi Zongyuan stood at the lower end, seemingly saying something.

To Gu Fan's surprise, Guiyun Sword Lord's face was somewhat pale, as if he had just experienced a great battle, and there was still lingering sword energy on his body.

Gu Fan stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Gu Fan greets the Supreme Elder and the Sect Leader!"

"No need for formalities." Qi Zongyuan raised his hand in a gesture of greeting and said in a deep voice, "Elder Gu's arrival is timely, saving me the trouble of sending someone to invite him."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan lowered his eyes slightly and inquired, "I wonder what instructions the Sect Leader has? I have come here today to give my disciple Song Lian a magical artifact as a warning; could it be related to this?"

"It is indeed related." Qi Zongyuan nodded and told Song Lian where she had gone.

After the Lingxiao Sect decided to support the Hualing Sect, it would send disciples to trade supplies with the Hualing Sect every year.

On one hand, they sent the refined pills and magical artifacts there, and on the other hand, they brought back the spiritual herbs and minerals collected by the Hualing Sect.

With the support of the Lingxiao Sect, the Hualing Sect stabilized the situation and kept the demon race firmly confined to the desolate mountains. This model has been operating smoothly for many years.

However, this year's transactions saw an attack on Lingxiao Sect disciples.

Not only did the supplies disappear, but the disciples who went there also vanished without a trace.

Within the territory of Wei, to dare to rob the Lingxiao Sect's magic boat in broad daylight is definitely not the work of a cultivation family.

The most likely explanation is that something has happened within the Hualing Sect. If that's the case, the Lingxiao Sect will have to reconsider how to deal with the situation in the Manghuang Mountain.

Qi Zongyuan took this matter very seriously. During the next shipment of supplies, he ordered Song Lian to lead his subordinate cultivators to investigate. To avoid any accidents, he also secretly dispatched a Golden Core elder to accompany them.

Unexpectedly, an accident still occurred.

"The attackers were demons from the Wilderness Mountain, and the leader was the traitorous Xuan Snake from the Spirit Transformation Sect."

"Although his natal magic treasure was destroyed and his cultivation level dropped to the mid-Golden Core stage, he led a large number of demonized cultivators and demonic beasts, which surrounded the magic boat. In the end, only the Golden Core elder successfully broke through the encirclement, while the fate of the rest of his disciples is unknown."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan felt a surge of anger and suddenly asked, "What is the Spirit Transformation Sect doing?"

It's no secret that there are demonic beasts acting as spies within the Hualing Sect.

Xuan She and others defected, but the Hualing Sect still had people hidden within.

However, a large group of demon cultivators emerged from the desolate mountains and attacked the Lingxiao Sect's magic boat, yet the Hualing Sect did not react at all, which was a dereliction of duty no matter what!

Qi Zongyuan sighed, "This is the troublesome part... the Desolate Mountain now has an additional Nascent Soul cultivator."

Gu Fan's heart sank upon hearing this.

In the battle of the Cloud Mist Sea, the Sea Dragon King was killed, and only two Demon Kings remained of the demon race.

With the Spirit Transformation Sect protected by a powerful array, and with the support of Sword Lord Guiyun and Half-Old Monster, the demon race dared not make any rash moves.

This is the key to the Spirit Transformation Sect's ability to guard the Desolate Mountain.

But Qi Zongyuan said that the demon race had gained a Nascent Soul cultivator.

With three Nascent Soul cultivators gathered in the Desolate Mountain, the Spirit Transformation Sect alone could not possibly contain them.

In addition, Gu Fan also keenly noticed that Qi Zongyuan was referring to "Nascent Soul combat power" rather than "Demon King".

Gu Fan pondered for a moment and asked, "A third-tier demonic beast must undergo the Transformation Tribulation to advance, which is a massive undertaking. The Spirit Transformation Sect couldn't possibly have missed it. Could it be that this Nascent Soul cultivator isn't a demonic beast?"

"Elder Gu is indeed quick-witted."

Qi Zongyuan praised her and said in a deep voice, "The third Nascent Soul cultivator is none other than Hu Yueyao, the traitor from the Spirit Transformation Sect."

"She shattered her core and became an infant at some point, and the innate divine power she awakened should be the art of bewitching."

"It wasn't until the Supreme Elder personally went to the Spirit Transformation Sect to question them that it was discovered that the Golden Core cultivators responsible for monitoring the unusual activity in the Desolate Mountain had already been misled, and Hu Yueyao was thus exposed."

Gu Fan suddenly realized why Guiyun Sword Lord looked so grim.

The Manghuang Mountain side was prepared, and with three against two, Guiyun Sword Lord could protect himself, but it seemed unlikely that he would achieve anything.

"How does the sect plan to respond?" Gu Fan asked bluntly.

Since the situation has changed so drastically, it is no longer a matter for one party alone; only the three factions of Wei can join forces to deal with it.

Song Lian's fate is unknown, and he needs to go to the Hualing Sect to check on him no matter what.

Just then, Guiyun Sword Lord, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, and two beams of cold sword energy shot out.

Guiyun Sword Lord looked Gu Fan up and down with a hint of admiration in his eyes, and said, "I have already sent someone to contact the Hundred Refinements Sect. From now on, only the combined efforts of the three sects can restrain the Wilderness Mountain."

"To avoid repeating the same mistakes, we need to build a sect headquarters outside the desolate mountains."

"I know that you are Xuanji's disciple and have inherited his array cultivation. The construction of the sect's base requires someone to set up protective arrays, and this task needs to be taken by you."

"Disciple obeys." Gu Fan replied with a cupped hand.

Gu Fan had to admit that Guiyun Sword Lord's arrangement was very reasonable.

Array masters have always been rare in the cultivation world, and the strongest array master in the Lingxiao Sect is Master Xuanji.

However, True Person Xuanji's lifespan is limited. Being sealed within Wendao Peak can slow down her aging process, but if she were to go out to fight, she probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

Below Master Xuanji, Gu Fan is the most suitable person in terms of array formation cultivation.

With the help of the Myriad Manifestations Eye, Gu Fan has fully inherited the mantle of Master Xuanji.

Previously, he was somewhat rigid in his use of array formations, but after being enlightened by Master Xuanji, he has re-examined the cultivation manuals over the years and has long since made up for his shortcomings.

The construction of the sect's headquarters must never be entrusted to others.

The Hualing Sect is preoccupied with its own problems. If they were to build a base for the Lingxiao Sect, it might cause some future troubles.

Seeing that Gu Fan agreed so readily, Guiyun Sword Lord was quite satisfied. He nodded slightly, as if he had suddenly thought of something, and took out a palm-sized piece of gray leather from his sleeve.

"I'll need your help with the construction of the base. I've heard you're skilled in talisman-making, and this spiritual material is useless to me, so I'll give it to you."

After speaking, Guiyun Sword Lord flicked his finger, and the gray leather floated towards Gu Fan.

Gu Fan took the leather with both hands and was immediately stunned by the spiritual energy contained within it.

"This... could it be the Demon King's skin?" Gu Fan exclaimed in surprise.

The gray leather felt warm to the touch, its spiritual essence sealed away with exceptional skill. In comparison, the second-tier animal hides that Gu Fan had used before were simply dust and mud.

"Not bad." Guiyun Sword Lord nodded and continued, "Back then, when we killed the Sea Dragon King, all the spiritual materials from his body were divided up. However, this piece of skin from his skull, although of excellent quality, was of no use to anyone."

Gu Fan quickly bowed and thanked him.

The hide of a fourth-tier demon king is already a top-tier spiritual material in the Qionghua Realm.

Although he doesn't need it now, Gu Fan is confident that he can form a Nascent Soul, at which point he can draw a fourth-order spirit talisman.

The Lingxiao Sect also possesses the fourth-tier talismanic inheritance, but due to a lack of materials, no one has bothered to comprehend it.

"Unfortunately, we only have the hide, not the blood, and we lack the ink to draw the talisman. We'll have to think of another way."

Gu Fan frowned slightly as he thought to himself.

Gu Fan's expression was noticed by Guiyun Sword Lord, who smiled and said, "The Sea Dragon King's essence blood has all been taken by Lu Ling. Once we get to the Spirit Transformation Sect, I will get you a jar of it."

"Thank you, Supreme Elder." Gu Fan said again.

It has to be said that Guiyun Sword Lord's style of rewarding people before they start working made Gu Fan feel quite comfortable.