Chapter 263: Demon Hunting Order
Wang Jian also took a sip of his tea, savoring the complex flavors before responding. "Sect Master Li surely jests. If yours is a humble sect, then what are we?" he spoke with a warm smile, though his mind was racing.
He thought to himself that this place had undergone quite the transformation since the last time they had visited. When they had flown here using their usual route, they discovered that the entire terrain had changed completely and the sect was nowhere to be seen.
They had wondered if they somehow had the wrong coordinates, spending several hours running around in circles and searching the area before finally being noticed by Elder Huang and escorted inside.
To think that this sect would possess such a sophisticated concealment formation that not even he could detect the slightest trace of its presence. It must have been at least a fourth-grade formation, and an exceptionally well-crafted one at that.
But that wasn’t all that had shocked him. When they finally stepped inside the sect’s boundaries, the qi concentration within the area was simply on a completely different level from anything he had experienced. The spiritual energy was so dense and pure that you could cultivate just by breathing.
Even the young master had confirmed that such extraordinary qi concentration could only be found in the most special and protected zones within the holy lands. Just how much had this sect transformed in the span of only a few weeks?
Even the sect master herself had undergone a dramatic change, he thought as his gaze lingered on Li Yao. Before, he had been confident that he was stronger than her. But now, he couldn’t even begin to estimate her true power level. From what had happened earlier with that overwhelming aura, she gave him more intense pressure than even the cult leader.
Just how did such a monster, no, just how did those two monsters end up in this world?
His expression then became serious as he shifted to the real purpose of their visit. "Sect Master, we just received some critically important news from the central continent and thought we should share it with you," he said.
"News?" Li Yao wondered aloud.
"That’s right," Liu Feng spoke this time. "The demon hunting order is about to begin," he said.
"Demon hunting order? What’s that?" Li Yao asked in confusion, having never encountered this term before.
"Ah, I forgot the sect master is of the younger generation, so she might not be familiar with this," Wang Jian laughed. "The demon hunting order is something that is carried out every one thousand years."
"Every one thousand years, the demons that have been sealed away in the abyss break free from their prison and launch attacks against the human world. We are then forced to seal them away again, and the cycle continues endlessly."
His expression darkened as he let out a weary sigh. "We had thought that these seals were intentionally broken with the help of demonic cultivators. That was part of the reason why we were so adamant on defeating the cult leader. But it seems we still couldn’t stop it."
Li Yao seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Does this demon invasion happen all over the world?" she asked.
Wang Jian shook his head solemnly. "No. Only the eastern, western, northern, and southern continents are directly affected by these invasions. The central continent, with its many high-level experts and powerful defensive formations, is able to successfully resist the demonic invasion each time."
"But don’t worry too much. The central continent won’t simply abandon the other continents to their fate. Every time this invasion occurs, they issue the demon hunting order, deploying large numbers of skilled cultivators from the central continent to the other continents specifically to hunt down and eliminate the demons. That’s how the other continents have managed to survive and rebuild after all these repeated cycles over the millennia."
Live reaction inside li yao’s spiritual sea:
Xiang Yu: Sus
Li Yao: Sus
Human Empress: Definitely Sus
Yao Yao: Sus?
...
"When is this demonic invasion going to start?" Li Yao asked.
Wang Jian showed a brief look of surprise before quickly composing himself. As expected of the sect master, she didn’t even bat an eye at such world-shaking information. It seemed she wasn’t scared in the slightest by the prospect of a continent-wide demonic invasion.
"We don’t have the exact timing information, but..."
Outside the hall, Liu Feng had grown restless during the lengthy political discussion. He looked up at the sun hanging high above, thinking to himself how incredibly boring it was sitting in there with those older cultivators. And that Li Yao, was she even truly of the same generation as them? How could she speak so naturally with the sect master as if they were old friends who had known each other for decades?
"Well, I’ll just walk around for now," he thought to himself as he started exploring the sect grounds.
As he wandered through the various courtyards and pathways, he came across many disciples going about their daily duties and training routines. What surprised him was that he couldn’t sense any cultivation emanating from most of these people, they appeared to be completely ordinary mortals without any cultivation.
Even stranger, when they passed him on the paths, they would point at him and laugh openly. He looked down at himself self-consciously, "Do I look that strange?" He even discreetly sniffed his robes, wondering, "Do I smell bad or something?"
As he continued his confused wandering, he came across a small group of three disciples. From this particular group, he could actually sense qi radiating from their bodies. One of them was at the first layer of Qi Gathering, another was at the second layer, and the third was at the fifth layer.
The first two disciples were pointing at the third one and laughing at him mockingly.
"That’s it! I’ll show you both what I’m capable of!" the third disciple shouted angrily.
Liu Feng observed this scene with concern. He wondered if those two lower-level disciples had some kind of death wish, why would they deliberately provoke someone of significantly higher cultivation? No, he needed to interfere immediately before they got hurt.
He quickly ran forward and appeared directly between the group, spreading his arms protectively. "Guys, don’t fight! You are all fellow disciples" he spoke urgently.
But then the third disciple suddenly got into a stance, his body tensing with focused energy. He screamed out dramatically as his aura began to condense around him.
Liu Feng braced himself, wondering if the angry disciple was about to launch an attack.
But instead of unleashing a devastating technique, something completely unexpected happened. The third disciple’s cultivation level suddenly dropped dramatically from the fifth layer to the third layer of Qi Gathering.
"Ha! See that? I broke through two entire realms at once!" the third disciple declared proudly.
Liu Feng stared in complete bewilderment. "Umm, what’s going on here?" he spoke in utter confusion.
Finally, the three disciples acknowledged his confused expression and actually looked at him properly for the first time. They studied his appearance and cultivation aura before suddenly bursting out in uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahaha, bro is in the Core Formation realm, lol!" one of them laughed while leaning heavily on his companion for support.
"Bro thinks he’s the main character 💀" they continued laughing hysterically.
After laughing at him for several minutes, they finally managed to calm down enough to speak coherently. "Bro, you’re absolutely hilarious! What’s your name?" the first disciple with first-layer Qi Gathering asked casually, placing his hand on Liu Feng’s shoulder in a familiar manner.
Liu Feng was still confused by their bizarre reaction. "Liu Feng," he answered hesitantly.
Suddenly, those three disciples who had been laughing just moments before paused completely, their expressions shifting to pure terror. Then instantly, they all fell to their knees in perfect synchronization.
"No way, bro is actually the main character"
"Senior, we were wrong! Please don’t call the Dragon Army to wipe out our clans!" they pleaded desperately, their voices shaking with fear.
Liu Feng’s expression became even more strange and bewildered. Dragon Army? How did they know he was connected to the dragons? He had never mentioned anything about his bloodline or family, not even in the holy land.
He walked closer to them as they continued their panicked pleas for mercy. "How did you know I was a dragon?" he asked the first disciple directly.
"Please don’t kill me!" the disciple pleaded frantically.
"Okay, I won’t hurt you. Now tell me how you knew," Liu Feng spoke more gently, trying to calm the terrified disciple.
"Well, it’s written in the book," the disciple said, still trembling.
"What book?" Liu Feng asked.
"This one," the disciple said as he hurriedly retrieved a thick volume from his spatial storage ring. The book’s title read: "Cultivation 101: A Survival Guide for the Aspiring Immortal."
...
Author’s Corner
Inside Li Yao’s spiritual sea is like a watch party. Xiang Yu, the empress and Yao Yao are always watching what’s happening outside. When she gives some smart responses like when she asked if it’s world wide, she probably isn’t the one talking but being told what to say.
Also, just realized that since Xiang Yu is watching she cant do freaky stuff lol, or maybe she’s into that 💀