"Who dares to harm my disciples of the Nine Profound Sect?" Elder Hong Tian roared, his voice like thunderclaps echoing for miles. His hair and beard bristled, lightning flickered around him, and even from a distance, one could feel the surging torrent of spiritual energy within him. A fierce and incomparably powerful aura erupted instantly.
On the levitating light boat, three other elders also let out cold snorts, their killing intent surging forth as they released their powerful auras. Suddenly, four Ming Dao realm auras and sharp killing intent swept out, startling the dozens of cultivators on the ground. They quickly retracted their attacks, maintaining a vigilant stance.
"Hahahaha! It's Elder Hong!" Among the five heavenly talents of the Nine Profound Sect, one person burst into laughter. Lightning surged around him, and with every gesture, bolts of lightning as thick as arms were unleashed, appearing incredibly imposing. This person was clearly a direct disciple of Thunder Ruin Peak, perhaps even a personal disciple of an elder, with his lightning techniques perfected to the highest degree.
Seeing this, the cultivators who were surrounding the Nine Profound Sect's heavenly talents immediately showed hesitation, and some were already preparing to retreat as quickly as possible. Upon witnessing this, Elder Hong Tian gently stomped his foot, and his spiritual energy roared out, controlling the light boat to soar towards the ground.
However, at this very moment, a chilling sensation swept through Ji Yuan, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave. Without a moment's hesitation, he summoned the Profound Sky Spirit Devouring Pagoda, using its power to protect himself. He even spared no expense in spiritual energy, making his protective light glow even more densely. As if still not entirely at ease, he shouted out loud while sticking several protective talismans onto himself, causing a layer of spiritual light to flow over his body.
Upon hearing Ji Yuan's shout, the Nine Profound Sect disciples, apart from the four elders, showed expressions of surprise and confusion. Only those who were familiar with him immediately unleashed their protective techniques without hesitation. Based on their understanding of him, they knew he wouldn't utter nonsense at such a moment.
As expected, after two or three breaths, a radiant beam of light shot up from the crowd, accurately striking the bottom of the light boat. Crack! Crackle! Crackle!! Crackle! A few crisp cracking sounds were heard, and everyone's expressions immediately changed. The four elders quickly unleashed streams of spiritual energy, protecting the disciples behind them.
In the next moment, the entire light boat exploded with a bang. The spiritual energy it contained, along with the several layers of post-heaven restrictions engraved upon it, erupted simultaneously, instantly generating a powerful tearing force. Hong Tian and the other four elders immediately used their spiritual energy to control this violent force, preventing it from harming the other disciples. Then, more than twenty people fell from the air. Fortunately, the light boat was only seven or eight zhang above the ground. The Nine Profound Sect disciples merely channeled their spiritual energy, and they descended steadily without suffering any impact.
In mid-air, Ji Yuan suddenly drew the long whip from his waist and, with a flick of his arm, wrapped the light blue whip around Zhou Lianying's waist, pulling her into his embrace and bringing her down safely to the ground.
"Th-thank you..." Her face flushed slightly. It was the first time she had been held in a man's arms, even though he was just a young boy.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan simply nodded. If he hadn't done so, Zhou Lianying, with her mid-stage Enlightenment realm cultivation, would have inevitably suffered some injuries even if she fell from seven or eight zhang. In such an environment, with hidden attackers, being already at a disadvantage in cultivation and then suffering severe injuries would be akin to being sentenced to death.
"Who dares to do this?!" The four elders, suspended briefly in mid-air by their spiritual energy, scanned their surroundings with displeased expressions. They had already investigated the area where the beam of light had erupted, but now it was completely empty, with nothing left but residual spiritual energy.
As they were speaking, figures suddenly shot up into the sky, at least seven or eight of them discernible with a single glance! In the blink of an eye, rolling demonic energy surged out, instantly filling an area of tens of zhang. Howls of ghostly wails and demonic sounds reverberated for miles around.
The Nine Profound Sect disciples, who had just formed their battle formations, had their faces change in succession, filled with pain. Their spiritual energy even showed signs of dispersion. Even Ji Yuan felt unwell. Although the Profound Sky Spirit Devouring Pagoda protected him, blocking most of the effects of the demonic sounds, the spiritual energy within his body still churned. Under full exertion, he could only mobilize less than half of it.
"Mere demonic path cultivators dare to act presumptuously here?" Elder Hong Tian roared, and rumbling thunder suddenly emanated from him. With each thunderous explosion that suddenly rang in their ears, the Nine Profound Sect disciples temporarily broke free from the influence of the demonic sounds. Following this, six disciples from Thunder Ruin Peak among the more than twenty people immediately unleashed their techniques, emitting wave after wave of thunderous sounds to resist the pervasive demonic sounds around them. Although they couldn't completely negate the impact, they could at least control their spiritual energy at this moment, no longer being defenseless lambs to the slaughter.
Boom!!! Simultaneously, in the mid-air of more than twenty zhang, more than ten figures were already engaged in combat, each controlling their magic artifacts and soaring through the air. At this moment, rolling demonic energy surged from the crowd, and approximately one-third of the cultivators suddenly unleashed their demonic arts. Caught off guard, more than ten cultivators were immediately affected, either severely injured by the demonic arts or directly killed on the spot. Witnessing this scene, everyone's expressions sank. They had not expected so many demonic path cultivators to be mixed in among them!
"Form formations to cover our five senior brothers!" The twenty-four Nine Profound Sect disciples shouted in unison, with every six of them forming a battle formation and heading towards the five inner disciples far away. Ji Yuan was followed by Li Buwei and Zhou Lianying, with Zhao Yuansong, Wu Chengqing, and Yu Qingling beside him. They were part of four battle formations, rapidly moving towards the five inner disciples in the distance. With the presence of the surrounding Nine Profound Sect disciples, the demonic path cultivators could hardly get close. No matter how they unleashed their demonic arts, they couldn't break through the defenses of the four battle formations. If anyone with ill intentions got close, they would bear the brunt of the attacks from the formations. Ordinary cultivators in the second realm, even if they joined forces, could not withstand such power.
"What exactly is going on?" Li Buwei's expression was grim. He thought he could reach a safe place by following the Nine Profound Sect members, but unexpectedly, after escaping one den, he had fallen into another. He could clearly see that this was a premeditated ambush, but he couldn't understand why the demonic path cultivators would do this. Such an action undoubtedly exposed their existence. Even if they achieved a great victory and silenced all the cultivators here, the news would still spread. At that time, they would undoubtedly face the siege of almost all the cultivators in the entire sacred ground!
"Someone must have paid a great price to invite these demonic path cultivators to plan an ambush targeting the Nine Profound Sect!" Ji Yuan swept his gaze around, his expression gloomy as he whispered. Such a large number of demonic path cultivators was enough to put immense pressure on the five heavenly talents of the Nine Profound Sect, let alone the presence of seven cultivators in the third realm. No matter how strong the five heavenly talents were, they had not yet broken through to the third realm and could not possibly turn the tide in such a situation. These demonic path cultivators had been holding back precisely to lure more Nine Profound Sect members, and even elders of the sect.
Upon hearing this, everyone's minds immediately turned to the Moon Gazing Sect. It was probably only that sect that would be willing to pay a huge price, even resorting to inviting members of the demonic path, to annihilate the disciples and elders of the Nine Profound Sect. Only Ji Yuan felt that the situation was likely not that simple. Would the Moon Gazing Sect, which anyone could think of, be unaware? Once involved with a demonic sect, even a sect that dominated a county would face immense pressure. Even setting aside the enmity from fellow cultivators, the accountability from the imperial court alone would be unbearable for them. This simple logic was something the Moon Gazing Sect could not fail to grasp. No matter how deep their grudge with the Nine Profound Sect was, there was no reason for them to act this way. Moreover, if the Moon Gazing Sect were truly desperate, they would have acted long ago, rather than waiting until now! It was likely that the real reason was that some factions did not want to see the Nine Profound Sect successfully advance to become a sect. Taking advantage of this chaotic situation, they jointly invited demonic sects and set up a meticulously prepared ambush here.
"Remember, do not stray too far from me later!" Ji Yuan suddenly said in a deep voice to the people around him. This statement was primarily directed at Li Buwei and Zhou Lianying. Although their acquaintance was not very deep, and they weren't even friends at the moment, the two of them had fallen into such a dangerous situation because of him. Hearing this, they both nodded heavily. They would do so even without him saying it.
As the more than twenty people rushed out for half a li, rolling demonic energy suddenly intertwined and enveloped them. Dense demonic energy swept in, and ghostly wails and demonic sounds echoed. Even with the disciples of Thunder Ruin Peak using lightning techniques for defense, everyone still felt some impact.
"Be careful!" Shouts continuously arose from among the disciples. After two or three breaths, paper effigies appeared from the surging demonic energy, charging towards the crowd. At a glance, these paper effigies seemed to form wave after wave, surging out of the demonic energy incessantly.
"Fire attack!" Three battle formations immediately dispersed, forming a triangle to protect the others. Each formation had disciples who practiced fire techniques, unleashing one spell after another. Although they were not specialized in fire-attribute spells, with the enhancement of the battle formations and the infusion of spiritual energy from their five fellow disciples, the power of their spells was surprisingly formidable. A mere paper effigy in the early to mid-Enlightenment realm was reduced to ashes amidst the fire spells. Even if a few managed to slip through, they were destroyed by various means by the disciples in the fourth battle formation. The twenty-four Nine Profound Sect disciples cooperated with incredible默契, and many of them had never fought together before today, nor did they have deep friendships.
Witnessing this scene, Li Buwei and Zhou Lianying were filled with emotion and broadened their horizons, seeing the true strength of a renowned great sect. However, Ji Yuan knew well that such a scene was extremely rare in ordinary renowned orthodox sects. Only powerful sects could train their disciples to such a degree of tacit understanding and elite proficiency. He marveled once again at the power of the Nine Profound Sect, realizing that training their disciples to such a level of tacit understanding and elite proficiency was not something that could be achieved by mere effort. Resources, renowned teachers, cultivation techniques, and so on were truly indispensable!
"Not good!" Suddenly, Ji Yuan's expression changed, and the spiritual energy within his body surged. In his sight, more than ten paper effigies suddenly accelerated, emitting powerful spiritual energy fluctuations, no weaker than ordinary mid-stage Spirit Point realm cultivators!