Chapter 781: Fishing for the Enemy

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

The plan of Yun Yan Daoist Master had been implemented for a month, mobilizing all Daoist Masters, dividing them into two groups to lead patrols, with Yun Yan Daoist Master following along every day.

That day, it was Ji An and Moyun Daoist Master in a group; they flew together, separated by twenty zhang at the front, with the Chao Origin Stage Cultivators slightly spread out behind them.

At the back of the team was Yun Yan Daoist Master holding the line.

Ji An looked up at the pitch-black sky; it was noon, and while the outside world was bathed in bright sunshine, here lay silent darkness.

According to past records, certain areas enshrouded by demon fog lasted over a hundred years.

This True Demon Tribulation was different from those before, and it was unclear what changes would occur.

From the rear of the team came three gentle clear whistles, which as agreed, was the signal to rest.

Ji An slowly descended, channeling his Magical Power to conjure a cloud of white Spirit Flame, burning the twisted wild grass.

The grass and wood instantly turned to flying ash, and smoke curled upwards, clearing a large open space in just a few breaths.

Then he cast Cold Wind Technique, creating a thirty-zhang wide wind belt that blew fiercely, scattering some of the remaining ash and quickly cooling the scorching ground.

Numerous Chao Origin Stage Cultivators descended, gathering in groups of three to five, taking out and activating Purifying Talismans.

Moyun Daoist Master surveyed the surroundings, gathered up the cloud, and descended:

“Your mastery of Magic Techniques is truly comprehensive, Daoist friend.”

“Just a minor skill,” Ji An replied with a smile, changing the topic:

“We’ve been patrolling for so long, and if the enemy continues not to appear, how long will this go on?”

Doing it like this was too passive; his Alchemy and Talisman Making duties were also greatly affected.

During this period, they had been ambushed twice by True Demons, resulting in the death of several Chao Origin Stage disciples.

Hearing his words, Yun Yan Daoist Master immediately displayed an expression of helplessness. Without seeing results, the pressure on her was great, and she couldn’t maintain her reputation.

Over these days, she and Zhenyue Daoist Master put in the most effort but achieved nothing.

Although Zhenyue Daoist Master hadn’t said anything, she felt there was something subtle in the way he looked at her.

“Let’s keep at it for a few more days, at most ten days. If the enemy still doesn’t take the bait, we’ll reduce the patrol area. I and Zhenyue Daoist Master will act independently to search for enemy traces, ensuring the safety of the Black Wind Ridge fortress.”

After resting briefly, the patrol team set off again, with Yun Yan Daoist Master now leading in the front, and Ji An and Moyun Daoist Master guarding the end of the team.

From time to time demon lords would leap out to attack, and the cultivators used their Spiritual Artifacts to annihilate them.

Demon lords had no fixed form, resembling the Yin Souls of the Cultivation Realm, but more ferocious and bloodthirsty.

Direct attacks from Spiritual Artifacts caused them minimal harm, and only Five Elements Attacks could be somewhat effective.

Fortunately, the cultivators’ Spiritual Artifacts possessed Five Elements Attacks; otherwise, it would have been tricky, as relying on magic bombardment wouldn’t last two double hours.

When demon lords were killed, they dropped grey-black Yin Beads, the smallest the size of soybeans, and the largest no bigger than broad beans.

The Yin Beads of Golden Core Level demon lords would be as big as eggs, far superior in quality to low-tier Yin Beads, but Black Wind Ridge fortress had killed fewer than ten Golden Core Level demon lords over the years, and Ji An hadn’t seen an egg-sized Yin Bead.

As he pondered, a faint sound of wind rushed forth, shortly followed by the long whistle of Yun Yan Daoist Master from ahead.

The sound was brief and urgent, joined by bursts of eerie laughter.

Moyun Daoist Master knew what this situation implied, hastily saying:

“Not good, the team is under heavy attack from demon lords; the situation is critical. I will go ahead to assist while you organize the disciples to retreat.”

A large assembly of demon lords could unleash a Spirit Soul Attack Storm, which Chao Origin Stage disciples could not withstand due to its relentless onslaught.

As he spoke, some Chao Origin Stage disciples instinctively clutched their heads, letting out faint groans.

He maneuvered his Magical Treasure efficiently, leaving a fiery trail behind as he swiftly flew dozens of zhang away.

Ji An had never seen so many demon lords appear simultaneously, but he understood the potential havoc they could unleash.

He immediately activated the Wuji Xinghuang Banner, as the Earth Qilin roared mightily, transmitting a stabilizing sound which somewhat eased the disciples.

‘If my Lifebound Magical Treasure were a Tier Three Top Grade, it would ease the disciples’ suffering,’

Ji An felt gratified about his decision to choose the Wuji Xinghuang Banner as his Lifebound Magical Treasure, not having expected its capability to calm the Spirit Soul.

The initial decision was merely to construct an all-encompassing system of Magical Treasures rendering him invincible against any adversary.

He shouted loudly, “Retreat, gather around me.”

Saying this, he activated the Earth-Departing Flame Banner, and the small red-golden bird on his shoulder soared into the sky, its size growing continuously as it ascended.

Finally, it transformed into a Fire Phoenix about three zhang long, the extreme limit of the magical treasure’s size.

The Fire Phoenix hovered dozens of zhang above Ji An’s head, frantically activating its stored magical power, golden spirit light bursting from its body, making it resemble a small sun.

The power of Bing Fire erupted, burning and dispersing the demon fog within a hundred zhang radius.

Ji An saw distant, shadowy black figures in flying escape, as if demons dancing wildly, cold laughter filling the space.

Yun Yan Daoist Master controlled a massive Treasure Bead, yellow spirit light blossomed, blocking the incoming demon lords.

Ji An shouted, “Quickly, gather around me!”

This action by the Fire Phoenix consumed a particularly large amount of energy, lasting no more than a dozen breaths; he had to quickly gather the Chao Origin Stage disciples.

The Fire Phoenix could no longer hold on, extinguishing the erupting Fire Spirit Light on its body and falling from the sky; the brief light vanished.

It flew weakly back to its owner’s side, returning to the Dantian to be nurtured again, gently embraced by the Primordial Life Fire.

…

In the darkness, Apuduo’s goat-like face revealed a sinister smile.

It drove a large number of demon lords to attack the enemy, creating chaos and seeking an opportunity to strike; the plan seemed to be working well now.

The quantity of high-tier demon lords was too low, otherwise, it could gather a demon lord army, capable of completely surrounding and slaughtering these enemies.

If there were more high-tier demon lords, engulfing the enemy’s stronghold would not be a dream.

The current quantity and quality of demon lords could only raid and kill low-tier cultivators, far from satisfying Apuduo.

Apuduo’s gaze swiftly swept past Ji An’s silhouette; this enemy caused it significant harm and must be resolutely eradicated, otherwise its dignity would suffer.

Sustaining injuries in battle was normal, but being wounded by low-tier enemies indicated its capability was in question, clearly a lifetime stain.

Moreover, the enemy’s Blood Qi was unusually sweet, and it must consume it to soothe the harm it once endured.

Apuduo’s figure turned, boundless black energy surged out, transforming into black clouds, perfectly merging with the demon fog.

The black clouds floated silently, as long as they got closer, they could kill the enemy without giving them time to react.

Close, getting closer.

Gathering his disciples, Ji An subconsciously glanced back and saw a strong figure hiding within the black clouds, a familiar face.

His eyes could pierce through the fog and easily discovered the hidden enemy.

“Do you really think you can bully me?”

Ji An suddenly activated the Wuji Xinghuang Banner, and the Earth Qilin returned to its true form, Earth Qi of Wu converging into a shell of light, Ji Earth turning into spiritual dust, surrounding him, with ten thousand golden flowers rippling in the outer void.

At the same time, he formed seals to release the Mixed Gold Profound Armor Spell and Pan Mountain Technique.

Having done all this, he uttered a short, sharp howl, then actively charged toward the enemy.

His position gathered many disciples, and if a battle occurred, the disciples would surely meet a bone-deep fate, so the battlefield must be placed elsewhere.

Apuduo saw the enemy’s actions and realized it had been discovered, disregarding thoughts on how it was exposed, the swirling black cloud plunged downward.

This time, it was determined to succeed.

…

About ten li away in a mountain nook, Zhenyue Daoist Master wrapped in a gray blanket heard the howl and immediately perked up.

He flew rapidly towards the source of the sound, holding a green spirit light plate.

The blanket was a concealing magical treasure, tested effective, even demon lords passing overhead couldn’t discover him.

The green plate was a set of probing magical treasures he brought from the sect, consisting of one large and four small components.

The large component could observe the position of small components within a thirty li radius, one of the ambush execution’s dependencies.

…

Ji An focused on the enemy’s escape trajectory, forming seals for the Yi Wood God Thunder.

The Metal Divine Thunder was strong but couldn’t cause lethal damage to the enemy; instead, using Yin Attribute Thunder Skill was more effective; he also had teammates to rely on, needing only to withstand the opponent’s attacks.

The Acala Bodhisattva Skill reached the Physical Relic level, making him confident in withstanding the attack.

Apuduo was equally confident, sneering:

“Your teammates are being constrained; they can’t help you for a short time.”

Without wasting words, it threw its Bone Blade when within a certain range.

Though its motion seemed to throw it, it secretly released its Demon Technique, and the Bone Blade flashed, appearing before Ji An, closely followed by Apuduo in flying escape.

With spiritual power intensely focused, Ji An clearly saw the Bone Blade’s flight trajectory.

He didn’t dodge, instead, diligently activating the Wuji Xinghuang Banner, while for the first time releasing the Yi Wood God Thunder against the enemy.