Eight hundred li east of Hundred Flowers Valley, in a stretch of wasteland.
Several disciples wearing the sect attire of Purple Cloud Sect were clearing away weeds.
After clearing, one of the disciples began to inscribe the patterns for a Spirit Gathering Array.
“Buzz!”
As the obscure, profound lines spread out, a pale azure light surged. A massive vortex formed mid-air, pulling in the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth.
“Once this wasteland is nourished by Spiritual Energy for a while, it will form a Spirit Field.”
“Then we can plant all sorts of spiritual vegetation!”
Gazing at the scene before her, Qin Ruyan gave a radiant smile.
Beside her, Su Rou furrowed her elegant brows, unable to resist speaking: “Senior Sister Qin, don’t you feel something strange here?”
For some reason, she always felt this wasteland held an indescribable sense of oppression.
“Is there?”
“How come I don’t feel it?”
Qin Ruyan released her Spiritual Sense, perceiving everything around her, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Then, as if remembering something, a mischievous look appeared on her face as she turned to Su Rou:
“Junior Sister Su, are you maybe feeling unwell because you spent all last night reading that illustrated book of Senior Brother Deng?”
“Senior Sister Qin, you… don’t talk nonsense!” Su Rou’s pretty face flushed hotly, and she hurriedly tried to explain, flustered.
That adorable appearance made one unable to resist feeling pity for her.
Qin Ruyan pressed on, amused: “Really, none at all?”
“I remember that day at Cosmos Sect during the Dao discussion, Senior Brother Deng broke Snow Garment Sect Lin Heng’s arm all for you, Junior Sister!”
Su Rou quickly corrected her: “Senior Brother Deng did it for the sect! Even if it wasn’t me, he still would have acted!”
Qin Ruyan was just about to say something when her elegant brows furrowed, looking towards the Spirit-Gathering Grand Array.
Within her line of sight, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy that had been gathered to nourish the land somehow directly burrowed into the deep earth.
“How can this be?”
“Why has the gathered Spiritual Energy suddenly become uncontrollable?”
Seeing this scene, the other Purple Cloud Sect disciples also looked bewildered, not knowing what was happening.
Suddenly, the earth trembled. A beam of pitch-black light shot into the sky.
A deathly still, ominous aura caused the surroundings to be blanketed by a layer of black fog.
Wherever the black fog passed, all vegetation withered completely. Several Demon Beasts instantly turned into white bones, their life force utterly extinguished!
“Do not stay here! Leave immediately!”
The moment Qin Ruyan realized something was wrong, she immediately led her junior sisters in a swift retreat into the distance.
Unfortunately, they were ultimately a step too late.
The surroundings were already shrouded in black fog. They simply could not rush out.
“All of you, attack with me! Let’s see if we can disperse this black fog and open a path out.”
Qin Ruyan made a swift decision. Her entire body’s True Essence surged. She condensed a Slaughter Divine Ability and fiercely bombarded the black fog.
At the same time, Su Rou and the other fellow disciples dared not be negligent. They also gathered their True Essence and launched attacks into the black fog.
Unfortunately, all these attacks were like mud bulls entering the sea—creating not a single ripple.
“All junior sisters, channel your True Essence into a protective barrier light screen and protect yourselves!”
“I’ve already sent a message to Senior Brother Deng. As long as we hold on, there’s a sliver of hope.”
Watching the black fog close in, Qin Ruyan gritted her teeth. Her True Essence poured out completely, condensing into a light screen that enveloped all the fellow disciples present.
Hearing this, Su Rou and the others immediately followed her instructions. Their True Essence flowed ceaselessly into the protective light screen, hoping it could block the black fog.
Just then, as the black fog was about to reach them, the light screen held for less than half a breath before shattering on the spot.
Qin Ruyan and Su Rou’s faces paled dramatically, despair rising in their hearts.
“Buzz!”
At the critical moment, in the sky, individual Yin-Yang Fish interwove to form a giant vortex, pulling all that black fog into it.
When their vision cleared, Qin Ruyan and Su Rou saw the familiar figure that had appeared before them. Their faces instantly lit up with joy.
Deng Tianyu furrowed his brow, looking at them: “You all leave first!”
This reclamation of wasteland, Shizun had put him in charge of the area east of Hundred Flowers Valley.
He hadn’t expected that soon after starting the reclamation, such a strange incident would occur.
Upon receiving the message, he had rushed over immediately.
“Senior Brother Deng, be careful! This black fog is very strange!”
Qin Ruyan and Su Rou called out a warning before retreating with the others toward the sect’s location.
They knew their own strength was simply insufficient to contend with this black fog. Staying would just be a burden. It was better to leave immediately so Senior Brother Deng wouldn’t have to split his focus protecting them.
Deng Tianyu smiled: “This is Miasma. I have ways to deal with it!”
The moment he saw this black fog, he realized it was a type of Miasma, similar to the blood fog they’d encountered previously at Cosmos Sect.
Except that was Blood Miasma, and what was before him now was Devil Miasma!
Previously, that Blood Miasma was condensed by the Five Elements Blood-Refining Grand Array. So where did this Devil Miasma come from?
As his thoughts swirled, Deng Tianyu looked at the fissure on the ground. Condensing his Sword Intent, he fiercely swung towards the ground.
“Boom!”
Instantly, the earth quaked. An underground cave was actually revealed beneath the ground!
Within his line of sight, the cave had already been shattered by his Sword Intent. The ominous, deathly still black fog interwove and poured out endlessly.
“Buzz!”
The Star Shifting Divine Ability was used once again. The black fog was pulled into his body and completely devoured.
Deng Tianyu narrowed his eyes. He saw a hazy figure sitting cross-legged deep beneath the earth.
This hazy figure was dressed completely in white robes. Her hair cascaded like a waterfall of black silk, her figure extremely full-bodied and alluring. There was a dot of red at the center of her brow, but her face couldn’t be seen clearly.
Upon her body, Buddha Light and Devil Light intertwined, seemingly in mutual opposition, an utterly bizarre sight!
The Devil Miasma from earlier had all been emanating from her.
But now, because the Devil Miasma was constantly being refined by Deng Tianyu, the Buddha Light was gradually gaining the upper hand.
“May I ask who you are, Senior?”
Deng Tianyu asked, his expression solemn.
Although he couldn’t sense any cultivation aura from this woman, he didn’t dare to be careless in the slightest.
Because the moment her gaze fell upon him, Deng Tianyu felt the hairs all over his body stand on end, a chill spreading through his entire being!
Even when facing the Spirit Cod King, who was at the perfection of the Imperial Sovereign Realm, he hadn’t felt this way.
She was extremely dangerous. That was the conclusion Deng Tianyu arrived at.
“Dare I ask, benefactor, what did you embark on cultivation for?”
At this moment, the woman in white looked at him. A pleasing, melodious voice rang out, as if resonating from the depths of his soul!
Benefactor?
A mighty figure from the Buddhist Sect?
Deng Tianyu pondered for a moment, but still answered: “To be able to Follow My Heart.”
“What does it mean to Follow One’s Heart?”
“To follow one’s original heart, that is to Follow One’s Heart!”
The woman in white seemed to be asking Deng Tianyu, and also seemed to be asking herself: “Then what did I embark on cultivation for?”
Deng Tianyu was stunned!
How would I know what you cultivated for?
Could it be Qi Deviation?
Wait, Qi Deviation?
Deng Tianyu’s expression turned odd as he looked at the Devil Light and Buddha Light devouring each other on the woman’s body.
“The Buddha said: All sentient beings suffer. Only by crossing oneself over can one transcend and become a Buddha!”
“But there is only one Buddha, Shakyamuni. What meaning is there in crossing oneself over? What use is transcendence?”
“The Buddha said: All sentient beings suffer…”
The woman in white seemed to have sunk into a Devil’s Obstruction, murmuring these few sentences over and over.
The aura emanating from her body grew more and more terrifying. Devil Miasma continuously spawned and multiplied, suppressing the Buddha Light, causing the space around them to start distorting.
