Qingyun Sect, Main Peak Council Hall.
Just as the morning bell struck for the third time, the hall was already brightly lit, and the elders sat around, their faces darker than the mist outside the window. Chu Xuan stood in the middle of the hall, his blue robe stained with blood, but his back was straight like a knife that had just been chopped and had not yet been wiped. With a swing of his right hand, two black-robed corpses were laid out in front of the table with a "bang" - the waist tags of No. 2 and No. 3 made a jingling sound.
"The dog of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, its PAWS reach the outer ring of Kunlun, and one step further, it's the backyard of the Qingyun Sect."
The young man's voice was not loud, but it made the temperature of the entire hall drop sharply.
Ling Qingxue sat first on the left side, dressed as white as snow, lightly touched the table with her fingertips, and ice flakes fell. "I see with my own eyes, the blood Sacrifice array has been opened, the seal of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave has loosened, at least seven days, the evil energy of the Taotie will be released."
There was an instant explosion in the hall --
"Gluttonous? The one from three thousand years ago?
"Seal Pine? Who believes nonsense!"
"Chu Xuan, your mere golden elixir, dare to speak of the survival of the three realms? "!"
Doubts rose and fell like a group of cats whose tails had been stepped on.
Chu Xuan was too lazy to argue. With a wave of his hand, he laid out the crypto bamboo tube, the blood sacrifice array diagram, and the jade slips of the demonic cultivator's confession. "The evidence is here. Anyone who wants to see it will."
Suddenly, the elders' faces turned pale and red, and they choked and glared.
Master Shen Wuya raised his hand to suppress the commotion. He had a gaunt face and a deep gaze that swept over the evidence before the table and finally landed on Chu Xuan's face. "What do you think?"
Chu Xuan grinned, revealing a young but sharp smile: "Assemble the exploration team, first enter the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons, reinforce the seal, and then turn the hand over and destroy the lair of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion."
"Nonsense!" First on the right, conservative Elder Meng Cang slapped the handrail, and the sandalwood instantly split into three pieces. "The Ten Thousand Demons Cave is a forbidden place in the demon world. You sent a disciple of the Qingyun Sect to die? Who knows if you colluded with the demon world and put on a good show!"
As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere in the hall froze instantly.
Ling Qingxue's eyes turned cold, and the ice shavings on her fingertips exploded into white mist with a "bang".
Su Mei 'er leaned against the door, purple fire dancing on her fingertips, laughing seducently, "Oh, Elder Meng, before putting on the hat, think about whether your neck is stiff enough."
Meng Cang blushed from her choking and was about to speak again when Shen Wuya gave a faint glance and said, "The evidence is conclusive. If Elder Meng questions, come up with something to refute. Otherwise, don't just talk in vain."
Meng Cang choked, his face turning so blue that it could drip bile.
Shen Wuya looked at Chu Xuan in a steady voice, "If you form an exploration team, what would you like?"
Chu Xuan bowed his hands, his voice clear: "I offer to be the vanguard, Elder Ling's ice-type law can suppress evil energy, Hehuan Sect is willing to provide phantom array cover, Dark Hall of the Demon Realm is responsible for intelligence - all the forces of the three realms, not one left, enter together."
His words were forceful, like nails hammered into the planks, "This trip is not for killing, but for sealing the demons; Not for personal gain, but for the three realms."
The hall was silent for a moment, except for the mountain breeze outside the window.
Shen Wuya was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed loudly, the laughter shaking the dust off the beams of the hall, "Good! "Qingyun Sect, be the first nail!"
He raised his hand, and a sect master's order emerged in the palm of his hand, with golden patterns shining. "Chu Xuan, listen to the order --"
The young man knelt on one knee, his back straight.
"From now on, you are the deputy leader of the Secret Realm Exploration team, and Ling Qingxue is the leader. Within three days, assemble the troops and go to the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, seal and reinforce without error!"
"Yes!" " Chu Xuan received the order, his palm burning hot.
Meng Cang's face was ashen, his fists crunched in his sleeves, but he didn't make a sound in the end.
But in the lowered eyes, a sinister, dark light flashed - like a venomous snake, whispering a letter.
...
The bell rang, and the elders left in twos and threes, whispering among themselves.
Chu Xuan walked out of the hall. The sunlight was blinding, and he raised his hand to cover it, but heard a light sound of footsteps behind him - Ling Qingxue caught up, her voice lowered: "Meng Cang just sent a message saying he would 'examine you alone', be careful."
Chu Xuan squinted his eyes and sneered, "Censorship? I'm afraid he won't be able to do it."
Ling Qingxue sighed, but handed him an ice-blue jade pendant. "If anything happens, crush it and I'll be there at once."
Chu Xuan took it, his fingertips touching her cold palm, and suddenly grinned, "Elder Ling, are you worried about me?"
Ling Qingxue withdrew her hand, turned and walked away, her snow sleeves fluttered, and the sound drifted far away --
"I'm afraid that if you die, no one will accompany me through the cave of Ten Thousand Demons."
The young man stood on the steps, and the sunlight stretched his shadow long, like a dragon ready to go.
He chuckled, tucked the jade pendant into his bosom, and said softly:
"Don't worry, my life is so hard that even the King of Hell finds it hard to bite."
In the afternoon, at the outer gate training ground of the Qingyun Sect.
Chu Xuan leaned against the edge of the arena, with a dogtail grass in his mouth, watching a group of inner sect disciples enthusiastically sign up for the exploration team. A banner was fluttering beside him - "Recruitment of the vanguard of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, preferential treatment, casualty coverage."
Lin Hao came running with the list, sweating on his forehead, "Boss, the quota is full! There are three hundred more people who say they would rather pay the spirit stone to go!"
Chu Xuan spat out the grass stem and scolded with a smile, "Upside down?" Write down all the names. In case of danger, send them to the flying boat to escape first."
"All right!" Lin Hao chuckled and turned to shout at the crowd again, "Don't push! Line up! Anyone who cuts in line will be thrown to the monster!"
The crowd burst into laughter, but the atmosphere was as lively as the New Year.
Not far away, Meng Cang passed by with a few conservative elders, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"What kind of body! Sect Grand ceremony, like a market!" An elder grumbled.
Meng Cang snorted coldly, his gaze swept over Chu Xuan like a venomous snake eyeing its prey, "Let them make a fuss, the higher they jump, the harder they fall."
...
At night, in the side hall of the Sutra Repository.
In the dim light, Meng Cang sat opposite a black-robed man, whose sleeves rolled with gold and embroidered with the character "Five" on the ground.
"Elder Meng, how do you think?" The black-robed man's voice is hoarse. "Just put three people in the exploration team, hold them back at the critical moment, after the Taotie breaks the seal, the Qingyun Sect will be in chaos, and you can take power."
Meng Cang rubbed the tea cup with his fingertips, his eyes shining, "How can I trust you?"
The man in the black robe chuckled and pushed over a jade box. The lid opened and a strong medicinal aroma filled the air - there lay three "Broken Infant Pills" in the box, which could help the primordial infant cultivator break through the bottleneck, invaluable!
"Deposit." The man in the black robe curled his lips. "When it's done, there will be ten times more, plus the right to extract the top spiritual vein."
Meng Cang's eyes flashed with greed. He closed the jade box and said in a low voice, "Deal."
...
At the same moment, in the forbidden area at the back of the Qingyun Sect.
Chu Xuan sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff, with a huge map floating in front of him - the terrain outside the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, provided by the Dark Hall of Ink Dust, clearly marked every route and every sentry post.
Ling Qingxue stood beside him, her snow sleeves gently brushing and ice chips floating on the map, simulating all kinds of unexpected situations. "This canyon is the easiest place to set up an ambush. If the Heavenly Dao Pavilion lays a mine here, we need to clear the site in advance."
Su Meier leaned against a huge rock, with purple fire dancing on her fingertips. "I'll take thirty people from the Elixir Hall to handle logistics and medical care. There will be enough detoxifying pills, reviving spirit pills, and rage pills!" "
Chu Xuan nodded, his gaze fixed on the red dot at the deepest part of the map - the core of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, "Our goal is not to kill the enemy, but to reinforce the seal. Whoever gets in the way, kick it out."
He raised his hand, the Cold Moon sword was drawn, the tip of the sword touched the red dot, and his voice was low and cold: "Taotie wants to come out? Ask me about this sword first."
...
At dawn the next day, the exploration team gathered.
On the training ground, five hundred men lined up, all dressed in the inner sect robes of the Qingyun Sect, with the ice-blue word "Explore" embroidered on their chests.
At the very front, Chu Xuanxuan was dressed as ink, with a cold moon sword hanging from his back. His gaze swept over the crowd, and his voice was clear:
"To go to the Den of Ten Thousand Demons, it's a matter of life and death. Those who are afraid, withdraw now, never laugh; Those who remain will be brothers, living and dying together!"
Three breaths of silence, no movement.
Chu Xuan grinned, revealing his white teeth, "Good! Then let's go!"
The flying boat roared into the sky, its ice-blue stripes flashing like an ice dragon soaring into the air.
At the bow, Ling Qingxue stood with her hands behind her back, her sleeves fluttering; Su Mei 'er leaned against the railing, with purple flames circling her fingers; Chu Xuan stood in the middle, his blue robe fluttering, his eyes piercing.
The boat sailed through the sea of clouds towards the distance.
The mountain wind blew away the last wisp of mist, and the sun rose, shining with golden light on the tall figure of the young man, as if he were draped in a battle robe.
...
The boat vanished into the sky.
In the corner of the training ground, Meng Cang looked at the distant shadow of the boat, and a cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Go, go..." He murmured in a low voice, his fingers gently touching the cuff, where there was a black jade slip -
In the Tian Dao Pavilion, the communication token with the character "Di Zi Wu" was slightly burning hot.