Chapter 184: Chapter 180: Something Went Wrong in the Relics
Du Youqian recalled the information about the Cyan Yang Sect he had looked up in the Collection Room before leading his team to explore the Relics.
There wasn’t much information. Most of it consisted of scattered records from the notes of his predecessors, and it was largely hearsay—useful for reference, but not entirely trustworthy.
Du Youqian considered only a handful of pieces of information to be valuable and relatively reliable.
The Cyan Yang Sect was a Major Sect. During its golden age, even the likes of the Holy Blood and Taihe Sects admitted to being slightly inferior.
The Cyan Yang Sect’s active period was well over ten thousand years ago.
The Cyan Yang Sect excelled at raising Dao Soldiers. They also had considerable achievements in Arrays, Spirit Plants, Puppets, Beast Taming, Refining, and Refined Treasures.
Also, the Cyan Yang Sect’s demise had been incredibly sudden.
The records were filled with conflicting theories about this.
But one thing was certain: the Cyan Yang Sect had not experienced a period of decline.
It was simply annihilated, all at once.
The event shocked the Cultivators of that era, and the mystery was never solved.
This mystery has persisted for tens of thousands of years.
When Du Youqian read the relevant records, he too found it unimaginable.
’What kind of power could topple such a mighty Sect overnight?’
According to the records, in the Cyan Yang Sect of that time, even Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators were just ordinary Elders.
One could only imagine how terrifying the Sect’s top-level power must have been.
The more you thought about it, the scarier it got.
So, despite his immense curiosity, Du Youqian had never considered exploring the Relics himself to find out the truth.
And the contingency he had placed on Gu Xiaofang was merely to help him hold on a little longer in case of an accident, buying time for Du Youqian to send the Thousand-Mile Shuttle to the rescue. It wasn’t something that would allow him to possess the boy.
Du Youqian was deeply wary of these Relics!
This was despite having performed his habitual Divination before coming, the result of which was not a bad omen.
"Fellow Daoist Li, these Core Formation Ancestors are breaking the rules, possessing disciples to come here. What exactly are they looking for in these Relics?" Du Youqian asked probingly.
But seeing Li Daojia’s confused expression, it was clear he knew no more than Du Youqian. "I don’t know either. A Sect that was destroyed ten thousand years ago... even if some earth-shattering Treasure was left behind, its Spirituality would have dissipated by now, turning it into scrap metal. Not to mention Spirit Pills; ten thousand years is more than enough time for them to turn into dregs."
Du Youqian nodded. "And if they were after an Inheritance, that wouldn’t make sense either. With your sect and mine presiding over the world, if they obtained an Inheritance that doesn’t match their Sect’s status, would they really dare to secretly practice it?"
Li Daojia strongly agreed with this sentiment. "Besides, there’s a Restriction here that only allows Qi Cultivation Cultivators to enter physically. The Ancestors of both our Sects have performed Divinations, and they all indicated that this trip wouldn’t be too dangerous. This means that if there’s anything living inside the Relics, no matter what it is, it shouldn’t have strength exceeding the Qi Cultivation Realm. So, it’s probably not a Demon. Besides, even Demons can’t live for ten thousand years!"
After this analysis, Du Youqian felt he was faintly grasping a clue.
’Could it be... Dao Soldiers? Or Puppets? Obtaining them would strengthen a Sect’s foundation. Only something like that would make those Core Formation Masters willing to take such risks and scramble for it.’ He did not say this out loud.
"Fellow Daoist Li, if anything unexpected happens, we must cooperate sincerely to ensure the safety of all the disciples."
Li Daojia also nodded. "Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist Yu. I will hold nothing back and do my utmost."
After finishing his conversation with Li Daojia, Du Youqian returned to the stone bench and sat down.
After some thought, he still felt uneasy and took out his copper coins to perform a Divination.
The hexagram was still not unfavorable.
The interpretation was something along the lines of "Though there will be some twists and turns, the final wish will be granted."
Confused, Du Youqian put away the copper coins.
’Am I just being paranoid, fighting shadows?’
~~~~~~~~~~
Lin Sha watched Du Youqian with a complicated expression.
’He... is Qing Lang reincarnated?’
Lin Sha was half-believing and half-doubting her own conclusion.
Furthermore, it could neither be proven nor disproven.
Even if he really was Qing Lang’s reincarnation...
...before breaking through the Mystery of the Womb, he was still just a stranger.
Ultimately, Lin Sha decided to act as if everything was normal for the time being.
After she reached Core Formation, she would then search for a way to help someone break through the Mystery of the Womb.
’Qing Lang... if it’s really you, wait for me! I will not let you fall again. No matter how many times you reincarnate... I will find you and guide you onto the path of the Dao!’
Sensing a burning gaze fall upon his face, Du Youqian looked over in astonishment, only to see Lin Sha staring at him with a dazed expression.
He was shocked. ’Have I given something away?’
’What does that look from Lin Sha mean?’
’They say a woman’s sixth sense is exceptionally sharp. It seems I should avoid her in the future. Even when contact is unavoidable, I must be cautious with my words and actions.’
’The time to actively reveal myself to her will only come when I’ve reached Core Formation and have the confidence to face an attack from several Core Formation Cultivators without fear.’
So Du Youqian cleared his mind and forced himself to calm down, lest Lin Sha notice his unusual reaction.
Foundation Establishment Cultivators were rarely in the mood for idle chatter.
Except for the pair from the Red Lotus Sect and the Destruction Sect who were still "amicably" discussing the disappearance of two Red Lotus Sect disciples, the Foundation Establishment Leaders from the other Sects had each found a spot to either sit idly and watch the scenery or close their eyes and meditate.
Lin Sha was no longer staring at Du Youqian. Instead, she stood barefoot by a cliff’s edge, looking pensive. The mountain wind whipped her white hair about, giving her a unique charm.
"Something’s wrong. There’s trouble in the Relics!"
The sudden cry made everyone turn their heads.
It was the Foundation Establishment Leader from Lingxiao Sword Pavilion. His expression was grim, and his eyes held a trace of anxiety.
Li Daojia quickly took out the Copper Mirror. After a few glances, he smiled. "Fellow Daoist Zeng, what makes you say that? From what I can see, everything in the Relics is normal. There’s nothing amiss."
As he spoke, he held up the Copper Mirror for everyone to clearly see the points of light on its surface.
Lingxiao Sword Pavilion’s leader, Zeng Baoming, stared at the mirror. He couldn’t find anything wrong, but he still trusted his own judgment. He shook his head and said, "There’s a problem with your ’Three-View Mirror,’ Fellow Daoist."
Li Daojia frowned in displeasure and stated flatly, "That’s impossible."
Du Youqian looked closely for a few moments and immediately noticed a slight anomaly. "Fellow Daoist Li, take a closer look."
Li Daojia might have looked down on the Foundation Establishment Cultivators from other Sects, but he took the words of Du Youqian—who was also from a First-class Sect and had once suppressed a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator from the Taihe Sect with just three sword strikes—very seriously.
He immediately focused his gaze on the mirror. A moment later, he too discovered the abnormality. "The auras of those two Red Lotus Sect disciples have reappeared!" he exclaimed.
"It’s not just that," Du Youqian said with a grave expression. "Fellow Daoist Li, look closer."
Lin Sha interjected at this moment, "Does each point of light represent one disciple? Between our Nine Great Sects, a total of 270 people entered the Relics, and a total of 9 of us remained here. There should be 279 points of light. But Fellow Daoist Li, count them!"
Li Daojia had noticed it too.
"Two hundred and eighty points of light... who is the extra one?"
Recalling that these were the Relics of a Sect from ten thousand years ago, everyone present felt a chill run down their spines, despite their profound Cultivation.
Du Youqian looked at Zeng Baoming of the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion. "Fellow Daoist Zeng, how did you realize something was wrong just now?"
"I had a thread of my Divine Sense attached to one of the disciples, and that thread was just severed." Zeng Baoming’s expression was slightly awkward. He was a straightforward person, not good at lying with a straight face.
Everyone present felt a sense of contempt.
’If you had the ability to split off a thread of Divine Sense and attach it to a disciple, you could already be attempting to reach Core Formation. What are you trying to pull, acting tough in front of us?’
However, all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators knew that their own Sects also had Core Formation Masters’ Divine Sense attached to their disciples.
They immediately tried to make contact, and soon, all their expressions changed drastically. "There’s definitely a problem in the Relics."
"I can’t contact my Sect’s disciples either."
"Fellow Daoist Li, Fellow Daoist Yu, please, do something quickly!"
Li Daojia was uncertain. "Perhaps contact was just temporarily cut off by an Array or something. Let’s wait a moment and see."
Du Youqian pondered for a moment before making a decisive call. "We can’t wait any longer. Fellow Daoist Li, let’s try to get them out!"
With that, he immediately took out the Thousand-Mile Shuttle.
The Thousand-Mile Shuttle grew as it met the wind, rapidly transforming into a massive Flying Boat.
Li Daojia no longer hesitated. If the Demon Sect Camp managed to rescue their disciples while the Profound Sects Orthodox Sect suffered losses because of his delay, he would be drowned in criticism.
Together, the two of them carefully guided the Thousand-Mile Shuttle into the Relics.
Du Youqian controlled the Thousand-Mile Shuttle with his Divine Sense. His Divine Sense could extend out for almost ten thousand feet, but the Relics were, after all, a separate Space. The moment the shuttle entered, his connection to it was severed.
Du Youqian didn’t panic. The Thousand-Mile Shuttle was a Treasure. To put it simply, it had a rudimentary AI that could operate it independently.
He had already programmed it, in a sense, to circle the interior of the Relics, pick up all the disciples from the Demon Sect Camp, and then fly back outside.
And although the Divine Sense connection was cut, Du Youqian had performed a simple Refining on the Thousand-Mile Shuttle, so he still maintained a faint mental link to it, allowing him to sense its general location.
A few breaths later, Du Youqian’s expression changed slightly.
He looked at Li Daojia, just as Li Daojia was looking over at him.
Du Youqian then understood that Li Daojia had encountered the same problem.
He had completely lost contact with the Thousand-Mile Shuttle!
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