Chapter 1191: Chapter 1191: Entering the Inner Ring, the Eerie Demonic Beasts
Ye Changqing observed the situation in the Ancient Abyss Sect and expressed his concerns to Sect Leader Dan Xuan. However, as this was an internal matter of the Ancient Abyss Sect, they couldn’t intervene and had to quietly watch the developments.
"Everyone, stop!"
With a commanding shout, Sect Leader Lin An subdued the two opposing factions.
"Yang Yan, you brought him up here. Why don’t you have a talk with him?"
Yang Yan exchanged a wordless glance with Frost Heaven, then, under the watchful eyes of the disciples from the two sects, walked to the back of the Wandering Dragon Boat to a secluded spot.
Lin An also quickly dispersed the two groups that were about to clash, ensuring no one interfered or eavesdropped on Yang Yan and Frost Heaven’s conversation.
After a short while, Yang Yan and Frost Heaven silently returned to their respective sect’s camps.
When the two met, the feared confrontation didn’t occur, but the cold attitude between them clearly revealed the distance that remained.
When he returned to the side of the Four Swords, Guo Guoguo quickly approached to comfort him, afraid he might become too upset.
Only after Yang Yan repeatedly assured her that he was fine did she leave, still somewhat doubtful.
After that, Yang Yan and Frost Heaven used telepathy to convey what they had learned to the four women.
Since joining the Sword Sect, Frost Heaven had been highly favored by the Sect Leader due to his extraordinary talent. His progress was smooth, but as a newcomer, his foundation was shaky. It would take time to establish himself and gain trust.
This time, for instance, he volunteered to lead the disciples following him to lure away these spider swarms to cover the Sword Sect’s continued advance, aiming to build his prestige among the Sword Sect disciples.
Yang Yan had never doubted the abilities of the Ten Swords. Hearing that Frost Heaven was doing well now, he was somewhat relieved.
As the disciples from both sects gradually calmed down, they realized they had indeed been somewhat impulsive, yet neither side could bring themselves to apologize to the other, so they remained in a stalemate, ignoring each other.
Seeing Sect Leader Lin An approaching for inspection, one leading disciple of the Sword Sect took the opportunity to step forward and apologize:
"Xiao Lin, a disciple of the Sword Sect, representing all disciples, thanks Sect Leader Lin for saving our lives. We were quite rude earlier, and I apologize on behalf of the others!"
Although the disciples of the two sects had a conflict earlier because of Frost Heaven, no one could deny Lin An’s help to them. Otherwise, their lives would have been hard to predict!
"It’s alright, there’s no reason not to save someone in danger. Besides, the disciples of my Ancient Abyss Sect were also at fault, and I apologize for any embarrassment caused."
Seeing how generous Lin An was despite being the Sect Leader, Xiao Lin cupped his hands and smiled, and the relations between the two sects eased significantly.
Then, Lin An took the opportunity to ask:
"However, I’d like to know how you managed to antagonize such creatures?"
At this, Xiao Lin’s expression dimmed slightly, but after pondering for a moment, he began to speak:
"This matter is quite peculiar. Our Sword Sect journeyed straight ahead, progressing smoothly until we reached the inner circle of the Land of the North Cold, and we acquired many treasures along the way."
"But the closer we got to the inner circle, the stranger things became. Though the creatures inside were higher in level and stronger, they almost entirely lacked intelligence and couldn’t transform into human form."
Hearing this, Yang Yan also became alert. It seemed the abnormal creatures they encountered earlier were not isolated incidents but a common occurrence in the entire Land of the North Cold.
"What happened next, you all saw. Somehow, we became the targets of these Spider Demons, relentlessly pursued. If they caught us, it would only mean death!"
Yang Yan couldn’t help but interrupt:
"Are you sure none of your people provoked this spider swarm or moved something they shouldn’t have?"
"Absolutely not! We hadn’t even gotten close, and they attacked us proactively. They indeed kill on sight, acting entirely irrationally!"
"We had no choice but to split up and retreat, but these spider swarms pursued us like they had seen their nemesis, never letting go."
"Thanks to your assistance, we survived that ordeal."
Saying this, Xiao Lin’s tone grew heavier.
"Well, since that’s the case, rest assured. We’ve already shaken off those Spider Demons. You can relax a bit now."
Lin An, upon hearing this, reassured them.
"Yes, and thank you, Sect Leader Lin! Please wait a moment."
Xiao Lin said, cupping his hands. He suddenly jogged back to where the Sword Sect disciples were and, when he returned to Lin An, was holding a square jade box.
"Sect Leader Lin, this is what we disciples of the Sword Sect obtained on our journey. We present it as a token of gratitude. We hope you’ll accept it, and also hope you’ll take us to rendezvous with our Sword Sect."
Lin An subconsciously wanted to decline, but upon hearing the last sentence, he understood. It turns out these disciples wanted to catch a ride.
Given this, it was indeed hard to refuse.
"Well... it’s a trivial matter, not worth mentioning. No need to be so formal."
Lin An replied:
"Regarding this matter, you should discuss it with Sect Leader Dan Xuan."
Hearing this, Xiao Lin realized his request was somewhat rash, but he still insisted on leaving the jade box.
Watching Xiao Lin lead the group to a nearby boat to find Dan Xuan, Yang Yan pondered for a moment and also suggested:
"We should indeed enter the inner circle. If we can encounter the Sword Sect forces on the way, it would be good to let them reunite sooner."
Yang Yan then conveyed the situation he learned from Frost Heaven to Lin An.
"It seems that our previous speculation was quite close to the worst-case scenario."
Hearing this, Lin An also spoke in a somber tone.
Yang Yan felt this journey was becoming far more complicated than he had expected, with an unshakable sense of crisis growing within him.
At the same time, Dan Xuan truly was brought over by Xiao Lin. As soon as he saw Yang Yan and Lin An, he said:
"Just now, I also discussed with the elders of our sect. If the inner circle is indeed as abnormal as these Sword Sect disciples described, we might need to investigate."
There must be something strange when things go awry!
The two sect leaders were not shortsighted and decisively put the big picture first, quickly reaching a consensus to go investigate the inner circle.
"Xiao Lin, I’ll trouble you to lead the way."
The disciples of the Sword Sect were overjoyed upon hearing this news.
Guided by the Sword Sect disciples, everyone headed straight for the inner circle.
The journey went relatively smoothly, with no magical creatures blocking their path.
As they approached the inner circle, the number of presences within their sensing range suddenly increased significantly.
"Everyone, we are about to enter the inner circle. Prepare yourselves and beware of unexpected attacks from magical creatures!"
With the reminders from the two sect leaders, the already cold and frozen land saw its temperature drop even further, forcing the disciples to speed up the operation of their spiritual power to ward off the cold.
"Hmm, over there is... the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers?"
In Yang Yan’s perception, a familiar aura suddenly appeared. Looking in that direction, it was indeed the group from the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers with whom they had parted earlier.
Similarly aware of them, the Valley Master of Ten Thousand Flowers nodded politely to Sect Leader Lin An and Dan Xuan.
"Yizheng Sect people? Hmph! What a narrow meeting."
"Ancient Abyss Sect people? How unlucky!"
It seems enemies are fated to meet, as the people of the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers were gathered near those of the Yizheng Sect.
The disciples of the Ancient Abyss Sect and the Yizheng Sect exchanged a glance, grumbling internally.
Yang Yan glanced and thought to himself:
"It seems other sects have also noticed something amiss, which is why they’ve all coincidentally entered the inner circle."
The four sects stepped into the Land of the North Cold’s inner circle.
The Ancient Abyss Sect and the Pill Sect quickly experienced the scenario previously described by the Sword Sect disciples firsthand.
The magical creatures Yang Yan and his group encountered earlier were nothing compared to the ones here!
Seeing the dense magical creatures on the ground, the disciples, who had never witnessed such a scene before, couldn’t help but feel their scalps go numb.
"Wow... is that, the Cold Radiance Snake? So many?"
"Those Snow Demons, and the Poisonous Cold Spiders! My goodness!"
Encountering so many troublesome magical creatures they had previously faced, along with many unheard-of ones, left the disciples wide-eyed in disbelief, relieved they were flying and didn’t have to confront the creatures directly.
However, the boat suddenly rocked, delivering a rude awakening to those who were feeling relieved.
Looking down, they realized that while the creatures couldn’t reach them, they could launch various long-range attacks. Just now, the Wandering Dragon Boat was shaken because an ice spike hit the bottom of the ship.
Before the boat could stabilize, a barrage of attacks surged upwards from below.
"Quick, activate the Protective Spirit Array!"
At a critical moment, Elder Dugu rapidly changed his hand seals, causing a Defensive Spirit Array to appear at the bottom of the Wandering Dragon Boat, blocking the rain-like barrage from below.
Even so, the boat shook violently for a moment.
"Steady the boat, everyone give it your all and charge through!"
Sect Leader Lin An transmitted orders using spiritual power while constantly infusing the Wandering Dragon Boat with a tremendous amount of spiritual power, typically unleashed only by Golden Core cultivators, significantly increasing its speed.
Yang Yan looked at the positions of the other three sects and noticed they were all using the same method, with the most powerful sect leaders driving the Wandering Dragon Boats swiftly through while others defended against the magical creature attacks to stabilize the boat.
If coordinated well and without further complications, they might actually break through!
That was until the sky, suddenly like a Celestial Net, was filled with countless flying magical creatures.
And these creatures indeed, as the Sword Sect disciples described, seemed to have lost all rationality with only killing intent in their minds.
The strength of these creatures ranged around the Foundation Establishment level, with some even nearing the Golden Core level, posing significant pressure even for the sect leaders.
As a result, the Wandering Dragon Boats from the four sects felt like they were moving through a swamp, their speed gradually slowing down, unable to maintain their initial momentum.
Disciples below Foundation Establishment were fundamentally unable to contend with these creatures, rendering them ineffective.
Seeing this, Lin An had no choice but to switch tactics, taking to the front alongside Elder Dugu to personally clear a path.
Upon checking the other sects, they were also using a similar strategy, with the sect leaders and elders leading the charge, while others protected the remaining disciples.
With his fighting spirit ignited, Yang Yan was about to join the battle with Star Night, but Sect Leader Lin An entrusted him with protecting Guoguo, so he had to stay on the boat, responsible for defense and occasionally dealing with stray creatures trying to approach the Ancient Abyss Sect’s Wandering Dragon Boat.
Though he only managed to kill a handful of creatures, leaving him somewhat frustrated.
However, this allowed him to conserve enough energy, and watching the sect leaders, who rarely engaged in combat, display their Divine Techniques was highly beneficial for Yang Yan and the other disciples’ cultivation.
With this in mind, Yang Yan felt relieved and started patrolling throughout the boat, clearing out any magical beasts that made their way inside.
Numerous male disciples watched Yang Yan handle the situation with ease, feeling a pang of bitterness in their hearts.
However, many female disciples cheered enthusiastically, casting admiring glances his way.
"Yang Yan, over here, another strange bird is swooping in!"
