Chapter 104: Demon Ghost Domain Trial (Part Four)
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“Yan Tuo’s son Yan Shu?” Fei Denan said in surprise: “Yan Tuo is willing to let his precious son go to the Demon Ghost Domain trial?”
“Whether he’s willing or not is his family’s business – I can’t control that. But Yan Shu told me personally that he’s also going, so it can’t be false. You also know I have a grudge against him. Going to the Demon Ghost Domain with him, I’m afraid my chances are grim.” As Yue Qianchou spoke, he gestured across his neck with his hand, making a slashing motion.
Fei Denan fell silent. If Yan Shu really intended to kill Yue Qianchou in the Demon Ghost Domain, it truly wouldn’t be difficult. With his late Core Formation cultivation, killing a Foundation Establishment disciple wouldn’t require any effort at all. Moreover, if a disciple or two died in the Demon Ghost Domain, who could say clearly who killed them?
“Yue Qianchou, for this Demon Ghost Domain trial, Ten Thousand Fragrance Garden can’t compare to other branches, but we’ve also selected one disciple each from Nascent Soul, Core Formation, and Foundation Establishment stages to participate. You know all three of them. When you reach the Demon Ghost Domain, stick close to those three. Even with Yan Shu’s Core Formation cultivation, he won’t be able to do anything to you.” Fei Denan stroked his beard thoughtfully.
Yue Qianchou’s eyes lit up. After saying so much, this was exactly the sentence he was waiting for. Although he wasn’t afraid of Yan Shu, having a few more people was better than having none. He got up from his chair, grinning: “Then I’ll trouble Elder Fei to put in more effort. I’ll go back first to prepare early.” He swaggered out.
Time flashed by. Regarding Yue Qianchou going to the Demon Ghost Domain, the three people in Utopia had different attitudes. Guan Yu knew how high the death rate was for those going there from Floating Immortal Island and was somewhat worried, but didn’t say much. Chen Feng was very devoted to his boss – in his heart, the boss was omnipotent, and he worshipped him blindly. Bai Suzhen just said one thing: call me out if you encounter danger.
In front of the Alchemy Pavilion’s main hall, fifteen disciples of various cultivation levels were ready to depart, surrounded by a crowd of disciples watching. The rarely appearing Guan Weiwu stood on the steps, his expression serious as he looked at the disciples. Although he had seen such scenes many times, he still couldn’t help feeling emotional – after this trip, who knew how many would return alive?
His gaze swept around and found his disciple Yue Qianchou hiding at the back of the five Foundation Establishment disciples, looking around casually. Compared to the others, he seemed completely unconcerned. Good mentality! Guan Weiwu nodded approvingly and waved to everyone: “Let’s go, follow me to Penglai Pavilion.”
Guan Weiwu took flight first, followed by the fifteen disciples. Fifteen long swords unsheathed simultaneously with a “swish swish swish…” – the momentum was impressive as they instantly stepped on their swords to follow Elder Guan.
Many of the watching disciples shook their heads and sighed, lamenting how many would go and how many would return. Some disciples, seeing the seniors all flying on swords together, showed faces full of amazement and envy. These were mostly disciples who hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment stage – they wouldn’t consider the dangers these seniors faced, but envied their ability to fly on swords. Standing on different mountains, you chop different kinds of wood – this saying made great sense.
In the crowd, Ling Feng and the other two watched Yue Qianchou flying at the back, sighing endlessly with additional depression. When had he become an outstanding disciple?
In front of Penglai Pavilion’s main hall, when Guan Weiwu arrived with his people, quite a few were already standing there, with more arriving continuously. Each branch stood in their own area, with the chief elders of each branch standing at the front. Yue Qianchou hung his head and looked around – there were about three to four hundred people here, with the Cultivation Hall branch standing at the easternmost side having the most people, a large crowd that probably accounted for half the total number.
Dozens of elders stood on the hall’s steps, with Sect Master Feng Xiangtian in the center, his expression grave as he swept his gaze over everyone. An elder whispered a few words in his ear, and he nodded. That elder took out a small compass with legs from his storage bag, shot a white light at it, and threw it forward. The compass instantly became as large as a dining table and stood in front of the hall.
That elder cupped his hands toward the chief elders standing in front, making a gesture of invitation.
At this time, the Cultivation Hall on the east side moved first, with their chief elder leading the branch disciples toward the compass. Yue Qianchou desperately lifted his head, very curious about what they were doing, but unfortunately there were too many people blocking his view.
It wasn’t until the Alchemy Pavilion’s turn that Yue Qianchou’s curiosity was satisfied. The large compass, like a mighty drum, was covered with dense horizontal and vertical lines like a chess board, with four ear-like palm print marks in each direction. When approaching, that elder kept reminding the disciples to press their palms on the compass ears and input a strand of divine sense. After successful input, the compass ears would flash with white light. Yue Qianchou complied and thought: ‘What is this thing?’
Four people could input divine sense simultaneously, and several hundred people completed it in less than an hour. That elder cast hand seals to retrieve the compass, then nine more elders walked down from behind the Sect Master. Ten elders stood in a row, all bowing to the Sect Master together.
According to Yue Qianchou’s estimation, now should be the time for the big boss to give a speech. Who knew that Feng Xiangtian just raised his hand slightly, then took out a small boat, cast hand seals, and threw it into the air. The small boat grew with the wind above everyone’s heads, and after a few moments, a large ship blocked the sky above, casting everything below into shadow.
Feng Xiangtian cast another hand seal, and the ship’s bottom opened a plank that extended to the front of the hall, forming stairs leading to the ship’s hold. Sect Master Feng Xiangtian nodded to the ten elders, and five of them immediately came forward to lead the way up the stairs onto the ship, while the other five guarded the stair entrance.
Starting with the Cultivation Hall, disciples from each branch began boarding the ship in order. When Yue Qianchou was about to board, he looked affectionately at his master, then steeled his heart and turned away to board the ship. Once on board, he discovered the ship’s capacity was truly extraordinary. An elder came over to direct them to sit cross-legged with their own branch members – there weren’t even any benches, just sitting on the floor. He happened to sit against the ship’s wall.
It wasn’t until the other five elders came up that it was announced everyone had boarded. What made Yue Qianchou somewhat depressed was that he had wanted to listen to this era’s big boss give a speech, but unfortunately Feng Xiangtian didn’t utter a single word from beginning to end. The Sect Master maintained his dignity quite well.
When the surrounding scenery began to change, everyone knew the ship was already flying toward the Demon Ghost Domain. Many people’s expressions became solemn. Yue Qianchou glanced at Yan Shu, who was meditating with closed eyes to his left front, then looked around for the three female disciples from Ten Thousand Fragrance Garden. He found the three sitting at the very back, and there seemed to be another woman beside them who looked somewhat familiar, though he couldn’t remember where he’d seen her.
“Senior Brother Quan, is that Elder Guan’s disciple?” one elder transmitted to the elder beside him. The elder called Senior Brother Quan looked in the direction he indicated and saw Yue Qianchou carelessly leaning against the ship’s wall, fast asleep with saliva faintly glistening at the corner of his mouth. Looking at the other disciples, those with higher cultivation were meditating with closed eyes, while those with lower cultivation generally looked somewhat uneasy, obviously afraid of the Demon Ghost Domain they were about to visit. This was human nature – most were disciples experiencing their first trial off the island. But that kid was really too much! He could actually fall asleep and was even drooling. Wasn’t he worried at all?
Elder Quan looked at Yue Qianchou and shook his head with a bitter smile. He was one of the elders who had watched Yue Qianchou refine pills with the Sect Master at the Alchemy Pavilion that time – how could he not recognize him? He turned to transmit to the person beside him: “Junior Brother Sun! That’s exactly Yue Qianchou, whom Elder Guan entrusted us to look after.”
“Haha, this kid is quite interesting. He’s truly worthy of being Elder Guan’s personal disciple,” Elder Sun laughed.
Another dawn rose. An elder standing at the ship’s bow shaded his eyes with his hand against the dazzling sunlight, gazing into the distance. He saw dark clouds gathering on the distant horizon, completely at odds with the rising sun on one side. He turned around, swept his gaze over everyone in the ship’s hold, and shouted sternly: “The Demon Ghost Domain is ahead. Everyone prepare yourselves.”
