Chapter 29: The Road Back

Hundreds of cultivators from the Demon Sect were immersed in the joy of their harvest. On Pang Yue’s side, from the moment he opened the orb of light to the moment the Book of Leaving Sorrow acknowledged him as its master, only a few blinks had passed, unnoticed by anyone.

Up in the sky, four Demon Sect Core Formation experts swept the empty space with their divine senses, almost simultaneously sensing something amiss.

“This is bad, there’s—”

The Core Formation elder of the Nether Spring Demon Sect flicked his sleeve, summoning a murky, yellowish river to encircle him in the air. Yet before he could finish speaking, the world suddenly blazed with light!

They had made their move…

Pang Yue’s expression was complex as he watched the sudden change sweep across heaven and earth. Countless motes of dust transformed into streaks of light, filling the world; all was a blinding white, eyes could not see, ears could not hear.

“The Grand Twofold Microdust Array!”

Pang Yue sighed inwardly; the righteous sects truly possessed remarkable audacity, even bringing out the sect-protecting formation of Azure Clouds Mountain.

Boom!

A thunderous, earth-shaking roar shattered the silence. The overwhelming surge of spiritual energy made it clear that Core Formation experts were battling.

The motes of dust swirled like smoke and mist—beautiful, yet perilous beyond compare. Each speck was as hard as a magical artifact. Each moved at near the speed of sound, darting rapidly.

Xiong Ying and Pang Yue clung together, riding a leaf-shaped magical artifact. Both had raised protective spiritual light to defend against the incoming dust. Yet under such dense and terrifying assault, their cultivation as Foundation Establishment disciples was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—they could not last long.

The leaf-shaped artifact endured only a few breaths before its light dimmed, shattered by the dust, and vanished into the void.

“Senior Brother, what is this…?” Xiong Ying felt her spiritual power draining rapidly and spoke in panic.

“This is the sect-protecting array of Azure Clouds Mountain,” Pang Yue replied, turning to her with a gentle smile.

Xiong Ying’s face was puzzled and anxious. “How did we fall into a Grand Array of the Righteous Sect?”

“It’s a long story. We’d best hurry and break through.” Pang Yue linked his escaping light with Xiong Ying’s, forcefully breaking through the dust ahead and flying outward.

Now, the might of the Twofold Microdust Array was fully unleashed. Within the array, a cultivator’s protective aura flickered like a candle in the wind; once extinguished, the cultivator perished.

Beneath the dazzling dust, flashes of exploding magical artifacts appeared everywhere, as well as crimson blood stains left by Demon Sect cultivators overwhelmed by the dust.

Five enormous streaks of dust with different attributes roamed the array, with only a single thread of life, constantly shifting and flickering—

The Gate of Life!

---

Sun Yiyan manipulated the array, trapping the Blood Demon Sect’s Core Formation master. The opponent turned into a blood shadow, charging left and right through the dust, struggling desperately to break free.

Sun Yiyan snapped his fingers, sending a thread-thin beam of green sword light into the array. It wove flexibly through the rapid-moving dust motes.

Suddenly, the sword light blazed forth! It flashed faster than sound, circling the blood shadow several times in the blink of an eye.

The blood shadow split into dozens of segments, immediately dimming. A third of these fragments were engulfed by the dust and ground away completely.

“Sun Yiyan!”

“You righteous sects claim to uphold virtue, yet you resort to such despicable acts!”

Recognizing the sword light, the blood shadow roared in fury.

Unhurried, Sun Yiyan directed the sword light to further tear the blood shadow apart and replied calmly, “Against fiends like you, why bother with ordinary methods?”

The blood shadow was utterly powerless before the razor-sharp sword threads. Though possessing undying flesh, it was sliced repeatedly by the sword light and drained of spiritual energy by the Twofold Microdust Array. At this rate, it would not be long before body and soul perished.

Driven to desperate curses, yet helpless before Sun Yiyan, the blood shadow was like a lamb awaiting slaughter…

A once-mighty Demon Sect overlord, now reduced to such a fate.

...

Pang Yue transformed into sword light, carrying his junior sister Xiong Ying as they flew through the dust. A faint glaze of colored glass enveloped the sword light, dissolving all the dust in their path.

If one looked closely, the dust was not disappearing but, upon touching the glassy radiance, was broken down by a mysterious force into even smaller particles!

These layers of particles were decomposed until they became invisible to the naked eye, the most minute of substances—almost formless.

Divine Light of Leaving Sorrow.

Pang Yue had not anticipated that the Divine Light of Leaving Sorrow would be so powerful!

Seeing his fellow disciples ground to nothing by the dust, Pang Yue darted and weaved, passing huge waves of dust, nearly escaping the bounds of the array.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, the void solidified.

A terrifying power accompanied by a melodious voice appeared out of nowhere.

Pang Yue’s sword light faltered, forcing him to reveal himself.

Dust parted, creating a vacuum in the air.

A young woman in a pale yellow dress stood in the void.

---

She gazed at Pang Yue, her beautiful eyes sizing him up for a moment before speaking softly, “You are Pang Yue, aren’t you?”

Pang Yue nodded. “I am.”

Though she appeared young and beautiful, her spiritual power was vast as the sea, terrifying beyond measure.

Core Formation!

Xi Yueming smiled lightly. “Your master and three companions are busy dealing with four Demon Sect Core Formation elders. I searched everywhere for you and only now managed to find you. Truly, a master produces talented disciples.”

“Senior, you flatter me,” Pang Yue replied, bowing respectfully.

Beside him, Xiong Ying looked bewildered, her brows knitting in thought as she listened to their exchange.

Hadn’t their master passed away long ago…?

What was the relationship between senior brother and this Righteous Sect woman?

“This Demon Sect woman—let her perish. You come with me,” Xi Yueming said, pointing at Xiong Ying. Her tone was calm.

She had already discerned that without Pang Yue, Xiong Ying would have perished in the endless dust by now.

“Senior Brother…” Xiong Ying looked to Pang Yue, her eyes filled with confusion and the despair of guessing the truth.

Before Pang Yue could speak, Xi Yueming’s willow brows arched, her gaze falling upon Pang Yue’s dantian. It was as if she saw through his body, her face showing curiosity.

“What is that?”

She snapped her fingers, sending a thread of dust probing towards Pang Yue’s dantian.

Pang Yue’s body froze, as though sealed in amber, unable to move.

The dust was about to touch him.

Suddenly, the Book of Leaving Sorrow within his dantian trembled gently.

A brilliant glassy divine light surged from Pang Yue’s body!

Accompanying it was a towering demonic intent—

Above and below, I alone reign supreme.

Under this demonic aura, Xi Yueming’s presence was like an ant before an elephant, the difference immeasurable.

As the dust touched the Divine Light of Leaving Sorrow on Pang Yue, it was instantly broken down into the tiniest particles, vanishing into the air.

“A demonic treasure?”

Xi Yueming’s expression grew grave, her gaze towards Pang Yue becoming complicated.

Within a few breaths, she made her decision.

“Now that you have been chosen by a demonic treasure, there is no turning back… It seems you cannot be allowed to live. I will explain to Daoist Sun.”

With that, she formed a spell with her hands. Dust surged from every direction, engulfing Pang Yue and his companion in an instant.