Upon hearing this, the onlookers couldn't help but speak up again.
"Aren't they afraid of the wrath of the righteous sects of the world by so openly and blatantly seeking to marry a demoness from the demonic sect?"
"It was more than just fury; at least half of the righteous sects in the world came. There were more than a hundred experts who blocked the Hidden Immortal Sect's wedding procession. There were over a hundred experts, including masters from the Qingyun Sect, Fenxiang Valley, and Tianyin Temple. At that time, the Hidden Immortal Sect only had a dozen or so people."
But no one could have predicted that the Hidden Immortal Sect would show no sign of backing down. First, the Hidden Immortal Sect's Vice Sect Master, True Person Hongyu, subdued the assembled heroes with a single sword strike. Leading the wedding procession, she swaggered back to the sect. It is said that that sword strike dimmed the heavens and earth, its power overwhelming the entire scene. Not a single person dared to intercept her. Even more terrifying was that after the wedding procession left, the Hidden Immortal Sect's Sect Master, True Person Lu, remained motionless. Guess what happened?
"Stop beating around the bush, just tell us already!" The old man kept keeping everyone in suspense, which finally annoyed the surrounding drinkers. This was like a sudden, crucial interruption in a story, making people grit their teeth in frustration and wishing they could send the author a knife.
The old man shuddered in fright and quickly continued his story.
"The sect leader of the Hidden Immortal Sect coldly addressed the hundreds of cultivators around him, saying, 'Come at me all at once.' Then..."
The old man hesitated for a moment, seemingly trying to figure out how to describe the scene. This time, the surrounding drinkers were unusually silent, waiting quietly.
"That day, the sun and moon lost their light, and the heavens and earth wept. The sect leader of the Hidden Immortal Sect unleashed only one move. A sky full of lightning reduced hundreds of cultivators in the surrounding area to ashes. These were experts from dozens of sects. They couldn't even withstand a single move from True Person Lu..."
...............
The western wilderness is a swampy land, also known as the Death Swamp. It rains seven or eight out of ten days a year, and all sorts of strange plants grow abundantly.
Such cold and damp places have always been the habitat of the world's most venomous beasts and insects. The uniquely toxic swamp gas here rises from the rotting mud in the swamp every time it rains. If a person inhales it, without a proper antidote, they will die from the poison within half an hour.
In addition, the animal carcasses, trees, and flowers that have rotted from being soaked in rainwater over thousands of years have turned this place into a place fraught with danger. If you take the wrong step, you will be sucked into the bottomless swamp and never see the light of day again, dying a tragic death.
This place was originally untouched for decades, even centuries. But not long ago, people began to settle here. A group of daring merchants and laborers even gathered here, forming a small village.
Their job was to serve the large number of cultivators passing by, earning a little money in return. Most cultivators were wealthy, and a small tip from them could equal a year's earnings for those merchants. Since ancient times, wealth has been a powerful motivator, and even in this desolate place, these mortals still flocked there fearlessly.
Some of the closer cultivators arrived first. However, no one dared to enter the swamp directly. Most were observing or discussing forming an alliance. After all, even for cultivators, entering that place meant certain death.
In reality, most cultivators were waiting for the arrival of the three major sects. They planned to follow behind them and take advantage of the chaos. However, after waiting for a long time, the three major sects didn't arrive; instead, the Hidden Immortal Sect arrived.
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Chapter 436 Just One Step Away
"Master, many cultivators have already arrived ahead of time," Zhang Xiaofan whispered in Lu Xuan's ear.
"It doesn't matter. They can't even get into the Death Swamp. For us, the most important thing is still the three major sects and the four branches of the Demonic Sect."
Despite becoming related to the Ghost King Sect, Lu Xuan never attempted to change their actions. In fact, aside from Bi Yao, they had virtually no connection.
Even so, the Ghost King Sect underwent significant changes. The sect leaders, including the Treasure Vault Vermilion Bird, had already noticed some problems. The sect leader's actions were no longer as aggressive as before. He even resumed his secluded cultivation. At the same time, he opened up more cultivation resources to those below him.
Simply put, after Biyao got married, the Ghost King shifted his focus from power struggles to cultivation.
Lu Xuan's influence was certainly a factor in this. His conversation with the Ghost King that day had subtly played a role. What are cultivators after? The Ghost King sought power, using the Ghost King Sect's strength to subdue the world. But Lu Xuan offered another explanation: Cultivating immortality is naturally for the sake of longevity.
The Ghost King felt he had reached the end of his road. But Biyao's return brought back the first volume of the Heavenly Book. And the Ghost King Sect itself possessed the second volume. In an instant, what the Ghost King had perceived as the end became a vast and boundless path.
Cultivation can be addictive, especially as one's cultivation level continuously improves. The Ghost King is now experiencing this addictive feeling. His long-standing bottleneck has been broken through again, giving him a sense of returning to the days when he first began cultivating.
Then the events at the Death Swamp erupted. The Ghost King finally emerged from seclusion, ready to get involved.
He shared the same thoughts as the other three branches of the four major sects of the Demonic Path: the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, the Joyous Union Sect, and the Hall of Longevity.
In fact, among the four major sects, the strongest one was not the Ghost King Sect, but the Longevity Hall.
In the original novel, when the Demonic Sect attacked the Qingyun Sect, the four major sects elected a leader. At that time, the Ghost King suggested Yu Yangzi from the Longevity Hall.
Although the intention was to make Yu Yangzi the scapegoat, it's clear that Yu Yangzi was the strongest of the four. At least back then, the Ghost King was inferior to him. But now, the Ghost King is 70-80% confident he can defeat Yu Yangzi. Moreover, over the past ten years, the Ghost King has bestowed his cultivation insights, gleaned from the first two volumes of the Heavenly Book, upon several loyal subordinates. He wasn't the only one to achieve a breakthrough in cultivation during those ten years.
It can be said that in the past ten years, although the Ghost King Sect may seem to have stagnated, its actual strength has made a huge breakthrough.
In a sense, this was also Lu Xuan's doing. That battle in front of the Hidden Immortal Sect back then terrified the entire cultivation world.
From that moment on, everyone in the cultivation world finally understood a truth: their own cultivation was utterly insignificant compared to that of true masters. Even Dao Xuan of the Qingyun Sect trembled at the memory of that incident, for Lu Xuan's Daoist techniques and supernatural powers far exceeded his expectations.
If he were to use the Immortal Execution Sword at full power, he could achieve the same result. However, the Immortal Execution Sword cannot be used casually; the hidden cost is simply too high. It's manageable on Mount Qingyun. But outside of Qingyun's territory, attempting to use it would be utterly unbearable.
Therefore, after that, the atmosphere in the cultivation world improved considerably. It entered a state of quiet cultivation. Conflicts and intrigues significantly decreased. In a sense, Lu Xuan had done a great service, even though he himself didn't care.
Both Fenxiang Valley and Tianyin Temple have taken action, each dispatching elite disciples and assigning elder-level experts to lead their teams.
Ten years have passed, and the once tranquil world of cultivation is once again in turmoil.
Seeing a large number of independent cultivators and members of small sects waiting, Lu Xuan and his group had no such patience. They erected a semi-transparent light barrier and entered the Death Swamp without hesitation. This left many of the independent cultivators following behind, hoping to gain some experience, completely dumbfounded.
They really did go in without any disguise, but I didn't learn anything, did I? They just forced their way in with their superior cultivation. This kind of thing, you can't learn even if you want to!
However, they actually misunderstood this point, because the people from the Hidden Immortal Sect didn't truly rely on their cultivation to force their way in. The Death Swamp was teeming with poisonous miasma, surrounded by countless venomous insects and ferocious beasts. Relying solely on cultivation was clearly not a good option. Maintaining protective spells for twenty-four hours would require at least the level of the head of the Azure Cloud Sect. This was something not everyone could achieve.
In such situations, what is needed is a special elixir or a secret method to repel poisonous insects.
The Hidden Immortal Sect's methods are a bit more advanced. They use a spirit-controlling magic artifact, a standardized artifact that can only maintain a simple light shield.
Its defense is surprisingly weak, but its energy consumption is also low. It doesn't have any special effects, but it's enough to block some poisonous insects and miasma.
Deep within the Death Swamp, a completely new world has emerged. Miasma and fog swirl overhead, and poisonous rain falls intermittently. The ground is littered with death—not only with unheard-of venomous insects, but also with rotting, foul-smelling mud that would be a deadly trap for ordinary people. Even cultivators must not be careless.
The group of people were basically flying through the air, their feet barely touching the ground.
Along the way, they also encountered attacks from some strange mermaids. These creatures lurked in the depths of swampy pools and could use simple water magic. A moment's carelessness could result in being caught off guard. Ordinary low-level cultivators would likely be dragged into the pools immediately upon encountering them.
Strangely, the deeper Lu Xuan went into the Death Swamp, the weaker the surrounding poisonous barrier became. Not only that, the swamp, poisonous insects, and rotting pools were all gradually decreasing.
Instead, the trees grew taller and the vegetation became more lush. The ground was moist but hadn't formed a swamp. At the same time, a large number of relatively normal creatures began to appear. Lu Xuan saw two foxes of considerable intelligence run past in the distance. An eagle with powerful demonic energy swooped overhead.