The Transmigrator's Cultivation Arc 17: Hengwu Small World | Chapter 340: Unexpected Foe

Arc 17: Hengwu Small World | Chapter 340: Unexpected Foe

…Not good!

Xu Ziqing immediately performed a hand seal, increasing his speed and rushing to the outskirts of Yunjia Village.

Below, there was a large crowd—over a hundred people—holding torches and hurling them into the village. Many trees around the village had already caught fire, causing the blaze.

However, the inside of the Yunjia Village had not been touched by the flames.

Among the attackers, at least a dozen people were floating slightly above the ground, channeling their Xiantian energy and launching it toward the village.

The Xiantian energy formed into countless blasts, but each time they touched the s.p.a.ce above the village, they were either deflected or dissipated into nothing, accompanied by loud “booming” sounds.

It seemed as though a faint, pale green barrier enveloped the village, which appeared each time it was struck.

Xu Ziqing saw that the village was being protected by a wood-element force, and the barrier above was activated by a protective jade pendant he had given to Yun Tianheng long ago.

At that time, although Xu Ziqing was only at the peak of the late Core Formation stage when he crafted the pendant, he used the power of a divine wood seed, making it comparable to a spiritual artifact—far superior to ordinary magical tools. And now, it was proving useful.

It appeared Yun Tianheng’s years of cultivation had not been in vain.

However, after scanning the situation, Xu Ziqing’s gaze shifted to the crowd outside. He was slightly surprised but soon understood.

These people were not from the Thunder Sect but from the Wu Ao Sect.

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Ziqing deduced the reason.

The Xuanwu Conference had a rule that personal grudges could not extend to family members. Although Lei Li’s death had enraged the Thunder Sect, prompting them to spend a fortune hiring several experts to kill Yun Tiangang, the sect still had to deal with other factions. They couldn’t afford to offend the city lord of Xuantian City, nor could they risk angering the king, as it could be disastrous for the sect.

Thus, aside from the earlier a.s.sa.s.sination attempt, the Thunder Sect had no choice but to swallow their anger and refrain from attacking Yunjia Village.

Even so, after some investigation, the Thunder Sect had grown to hate the Wu Ao Sect, which had provoked Lei Li, and began to suppress them instead.

Compared to the Thunder Sect, a behemoth, the Wu Ao Sect was much smaller and was almost forced to the brink of destruction.

Unable to fight the Thunder Sect, the Wu Ao Sect turned their anger toward Yunjia Village, which allowed the Thunder Sect to achieve their goal indirectly.

The Wu Ao Sect quickly gathered many skilled individuals. Though not large, the sect had some hidden resources, and they even spent money to hire several Xiantian experts to completely eradicate Yunjia Village.

Thus came the threat to Yunjia Village, and Xu Ziqing’s ominous premonition.

Xu Ziqing quickly understood the situation, then descended from the clouds, landing at the front of the village alongside Yun Tiangang.

The hundred or so people had been shouting, but upon seeing the two descend from the sky, they were all stunned into silence.

The next moment, someone recognized them and shouted urgently, “It’s Yun Tiangang! Kill him—”

Immediately, the Xiantian experts who had been attacking the barrier redirected their attacks toward Yun Tiangang.

Yun Tiangang, filled with sword intent, wasn’t afraid. He dodged their attacks with ease, and as soon as his sword intent erupted, countless sword lights manifested, creating illusions similar to those he used against the Thunder Sect’s Xiantian experts. This caused flaws in their defenses, draining their strength.

At the same time, the more than one hundred common attackers caught within his sword intent also fell victim to it. The weaker-willed among them were reduced to tears and collapsed in terror!

Xu Ziqing stood calmly to the side, untroubled.

These lackeys were merely giving his Shixiong some practice. Once they were dealt with, the two of them could return to the village. But suddenly, Xu Ziqing’s heart was struck with a sense of impending danger!

Just as Yun Tiangang was concentrating on releasing his sword intent, a dark light suddenly shot in from the sky!

It came at great speed, carrying immense power and reeking of a foul stench, likely laced with a deadly poison and corrosive force.

Its target was Yun Tiangang!

Xu Ziqing’s heart tightened, and he suddenly shifted his body. He quickly positioned himself in front of Yun Tiangang, extending his hand to push forward a burst of green light that collided with the black light! In an instant, it was as if ice and snow were melting; the two forces met silently, turning into nothingness.

This unexpected interruption halted the sword intent, causing Yun Tiangang to stop. At the same time, those who had been enveloped by the sword intent had not consumed too much energy and managed to escape with their lives. However, the earlier terrifying scene still left a hint of fear on their faces.

Only the Xiantian experts sensed the approach of the black light and exchanged glances filled with joy.

Xu Ziqing heard faint voices calling out, “Ancestor…”

This stirred something in his heart.

Having spent several decades in this Hengwu Small World, Xu Ziqing knew that the strongest beings were the Xiantian experts, and no cultivators had come here.

This wasn’t surprising; since cultivators sought to go further in their practice, they would not wish to remain in a small world, even if they accidentally found themselves here due to the Dragon Ascension Gate, they would wish to return. Even the elderly, who had lost hope of further breakthroughs, would still find the small world’s barrenness unappealing after spending so much time in the greater world.

However, nothing is absolute; there are always exceptions…

Thinking back, Xu Ziqing realized that the previous black light was clearly a cultivator’s technique!

But its nature was somewhat strange; it resembled a demonic spell yet bore traces of celestial techniques… Could it be a fusion of righteous and demonic powers?

No, his Shixiong’s immortal-demonic body melds both essences but is far more refined than that.

As Xu Ziqing pondered this, he continued to shield Yun Tiangang.

It was not that he underestimated his Shixiong; even with sword intent, a mortal body was greatly restricted. Unless one’s primordial spirit left the body, their strength would be diminished. But it would be too reckless to let his Shixiong’s primordial spirit leave his body just because of this; it was better for him to handle it.

Yun Tiangang might lack in cultivation, but his experience and awareness were still intact.

Whatever Xu Ziqing recognized, he naturally would too, so Yun Tiangang refrained from using his sword intent and allowed Xu Ziqing to take charge.

Since the two were now bound as partners, it wouldn’t do to be overly rigid, lest they hurt themselves.

With a calm expression, Xu Ziqing slightly raised his head and looked toward the source of the black light in the distance.

Indeed, the black light was not a one-off attack; shortly after, several more black lights shot toward them, each possessing power no less than the first.

…Was this a test?

With a flick of his sleeve, Xu Ziqing swept away all the black lights, leaving none behind.

The black light was deflected aside, and a few individuals were unable to dodge in time, having their faces struck by the light, instantly transforming into a pool of blood.

What a… vicious and tyrannical power!

Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but frown.

The resentment contained in this power was astonishing. It seemed to have been tempered for many years, and the mastermind behind it must be a truly vicious character.

Why would the Wu Ao Sect a.s.sociate with such people? Earlier, he heard the innate experts refer to someone as “ancestor.” Could it be that they were truly related to the Wu Ao Sect?

But before he could ponder further, perhaps realizing that the black light was ineffective against Xu Ziqing and might harm their own side, the attacker ceased releasing the black light.

In the blink of an eye, a figure darted through the air like a bullet.

The clouds rolled as they approached, spreading across the sky, while the outer layers of white clouds shimmered with a faint black light, giving off a strange appearance.

It made it even harder to discern whether the figure was a righteous cultivator or a demonic one.

Above the clouds, the newcomer played the part of a mysterious figure, shrouded in enigma.

Xu Ziqing immediately recognized the figure’s appearance: an elderly man dressed in a pure and clean robe, surrounded by swirling spiritual light. He had three wisps of beard under his chin and appeared calm and composed, as if he were a celestial being.

At first glance, he seemed to be a promising righteous cultivator, but upon closer inspection, although this person was also at the Golden Core stage, his aura was mixed, with demonic energy woven into his spiritual essence. Not only had he lost purity, but there were also traces of malice, which made the originally clear eyes of the elderly man appear murky.

This was… an immortal cultivator who had already fallen into the path of evil.

Moreover, he was deeply ensnared in this demonic path and likely no longer aware of it; he might never be able to return to the righteous way.

Xu Ziqing silently shook his head. He had not expected a cultivator to appear here, but since one had, he was not afraid.

This Golden Core master had not yet honed his power to stability but had instead cultivated underhanded methods. His acc.u.mulated strength was not substantial; he was absolutely no match for Xu Ziqing at this moment.

Upon the arrival of the elderly man, the Xiantian experts seemed to see a powerful ally and immediately retreated, moving below the clouds.

The Houtian cultivators seemed unaware of the elderly man’s ident.i.ty, yet they too were alarmed by this phenomenon and followed the innate experts in retreating.

The old man stroked his beard and laughed, saying, “You youngsters, why don’t you hurry up and leave?”

Xu Ziqing replied with a smile, “This place is where my disciple has laid down roots. How can I allow that?”

A sharp light flashed in the elderly man’s eyes as he shouted, “Refusing to drink the wine offered, you’ll have to drink the punishment wine instead! Don’t blame me!”

With that, he flicked his hands, releasing more than a dozen black talismans. Each was inscribed with crimson symbols, appearing quite eerie.

As the black talismans fell, they attached to the Xiantian experts, instantly merging with their heads.

In an instant, a layer of black mist enveloped the Xiantian experts, their faces turning pale while their lips reddened.

However, their movements became much more agile, and their auras grew significantly stronger, with their power increasing tenfold with even slight movements!

Some noticed this surge in power and were immediately filled with joy, their momentum rising.

Seeing this, the elderly man nodded slightly and waved his hand to unleash nearly a hundred red talismans, which this time landed on the postnatal cultivators.

Almost instantly, the auras of the Houtian cultivators surged, as if they had immediately reached the innate level!

This overwhelming power bolstered everyone’s confidence!

The elderly man pointed with his finger and commanded, “Go!”

In the next moment, those postnatal and innate cultivators surged forward like beasts released from their cages, letting out low roars as they charged out!

They quickly scattered, some surrounding Xu Ziqing and his companion, while others attacked toward the air above Yun Family Village.

Countless corrosive energies struck the protective shield once more. Although the shield still radiated brilliance, with each strike, it dimmed slightly.

If this continued, it would surely be shattered!

Seeing this, Xu Ziqing furrowed his brow.

Demonic energy invading? After this, these mortals might no longer advance in their cultivation.

If they were to progress further, they could only continue down the path of demonic transformation… What exactly was the old man thinking?

At that moment, Xu Ziqing couldn’t discern.

However, he didn’t need to guess; since these individuals had already been demonized, they could not be left alive. Otherwise, if they became private soldiers for that elderly man, who knows how much trouble they would bring to this small world of Hengwu? It would be better to eliminate them one by one, allowing them to be reborn and start anew!

With that thought, Xu Ziqing took action.

His form remained unchanged, yet he waved his long sleeves twice.

In an instant, countless seeds were shot out from his sleeves, raining down like a torrential storm, hitting every corner of Yunjia Village.

Following that, Xu Ziqing recited a couple of incantations, causing each of the seeds to sprout instantly and shoot up from the ground!

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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