"I think we should leave this place…" The youngsters were thinking about backing out.
After all, a few days ago, one of their senior brothers went in this exact direction when he was doing some exploring, and then no one ever heard from him again. When they ventured in this direction, they saw the traces left behind by that senior brother of theirs. However…
This was the location where the traces had abruptly ended.
"It is true that we should leave, but we have to wait a moment. Until that demon completely leaves, that is. If not, we'll be like sheep walking straight into a pack of wolves."
The few youngsters sighed and forcefully grasped the handles of their swords, seemingly testing whether or not they had completely escaped the fear they had been experiencing not long ago.
And at that very moment, one of them said, "Wait, why do I feel like the dark mist in front of us has slightly faded?"
All of a sudden, the facial expression of the youngster that had spoken changed a bit.
They were currently inside of the dark mist, and that misty substance was giving them a gloomy and depressed feeling. However, they noticed that the dark mist was seemingly thinner up ahead!
"It is indeed. I didn't notice that just now. Even the dark mist over here seems a lot thinner than where we were earlier…"
They looked at each other.
All of them had a guess in their mind.
Could it be that…?
They all felt emboldened and began to venture forward. As they expected, the dark mist up ahead had been driven away. It turned out that this was a place that was not completely conquered by the dark mist, just like where their sect was!
They all shivered.
"This…"
"It's true that there are other sects in the dark mist! In that case, I wonder if senior brother was killed by a demon or the sect over here…? Aside from the Sol Sword Sect, other sects still exist as well."
Their faces were solemn.
If it was the former, they could only accept that it was fated to happen. But if it was the latter… would they declare war? Or something else?
Seeing blood under the condition of such a dark mist held an extraordinary significance…
After all, everyone's nerves were pushed to the very limits.
"Let's try to find out more about this sect and see where their power levels are… we will then report back to the sect. Fengyang, you have the best Move Technique. Go ahead and do some scouting."
A scrawny guy nodded gently. When the term Move Technique was mentioned, a hint of confidence surged within his eyes unbeknownst to him.
He had trained in the Sol Sword Sect's Sol Footwork until he reached its maximum state. He had a unique talent in the cultivation of Move Techniques. However, Sol Footwork was merely a peak Spirit level technique. When it was compared to a Truth Return level Move Technique, the disparity was simply too immense. His biggest dream in life was to be able to step into an extremity of Move Techniques!
He believed that he could definitely master Vanishing and that his succeeding was only a matter of time.
"Go." A group of disciples nodded almost imperceptibly. All of them were hiding outside while they asked the youngster by the name of Qin Fengyang to go ahead and search for information.
"Be wary. If you find anything, contact us with the Spirit Jade immediately."
Qin Fengyang nodded and said, "Alright, no issues there. By the way, are you guys feeling anything? I feel strange. It's like a kind of internal anxiety that's even stronger than when the demon was chasing us just earlier."
"Huh?"
"Well, I guess that means no," Qin Fengyang muttered. He then turned around and vanished.
In a location they couldn't see, a shadow seemingly flashed quickly by.
…
The sky was just getting bright, and at the newly reclaimed Small Scripture Pavilion, a large number of disciples had made their way over early in the morning. Some commenced the record-keeping of the sword manuals while others were on patrol duty.
"That was weird. Did something just rush past us? Did you guys see that?"
At that moment, a disciple suddenly turned to stare at a spot behind him with a strange look in his eyes. He could not help but pull his head back.
"No. I bet your senses are deceiving you."
The other disciples of the Empyrean Sword Sect surrounding him looked at him strangely.
"Has your mind wandered away or something? I remembered that senior brother was asking around last week about whether or not there were chickens, and I already thought that was strange. Is there any information people have in the sect that I'm unaware of? Tell me, are you looking for chickens[1]?"
The disciple looked confused and said, "Are you referring to legit chickens or something else?"
"Well, I guess you wouldn't ask me that if your mind is half-decent."
The group of disciples giggled.
At that moment, the eyes of Qin Fengyang, who was hidden in the dark, reflected a little bit of disdain.
Most of these disciples were only at the Enlightenment stage.
He looked around and realized that it seemed like there was only one disciple at the Qi Bending stage.
"This sect looks pretty weak, but they are seemingly in control of the Scripture Repository. There should be a good amount of sword techniques in there. If we can grab them, the overall strength of the Sol Sword Sect will be greatly improved," Fengyang said to himself.
What's more, it seemed like the collective strength of this sect was not very high.
Wait! I think I heard them saying that this place was once where the side sect of the Empyrean Sword Sect stayed?
In that case, they most likely possess a part of the Empyrean Sword Manual, am I right?
As soon as he thought about the possibility of the Empyrean Sword Manual, even though he knew that it would not be the complete version, a hint of greed still appeared in his eyes.
He took out a piece of lustrous jade from his arms and rubbed it a few times.
This item was called a Spirit Jade.
It could be said that, amid the dark mist, this item was the only means of communication.
By rubbing it in a special way and injecting it with Spiritual Energy, one could generate text on other people's Spirit Jades.
"This is actually the Empyrean Sword Sect's side sect? It seems like they're pretty weak. Even among their core disciples they only have a few at the Qi Bending stage…"
At that moment, the faces of the disciples waiting outside changed.
The Empyrean Sword Sect!
The sword sect that was full of legends back in earlier times…
The Empyrean Sword manual, hailed as the pinnacle of combat artistry…
And most importantly, after the dark mist's invasion, this sect was not strong at all!
At least, when Qin Fengyang was walking around in the sect, he had not sensed any powerful disciples at the Qi Bending stage!
"Since that's the case, let's go in and have a look as well."
The group of people giggled.
"Where's Fengyang?"
"He's going deeper into the sect to see if he can find anything. I'm pretty sure that he knows when to stop and that he'll avoid the places where the true stars of the sect are. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse, so we must still be vigilant."
…
Zhang Sanjian was sitting cross-legged in his room to heal his injuries.
Little did he know that at that moment, a set of eyes was watching him from outside.
"I see. This elder is most likely the strongest person in the Empyrean Sword Sect by far. His aura is as profound as an abyss, but it seems like he's severely wounded right now. This is the Sol Sword Sect's chance!"
Outside the window, a figure sat hidden in a patch of shadow. There was no one around. If no one got too close to him, nobody would be able to discover him.
Qin Fengyang truly was a genius in Move Techniques!
However, at that moment, his pupils abruptly constricted and his face turned pale. This is bad! I'm being watched!
He quickly vanished in place, then frantically ran away. There was a jungle adjacent to the dark mist. He shot through it wildly with his Move Technique unleashed to the maximum. A golden ripple would swell outward for every step he took. The speed of his movement was extremely terrifying.
However, behind him, it seemed as though a shadow was coming after him. The speed of the shadow was not fast or slow, but he could not shake it off as if it had matched itself with his pace.
This must be how a mouse felt when it was being toyed with by a cat!
What in the world is coming after me?!
Qin Fengyang's eyes flickered. They were full of horror. His Move Technique had been completely bested!
***
[1]: 'Chickens' in this context refers to prostitutes.