The arriving cultivator descended from his flying sword, stumbling several times as he landed. Gao Tianhe hurriedly stepped forward to support him, asking anxiously, "Brother Yusheng, what happened? How did you end up like this?" The man appeared gravely injured and had flown too fast, nearly exhausting all his true essence. Gasping for breath, he struggled to say, "Demonic... cultivators... they... have come..."
Guo Xingyue scanned the man with his spiritual sense and quickly noticed that his cultivation had reached the late Nascent Soul stage, but he was severely injured. His Nascent Soul was shrouded in black energy that continuously devoured his true essence—an ability unique to demonic cultivators. Guo Xingyue recalled what Lingxu Shangren had told him about demonic cultivators: they were sworn enemies of orthodox cultivators, with little to no room for compromise. Since ancient times, their battles had been ceaseless. Although large-scale conflicts had been rare since the last Four Realms War tens of thousands of years ago, sporadic skirmishes still occurred, but both sides had generally maintained restraint. Now, with the demonic cultivators launching an invasion, Guo Xingyue felt a growing sense of urgency. He needed to determine the scale of the attack to decide on the appropriate course of action.
Forming a series of hand seals, he sent several pale golden streams of energy into Yusheng's body, dispelling the black energy surrounding his Nascent Soul and forcing it out of his body. Guo Xingyue then produced a Restoration Pill and gently floated it toward Yusheng, saying, "Fellow Daoist Yusheng, take this pill and rest for a moment. We can talk once you've recovered." Yusheng accepted the pill and, noticing Guo Xingyue for the first time, was shocked to find that his spiritual sense could not penetrate Guo Xingyue's cultivation—his scan revealed only a blank void. Having witnessed Guo Xingyue's effortless dispersal of the black energy and being given such a valuable pill, Yusheng realized that this man was no ordinary figure. He quickly said, "Thank you, senior, for your assistance." Without further delay, he swallowed the pill and sat down to meditate, restoring his strength.
Gao Tianhe, deeply worried, stood beside Guo Xingyue and said, "Brother Yusheng is the leader of He Ning Sect, which has over a hundred members and is far stronger than our Yixin Sect. For him to arrive here alone... it seems He Ning Sect has suffered great losses. I fear Yixin Sect may soon face the same fate."
Guo Xingyue smiled slightly and replied, "Brother Gao, do not worry too much. I will not stand idly by. For now, let's prepare the sect by setting up defensive formations. Once Leader Yusheng has recovered, we'll discuss our next steps."
The disciples of Yixin Sect had learned much from Guo Xingyue over the past year. Although their cultivation hadn't significantly improved yet, their knowledge had greatly expanded, and they held Guo Xingyue in high esteem. Upon hearing his instructions, they immediately began setting up formations around the sect.
Though Guo Xingyue had heard about demonic cultivators, he had never fought one before. Despite his inner unease, he maintained a calm exterior, knowing that everyone relied on him as their pillar of support. Watching Gao Tianhe directing the disciples to set up formations, Guo Xingyue calculated in his mind: while the exact scale of the demonic invasion was still unknown, it was clear that the situation was dire. Although he could teleport to safety, the disciples of Yixin Sect had no means of retreat. He couldn't allow the descendants of Haotian Shangren to fall in this disaster. There was no time to call for reinforcements from Juyuan Star; by the time help arrived, the battle would be over. They would have to rely on their current strength. Demonic cultivators were generally more formidable in combat than orthodox cultivators of the same level, but they were weaker in areas such as formations and artifact crafting. It seemed the best defense would be to rely on formations.
Though he couldn't summon help in time, Guo Xingyue still took out a communication jade from his storage bracelet and sent a message to Lingxu Shangren, informing him of the demonic invasion as a precaution. After storing the jade away, he began flying around the open area outside Yixin Sect's mountain gate, casting hand seals as he moved. Streams of pale golden true essence followed his seals, embedding themselves into the ground. After half an hour of work, Guo Xingyue had completed the Golden Lock Killing Formation. He then placed a semi-immortal artifact at the formation's core before stepping back to examine his work.
The Golden Lock Killing Formation was one of the three great killing formations, and it was the only one that didn't require a person to control it. However, it was also the weakest of the three. Afterward, Guo Xingyue set up a secondary formation, the Kan-Li Killing Formation, behind the Golden Lock Formation.
Guo Xingyue took such precautions because he feared the Golden Lock Formation alone might not be enough to repel the demonic cultivators. Although the Kan-Li Formation required someone to control it, it had the advantage of allowing people to hide near its core. Guo Xingyue planned to use the Golden Lock Formation to weaken the enemy's forces. When the enemy thought they had broken through the formation and let their guard down, he would activate the Kan-Li Formation to deliver a fatal blow. He couldn't help but regret that he had given the most powerful of the three formations, the Primordial Seven Kills Formation, to Ye Xing. If all three formations were combined, they could easily annihilate any invading demonic cultivators, as long as no Golden Immortals were among them.
Even with his advanced cultivation, setting up two major formations had left Guo Xingyue exhausted. He quickly swallowed a Restoration Pill and sat down to meditate. After a long period of rest, he finally recovered his strength. By then, Yusheng had regained his mobility, and Gao Tianhe had gathered his disciples nearby.
Guo Xingyue stood up and asked, "Fellow Daoist Yusheng, what exactly happened?"
Yusheng bowed deeply and replied, "Thank you, senior, for saving my life. Here's what happened: yesterday at noon, I was overseeing my disciples when a large group of demonic cultivators suddenly attacked. We didn't have time to activate our defensive formations before they broke into our sect. Though our disciples fought bravely, we were outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed. If not for the self-destruction of three of our elders, I would never have made it out alive. Out of He Ning Sect's 153 members, I am the sole survivor. I fled to Xuanki Sect to warn them, but no sooner had I arrived than the demonic cultivators followed. Gravely injured, I had no strength left to fight, so I took advantage of a gap in their encirclement and escaped here to warn you. I fear Xuanki Sect won't fare much better. Senior, Sect Leader Gao, the demonic cultivators are numerous, and many of them are highly skilled. We should flee while we still can."