138: Chapter 138 Soul Search Unsuccessful, Demon Extermination Trial

Patriarch Lin Tianyou knelt in the center of the ruins, his face as pale as paper, the dark red light in his eye sockets flickering uncertainly.

He was enveloped by a cyan pillar of light; it was Qingxuan's enemy-binding technique, locking him firmly in place, unable to move.

Beside him, dozens of Core Disciples of the Lingyuan Family were similarly enveloped by the cyan pillar of light, each with a terrified expression, trembling.

Qingxuan stood in the air above the ruins with his hands behind his back, looking down at the suppressed demonized Cultivators below with a calm expression, as if he had just done something insignificant.

Elder Cangwu and Cang Song stood to his left and right, their Magical Artifacts already put away, but their auras remained sharp, ready to deal with any sudden situation at any time.

When Ancestor Zhou Huaixu and the others descended, this was the scene they saw.

"Elder Qingxuan." Ancestor Zhou Huaixu stepped forward a few paces and bowed to Qingxuan, "Who are these people?"

"The Lingyuan Family." Qingxuan said in a flat tone, "A medium-sized family in the Eastern Southern Wilderness. The entire clan has been demonized by that Devil Head, hunting Cultivators and collecting essence blood for him."

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu's expression darkened, and Daoist Ziyang and the others also had livid expressions.

They had long suspected that someone in the east was secretly helping that Devil Head, but they had not expected it to be the Lingyuan Family.

A medium-sized family that had operated in the Eastern Southern Wilderness for thousands of years had actually defected to the Devil Head as a whole clan.

"And what about that Devil Head?" Daoist Yunlan spoke, his voice filled with irrepressible anger.

Qingxuan shook his head, "Not here. When I arrived, I didn't detect any aura."

The several Tribulation Transcenders looked at each other, their expressions unsightly. They had chased that Devil Head for three days, and having finally found a clue, it had been broken again.

"Now we can only search their souls." Qingxuan said indifferently, "To find out the whereabouts of that Devil Head."

He raised his hand, and a cyan light flew from his fingertips, entering Patriarch Lin Tianyou's glabella.

Patriarch Lin Tianyou's body trembled violently, the dark red light in his eyes flickering intensely, and he let out a low roar from his mouth, as if he were enduring some unbearable pain.

Qingxuan's brows furrowed slightly; he could feel that an extremely vicious Restriction had been placed in Patriarch Lin Tianyou's Sea of Consciousness.

That Restriction not only sealed all his memories regarding Venerable Lingyun, but it was also fused with his Divine Soul. Once someone attempted to search his soul, the Restriction would automatically trigger, destroying his Divine Soul along with his memories.

Sure enough, the next moment, Patriarch Lin Tianyou's body suddenly stiffened, and the dark red light in his eye sockets surged abruptly.

A burst of violent Devilish Qi gushed out from within his body, devouring his body along with his Divine Soul.

"Boom—!"

With a muffled sound, Patriarch Lin Tianyou's body, as if burned by invisible flames, quickly turned to ashes from the inside out, leaving only a cluster of dark red mist that churned in place for a moment before dissipating into the air.

Immediately following, those dozens of Core Disciples of the Lingyuan Family enveloped by the cyan pillar of light also burst out with Devilish Qi simultaneously, turning into ashes one after another, not even having time to let out a scream.

There was dead silence in the ruins.

Qingxuan withdrew his hand, his expression still calm, as if all of this had been within his expectations.

"That Devil Head placed a Restriction on these people." Elder Cangwu spoke, his voice low and steady.

"Once someone attempts to search their souls, the Restriction will trigger, destroying the host along with their memories. It seems he had long guarded against this move."

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, "What do we do now?"

Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then said indifferently, "Although the Lingyuan Family is destroyed, there are still some demonized Cultivators scattered throughout the east."

"These people do not have high cultivation levels, mostly between the Golden Core Stage and Nascent Soul, so they do not pose much of a threat."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, "Furthermore, the spread of Devilish Qi has already affected the Yao Beasts in the Eastern Mountains. Many Yao Beasts have already been demonized and have begun to wreak havoc everywhere. These demonized Yao Beasts also need to be cleared out."

Lord Yangtian nodded, "The Elder is right. That Devil Head cannot be found for the time being, but the demonic affliction in the east cannot be ignored. If those demonized Cultivators and demonized Yao Beasts are not cleared out in time, it will sooner or later lead to a major disaster."

Elder Jianchi also spoke in agreement, "My Heavenly Sword Sect's Disciples happen to need training; these demonized Yao Beasts can be left to us to handle."

The several Tribulation Transcenders discussed for a moment and quickly reached a decision.

The Tribulation Transcenders would continue to search for traces of Venerable Lingyun deep in the Eastern Mountains, while the Disciples of each family would be responsible for clearing out the demonized Cultivators and demonized Yao Beasts scattered in various places.

This would not only eliminate the demonic affliction but also allow the Disciples to hone their cultivation in actual combat, killing two birds with one stone.

Qingxuan had no objections to this, only saying indifferently, "That Devil Head's cultivation has not yet recovered, but his Cultivation Technique is strange. If you discover his tracks, do not act rashly; send a message immediately."

Everyone nodded and dispersed.

Half a month later, deep in the Eastern Mountains, under an ancient towering tree.

Lu Jinghan sat cross-legged on the tree roots, his body surrounded by a faint silver-white light.

The Time-Space Derivation Sutra slowly circulated within his body. With each cycle, a trace of pure spiritual power was absorbed from heaven and earth, replenishing the excessively consumed spiritual power in his body.

His robes were covered in dust and dark red bloodstains, some his own, and some from those demonized Yao Beasts.

For the past half month, he and Zhou Tianchen had traveled east, clearing out more than a dozen nests of demonized Yao Beasts, slaughtering no fewer than a hundred demonized Yao Beasts.

Zhou Tianchen sat opposite him, the qiankun furnace suspended by his side, the golden flames in the furnace mouth flickering slowly.

At this moment, his face was very pale, but his aura was more steady, and there was a touch of sharpness in his eyes.

Continuous battles had allowed his actual combat ability to have a qualitative leap in a short period of time.

Beside the two of them lay the corpses of dozens of demonized Yao Beasts.

Those Yao Beasts were originally just ordinary low-level Yao Beasts. After being eroded by Devilish Qi, their body sizes had expanded several times, their eyes gleaming with dark red light, their temperaments violent and fearless of death.

The weakest one had the combat power of the Golden Core Stage, and the strongest few had even reached the Soul Transformation Stage.

If not for Lu Jinghan's Time-Space power being able to restrain the violent speed of those demonized Yao Beasts, and if not for Zhou Tianchen's Qian Fire being able to burn away the Devilish Qi within them, this journey would never have been so easy.

"Senior Brother." Zhou Tianchen opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Lu Jinghan, "Where do you think Venerable Lingyun is hiding?"

Lu Jinghan was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head, "I don't know. Elder Qingxuan and the others have searched for half a month and haven't found any trace of that Devil Head. Either he is hiding too deeply, or he has already left the Southern Wilderness."

Zhou Tianchen frowned slightly, "Leave the Southern Wilderness? Where could he go?"

Lu Jinghan did not answer; he had a guess in his heart but dared not be certain.

In his previous life, after Venerable Lingyun was born, he never left the Southern Wilderness. He had always been hiding in those Eastern Mountains, using the Blood Sacrifice Array to restore his cultivation, and only truly appeared when his cultivation had recovered to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

But in this life, many things had changed. Venerable Lingyun was born earlier, and the reaction of the Seven Great Factions was also faster than in his previous life.

The addition of the three Elders, Qingxuan, Elder Cangwu, and Cang Song, had made that Devil Head feel unprecedented pressure.

Perhaps he had really escaped.

Or perhaps he was hiding in some place that even Qingxuan could not find, secretly accumulating power and waiting for an opportunity.

The branches and leaves of the ancient towering tree rustled in the wind, and the sunlight shone through the layers of leaves, casting dappled light and shadows on the ground.

In the distance, the roars of Yao Beasts could be faintly heard, one after another, adding a bit more killing atmosphere to these already restless mountains.

The breathing of the two gradually stabilized, intertwining with the rustling of the ancient tree and the roars in the distance, forming a strange tranquility in this mountain forest eroded by Devilish Qi.