Chapter 260: Elder Shen, We've Been Tricked by Ye Yan—This is a Killing Formation

  "First, the Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect exploited the three sects of Yu Province. Whenever a talented disciple in any of the three sects awakened an Earth-tier or higher constitution, they would be immediately taken by the Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect."

  "Second, their stinginess. The Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect was miserly to the extreme, unwilling to share even the tiniest scrap."

  "Third, and most damning, the final sect master of the Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect was rumored to be connected to the Demon Cn."

  "There were cims he cultivated demonic techniques, and some said he was possessed by a Demon Cn member. Various rumors spread."

  "This became the justification for the three sects of Yu Province to unite against the Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect."

  The Demon Cn?

  Hearing this, Shen Mo's eyes lit up.

  Could this be the Demon Cn of the Suppressing Demon Sea?

  "Elder Shen, are you interested in the Demon Cn?" He Tianchou ughed.

  Shen Mo neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he smiled and said, "I've come across brief mentions of them in the Jade Cauldron Sect's library but have no idea where the Demon Cn originated."

  "Now that you mention the final sect master of the Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect had connections to the Demon Cn, it reminded me of the records I've read."

  He Tianchou chuckled. "I don't know much either."

  "All I know is that the Demon Cn was vast in number, and their individual combat strength was exceptionally high."

  "However, they've vanished without a trace and have almost never appeared in Jing Country."

  "Still, some demonic techniques are secretly circuting."

  "Most of these techniques are adaptations of the Demon Cn's methods, and the major sects strictly prohibit their practice."

  Shen Mo fell into thought.

  So, those techniques with extremely severe side effects fell into the category of demonic techniques.

  No wonder the final sect master of the Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect was connected to the Demon Cn.

  Demonic techniques were indeed powerful despite their drawbacks, far surpassing ordinary techniques.

  Every cultivator instinctively pursued greater power.

  It was an undeniable truth.

  The real question was whether one could remain true to oneself.

  He Tianchou didn't eborate further on the Demon Cn, as his knowledge was limited to what his te grandfather had shared.

  The two conversed happily.

  He Tianchou was pleased to use these anecdotes to grow closer to Shen Mo.

  Shen Mo, on the other hand, was gd to learn more about ancient secrets, which might prove useful in the future.

  Not far away, a figure hid among the ruins, watching the two with cold eyes.

  It was none other than Ye Yan.

  He had changed into a fresh set of robes, tidied his hair, and restored his usual aloof, icy demeanor.

  But upon seeing Shen Mo and He Tianchou chatting together, he clenched his teeth involuntarily.

  "Damn it!"

  "Shen Mo is actually escorting He Tianchou all the way back."

  "I'm confident I can ambush and kill He Tianchou, but I'm no match for Shen Mo."

  "What should I do? If they make it back to the safehouse, He Tianchou will definitely expose what I've done!"

  A cold light fshed in Ye Yan's eyes.

  He was ruthless and domineering but cared deeply about preserving his reputation.

  If He Tianchou revealed his actions, others would inevitably become wary of him.

  Even someone like Yang Wenyuan, son of Yang Qiye, would secretly guard against him when cooperating.

  That would be disastrous.

  "The only solution is to act preemptively and beat them to the safehouse!"

  "There's a killing formation ahead. If I can lure them into it, it might not kill them, but it will at least slow them down."

  Ye Yan hatched a pn and immediately moved closer to the pair. From a distance, he unleashed a fiery palm strike!

  Shen Mo and He Tianchou were engrossed in their conversation but hadn't let their guard down.

  They remained vigint of their surroundings.

  Ye Yan's fiery palm strike immediately caught their attention.

  Shen Mo swiftly unsheathed his sword, unleashing a burst of radiant sword energy.

  Boom!

  The fiery palm and sword energy collided midair, intertwining before dissipating into nothingness.

  "It's Ye Yan. After him!"

  Shen Mo leapt to his feet, lightly tapping the ground with his toes to accelerate his pursuit.

  He Tianchou, his injuries mostly recovered, managed to follow behind with some difficulty.

  The two gave chase, rapidly closing the distance.

  As Ye Yan sensed them drawing nearer, his heart sank.

  How is Shen Mo faster than me?

  At this rate, he wouldn't even make it to the killing formation before Shen Mo caught up!

  "Damn it… You've forced me to use my trump card."

  Gritting his teeth, Ye Yan activated his Nascent Soul's secret art.

  Golden Nascent Soul energy surged outward, instantly manifesting into a pack of ferocious wolves that charged at Shen Mo and He Tianchou to block their path.

  Shen Mo raised an eyebrow.

  The technique was powerful and operated independently of the surrounding spiritual energy.

  It was clearly Ye Yan's Nascent Soul secret art.

  "His technique seems capable of mimicking various forms, making it versatile and flexible. But its power is nowhere near my own Nascent Soul secret art."

  Calmly assessing the situation, Shen Mo flicked his wrist, unleashing dual-colored bck and white sword energy in rapid succession.

  Each ssh of sword energy bisected one of the giant wolves, shattering them instantly.

  He Tianchou fought valiantly at Shen Mo's side.

  However, it took three or four of his attacks combined to bring down a single wolf, and after a period of intense combat, he was forced to slow down to recover his spiritual energy.

  Looking over at Shen Mo, He Tianchou was stunned to see that Shen Mo's pace of unleashing sword energy hadn't slowed at all.

  His spiritual energy seemed inexhaustible.

  He Tianchou couldn't help but marvel.

  He knew well the strengths and weaknesses of the Yin-Yang Dual Qi Sword Art.

  Its strength y in its unparalleled power, far surpassing even supreme Earth-tier techniques.

  Its weakness, however, was its immense difficulty to master and its overwhelming spiritual energy consumption.

  For most cultivators, sustaining such energy expenditure was impossible.

  But Shen Mo's dantian seemed far rger than that of an average cultivator.

  Not only could he sustain the technique, but he did so with ease!

  Still, even with Shen Mo's unstoppable momentum, the wolf pack managed to slow them down.

  Taking advantage of this, Ye Yan widened the gap between them and quickly disappeared from sight.

  Shen Mo and He Tianchou pursued him into a ruined area.

  Just as Shen Mo prepared to accelerate, He Tianchou's expression darkened, and he grabbed Shen Mo by the arm.

  "Elder Shen, we've been tricked by Ye Yan. This is a killing formation!"

  He Tianchou scanned their surroundings, his face grim.

  Shen Mo raised an eyebrow and examined the area.

  Sure enough, fire elemental energy was converging on this spot.

  In an instant, a massive fme tornado erupted, centered around them.

  The crumbling ruins around them ignited, forming bzing barriers that trapped them within.

  "This is a supreme Earth-tier formation—the Fiery Fme Tornado Formation," He Tianchou said, his tone heavy.

  "One of the deadliest formations in the Fire Pill Pace. Without a Nine-Turn Pill Dao Sect elder's token, it's impossible to break."

  "Our options are either to endure it until the formation's spiritual energy depletes or to unch a direct attack and forcefully break through."

  "But this formation is intricately designed. We can't even locate the formation fgs, let alone destroy them."

  He Tianchou's face grew even darker. "I noticed this killing formation on my way here and deliberately avoided it."

  "To think we still ended up trapped in it while chasing Ye Yan!"

  Frustrated, he punched a nearby rock wall, only to recoil in pain as the scorching surface burned his hand.

  At this moment, the temperature in the formation was rapidly rising.

  While Shen Mo appeared retively unaffected, He Tianchou's face was already flushed red, his breathing bored and strained.

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