vstars Chapter 31 Core Formation Cultivator
Chapter 31 Core Formation Cultivator
Mu Chunfeng, riding the Cloud Shuttle, flew swiftly for about a quarter of an hour, gradually leaving the front line of the demonic path and getting closer and closer to the seven sects' headquarters.
If he could just hold on a little longer, he would reach the Seven Sects' defense line. Once there, he would encounter fellow cultivators and be able to escape completely. His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally at ease.
Just as he was secretly relieved, danger quietly descended.
Dozens of miles away, a green streak of light shot towards him at an astonishing speed, like an arrow released from a bow. At this moment, Mu Chunfeng was unaware of it, only focused on activating the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle with all his might, wishing he could fly back to a safe place immediately.
In just a few breaths, his divine sense finally caught the pursuing streak of light. When he saw the figure in the streak of light, Mu Chunfeng felt a chill in his heart—it was a demonic cultivator who had reached the Core Formation stage!
"Oh no!" Alarm bells rang in Mu Chunfeng's mind.
Although his Cloud-Piercing Shuttle was a bit faster than that of ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was still worlds apart from that of Core Formation cultivators.
At this rate, he will be caught up in less than half an incense stick's time, at which point he will have no chance of survival.
Anxious and burning with impatience, Mu Chunfeng wished he could immediately burn his essence blood to gain even greater speed, but he did not have such a secret technique, so he could only grit his teeth and unleash his last trump card.
He channeled his magical power into his eyes, and a flash of purple light appeared. His eyes, which usually seemed ordinary, instantly developed two pupils, and his double pupils were activated.
A moment later, the Core Formation cultivator had caught up to several miles away, his escape light carrying a chilling spiritual pressure that almost lifted Mu Chunfeng's robes.
Mu Chunfeng abruptly turned his head, his eyes fixed intently on the streak of light, and silently shouted, "Freeze!"
In an instant, most of his magical power was suddenly drained away, and his spiritual energy stagnated.
Ignoring the dizziness caused by the depletion of his magical power, he immediately focused all his attention back on the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle, urging the magical artifact to flee for his life at an even greater speed.
That demonic cultivator who had reached the Core Formation stage was originally a Core Formation elder of the Yuling Sect. He had previously received a message from the Spirit Beast Mountain, informing him that the seven sects had dispatched elite teams to infiltrate the demonic territory for investigation.
At the time, he did not take the matter to heart, and only sent his spirit pet, the Azure Light Eagle, to help. In his opinion, the many demonic disciples plus the Azure Light Eagle would be more than enough to take down a few late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
To his utter surprise, not long ago he received an urgent message from Zhou Hua saying that the Azure Eagle had been injured by a disciple of the Yellow Maple Valley.
When he arrived at the scene, he saw that the Azure Light Eagle's right wing was mangled and its feathers were scorched, indicating that it was seriously injured. He was immediately enraged and his anger clouded his judgment. He completely disregarded the agreement between the righteous and demonic factions and rushed out of the demonic front line to chase after the cultivator who had injured the Azure Light Eagle, following its remaining aura.
Just as he was about to catch up with the fleeing figure, he suddenly sensed a strange force approaching—the Foundation Establishment cultivator in front of him only glanced back at him, and his escape light came to an abrupt halt, his figure was forced to be revealed, and the spiritual energy around him instantly stagnated, making him unable to move even a finger.
Although it was only for a brief moment, immense horror instantly swept over his mind. He didn't even notice the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy before being frozen in place.
Gazing at the increasingly distant streak of light, he was filled with doubt, pondering to himself, "What exactly happened? How could it freeze me so silently? Was it that kid's trick? Was it the purple light in his eyes?" He recalled the purple light that had appeared in the kid's eyes when he turned around earlier.
"Impossible! How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator possess such abilities, allowing me to remain completely unaware? Could there be a Nascent Soul stage expert lurking here?"
Thinking about this, he became even more certain of his guess.
The righteous and demonic factions had long agreed that Core Formation cultivators were forbidden from going into battle without authorization. However, he was so enraged that he rashly rushed out of the front line to pursue them. Presumably, he was discovered by the Nascent Soul elders of the Seven Sects who were secretly lurking there, and that's why they used the immobilization signal to warn him.
"That must be it!"
He muttered to himself, suppressing his anger, and dared not continue the pursuit. He could only watch helplessly as Mu Chunfeng's figure disappeared into the horizon.
On the other side, Mu Chunfeng was only focused on flying as fast as he could. He sensed that the Core Formation cultivator behind him was not continuing to pursue him. Although he had doubts in his heart, he dared not stop for even a moment.
He gripped the spirit stone tightly in one hand to replenish his depleted spiritual power, while simultaneously releasing his divine sense to vigilantly probe his surroundings, fearing he might encounter other demonic cultivators.
Fifteen minutes later, they finally returned to the front-line area of the Seven Factions.
As he approached the defensive line, Mu Chunfeng quickly changed into the attire of the Seven Sects cultivators—if he were to enter directly wearing the clothes he wore when infiltrating the demonic path, he would inevitably be mistaken for an enemy by his fellow cultivators, causing unnecessary trouble.
Upon returning to their camp, Mu Chunfeng didn't dare to rest for a moment and went straight to Li Huayuan's tent.
He knew that his senior sister Hongfu must be there, waiting for news of their mission.
Inside the tent, Li Huayuan and Hong Fu were both taken aback when Mu Chunfeng burst in, looking disheveled and covered in dust. They asked in unison, "Why are you back so soon? Did something happen?"
Mu Chunfeng cupped his hands slightly, his face unable to hide his anger, and said in a deep voice, "Reporting to Master and Senior Uncle, Zhou Hua of Spirit Beast Mountain is a spy of the demonic path! He betrayed all the cultivators who infiltrated us this time. Although my fellow Daoists from Qingxu Sect and I noticed in time and retreated hastily, we were still pursued by him all the way, and we were in great danger."
After saying this, he knelt on one knee, his tone earnest yet filled with grief and indignation: "I beg Master and Senior Uncle to do justice for your disciple and severely punish the Spirit Beast Mountain! The elders of the Spirit Beast Mountain are probably also spies of the demonic path. It is pitiful that the fellow Daoists of the Hidden Moon Sect and the Pure Void Sect are now in an uncertain situation, and we do not know if they have already met with misfortune."
Upon hearing this, Li Huayuan and Hong Fu's expressions instantly turned serious. They exchanged a glance and secretly communicated for a moment.
Then, Li Huayuan sighed softly, helped Mu Chunfeng up, and said gently, "Chunfeng, I know you are angry, but the elders of Spirit Beast Mountain may not be spies. You may not know this, but the six sects of the Demonic Path contacted Spirit Beast Mountain to lure it into betraying them. However, the founder of Spirit Beast Mountain informed the other six sects of this, and then pretended to betray them, taking the opportunity to kill two Core Formation cultivators of the Demonic Path."
He paused, then continued, "So, as a whole, Spirit Beast Mountain is without ulterior motives. As for Zhou Hua, he is most likely a spy planted by the Six Demonic Sects for many years. He just happened to seize the opportunity during this operation and betrayed you. The Six Demonic Sects have been plotting against the Seven Sects for a long time, so it is not surprising that they have planted spies in each sect."
"I just didn't expect that even with such a secretive operation, there would still be spies among us. It seems that the demonic path's methods against our seven sects are more troublesome than we anticipated. They even managed to plant a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Hong Fu then spoke up, her tone tinged with guilt: "To be honest, this is my fault. I asked the fellow Daoists from Spirit Beast Mountain to send disciples to go with me to inquire about Xuan'er's whereabouts. This was originally my private matter, but now that such a thing has happened, it is really inconvenient for me to hold Spirit Beast Mountain accountable for it, lest it damage the harmony between sects."
After hearing what the two said, Mu Chunfeng understood that it was impossible to hold the elders of Spirit Beast Mountain accountable.
He knew in his heart that Spirit Beast Mountain had already betrayed them, and that all those things before were just a show put on by them and the Demonic Path, but he had no evidence whatsoever.
Unless you ask a Nascent Soul cultivator to search the souls of high-level cultivators in Spirit Beast Mountain, which is certainly not allowed, it will only cause trouble and may even be accused of overstepping boundaries by other sects.
Left with no other choice, Mu Chunfeng could only suppress his anger and slowly get up.
Now that Zhou Hua's identity has been exposed, he will certainly not return to the Seven Sects' headquarters. We can only remember this grudge for now and settle it with him when the opportunity arises in the future.
He thought to himself, "Zhou Hua, I, Mu Chunfeng, will remember this grudge. If I ever meet you again, I will tear you to pieces!"
Afterwards, Li Huayuan and Hong Fu inquired in detail about the specifics of Mu Chunfeng's operation.
Mu Chunfeng told most of the truth, but concealed the real reason for his early withdrawal, fabricating a reasonable excuse. At the same time, he never mentioned his encounter with the demonic cultivator at the Core Formation stage or his use of his double pupils to escape—his double pupils were his trump card, and he would never easily expose them unless absolutely necessary.
The three talked for a while longer before Mu Chunfeng left the tent alone and returned to his residence.
He suffered heavy losses in this operation: he used up several intermediate-level talismans along the way, used up his only Heavenly Thunder Seed, and destroyed the Heaven-Covering Bell and the Inverted Five Elements Formation. Only the talisman treasures and Luan Hong Sword bestowed by Li Huayuan could slightly soothe his damaged mind.