Jian Gui led nine senior cultivators straight to the dense forest where the rescue had taken place. He gathered the defensive treasures he had set up earlier, revealing the section of forest devastated by the tribulation lightning.
The moment the formation retracted, swarms of purple leaf blood insects surged toward the nine. Prepared in advance, they waved their hands and swiftly slaughtered large numbers of the insects.
Watching the purple leaf blood insects turn to ash, Jian Gui frowned and cupped his hands toward the Tianyue Squad captain.
"Zūnzhǔ, before I left, the purple leaf blood insects had already been mostly exterminated. The current numbers don't add up—they have actually increased. When I set the formation, I did not include any cultivators or spirit beasts inside."
"No matter. That's exactly why we came."
With a gesture, eight Divine Soul cultivators immediately dispersed in all directions to investigate. Eventually, they pinpointed the reddish-brown low shrubbery where the insects had nested.
The Tianyue Squad was no stranger to missions. After confirming the suspicious area, they first laid defensive seals around it. Then one Divine Soul cultivator made hand seals and uprooted the entire patch of shrubbery.
As the trees left the soil, their roots seemed to come alive, writhing and twisting toward the nearby cultivators.
A ball of true fire landed on the writhing roots. The rest of the shrubs were also engulfed by the flames. The fire instantly flared up; the reddish-brown roots could not withstand the burn and retreated back into the soil.
"Break through here!"
Following the captain's command, several sword lights fell, striking the ground with a booming sound. Dust billowed as the swords cleaved the earth.
From the cracked earth rose tendrils of black smoke. Then a purple leaf blood insect, nearly two meters long, floated out from the fissure like a fallen leaf, heading straight for Jian Gui. It clearly targeted him because he was the weakest cultivator present.
Jian Gui's sharp face showed no fear. Gripping the Riding Wind Sword, he flashed forward to meet it. Yue Liang stood firmly on Jian Gui's shoulder, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes—picking a fight on a bad day.
A thick yellow sword light slashed the huge insect in two. Then a burst of true fire fell on the remains, instantly reducing the severed limbs to ash.
From the fissure, black smoke continued to seep out, clearly filled with resentful evil qi.
"Captain, this is evil qi. There must be something down there," the Tianyue Squad member reported.
"Zūnzhǔ, something below is sustaining these purple leaf blood insects."
"Indeed. We must be cautious. First, dispel the evil qi and raise your defense shields."
Jian Gui and the other eight activated their ink pendants hanging at their waists. The Law Enforcement Hall's unique "defense" formation enveloped them in sword-shaped shields. Led by the captain, they leapt into the cracked earth.
During the descent, Jian Gui realized the Tianyue Squad had cut through Absolute Spirit Stone, which blocks spiritual fluctuations. This explained why he hadn't detected anything unusual underground before.
Beneath the thick layer of Absolute Spirit Stone was a cavern. Below lay thick reddish-brown roots and swarms of purple leaf blood insects the size of the ones Jian Gui had just killed. The ten cultivators and their spirit beast emitted the scent of blood, stirring the insects into restless movement.
"Attack," the captain ordered. The group swung their swords at the insects and roots.
Within fifteen minutes, the cavern was cleared of insects, except for the thickest root still writhing. It shrank back underground.
"Keep going."
Jian Gui swung his sword to break the surface above the roots. This time the ground collapsed, leaving a hole. A bloody stench rose from the breach.
"Blood qi!"
They descended one level deeper. When they saw the scene, everyone frowned.
Beneath the thickest root was a blood pool about a hundred square meters wide. It was filled with fresh blood, surrounded by white bones shining dimly. Restless spirits floated above, adding a sinister atmosphere to the cavern.
The spirits noticed the Heavenly Sword Sect cultivators and instantly condensed into a black smoke rushing toward them.
Yue Liang took the lead without hesitation. She flashed forward, letting out a sharp whistle that shattered the black smoke with shockwaves. Then her small paws struck rapidly, extinguishing all the spirits.
With the black smoke cleared, the full cavern became visible.
The blood pool was in the center. From its edge extended reddish-brown root-like veins crawling all over the cavern. These roots twisted and converged at the thickest root overhead.
The Tianyue Squad captain suddenly said, "Everyone, get out of here immediately."
He leapt toward the closing hole above, but the roots seemed alive, wrapping from all sides to block their escape.
The group instinctively stood back to back, attacking the writhing roots. The captain slashed at the closing hole, trying to keep it open.
His sword strikes felt like hitting cotton at first, unable to break the seal immediately. He then switched from slashing to stabbing, piercing multiple points. The powerful sword energy finally reopened the exit.
Seeing the captain open the way, the other nine stopped fighting, launching their strongest attacks without hesitation, ruthlessly destroying everything in the blood pool cavern.
"Move out!"
At the captain's command, they exited the cavern in order. Yue Liang and Jian Gui were first. Yue Liang seized the moment and tossed a "thunder orb" from her storage collar into the cavern after the last cultivator came out.
This orb was compressed thunder energy from Jian Dan's Unity tribulation. It was a rare treasure against evil cultivators. Since Yue Liang's mission involved evil cultivators this time, Jian Dan gave her two orbs for emergencies. She never expected to actually use one.
"Hurry! This place will collapse soon!"
The Tianyue Squad captain watched closely, slightly jealous of Yue Liang. Zūnshàng really did trust her, giving such precious items to her spirit beast.
When they broke through the surface again and hovered above, they were far from their original forest location.
Below, thunder rumbled violently. The entire Ziyu Mountain Range shook as the ground cracked and collapsed, spreading out over an area of eight hundred square meters before finally stopping. The tremors ceased.
The collapsed ground began oozing reddish-brown blood. In a nearby underground cavern, the reddish vein beneath an evil cultivator suddenly snapped. His face turned pale, and his blood-red eyes flashed with fury.
Looking at the blood flowing like a river below, Yue Liang scratched her ear and said to the Tianyue Squad captain,
"Captain, did I cause trouble?"
The captain's mouth twitched before forcing a smile.
"No trouble at all. You earned merit. That cavern must be the blood bank supplying some evil cultivator. It's hidden underground and mobile. We were only trapped for a moment, but now we are almost at the center of the Ziyu Mountain Range."
The captain, experienced, scanned with his divine sense to confirm their location and assess the situation.
"Collect all the blood below. Don't pollute this place. I'll report this immediately to the sect."
"Yes!"
Everyone agreed and hurriedly produced spirit bottles, quickly gathering the blood flowing everywhere.
The Tianyue Squad captain did not slack off either. While hovering and monitoring the surroundings, he sent a report through the ink pendant to the Law Enforcement Hall about everything that happened here.