Chapter 161: I Warn You, Northern Wanderer is Nearby

Chapter 161: I Warn You, Northern Wanderer is Nearby

The situation deteriorated far faster than the Spirit Origin Sect had anticipated.

Initially, the demonic cultivators’ invasion had been limited to scattered raids, causing minimal damage. But everything changed when the Four Great Wanderers began appearing one by one.

In just the past three days, at least ten Foundation Building families had been annihilated, and over twenty resource outposts lost. On the map, the area between Luoyan Mountain and Wangyan Mountain was now almost entirely marked in red. Worse still, the demonic cultivators’ sphere of activity was expanding rapidly. At this rate, Wangyan Mountain’s fall was only a matter of time.

The worsening crisis cast a shadow over the entire sect, its atmosphere heavy with despair. At Yuan Ci Peak, Sect Master Gong Lingfeng had moved into the Scripture Pavilion, desperately searching the ancient texts for countermeasures against the Soul Severing Needle. But this secret technique had been recorded as a standalone manual—deciphering it was no simple task. According to the elders in the Transmission Hall, it would take at least two to three months to develop an effective countermeasure. That was far too long for the sect to endure.

Meanwhile, the Elders’ Hall was in chaos. The elders not only had to address the threat of the Soul Severing Needle but also coordinate manpower, retreat strategies, and reassess security levels across regions. Grand Elder Yao Dehai stared at the map, his brow furrowed. “Still no word from Mingjie?”

On the updated map, Qiuping County and Qingyang County had already fallen to the Divine Flame Cult. Qingyang’s flanking regions had been lost first. Worried, Yao Dehai had specifically dispatched Du Mingjie as a messenger to warn Xiao Chen to evacuate Qingyang Spirit Mine immediately. The Qingyang Stone itself wasn’t a critical resource—its temporary abandonment was acceptable. But two days had passed without any news from Du Mingjie.

A disciple reported, “Reverend Du has sent no message yet.”

Yao Dehai ordered, “Notify Minghui to send another messenger to Qingyang Spirit Mine. Tell Xiao Chen to retreat at once.”

Moments later, another disciple rushed in. “Reverend, Dongyuan County is under attack by two Foundation Building demonic cultivators. Yang Zhenghao of the Yang Clan has lost contact.”

Dongyuan lay a hundred miles west of Qingyang. As Yao Dehai marked it red on the map, Qingyang was now completely encircled in crimson. His heart sank—this was terrible news.

The three of them were trapped in Qingyang Spirit Mine. Du Mingjie knew that if they could gather enough people quickly, they might return to rescue the others. But deep down, he understood the truth: Qingyang's current safety from demonic cultivators was only because Xiao Chen had recently defeated the Bone Giant here. Once Xiao Chen left, the three would likely be overwhelmed by demonic cultivators before reinforcements arrived.

For selfish reasons, the best choice now was to stay silent about breaking through. Keeping Xiao Chen—their strongest fighter—at Qingyang Spirit Mine would buy them more time. Perhaps a new opportunity would arise.

Yet Xiao Chen turned to him, saying, "Fellow Cultivator Du, you have the most complete understanding of the situation. So far, the Soul Severing Needle hasn’t appeared frequently, has it?"

"So the secret technique can only be used by the Four Great Wanderers, correct?"

Xiao Chen had carefully listened to their accounts and noticed the technique wasn’t widely used.

Du Mingjie hesitated, surprised by the question. After recalling, he answered, "Indeed, aside from the Four Great Wanderers, no other demonic cultivators have mastered the Soul Severing Needle."

"But the problem is, our sect currently has no countermeasure against it."

In truth, the Spirit Origin Sect had long noticed this. The Divine Flame Cult’s invasion had been so devastating precisely because the Four Great Wanderers used the Soul Severing Needle to create a massive gap between themselves and other foundation-building peak cultivators. Otherwise, the Li Zhou Top Ten and Demon-Slaying Guard wouldn’t have been helpless against them.

Now, at the foundation-building peak level, the Spirit Origin Sect was at a clear disadvantage.

Suddenly, Du Mingjie’s eyes lit up. "Cultivator Xiao, you’re asking about this—could it be you have a way to counter the Soul Severing Needle?"

The other two exchanged hopeful glances.

Xiao Chen shook their head. "Not exactly. I’m not familiar with that technique."

Du Mingjie’s expression dimmed, and he chuckled bitterly. Naturally, such matters depended on the elder experts in the sect, who possessed countless spells and rich experience, making them more likely to devise countermeasures.

But then Xiao Chen’s tone shifted. "However, I have my own solution."

They pulled out a map. "Fellow Cultivators Du and Yang, please mark the locations where the Four Great Wanderers have been sighted."

Hope surged in Du Mingjie. "Cultivator Xiao, do you really have a solution?"

Xiao Chen nodded with a smile. "Of course. Why would I lie to you?"

"There’s an old saying: If you can’t solve the problem, eliminate the one creating it."

"If only the Four Great Wanderers can use the Soul Severing Needle, then killing them would resolve everything."

After hearing their detailed reports, Xiao Chen had grasped the invasion’s nature. Though the demonic cultivators seemed formidable, their advantage stemmed solely from the Four Great Wanderers’ use of the Soul Severing Needle to dominate the battlefield. The mid-stage and late-stage foundation-building cultivators were simply terrified by the technique. Some outposts might not have even fought—before the demonic cultivators arrived, the defenders had already fled.

Eliminating the Four Great Wanderers would shatter the invasion.

Du Mingjie, Chang Shunping, and Yang Zhenghao froze in shock.

…It did make sense.

Killing the Four Great Wanderers would remove the Soul Severing Needle threat. But wasn’t the core issue that they couldn’t defeat the Wanderers precisely because of that technique?

Despite their pleas for caution, Xiao Chen politely declined and obtained the Wanderers’ activity routes.

"Consider it an early promotion to Demon-Slayer Guard."

Following the map, Xiao Chen arrived at Jinzhu Ridge in Qiuping County’s northeast, where a small spirit vein lay. The ridge was dotted with dwarf pines, their gnarled trunks and ancient roots exuding a rugged beauty. But the once-thriving buildings were now ruins.

Hundreds of disciples at the Qi-condensation stage had been drained of blood, their corpses discarded before the warehouse. The spirit stone vault had been forcibly breached, its treasures looted.

Xiao Chen activated their Truth-Seeing Spirit Eye to inspect the area, but time had erased all traces.

As they turned to leave, a fireball erupted at the warehouse entrance, revealing formation flags that enveloped the site in a deadly array.

"Hmph. Seems there’s still a straggler."

A rough voice boomed outside. A command followed: "Celestial Flame Descends!"

Instantly, spirit flames rained down, engulfing the warehouse in infernos.

Xiao Chen retrieved their Treasure Gourd of Hidden Flame, absorbing the nearby flames. But new ones continuously emerged, as if endless.

"Interesting."

Xiao Chen rarely encountered formations. Before leaving, Du Mingjie had warned repeatedly about demonic traps, sparking their curiosity. Instead of using a Scarlet Flame Bomb to destroy the formation, they decided to test its power.

However, as long as the formation’s spirit stones remained, the flames would persist. Xiao Chen drew their Flying Sword, attempting to break it by force.

"Seven Star Sword Technique—Kaiyang!"

The formation flags at the entrance flickered under the enemy’s control. A mighty sword beam slashed through the ridge, felling a grove of pines. Yet the formation itself remained unscathed, evading the strike.

The formation’s master was a Foundation-Building Sixth Layer demonic cultivator—Ge Yonghai.

He glanced at the hillside, startled. Had that sword beam struck him, he’d have been finished. Fortunately, the formation had shielded him.

But then, Ge Yonghai heard another sword cry: "Seven Star Sword Technique—Yaoguang!"

A phantom of the Big Dipper materialized in the sky, followed by seven meteors. The formation exploded into fragments.

The shockwave sent Ge Yonghai stumbling backward, slamming him to the ground.

"This formation’s still lacking."

Xiao Chen stepped out, Flying Sword in hand. "Answer one question, and I’ll grant you mercy."

"Where are the Four Great Wanderers now—"

Before they finished, Ge Yonghai slammed the ground, releasing a cloud of dust to obscure vision.

"Bang!"

Thick black mist erupted, blocking spiritual perception. Ge Yonghai fled eastward in a streak of fire.

Xiao Chen instinctively reached for their Binding Immortal Rope but hesitated, then retracted it. Instead, they pursued on their Flying Sword, deliberately maintaining a fifty-zhang distance behind Ge Yonghai.

When in danger, cultivators instinctively flee toward safety. Yang Zhenghao had run to Qingyang Spirit Mine—Ge Yonghai’s escape route likely led to the Four Great Wanderers.

"Warning: Northern Wanderer is nearby!" Ge Yonghai shouted, urging his Flying Sword while glancing back. "If you keep chasing, you’ll die when the Wanderer arrives!"

Xiao Chen ignored him, pressing closer.

Ge Yonghai gambled on Northern Wanderer’s presence—and won.

Near a green pine, a blue-cloaked youth meditated. Beside him stood a two-zhang-tall water-blue Divine General, radiating an aura pressure rivaling a foundation-building peak cultivator.

Xiao Chen had heard Northern Wanderer was proficient in spirit summoning, capable of conjuring the Linsui Divine General. This must be his summoned guardian.

"Master, save me!" Ge Yonghai rushed forward. "A reckless fool dares—"

The Divine General seized him mid-sentence, twisting his neck and crushing him into a blood pulp. Even his high-grade Magic Robe was shredded.

Northern Wanderer rose calmly, eyeing the Donghua Wind Sword. "You’re Xiao Chen from Qingyang Spirit Mine?"

"I’ve heard much about your recent exploits."

"They say you’re only Foundation-Building Seventh Floor but rival a foundation-building peak cultivator. True or false?"

Xiao Chen shook their head. "Rumors can’t be trusted. That’s just gossip."

This wasn’t modesty. Even at Foundation-Building Sixth Layer, they’d already matched peak-level cultivators.

Northern Wanderer sneered. "Your hypocrisy disgusts me."

"If our leader hadn’t forbidden us from hunting you at Qingyang, I’d have killed you long ago."

"But since you’ve come to die here today, don’t blame me."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end