Chapter 26: Ling Xuance Appears, Taiyi Sect Disciples All Advance

Chapter 26: Ling Xuance Appears, Taiyi Sect Disciples All Advance

The Ghost Tree's violent branches crashed against the barrier, only to be instantly repelled by the evil-repelling righteous energy swirling on its surface. Black smoke hissed from the charred branches as the sinister aura was dissolved layer by layer.

The Ghost Tree refused to relent, surrounding the barrier in dense layers, trapping everyone within.

Inside the barrier, the group's hearts were still pounding, their backs soaked with cold sweat. In that instant, life and death had hung by a thread—had it not been for this barrier, they would have been dead or seriously injured.

Elder Duan's expression was grim as he looked toward the dark, empty woods and spoke in a deep voice.

"Fellow cultivator, you've been hiding in the shadows to help us—why not show yourself?"

As his words fell, a figure in pristine white slowly emerged from the darkness.

Ling Xuance stood tall and elegant, his robes untouched by dust, the silver-white mask giving him a cold, aloof air.

Recognizing him, all the disciples bowed in unison, their postures respectful: "Elder Lin!"

Elder Duan's eyes were filled with surprise as he clasped his hands in greeting.

"So it is Elder Lin. May I ask why you've been hiding and following us in secret?"

Ling Xuance swept his gaze calmly over the crowd, his tone steady.

"The Sect Master was worried about the dangers of the secret realm, so he asked me to follow you in secret and keep you safe."

Hearing that the sect had already arranged for an elder to secretly protect them, all the disciples felt their hearts finally settle. Their tense nerves relaxed, replaced by a deep sense of safety and relief.

But Ling Xuance's gaze remained fixed on the dense forest of Ghost Trees outside the barrier, his brows furrowed with deep concern.

Ghost Trees were extremely rare, existing only in legend. They were masters of extreme mimicry, perfectly replicating the vitality and spiritual energy of spirit trees while hiding their sinister aura. Even Nascent Soul cultivators would have a hard time telling them apart.

Even for him, facing this many Ghost Trees while suppressed to Peak Golden Core cultivation, he wasn't absolutely certain he could lead everyone out safely.

Elder Duan and Yun Yan hurried over, looking at the pensive Ling Xuance, and asked in low voices.

"Elder Lin, this demonic creature is bizarre and hard to deal with—do you know any way to break through?"

Ling Xuance snapped back to focus and spoke gravely about the Ghost Tree's origins.

"This is a Ghost Tree. It is born of sinister energy and fears three things above all: open flame, Dao resonance, and the righteous, majestic energy of Buddhist teachings. These three can suppress its very essence."

Hearing this, everyone furrowed their brows, looking worried.

Among them, there were only four fire-attribute disciples, all at the Qi Refining stage with weak spiritual power.

With their cultivation, there was no way they could sustain the fire-attribute righteous energy across the entire barrier to protect over a dozen disciples during a retreat.

The atmosphere grew heavy, gloom pressing down on everyone's hearts, with no solution in sight.

Just as everyone was racking their brains, at a loss for what to do, a youthful voice sounded in Ling Xuance's divine sense—it was Lin Yu from the small world.

"Brother Che, I can help."

Lin Yu's heart was pure and clear, completely unafraid of the sinister ghostly energy outside. He carefully sensed the situation outside.

His origin spiritual power could suppress evil with its life-giving energy, and with the Buddhist scriptures on his vine whip for protection, shielding everyone and breaking through the encirclement would be easy.

"I don't need to come out—just let Tuanzi slip out of your sleeve from the small world. With you here, I'm not scared at all."

Tuanzi was the name Lin Yu had given to that ancient vine whip.

Ling Xuance understood immediately. Tuanzi carried the Demon-Subduing True Scripture of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect, and A Yu's life-giving spiritual power was perfect for suppressing sinister ghostly entities.

He looked up and gave instructions to the group.

"All disciples, take your positions. The four fire-attribute disciples hold the outermost perimeter and release your open flame spiritual power at full force. Yun Yan, you'll coordinate and direct."

"Understood!" Yun Yan immediately acknowledged and started organizing everyone.

He quickly directed the disciples to spread out in formation, layer by layer, and had everyone take out their evil-repelling talismans and protective artifacts to guard themselves. Everyone focused their minds, alert and ready.

The four Qi Refining fire-attribute disciples were confused and faintly uneasy.

Even Elder Duan with his Nascent Soul cultivation couldn't stop these bizarre evil creatures, yet now they—mere Qi Refining cultivators—were being stationed at the outermost perimeter.

But no one voiced their doubts or objections.

The Sect Master had specially arranged for Elder Lin to follow them in secret for protection. They trusted the sect and the Sect Master, and they trusted this Elder Lin standing before them.

Once everyone was in position, Ling Xuance looked down at his sleeve, his tone gentle and soft.

"A Yu, I'll leave it to you then."

The moment his words fell, murmurs broke out among the disciples around them.

"Little Martial Uncle came too?"

"Obviously—Elder Lin and Little Martial Uncle are never apart."

Everyone knew that Lin Yu lived on Xuan Yue Peak year-round and almost never left.

Because of the Beast Cage, there were also rumors that Lin Che had forcibly confined Little Martial Uncle, and privately there was much sympathy and criticism.

Ling Xuance paid no attention to the speculative gazes, offering not a single word of explanation.

Five breaths passed in the blink of an eye.

A streak of verdant light slowly emerged from Ling Xuance's white sleeve—that supple, slender ancient vine whip appeared, full of spirit, its surface etched with fine golden Buddhist scripture patterns that gleamed brilliantly.

Tuanzi was highly intelligent, affectionately winding around Ling Xuance's wrist like a docile spirit serpent, twisting gracefully in his palm—harmless and gentle.

In moments, it grew and spread across the ground, encircling everyone.

A young disciple, curious and seeing how docile the vine was, instinctively reached out to touch it.

"Don't touch!"

Ling Xuance's cold rebuke rang out, his tone icy and stern, carrying an authority that allowed no argument.

Almost in the same instant, the once-gentle verdant vine suddenly blazed with dense green light, fine and sharp venomous thorns rising up, gleaming dangerously.

The disciple yanked his hand back, his face flushing red, and hastily bowed in apology.

"Forgive me, Elder Lin. This disciple was momentarily curious and overstepped."

Ling Xuance swept his gaze across the crowd.

"This is your Little Martial Uncle's natal spirit artifact. It's sentient and intelligent, carries potent venom, and must not be touched carelessly."

All the disciples acknowledged in unison, committing it to memory, and dared not act rashly.

Yun Yan saw through Ling Xuance's intention at a glance—the two elder uncles were quietly backing them up to ensure everyone's safety, aiming to push the disciples to their limits and temper their Dao hearts through adversity.

He stepped forward, his expression steady and solemn, and spoke in a deep voice.

"Junior brothers and sisters, cultivation is inherently defying heaven; there has never been a smooth path. Though the Ghost Tree is fierce, it greatly fears bright fire and righteous energy—this is exactly our one shot at breaking through."

"The four fire-attribute junior brothers, take the outer perimeter and pour all your fire spiritual power into suppressing the evil and fending off the enemy! The rest of you form teams of four or five, standing back-to-back to protect those beside you."

His gaze swept the crowd, rallying everyone's spirits.

"With Elder Lin and the youngest martial uncle watching over us, we're safe for now, but ultimately, breaking out of this dead end is up to us!"

As his words fell, all the disciples' expressions sharpened, and they nodded firmly in unison, their formation as unyielding as a mountain.

Elder Duan looked at the disciples working in harmony, then at Yun Yan, who remained composed in the face of crisis, and a glint of approval showed in his eyes.

A faint hint of approval flickered in Ling Xuance's eyes as well.

As the Taiyi Sect's senior disciple, Yun Yan truly lived up to that sense of duty and vision.

Once he confirmed everyone was ready, Ling Xuance raised his hand and dispelled the protective barrier.

The moment the heavy barrier vanished, the Ghost Tree's pitch-black branches, heavy with baleful energy, came crashing down in a frenzy.

The four fire-attribute disciples immediately steadied themselves and focused, bright flames leaping from their palms. Layers of crimson fire spread outward, weaving a ring of fire around the formation's perimeter.

The other disciples stood in formation, bringing out various evil-repelling treasures, layering them to protect themselves, holding the line, refusing to retreat a single step.

But the Ghost Tree's assault was relentless, and the fire spiritual power of Qi Refining disciples was ultimately too weak to sustain for long.

An hour later, a fire-attribute disciple on the left faltered, his breathing ragged, the flame in his palm growing dimmer and dimmer.

"Not good! I can't hold on!"

A disciple cried out in alarm.

The junior brother beside him reacted swiftly, unhesitatingly offering his personal defensive treasure, barely sealing the gap and blocking a wave of attacks for both of them.

A moment later, a crisp shattering sound rang out—the protective treasure shattered into pieces, its residual spiritual power scattering in a shockwave.

Yun Yan moved in a flash, unleashing his mid-Golden Core spiritual power to the fullest. Several sharp spiritual blades shot out, hacking through the encroaching black branches with raw force.

"Everyone, hold your ground! Don't panic!"

Yun Yan commanded in a deep voice, planting himself at the breach to steady the wavering formation.

Earlier, fleeing into this Ghost Tree forest had taken only a quarter of an hour. But now, fighting their way out against the current, every step was a struggle.

They gave ground while fighting, step by step, and disciples kept crumbling under the pressure.

Yun Yan, Luo Fei, and several other disciples held the middle of the formation, their eyes sweeping the field, rushing to reinforce wherever danger flared.

After a full eight hours, they finally stepped clear of the Ghost Tree forest's reach, far from that eerie, sinister ground.

The moment they left the forest, all the disciples went limp with exhaustion, their robes drenched in cold sweat.

Ling Xuance surveyed the utterly spent disciples and issued a low command.

"Everyone, sit cross-legged where you are, clear your minds of all distractions, and focus entirely on regulating your breath and cultivating."

The disciples were already too drained to stand, but at his words, they obediently sat down, closing their eyes and sinking into a state of meditation.

Even the ever-cautious Yun Yan followed suit, sitting cross-legged in stillness to recover.

Elder Duan stood off to the side, watching the scene and marveling inwardly.

No wonder Ling Xuance had refused to step in the whole time—this kind of life-or-death pressure was a hundred times more effective than ordinary closed-door cultivation.

The razor-thin margin between life and death had thoroughly shattered everyone's cultivation bottlenecks.

In just half a day, waves of breakthrough spiritual power rang out through the forest, one after another, their auras surging and climbing higher and higher.

One disciple suddenly opened his eyes, his face alight with disbelief and joy, his voice shaking with excitement.

"I—I broke through! I've jumped straight to the sixth level of Qi Refining!"

Then another disciple's eyes snapped open, barely able to contain his joy.

"I broke through two levels straight! I've finally stabilized at the Qi Refining peak!"

Joy came in waves, cheers rising and falling through the woods. All the lower-level disciples broke through their bottlenecks, their cultivation surging and their foundations growing ever more stable.

Only Luo Fei remained seated in stillness, the spiritual energy around him growing denser and more intense.

A sharp-eyed disciple noticed and whispered.

"Look at Senior Brother Luo Fei! The spiritual energy around him is strange—it looks like... he's about to form his core!"

All eyes turned to him, and there it was: brilliant golden spiritual light swirling around Luo Fei—the unmistakable sign of a golden spiritual root condensing a core.

Seeing this, Yun Yan immediately shifted to sit cross-legged behind Luo Fei, channeling his own abundant spiritual power, slowly pouring it into Luo Fei's body to help him condense his core.

The other Foundation Establishment disciples caught on at once and sat around them, forming a simple protective array to shield Luo Fei from outside disturbance.

The forest fell silent, leaving only the steady, drawn-out hum of spiritual power flowing.

Ling Xuance sat alone, aloof, under an ancient tree nearby, untouched by the surrounding excitement.

Elder Duan stood at the edge of the barrier, watching his fellow disciples help one another and break through together. He nodded with heartfelt satisfaction, stroking his beard.

Disciples of the sect were never meant to walk alone.

Time slipped by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Hum—

A steady pulse of spiritual power emanated from Luo Fei's body, the aura of a golden core quietly spreading and firmly enveloping the surroundings.

Luo Fei's brow twitched slightly, and he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air that had built up over days, his gaze clear and steady.

He had successfully broken through, firmly stepping into the early Golden Core realm.

After stabilizing his cultivation foundation, Luo Fei rose and bowed deeply to his fellow disciples, speaking with genuine sincerity: "Thank you, senior brothers, junior sisters, and junior brothers, for your help—only with your support was I able to successfully form my core."