Chapter 139

Chapter 139: Demonic Cultivators’ Last Gambit

As soon as Yun Xi heard the commotion, she realized it must be a final trick left by the demonic cultivators. Quickly, she swallowed a supreme-grade spirit-replenishing pill, flashed out of the formation, and with a sweep of her sleeve retrieved the formation disc, storing it in her spatial ring.

Seeing her emerge, Dian Dian leaped straight into Yun Xi’s embrace, convinced it was the safest place in the world.

Yu Qing Cheng, Liu Hao Tian, and Xia You hurriedly gathered around Yun Xi, each bearing grim expressions. Liu Hao Tian spoke first, anxiety clear in his voice: “Fellow Daoist Wei, this place is the demonic cultivators’ den. They’ve triggered their last trick—this entire space has been locked down and will soon be ground to dust. We can’t escape!”

Yun Xi frowned deeply, muttering bitterly, “They’re ruthless, sacrificing even themselves.”

“Can we use teleportation charms?” Yun Xi asked, sensing the cave’s vibrations intensifying, like the menacing hum of a grinder ready to crush everything into dust.

Xia You shook his head, looking defeated. “I’ve already tried—they’re useless here.”

Yu Qing Cheng narrowed her phoenix eyes, coldly concluding, “The demonic cultivators must want to destroy every trace to stop us from investigating further.”

Just as Yun Xi considered hiding in her personal space, Dian Dian’s voice echoed urgently in her mind, “Master, the Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly says there’s an ancient teleportation array hidden where her eggs were stored. It might save us, but…”

“But what?”

“It requires high-grade spirit stones to activate.”

Without hesitation, Yun Xi decided, “Tell her to guide us there quickly—escape first, worry later.”

“Yes, Master!” Dian Dian immediately conveyed the message to the butterfly.

Yun Xi turned, shouting clearly to the others, “Follow me! I’ve contracted a Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly; she says there’s an ancient teleportation array nearby. It might help us escape!”

Her words were half-truth, half-caution—a habit she’d picked up as a cultivator.

“Let’s go!” The trio agreed immediately, following Yun Xi closely as they sprinted deeper into the cave.

Xia You, at the rear, glanced back and hurriedly quickened his pace, horror filling his eyes. Behind them, parts of the cave had already turned into dust, and the destructive wave was rapidly approaching.

Meanwhile, outside the Rosy Cloud Valley’s inner region, cultivators felt the trembling beneath their feet. Those fortunate enough to have escaped earlier immediately realized something was terribly wrong.

“Something happened to the demonic cultivators’ lair?”

“It must be; that’s the direction. Should we go back to check?”

“No point. We can’t help there. Better hurry back to town and get reinforcements.”

“The first group should’ve reached town by now, right?”

“Hopefully. But we shouldn’t waste time. Let’s hurry back.”

“What about those cultivators we captured?” A young female cultivator in yellow gritted her teeth, fiercely determined. “Bring them back to town! They’re evidence of the demonic cultivators’ crimes. Even if the demonic cultivators destroy their lair, they can’t erase their sins. We escaped, but those captured earlier still haven’t been found!”

“Fellow Daoist Wang is right. Let’s hurry and deny those villains the chance to silence witnesses.”

The second group swiftly withdrew toward the Rosy Cloud Valley’s outskirts.

In the eye of the storm, Yun Xi finally reached the ancient teleportation array with Dian Dian’s guidance. Liu Hao Tian immediately recognized it, exclaiming, “This truly is an ancient teleportation array! Its range depends on how many spirit stones we place—but at minimum, it requires high-grade spirit stones.”

Hearing the first part gave Yu Qing Cheng and Xia You hope, but the mention of high-grade spirit stones plunged them into despair. Mid-grade stones might be achievable with difficulty, but high-grade stones were rare treasures they’d only seen, never possessed.

Yun Xi wasted no time explaining. She quickly drew out nine high-grade spirit stones from her spatial bracelet hidden within her storage ring, embedding them firmly into the array’s slots. Then she leaped onto the teleportation platform and urgently called out, “Quickly, get up here!”

Sensing the rich spiritual energy from the high-grade stones, the trio’s eyes lit up, and they swiftly joined Yun Xi on the platform.

Yu Qing Cheng smiled with relief, her voice warm yet firm, “Junior Sister Yun Xi, you’re truly reliable. Elder sister owes you another one! I’ll definitely repay you the three high-grade stones after we escape.”

Liu Hao Tian silently nodded in agreement. Xia You’s gratitude was plain, etched clearly across his face.

Yun Xi didn’t politely decline; after all, even for her, high-grade stones were precious. She simply smiled and nodded as the teleportation array activated.

Right before their figures vanished, Yun Xi quickly tossed out a handful of fireball talismans at the contaminated butterfly eggs nearby, following the instructions from the third-order Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly.

As Dian Dian explained, the butterfly was furious but powerless against the demonic cultivators, so she refused to leave behind any eggs. These eggs, once hatched, would become second-order demonic butterflies, powerful enough to serve as dangerous weapons—a potential the butterfly refused to gift her tormentors.

Yun Xi wholeheartedly agreed. She had hesitated only because the butterfly herself perched in her hair, making it awkward to openly destroy the eggs. Now, with explicit permission, she acted decisively.

In the very next breath, the crushing force reached the array, obliterating every trace of the eggs and scattering the dust. But by then, the four figures had vanished.

Moments later, even the array’s foundation shattered, and the entire demonic cultivators’ den disappeared completely.

During the chaotic teleportation, Yun Xi quickly secured herself and Xia You together with a red string, handing another to Yu Qing Cheng and Liu Hao Tian, who swiftly followed her example.

“We don’t know where this array will send us,” Yun Xi urgently reminded. “We’re safer in pairs—if separated, take care of yourselves first, then we’ll find a way to reunite!”

“Agreed!” Liu Hao Tian barely got the word out before turbulence struck. A tear opened in the void, splitting the four into two pairs and swallowing them separately, just as the teleportation channel collapsed.

At that very moment, panic gripped the town outside Rosy Cloud Valley as two groups of cultivators returned, spreading news of the demonic cultivators’ sinister traps inside the valley. Their revelations caused immediate turmoil.

The cultivators who had originally advertised the high-priced acquisition of butterfly eggs were swiftly apprehended by the Golden Core Daoist Master stationed in Rosy Cloud Town. Even the low-ranking cultivators who unknowingly helped spread the demonic cultivators’ jade slips were caught.

Within half a day, all these minions were captured. Yet the Golden Core Daoist Master faced a troubling dilemma—according to survivors, a batch of captured cultivators had already been transported elsewhere, their destination unknown.

Just as Daoist Master Tan puzzled over what to do, a Nascent Soul true lord from the Immortal Demon Sect abruptly appeared in Rosy Cloud Town.

Clad in scholarly robes, True Lord Jiu Yue’s first concern was naturally his dear disciple’s condition.

“Wang You, are you injured?”

The fair-skinned young man, who had previously spoken with Yun Xi, hurriedly cupped his fists respectfully, answering, “Master, your disciple is unharmed. I was merely sealed and imprisoned by the demonic cultivators. Luckily, a righteous sect disciple saved me, allowing me to escape and send you a distress signal.”