“That’s Qiuyun Valley up ahead.”
He Xiuyuan sat on a cloud, opening his lunch box with the other Biluo Temple Disciples and eating its contents.
After half a day passed, Qingxiao suddenly spoke.
Upon hearing this, He Xiuyuan immediately leaned forward to look and saw a valley appear in front of him not far away.
The valley was surrounded by green, appearing lush and vibrant.
However, upon closer inspection, one could see that the valley itself was enveloped in a layer of pitch-black color.
Beneath that dark mist, countless things resembling black threads continuously writhed within.
He Xiuyuan's brows furrowed slightly as he looked.
These things looked extremely unsettling and made one feel disgusted.
Crucially, He Xiuyuan couldn't shake the feeling that the things beneath this black mist seemed to possess some form of life.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan couldn't help but turn to Qingxiao and ask,
“Fellow Daoist, why do the things in the black mist below seem to have consciousness?”
Those black threads, like long nematodes, continuously writhed and twisted within, sending shivers down one's spine when observed.
“Those are things left behind after the vengeful spirits and Yin Qi of this place combined. Years ago, this area was covered in corpses, and some souls remained here. Because their souls were not strong, they were impacted by the Yin Qi of this place and turned into remnant souls.”
“Remnant souls do not enter the Underworld; they remain here.”
“When these remnant souls combine with Yin Qi, they will unconsciously invade the surrounding living beings.”
“Years ago, a Senior from our sect used a grand formation to suppress the Yin Qi here, preventing the remnant souls from leaving this place. However, this grand formation needs to rest every three years.”
“It needs to re-absorb Yang Qi to suppress the Yin Qi of this place.”
Qingxiao briefly explained the situation.
He Xiuyuan's heart suddenly understood upon hearing this.
“Let’s go down.”
Seeing that they had arrived, Qingxiao immediately waved the whisk in his hand and descended.
Once everyone had landed on the hilltop, Qingxiao surveyed the surrounding grand formation, then motioned for the Disciples to prepare to guard the formation, urging them to quickly let it absorb the Heaven and Earth Yang Qi to suppress this place.
“Remember, once you activate the grand formation, the evil beings that come will harass you. You must be careful.”
Although this matter had been explained many times before, Qingxiao, thinking of the cultivation levels of those evil spirits and demons, still gave an extra warning.
Upon hearing this, the Disciples responded, then tightened the Talismans on their bodies before turning and leaving.
This grand formation has twelve array positions and one array core.
Daoist Qingxiao needs to guard the array core to prevent those evil beings from coming here to destroy it.
Normally, the array core position of this grand formation would not be visible; it only appears at this time.
Many evil beings are plotting to destroy the grand formation here and then harass them.
Therefore, they must be extra careful.
Especially after nightfall, when the Yin Qi here is strongest, it is the best time for those evil spirits and demons to act.
“Fellow Daoist, please observe from a distance. If you see an array position under attack, you may offer appropriate assistance.”
Daoist Qingxiao said, bowing deeply to He Xiuyuan.
He Xiuyuan quickly returned the bow, “Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I will be watching from the side!”
After speaking, He Xiuyuan also retreated as per the other’s suggestion.
In front of the valley, there was an observation platform from which the entire grand formation's positions could be clearly seen. He Xiuyuan could just stay there.
A moment later, He Xiuyuan arrived at the observation platform.
He Xiuyuan stood on the platform, looking down, and then saw the light spots lighting up one by one.
The light spots that lit up in these places were all a warm yellow, looking like a single lamp among thousands of household lights when viewed from afar.
He Xiuyuan sat on the platform, reaching for the gourd at his waist, about to open it for a drink.
However, after a thought, He Xiuyuan put the wine gourd back.
His Fellow Daoists were currently in danger, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to drink while watching.
As these Fellow Daoists opened the grand formation, He Xiuyuan could see that something in the Heaven and Earth seemed to begin falling into the grand formation.
And among these things, the essence from the sun was the most abundant.
It looked like wisps of the sun's essence were continuously falling into the grand formation.
And as these things fell one by one into the grand formation, the connections between the grand formations began to become tighter at this moment.
This situation continued until sunset.
When the sun set in the distance, the warm yellow light on the grand formation finally stopped absorbing.
Then, demonic winds suddenly arose from all directions.
For a time, the entire valley seemed to be filled with the wailing of vengeful spirits, continuously howling and swirling within.
This scene also caused He Xiuyuan's brows to furrow unconsciously.
“Boom!”
Just as He Xiuyuan was looking down at the Yin Qi in the valley below, a roar suddenly came from a distance the next moment.
He Xiuyuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a golden light suddenly flare up in the distance. Under the illumination of the light, a black shadow struggled continuously within it.
Before the black shadow could resist, Xioming, who was guarding that spot, immediately formed a hand seal, pressing his sword-finger onto the black shadow's body.
Flames immediately ignited on the black shadow's body, then burned it to ashes.
And the commotion there was like a bugle call for attack; evil beings began to appear one after another from all directions, harassing them.
He Xiuyuan immediately stood up at this sight, wanting to see where he might be needed.
However, these Disciples of Biluo Temple seemed very well prepared; the demons that came to harass them were all killed one by one upon arrival.
He Xiuyuan felt a little relieved upon seeing this.
........
“Tsk, the grand formation has appeared. During this time, there will be nothing to restrain the Yin Qi in this valley.”
“Since that's the case, it's time for me to act.”
A Toad Demon looked at the rising Yin Qi in the distance, its body at this moment continuously emitting strong urges, telling it to quickly go and swallow all of this Yin Qi into its belly.
This way, it would be able to quickly recover its Dao cultivation.
Thinking of this, the Toad Demon glanced at the evil beings rushing towards the Daoists of Biluo Temple, and chuckled.
Then, with a light leap, it jumped several hundred meters away, its body rapidly approaching Qiuyun Valley.
With those evil beings targeting the Daoists of Qiuyun Valley, those Daoists should be too preoccupied to notice it.
It was different from those other demons; its Dao cultivation was extremely high, allowing it to absorb all of this Yin Qi into its belly in a short amount of time.
And those evil beings couldn't do that; they needed to make sure the grand formation could no longer restrain the Yin Qi before they could slowly absorb and refine it.