The chilling wind in the underground tunnel swirled with bloodthirsty aura, howling.
Standing on the ritual altar with a flag in hand, Elder Yan, dressed in a purple robe, wore an indifferent expression and had icy cold eyes.
Li Muyang stood beside her, head bowed, quietly observing his surroundings.
Regarding the stunningly beautiful Elder Yan, Li Muyang had always kept a respectful distance and dared not even glance at her too often.
He feared she might notice his concealed strength and pull him out of the crowd, thus exposing his many secrets.
Yet today, being so close to her, Li Muyang was afraid that Elder Yan might discover his hidden abilities.
But the good news was that Elder Yan did not care about Li Muyang.
After all, he was merely an outer sect disciple; in the eyes of such a high-ranking demon practitioner like her, he was no different from an ant.
Because of Ning Wan’er, even a glance from Elder Yan was a supreme favor; it was impossible for her to pay more attention.
Even the other three direct disciples standing on the ritual altar with her showed no interest in Li Muyang.
This aloof disregard actually relieved Li Muyang.
Being ignored was good…
With so many secrets on him, he couldn’t afford to let them be discovered casually.
The lower the profile and presence, the better.
Li Muyang, helping the unconscious Ning Wan’er, stood quietly behind everyone, trying his best to lower his presence.
Meanwhile, the purple light from the Soul Refining Formation continuously struck towards the tunnels where the demons hid.
The tremors from deep within the tunnel grew more intense, even carrying the demons’ angry howls.
Elder Yan, feeling the death throes of these demons, looked on with cold eyes.
Her three direct disciples, seeing the situation easing, began to sneer one after another.
“The demons of Centipede Ridge have truly lost their minds; thinking to ambush our master unawares—do they not realize who our master is? Are they even a match?”
“But this rebellion by the demons of Centipede Ridge… It’s odd. Even if they could succeed, how could they withstand the sect’s retaliation afterward? What are they plotting?”
“Hmm… Sister, now that you mention it, what exactly are these demons aiming for by turning at this moment?”
“It couldn’t be related to that legend, could it?”
“You’re talking about the ancient demon sword, right? Could it be that the demons of Centipede Ridge have found clues to the whereabouts of the demon sword? Do they intend to control Demon Sword City and then search for the demon sword?”
“This should be the first time the demons were invited into Demon Sword City…”
“Hiss… If that’s the case, then wouldn’t our master pick up a huge credit by accident? These demons have already been driven into a corner by our master; next, as long as we capture them and extract the clues to the demon sword, it will definitely be a tremendous merit!”
The three direct disciples conversed quietly, seemingly in a cordial relationship on the surface.
The praised Elder Yan, however, had a cold expression and spoke indifferently.
“The ancient demon sword might not be such a good thing; that demon sword once slaughtered countless beings in Demon Sword City, saturated with killing qi.”
“The bloodstone mines underground in Demon Sword City, along with the lingering spirits, are all remnants of that calamity.”
“Creating such a vast deed of slaughter, the grievance of those who died tragically in the city lingers and solidified into blood evil stones. The demon sword, having fed on the blood of the living, even if truly discovered, would likely be extremely difficult to tame without a significant cost…”
Elder Yan, with chilling eyes, looked deep into the tunnel and said, “And these demons have been retreating continuously, something is off.”
“With their cultivation, if they fought desperately, they might not necessarily lose to me.”
“But they continue to retreat…”
Elder Yan frowned slightly, evidently smelling danger in the air.
Behind everyone, Li Muyang suddenly felt a shock in his heart.
Because, in a daze, he heard that familiar sound of a sword’s hum again.
The hum of the Startling Swan Immortal Sword…
This sound, which he was almost sick of hearing in the game, always followed by General Half-Demon Luo Feng’s furious attacks—if not dodged in time, would lead to instant death.
But now, this sound of the sword’s hum appeared in reality, and its direction was exactly where the demons resided deep in the tunnel!
Li Muyang briefly stunned, a bad premonition suddenly arose in his mind.
—Could it be that the group of demons had truly unearthed the slumbering demon sword?
After another dozen breaths, the sound of sword ringing arose again.
The interval between the two sounds of sword ringing was so close, it was clear that the demon sword buried underground was truly stirring.
However, at this moment, from the direction they had come from, at the entrance of the underground tunnel, there suddenly came sounds of chopping and killing.
Brilliant light accompanied by the booming of magic artifacts plowed a road through the packed crowd of evil spirits.
It turned out that the Lord of the Demon Sword City had finally arrived with reinforcements.
Although the Lord’s cultivation was far inferior to Elder Yan Xiaoru, his Demon Sword City Defence Army, when assembled, was also a formidable force.
Now the Defence Army formed a battle array, their killing aura soaring as they advanced step by step through the tunnel packed with evil spirits.
The evil spirits screamed and howled, but they could not break through the malevolent aura surrounding the army. Instead, the weapons of the Defence Army brutally fell, continually reaping the remnants of souls within the tunnel.
Seeing the reinforcements arrive, Elder Yan’s expression remained indifferent, only giving a cold command.
“Cheng Feiyang, lead the disciples and leave; exit the underground tunnel first.”
As for herself and her three direct disciples, it was clear they intended to stay behind to deal with the demons in the tunnel.
They had no intention of leaving.
Li Muyang stood behind Elder Yan and the three direct disciples, watching helplessly as his sister, Guan Xiaoshun, and the other outer sect disciples joined the fighting soldiers from Demon Sword City and slowly retreated.
He could only stand lingering on this illusory ritual altar…
Li Muyang suddenly panicked.
Because the demon sword buried in the underground tunnel seemed to be awakening!
Seeing that Elder Yan completely ignored him, as if she had forgotten him, while the withdrawal of the outer sect disciples was almost complete.
Li Muyang could no longer hold back.
“Um… Elder Yan, shall I first help Sister Ning to leave and recuperate?”
Li Muyang said this.
But Elder Yan did not utter a word and didn’t even glance at Li Muyang.
It was a direct disciple who glared at Li Muyang and said, “You really are a troublemaker, Sister Ning is a direct disciple of our master, how can she leave just like that?”
“Now that the demons are cornered, it is just one last step to exterminate them.”
“If you take Sister Ning away now, what if there are still demons hiding in the tunnel on the way out, and one appears to take Sister Ning hostage? How would you take responsibility?”
“Staying by our master’s side is the safest!”
The direct disciple expressed disdain for Li Muyang’s foolishness.
However, just as the direct disciple finished speaking, a loud clangorous sword ringing suddenly came from deep within the underground tunnel.
This time, the sound of the sword ringing was unbearably piercing, heard by almost everyone present.
“The demon sword?!”
The three direct disciples on the ritual altar were shocked, guessing the source of the sword sound.
But the next second, before they could sense carefully, the deep part of the underground tunnel emitted painful and mournful wails of the demons.
And the sound of sword qi chopping down the demons.
The demons, pushed into a corner by Elder Yan but still stubbornly resisting, in just a few breaths, their presence ceased, dead.
Feeling this commotion, everyone was startled.
And Li Muyang, standing behind the crowd, was dumbfounded.
He distinctly felt a pure and extreme Immortal Spirit Qi rising from underground.
And this aura was exactly the same as when he first obtained the Startling Swan Immortal Sword in the game, with no trace of demonic energy.
The Startling Swan Immortal Sword… had it returned to normal?
And killed all the demons underground?
The next second, a supremely dazzling Immortal Sword Qi sliced through the darkness, heading straight for Elder Yan on the ritual altar.
The Immortal Sword had a spirit; after thousands of years, the awakened Immortal Sword had truly shed its demonic energy.
And it was slaughtering the demons!