Chapter 124 – The Fall of the Sect
Gu Mo had already understood the properties of the Core Disciple Token when he first received it, including the meanings of several special symbols inscribed on it.
Some symbols represented a summons, others signified a command to hold position. The reason symbols were used instead of direct language was to prevent enemies from understanding the message should the token fall into their hands.
Now, the symbol displayed on Gu Mo's token was neither a summon nor a command to hold. It took him a few seconds of thought to recall what the final symbol meant—the one he'd seen when he was first given the token.
This symbol indicated that Qinglu Sect had encountered a formidable enemy and was on the verge of annihilation. Any core disciple who saw this symbol was to flee immediately, conceal their identity, gather strength in secret, and wait for the right time to rebuild the sect.
This symbol, which had never been used before, now appeared on Gu Mo's token.
The destruction of Qinglu Sect. The shock Gu Mo felt upon understanding the symbol's meaning was unimaginable. Even without a Nascent Soul Patriarch to hold the fort, Qinglu Sect shouldn't have fallen so easily.
Buzz!
As Gu Mo stood frozen in shock at the sudden revelation, a messaging talisman on his body vibrated urgently.
It was a high-priority communication talisman left to him by Yuan Niya.
"Run!"
Those were the only two words written on the talisman, but they were enough to make Gu Mo's pupils constrict. Within those words, he could feel a powerful sense of urgency.
Without hesitation, Gu Mo's clone immediately left the spiritual field, while his true body quickly stored all the plants in the black mist space.
"Senior Brother Gu, what's going on?" Wei Yuancai asked in confusion as Gu Mo appeared before him.
"The sect has been attacked by a powerful enemy—it's gone. Everyone must flee, hide your identities, and survive until the day we can rebuild," Gu Mo said. Without waiting for Wei Yuancai's response, he turned and swiftly left.
"What... what? The sect's been wiped out?" Wei Yuancai stared after Gu Mo, utterly stunned.
However, after surviving for so many years, Wei Yuancai had no shortage of mental resilience. Once he recovered from the initial shock, he quickly gathered the other Qi Refining disciples at the resource outpost and prepared to evacuate.
As unbelievable as the news was, Wei Yuancai knew Gu Mo wouldn't joke about something like this. And as a core disciple, Gu Mo would definitely have known about it first.
After notifying Wei Yuancai, Gu Mo headed to the area where the three Jade Dew Fruit trees were located. Since the sect had fallen, this resource point couldn't be kept either. So, he decided to take the three trees with him.
After all, those three spiritual plants could form a natural spiritual field when planted in a spiritual vein—something extremely valuable to Gu Mo.
Although transplanting them would greatly damage the trees—at least half the root system would be lost—Gu Mo was a trained spiritual plant cultivator and could preserve as much of their vitality as possible. Once he found a suitable spiritual vein, he could help them recover.
Taking a deep breath, Gu Mo unleashed the full power of his False Core cultivation and uprooted all three trees, along with the soil beneath them.
"What was that…"
Wei Yuancai, in the middle of evacuating, suddenly turned to look in the direction of the Jade Dew Fruit trees. A surge of awe filled his heart—he had just sensed a powerful aura far beyond the Foundation Establishment level. And the direction it came from… was exactly where Gu Mo had gone.
"We need to move. Now!"
Suppressing his shock, Wei Yuancai urged the others to hurry.
While his clone dug out the three Jade Dew Fruit trees, Gu Mo's true body finished collecting all the plants from the spiritual field. He also dismantled and took the formation disks for the illusion, defense, and aura-masking arrays.
After regrouping with his clone, Gu Mo raised his hand and stored both the trees and the clone into the black mist space. Unfortunately, the clone didn't have access to the black mist space—otherwise, letting the clone carry his true body would've been even safer.
With a few quick steps, Gu Mo exited the resource point's grand formation. In the next moment, a wave of confusion swept over him. The news of Qinglu Sect's destruction had come too suddenly—so sudden that he hadn't even had time to prepare.
He had considered that with He Shaogang as a traitor, the sect might suffer a catastrophe. But he had never imagined that it would be wiped out so easily. As a core disciple, Gu Mo had access to many of the sect's secrets—he knew Qinglu Sect had several hidden trump cards. That had been the source of his confidence.
But who could have foreseen that a Nascent Soul-level sect would fall just like that? There were still many people in Qinglu Sect that Gu Mo knew well.
He didn't know what had become of Yuan Niya, or Chu Feifei, or even Elder Qi, the one he hadn't yet formally taken as a master—Gu Mo had planned to freeload off his Tier 3 spiritual field.
Suddenly, a powerful surge of anger boiled up in Gu Mo's chest. He had genuine feelings for Qinglu Sect. Especially after witnessing the brutal realities of the cultivation world, he had been grateful to find himself in a relatively stable environment when he first came to this world.
It was thanks to the stability of the sect that he had been able to grow smoothly. And within the sect, he had made true friends.
Hoo...
Gu Mo took a deep breath, forcing down his fury and his impulse to rush to Qinglu Sect to investigate. He knew very well that anyone capable of wiping out a Nascent Soul sect was far beyond what he could handle.
All he could do now was place his hope in the sect's hidden trump cards—perhaps they had enabled Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei to escape. Any great sect would have contingency plans for the worst-case scenario. That was how they preserved their legacy.
After orienting himself, Gu Mo decided to head to Immortal City. It was the only place that came to mind. Rumor had it that there were organizations selling intelligence in the city—perhaps he could learn more about what had happened to Qinglu Sect there.
"Hm?"
On the way to Immortal City, Gu Mo took out the identity token given to him by Elder Qi Chunde. It wasn't a Qinglu Sect elder's token, but a disciple token from Shennong Valley.
Gu Mo had originally assumed it was just a fancy wooden tag, but now he realized it was far more than that.
The token in his hand was glowing with a soft green light, and then, he heard Elder Qi Chunde's voice.
This token could transmit sound over long distances. That feature alone made it far superior to anything Qinglu Sect had—Gu Mo's Core Disciple Token, at best, could transmit some basic text messages.
"Disciple, take care of yourself. I can't bring you to Shennong Valley for now. If the chance arises, you can go there on your own with my token," Qi Chunde's voice said, tinged with a trace of sorrow. After that, the token fell silent.
Gu Mo put the token away and clenched his fists. At this point, he had roughly pieced together what had happened to Qinglu Sect.
Not long ago, the sect had managed to produce a substandard Condensing Nascent Pill—a result only slightly better than complete failure. Such inferior pills, while offering a slim chance to assist in forming a Nascent Soul, came with heavy impurities and alchemical toxins.
Even if one managed to break through with such a pill, the resulting Nascent Soul would be severely weakened. Only desperate late-Stage Core Formation cultivators would risk using one.
And now, Qinglu Sect was truly desperate. So, Gao Yunrui had no choice—he took the pill in an attempt to break through.
He had inherited the burden of the sect from his master and had poured everything he had into strengthening it. He was willing to sacrifice even his own path to do so.
Becoming Qinglu Sect's sect master meant Gao Yunrui had once been the top core disciple of his generation. That alone spoke volumes about his talent—and he had proven it by cultivating all the way to the peak of Core Formation.
With Gao Yunrui's level of talent, had he obtained a genuine Nascent Soul Pill, there was a significant chance he could ascend to the Nascent Soul stage. Unfortunately, despite the sect's enormous investment, they still failed to refine a genuine pill.
If there had been more time, Gao Yunrui could have continued waiting. But he knew the Qinglu Sect no longer had that luxury. If they still couldn't produce a Nascent Soul cultivator, the sect's future would be in grave jeopardy.
Therefore, even though taking an inferior Nascent Soul Pill would damage his foundation and only allow him to become the weakest kind of Nascent Soul cultivator, it would still be worth it. Because even the weakest Nascent Soul was still a Nascent Soul—fundamentally different from a Golden Core.
As long as the Qinglu Sect had a Nascent Soul cultivator holding the line, the sect would stabilize. Then, they'd have enough time to cultivate a new generation of Nascent Soul cultivators.
Take He Shaogang, for instance—Gao Yunrui's most prized disciple. He had the potential to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Gao Yunrui didn't care that his own path had come to an end; as long as there was someone to carry on the legacy, that was enough.
But the disciple in whom Gao Yunrui had placed so much hope ended up ruthlessly stabbing him in the back. When He Shaogang saw that the Qinglu Sect had managed to refine even an inferior Nascent Soul Pill, his heart sank.
He Shaogang had already sabotaged the pill refinement process behind the scenes. But it seemed fate had smiled upon the Qinglu Sect this time. Despite the unfavorable conditions, they had somehow succeeded in producing a lower-grade pill.
Even a substandard Nascent Soul Pill, while damaging to the user's foundation, could still assist a peak Golden Core cultivator in breaking through. If Gao Yunrui managed to ascend, all of He Shaogang's plans would be ruined.
So, at the critical moment of Gao Yunrui's breakthrough, He Shaogang had the inner sect disciples he'd turned secretly sabotage the mountain-protecting formation. Immediately afterward, the powerhouses from his new sect—who had been waiting outside—launched their assault.
What followed was a brutal battle. The attackers were fierce, but the Qinglu Sect, as a once-powerful Nascent Soul sect, still had deep reserves and managed to repel wave after wave of attacks.
Everyone knew: as long as the sect master broke through to Nascent Soul, everything could be turned around.
But that hope was quickly dashed with the arrival of a Nascent Soul cultivator from the enemy side. To seize the Qinglu Sect's Tier 4 spiritual land, He Shaogang's sect didn't just send a host of Golden Core experts—they even dispatched a Nascent Soul powerhouse.
If the mountain-protecting formation were still intact, the Qinglu Sect might have been able to fend off a Nascent Soul-level enemy. But now, with the formation destroyed, the enemy Nascent Soul cultivator stormed the gates. For a sect without its own Nascent Soul to defend it, this was a death sentence.
At the critical moment, Gao Yunrui used a forbidden technique to forcefully condense a shattered Nascent Soul, barely achieving Nascent Soul-level combat power. He engaged the intruding Nascent Soul cultivator in a desperate battle.
But using such a forbidden technique at the crucial stage of a breakthrough came at a price—this was a death sentence. Gao Yunrui's life was now on a countdown.
Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve bought by Gao Yunrui's sacrifice, Elder Zhuo Suzhu from the Discipline Hall made her move. But she didn't go to kill the enemy. She understood clearly: Gao Yunrui could only barely hold off the invading Nascent Soul enemy—there was no chance of victory.
So Zhuo Suzhu chose instead to carve a path of escape for the sect's disciples. Her sudden offensive held back many of the enemy Golden Core cultivators, while the remaining Qinglu Sect elders grabbed their sect's most valuable assets and disciples and fled in different directions.
As for Qi Chunde, he didn't flee with the others. Instead, he stayed behind to secretly rescue Zhuo Suzhu—who had been consumed by heartfire—and then fled with her.
Qi Chunde knew that Gao Yunrui would undoubtedly die after using that forbidden art, which meant Zhuo Suzhu couldn't afford to fall as well. If the Qinglu Sect lost all its top cultivators, their prospects would become dire.
Understanding this, He Shaogang's sect naturally dispatched many experts in pursuit. But Qi Chunde, being a prodigy of the Shennong Valley, had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. As long as the enemy Nascent Soul cultivator was kept occupied, those of the same level as him had no chance of capturing him.
However, escaping while carrying someone slowed him down. So Qi Chunde followed a set of secret markers left by the sect and located Yuan Niya's group. He passed the critically injured Zhuo Suzhu over to them, then continued onward to draw the enemy away.
At this point, Gu Mo finally felt a sliver of relief. Clearly, both Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei had escaped safely. But Qi Chunde's situation was far more precarious.
The problem wasn't that he'd be caught by the Golden Core cultivators from He Shaogang's sect—Qi Chunde was confident that, given enough time, he could shake them off. He'd survived far worse before.
What he hadn't expected was that the cultivators chasing him also hailed from the overseas cultivation world. When Qi Chunde used techniques unique to his homeland, they recognized him almost immediately.
Qi Chunde was considered a top-tier prodigy of Shennong Valley, and many sects kept files on cultivators like him. Once identified, word was quickly passed on to his enemies.
Ever since he'd escaped an earlier assassination attempt using a powerful life-saving talisman, those assassins hadn't given up. They'd continued searching—and at this moment, they just happened to be nearby in this cultivation realm. Once they received the intel, they closed in swiftly.
These assassins were all elite. Qi Chunde had no choice but to flee even farther, giving up any thoughts of regrouping with Gu Mo or taking her to Shennong Valley.
Because if those assassins found out Gu Mo was his disciple, he would be doomed.
Unable to escort Gu Mo to Shennong Valley himself, Qi Chunde could only hope that once he gained enough power, he could cross the vast ocean on her own.
Within Qi Chunde's identity token was a map marking the location of Shennong Valley. As long as Gu Mo could survive the dangerous journey and reach that cultivation realm, he would be able to find Shennong Valley with the map.
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