Every day, Jiang Youfu would prepare a special meal for Lin Xiao and deliver it to him. He wouldn't knock or disturb him, but whenever the food box appeared outside the door, it would soon disappear. Not long after, the empty box would reappear, devoid of even a trace of oil.
The disciples of Lingxian Sect often joked that it seemed Lin Xiao was in seclusion again—except this time, he needed meals delivered.
While the Lingxian Sect was bustling with activity, on the path between the cultivation world and the mortal world, a group of people was under attack by a swarm of Spirit-Devouring Beasts.
These beasts varied wildly in size and shape. Some were as tall as ten meters, while others were the size of ordinary dogs. Their forms were irregular, some round, some flat, all oozing a thick, black liquid that made them look revolting.
The beasts hissed and snapped their jaws at the group of people trapped in the center, their mouths dripping with black, sticky saliva. A foul stench emanated from their gaping maws, causing the surrounded group to feel dizzy.
The group consisted of ten cultivators, all with varying levels of cultivation. The weakest among them was at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, while the strongest was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
Despite their strength, the group found themselves at a loss against the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Beasts.
It wasn't that these beasts were particularly powerful. In fact, Spirit-Devouring Beasts were low-level monsters without sentience. A single Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily take one down, let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator.
The problem lay in their current situation—none of the cultivators had much spiritual energy left.
The little spiritual power they had remaining wasn't enough to wipe out the horde of Spirit-Devouring Beasts surrounding them.
Some members of the group might have had enough energy to fight, particularly the Nascent Soul cultivator, Yao Yuchang, the second elder of Qingshuang Sect's Sanxiang Peak in the Xuanji Domain. He was leading this mission to the mortal world to investigate the Stone of Tribulation incident that occurred three years ago at the Southern and Northern Domains' Talisman Masters' Conference.
The ten cultivators on this mission were all from major sects across different regions. The investigation concerned the Stone of Tribulation, and smaller sects had no say in the matter, while the larger sects didn't trust them. However, since the mortal world was deemed too insignificant for their most powerful elders, the sects sent trusted mid-level cultivators instead.
The ten cultivators had never been to the mortal world and knew little about it. Their knowledge came from what they had recently learned. Their regions, unlike the Southern and Northern Domains, weren't directly connected to the path leading to the mortal world. Occasionally, a few cultivators from the mortal world who had reached the cultivation world would appear, so the Southern and Northern Domains had more knowledge of the mortal realm.
Other regions mostly relied on information from Wanwantong's intelligence network. But no cultivator in the cultivation world would waste time studying the mortal world unless they had a specific reason.
Thus, these ten cultivators initially thought the journey to the mortal world would be simple.
They weren't unprepared—they had each spent several hundred spirit stones to gather information from Wanwantong. They knew the path to the mortal world was devoid of spiritual energy, but they thought this meant the spiritual energy was just thin, not entirely absent.
What they hadn't anticipated was that it was an absolute spiritless zone.
Moreover, the area was crawling with Spirit-Devouring Beasts, which thrived in areas devoid of spiritual energy. Once they detected even the faintest hint of spiritual energy, they would swarm and devour it, ensuring their environment remained devoid of energy.
Now, the ten cultivators found themselves in a dire situation. Every bit of spiritual energy they used was another step closer to running out entirely.
From their initial carefree usage of energy to their current careful rationing, they had burned through most of their supply of Spirit Gathering Pills. No one knew how much farther they had to go, so no one dared to use their remaining energy.
They not only had to defend themselves from the Spirit-Devouring Beasts but also be wary of the nine other cultivators in their group.
Meanwhile, the Spirit-Devouring Beasts were growing increasingly agitated and were on the verge of attacking.
Sensing the urgency of the situation, Yao Yuchang swept his gaze over the group, his eyes settling on the youngest and weakest among them—a Golden Core stage cultivator named He Yi. Coldly, he said,
"He Yi, this entire matter began with your sect, Fuzong. Now that we're all low on spiritual energy and need to conserve it, isn't it time for a disciple of Fuzong to step forward and come up with a solution?"
He Yi, the one Yao Yuchang had called out, had an expression of indifference as he glanced at the elder.
A faint, almost imperceptible sneer crossed his face before vanishing. He then replied,
"Well, since Elder Yao has spoken, how could I—a mere Golden Core disciple from Fuzong—refuse?"
With that, He Yi casually waved his hand, and several golden talismans appeared, each glowing brightly. With a fluid motion, he released them into the air, and the talismans gracefully flew toward the heads of the Spirit-Devouring Beasts.
Without giving the beasts a chance to react, He Yi snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, the talismans exploded, unleashing a powerful burst of energy. The ground shook as soil and debris were blasted into the air, and the black, sticky bodies of the Spirit-Devouring Beasts were torn apart.
The force of the explosion was so great that the other nine cultivators had no choice but to use their remaining spiritual energy to shield themselves.
A few slower cultivators, caught off guard, were splattered with the sticky remains of the beasts.
"He Yi! You did that on purpose!"
One of the cultivators shouted in fury.
"Was it necessary to use that many high-level Explosive Flame Talismans to deal with a bunch of Spirit-Devouring Beasts?"
Though some remained silent, they all shared the same thought: What a waste! Everyone says Fuzong is full of rich fools, and it's true!
He Yi raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence as he looked at the others.
"My apologies, everyone. I only had Explosive Flame Talismans on me."
Yao Yuchang shot He Yi a disdainful glance, thinking little of this so-called prodigy from Fuzong.
Hmph, prodigy? More like a fake prodigy built up by Fuzong's wealth.
He sneered inwardly. This boy only relied on his father, the sect master, and his abundant resources to cultivate.
However, the group had already been on the road for a year. Yao Yuchang couldn't afford to waste any more time. He needed to hurry to the mortal world, conduct the investigation, and return to the sect as soon as possible.