Chapter 452: Great Sage Babao — Holy Son, You Truly Know How to Comfort People
"The power is sufficient, but it's too rough. You haven't fully merged your understanding of the Great Dao into your technique, nor brought out your complete strength."
Cao Youqian spoke in a serious tone.
Great Sage Babao immediately became interested upon hearing that. He bowed respectfully and asked, "Holy Son, could you perhaps give this old man a few pointers?"
Cao Youqian replied, "When this matter is over, I'll instruct you. For now, let's turn the Fire God Cult upside down first."
"Many thanks, Holy Son."
Great Sage Babao spoke, then seemed to recall something and quickly asked, "Holy Son, do you think Senior Sister Jiaoyang will be all right?"
Cao Youqian smiled. "The Ancestor is no ordinary Great Sage. Not only did she cultivate within the Holy Academy, but she has also listened to the Dao under my master's guidance. Within one hundred moves, she will surely subdue the Fire God Cult Master."
Just as his words fell, a figure descended from the sky and landed before the two of them.
It was Great Sage Jiaoyang. She was playing with a demon core and a storage ring in her hand, smiling brightly as she said, "I think I just heard someone talking about me?"
Great Sage Babao quickly said, "Senior Sister, we were only discussing how many moves it would take you to defeat that fiend."
Great Sage Jiaoyang spoke disdainfully, "A mere puppet who relied on the Demon God's gift to comprehend a fragment of the Great Dao's truth dares call himself a demon lord? Pathetic."
"The Ancestor is mighty."
"Senior Sister is formidable."
The elder and the youth flattered her in perfect harmony.
Great Sage Jiaoyang rolled her eyes. "You two can stop your nonsense. Let's search for the treasures first. If we wait until the cultivators from the Three Major Forces arrive, we'll have much less to divide."
Cao Youqian smiled. "Rest assured, Ancestor. The reason I let those five Great Sages and the Fire God Cult disciples flee Yunwu Mountain was precisely to draw them into conflict with the cultivators of the Three Major Forces. It will take at least a day or two before any of them reach this place."
Great Sage Babao froze upon hearing that. Earlier, he had wanted to ask why the Holy Son let those five Great Sages go—so it was all to make treasure hunting easier.
He asked cautiously, "Holy Son, wouldn't it be improper if we take everything?"
Cao Youqian looked at him speechlessly. "We're not taking everything—just picking out the most valuable items. Who could possibly object to that?"
"That makes sense."
Great Sage Babao immediately raised his thumb in approval.
The three of them began using their divine senses to conduct a carpet search through every corner of the Fire God Cult's domain, determined not to overlook a single treasure.
A short while later—
Great Sage Jiaoyang's eyes lit up, and the corners of her lips curved upward. "I've found a hidden restriction. Follow me."
Cao Youqian and Great Sage Babao both showed expressions of joy and followed quickly behind her.
The trio left the altar and soon arrived before a natural rock wall.
Out of habit, Great Sage Babao extended his divine sense to inspect the mountain wall but found nothing unusual.
Puzzled, he asked, "Senior Sister Jiaoyang, could we have come to the wrong place?"
Great Sage Jiaoyang smiled. "Don't let the concealment array fool your eyes. Keep walking."
As she spoke, she walked straight into the rock wall and passed through effortlessly. Seeing this, Great Sage Babao began to doubt his own divine sense.
Cao Youqian smiled and comforted him. "Martial Uncle Babao, don't be disheartened. This simply isn't your area of expertise."
"Holy Son, you really do know how to comfort people."
Great Sage Babao looked at Cao Youqian with a gloomy expression.
"Hahaha."
Cao Youqian burst into laughter, showing no mercy in his amusement.
The two followed behind Great Sage Jiaoyang, passing through the stone wall. Before their eyes was a pitch-black, narrow passage, barely wide enough for a single person to walk through.
Leading the way, Great Sage Jiaoyang held a compass in her hand. Her tone was calm as she said, "Watch my steps carefully. This tunnel contains various types of restrictions. A single wrong move could trigger unnecessary trouble."
"Yes!"
The two replied in unison, locking their divine senses onto Great Sage Jiaoyang's movements. Very soon, they realized she was walking in a completely unfamiliar pattern.
It was something neither of them had ever seen before. Even Cao Youqian, who prided himself on being well-read, had never encountered such a strange method of traversal.
Time passed little by little, and no one knew how long they had walked when at last the trio arrived before a massive, pitch-black gate.
It was a door wreathed in dense demonic aura, the oppressive energy so chilling that even Great Sage Babao dared not approach it rashly.
Instinctively, he turned his gaze toward Great Sage Jiaoyang, curious to see how the powerful cultivator from the Holy Academy would handle it.
Great Sage Jiaoyang studied the door carefully, then raised her hand and wrote a single character that Great Sage Babao had never seen before.
The moment the character appeared, the black demonic aura dispersed, revealing an ordinary stone gate beneath it.
"This… this solved it just like that?"
Great Sage Babao stared, unable to believe what he had just witnessed.
Cao Youqian smiled. "Martial Uncle, don't underestimate that character. That was an ancient Dao Script. If I'm not mistaken, it represents the word 'Dao.'"
Great Sage Jiaoyang nodded. "Correct. It is indeed the word 'Dao.' I comprehended it when listening to Senior Brother Qiankun preach the Dao some years ago."
Hearing this, Great Sage Babao was filled with envy. Why didn't their Great Sage Tuo Tian know things like this?
Without further explanation, Great Sage Jiaoyang waved her hand. With a series of cracking sounds, the massive door slowly opened.
Before them lay a grand treasury, vast and dazzling.
"Hiss…"
Great Sage Babao instinctively took in a sharp breath. "The Fire God Cult was this wealthy?"
Great Sage Jiaoyang smiled. "They have some foundation indeed. The treasures here will be divided equally among the three of us. As for the rest of the Fire God Cult's spoils, we'll let the others claim those."
"Good… good."
Great Sage Babao was so excited that "good" was all he could manage to say.
Meanwhile—
Night had fallen, and darkness blanketed the land.
Outside Yunwu Mountain, the Three Major Forces had fully assembled, surrounding the mountain so tightly that not even a bird could escape. Their armies were poised to crush the Fire God Cult in one decisive strike.
Scouts from all three forces infiltrated Yunwu Mountain, clearing out the cult's sentries along the way.
Almost simultaneously, the commanders of each faction issued the same command: "By my order—full assault! Exterminate the Fire God Cult!!!"
The three sacred lands advanced with their armies into Yunwu Mountain, leaving only small detachments behind to guard the passes and prevent any remnants of the Fire God Cult from escaping.
On the Mad Lion Kingdom's front, Great Sage Xuanjing, clad in battle armor, commanded his disciples from the central command post.
He gazed up at the darkened sky and muttered, "I wonder how the Holy Son and the others are faring now?"
No sooner had he spoken than his expression suddenly changed.
"Enemies approaching! Prepare for battle!!!" he shouted.
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