The self-destruction of the Divine Transformation evil cultivator was contained by Lin Lang, Zhu Ye, Ming Hong, and Ming Xian working together, forcing the blast to expend itself inside the crater from the earlier explosion and minimizing collateral damage.
When the dust settled, Hao Hui flashed over the pit and cast three consecutive light-element purification arts, scouring away the demonic miasma left by the explosion. Only then did everyone regroup.
Zhu Ye said coldly, "This Divine Transformation evil cultivator was unusually hard-boned, choosing self-destruction rather than be taken alive."
Lin Lang frowned. "If we had known it would end like this, we would not have held back. We wasted so much time for nothing."
Ming Xian countered, "I think he knew their recent plans. Seeing the four of us pressing to take him alive for a soul search, he chose self-destruction."
Ming Hong's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "What secret would make him prefer obliteration over our soul search?"
Lin Lang ground her teeth. "Nothing good. He might have known the whereabouts of the Shanhe Scroll."
Hearing this, Hao Hui nodded. "Lin Lang Daoyou is right. Xian Yao and Xian Feng probably approached the hiding place of the Shanhe Scroll, which is why the evil cultivator ambushed them."
"Despicable," Lin Lang said.
Several more streams of light descended around them, cultivators drawn by the two earlier blasts. Nascent Soul cultivators did not dare get too close and chose to watch from afar.
"Daoyou, what happened here just now?" A polite Divine Transformation loose cultivator inquired. With elites from the top sects of the Five Regions present, he did not dare act rashly.
"Evil cultivators ambushed disciples of Huaxian Gate," Hao Qing replied, succinct and to the point.
"And that evil cultivator?" the loose cultivator pressed.
"He did not wish to be captured and soul-searched, so he self-destructed," Zhu Ye answered.
Those who had just arrived began murmuring among themselves.
"So the rumors were true. Something precious really is emerging in the Qinghua Mountain Range. Even evil cultivators are flocking here."
"Wasn't the Shanhe Scroll said to be here?"
"Then has it been found or not?"
"Unknown."
Newcomers turned their eyes to the still-healing Xian Yao and to Xian Feng, who was guarding her. Plainly, only those two knew the details.
Meanwhile, Hao Qing and Hao Hui exchanged voice transmissions. "It seems Huaxian Gate's search direction was correct. Otherwise the evil cultivators would not have risked exposure to stop them."
"But after all this ruckus, with even a Divine Transformation self-detonation, what if the Shanhe Scroll has already been moved?"
"I have not sensed any particularly sneaky cultivators nearby. If we keep searching along this line, we should gain something."
"Good. Tell Ming Hong. We take this point as the center and restart the sweep."
Hao Hui was already transmitting to Ming Hong when the sect tokens at the waists of Xian Feng and Xian Yao began to vibrate wildly, flashing with a red light.
Xian Feng's face changed. He gripped his token, probed with his divine sense, then recoiled at once. He addressed the gathered Divine Transformation experts. "Seniors, Huaxian Gate is under attack. Evil cultivators from the upper realm exploited our sect's channel for sending elite disciples to the Spirit Realm and poured a large force of Divine Transformation evil cultivators into the Weiyu Realm.
The sect Ancestor has activated the guardian grand formation and has temporarily trapped them within the sect grounds. We beg everyone to come to our aid."
An uproar broke out on the spot. In the next instant, the communication tools on the Divine Transformation cultivators present all came alive. Lin Lang and Zhu Ye received flying-sword message slips directly from their sect, and they were red-grade swords.
Hao Hui and Hao Qing received a transmission from the Hive. Exchanging a look, they turned to Ming Hong and Ming Xian. "We have received a call for aid. We head for the Central Region at once. Will you travel with us?"
Ming Hong and Ming Xian had also received flying-sword missives. Without the slightest hesitation, they said, "Together."
That was all Hao Hui needed to hear. He tore open space and stepped through first. Lin Lang and Zhu Ye traded a glance, flicked back red-grade sword replies to their sect, and followed.
Seeing this, Xian Feng swept his sleeve, drawing Xian Yao into a sleeve-world, then leaped in last. The rift sealed behind them. In moments, the mountainside stood empty.
At the same time, news of the ambush on Huaxian Gate spread swiftly across the Five Regions. Divine Transformation cultivators from every region were rushing toward the Central Region and Huaxian Gate.
Others, however, warned the great sect masters of each region not to dispatch every Divine Transformation expert at once. If the evil cultivators were feinting toward the east to strike in the west, other regions might be their true target. Tension gripped the entire Weiyu Realm.
Inside Huaxian Gate, slaughter already raged. When the Divine Transformation evil cultivators appeared, masses of low-level disciples were crushed to pulp beneath their oppressive auras. Hua Teng reacted instantly. With divine sense woven into threads, she whisked the low-level disciples beyond the sect grounds, then reversed the guardian grand formation, transforming it into a trapping array.
She then used spiritual power to knock on the sealed ancestral retreat in the forbidden back mountain, requesting the Ancestors to come forth and face the invaders. Next, she ordered the Sect Master to recall all high-ranked disciples from their training tours to reinforce the sect. Finally, she condensed a blood-red feather of spiritual light and flung it into the sky above Huaxian Gate, sounding a warning to the entire Central Region.
Nearby cultivators and the sects of the Central Region could see the signal at once. Hua Teng then flashed into the fray, meeting the rampaging Divine Transformation evil cultivators head-on.
The low-level disciples who had been sent out were ashen-faced. All knew the sect faced an existential crisis. One young woman's eyes reddened. She gripped her sword and tried to charge back, only to be stopped by her peers. "Junior Sister, do not be reckless. The Ancestor sent us out so we would not throw our lives away. You are only at Golden Core. If you rush in, you will not help the Ancestor. You will only make her protect you."
"Then what? Are we supposed to watch? I cannot do it," the young woman shouted. For the first time, she hated how low her cultivation was.
"We do what we can. The Ancestors have only two hands. If the Divine Transformation evil cultivators break the sect's trapping array, the Central Region and the entire Weiyu Continent will suffer. We will beg the Divine Transformation Ancestors of other sects and clans to act. If we can bring just one more expert, that is one more strength for our Ancestors."
Another young woman spoke calmly.
"Right, Senior Sister is right. Spread the word. We split up."
Huaxian Gate's disciples divided into five squads. Using the Central Region as the hub, they raced to carry the message to the other four regions.
That was why Hao Hui, Lin Lang, and Ming Hong's group had received the alerts almost simultaneously.
Yunxi and the other three did not yet know that by collecting the "Misty Snow Domain," the site the evil cultivators had been using to construct a space channel, they had delayed the invaders from taking control of the Weiyu Realm. Forced to change plans, the enemy seized upon the channel set up by Huaxian Gate and sent down a large force of Divine Transformation evil cultivators unaffected by planar suppression, firing the first shot of the righteous versus demonic war in the Weiyu Realm.