This is awkward.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chu Liang realized he might have misspoke. Sister Jiang had just mentioned that she was a Shenxiao Shaoyin Golden Elixir, and he immediately followed up with wanting to dual cultivate with a Shenxiao Shaoyin Golden Elixir. It did sound a bit strange.

He couldn’t think too much about it.

But he couldn’t explain either.

Should he say that she completely misunderstood, that he wanted to dual cultivate with a doll, not a real person?

Sigh.

All he could do was laugh it off, saying, “I was just asking casually. By the way, my Fu Dao Sword Art has made progress these past few days. I’ve already cultivated three Fu Swords.”

“Hmph…” Jiang Yuebai’s gaze drifted away, seemingly accustomed to Chu Liang’s rapid progress. She simply said nonchalantly, “Show me.”

Chu Liang abruptly stood up and summoned his flying sword.

He had never stopped studying the Fu Dao Sword Art, and recently he had mastered the more complex Thunder Rune. Thunder magic naturally counters the Yin and evil spirits, and this rune has a miraculous effect on exorcising evil and dispelling Yin.

Not long after, he had cultivated the Three Fu Swords.

As expected, after previous practice, he was unable to progress further. It was not that his comprehension was insufficient, but his cultivation was not enough. As his cultivation improved, the number of runes he could cast also increased.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

The sword light soared into the sky. Chu Liang intentionally showed his results to Jiang Yuebai, drawing the wind, fire, and thunder runes in succession. In just a blink of an eye, he pointed forward.

Boom!

The three runes combined were like thunder and fire from the heavens, creating a huge pit with an explosion. The power was several times greater than before.

As Chu Liang’s cultivation gradually deepened, the power of the Fu Dao Sword Art finally began to show.

Jiang Yuebai watched, seemingly emotionless, just feeling it was ordinary. She nodded slightly and said, “Not bad.”

Chu Liang wasn’t surprised by her indifferent reaction. After all, even if he thought he was progressing quickly and had great power, it was only relative to himself. To Sister Jiang, it was just child’s play.

She suddenly asked, “Didn’t you forge a replica of the Xiaoyun Ancient Sword? Why aren’t you using it?”

“Ah…” Chu Liang smiled, took out the Dustless Sword, and said, “I was afraid it would be too conspicuous, so I put it away.”

He indeed didn’t want the news of him having such a treasure sword to spread, but Jiang Yuebai already knew about it… After all, it was a replica of her master’s divine sword.

So, it was no big deal to take it out in front of her.

Jiang Yuebai gently stroked the clear body of the Dustless Sword with her fingers, her eyes shining, “It’s indeed a treasure sword. I don’t even have a replica of the Xiaoyun Ancient Sword, yet you got one first.”

“It’s just an external object after all. Even if I hold a divine sword, I’m far less powerful than Sister Jiang.” Chu Liang laughed.

“As long as you concentrate on cultivation, I believe the day when you catch up won’t be too far away.” Jiang Yuebai sincerely said.

“Catching up with Sister Jiang is not easy.” Chu Liang echoed.

“Huh?” Jiang Yuebai frowned slightly, feeling a bit strange.

Chu Liang quickly changed the subject, saying, “I hope that when the time comes, Sister Jiang won’t see me as a competitor and stop teaching me divine powers.”

“Don’t worry, at least by that time, you should have learned almost everything.” Jiang Yuebai glanced at him unhappily and said indifferently, “You should focus on forming your elixir first. When you reach the Golden Elixir realm, I will teach you immortal magic.”

Chu Liang’s eyes immediately shone with excitement, “Thank you, Sister!”

After a while, the two said goodbye. Chu Liang returned to Silver Sword Peak, while Jiang Yuebai stayed a bit longer.

She looked at the pit Chu Liang had blasted into the mountain wall. Her previous nonchalance had disappeared, replaced by a slightly puzzled expression.

“How can he cultivate so fast?”

“Is my ancestral fairy body fake?”

“It shouldn’t be…”

“I can’t be leisurely anymore, I need to go into seclusion.”

“Right.”

…

“Lord Hou has been in seclusion for several months to heal his injuries. The situation in the Mingwang Sect is changing rapidly, and we are about to lose our foothold!”

In an unknown dense forest, two men in black robes were having a secret meeting.

Both of them were wearing black robes with hoods, their faces hidden by secret arts, even their voices might have been changed. The sect’s rules were like this, the only thing that could prove their identities was the Soul Summoning Order.

The difference was, the man on the left had a golden “South” embroidered on his chest, while the man on the right had “Southwest” embroidered on his chest.

Under the Mingwang Sect’s leader, there were left and right protectors, and four Yuming Halls. The Right Protector, Purple Gold Marquis, had eight Directional Envoys, twenty-four Earth Sha Envoys, and seventy-two Soul Summoning Envoys.

The two men present were the South and Southwest Envoys, and they seemed to be arguing about something.

“At this time, you still want me to take everyone with you to venture into the Zhen Nan Mountain Range?”

The Southwest Envoy was quite agitated, shouting, “If we lose manpower, we won’t even have the capital to turn the tables in the future!”

The South Envoy, however, was calm and slowly said, “Four of the eight Directional Envoys have sided with the other Hall Masters. Those of us who stayed should stick together. The North Ming Hall has given me an ultimatum, submit or die. I believe you’ve received it too, right?””I received a threat from the Red Robe Hall,” said the Southwest Guide.

“Both of us do not wish to betray the Marquis, but at this moment, the Marquis cannot show himself. If we continue to wait like this, aren’t we just waiting for death?” The South Guide said, “I want to struggle for survival!”

“Your so-called struggle for survival, is it to enter the dangerous area of the Southern Territory Mountain, to capture that non-existent powerful soul?” The Southwest Guide’s tone was filled with heavy skepticism.

“What do you mean by non-existent?” The South Guide retorted, “I am certain that there is a dormant powerful soul there, but I alone cannot approach it. As long as we work together to capture it into the Underworld Scripture, we can definitely refine it into a battle soul comparable to the seventh realm. By then, even the Four Halls Master will have to fear us, and we can hold on until the Marquis comes out.”

“Are you really doing this out of loyalty to the Marquis?” The Southwest Guide was full of suspicion, “I’m afraid that once you have the power of the seventh realm, you will be able to establish your own sect.”

“I am loyal to the Marquis!” The South Guide immediately said, “If you doubt me, the soul can be stored in your Underworld Scripture. As long as you swear, you will never betray the Purple Gold Marquis!”

Upon hearing this, the Southwest Guide just shook his head. He was not tempted by the powerful lure, but was considering the risks. In the Demon Sect, the number of people who died at the hands of their fellow sect members was not much less than those who died at the hands of outsiders.

The reason why the Demon Path still stands strong is because there are always many who are eager for quick success, with a constant influx of fresh blood voluntarily joining. Then, the naive among them would quickly become nourishment, nurturing the cunning and deceitful part.

Being unable to resist temptation is often a sign of naivety.

Therefore, the Southwest Guide was very wary of this. He was afraid that he would inadvertently fall into a trap and become someone else’s prey.

“I know what you’re worried about,” the South Guide continued to persuade, “When the time comes, I will lead the way with my men, and you can conserve your strength and only take action when I need help. I have always been the most loyal to the Marquis, you should believe in my sincerity.”

“Then…” The Southwest Guide’s tone slightly loosened, “How much do you know about that dangerous area? There are too many dangers in the Southern Territory Mountain. If we rashly step into those ancient forbidden areas, no amount of lives would be enough to fill the gap.”

“To tell the truth, not much,” the South Guide immediately answered, his tone cold and stern, “That’s why I asked you to bring all your men.”

The Southwest Guide instantly understood his meaning. With their cultivation, they could at most bring a few Earth Fiends, those Soul Capturers wouldn’t be of much help.

The reason for bringing them was entirely to use their lives to scout the way!

“Alright…” The Southwest Guide pondered for a long time before finally uttering a word of agreement, but he muttered uneasily to himself, “I hope nothing goes wrong on this trip.”

Only then did the South Guide laugh, “Absolutely nothing will go wrong. Once we return, we will have an additional seventh realm battle soul in our hands. By then… hehehehe…”