Chapter 72: Du Xian Sect 30 Part 1

Biluo Sect, in front of the Sect Leader Hall.

On the white jade-paved plaza before the hall, over a thousand female cultivators stood in a ring formation, silent and motionless. In their midst stood what appeared to be an altar, with a massive bonfire blazing at its center. The flames shot skyward, casting a red glow over the beautiful yet expressionless faces of the female cultivators.

The four women closest to the altar wore especially elaborate attire, marking them as people of high status—and Linglan was prominently among them!

She no longer wore the light and agile disciple robes from when she had met Xun Ji and the others. Instead, she was draped in brocade silk, her hair bound with jeweled ornaments, every gesture exuding solemn grandeur.

One female cultivator stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Linglan.

“Linglan Elder, all the over a hundred male cultivators attending the Miaoyin Immortal Assembly have fully consumed the Chao Gan Lu and been assigned to the still-usable cocoons. If we can quickly extract their spiritual energy, the condition of the cocoons should improve.”

In the shadows, three figures clung to talismans concealing their auras, hiding in a corner.

“The ‘cocoons’ she’s talking about—could they be Biluo Sect disciples?” Xun Ji whispered to the person beside him. “And what’s Chao Gan Lu?”

“A mind-bewitching drug. It’s said the recipe was long lost, but Biluo Sect actually possesses it,” Lu Yun Ting replied.

“The Miaoyin Immortal Assembly is ostensibly a grand event for young cultivators to appreciate music and discuss the Dao, but behind the scenes, it’s Biluo Sect’s scheme,” Wei Luoheng mused thoughtfully. “They make the male cultivators drink Chao Gan Lu to control their minds, turning them into willing puppets for Biluo Sect disciples to harvest through dual cultivation. But why do they do this?”

Linglan waved for the disciple to withdraw, exchanged a glance with the other three elders, and nodded.

She stepped forward, standing primly with a solemn gaze.

“Our Biluo Sect should have soared to the heavens and delved to the depths, free and unrestrained. Yet now we are trapped alone in a dark bamboo grove, shrouded in gloom and storms, on perilous paths with no sight of the sky! Sisters, you all know where this began and from what it arose! Heaven is unjust—we repay blood with blood, curse with curse, purify our bodies in fierce flames, and cleanse the filth!”

With that, Linglan raised her hands, gloved in feathered silk, and removed the gloves.

The three in hiding all jolted in shock. Linglan’s hands were just like that female cultivator’s face in Cocoon 764—devoid of flesh! Rotting Sad Eggplant Flowers clung to pus and shredded meat, falling to the ground. Her skeletal fingers were entirely decayed and blackened, the rot extending from fingertips to forearms, as if they would crumble at the slightest touch.

Linglan’s face remained that of an innocent young maiden, but her hands were like those of a demonic asura from hell—ghastly and horrifying.

Yet what followed was even more horrifying.

As Linglan moved, the female cultivators ringing the altar in circles began to act as well—they started stripping off their clothes.

Xun Ji and the others instinctively averted their eyes, though deep down they dimly guessed what was coming. Soon, a thick, suffocating stench mixed with the fragrance of Sad Eggplant Flowers permeated the plaza, overwhelming and choking.

【Host, this is bad! They seem about to commit suicide!】 The System suddenly blared an alert in Xun Ji’s mind.

Xun Ji tensed, casting aside concerns of propriety as he turned his gaze back to the altar. This glance sent chills down his spine.

The thousands of female cultivators were nearly naked, but there was no trace of allure—only because every exposed part of their bodies was a festering black void.

Some had it on their chests, their hearts rotted away to half, the remnants unclear if they still beat;

Some on their waists and abdomens, guts spilling from ruptured bellies, black worm-like intestines pouring out beneath false skin;

Even some on their necks, delicate throats stripped of flesh, leaving only bony vertebrae connecting their heads…

And yet, they were all still alive.

Linglan and the other three elders cast spells in unison, pouring streams of black spiritual energy into the altar. The altar fire surged several dozen feet high, the crimson flames instantly turning black!

The black flames blotted out the sky, spreading rapidly along the massive ground array to the outermost ring, enveloping every Biluo Sect female cultivator. In the eerie firelight, the jade-faced maidens’ bodies looked gnawed by demons—mutilated, rotting, and grotesquely terrifying.

The black flames nearly scorched their flesh, yet the girls showed no fear, their gazes calm as stagnant water.

Hellish infernal fire, ghostly asura forms—the most terrifying sight in the world was no more than this.

“Not good—they’re going to self-immolate!” Xun Ji cried, heedless of exposure, to Lu Yun Ting. “Quick, use the Zhenliu Sword!”

Lu Yun Ting opened his eyes and looked, stunned by the hellish scene, but his hands moved without hesitation. The Zhenliu Sword glided like a boat on water, slicing through waves for a thousand li, whistling forth!

The Zhenliu Sword collided with the raging black flames, its icy breath spreading like wildfire. Everywhere it passed, all things froze, and for a moment, even the air on the plaza ceased to flow.

“Since noble guests have arrived, why hide your heads and tails?” Linglan paid no mind to Lu Yun Ting’s sudden strike, didn’t even glance at him, but merely smiled faintly toward Xun Ji’s direction.

Xun Ji exchanged a look with Wei Luoheng, stepped forward to Lu Yun Ting’s side, and bowed to Linglan. “It seems Linglan Elder knew we were here all along. We’ve been rude.”

Linglan shook her head. “Jiyang Zhenren need not call me Elder. A Golden Core Stage cultivator like me who can’t break through—calling me Elder would only make others laugh if word got out. Speaking of which, we owe much to Du Xian Sect. Without Du Xian Sect’s protection, how could Biluo Sect have today?”

Those words didn’t sound complimentary. Xun Ji probed cautiously, “Linglan Fairy has gathered your sect disciples here—what is the purpose? Those flames are dangerous; it would be unfortunate if anyone got hurt. I had my young disciple act rashly just now—please don’t take offense, Fairy.”

“Jiyang old thief, enough with the posturing!” Another elder sneered coldly. “Since we dared let you see this spectacle, we have no intention of listening to Du Xian Sect anymore!”

Lu Yun Ting’s brows furrowed in fury. He stepped forward to shield Xun Ji, pointing the Zhenliu Sword straight at that elder. “Anyone who disrespects my Master—dies!”