Chapter 250: Chapter 160: I Warn You, the Northern Wanderer Is Nearby

The situation was collapsing far faster than the Lingyuan Sect had originally anticipated.

Initially, the invading Demon Cultivators had only conducted scattered raids, causing no significant losses.

But ever since the Four Great Wanderers began to appear, the situation had rapidly deteriorated.

In just the past three days, at least ten Foundation Establishment families had been annihilated, and more than twenty resource points had been lost.

On the map, the area from Luoyan Mountain to Wangyan Mountain was almost entirely colored red.

What was even more worrying was that the Demon Cultivators’ range of activity was still rapidly expanding outward.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the vicinity of Wangyan Mountain was also lost.

The dire situation affected everyone within the Lingyuan Sect. A somber atmosphere settled over the entire sect, as if a dark cloud hung overhead.

On Elemental Magnetic Peak, Sect Leader Gong Lingfeng had taken up residence in the Scripture Pavilion.

He hoped to find a Secret Technique to counter the Soul-breaking Needle within the texts left behind by their predecessors.

However, as a standalone Secret Technique, it was far from simple to crack.

According to the predictions of several Preaching Elders, it would take at least another two to three months to develop an effective countermeasure for the Soul-breaking Needle.

This was too long—an unacceptable amount of time for the Lingyuan Sect.

Meanwhile, the Lingyuan Sect’s Elder Hall was just as frantically busy.

The Elders now not only had to worry about the Soul-breaking Needle, but were also responsible for contacting personnel, pulling back the defensive lines, and re-evaluating the security levels of different regions.

Grand Elder Yao Dehai stared at the map with a furrowed brow. "Any news from Ming Jie yet?"

On the latest map, the area from Qiuping County to Qingyang County had also fallen under the Divine Fire Sect’s control.

Especially the areas flanking Qingyang County, which were lost almost immediately.

Yao Dehai had a bad feeling and had specifically dispatched Du Mingjie as a messenger to remind Xiao Chen to evacuate the Qingyang Spirit Ore mine in time.

Qingyang Stone wasn’t a critical resource, so abandoning it temporarily was of little consequence.

However, two days had already passed, and there was still no word from Du Mingjie.

A disciple quickly responded, "Reporting to the Elder, there has been no news from Junior Martial Master Du yet."

Yao Dehai immediately ordered, "Go inform Ming Hui. Send someone else to the Qingyang Spirit Ore mine and tell Xiao Chen to evacuate immediately."

A moment later, however, another disciple ran over. "Reporting to the Elder! Dongyuan County was attacked by two Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators! The Yang Family Patriarch has lost contact."

Dongyuan County was located a hundred li west of Qingyang County.

Yao Dehai waved a hand over the map, marking Dongyuan in red, only to see that Qingyang County was now completely surrounded by red territory.

’This is not good news at all,’ he thought, his heart sinking.

Although from what he knew, Xiao Chen’s Escape Techniques were superb, and he had no reason to fear ordinary Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators.

But the Divine Fire Sect had clearly realized this as well, which was why they had deliberately bypassed Qingyang.

Once encircled and besieged by Demon Cultivators from all sides, even with the most advanced Escape Techniques, he would still face mortal danger.

But now, with Dongyuan lost, a messenger could no longer get into Qingyang.

Yao Dehai could only hope that Xiao Chen would notice the anomaly himself and proactively retreat from the Spirit Ore mine.

Or, upon discovering Demon Cultivators nearby, that he would break through the encirclement and fall back.

「Qingyang Spirit Ore Mine.」

Du Mingjie was currently pacing back and forth at the mine’s entrance, burning with anxiety.

A full day and night had passed since he arrived at the Spirit Ore mine.

Yet he still hadn’t seen any sign of Xiao Chen, let alone been able to deliver the urgent evacuation notice.

He had asked all the Qi Refining team leaders, but they only knew that Xiao Chen had suddenly left via Sword Control. No one knew where he had gone.

’I’ll wait until Noon. If he’s still not back by then, I’ve done all I can.’

Du Mingjie thought it over and decided he couldn’t afford to waste too much time here.

With the chaos of the last few days, he had to look out for himself.

Suddenly, a flash of Sword Light appeared in the distance.

Du Mingjie hurriedly looked up and saw Xiao Chen flying back at a leisurely pace.

"Thank goodness, Xiao, you’re finally back!"

’?’

’Why are you greeting me like that too?’

Xiao Chen was a little surprised. He had just heard a similar opening line from Chang Shunping that morning.

He asked curiously, "Du, is there some urgent matter?"

Du Mingjie rushed forward, his expression tense. "Xiao, Qingyang is in imminent danger! The specific situation is complicated, and I can’t explain it in just a few words."

"To put it simply, we are completely surrounded by Demon Cultivators. The situation is critical."

"Elder Yao specifically sent me to inform you that we need to evacuate this place immediately."

’Evacuate?’

’That doesn’t make any sense. How could a few Demon Cultivators infiltrating our rear lines lead to this?’

Xiao Chen said, "Du, calm down first. Tell me what’s going on. A few moments won’t make a difference, will they?"

Du Mingjie quickly explained everything about the Soul-breaking Needle.

Although his information was also slightly outdated, he knew far more than Chang Shunping.

"Xiao, according to reliable sources, three of the Divine Fire Sect’s Four Great Wanderers have already been confirmed to be participating in this invasion."

"By the looks of it, all four of them have probably come."

"This is definitely not a simple invasion. They must have follow-up reinforcements or plans."

Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow at this. ’The Eastern Wanderer shouldn’t be able to make it.’

"I’ll say something I probably shouldn’t."

Du Mingjie licked his lips and said in a low voice, "Luoyan Mountain... might not be able to hold."

This wasn’t hard to guess. The Divine Fire Sect might send in cannon fodder to die, but they would never send in the Four Great Wanderers on a suicide mission.