NOVPUBEven when facing an enemy stronger than himself, as long as the foe couldn’t fly, Su Changkong could easily escape by leveraging his advantage of flight.
"This is what it feels like to fly freely!"
Feeling the wind brushing past his face, Su Changkong couldn’t help but marvel at the wonderful experience. Looking down, patches of rivers and mountains seemed so insignificant, evoking a sense of grand ambition to overlook the earth!
"Martial Saint... I will enter this realm!" Su Changkong’s heart was filled with motivation. He believed that if others could become Martial Saints, he was no less capable and could reach that status too!
Originally, it had taken Su Changkong nearly three months to travel from the Great Flame Empire to the Wuji Empire. Now, with the flying ability of Crane Play’s White Crane Escapes, it took him less than three days to return to the vicinity of the Spirit Taoist Sect in Central State of the Flame Empire, and that included the time he stopped along the way to recover his Essence Qi Spirit.
Approaching the area near the Spirit Taoist Sect, Su Changkong descended from the sky. He felt it was better to keep a low profile and not reveal his ability to fly, as it was one of his trump cards!
"Hmm? What’s happening?"
However, when he arrived at the foot of Zhongling Mountain, Su Changkong’s brows furrowed, sensing something was off.
"Spiritual Energy... The Spiritual Energy of Zhongling Mountain has disappeared?"
In Su Changkong’s perception, the nature’s spiritual energy within Zhongling Mountain was very thin, indistinguishable from the outside world.
One must know that Zhongling Mountain was a place with excellent fengshui, capable of generating Innate Qi. Therefore, its Spiritual Energy was ten times denser than the outside world, able to nourish the growth of Spirit Grass and Spirit Flowers. Such a mountain gate location, for a sect, was often more important than a Martial Arts Secret Manual.
With ample resources, a sect could give birth to powerful martial artists!
Yet now, Zhongling Mountain had turned from a Spiritual Mountain into a common, desolate hill.
"What exactly happened?"
Su Changkong’s brows were tightly knit, his mind filled with questions and confusion. His instincts told him that the Spirit Taoist Sect had probably encountered some problems. He became vigilant and started walking towards the mountain.
He had only been away for half a year, but the mountain path of the Spirit Taoist Sect was overgrown with weeds, which indicated nobody had cleared them for months.
When Su Changkong arrived inside the mountain gate of the Spirit Taoist Sect, his expression turned grim.
"Caw!"
Su Changkong saw broken walls and ruins everywhere. The once antique and Spirit Energy-rich Spirit Taoist Sect was now nothing but rubble. The Sect, once bustling with life, was now eerily silent, not a soul in sight. Only Su Changkong’s footsteps disturbed a crow scavenging among the ruins. The bird let out a sharp caw and took flight.
"Someone attacked the Spirit Taoist Sect... A great battle erupted here. All the Elders and Disciples of the sect must have faced the enemy, but they evidently suffered a crushing defeat...
The mountain gate is shattered, and the assailants must have used some method to tamper with Zhongling Mountain’s Spirit Vein, causing the abundant Spiritual Energy to dissipate and turning it into an ordinary mountain. Who would be so vicious?"
Su Changkong’s heart was filled with both shock and rage.
Although Su Changkong was just a Guest Elder of the Spirit Taoist Sect, he had spent most of his time cultivating there after coming to Central State, living there for several years, and had formed a significant attachment to it. But now, the Spirit Taoist Sect had been annihilated, and in a way that severed its lineage!
The location of a sect, rich in Spiritual Energy, is the foundation of its existence. As long as the foundation remains, the sect could rise again after a downfall. However, someone attacked the Spirit Taoist Sect and destroyed the Spirit Vein of Zhongling Mountain where the sect was situated. This was even crueler than exterminating an entire clan!
Su Changkong’s face was stern as he wandered through the Spirit Taoist Sect. Other than some traces of battle, nothing else was left, the desolation spoke of many months passing.
At that moment, Su Changkong turned around. From the mountaintop, he saw a young man in white clothing approaching the mountain gate of the Spirit Taoist Sect. He then went to the gate and stood quietly waiting.
"Are you... Elder Su?" The young man in white froze upon seeing Su Changkong standing at the mountain gate, then recognized him, and blurted out with a hint of hesitation.
"Hmm, are you a disciple of the Spirit Taoist Sect?"
Su Changkong nodded slightly. The young man in white could recognize him at first sight, undoubtedly a disciple of the Spirit Taoist Sect, and Su Changkong was eager to know what exactly happened to the sect!
(Scheduled update on Qidian Chinese Network, the next chapter will be updated at 22:00 on the 12th.)
