Chapter 573: Demonic Sound Eight Orifices
"Sister Jiang, are you alright? Sister Jiang..."
Jiang Yuqing returned to the Xuanhe Gate team in a dazed state, and several senior brothers and sisters immediately gathered around her.
"I'm... I'm fine." Jiang Yuqing's expression was grim.
She was naturally prone to anxiety.
At this moment, she felt she had betrayed her usual efforts and failed Master Qingci's cultivation, her heart aching terribly.
This was supposed to be a simple martial contest, yet she felt unprecedented humiliation.
She told herself not to care, but the concern from her senior brothers and sisters and the scrutinizing gazes of surrounding cultivators felt like knives slowly cutting her apart!
"Junior sister! Sister Jiang!"
"Moon Shadow Sect! You've gone too far!"
The Xuanhe Gate disciples glared furiously at the Moon Shadow Sect side, grinding their teeth in anger.
"This was just a simple sparring match, was this really necessary? Duan Feng, we respect you as a direct disciple of Moon Shadow Sect, but you didn't have to be so ruthless, did you?!"
Hearing this, even the usually mild-tempered Duan Feng was momentarily stunned.
How had he been ruthless?
Throughout the entire match, his sword hadn't even touched Jiang Yuqing!
Even at the final moment, his sword tip was half an inch away from her!
If he hadn't withdrawn his sword, Jiang Yuqing's head would be flying through the air right now!
The Moon Shadow Sect disciples collectively fell speechless.
They had watched Duan Feng and Jiang Yuqing's entire match and could attest that Duan Feng had been exceptionally gentle—usually when sparring with them, Duan Feng was heavy-handed, directly stating that more beatings now meant less bloodshed outside the sect later.
So they knew exactly how gentle Senior Brother Duan Feng had been just now.
And yet... the Xuanhe Gate disciples seemed to have collectively broken down? Started shifting blame?!
"I am an Alchemy Pavilion elder of Moon Shadow Sect. Your Xuanhe Gate disciple has no physical injuries, her qi and blood are stable—she merely suffered some mental impact due to insufficient mental fortitude." He took out a pill and tossed it to the Xuanhe Gate disciples: "This is a Spirit Nourishing Pill. Give it to her, and she'll wake up shortly."
Zhou Xuanzi really didn't want to give pills to Xuanhe Gate disciples.
But as the host of the Dao Inquiry Assembly, Moon Shadow Sect needed to demonstrate the magnanimity of a major sect.
The Xuanhe Gate disciples stepped forward, picked up the medicine bottle, took out a pill, and fed it to Jiang Yuqing—without even saying a word of thanks.
"What's wrong with these Xuanhe Gate people? They have no manners at all!"
These disciples were already at Golden Core realm—cultivators need many years of cultivation to reach Golden Core.
They should have the demeanor of Golden Core cultivators by now...
"Let it go, let it go. Focus on preparing for the next martial contest." Zhen He flicked open his folding fan with a cold snort: "Since these Xuanhe Gate disciples have such poor character, we don't need to bother with courtesy later. Prioritize your own safety—if necessary, it's fine to injure them."
"Well said." Xu An looked toward the Xuanhe Gate side, his eyes turning cold: "Anyway, we have former disciples of Alchemy Sect and Lingxi Valley here—we're not short on medical or pill cultivators. Even if they lose arms or legs, we can completely heal them!"
Meanwhile, Xuanhe Gate was also scheming.
"Moon Shadow Sect disciples are formidable, especially these direct disciples. If we confront them head-on, we probably aren't their match!"
The speaker was Wang Haotian, Xuanhe Gate's head direct disciple and Li Qingran's opponent.
"We've enjoyed so many resources from our sect leader. If we can't achieve results, how can we face our sect leader's cultivation?!"
Wang Haotian's face was dark, his voice low.
"Senior Brother Wang, so you mean..."
Everyone looked eagerly at Wang Haotian, whose eyes turned fierce: "No more hesitation! Everyone use secret techniques later! We must achieve results—not just to avenge junior sister, but also to bring honor to our sect leader!"
"Senior Brother Wang is right. Our secret techniques are also divine abilities—why can't we use them?"
After discussing, everyone reached consensus.
On their way to Moon Shadow Sect, Master Qingci had bestowed upon them a scroll of secret techniques that doubled true essence and physical strength at the cost of burning vital essence. She told them the technique had almost no side effects—just weakness after use, that's all.
If they felt they couldn't win during martial contests, they could absolutely use it!
Although the Dao Inquiry Assembly prohibited temporary power-boosting techniques that harmed oneself as much as the enemy. Thıs text ıs hosted at novel-fire.net
After all, Moon Shadow Sect's Dao Inquiry Assembly hadn't specified following previous rules.
"Next match! Xu An versus Cang Jingbo!"
In the middle of the martial arena, an elder struck a gong.
Xu An stepped onto the martial platform, his sharp eyes meeting those of Xuanhe Gate disciple Cang Jingbo opposite him.
His right hand rested on his sword hilt, ready to strike.
This round, he didn't plan to hold back!
Moon Shadow Sect back mountain.
"Brother Xiao, if I recall correctly... doesn't the Heavenly Demon Art compendium have a sound-based divine ability?"
Chen Huaian sat opposite Old Demon Xiao, a smiling expression on his face.
"That music can disturb people's minds, make them confused and enchanted—does such a method exist?"
Old Demon Xiao scratched his head, pondered for a moment, then revealed a sinister smile.
"Hehe! Yes, yes there is. Does elder brother plan to use this method to deal with someone?"
"That would be a Great Ascension Three Tribulations realm cultivator." Chen Huaian took a sip of tea and said frankly: "This venerable one has already trapped her in a restriction—she won't be able to escape for now. If we combine our efforts using this method to disturb her mind, can it be done?"
"Hehe, this old man is also a Great Ascension Three Tribulations realm cultivator, and at Great Ascension Perfection at that. If elder brother asked me to fight, I might fear heavenly tribulation descending, but if it's just playing a flute..." Old Demon Xiao chuckled strangely, "Then wouldn't this old man handle it easily? I'm just not sure which movement of the sound-based divine ability elder brother plans to use—different movements evoke different emotions, with naturally different effects."
"Strong desire." Chen Huaian also had some recollection of that sound-based divine ability—something like Demonic Sound Eight Orifices?
"Oh?" Old Demon Xiao's smile instantly gained a lewd quality: "Has elder brother taken a fancy to that Great Ascension Three Tribulations fairy and plans to take her by force?"
"Heh, don't speculate wildly. It has nothing to do with this venerable one."
Chen Huaian took out a large assortment of musical instruments and placed them before Old Demon Xiao, then picked up a flute himself.
"What instrument are you skilled at?"
"Me?" Old Demon Xiao picked up a jade xiao, gently stroked it, and chuckled strangely: "Back in the day, this old man was quite skilled at playing the xiao!"
Old Demon Xiao's smile was too strange, and his hand movements looked quite professional—no wonder he was a former chief eunuch... He shuddered and quickly moved further away.
Chen Huaian calculated the timing.
By now, Zhang Mengchu had probably already started fighting Master Yuyao.
If they arrived too late, they might only be able to collect Comrade Xiao Zhang's body...