Chapter 63: The Incessant Chimes

In front of the mountain forest, where the autumn wind blew with a bleak and chilling aura, Situ Wuzhen, the senior disciple of the Righteousness Sect, stood tall and upright like an ancient pine before his nineteen junior martial brothers.

His expression was grave, and his gaze was steady and solemn.

Like a deep, tranquil pool, his eyes slowly swept across the face of each junior brother.

That look was filled with deep concern and gravity.

It was as if the words he was about to utter bore the immense weight of a matter concerning life and death.

"My junior brothers," Situ Wuzhen cleared his throat slightly. His voice was deep and powerful, resounding like a great bronze bell in everyone's ears, echoing through the mountains and lingering for a long time:

"This time, as we step out of the alliance encampment, we are stepping right into a den of dragons and tigers. Dangers lurk everywhere, and a single moment of carelessness could plunge us into eternal damnation.

Therefore, you must all place your personal safety above everything else. Do not harbor the slightest bit of complacency."

At this point, he paused slightly.

The brilliance in his deep eyes grew even more intense, resembling cold stars twinkling in the night sky, revealing an unquestionable resolution.

Then, raising his voice with added emphasis, he continued:

"You must all remember to obey the arrangements of our Chief Protector, Senior Brother Qingming, without any reservation.

Our group is like a tightly linked iron chain; not a single link can fall off. You must stay closely connected to the formation and never lag behind.

Once we engage the enemy in close combat and fall into life-or-death slaughter, we, the disciples of the Righteousness Sect, have brave and fearless blood flowing in our bones. We must never cower or retreat.

Even when facing the most formidable enemy, we must dare to draw our swords, display the might of the Righteousness Sect, and fight the enemy valiantly.

Avenge our fallen fellow disciples, uphold the towering reputation of the Righteousness Sect, and never let it be tainted by the slightest stain. Do you all remember this?"

"Yes!"

The nineteen junior brothers shouted in unison. The neat and uniform sound seemed to pierce the clouds, stirring up wave after wave of echoes in the valley.

It was as if they were issuing a heroic declaration of war against the perilous martial world, brimming with an unstoppable, fearless determination and courage.

At that moment, they seemed to have sworn an oath in their hearts, fully prepared to face any hardship or obstacle. Even if it meant climbing a mountain of swords or plunging into a sea of flames, they would not retreat a single step.

Meanwhile, in another open space not far away, Biluochun of the Biluo Sect was also facing her group of disciples with a solemn expression.

Her figure was graceful yet possessed a heroic spirit. At this moment, her earnest and serious demeanor made her look precisely like a strict master meticulously instructing her students.

Her eyes were filled with a complex mixture of expectation and worry. The expectation was her fervent hope that her disciples would return safely and achieve greatness;

The worry was the deep-seated anxiety born from knowing the cruelty of the martial world, fearing that her disciples might meet with misfortune.

Patiently admonishing them about various precautions, she would occasionally reach out to gesture at key points.

From how to deal with sudden surprise attacks to the details of coordinating with teammates, every single point was explained in meticulous detail.

The disciples listened with rapt attention. Their eyes flashed with a mixture of tension and excitement—the tension being the instinctive fear of the unknown danger,

And the excitement being the eager anticipation of the impending battle and the chance to showcase their skills in the martial world.

Over at the Taiyi Sect, Xuanjizi was also standing before his disciples, methodically conducting a pre-battle mobilization.

Waving his hands slightly to match his words, he unraveled the key points of dealing with danger like peeling silk from a cocoon, explaining them thoroughly to everyone.

At times, his expression was severe, emphasizing the importance of a crucial link; at times, his gaze was gentle, encouraging the disciples to trust in their own strength.

The disciples gathered around him, raising their heads and staring unblinkingly, afraid of missing a single word.

Their focused appearance made it seem as though the words coming from Xuanjizi's mouth were not mere speech, but magical incantations that could protect their safety.

Once all preparations were properly settled, everyone, led by Su Hao, departed from the alliance encampment in a grand procession.

The formation was neat and magnificent, with the sound of footsteps beating a steady rhythm—clear, crisp, and powerful.

It sounded like an impassioned and heroic battle song of departure, adding a unique and heroic color to the mountain forest.

Walking with a brisk pace, Su Hao reached the sides of the senior brothers and senior sister from the Righteousness Sect, Biluo Sect, and Taiyi Sect in just a few strides.

He stopped, bowed slightly, and looked at them with a sincere and earnest gaze, asking modestly:

"Which direction should we head toward?"

Upon hearing this, the three of them exchanged a tacit glance, as if by telepathy.

In their eyes were both the exploration and curiosity of the unknown path ahead, as well as a hint of caution and care, as if the decision they were about to make would tie into the fate of everyone present.

Situ Wuzhen, the senior disciple of the Righteousness Sect, knitted his brows slightly. After a brief moment of thought, he broke the momentary silence, looking steadfastly into the distance and speaking slowly:

"How about this direction? Though I have never set foot there before, I wonder if the other two have ever been?"

With that, he cast an inquiring gaze toward the other two.

Biluochun and Xuanjizi gently shook their heads upon hearing this, indicating that they had never ventured in that direction either.

In that shaking of heads, there seemed to be a trace of apprehension toward the unknown, but even more so, it carried the fearlessness and boldness of an upcoming journey of exploration.

Seeing this, a flash of decisiveness crossed Su Hao's eyes, and he made a prompt judgment:

"Then let's head in this direction. Everyone, quicken your pace and strive to explore more ground before dark so that we can complete our mission sooner."

The group responded in unison and immediately quickened their pace.

The already orderly formation now moved swiftly through the mountain path like a winding, coiling dragon.

Their figures shuttled through the forest, stirring up a light gust of wind as the trees on both sides rapidly retreated backward.

It was as if even the forest was conquered by their unstoppable momentum.

Thus, they marched forward relentlessly for two hours, and the journey had been quite smooth overall.

Only the occasional crisp chirping of birds in the mountain forest or the roar of beasts from some unknown place broke the slightly monotonous atmosphere of the march.

This added a touch of unpredictability to the tense atmosphere, leaving everyone inevitably more vigilant against the unknown deep within the mountain forest.

Suddenly, Su Hao, who had been walking at the front of the formation and maintaining constant vigilance, narrowed his eyes sharply, just like a keen leopard detecting the scent of prey.

Drawing upon his extraordinary and sharp perception, he was the first to discover unusual anomalies ahead.

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his arm high to signal everyone to halt immediately.

The crowd instantly fell silent, and all eyes followed the direction of Su Hao's gaze, fixing tightly on the ahead.

There, dust was flying everywhere, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens. It looked as though thousands of troops were engaged in fierce slaughter. The thick dust had turned the sky murky and dim, making it difficult for sunlight to penetrate, save for a few mottled beams casting down through the gaps in the dust.

Looking closely, it turned out that evil cultivators had gathered a force of over a hundred people. Like a pack of starving wolves pouncing on food, they were aggressively surrounding and attacking dozens of disciples from other sects.

Judging by the scene, the fight had only just begun. Both sides were locked in a fierce and inextricable battle, and the situation remained deadlocked. Everyone was fighting with all their might, refusing to yield even half a step.

Seeing this, Su Hao furrowed his brows slightly, his sword-like eyebrows tainted with a hint of bleakness, while a resolute glint flashed in his eyes—a gaze as blazing and steadfast as a burning torch.

Without a second word, he gave a sweeping wave of his hand, a clean and crisp movement carrying an unquestionable dominance.

The group was already naturally divided into three teams according to their three sects. Receiving the command now, they acted like three sharp, unblushing blades, charging into the chaotic battleground from three different directions with an unstoppable momentum.

The sound of their footsteps thundered like rolling drums, and battle cries rose one after another, as if they would shake the very mountain forest into tremors.

However, when they finally charged all the way and arrived at close quarters, they faintly felt that the battle exuded a weird and eerie vibe.

An unusual aura seemed to permeate the air, as if an invisible pair of hands was manipulating everything behind the scenes, inexplicably arousing vigilance in everyone's hearts.

Yet Su Hao cared little for such concerns at this moment. He descended upon the battlefield like a fearless god of war, radiating a piercing momentum across his entire body.

He brandished his treasured sword, its blade gleaming with a freezing, harsh light under the sunlight,

Resembling a venomous snake waiting to devour its prey.

Su Hao slammed his feet fiercely against the ground, his entire body shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow, heading straight toward the evil cultivators dressed in leader attire.

The sword in his hand danced along with his movements, and every single swing whipped up a fierce and sharp whistle of wind, sounding like wailing ghosts and chilling the bones.

Wherever the sword reached, the evil cultivators had no time to dodge; they were sent flying upside down, screaming miserably as fresh blood instantly stained the earth beneath their feet.

That tragic scene unfolded before everyone's eyes like a scroll depicting bloodshed and slaughter.

Under Su Hao's fierce, peerless, and unstoppable offensive, those evil cultivator leaders were soon driven into continuous retreat, utterly incapable of fighting back. Like fragile paper figures, they fell to the ground one after another, their eyes filled with horror and despair, refusing to believe until their dying breath that they could be defeated so easily.

Although those hundred-plus evil cultivators had previously formed a circle of encirclement around the sixty of them, losing their commanders left them like walking corpses without a backbone, instantly plunging into total disarray.

The newly formed encirclement was shattered into pieces under the charge of the three major sects' disciples.

[Side quest, completion increased by 1 point, you obtained 1 cosmic cleansing stone, main quest completion is 101 points.]

[Side quest, completion increased by 1 point, you obtained 1 cosmic cleansing stone, main quest completion is 102 points.]...

[Side quest, completion increased by 1 point, you obtained 1 cosmic cleansing stone, main quest completion is 113 points.]

With every enemy Su Hao cut down, prompt notifications chimed continuously in his mind.

Every time Su Hao killed an enemy, he would calmly collect the storage bags of the evil cultivator leaders and casually hang them around his waist. Thirteen storage bags dangled around his waist, clearly presenting the look of a man brimming with wealth.